Look at this great fruit they sell right on the beach!
My dog, Dayton. She is so hard to photograph because she's so dark. I like this one, though.
Gracie Girl.
Look at this!
My buddy James.
What are these things, anyway?
How was your weekend?
Monday, June 27, 2011
Day at the Beach!
Sunday afternoon was a BEAUTIFUL day in Chicago. We decided to take a respite down at Montrose Beach. It was the perfect experience to do some shooting for fun. The beach is so great and lively this time of year, you can point you camera any direction and get a great shot!
Saturday, June 25, 2011
A Moment in Time...
One of the reasons I love photography is that it captures a moment in time that will never exist again. My most recent shoots have been especially memorable in this regard, very small puppies, 6 month baby shoots, etc.
I recently experienced every photographer's worst nightmare when I plugged in the external hard drive that holds my 'moments in time' to find that it didn't want to mount on my mac. I took it to my bang up IT team who, with pity in their eyes, let me down easily and told me that the data was unrecoverable. I dropped my head... and cried. Like a baby.
I had just moved my images to this drive and was gearing up to back them up on the interwebs (backblaze.com to be more specific) but just hadn't hit that step yet. It was truly one of the saddest days of my life but taught me a very important lesson about the trust we have in our devices vs. the lack of trust we SHOULD have in our devices.
I did have one shoot on my card that I hadn't deleted after importing, it was for one of my favorite clients, Raegan. Raegan is a 6month old baby whose wonderful parents, Steve and Jamie, have had me shoot her 3mo, 6mo, and soon to be 9mo milestones. Each time I see Raegan she has grown so much, so I was especially happy not to have lost these precious 'moments in time'.
This last shoot was particularly fun because she was sitting up on her own and reacting to her parents silly faces, and making some of her own. This day I shot this set of photos was one of the worst summer storms and Steve and Jamie were very concerned that the light wouldn't be good enough. I told them not to worry with visions of my speedlight dancing in my head.
The shoot ended up going great, and we got lots of great photos.
I recently experienced every photographer's worst nightmare when I plugged in the external hard drive that holds my 'moments in time' to find that it didn't want to mount on my mac. I took it to my bang up IT team who, with pity in their eyes, let me down easily and told me that the data was unrecoverable. I dropped my head... and cried. Like a baby.
I had just moved my images to this drive and was gearing up to back them up on the interwebs (backblaze.com to be more specific) but just hadn't hit that step yet. It was truly one of the saddest days of my life but taught me a very important lesson about the trust we have in our devices vs. the lack of trust we SHOULD have in our devices.
I did have one shoot on my card that I hadn't deleted after importing, it was for one of my favorite clients, Raegan. Raegan is a 6month old baby whose wonderful parents, Steve and Jamie, have had me shoot her 3mo, 6mo, and soon to be 9mo milestones. Each time I see Raegan she has grown so much, so I was especially happy not to have lost these precious 'moments in time'.
This last shoot was particularly fun because she was sitting up on her own and reacting to her parents silly faces, and making some of her own. This day I shot this set of photos was one of the worst summer storms and Steve and Jamie were very concerned that the light wouldn't be good enough. I told them not to worry with visions of my speedlight dancing in my head.
The shoot ended up going great, and we got lots of great photos.
I absolutely love this photo because it's a baby just off in her own little baby world.
Happy girl.
Such a beautiful family.
Have you ever seen a happier baby?
Saturday, June 18, 2011
A wedding shower...
Today I attended a friend's wedding shower. I love attending this particular pal's festivities because she is marrying into a big, pushy, italian family and the family get togethers are so different from what this irish girl grew up around, it's like even the small family gatherings seem coated in bread crumbs and fried up good. That's not to say my irish upbringing didn't have its perks, one would rue the day they challenged one of my family members to a drinking contest. But I digress.
I offered to bring along my camera and do some shooting. What I didn't know is this italian wedding shower taking place at a mexican restaurant (seems it's cultural smorgasbord day here on the old blog) meant that each wall was a different color, which would ultimately lead my white balance to go awry quite quickly. No matter how many times I used my trusty gray card, even the slightlest change in composure threw the white balance right off so that the photos would tint blue, then red, then yellow.... etc. I was forced, as no photographer likes to admit, to shoot on AWB.
I thought I may be able to get away with shooting with my 35mm wide angle, but the aperture just wasn't going to be low enough (and I didn't want to go TOO high with my ISO, nor bust out my flash, especially since I was trying to keep a low profile) so I went to ole faithful, my canon 50mm 1.4. This lens is a something of a workhorse in this photographer's bag. It takes such beautiful, sharp photos, I find myself shooting with it all the time. I think the photos ended up coming out pretty nicely. There were some hanging twinkle lights that made for nice bokeh, and some natural light that helped with my disaster of a WB situation.
The below photos were shot as follows:
Body: Canon D60
Lens: 50mm
Aperture: 1.4
AWB (bleh.)
ISO: 1000 (i know, i know, luckily lightroom's noise reduction tool is a miracle worker)
Edited in lightroom.
I hope you enjoy the photos. Leave any questions or suggestions for better methods of fixing those pesky white balance issues in the comments!
I offered to bring along my camera and do some shooting. What I didn't know is this italian wedding shower taking place at a mexican restaurant (seems it's cultural smorgasbord day here on the old blog) meant that each wall was a different color, which would ultimately lead my white balance to go awry quite quickly. No matter how many times I used my trusty gray card, even the slightlest change in composure threw the white balance right off so that the photos would tint blue, then red, then yellow.... etc. I was forced, as no photographer likes to admit, to shoot on AWB.
