While I was photographing a horse fair I had the opportunity to attend "Cowboy Church".  This is a photo of Crystal Lyons who did the service.  It was very inspiring, if any of you ever have a chance to attend her service you should definitely do it.

I went downtown Chicago to photograph a light show that I read about at Millenium Park.  Unfortunately I didn't pay enough attention to the date on the article.  The month and day were right but the light show was in Jan 2012.  Luckily the Pritzker Pavillion had it's own light show going on.  Things don't always work out the way that you envision them.

The fall was almost over and I noticed this tree in the backyard.  I asked if it would be okay to hang the dress there for some photos and the bride thought it would be a great idea.  Just as I was shooting the dress a couple of birds flew over and added that final touch.

 

Another photo from the wedding in Galena.  I love the backlighting.

Beautiful bride in Galena Il. 

Lake Galena

This is an overlook at Lake Galena in Northwestern Illinois.  I hiked out there early one morning and again in the evening on the next day.  The sun was in a perfect spot and I found these roots be accident. 
This photo was taken with an 8mm lens, that is why there is vignetting on the edges.  I love the vignetting.  It reminds me of the grungy borders applied in photoshop.

 

This was taken in Galena Il.  The wedding was at Eagle Ridge Resort and Spa.  We went into town to do the wedding photos and had a great time doing it.  Did these photos and then went to a park for more.

Just Chillin

I had some very nice window light coming in from the right.  Unfortunately, my bride was facing left.  I added a quantum light with an umbrella on the left.  The result, nice light in the bride's eyes.

 

Another beautiful bride.  It was extremely hot this day and this was the last photo of the session.  I usually like very dramatic lighting but I love the airy feeling of this photo.

Storms over Chicago

We wanted to do some photos in Chicago but there was a big music festival going on and we couldn't use millenium park as planned.  So, we headed down to the planetarium where you can shoot overlooking the lake and the city.  When we were about a half hour away, the weather forecast came on and it was so bad that they actually evacuated the music festival.  As you can see, we did not get much time to shoot before the storm moved in. 

We managed to shoot for about 15 minutes before we had to run. 

I used a quantum light with a shoot through umbrella to make this shot.

Pictured Rocks

Just got back from Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on  the edge of Lake Superior.  We tried to rent a pontoon boat to go to the rocky cliffs but the lake was to rough and they would not let us go.  We went out to shoot some sunsets and came across this great beach.  Hope you enjoy the shot.

We were in South Dakota and we pulled in to a rest area. There was a sign there that said "beware of Bison. They can be dangerous". Of course we were sure that it was a "deer crossing" sign and we would not see anything. There stood this buffalo. We got some nice photos.  You always have to be ready.

What a surprise.  We were headed to chicago for a photoshoot and the bride surprised everyone by getting access to soldiers field.  We got so many good shots there that it was hard to choose what to put on the blog.  This is one of my favorites.

This is just outside of Phoenix Arizona.  It was an extremely hot day as most summer days there are.  I love the juxtaposition of the sun and the hills

Engagement session at Council Hill Station in Council Hill Illinois.  Had a lot of fun shooting this and the couple was very cooperative.  I added a some touches in photoshop to come up with the above image. 

Stargate

I love photomanipulation and this is one of our first attempts.  I really like the way it came out.  It is made up of multiple layers and brushes.  I love the feeling it evokes. 

Hotel Julien Wedding

We were recently lucky to be chosen to photograph the wedding of Sara Oyen and Matthew Fink.  They were married at the Dubuque arboretum and the reception followed at the Hotel Julien in Dubuque Iowa.  This is a gorgeous old hotel that has recently been remodeled.  The architecture affords many opportunities for photography and we could have gone on for hours unfortunately we only had a small amount of time. 

I use a small video light to add light on the faces of the bride and groom. 

The uplighting was provided by Riniker Rhythm and Memory Shots.  They were very nice and easy to work with.  We had a lot of fun at this wedding.

Come fly with me

We were down at the Planetarium in Chicago doing some lakefront shots and the city was living up to it's name of the Windy City.  We were wanting to do something fun and the bride and groom started pretending like they were flying away.  It was great!!!  I tweaked the sky a little in photoshop but other than that it is untouched.

