Sneak Peek - Deanne + Carlos' wedding moments

Even though I consider myself to be a compositional photographer, if you asked me to name the single most important element in a successful photograph, I'd say "the moment" without hesitation. And there were no shortage of moments at Deanne and Carlos' wedding at the Church of the Magdalen - and reception at the Old Cowtown Museum - on Saturday. Like this one of Deanne and Carlos spending a quite moment together at the church following the ceremony.


Or this one, of Carlos greeting his bride at the altar with a kiss on her hand.


Or this one, of Carlos' uncle, Ivan, singing a congratulatory song (in Portugese, no less) on the trolley ride to the reception. About 20 members of Carlos' family traveled from Brazil for the wedding. Fortunately, photography is a universal language. :)


Or this one, of the anticipation of a kiss.


Or this one, as the groom dips his bride at the site of her great grandfather's barber shop. Indeed, a part of Deanne's family history is on display at Cowtown.


Or this one, of Deanne's father, Lance, as they share a dance together. During his touching speech, he said he was as proud as a father could be.


Or this one, of Cooper, left, and Pedro, right, both cousins of the couple, jammin' out on their Air Vuvuzelas at the reception, which was about as hot as the weather! Stay tuned for a slide show full of other moments from Deanne and Carlos' wedding. -Mike

Sneak Peek — Robin + Chris' pregnancy portraits

I know it's late, but I HAD to share a few sneak peeks from tonight's belly session!

It's been two and a half years since Robin and Chris have been featured on our blog. These two were married in 2007, have done a lot of moving around, but are now back in Wichita and expecting their first child. So of course we had to do some pregnancy portraits!


Of course, Robin is also my sister, so it's been interesting to watch her going from obnoxious little sister who follows me around to running nerd to pilot to fiance to wife to mother. It's been a beautiful journey to behold ... and I know this is only the beginning!

Deanne + Carlos' Engagement Album is IN!!!

With Deanne and Carlos' wedding coming up this weekend, I realized I have yet to share photos of their printed engagement album.


Gotta love the thick pages!


And the sturdy binding.


And the stunning design.


And plenty of room for guests to sign.


And Deanne's awesome graphic elements (we pulled these from her invitations/save the dates!).


We also used the same fonts from their invitations, to give the wedding a more cohesive look.


A few more photos of the back, because I dig it so much!


And our logo of approval ... looks good in purple and white, right? (Can you tell both Mike and I are K-State alums?).

Can't wait for this weekend's wedding!

Ashley + Tyson's Chicago Engagement Session

Alrighty! Pulled my favorites into a slideshow of Ashley and Tyson's engagement session in Chicago. Please CLICK HERE to enjoy!

Sneak Peek — Lori + Derek's Wedding Album Design

A quick peek at what our Amy is working on! Lori and Derek's fabulous album! :)

This album has been "in the works" for quite some time because 1) Lori and Derek took a 3-month world tour and have been settling back into life on the farm. And 2) this will be a monster album (can you say 100 pages?) ... so there will be some extra design time for it ... but from the teasers I've seen, it will be SO worth the wait!

Sneak Peek — Ashley + Tyson's Chicago Engagement Session

Yesterday evening, I met up with Ashley and Tyson in Chicago, where they live, to shoot some engagement photos.

These two were TROOPERS! As you can see, they're holding umbrellas. That's because it rained/drizzled during most of our engagement session. But they weren't whiney at all. In fact, Ashley said the Buckingham Fountain is usually crawling with people, but because of the rain, we had the place to ourselves ... which made it really nice for portraits! So, we were actually rewarded for toughing out that rain storm!


Another quick photo from the garden near the Art Institute of Chicago.

More photos to come over the weekend!

Lindsey + Shiloh's Engagement Slideshow

Woah! Narrowing down Lindsey and Shiloh's engagement photos was quite a task. That's because these two are such naturals in front of the camera!

We were walking down an alley, and Shiloh said he liked this door frame. It's fantastic when couples are actively engaged in the session, and Shiloh was full of excellent ideas.


Because these two have rural backgrounds, I was even able to dig up a Gleaner for some photos. I was a bit hesitant at first, because I know farming folks are loyal to their brand (John Deere, Chase), but both Lindsey and Shiloh assured me the vintage Allis-Chalmers was a sweet piece of machinery.

We're certainly looking forward to their December wedding, but until then, you can view more of my favorites from their engagement session by CLICKING HERE.

Sneak Peek — Lindsey + Shiloh's Engagement session

Check out the hotness that is Lindsey and Shiloh!


These two live in southwest Kansas, but were in Salina for engagement photos today. And, they're naturals in front of the camera. :)


Shiloh has been playing the guitar since high school, and so he brought it along ... which always makes for great photos, when a couple brings along props that are a meaningful to them. This photo is my own take on the "Walk the Line" movie poster. :)

A slideshow is in the works, so stay tuned!

Deacon Jeremy's Ordination (part 2)

Per Erin's request, a few more photos from Deacon Jeremy's Ordination. Both of these photos are a little more abstract, though.


Sometimes I read waaay too much into photos. Often, it can be easy to think of clergy as faceless, so I didn't photograph their faces. BUT 1)each of their garment is individual. I like that. 2) I also like how you can barely see their faces reflected in the white marble. 3) In 1 year, each set of hands will be able to participate fully in the consecration of the Mass ... way cool!


More of Deacon Jeremy. Getting an up-close look at how it's done from Bishop Jackles.

I've just glanced through the photos, but there are some gems! Thank you for your continued patience as I sift through the photos and find the very best ones.

It's really fantastic to photograph an ordination in a different cathedral. I ESPECIALLY love that the Cathedral in Wichita has WHITE marble, which does an excellent job of reflecting light everywhere! :)

Fr. Daise + Fr. O'Donnell's Ordination Slideshow

About a week ago, I blogged about a Double Ordination. I've had time to pick out the rest of my favorites!


I just love the behind the scenes action. Lots of anticipation. And, I have to say, with a bunch of guys who have been in Seminary together, there's a fair amount of goofing off and full belly laughing, too.


I've photographed a fair number of ordinations at Sacred Heart Cathedral for the Register. Sometimes, photographing in the same environment over and over again can be challenging to find something new. But when I photographed this detail of the Gospels, I was really excited, thinking I'd never photographed it before. But when I looked back through previous ordinations, I found that indeed I HAD photographed it before. But this time I did a better job. :) So there you have it, sometimes being at the same location allows me to see things I might have overlooked before in a new and different light!

Ok, on to the photos, because I know that's what keeps all of our blog readers coming back!

To view a slideshow of my favorites, please CLICK HERE.

ps-for those of you curious about the music used in this slideshow, you may check it out by CLICKING HERE. A very good friend of mine who attends St. Mary gave me the CD. This spring I had the joy to visit with the director when I was in the DC-area. He's great and they will have another one coming out at some point!