Gracie & Co.

I had the pleasure of spending some time at the playground with Gracie and her little brother. My goal was to get them to sit still long enough for a good shot. Gracie was willing to ham it up, but her brother wanted little to do with the camera. Luckily, the playground made them forget I was even there...



This is one of my favorites.



And check out this static.

The Windy City

I visited Chicago last weekend "just to get away from it all" (because it's soooo far away...). The weather was beautiful, which makes me wonder why the fog never lifted.


I thought this structure was interesting.



Teresa, Kristen, Sam and I walked through a park and a lily garden, where wedding and senior pics were being snapped all around us. It didn't take us long to get in on the action...

Camp Minchi '09

It's true. I go to summer camp every year. It involves s'mores, beer and gossip.

It's essentially girl scout camp on steroids.

See, my college friends are split between Chicago and Minneapolis. Mapquest helped us bridge this impossible distance by identifying the exact halfway point between the two cities--the tiny town of Lyndon Station, WI. Luckily, this midway is near the disneyworld of the midwest--where state parks and water parks abound--Wisconsin Dells.



Our annual camping trip included hail, 45 degree nights, and an unbelievable amount of s'mores. Seriously.


We posed for photos,


and looked longingly at nature,


and hiked...


...to an abandoned cabin (scary).

The Sextons

Had the chance to take photos of The Sextons. They just produced a new CD, and it's awesome. Find their music here.

MN State Fair '09

The fair is the most awesome, disgusting and crowded place that you absolutely MUST visit every year. It's ridiculous.


Did I mention crowded?


Luckily, the food is amazing. I'll give a call-out to Harry Singh's Caribbean sandwiches (Rotis). Amazing.


Some people pretend to go for the animals.





But let's face it--it's mainly about people watching.

Does Jake not look like a Vin Diesel movie right here?

And that woman has more back cleavage than I could ever fake.


The view at night from the Sky Rail was pretty stellar.

Ann & Jim

Ann & Jim* got engaged in March, but I don't think an engagement is official until there are photos to prove it. So, congrats, guys. You're officially official. Anyway, they trusted me with this critical photo-taking task--the first engagement shots I've done.
*I tried to give them a celeb name, but had no luck. It just doesn't work with one syllable names. "Jin"? "Aim"?






We took some classic close-ups.




I was inspired by Karissa's photography work on this photo. I thought they gave a nice display of attitude.


This is a couple that is very into each other...



And they couldn't stop laughing. It started when I asked them to do this awkward pose, which absolutely did not work out...



...and kept up until they were done frolicking in the fountain. (They were great sports and jumped in the fountain despite its freezing water.)

Jim's dog, Jax, made an appearance in some shots. As you can imagine, he had little interest in sitting still or saying cheese...


I wish them many more smiles, kisses and laughs in their future.