Heather & Josh - Engagement Session

^Josh & Heather have 'it'.

You can tell when two people are deeply in love and made for each other. Josh and Heather are one of these couples. Both played off each other so well that I hardly gave any direction on how to pose for the entire session. It is times like this that really make my job the best in the world, when I can capture real moments between people. Thank you both for having me out and showing the love. Can't wait for the big day!

Big props also goes out to the bed and breakfast they stayed at in downtown Madison. Mansion Hill Inn was a smorgasbord for photo-magic! Plus they had chocolate covered raisins! It is my weakness.

^It's all in the hair : )

^I must be a hypnotist as when I asked Heather to crawl into the small window on the floor of the room, she did just that!

^I do believe if the light hits it right, you can see it from space.

^How cool are Heather & Josh? They can go from this ^... to the next photo in a blink of an eye.

^This shot makes me think of Paris.

^At the end of the session, they brought in Devon and their dog Mavrick.

And I have to give mad props to Devon for snapping off this behind the scenes shot of yours truly...

I need a home, can I join yours?

Hi! My name is Hope!

Let me tell you a little about my story... I'm about 15 weeks old black lab mix that hails from a farm on Illinois. The farmer did not want me or my brothers or sisters and was threatening to 'rid' of us if someone did not come and get us. Just our luck, TLC (The Labrador Connection) came to our rescue. We were all picked up and taken to foster home to foster home being separated as we went. We now all have foster homes but are now in search of our forever homes.

About me:

I'm seriously the sweetest puppy ever! If you've ever met a lab puppy, you know how crazy we can normally can be... but not me! I'm the most mellowest lab puppy on the planet. I get along really well with my foster dog family. They have 2 black labs that I love to play with. They also have 3 cats :O) I've just recently discovered one of them and I do like to playfully chase that one. I'm really awesome at fetch too!! We are working on house-training. I'm getting pretty good at using the potty outside! I will be spayed very soon and I'm already dewormed. Please consider giving me a chance of a life time to be your best friend and an addition to your already wonderful family <3

If you would like to know more about me, feel free to contact my foster mommy & daddy: photography@5th-street.net. Or if you would like to find out how to adopt me, please contact my rescuers:

http://www.labradorconnection.org/

Please don't buy a puppy from a store, rescue a puppy instead! There are also plenty of adult doggies available if a puppy isn't your cup 'o tea! Happy holidays....

Nicole

Holiday cookie time!

^Mmmmm coookies!

It is that time of the year again where the holiday's come around and we begin our adventures with extended family. This past weekend we headed over to Nicole's side of the family to put our sugary creativity to the test by making Holiday Cookies. Aubrey had a blast as there were kids her age there, and I had a blast as Ella fell asleep on me for the first time ever!

Only 3 more days till Christmas... Which means many more family get togethers yet to come!

^Ella and her Great-Grandma

^4 generations of girls!

^The holiday's tend to make Nicole a bit wacko!

^Aubs got a cool apron and snowman cup.

^One of aubrey's favorite things to do is color and draw, she takes after Mom & Dad.

^licking the frosting... Can you say sugur rush?

^The good = ella fell asleep on me for the first time ever. The bad = she slept for 3 hours!

Deal of the Year!

Editing is almost over

My editing is almost over! One of the things which makes us stand out from the rest is we still provide a disc of all the images to everyone we shoot. Each one of those photos are edited for contrast, tones, lighting, and blemishes. I only have a couple more sessions left to complete and then it will be a short holiday for Nicole, Aubs, Els and I.

This also means I'll have a little more free time to start posting some fun blogs I have been meaning to get to. Such as: Cooking brats in winter, our family xmas photos, behind the scenes from 2010, photos by a 2yr old, and what is on the table for 2011. So check back soon...

In the meantime, every post needs pics...
^See how I cradle the camera? I learned to do that after that very lens dropped to the ground during a 2010 Engagement shoot in Chicago. That is a moment when time seems to slow down as you watch it fall thru the air to the pavement, but yet still can't move fast enough to save it.

^Nicole missed some weddings this year due to the birth of our second daughter. We had great backup photographers who I worked with, but I was glad to finish the last wedding of the season with my partner in crime. Love ya cole!

Looking back through the images captured this year, when I thought "these need to be shared again!"

2010 has been an AMAZING year that I can't wait to see what 2011 has in store for us too :O

We would like to thank all of our AWESOME clients who help us live our dream! Without you, none of this would be possible. We love hearing your feedback which gives us more and more reasons to keep pursuing what we love!

I've only posted a few on our blog, but a bunch on our Facebook Fan Page

Now grab some popcorn, sit back, and enjoy some pretty pictures :O)

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree...

It is that time of year again where we go out and bring a little piece of nature inside our home and shoot eletricity through it with glistening ornaments. This year, instead of cutting our own tree down, we decided to just pick a pre-cut one as it was a bit cold for our 3month old. Aubs had a great time decorating it with mom & dad. However she was a little sad to not see Alvin, Simon or Theadore living in it like in their first movie.

^Used the point'n'shoot for this one. Aubrey on her tippy toes makes me : )

Kloee - Child session sneak peeks

^Everyone, meet Kloee. Kloee, meet everyone.

We have actually known Kloee since she was a itty bitty tiny tot. As most of you know, Nicole does child care during the 'work week'; Kloee used to come and play with her cousin (Vito who we also watch) and Aubrey. So it was a no-brainer when Sindee & Jason called asking if we could take some Kloee winter photographs!

Enjoy the sneak peeks ->

^Dad's black sweatshirt made a perfect backdrop for this candid close-up!

Vest Family: sneak peeks

^Wisconsin welcomes the Vest Family from Kansas City!

Meet the Vest family who hail from Kansas City. Last week Holly called asking if I had any openings the Friday after Thanksgiving for some extended family shots. Typically I keep my calendar clear around the holidays, but it is so hard to turn down people who have family visiting from a distance! So I hoped in my car and headed over the river and through the woods to the Vest Family household.

Thank you for having me over guys. Your family was wonderfully warm and inviting to me and I loved that everyone was completely into having their photo taken! Enjoy some of the sneak peeks...

^All the grandkids...

^Welcome to Wisconsin!

^Mom and daughter are so adorable together!

^visiting from Kansas City

^Cousins!

^First thing Sophia asked me when I came in the door - "Wanna see my playroom?" Smiles! : )

I'd love to say a big THANKS to Miss Maria of Miss Maria's preschool (their facebook page here) for referring the Vest family to us! We do so very little advertising only because we have such great friends and clients who keep talking about us!