Pumpkin Patch time!

It is that time of year again where we go to a local farm and take a horse (or mule) drawn hay ride to the pumpkin patch to pick out our pumpkins. Couple interesting things happened this year -

First:
I am trying to get back into working out, in one of my first attempts to start jogging again, I didn't stretch enough and pulled some back muscle that causes me to walk like the hunchback of norte dame. So when we went looking for pumpkins in the patch, I requested we find small pumpkins and just get the big ones up in the front by the car.

Second:
For those who follow and don't know, we live in Wisconsin. A good way of knowing you live in Wisconsin is that you can have the air conditioning on one day and the heat on the next. This year it was 82 degrees outside while we did our pumpkin patch. I believe this is a first as almost every other year it is almost about to snow or has snowed.

This was Aubs third year of doing the pumpkin patch and the first for Ella - who like Aubs did on her first time was asleep the entire time. I didn't get a chance to shoot all that I wanted due to my back being a bummer, but I did manage a couple shots which should hopefully satisfy those family members who watch the bLog and refuse to get on Facebook (wink : )....

An Update: on Everything

The following post is just a general update on where we are at in life...

Family:
Ella is doing awesome! She keeps growing and gaining weight every week. And her smiles are the best. Last night I got the biggest smile from Ella as I leaned over her bassinet. For me, that was the first true smile I have received from her where she didn't follow it up with going to the bathroom (which is typical of most newborns). I actually teared up a little I was so overjoyed at that moment which I will remember for a very long time.

Aubrey is a potty machine! We began the potty chart method where she gets a sticker every time she uses the potty. If she has a sticker for every day this month, she gets to go back to swimming lessons - which she is WAY-SUPER-EXCITED for!

Nicole - What can I say about my beautiful wife who inspires me in more ways than she will ever know? Since giving birth to Ella about a month ago, she has dropped over 32 lbs by just changing her eating habits. She has inspired me to stop drinking soda and start eating smaller portions. She is also very much promoting and responding to any emails to photography. Nicole is definitely the heart and soul of our business as well as the best mother and wife anyone could ever ask for!

Mike - Been really super-busy with editing photos. My typical day is working the 9-5pm job and then coming home to spend a little time with the family before heading into the murky basement sprinkling magic upon photos until roughly 1am! I love doing photography, and this has been our busiest year to date. My hope is to take a break here soon and take my family on a small get-away. They deserve it!

5th Street Photography - As I mentioned, this has been our busiest year to date. We are very thankful that so many people enjoy our work and ask us to capture their favorite moments in life. This is the main reason I got into photography - to capture those moments in life. Images are just so powerful in telling a story or looking back at how little your kids used to be. We have some new stuff coming on the horizon. Our logo is in place, new business cards have been ordered, we will again be in the Wedding Planner & Guide next year, and the web site will get published after some of my time free's up. Exciting things are in store. Thank you everyone for your support!

And remember, we are totally open to those destination weddings to Paris, Italy, Australia, .... : )
^Every post needs a pic - Shot by Ingrid who helped second shoot Andy & Jeana's wedding.

Infant Session - Gianna

^Born to be a model.

Baby Gianna was able to reach way deep down to find her inner model for our shoot this past weekend. I think she might have let out a small cry only once when we attempted to place her on a cold dish. Other than that, she was all about mom and dad, and the camera!

Nicole and I know Gianna's parents since we started watching her cousin a couple years ago in our child care. We also helped them out by putting on the Benefit for Rocco event last year. So we were honored they asked us to take some newborn photos of their precious Gianna!

Congrats Angie & Rocco, she is gorgeous!.... Now onto some sneak peeks ->

^tHe bLing!

Tip #342 - It's your day, pamper yourself!

To all the brides and even the grooms -

It is your big day! You are allowed to a little pampering and letting people take care of you. You will actually find people will freely ask if you need anything all during the day. Take them up on their offer. Chances are they have less going through their head than you will on this day. Which is just another reason to pamper yourself and let others take care of you.

^Lachele being attended to before entering the reception for the first time. - Ladies Room, Masonic Center - Madison, WI

Richard & Lachele - Wedding Sneak Peeks

^Magic Jazz Hands! (the added flare was a special request, will have to edit it out of the final cut)

Here is a recipe for a great wedding: Family, Love, Singing and Personal Contributions. Richard & Lachele nailed it with what I think is one of the best weddings I have ever been a part of! It was Magically Awesome and full of Heart!

Richard and Lachele pulled on my heartstrings during the ceremony with thankful words to each of their families for bringing them to this point in life. Being a father to two beautiful girls myself, I almost lost it when Lachele's dad played a tune on the guitar during the ceremony. Love was definately in the air on this day!

The reception was also magical with more singing! Instead of clanking on glass to get the bride and groom to kiss, people had to sing a song about love or share some words on the mic. Typically this will deter most people from getting the spotlight shined on them. But not this bunch! Group acapella's popped up from almost every table! It was spectacular!

