Andrea + Larry's Engagement

Siiiiiiigh. This photo from Andrea and Larry's engagement session makes me *happy* in every way possible. Not only is it cute and playful (two extremely applicable words for these two), but it incorporates the letters from Upwords.


Why do I care about the letters from Upwords? Weeeeeell, because Larry cleverly used the letters to propose to Andrea. :) He gave her the board and a letter or two, and told her she'd receive a letter every time they had a date or spent time together. Over the course of 3 weeks, Andrea slowly started putting the pieces together.


The session took place at Larry's land just outside of Manhattan. True to small-town style, one of the neighbors stopped by during the session. Not to inquire about the stranger at the house, but to express his excitement because he just heard about the engagement and wanted to stop in and say hi.

SO, in the above photo, you can see we incorporated one of the antique-ish farm implements from the farm for the session. Classic. One of a kind. SO unique to Andrea and Larry.

It was fantastic to reconnect with Andrea. Mike and I first met her at Lori and Derek's wedding in April. Andrea was an immense help to us. She was probably the best helper we've had to help wrangle family members during group portraits.

Ok, I could blather on about how I adore Andrea and Larry and how simpatico we are, but I'll just stop and share their slideshow. Please CLICK HERE to view my favorites from our session.

Happy Anniversary, Karen + Erik!

It's a little untraditional for us to start an anniversary post with a groom photo, but he's MY groom. :) I want to say a very public thank you to Erik, who one year ago today became my husband.


Erik has supported our dreams, goals and visions since the moment he came into my life. On days when circumstances get me down, he's always the one who picks me up, brushes the dust off of me, and tells me how much he believes in me. The job Mike and I do would not be possible without the support of our spouses ... and I just wanted to take a minute to honor Erik for his unwavering support.


Feel free to check out our wedding slideshow by CLICKING HERE.

I also want to give out a BIG shout to my business partner, Mike, and friend, Heather, for agreeing to document our wedding day. As a wedding photojournalist, I KNOW how physically demanding documenting a wedding can be. Please know how much Erik and I treasure the art you created from our wedding.

Mark's Senior Portraits

Saturday, I met up with Mark for his senior portraits in Salina. Since Mark is an all-star athlete, we started at the track. (I was almost run over while he was demonstrating the triple jump.) Anything for a unique senior portrait, right? :)


We headed to the bridge near Mark's family home where he and the fellas like to jump off of and go swimming. The evening sunlight was soft and "sweet."

SIDE NOTE: "Sweet" is the new word Mark suggested I use when photographing senior "dudes." During my senior sessions, I like to give feedback ... "that photo is beautiful" is what I generally tell the senior ladies I photograph, but what dude wants me to tell him the photos of him look beautiful? Ummmm ... that's what I though. But they're most definitely *sweet.* :)


And this sweet photo was from the last series we took. Let me add that there were man-eating mosquitoes swarming around us. In fact, I photoshopped one off of Mark's neck while prepping this photo to share. I now know why mosquitoes are considered the state bird in Minnesota!

My faves from our session can be found by CLICKING HERE.

Also, be sure to stay tuned because we're waiting for the volleyball season to wrap up so we can get a few photos of Mark in his game jersey on the courts at Sacred Heart ... the team made it to state twice during his tenure, and he's very much looking forward to a repeat performance this season (GO KNIGHTS!).

Ian's Senior Portraits

Meet Ian. He's juggling a host of activities, including Scholars' Bowl, debate, forensics, school newspaper and film club. Oh, and in all his free time, Ian has amassed more than 500 volunteer hours at Access TV in Salina.


So of course we headed over to Access TV to include the studio and area in his senior portrait session! I love being able to include locations very specific to each senior. It's so much more personal.


Last photo is from the filming area .... with Ian's signature red fedora. :)

Check out a quick slideshow of my faves from our session by CLICKING HERE.

Jessica + Chris' Wedding Album Design

What a thrill to be able to share Jessica and Chris' beautiful album design! With 100 pages, we had a ton of fun with it. :)


I love large albums, because it means we're able to do more "double trucks" .... which basically means a photo goes across 2 entire pages. I simply LOVE playing photos larger than life!

Without further ado, please CLICK HERE to enjoy the album design.

Sneak Peek — Jessica + Chris' Wedding Album II

We're getting oh-so-close to being able to share this with you, Jessica and Chris!!!!!

Helping out — Laura + Ryan

As I said the other day, I went to Vancouver, BC to help my friend, Jamie Delaine, photograph a couple of weddings.

To read about the stunning wedding of Laura and Ryan, please CLICK HERE. But if you scroll down, I'll share my favorite outtakes. :)

Ok, so onto my commentary. Isn't Laura's reaction to her makeup fantastic? I love these little moments ...


Stunning in her dress!


Oh the fellas! The two guys on the left .... let me just say they were full of laughs. In fact, they could barely keep a straight face. I didn't ask the (I'm afraid I didn't want to know), but they were certainly entertaining. But they held it together long enough to take a GQ-looking photo. Good looking, aren't they?


Orchids! I simply love how lovely they look as wedding flowers. They're especially impressive to me because I had an orchid and kept the thing alive for all of one month. If anyone knows the secret to keeping these beauties alive, I'd love to know it!


Don't they orchids look amazing at the outdoor ceremony?


Laura giving Ryan her "fierce" look after the ceremony. I think Tyra would be proud! ;)


LOVE.THE.LIGHT.


Since I was "second shooting" I didn't get all the best angles (because Jamie was in them), but I certainly enjoyed my bird's eye view here!


The Swan-E-Set Bay Resort & Country Club where the wedding ceremony and reception were held was completely stunning! Loved the breathtaking views!


Um ... I'm kind of in love with this color/view.


Oh, and I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the beautiful food. Lovely food photography isn't easy, so I always love a good challenge. Thought I'd share a few of my faves. :)


On an more personal note, I was born in Seattle yet grew up here in Kansas. I always thought I didn't like fish/seafood. A few years ago while I was in Seattle, I had salmon again ... oh .... it was just heaven. I enjoyed eating fresh fish during my stay in Canada. :)


Final frame is me just playing with light here.

Where in the world are Karen and Mike?

I know we have some extremely faithful blog readers, and I suspect you were wondering what happened to us.

Weeeeeeell, I've been in Vancouver, BC (in Canada) for a few days helping my friend, Jamie Delaine, shoot a few weddings. I returned late last night (OK, it was actually early this morning). I have a few print orders to work on, some paperwork to catch up on, and I have a very busy September ahead of me. But I wanted to make a brief blog post to show off a stunning image from Sunday's wedding of Laura and Ryan.

Once I get a bit of R&R, I'll share a few blog posts with amazing images from those weddings.

As far as Mike .... he and his stunning wife, Angie, are getting ready to welcome baby No. 2 into their family in February. And with an extremely active (yet ever adorable) 8-month-old already at home, all of you parents out there know, they are BUSY!!!!!!