Brian & Molly: Wedding sneak peeks

^Congrats Brian & Molly!

I spent this past Saturday in beautiful Appleton, WI for Brian & Molly's wedding. These two cracked me up all day long. They were both all smiles from the time I said 'hi' until the time I had to leave. If Nicole wasn't about to give birth at any time, I definitely would have stayed off the clock to just chillax and hang out. Thank you Brian & Molly for finding us and letting us point our camera's at you. : )

Mad props again go out to the one and only Ingrid for 2nd shooting with me while Nicole is sidelined!

Now onto some sneaks... (catch the new watermark logo; and the new site is coming soon...)

^The First English Lutheran church was amazing! I loved the lighting and natural look

^You may ask how Molly gets her man to smile so naturally? The answer is....

^Grab his rear end!

Purpose - a nonsense-babbling blog post

1) What is your purpose in life?
2) Whose lives will you interact with and influence today?

3) Do the little nagging things really matter in the grand scheme of things?

^After a storm - Prairie Du Sac, WI: 2009

These are some of the questions that go thru my head most days. Being a husband, father, photographer, and an IT person with not much time for myself (aside from the 35 minute drive to work and and another 35 minute drive back home), I find these questions help get me thru the muck that gets tossed around. Let's face it, everyone has bad days and there are some people who like to share their bad days by tossing some your way. You have to be quick to avoid these traps, cause if you don't and get caught - then you can bring others with you (I'm totally thinking of that old 80's game Pit Fall while I write this : ). It isn't easy to stay on top and take a positive route, and it definitely wears you out if enough bad attitude is tossed your way. But the outcome if you succeed, is tremendous and uplifting - and that positiveness can also spread to others around you.

What is my purpose in life?

Honestly, I have no idea. It seems to change every so often. If I try to plan it out, then I lose focus on the magic that happens around me that I didn't expect to occur. If I had a plan, I probably wouldn't have met my wife, Nicole. So I try to live my life by enjoying the journey of life itself. I think my purpose is to learn, enjoy and teach all that I know - especially to my own kids.

^Memorial Day Celebration - Cottage Grove, WI: 2010

Whose lives do you interact with and influence today?

I feel like my life is more influenced more by others than me influencing them. I can tell you the number one person who inspires me to be a better person is Nicole. She has the biggest heart of anyone I have ever met. (Example: While dating we were at the grocery store in check out lane. There was a young teenager in front of us with a baby who wanted to buy some baby food and cereal, but was using food stamps. The cashier said if she used the food stamp, then the rest of the money on it would be forfeit. The young mom said to never mind as she couldn't afford to give up the extra funds. That is until Nicole stepped up and offered to pay for her groceries. This is just one tiny example of the good nature my wife has.)

^At Nicole's parents house - Merril, WI: 2008

My daughter is also a huge inspiration in my life. I believe almost everything I do these days is for her and her soon to be sister Ella. And I hope I influence some positivity in her as she grows into her own independant person.

I also try to influence anyone I photograph. 99% of people who get in front of the camera do not know what to do so they sit there stiff and not themselves. It is my job to break them out of it and have fun. This is actually the number one thing people tell Nicole and I, is that they actually had fun doing photos with us. And this makes me happy and is the reason I continue taking photographs of others. I love capturing who they are.

Do the little nagging things really matter in the grand scheme of things?

No. It can bug you, and if you get enough nagging, it can build and drive you nuts! I always try not to let it. I try to stay positive and let the little things slide off. Usually something happened to a person to make them grumpy. If you can think of that while they sling mud at you, then you know the attitude isn't directed at you personally. Try staying on the up and up, find the reasoning behind someone being grumpy and ask them about it. Typically it will help put them in a better mood cause then they have an outlet.

^Self-Family shot - State Capitol: 2009

Sorry for the long post. With the birth of our second child coming next week, I am feeling a lot of 'what is the meaning of life' and wanted to get some stuff out there. Not sure how many folks even read our posts or if this one even makes sense : ) If you are reading this, then go out and make it a great day!

^Fun with sparklers and slow shutter - Our Back Yard, 2009

Missy & Keith: Wedding Sneaks

^The peace symbol charm holds a special place in Missy's heart.

Greetings and welcome to a sneak preview of Missy & Keiths wedding day photos from this past Saturday at the Overture Center. I had an absolute blast with the two of them and their wedding party (But who couldn't have fun when they had such awesome nicknames as Fish, Double-Stack, and Fred. : )!

The gorgeous ceremony was held on the rooftop of the Museum of Art and was officiated by Keith's close friend Cory who recently came back from Iraq. We then traveled up a block to the capitol for some shenanigans before heading back for the reception at one of the Overture's beautiful halls.