I want to throw a shout out to the fab Ingrid of Ingrid Laas Creative Services for helping out on this one! Nicole wasn't able to make it due to little Ella and Aubs being pretty sick. Nicole was so bummed as she was looking forward to seeing Richard & Lachele again! They are great friends who we hope to keep in touch with as time passes. And who knows, maybe Lachele's brother who is getting married next year might hire a couple awesome photographers for their wedding (wink, wink : ) Seriously give us a Jingle, you won't regret it!

Enough chitter chatter, onto some pictures!

^I love Frank Lloyd Wright buildings! This church perfectly embodied the spirit of the day. -First Unitarian Society - Madison, WI

^Lachele is a true Wisconsin girl! We were by the lake, it was in the 50's with a good wind.

^Sneaking behind Abe for some 1:1 time...

^Saturday afternoon + capital = weddings on each side! Shout out to Pierre for warming up our spot before we got there. : )

^Lachele's train was a good 6 feet in length, so once that wind from the lake caught it, it took off!

^A candid moment caught during the reception.

^All I gots to say is Wow! Thriller came on and there ended up being a dance off between Lachele's brother (right) and the little guy on the left. Both had some sweet dance moves that would make Napoleo Dynamite jealous!

(Pssst... I may be doing a few other sneak peeks later this week, so check back soon. : )

Steve & Kristina: Engagement Session

^When a Lion loves a Zebra... the proposal.

Nicole and I couldn't be more excited for Steve and Kristina's wedding next year! We met these two lovebirds at the Bishops Bay Country Club in Middleton for their engagement session - the same place they will be having their reception in 2011. Kristina is a personal trainer and Steve coaches football in IL. You may notice a Lion and Zebra in some of their shots - That is because Steve is known as the lion and they are going to be having some zebra prints with some awesome colors for their wedding. It will definitely remind me of Disneyworld!

Here are some sneaks from this past weekends shoot... enjoy!

Double Family session: Thao & Xiong

Double Whammy!

This past weekend I had the privilege of shooting not just one family, but two! Both families were a blast! We spent the early afternoon walking around Devil's Lake State Park finding just the right spots.

The Thao family drove down from Wausau, WI. Chao actually works with Nicole's mom which is how they discovered us.

The Xiong family came from Milwaukee, WI. The young man is in 6th grade middle school and was a huge help in being my temporary lighting assistant. Thank you everyone, I had fun!

Work and Play

^We are lurking out there in the shadows... Nicole during this weekend engagement shoot.

If you know us or at least follow us on Facebook or the Blog, then you are aware we have been low-key for the month of September due to the recent addition to our family. I say low-key because we are still hard at work behind the scenes - plugging away at changes for the upcoming web site and also trying to play catch up on all the wonderful weddings we were a part of earlier this summer.

But you will start to notice some new work coming out soon. This past weekend was a whirlwind of family sessions and an engagement session (sneak peeks coming later this week). You will also get to see some of our play time shots of Aubrey and Ella. Gotta keep the grandparents happy : )

^Self-portrait at a family session showing how to give a proper goofy face.

^Aubs rocking the pig tails as we met with clients to talk about their big day next week!

^Car seats = sleep time. Too bad they don't make an adult version.

No Sleep Till....

^Welcome to life at home in front of the camera Ella.

If you check the blog out on a weekly basis, you may have realized we haven't been updating it as much as usual. That is because our newest addition to the family - Ella - is still thinking night time is wakey wake time. So even though we are physically awake more hours of the day, our brains are not.

But the tide is starting to turn. Ella is starting to sleep a good 3 - 4 hours at a time which means we are feeling more refreshed! So what have we been doing other than spending some family time together? Mostly editing photos and working on getting the new site coded out (yes I program web sites in what little spare time I have : ). So stay tune for changes that are a coming. We start back up with engagement sessions, family sessions, and a few more weddings starting in October.

In the meantime, please enjoy what we do with our daughters dressed in tutu's, a sombrero, and our living room ottoman in the backyard...

^I think aubs eye's are even more blue than dads.

Welcome and Happy Birthday Ella!

^The newest member of our 5th Street Photography family - Ella!

Weighing in at 6lbs 13oz and at a length of 19 1/2 inches, Ella is born! It is so hard to believe it is actually here. But sure enough when we heard the first little cry of her entering the new world, mom and dad had teary eye's of joy as the doctor started to sing happy birthday. We are so incredibly happy and thankful to be so blessed with another healthy baby girl.

As I am still a bit sleepy, I will keep the rest of the wordy portion of the blog short. So onto the first pics. Ladies & Gentlemen, Nicole, Mike & Aubrey would like to introduce you to Ella!

^First family photo took place only minutes from Ella being born.

^First there is footprints, next is the mug shots : )

^6lbs 13oz, 19 1/2 inches long

^Dad and sister checking out baby Ella

^Grandma giving Ella some lovin

^Grand-'poppi' even turned his hat around, a rarity.

^Grandpa Dave getting a turn to say hi.

^yes, there will be much sleep for the first 24 hours, then cat naps.

^Aubrey showing everyone how to take pictures. Can you tell she is our daughter? : )

^And if photography doesn't work for Aubs, then it looks like she would like a career as a doctor.

Thank you everyone for the well wishes!

Love,

Mike, Nicole, Aubrey & Ella