Happy Halloween!!!

October 31, 2011

I have loved this holiday since I was a little kid. My mom (who I recently found out really hates Halloween. Sorry Mom!) would always be so great about making our obscure Halloween costume ideas for my sister and I, and for years when I was younger, I would plan and put on a haunted forest for family members in honor of Halloween. Now that I'm an adult, my (former) roommate and I have put on FOUR Halloween parties in the last five years! It's a good excuse to make your friends dress up and take photos of them! Below are the great costumes from this Saturday's Haunted Halloween!

^Kristin's mother, Donna, playing the sad role of the Phantom of the Opera (winner of Scariest Costume).

^This is Jason, and he's a nice cowboy!



^John as the Scream guy... in a bathrobe? Hmmmm.

^My friend, Judy, stepping out of the Roaring 20s as a flapper.

^My boyfriend, Mike (also not a big Halloween guy), dressed up in his waders as a fisherman.

^Brady doing a pretty convincing Rauol Duke (winner of Funniest Costume)

^My photographer friend, Misty, is rocking out in her 80s garb!

^Our other friend, Kristin, as a Cigarette Girl (mostly offering candy :) (Winner of Most Creative Costume)

^My friend, Brian, as a fabulous 50s style accountant.

^My co-party planner, Oole (that's Kristin to you!), as Arwen, elf from Lord of the Rings.

^Oole's boyfriend, Andy, as Aragorn from Lord of the Rings. That's a SERIOUS sword there!

^And this is me! I'm a jellyfish (can you see it??!?). Yay!

Nick + Amber: Engaged (Lowell Wedding Photography)

October 19, 2011

When Nick, a guy would I work with at my "regular" job, asked me if I could do his engagement photos for him, I was of course excited. I always love working with people I know. It's a fun way to get to know them a little better and show them my "photo girl" side. Nick is a great guy, and although I've only ever met his fiance, Amber, in passing a couple times, I had a blast taking their photos for them. I chose the location, Fallesburg Park in Lowell, with hopes that the trees on the river valley would still have kept their leaves after all the wind we had that weekend... as you will see, I was wrong. However the subdued light and the gray background actually made for a great shoot.

Nick had another Lowell location in mind for us, so we, in our three cars, went in search of it. Well, it turns out it was in an entire other part of the area, and instead we stopped by the home of a coworker of Nick's and mine. He wasn't home, but his wife was and let us use their backyard for a few more shots before we wrapped things up. The light was almost gone by then, so we only got a few, but it was worth the stop anyway.

Thanks to Amber and Nick for letting me be a part of your pre-wedding festivities. They will be getting married in Jamaica next October, I may need to discuss that further with them ;-) Congrats, you two!

^I kept putting poor Nick in these awkward positions, but these two still totally rocked it!

^REAL laughs, my favorite!

^I was going to put them back on the rocks, but Amber's shoes weren't having it. This was a fine compromise.

^So dang cute!

^You already saw the color version of this shot... totally my favorite!

^More laughs! Hehe.

^Trying to catch some of that dying light on top of the hill.

^LOVE!

^Thanks Nick and Amber! You totally made my evening!

Dustin + Caitlin: Engaged (Grand Rapids Wedding Photographer)

October 16, 2011

October is a beautiful time of the year, but the weather is ALL OVER THE PLACE. Case in point, yesterday I posted my engagement session, it was chilly, windy, and cloudy. Made for great lighting but brrrrrrr! The very next day, we had somewhat warmer temps, beautiful sunshine, and just a bit of wind here and there. Two days later, another engagement shoot... cloudy, no breeze at all. Don't you just love Michigan?

Anyway, I was very excited to see Dustin and Caitlin again. We met at the beginning of the month where the officially booked me for their wedding next August (the week before Brent and Kaitlyn). I already love Caitlin. She's very organized and detail oriented, on top of everything! Just like I would be planning my own wedding! Not to mention she picked her wedding date partially because I was free on it. Thank you, dear! I was so anxious to do their shoot at Thome Farms in Comstock Park, where my assistant photographer, Kristin, and her family are in the apple business. It's a gorgeous place and we found some amazing locations to shoot.

We did some fun Save the Date images first. Caitlin made the adorable signs on her CriCut machine. They were so cute! We made sure to get a few good ones including the apples we were surrounded by. She and Dustin then followed us around the orchard, finding some amazing spots amongst the apple trees, the corn field, and we even found some gorgeous leaves that hadn't been knocked out by the wind yet! All and all, a great shoot.

Next August is going to be a blast with all these awesome couples! I have three weddings right in a row, so I'll be busy. Thanks Dustin and Caitlin for coming back up north to do the shoot with me. I absolutely love these images, and you guys too. Your order will be on it's way shortly!

^Guess who I'll be with on August 11th next year!

^Thanks to Kristin, for putting this huge box where we needed it!

^Trees with leaves still! Yay!

^I was giddy to find some of this gorgeous color!

^Featuring Kristin's "Apple Love" apple!

^The breeze was cooperating!

^This shot reminds me of something, but I just can't figure out what! I love it, eithe way!

^Hanging out, smooching in the corn :-)

^So cute! Love you guys!