Photographing Karen and Adam

Karen and Adam meet in an orientation group as undergrads at Eastern Michigan University. They became fast friends and
after a couple of years started dating. It was at EMU where the pair met, fell in love and eventually became engaged while
on an evening walk around campus.

This past weekend Karen and Adam went from being in love and engaged, to in love and married.  They were wed at Good Shepherd Methodist Church and held a beautiful reception at the Dearborn Inn, both in Dearborn, Michigan.

To Karen and Adam, I wish you a lifetime of love, happiness and laughter! Congratulations!

Here they sit on the porch of a Edgar Allan Poe replica house on the property of the Dearborn Inn. 


See the raven? Pretty cool, huh?








If it's one thing I learned about Karen and Adam (probably mostly Karen) it's that they love sandwiches.  Here the fellas
pose at the sandwich shop just down the street from their house.


Look at these rings! They are not only beautiful, but they were specially designed and handmade by Karen's best friend and
maid of honor, Jenna.




Not only were Karen and Adam's rings handmade, but so was Karen's dress. Her mother lovingly stitched her daughter's dress for the big day! 








Beatles cover band! Complete with wigs, tight pants and fake accents!

Multnomah Falls - Portland, Oregon

When my recent adventure in Portland led to a visit to the Multnomah Falls I found myself breathing deep, literally, a breath of fresh air! Having just survived a cold and snowy Michigan winter, the sight of anything green was enough to send me into photographic overdrive! The benefit of that is a super, earthy-green blog post full of photos!

The falls are located on the Oregon side of the Columbia River Gorge and at 620 feet tall, is the tallest waterfall in the state.












Emily and Eryn served in Peace Corps Ukraine together. Here they are practicing their best Russian expressions. At right:
Adam shows off his best ninja in a cave expression.

Hello Portland!

Hello Portland! It's about damn time! Around 2006 I became very interested in visiting Portland, Oregon.  I heard friends
and strangers alike boast of it's laid back, earthy "hipness." I mean, what's not to love? Mountains, coffee, every type of
artisans known to (wo)man, shoot, I was sold. It may have taken several years to get there, but this past weekend I finally
did. My life-long BFF (Emily! seen in such previous blog adventures as D.C. for the Holidays and A weekend whirlwind) mentioned that she had a good friend from Peace Corps (Eryn) who lived in Portland and we should go visit. No-brainer!

Below is a view from my seat on the plane. If you look far off into the distance you can see two mountains. There were
some discrepancies on the plane, but they are some combinations of Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams, Mt. St. Helen or Mt. Rainier.


Eryn and her boyfriend Adam met us at the airport and mentioned that it was the first day of the Portland Farmer's Market,
we all know I never turn down a farmers market!




Portland is known for having food cart communities grouped all over town. They offer every genre of food you can think of
and it's cheap too!






We spent an afternoon wine tasting outside of downtown in Dundee, Oregon. It's a beautiful area.




Tastes from Erath.




Beautiful view, with a little sunshine, from the 30th floor at the Portland City Grille in downtown. What a great way to end a
great trip!


Big thanks to my favorite people in all of Portland, Eryn and Adam! Thanks for taking us in and showing us a super time!

An emotional night

Thursday marked the last women's basketball home game of the season at Crisler Arena and they certainly went out with a bang! With seconds on the clock and down by three points, senior Veronica Hicks took a nearly half-court shot at the basket
and beat the buzzer in dramatic fashion, sending the game into one of two overtime periods. In the end, Michigan loss to
Minnesota, 82-78 and it was nothing short of a thriller.

Head coach Kevin Borseth is clearly an emotion guy. Below are a few photos capturing the emotions he was feeling as the
game unraveled.

Here Borseth kneels at the feet of an official, holding his head in frustration after a call that didn't go his way. It's an unusual moment to say the least.








The game also marked the last night for senior Veronica Hicks, who just happened to make a buzzer beater on her final
night in the arena.

Photos in this post © AnnArbor.com 2011

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Saturday in Detroit - Eastern Market

Whenever I have a Saturday off, I instantly think of Eastern Market in Detroit. This past Saturday was no different!

Found some really beautiful light where this vendor was set up. Sometimes it pays to wake up early! ;)




A surprise passenger!




A couple of frames while waiting on the People Mover platform. 

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Photographing Shannon and Tony

Shannon, a well educated, traveled and independent gal met Tony, a talented musician and educator while they were working
at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in 2007. The pair became engaged after Tony was inspired to craft lyrics and a tune. He performed his musical proposal for Shannon while they were on vacation and the rest is history!  Shannon recently moved to Chicago to begin her career as an attorney while Tony finishes up his obligations in Michigan. While they may be living in different states for now, it's clear they are meant to be together!

Shannon and Tony fell in love in Detroit and they have some major love for Detroit. So where else would we shoot their engagement photos? We hit up Belle Isle and made some of my favorite photos of the day.


I'm not sure if Shannon could smile any bigger in this photo! (Big ups for being extra prepared with boots suitable for running through the snow in mid-February!)


Love that Detroit skyline!


Definitely one of my favorites from our shoot! I couldn't decide between color or black and white, so you get both!






A trip down memory lane. Shannon and Tony shared their first date at Comerica Park!


We hit up Greektown and were welcomed with some sweet light!




We ended our afternoon with a stop at Hart Plaza and some photos in front of the sculpture "Transcending."


Congratulations, friends! Much love, laughter and happiness!