Minneapolis Wedding Photographer : Andrea & Ryan's Wedding Album

I just finished designing Andrea and Ryan's gorgeous album and cannot wait to give it to them this week! I had to share a few photos of it. I think presentation is so important for images especially in the world of keeping everything on our computers. To have the experience of opening up a lovely album that is crafted with luxurious materials and reliving all the moments of a wedding is...incredible. It was such a treat to design this album for two of my favorite clients ever!

Instax Film is SO Fun!

I am LOVING my new Instax Mini camera! I took it to Mexico with me for Erin and Ryan's wedding and had so much fun taking instant pictures and giving them to the guests. This was one I had to photograph and share since Erin looked so cute! I will definitely be using this little fun toy a lot more this year!

kaja's camera bags

Sometimes you just connect with people and you can't explain it. Personality, common interests, whatever...but for some reason you just click. That's Kaja. She is an amazing art teacher who loves photography but because of the stresses of teaching and life circumstances, she hasn't been photographing as much as she wants to. After talks about old film cameras, favorite photographers and subject matter we like to shoot, we both decided we should go on a photo adventure together. I have a fridge full of expired film that is just begging to be shot. I went over to her house one night and after great conversation with our partners and a lot of wine, we pulled out her cameras and started talking "shop." It was fantastic. I LOVED her camera bags, they were so worn, so weathered with experience. You could just tell that those bags had been hauled around on so many shoots by someone else and then they were handed to Kaja to restart her photographic journey. It's just so amazing. This was before we went on our adventure, so for me, this image holds the excitement and the anticipation of getting out and shooting together. 

Just go and take some risks and try whatever it is that you want to do. Why not? It's never ever too late to start again. 

morning coffee

One of my absolute favorite things is having coffee in the morning with Libby. It's slow and it sets the tone for the day. We both have very busy careers but in the morning we can have an hour of time together before our separate lives begin. Even better to be in Mexico, in the warm morning sun on the patio in our room. Perfection. It really is all about the small, everyday moments. 

The strength of women

My mom made this amazing bodice for me when I was in college and I keep it in my living room now. It is a constant reminder of the strength that women have. It is a source of inspiration and courage when I need it, a reminder of the incredibly strong mother I have. 

Erin & Ryan : Married in Mexico!

Photo Adventure / Loppett

My friend Kaja and I had been talking about going on a photo adventure together for awhile. We finally found a day that worked and it happened to be the day of the Twin Cities Loppett which is an amazing cross country skiing event on the lakes in Minneapolis. Neither of us had ever been to it before so we grabbed our film cameras (I think we had 6 or 7 between the two of us!) and ventured out. I shot with my Hasselblad and Contax 645. My favorite was the kids race, those guys were cruising around and kept falling down but were having so much fun! This is exactly why I love Minnesota in the winter-people make it fun. 

Isadora

I got to photograph brand new Isadora a few weeks ago and what a little bundle she is! I absolutely love photographing in clients homes because it makes it very intimate and very personal. Both images were shot on Hasselblad with Kodak Portra 400. 

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.