Jonathon & Beth-7.07.07

Okay, so I'm starting to catch up now. Here's one of the shoots from the crazy weekend. This is Jonathan and Beth, and they had their reception at the Joliet Grand Ballroom. I was actually a second shooter for my friend Cindy at Main Focus. It's always a blast to be the second shooter, for a couple of reason. First, you're not the "main" photographer. So I'm left to shoot whatever my little heart desires. So that leads to the second great thing, no pressure. It's so much less pressure b/c I'm there to catch all the details and moments, when no one is looking. I love that! It's always fun to shoot with someone else too. So thanks Cindy!

My new addition, to the Canon family that is

Well, I got my new baby home, safe and sound. Nothing was spared in its safety or handling, and I wasn't willing to take any chances with this precious cargo. Yes, you are looking at the latest and greatest of cameras out there, the new Mark III. It's absolutely amazing. I picked it up on Friday, and had an opportunity to play around with it this weekend at my niece's 1st birthday, and also an engagement shoot on Sunday with a couple that's getting married next year. (You'll see that later this week). The camera hasn't left my sight all week! :)

I have noticed though that I've been a bit of a slacker with my blogging. I do have to admit. The 7.7.07 weekend was crazy, which was to be expected. So in the next few days you will see some additional posts to cover all that has been going on. In between all that I've done some other shoots as well, so I'm a little back logged. But I'm getting to it all, I promise!

Keep checking back this week!

The World Series of Poker

I just had to post this. My cousin Frank lives in Hollywood, Florida. He's a professional poker player and travels when there's all these big tournaments. I went on the World Series of Poker website and found his bio... and his rankings for the past years. I've actually seen him on ESPN before when he's gotten real close to winning the whole thing. It was crazy seeing him on TV. Anyways, he's been in Vegas for the past week or so for the Texas Hold'em tournament, so I just thought it would be cool to post something about him. I don't know how he did or how he's doing, but I'll keep you posted!

My New Ad!

Hey everyone!

Hope you all had a great fourth. James and I decided that we were going to do nothing. I know that sounds weird, but sometimes you just need to stay home. We have been blessed with great family and friends, so we're always driving everywhere to see people. So this holiday, we stayed in. Kailee loved it too. On Tuesday, we went to Naperville's infamous Rib Fest. It was packed! I don't know if it's that I'm getting older, or if there were just that many more people that day, but we had brought Kailee in her stroller, and we couldn't get anywhere. It was crazy packed. They had the band Heart performing...remember them back in the day. Yes, you heard me, I said Heart. They actually did a pretty good cover of Led Zeppelin's Black Dog. So we had a good time overall. I brought the camera, but James had taken the battery out to charge, which I wasn't aware of when I grabbed it. So sorry, there's no pictures.

But, I do have pictures of my new ad! I decided to put an ad in Brides Chicago because I wanted to get a little more exposure and possibly book some more weddings downtown. I love the city!!! I'm not sure if it's out yet, but they always send the advertisers a copy first. So take a look and tell me what you think! Talk to you all soon!

Taking a Break

Well, last Thursday I took a much needed break and went to visit my sister in Peoria, IL. It's about 3 hours south of downtown Chicago. So Kailee and I went minus James (he still had to work) and made a 3 day mini vacation out of it. So the first day I was there, we went to Glen Oak Zoo. It's tiny compared to Brookfield, but gave us something to do with the kids. They loved it!

Here's Kailee walking around like she owned the place.



Here's my niece Chloe...she's going to be 1 this July!



Okay, so I had to get the corny pictures of them on the animals.



Okay, so Kailee would not leave the peacocks alone. They just wander around, and for some reason this one was "showing off" to her!







On Saturday we set up a little kiddie pool, and Kailee had a blast.



Awww, look at her little bikini!



Uncle Joey was sleeping on the couch, and Kailee decided that he would make a great pillow for her to watch TV! She's such a nut.



Well, we made it back safe and sound. I'll post more this week.