Family/Children Portraits for Rocco - part 2

Here are a few more sneak peaks from the last couple Family/Children Sessions for the Benefit for Rocco where all money but $5 goes to the Meriter NICU. More shoots coming today, so look for further sneak peaks tomorrow!

Little August: Child Session

The Galle Family Session

Love this shot - so peaceful...

Family/Children Portraits for Rocco - part 1

It is going to be a busy and super-fun week filled with reduced priced Family and Children portraits, where all but $5 will be going to the Meriter NICU in memory of Rocco! We would like to thank all the folks who have signed up for this great cause and hope you love the photographs we capture for you.

Even though we have about 1-3 family or children sessions every day this week, there are still spots open. I will shoot all day and night if needed : ) So please email us or give us a call if you would like to have your family or your child photographed with money going to the Meriter NICU. See the web site and click 'Benefit for Rocco' for further details.

We have already started out the week with a few family sessions which have been exciting & fabulous. I've been shooting at local parks, family houses, and a winery! As I mention at each shoot, I will try to do a quick edit of one photo to post on the blog and on Facebook within a day or two. So here are a quick couple edits from the first couple families I have shot this week - again THANK YOU to everyone who contributes!

The Galle Family

Little Cooper & Family

Milwaukee Zoo and Before & After Tuesday

Our family visited the Milwaukee Zoo on Sunday. It concluded a weekend filled with nonstop events (concerts, cow chips, e-sessions, etc). We had taken aubrey to the Milwaukee Zoo last year, but she was only about 6 months old at the time. This time around, she had a ton more fun - shouting 'Hi' to almost every animal and person we saw! We also were able to ride the train this time, and she thought it was the coolest thing ever...

First thing we saw - hippo butts. And oddly enough, it is one of my favorite shots.

And now for this Tuesday's Before & After: Hippo Butts

Here is the straight out of camera shot... Notice the artistic angle of how I captured these two ginormous sleeping beauties. : )

I skipped Lightroom all together for this one and brought the shot up in Photoshop. I helped even out the strong contrast of the shadow plaguing the left side of the image by boosting the brightness of it. Next I adjusted the tones and colors to get a faded type of look. Next was adding a bit of texture to make the image pop a bit more and then slightly blurred the top and bottom. Finally I finished it off with a little bit of selective burning and then sharpening for the web. The final product is a dramatic photo which I would be glad to hang on the bedroom wall (seriously, I probably will! : )

Cow Poo throw - no really...

Every year on Labor Day weekend, the town we live in has a festival centered around seeing who can toss cow poo the furthest - the Cow Chip Festival. This year was kinda fun because of the Styx concert (see 2 posts down) and also knowing the Travel Channel was here filming for an upcoming new show which will air in October. No, seriously, I am not making it up - check the photos for yourself! : )

The contest is to see who can throw the chip the furthest.

You can tell this one got some velocity with the trail its leaving behind in the wind.

I myself have never handled the chip, so I am not sure if it is dry and crusty, or slightly not so much. And how do they form it into a disc?

Zac & Kristin: E-Session - Sneak Peak

Nicole and I were treated to a special UW-Madison campus tour this morning. Zac & Kristin are UW Alumni who are finishing up schooling at Northwestern (don't worry, they still cheer UW!). We walked all across campus taking photographs for their engagement session. It was a real pleasure to work with these two radical science majors, who showed a natural presence in front of the camera. Your wedding next year is going to be epic!

By a tree, with the golden 7am light shining on Bascom Hill.
This tree is attached to land, but just barely as most of it resides in Lake Mendota. Awesome find Zac!The Jump Shot! Turned out real nice!

Domo Arigato Mr. Roboto

As mentioned, Dennis DeYoung - the original singer/pianist from Styx was giving a free concert in the park across the street from our house last night. Of course we had to walk over and take a look!

Ladies & Gentlemen, Mr. Roboto himself - Dennis DeYoung

I loved that the moon was shining overhead adding to the dramatic scenery.
The guitarist was an original member of Styx also.
And this is the view from our living room. The dark blob curled up on the couch is one of our dogs.

Concerts & Pirates

Did you ever see the movie 'What's eating Gilbert Grape' with Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio? There was that sequence where their small town was all abuzz because they were getting a Burger Barn... Well our small town of Sauk-Prairie - which is a hop, skip, and jump north of Madison - is all abuzz because Dennis DeYoung is putting on a free Styx Concert thanks to the folks at Culvers Butter Burgers. There is talk amongst the town that there will be about 40,000 people who might show up.

I am blogging this because this concert is going on at the park, kitty corner from our house. So we don't think we are going to get much sleep this evening and we fully expect to find some people potentially passed out in our yard tomorrow morning when we wake up for an early E-Session. Should be fun!

For those who always wondered - yes, we do actually live on 5th Street. : )

Setting up the stage for the big concert.

On another topic, Halloween is pretty big in our house - especially ever since Aubrey came along and we get to dress her up in fun costumes! Last year I was the big bad wolf, Nicole was Little Bo Peep, and Aubrey was the Little Sheep. This year, we are going Pirates! Nicole and I already purchased our costumes and had to order Aubrey's. Well hers came in the mail today and we had to have her try it on. Unfortunately it fit just right, which means she will outgrow in when Halloween comes. So we ordered a slightly different and more elaborate one and in a larger size. Bonus for us because we get to see Aubs in two different costumes this year!

Lastly, I had to post this shot of Aubs in her TV watching mode. gotta love the blanket & Elmo slippers!

Josh, Missy, Riley: Family Session part 2 - with Camo

This was part 2 of a Family Session we had with Josh, Missy and Riley. In the first session we took shots of them in downtown Madison which gave an urban-y feel. They loved those shots and wanted more so they could include their 1 yr old puppy Camo. Of course we said yes and suggested a more rural-nature type backdrop. So we headed up to Poynette where they live and took a walk with their dog.

Lesson learned: When asking family with dog to walk towards me, get out of dogs way. : )

Riley's grandpa was also visiting, so we got a shot of the three generations of guys.

Sophie & Parents: Family Session

I had the privilege of photographing Sophia and her parents when they visited Madison from MN about a month ago. This little angel was absolutely wonderful to be around. I actually met Mark, Katie and Sophia at Michael & Lynn's wedding which we photographed earlier this year. But enough chit-chat, onto some photos (more can be found on our 5th Street Photography facebook page)!

Close up of Sophia. I was taking shots of her crawling, and she had no qualms about crawling over me! : )

Favorite shot of mine from the session.

OK, this could be the favorite shot of mine... so hard to choose!

Candid shot of Sophia getting a ride to the next spot. Check out that golden flare!

Extended Cuts: Behind the Scenes

Nicole and I are highly trained photo-ninja's; it is rare when you might see us in the others shot. However there are times when we do take shots of the other while on the job. Here are some samples of recent photo-ninja sightings:

Nicole admiring a motorcycle during one of our date nights at the Harley-Davidson Freedom Ride. Yes, our dates typically include us going around taking pictures : )

Nicole likes to give me a goofball face when she knows I'm taking a shot of her.

Here is Mike demonstrating the proper way to do leg lifts to generate smiles.

Nicole took a candid - of Mike taking a candid - of the bride fixing groomsmen ties.