I thought I may be able to get away with shooting with my 35mm wide angle, but the aperture just wasn't going to be low enough (and I didn't want to go TOO high with my ISO, nor bust out my flash, especially since I was trying to keep a low profile) so I went to ole faithful, my canon 50mm 1.4. This lens is a something of a workhorse in this photographer's bag. It takes such beautiful, sharp photos, I find myself shooting with it all the time. I think the photos ended up coming out pretty nicely. There were some hanging twinkle lights that made for nice bokeh, and some natural light that helped with my disaster of a WB situation.
The below photos were shot as follows:
Body: Canon D60
Lens: 50mm
Aperture: 1.4
AWB (bleh.)
ISO: 1000 (i know, i know, luckily lightroom's noise reduction tool is a miracle worker)
Edited in lightroom.
Kristin saying goodbye to a friend. Notice those bokeh inducing twinkle lights in the back.
Favors.
Marisol having a good old time. Candids are my favorite types of shots, especially when shooting events. Marisol has such a great laugh and I think that really comes through in this photo.
Kristin and Tony didn't have engagement pictures taken, so I goaded them in to taking some lovey pictures. I think they'll be happy they did.
Kristin and the very pregnant hostess!
I hope you enjoy the photos. Leave any questions or suggestions for better methods of fixing those pesky white balance issues in the comments!
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Time for some summer eating!
The sidewalks, streets, and farmer's markets are more packed than ever in Chicago, and it's not hard to understand why. After the winter that we all faced (Snowpocalypse! Lake Shore Drive Closed! Spring never even came!!!), Chicagoans are chomping at the proverbial bit to get outside and enjoy some sunshine (even if it is only 70 degrees most days, butttt beggars/choosers etc.)
I am someone who truly enjoys eating. Even more so than that, I enjoy eating things that make me feel good, and usually browse a menu looking for just such things. Case and point, I love me some Ann Sather cinnamon rolls, but I hardly ever indulge because I spend the rest of the day feeling like i've just consumed a cinnamon and frosting covered cinderblock.
Over the weekend I did some primo summer eating, so I thought i'd share some of my favorite spots with you! On Saturday I had my first dress fitting for my July wedding. Nothing makes you want to eat a salad more than looking at yourself in a 365 degree mirror and having eastern europeans poke and prod at your chest. So I headed to Floriole Cafe & Bakery with one my bridesmaids.
Sunday, I took myself and my black lab Dayton down to the Logan Square Farmers Market. It is my humble belief that the L.S.F.M. is one of the best in the city. It's not too big and never too packed (read: Green City Market) and they have some fine food vendors to quell your hunger while you look for the perfect summer peach. We went through a scary time for a minute there when a wayward alderman tried to flex what little political muscle he had to close it down (forget about the street crime - it's these damn FARMERS MARKETS we should all be worrying about!) but he had a change of his teeny tiny grinch like heart and decided to live and let live. Phew!
One of my very favorite vendors is Vo (who unfortunately does not have a website). The springrolls are just so fresh, you feel like you're eating something that just came out of the field. This is a truly a food that makes you feel good. I'm sorry for the poor quality of this photo (yes i know, photography blog...) but when you're trying to wrangle a 65lb lab while drinking a Vietnamese coffee and chowing on some spring rolls, things can get messy quite quickly.
I am someone who truly enjoys eating. Even more so than that, I enjoy eating things that make me feel good, and usually browse a menu looking for just such things. Case and point, I love me some Ann Sather cinnamon rolls, but I hardly ever indulge because I spend the rest of the day feeling like i've just consumed a cinnamon and frosting covered cinderblock.
Over the weekend I did some primo summer eating, so I thought i'd share some of my favorite spots with you! On Saturday I had my first dress fitting for my July wedding. Nothing makes you want to eat a salad more than looking at yourself in a 365 degree mirror and having eastern europeans poke and prod at your chest. So I headed to Floriole Cafe & Bakery with one my bridesmaids.
This delightful little tartine was just what the doctor ordered. An asparagus, ricotta, and goat cheese number on some delicious grained bread. Accompanying this little ditty was some fresh greens with the slightest bit of dressing, and an iced black tea infused with hibiscus - so light and perfect for a summer day.
Sunday, I took myself and my black lab Dayton down to the Logan Square Farmers Market. It is my humble belief that the L.S.F.M. is one of the best in the city. It's not too big and never too packed (read: Green City Market) and they have some fine food vendors to quell your hunger while you look for the perfect summer peach. We went through a scary time for a minute there when a wayward alderman tried to flex what little political muscle he had to close it down (forget about the street crime - it's these damn FARMERS MARKETS we should all be worrying about!) but he had a change of his teeny tiny grinch like heart and decided to live and let live. Phew!
One of my very favorite vendors is Vo (who unfortunately does not have a website). The springrolls are just so fresh, you feel like you're eating something that just came out of the field. This is a truly a food that makes you feel good. I'm sorry for the poor quality of this photo (yes i know, photography blog...) but when you're trying to wrangle a 65lb lab while drinking a Vietnamese coffee and chowing on some spring rolls, things can get messy quite quickly.
YUM.
My favorite vendors at Logan Square include:
- Mint Creek Farm - best meat around. They literally tell you about the animals the meat came from ("this pork came from a young pig, so it won't be fatty," etc). Try and get that experience at your local whole foods.
- Radical Root Farm
- Vidonevich Farms - did our CSA through these guys last year, great experience
- Crumb Chicago - wonderful breads baked in a community kitchen
Here are some of my other favorite shots from Farmer's Markets Past:
What's your favorite farmers market?
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