Another experimental shoot
this time starring
David and Kelsey
December 29, 2008
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A special thanks to Mr. Pasko and to St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church in Addison for granting us access to such a wonderful location (and sacrificing sleep for this shoot). Thank you also to the pastor for showing us around the building - it was a huge help!

I can't believe after 6 years of friendship I finally got to work with you, David :) YAY! I am so excited for you and for your career. Can't wait to work with you again, and to celebrate more successes with you, my dear.

Kelsey - you are a real gem and a blast to work with! It was so great to see you again after all these years. I am waiting for the day (and it will be soon) that you call me to tell me of your hollywood success stories :) Thank you so much for everything you've done for me - I am still floored with everything.

Thank you Mara for your help and patience with this shoot. It's always so great to spend time with you, girl! Feel better :)

A final thank you to my 4 year old godson for his on set comic relief :D hee hee.

And now for some images :)

December 19, 2008
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Neat news coming soon!!!

(photo shoots too!)

Stephen & Katie
December 6, 2008
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I met Katie back in high school, and remember Katie being incredibly sweet, talented, lovely, and loved by everyone. If it's possible, these adjectives have only become more true over the years. Katie made a beautiful bride, and she finally married her Irish lad :)

Stephen, while seemingly shy, can surprise you with some of his jokes. He is polite, incredibly kind, and charming.

Seeing these two together, and hearing their story really tied in to the romance of the season. With a fresh snow fall, and wonderful family and friends joining them for their day, Stephen and Katie will surely have many beautiful memories to think on as the years pass.

Hopefully, these photos will help them remember this special day.

Congratulations, Stephen and Katie :) Thank you so much for making me a part of your day!

Just wanted to again congratulate my friend Rob on his first Grammy nomination. Hope you win, my dear - you deserve it!!! :)

Sarah Brightman
Chicago, IL
November 5, 2008
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Last night, I met Dennis (owner of the Chicago Music Guide) at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, IL for the Sarah Brightman show. Sarah's voice was simply gorgeous, as were her costumes, the holigraphic set and the lighting. She had these wonderful dancers perform while she made her costume changes, and also to enhance some of the songs that she sang.

It was a different shooting experience than I'm used to; photographers were allowed to shoot only the LAST four songs of the first set (not the first three songs of the show). This threw me for a loop. While I thought I was in good shape, and leaving the arena to go backstage, as I was instructed before the show, I found that I was to be at the sound board, and that I had missed all but one and a half of the four songs by the time I got there. Furthermore, we weren't allowed to stand up! They instructed us to crouch on the ground to get these shots - peoples' heads were in the way of my shots :( Luckily, one of the people in charge of the show moved over in the back row of seats that were directly in front of the sound board, and I was able to capture most of my shots from there.

None of this made me a happy camper.

The final song, however, pretty much made it worth my while photographically. Here are some of the images that I managed to capture. Enjoy!

Joy's experimental shoot
An abandoned house and downtown in the western burbs
November 29, 2008
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I just got a whole bunch of new toys the other day, including a new flash unit and a portable power supply, and I wanted to do a photo shoot to test out my new equipment.

My good friend Joy, whom I've known since back in the gymnastics days of my youth, was so sweet to let me use her as my subject today. Through the shivering and the numb toes, we took some pretty fun shots!

Thanks so much again, Joy! Have a safe trip back to Tulsa!

Kiran, Ali and Shayun
November 25, 2008
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If you look back into my archives, you'll see a baby shower that I shot for Kiran MONTHS ago (almost a year if you can believe it). Shayun is already just over 6 months old now!!! Kiran asked me if I could come out and take some photos at the Chicago Cultural Center yesterday with her, Shayun and Ali, Shayun's father. Since I hadn't met the little one yet, and because Kiran is such an awesome person (as is Ali), how could I resist?

We ended up having such a difficult time making the little guy smile - wouldn't you know that as soon as I left for the afternoon, Kiran sent me a text to tell me that Shayun wouldn't stop smiling!

We managed to get some really cute images regardless :)

Enjoy!