Chicago from the chopper

On occasion, I bring my cameras up in the chopper with me. It's pretty hard to find the time and opportunity for some of these shots. It's also rather difficult avoid that shooting-through-the-window appearance, as I've yet to take pictures with the door open.

The first three pictures are from March of this year. The remaining pictures are from about two weeks ago. Thanks to my pilots, Jim, Jeff and Erich, without whom these pictures wouldn't have been possible :)

(Jim, one of my pilots, inside chopper 7 HD)

Michelle and Tim

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of being the photographer for Michelle and Tim. I was booked for this wedding through Essence Photo and Video of Schaumburg, IL. It's been quite a while since I've had a wedding day go by so quickly!

I first met Michelle at her hotel in the morning. She called me in the morning to tell me her hotel room number, and that the girls' hair was already finished. She sounded so excited to get everything going that I sped myself up so that I could arrive earlier than I'd originally told her. I walked into the hotel and found Michelle walking into the lobby with her mother and some of her bridesmaids - I knew it was her, because she already had her veil on :)

Michelle instantly struck me as a sweet, energetic and photogenic bride. I instantly knew that her day was going to be a memorable one.

We ended up taking quite a few pictures after we met.








I ended up taking off to the site of the ceremony and the reception - Old Orchard Country Club in Mount Prospect, IL. There, I met Tim and the rest of the guys. I have to say, each one of them was very colorful and cooperative. I knew they'd help bring life to the party later on in the evening :)






It was time for the ceremony. Michelle and Tim couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day. The weather was the perfect temperature, the sun was shining, there was a slight breeze...



Michelle and Tim together decided to go to the golf course without the bridal party since only about 1/2 an hour remained until their party was going to start. We took separate golf carts out onto the course along with an employee of the country club to make sure that we wouldn't get hit with golf clubs ;)





It was time for the reception :) All throughout dinner, the bridal party was singing along to the music playing in the background. I knew the party was going to be a lot of fun (and it was!). The whole night was full of dancing, laughter, great food and lots and lots of pictures.






Thank you, Michelle and Tim for making me a part of your special day. Congratulations and best wishes for your happy future together!

Karrie and Acilia - Mom and Daughter

It's been around 8 years since I've seen Karrie. She is actually my brother's age, but we were in cheerleading together for a brief period of time, as much as it pains me to admit that about myself. Anyway, Karrie's since gotten married, has a four year old daughter named Acilia, and is expecting another little one!

We decided to go to my favorite park area to take pictures at in Batavia. I wanted to do everything as close to a photojournalism style as possible, while still including some of the types of shots Karrie has been used to getting from the studios over the past few years.

This morning, the weather didn't greet us politely, and we had to postpone the shoot a few hours to wait for the storms to pass by. Once we got to the park, the humidity really made things uncomfortable, but we still managed to have fun while we took some pictures.

Thank you so much Karrie for having me meet your adorable little girl - I had so much fun getting these pictures of you two!!!

Karin and Jonathan; Mom and Baby

I had the pleasure of taking a few quick photos of my long-time friend, Karin, whom I've known since kindergarten. She now has a little one of her own named Jonathan. Jonathan is almost six months old already! Time sure does go quickly.

It was almost nap time for Jonathan again, so the photo session was a little on the shorter side, but I think we managed to get a few really cute shots :)

Sonia and Bill

Yesterday, I shot one of my few remaining contractual shoots with Essence Photo and Video of Schaumburg, IL. Sonia and Bill were a great couple to work with, although it would have been nice if Bill would have smiled a bit more ;)

Sonia's morning started off smoothly - she was about 1/2 and hour ahead of schedule when I arrived and started setting up. She removed her gown from the plastic cover, and I took a few shots of the gown and her accessories. It was shortly after she finished up her makeup that we decided it was time for her to step into the gown. She couldn't get the zipper to unzip!

After about 20 minutes (perhaps a little longer), one of her bridesmaids finally managed to unzip the stuck zipper without damaging the dress! Sonia handled the scare gracefully, and remained calm (yay, Sonia!).

We then began her bridal session, plus some photos of her with the girls and her family.




Because of the zipper incident, I was running behind schedule by almost 20 minutes! I had to rush to the church to then get some pictures of the guys, plus detail shots of the church. It was during the photo session of the guys that I realized I was going to have a slight challenge on my hands, as it was difficult for me to make the groom smile. Thankfully, I have his brothers to thank for helping me out in that department!



It was time for the ceremony to begin! The church was beautifully decorated, and everyone smiled as beautiful and smiling Sonia gracefully floated down the aisle with her father at her side. Before we knew it, they were newlyweds!





We did our formal session in a very tight 1/2 hour time window at the church, and then headed off to the riverwalk in Naperville.




After the riverwalk session, we went to the reception at Meson Sebika. I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful and versatile setting to take more pictures!!! The sun was definitely cooperating with me, and I know I got a few really great shots because of it.




My absolute favorite shot came at the end of the night. I noticed this fantastic light pouring toward the ground outside of the reception room. I asked Sonia if she would stand beneath the light, and I proceeded to take this beautiful picture:


Congratulations, Sonia and Bill! Thank you so much for making me a part of your special day.