In memory of all of those that have given for our freedom.  Take a moment to remember.

This wedding was at a golf club and we were just finishing the bridal portraits when this idea came to me.  I had the bride lay back on here gown and I zoomed my flash in to make a small circle of light.  This is a very cool effect and every photographer should learn how to do it.  I then shot it at a fast shutter speed to get the darkening at the bottom.  I could easily take the blue out of the bottom but I like this effect.

This is another photo from the engagement session with this couple.  They wanted to do a shoot in the snow and of course it didn't want to snow this year.  Finally we got some and it was time to shoot.  It was a pretty warm day so we were able to take our coats off and relax a while.  This couple was great to work with.  You could feel that they were really in love with each other and excited about getting married.   

Shot our first wedding of the season.  The couple got married at Oak Hill Weddings.  This is a beautiful location for a wedding.  We got a new lens before this wedding and love the results.  A little antiquing and this is the result.
Canon 1dmarkiii sigma 8-16 lens

I love the feeling of this photo.  The softness gives it a romantic feel and the bride appears to be deep in thought about something.  I did some photoshop work on this to make it pop.

I love to do still life photos that require some thought.  This was made with a piece of posterboard torn to

simulate a mountain range.  Another posterboard was used for a background with small holes torn in it for

stars.  A blue gel was used behind the "mountains" and the egg was lit with an overhead light.  I wanted to

do a little more with this but never had the chance.  Maybe I can make the time soon.

Cambo 4x5 with 210 caltar lens

It has been such a mild winter here in Northwest Illinois.  We haven't had much snow at all but when I woke up last week there was just enough snow to seem like a wonderland.  I had to grab my camera and capture the feeling.  It was like a lace on the trees.  This is directly across the street from my house.  I love the snow. 

I opened this photo and ran an action on it to give it the special look you see here.

Canon 40D sigma 27-40 f2.8@1/250

This is the sculpture at millenium park in the city of Chicago.  It is called Cloud Gate-better known as the bean by locals.

Cloud Gate is British artist Anish Kapoor's first public outdoor work installed in the United States.

The 110-ton elliptical sculpture is forged of a seamless series of highly polished stainless steel plates, which reflect Chicago’s famous skyline and the clouds above. A 12-foot-high arch provides a "gate" to the concave chamber beneath the sculpture, inviting visitors to touch its mirror-like surface and see their image reflected back from a variety of perspectives.

Inspired by liquid mercury, the sculpture is among the largest of its kind in the world, measuring 66-feet long by 33-feet high. 

This photo was taken just as the lights came on in the city so as to retain the detail of the sculpture and also show the lights of the city.

Sometimes you just have to go with it.  We went to a waterfall to do some engagement photographs and unfortunately they were doing some work on the area around the falls due to storm damage.  The groom is a welder for John Deere working in their heavy equipment division.  Perfect, we used some of the equipment on the scene and a little special lighting and came up with some great shots. 

Wrigley Field

This is one of the first weddings I did.  The wedding was planned around a cubs baseball game but for some reason the game time was changed.  The traffic was so bad that there were only 3 people at the church when we arrived.  Being so happy to be marrying the man that she loved the bride did not even get upset for a minute.  She just delayed the wedding by about a half hour and everyone was able to arrive.  After the ceremony we went by the stadium to do a few photos.  I try to ride to all locations in the limo with my bride and groom so that I don't get separated from them.  The game had just ended and there were many drunk fans around that wanted to congratulate the bride and groom.  We managed to get some great photos anyway, some with fans included, some without.  I liked the original shot but I especially like the antique look.  I made the background a sepia tone and antiqued the couple.  This was done with the existing light.  No flash was added.

Don't forget the details.  Bride's struggle for days and weeks to get just the right look from their details.  One of the most important to cover are the wedding rings.  This is a very popular shot and not really difficult to do.  I carry a small led flashlight with me an use it for these shots.  Just place the ring in the spine of a book, preferably a bible opened to a page with meaning from the ceremony, (although I have used a guest book if no bible is available) shine the flashlight through the ring and you have the shot.  This can be done with both rings but it forms a double heart and can be difficult to get the rings to stand.  I use this flashlight to add a little light to shots when it is needed.

Canon 1Dmarkiii 50mm macro 1/60 f16