{Anniversary} Ashley + Tyson

We love traveling for weddings and one of our most favorite Kansas destinations to date has been Lawrence. (Yes, you read that correctly. This pair of K-Staters enjoys shooting in Lawrence!) We've been there twice, including Ashley + Tyson's wedding one year ago today. To date, it's been our only wedding in which the groom recorded an original song for the first dance with his bride. But what I enjoyed most about their wedding was the ride down Mass St. in this sweet convertible following the ceremony.

Click here to see their wedding day slideshow. Yes, that's Tyson's original song. :)

Happy one-year anniversary, Ashley + Tyson! -Mike

{Photojournalism} Theodore's 1st Birthday Party

One year ago, my family was celebrating the addition of a new family member, Baby Theodore, my nephew. The last year of being "Auntie Karen" and fielding phone calls from Theodore "Auntie Karen, mommy won't let me eat ice cream" or "Auntie Karen, let's go SWIMMING!" have been fun.

Over the weekend, both families gathered to celebrate one year with this little guy. As you can see, Theodore was "locked and loaded" .... ready to eat birthday cake.


In the foreground (right side) you can see his cake ... although at the time he didn't know it was yummie sugary goodness. :)


A tentative first taste.


Going gangbusters!


I think my dad will love this photo. Look at Theodore's left hand ... it's all he's using. My dad's a leftie, and out of the 4 kids my parents had, no lefties in the group. Looks like his first grandchild might be a southpaw!

{Wedding Album Design} Jessica + Ryan

Aaaaah, this is a beautiful wedding album!


Our designer, Amy, used the same rounded edges and graphical elements from Jessica + Ryan's engagement album in their wedding album. I love all over it.


Aaaand, some awesome party times!

{Products} Mini Albums!!!

Today I want to share a SUPER CUTE album option. Meet our mini album!


We take the cover image and the last page of the album for the front (left) and back (right). Then we let you select 5 album spreads of your choice for the mini.


Closeup of the front + back. Since these were black and white, this mini is printed on metallic paper, because it makes B&W photos POP!


Here's a broader look at a full album (10x10) with the mini (3x3).


Closer up.

These come with a great slipcover, which means you can put them in your purse and they'll be protected. Simply pop it out when you want to show off your favorite album design!


Another. See? The design is exactly the same!


The other great thing about the album minis is it comes in a set of 3. That means one for the bride and one for each mom. If there are extra moms or grandmas or bridesmaids that would like one, we can add extras on!


Last spread.


And this is the mini (right) with the last page of the album (left).

If you'd like to add one to your wedding album, please let me know! This would also be a fun gift for your parents from your engagement album design, too!

{Products} Lindsey + Shiloh's Wedding Album

Oh how I love Lindsey + Shiloh's wedding album!


For the spine of her album, Lindsey chose a textured black leather that was similar to her DaMask scheme from the wedding. For the front and back covers, she went with a basic black leather, which set off the B&W image on the cover VERY nicely!

SO, SO, SO beautiful!


A little of the DaMask theme worked in.


A collage of other graphic elements in the album.


Beautiful album spread!


I loved this series of photos!

2011 Tri-Rivers Fair King & Queen Candidates: Krystal + Klyer

Hello Krystal! Her dress was fabulous and worked well in a more urban setting.


SO beautiful!


Ahhh, Kyler. He has some seriously baby blue eyes.


Final photo of the 4-H King and Queen candidates!

Congrats to everyone for all of your hard work!

2011 Tri-Rivers Fair King & Queen Candidates: Jessica + Austin

The dress Jessica is wearing is one she made as a 4-H project. The kitty? Well, he's just darn cute.


Seriously. Too cute for words.


Austin and his mom found a super-awesome location for his session.


His dog is one of the most well-behaved dogs I've ever met. Of course, having cut up hotdogs in one's pocket doesn't hurt doggie obedience either. ;)

2011 Tri-Rivers Fair King & Queen Candidates: Jamie + Wade

Jamie is so sweet! While that field looks innocent, it's full of brambles and stickers that completely covered my jeans. I'm not sure how her bare legs handled it, but she was a pro!


Another favorite.


Wade gets a huge prize in my book for being bold enough to select a photo with sun flare for his display photo. We were walking through the extremely muddy arena after our shoot, and I stopped him for "just one more" photo. Worth it, I'd say. :)


I suppose like football players, real cowboys don't smile. ;)


Also dig these two.

2011 Tri-Rivers Fair King & Queen Candidates: Courtney + Evan

How sweet is Courtney?


She has the biggest brown eyes EVER.


When I met up with Evan and his mom, darkness was falling quickly. He's an outdoorsy fella, and we were at the lake. I decided to embrace it rather than fight with it. And think the result if pretty fun.


Almost the same location, but we were able to get several different looks.

2011 Tri-Rivers Fair King & Queen Candidates: Allissa + Michael

Ahhh, Allissa. So cute!


She had this fabulously relaxed look for her portraits, which I just love.


When MIchael approached me and said "I want to be photographed with my drum set on the football field," I knew we were in for a good time!

I just love it when someone brings a new idea to the table! It challenges me, but also is so much darn FUN. :)


If you don't know these are the cymbals, I suppose you could think they're UFOs. But they're not. It's part of his kickn' drum set. K?

2011 Tri-Rivers Fair King & Queen Candidates: Carley + Wesley

There were 14 candidates in all, so I'll make a few posts/day with the rest of the awesome gang!


This is Carley. I *heart* her 'go get 'em' attitude about photos. It was a bit drizzly + muddy + wet, but Carley was not to be dissuaded about our awesome session. She brought a F-U-N umbrella and away we went!


She was basically up for anything ... even a randomly discarded boot on a fence post.


Wesley is AWESOME! I like him lots and lots. We had essentially the same photo from his session. Which makes him extra-spectacular in my book. ;)


Very similar, but with a little extra sun flare. The artsy-fartsy part of me loves it.


I can't exactly put my finger on why I like this photo so much. But with art, you don't exactly have to have a reason, do you?

2011 Tri-Rivers Fair King & Queen: Amanda + Cain

I was flattered this spring when I was approached and asked to photograph the King & Queen candidates for the Tri-Rivers Fair in Salina.

Last night, the winners were crowned, and so I thought I'd share a few of my favorite portraits from our session. First, meet Amanda, the Fair Queen.


This is the photo she chose for the display in the 4-H building. I love it! She has the most stunning eyes! Her dress really plays them up.


This is more soft and subtle .... I wasn't surprised it wasn't chosen for the fair display, but it's too beautiful to not share!


Her horses were sometimes agreeable. But not always. ;) We had such stunning light for her session!

On to our king, Cain.


What I loved about these sessions is each candidate chose their location. Cain selected some of his family's land. If I'm not mistaken, this was the land his relatives homesteaded. There were tons of awesome visual options!


Love this!


And this is a bit more abstract, but I still dig it.