faces of 2008

WOW WOW WOW!!! 2008 is coming to a close in just a few hours. It's been a whirlwind. I think of these words to describe my photography adventures the past seven months: excitement, joy, wonder, and refreshment. Thanks to everyone I photographed in 2008. Sharing in your life through celebrations or fleeting moments meant a lot to me in that it gave me the gift of purpose. Best wishes to all in 2009! Love, cw.

Sneak Peak: Married: Ryan and Jessica

Gear West Employees

Meet: Mindy and Dave with Baby on the way

Introducing soon-to-be-parents Mindy and Dave! Ta da!!! Mindy is my sister's friend. She is currently sporting a cute belly, but is eager to meet her little one in January! Dave and Mindy were really fun and wanted something super relaxed and not formal. I think we accomplished the mission! I also like the fact that they have been together for a long time...bringing a baby into a world is a bit easier when the parents have a strong relationship! I'm so happy to have met them and am grateful for our time together. I think you will really dig their photos...and the funny song about a fox in the snow by Belle and Sebastian.

Meet: Nolan

Introducing Nolan! aka...Little Christmas Cherub :). Nolan is officially my last photographed baby of 2008! And it was an honor getting to capture his little moment in time! He's a cute and sweet little boy who LOVES movement. My favorite "look" for Nolan was his little T-shirt that showed off his cute baby rolls! Check it out.

Meet: Noah

Meet Noah. At such a young age he totally has rock star quality :). Check out his awesome hair, so effortlessly styled. With his blue eyes and dark hair he surely will be a chick magnet someday :). He's pretty fiesty and strong as he was already trying to propel himself forward on the photoshoot. Enjoy the slideshow.

A little Christmas Cherub

I wanted to take a quick break to share this cute picture because it makes me smile. I don't know why, but I also think it's a bit funny and unconventional. I hope you all are taking the time to slow down and enjoy Chrismas. (You will meet more of this little one in an upcoming post).

Meet: Carissa

Meet Carissa. Isn't she a cutie?!? I met her and her parents last week on a pleasantly warm day. From their photoshoot to the final images I've enjoyed every minute and detail of the process. This was a fun one to do. After looking through the photos I got excited about how everyone's outfits blended so well with each other! The zippered and cabled sweater theme was shared by Carissa and Dad. The ivory color scheme was shared by Carissa and Mom! I notice these details :). Anyway, the overall effect was quite lovely, cozy, friendly, and cute. There was a man tending the grounds wearing a bright yellow suit which captured Carissa's gaze for the longest time...you'll see in the some of the pictures. But sorry! No picture of the yellow-suited man! Enjoy the slideshow.

Engaged: Lisa and Greg

Introducing...Lisa and Greg. Another super sweet and super rad couple. They met at Bob's Java Hut on Lyndale Avenue which is so cute!!! Their wedding is in January and I'm really pumped to be a part of the festivities. I had a brief debriefing about their wedding plans. I'm really looking forward to the celebration because they have some unique things planned!
Our photoshoot was so SHORT!!! Try 35 minutes? Lisa lives in DC and flew into Mpls to meet Greg to help him make his move out to her! Talk about a quick turn around! They were planning on leaving at 5 am! Anyway, her flight was slightly delayed which left very little daylight for us to play around in. Think 10 minutes and then it was dark! Of course this made me very sad at first, but it forced us to get creative. They climbed some snow piles and braved the cold weather for some of our pictures! For indoor shots we had to get creative too. Remember in geometry how they teach you about angle of reflection and refraction? Well I put it to good use as we were creatively bouncing light off of the weirdest places. I was so nervous that we wouldn't end up with a good product, but some of the pictures are my favorite yet!!! Greg and Lisa, see you in January!!!! Enjoy the very cute, but very brief slideshow:

Meet: Ethan

Introducing...Ethan. Loves anything related to fire rescue: fire trucks, fire houses, fire men. We had some play time, crafts time, and outdoorsy time on our photoshoot. Ethan was pretty much up for anything as he has lots and LOTS of energy. I finally realized that...gee... I better increase my shutter speed! This kiddo is on the move! Thanks to his mom and dad for letting me into their home so that I could document little Ethan in his playful (unscripted) element!

Warmth of Christmas Season

I do love Thanksgiving and Christmas. It's my favorite time of the year. I officially got into the spirit this past weekend when the snow fell and wanted to listen to Christmas music. We have no decorations up, but hopefully we can dig them out on Friday. And just maybe...we'll send out a Christmas card or letter for the 1st time this year :). That would be amazing if I get to it!

I know it's a tough time for families this year managing expectations for gifts. And many are choosing to scale back. But I think this is so great and refreshing. I'm just as guilty as everyone else making Christmas way too commercial and frenzied. Instead of wanting and desiring more I love the idea of keeping things simple and focused. I heard this from someone in college, "Jesus is the reason for the season." A bit cheesy, but nice to remember.

Here are TV Christmas classics that are very nostalgic for us:
1. The Grinch
2. A Charlie Brown Christmas
3. Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer

So yes, I've caught the warm fuzzies of Christmas. Also, the past few weeks we've been without heat, but it actually has been quite fun. It's a game to see how we much we can increase the temperature with the lights, TV, fireplace, and oven on. We've discovered that we can crank up the temperature from 59 to 63 in 3 hours with just these simple activities. Another cool experiment is seeing how much Curt alone can raise the temperature just by spinning on his bike trainer. After 45 minutes on the trainer it can go from 60 t0 62! Amazing!

Our Weekend Recap

Friday evening: We had dinner with Curt's parents and Claire's family. The news of Claire getting a sibling was exciting! Then we saw Chaska's production of A Christmas Carol (the musical). Curt's old roommate Tyler was in it and we were very excited to see him on stage. He can sing!

Saturday: After a morning photoshoot I had a knitting marathon so I could finish the blanket for Barnibus. In the evening I went to my sister's baby shower. It was a nice gathering and we are all excited to have the baby come. For Curt, he hung out with Anton and Nicole. They saw a movie which apparently was bad (I don't remember the name).

Sunday: After a client meeting we went to Ikea and the Mall of America. I was a bit surprised when Curt suggested that we go! At Ikea we had lunch and looked at their cool displays. At the Mall of America we swiped samples of lotion for our dry hands and sprayed on women's perfume in Macy's (Curt did too) before some people watching and crowd navigation. It was fun! And we finally checked out the Levi's store! Curt tried on a few pairs. It's always amusing to go jean shopping with Curt. His muscular thighs make some boot cut jeans look like skinny jeans. It's hilarious. The store clerk also told us about some unfinished jeans where you wear them while sitting in the tub. You get out and let them dry while still on. And magically they are the perfect fit! Finally for dinner I made a really spicy soup. I got carried away with the chilli flakes and red rooster chilli sauce. It was even spicy for me, but Curt was sweating a lot. I felt very bad because by the end of the night it looked like he just stepped out of the shower!

sorry you can't see the sweat in this picture.

It was a great weekend.

Family of 3 Princesses: Emily, Lauren, and Olivia

Emily, Lauren, and Olivia. 3 sisters. Emily is the oldest with younger twin sisters Lauren and Olivia. Where do I begin? How about...WHAT A CUTE BUNCH!?!?! Check out the slideshow and pay special attention to the end. Of course all parents want a picture of all the siblings together, but this was just TOO impossible as the twins were not feeling a group picture. But Emily was so incredibly cute and tried her best to help me get a group shot. At one point she looked to her parents for help, then she just looked at me like...this is the best I can do for you! Even though it didn't feel quite right to keep shooting, I just kept clicking away. And I'm glad I did because it really documents the time we shared together!!!