This is also the first wedding where I didn't have my partner in crime with me as second/primary shooter. My wife, Nicole is due to give birth any day now. So even though she wanted to see Missy & Keith if only for an hour, I made her stay at home by super-glueing the door shut. In her place was the fabulous Ingrid Laas of Ingrid Laas Creative Services. Thanks Ingrid for helping fill in!

Now enough words, let's get down to the sneaks...

^Ingrid shot of Missy getting ready. I always love how focused the girls are on getting the dress on. : )

^On the rooftop of the Museum of Art- such a gorgeous venue!

^I got the lady's to start singing Sweet Caroline during our 'formals' - "ba ba baaaaa..."

^I loved the reception hall they were in! The best man - Nick - along with the rest of the wedding party turned his toast into a Family Fued game show on the fab couple... it was hil-ar-ious!

Aubrey is officially a Blowfish!

Our proud little girl finished her last swim lesson of the season last night. She started out as a a Little Snapper - where they try to ween the child off the parent to trust the instructor (dad got booted on day one) - and graduated ready to enter Blowfish, which is two levels up!

Aubs can now monkey crawl along the side of the pool unassisted, jump into the water on her own and can go underwater for several seconds! Mom and Dad are super-proud and best of all aubs is super-proud of herself!

We would like to thank Mike's dad for helping contribute to Aubrey's swimming adventure! We plan on getting her signed back up for spring lessons next year!

Way to go Aubs!
^Can you tell her swim lessons are at night by the tired look in her eye. Never stopped her from wanting to go though!

Kerri - a Birthday Bash

^Happy Birthday Kerri...s feet? (I joke, I kid. I just loved the ink on her feet)

Last Friday evening I was asked to photograph Kerri's birthday where there was a gathering of friends and good times. This birthday was special to Kerri as she lost an incredible amount of weight! Way to go Kerri! I am honored you chose me to capture all the laughter, love, shenanigans, and Rock Band action! : )

Now onto the sneaks...

^I stole Kerri & her husband right away for some couple shots outside while the rain let up.

^It' time to start getting real, the Real World with Kerri & her close friends.

^I could not resist getting a shot of Jason's shirt - Thundercats Hoooooo!

^We're getting the band back together!

^Kerri ripped the vocals during one set

^There had been severe storms most of the day, but it cleared up for Kerri & Jason to show a little sunset lovin!

Andy & Jeana - Wedding Sneak Peeks

^Say hello to Andy...

^and let me introduce you to Jeana.


Andy and Jeana hail from a tiny and unknown little place called Chicago. They came up to Madison to say their vows to each other amongst family and friends by the shore of Lake Monona. Everything about the day - from the bride to the hand made flowers - was exquisite!

On with the peeks of sneak:

^There wasn't a single flower at this wedding. Every single thing you see was hand made from paper by the bride and her sister! Every table setting, bouquet and boutonniere - gorgeous hand crafted paper. Jeana would like to thank Martha Stewart. : )

^The fabulous hairdo is brought to you by Millennium Hair Salon.

^Andy & Jeana met at the Plaza bar off of state street many moons ago. So it was only natural we return to the scene of first sight.

^The brother of the bride (right) was the officiant for their wedding. He did a super job seeing as how his day job is a full time rad photographer (enter plug to Yuppy Photo : )
^Ah, the golden hour on the shore of Lake Monona, Madison - East Side Club.

Brian & Kate - Wedding Sneak Peeks

^Arizona came to Wisconsin

Brian and Kate came from Arizona to get married at a small church in Middleton, Wisconsin. Everything about the day was intimate, fun, and loving! The church was beautiful and the reception had a real family feel to it.


^The day had started highly overcast, but after the ceremony we had gorgeous blue skies!

Brian & Kate - Engagement-Family Session

Welcome to a fun Engagement Session with family.

Brian and Kate live in Arizona and came all the way get married in Kate's home town of Middleton, WI. We met up at Pope Farm Park for their engagement-family session. It was a blast getting to know them and their three kids.

Because they lived in Arizona, we took these engagement shots the week of their wedding. I always encourage everyone to meet with their photographer before the big day,. That way it isn't just some stranger showing up with camera's strapped around their neck. Stop back later today or tomorrow to see their Wedding Sneak Peeks. : )

Project: Collecting Cars

An idea formed in my head as I photographed a family one day last year. They wanted to get a few shots with a collectible car the dad had been fixing up for a long time. You could tell how proud he was with the work he put into it. So I thought to myself, why not photograph a story of people and their cars?

This will be probably be one of those long-term projects when I'm not taking rad (80's term) pictures of awesome people. But it is something I do plan on doing and putting together an album or book which tells story of a car and its owner.

If you have a car that you have put a lot of love and work into, drop us an email to talk about a possible photo shoot. And be sure to tell me about the story behind the automobile.

^From the collectible car night at Quaker Steak & Lube, Middleton - 2010

Loved this custom grill, Middleton - 2010