Becca & Ben's wedding featured on Wisconsin Bride!

I'm so excited that Wisconsin Bride is has featured Becca and Ben's lovely rustic wedding from last September. These two are amazing and I wish them nothing but the best in life together. 

To view the feature, click here. 

Pip

My brother, Pip, is an incredible chef. He is someone who can make an incredibly delicious, creative meal by opening up the cupboards and the fridge and making a plan on the fly. You can see the gears turn in his head as he begins to plan a meal. When I was last in New York, we had spent the day wandering around taking pictures and throughout our stroll the topic of dinner came up. We went into a market and looked around for awhile and then he said, "I think I'll make pasta." A few hours later we were back at his apartment watching him make it. There is nothing I love more than watching people do what they love and Pip most definitely loves to cook. 

I shot this on Contax 645 with 400 Tri-X film. 

guard against perfection

"As best I can, I've tried to remove most of what is superfluous from my life. I try to put myself in positions-in physical locations-where the possibility exists to be astonished. I also try, as William Stafford said, "...to be on guard against perfection." -Keith Carter

Saturday Morning

Becca, my sister, said "we should definitely go to this little place in our neighborhood for breakfast. They have the most amazing egg and cheese sandwiches on homemade buttermilk biscuits and the space is lovely. I think you'll like it." And I did. I love small spaces with a lot of character and New York has plenty of them. This place had so many little things to enjoy...the handwritten menus on chalkboards, the fresh baked goods on the counter, the mason jar light fixture, the wall of windows pouring natural light in....I made one picture in this place and this is it. When I took it, I was a little disappointed that I didn't have color film loaded but now that I see the black and white, I love it. 

Afternoon Beer in Brooklyn

I recently bought a Contax 645 film camera. On my recent trip to New York, I left all my digital gear at home and grabbed this bad boy along with my Hasselblad. This was the first shot on my first roll of film in my new Contax. I was at a long, wonderfully lazy brunch with friends and saw this rustic table behind where I was sitting bathed in soft window light. I took my freshly poured beer and set it up with the group of friends in the background, although you can't make them out, I wanted to have a sense of movement back there, a sense of wonder. I knew this shot was going to be soft since I had to shoot at 1/15 of a second at f2. I LOVE soft, ethereal, imperfect images.

Farmer's Market Flowers in Brooklyn

There are few things more lovely to me than a bunch of wild flowers from the farmer's market, dried and sitting in sunlight against a blue wall. This is in my sister's living room in Brooklyn and every time I visit, I make some photographs in this room because of the light and the colors. I am so drawn in by the most simple of details. For me, that's where the story lies, in those everyday moments and objects that say something about us. For me, a photograph can't ever just be about the light, it has to have a hint of a story involved, even if it's very subtle. 

Sarah

Sarah lives in India with her partner who is from Minnesota. I met her through some mutual friends and we all ended up going on this amazing camping trip just before the new year. Sarah brought home packets of henna and gorgeous scrarves for everyone to have. After a night of games, dinner, a hot tub, and great conversation we woke up to Sarah making the most incredible breakfast for everyone. Afterwards, a friend started using the henna on Sarah's hand and when she finished, I asked if she would come outside with me for a minute so I could take a few pictures. I love that she was still in her pajamas. 

Lutsen Wedding Photographer : Brandi & Andrew : Engaged!

Brandi and Andrew are amazing people. We met in Uptown for their engagement session because they love the area. It was REALLY cold that day but they were such good sports and ran around outside with me to get some great photos. We had to jump inside more than once to warm up but within a few minutes we were back out! They are getting married at the Lutsen Resort this summer and I am thrilled to get to photograph their wedding. We ended their session at Liquor Lyle's where they first met through mutual friends. We shared a beer...well actually we each had two because they were 2-for-1's! We had a great conversation about their lives, their wedding, politics and why they love Minneapolis. These two reminded me yet again why I love what I do so much. I get to hang out with incredible people and give them real, personal, honest photos. It doesn't get much better than that!

Laura & Dan : Love Session!

I photographed Laura and Dan's wedding in 2009. When Laura emailed me and asked if I would come to their home and photograph them being "cuddly and us" I jumped at the chance! This is exactly what Love Sessions are all about...being real and affectionate and celebrating who love and what you love to do! I thought the way they stand in the kitchen together was SO sweet! These are photos that they want to be able to show their children years down the road, to remember this time in their lives in their new home, deeply in love and cherishing each other. That sounds like a perfect foundation for starting a family.  

Sundays

Sunday is my favorite day of the week. There is something about the day that invites sleeping in, lingering over the New York Times, sipping too much coffee, eating a delicious brunch and just slowing down. One of my favorite spots for brunch in Minneapolis is Cafe Barbette. A friend and client works there in addition to being an incredible dancer. I ran into her on Sunday and she brought us some amazing mango sorbet on the house to have after brunch...it was incredible! 

Here's to slowing down, losing track of time and enjoying little gifts like sorbet. 

Best of Midwest Burlesque 2011!

I LOVE BURLESQUE. Phew, I'm glad I got that out. Burlesque is such an incredible art form with some of the most generous, kind, creative, funny people involved who I have ever met in my life. I have worked with Lili's Burlesque Revue for a few years now and have been lucky enough to photograph their shows as well as do some awesome portrait sessions with them. The Best of Midwest Burlesk Festival happens every year in January and brings performers from all over the country to our cold city. I didn't think 2010 could be beat but holy crap, 2011 really blew last year out of the water! I posted a lot of photos here because I simply couldn't help it. The photos of the Portrait Studio at the end give you an idea of what kinds of silliness happen when you book it for an event! I love it because people have a chance to get some fun, relaxed photos of themselves AND you have more room to move and play than you do in a traditional photo booth.