Roosevelt University : Jazz!!

This was my LAST visit to Chicago for the Roosevelt University Performing Arts series and what a note to end on! It was two days full of incredible jazz music. You know your job is fun when you get to shake your hips to a latin jazz ensemble while working! I feel so honored to have had the opportunity to work with such talented people. One of my absolute favorite things in the world is watching people do what they love. 

Riverfront Times Feature!

Yes!! The incredible Ophelia Flame of Lili's Burlesque Revue is performing in St. Louis and the show was featured in the Riverfront Times! My photo of her is featured, how fun!

Check it out here!

Because sometimes...

you just need to lay under a beautiful tree.

Kieran : High School Senior

Kieran is such an interesting girl. She was looking for a photographer in the Twin Cities who would shoot her senior portraits with a Holga and take a more artistic approach. I'm so glad she found me! She is a fellow artist and will be going to college to study Printmaking next year. I can tell she is going to do incredible things with her life and make some inspired art along the way. She has a depth to her that really came through during our session. I want to photograph more students like Kieran! All the best to you and your journey in this world. 

be assertive

"The practice of assertiveness: being authentic in our dealings with others; treating our values and persons with decent respect in social contexts; refusing to fake the reality of who we are or what we esteem in order to avoid disapproval; the willingness to stand up for ourselves and our ideas in appropriate ways in appropriate contexts". Nathaniel Brandene

don't do nothing/dig in.

I just saw this on Seth Godin's blog and it struck a chord for me. Running a photography business can at times feel overwhelming. It can be incredibly challenging to stay on top of everything that you NEED to do as a business owner and what you WANT to do to be true to your artistic self. Seth's advice is inspiring and spot on:limit yourself. Don't attempt to do everything and end up doing nothing very well. The world is full of incredible opportunities everywhere you look. Your job is to (in the words of Gary Snyder who's quote I saw on a CSA brochure over the weekend) "Find your place on the planet. Dig in, and take responsibility from there."

"The paralysis of unlimited opportunity"from Seth's blog:

There aren't just a few options open to you, there are thousands (or more).

You can spend your marketing money in more ways than ever, live in more places while still working electronically, contact different people, launch different initiatives, hire different freelancers... You can post your ideas in dozens of ways, interact with millions of people, launch any sort of product or service without a permit or factory.

Too many choices.

If it's thrilling to imagine the wide open spaces, go for it.

If it's slowing you down and keeping you up at night, consider artificially limiting your choices. Don't get on planes. Don't do spec work. Don't work for jerks. Work on paper, not on film. Work on film, not on video. Don't work weekends.

Whatever rule you want...

But no matter what, don't do nothing.

Kate and Chris are SUCH a wonderful couple. They love food and wine so we decided to go to The Midtown Global Market and The Duplex for their engagement session. We were all laughing most of the time and I loved getting to know both of them better before their wedding. I'm already so excited to shoot their wedding this summer!

Roosevelt University : Student Opera

I have been traveling to Chicago to shoot events at Roosevelt University and have loved watching students do what they love and are so good at. All of the people involved in this opera from the actors/singers to the crew to the orchestra were so dedicated and fiercely talented. It is never easy to choose an artistic path, there are many uncertainties and challenges along the way, so when I see people who are embracing it I get so excited. 

“Above all, be true to yourself, and if you cannot put your heart in it, take yourself out of it.”