The seasons are changing, so it’s time for something new :) I’m partnering with Robertson Orchards to offer fall-themed mini family photography sessions on October 6th and 8th! Sessions will be 20 minutes long between 4-6 PM, cost $199, and include a full set of digital copies and print releases to use your images how you please.
Read MoreIt was surreal having the whole deck to myself. Apart from the crew and a family who never left their car, I was only person on the ferry. Traditional ferry etiquette is to find a seat, gaze at the passing Plum Island, and maybe engage in brief smalltalk with a nearby retired couple. Instead, I circled the deck at least three times and explored in a way that I normally wouldn’t have for fear of social judgement.
Read MoreAt the end of the day, you don’t drive up from Chicago, fly in from Kansas, or travel from Europe for a photograph of your family “existing together”. Instead, it’s the moments like tossing a football with your cousins, competing to see who’s truly the best “Uncle John,” or watching your grandkids play with rubber lizards in the bed of your truck that make the journey worth it.
Read MoreEvery year, three sisters (who are now grandmothers themselves) spend a week at the Bayview Resort with their families. That’s incredible! I don’t know about you, but I can’t imagine coordinating my schedule with 31 other people for an entire week. It’s also amazing how close a family this size is. I know that my grandparents have brothers and sisters, but I don’t think I’ve ever met them (and certainly not their children or their children’s children).
Read More“Oh, Kevin, it’s not your turn now. You can be in the next one.” Poor Kevin, he just wanted more moments in the spotlight :)
Read MoreThis four-generation family session is proof that you don’t need a holiday to celebrate the special women in your life. These ladies have navigated life’s ups, downs, bumps, and bends together, and their bonds have only strengthened through the years. Do you have special women in your life? Here’s your reminder to let them know how much they mean to you :)
Read MoreI had the pleasure of photographing John and Diane’s 50th wedding anniversary, and there are three statistics I’d like to share with you!
Read MoreChristy and Cindy looked at each other in thought, but Jessica blurted out, “AN EYE OF NEWT!” We all started laughing at her conviction, but she wasn’t done yet “AND A SLIMY TOAD!”
Read MoreMy mouth dropped when I pulled up to Harbor View Park. It was Friday morning, and the city was setting up for their Farmers’ Market. The problem? We were scheduled for a large family photography session there in ten minutes. Oops.
Read MoreWhat made the day even more special was that it was the first time Wally met his newest great grandson; it was love at first sight, and Wally had him on his lap with every opportunity.
Read MoreBut what do you do to get a genuine reaction from five adults, three dogs, and a baby for a picture? Well, I’ll let you use your imagination :)
Read MoreWe stopped at Malibu Moo’s for the last 5 minutes of our session. I wasn’t expecting the kids to get ice cream all over their faces (and eventually clothes and legs). We embraced the change, and now we’ll remember a fleeting moment of innocence for the rest of our lives.
Read MoreYou might not know that Lawrence University has a small campus in Door County called Björklunden, and in addition to university affairs it’s also home to a variety of concerts, plays (including Door Shakespeare), weddings at Boynton Chapel, and hiking trails. With a Lawrence graduate in attendance, Björklunden was the perfect spot for a family photography session celebrating Pam (the matriarch of the family)’s 60th birthday, a couple of engagements, and an absence of two front teeth.
Read MoreI photograph families of all different sizes, and with 29 people the DeVries family session was twice the size of my second largest of the year so far. 29 is a lot of people, but it’s understandable when you have FIVE generations in a single photograph! That’s incredible!
Read MoreWe start every extended family session with full-group shots, and I could tell that one of the small girls didn’t fully understand what was going on. As you can imagine, the idea of a photoshoot is really confusing if you’ve never been part of one before! I crouched down and ask what her favorite funny words was. She was a little shy, but her dad said “coyote.”
“Coyote,” I said, “that’s pretty funny! When I count to three, I want you to say ‘coyote,’ ok? One, two, three!”
“COYOTE,” she said, and she did great every photograph after that :)
Read MoreMarti and Morry celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this year, and they called me and scheduled a photography session for themselves and their family. One of my favorite moments from the morning was when the kids came up to me (they were very photogenic) and said “We want to jump!”
Read MoreWith six kids and three dogs, we had a lot of energy in our session and focused more on the in-between moments than traditional portraits. Each family takes photographs a little differently, and it’s important to tailor sessions accordingly. We started by the Heritage Village’s historic buildings for large group shots, walked to my favorite foot bridge, stopped in the fields, found a nice spot along the trail, and finished in the tall cedars by the parking lot. With all that covered ground, I was pretty tired by the end!
Read MoreTo make the day special, Gary and Marsha rented a house in Fish Creek for their entire family to stay the week. Everyone had such sparkling personalities, and they welcomed me with open arms. I learned which of Gary and Marsha’s three boys was the biggest trouble maker growing up, their grandchildren’s favorite ice cream (chocolate and cotton candy), and narrowly escaped a $20 bet that the kids couldn’t wrestle their uncle to the ground in five seconds (I’d never been so relieved to count to six).
Read MoreBeth scheduled a photography session for her mother’s 80th birthday, but she and her family got so much more than just a group photograph. After getting a few awesome pictures of everyone together, we split into smaller groups and got a TON of work done in an hour. In addition to the large group photograph, we captured grandma with all her grandchildren, each individual family, a mini engagement session, a champagne pop, and candids of everyone having a great time!
Read MoreFamilies gather in Door County from many places and for many reasons. For Judy and Paul, their entire family flew from as far north at Canada and as far west as California to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. They spent the weekend together at a house rental on Kangaroo Lake and were blessed with fantastic weather for early May. After editing their photographs today, I enjoyed the evening napping on the porch with my wife and cat. Congratulations to Judy and Paul for the love you’ve shared for 50 years, and I’m excited to do the same :)
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