The Bigger Picture

New Combined Blog!

2010-03-15T13:04:00.004-05:00

This blog is no longer being updated! To visit our new blog, please visit: primaverastudios.com/blog.

Kelsey and I have decided to merge our blogs together. A lot of our friends and fans have been following Kelsey and me on our separate blogs for a while now. From now on, we'll be blogging together in the same place, so if you enjoy catching up on our life and work, now you only have to follow one blog instead of two. Along with the convenience factor, we also thought it was high time to actually attach our blog to our website instead of leaving it a totally separate entity. Hope to see you over at the new blog!

Avery the Model

2010-02-15T15:18:00.002-06:00

I've been doing a little bit of stock photography lately and last week, Avery helped out by being my model for some studio shots. I thought they were worth sharing :)

PS - If you're not familiar with stock photography, iStockphoto is a great place to find high quality images that you can use for any project without paying royalties every time you use them.

Fun with iPhone and Poladroid

2010-02-10T12:22:00.002-06:00

Photo ops are a little sparse in the dead of Wisconsin winter, so today I decided to go through some of the photos I've taken over the last few months with my phone. I'm not sure it's possible for any kid to be cuter than Avery. See for yourself through the eyes of iPhone & Poladroid:

In case you're wondering, no, this is not forced child labor. It only takes about 5 seconds of watching us do something before Avery is ready to try it out for herself.

Avery's first Halloween costume:

Avery with a "bah!" (snowball)

Tiger needs a role model substitute. We're getting Avery started early...

Apparently, a woman's love for shoes is by nature, not nurture.

"You're gonna share that snack with me, right?"

The hat, glasses, and tutu were all Avery's idea.

Photography Workshop (Continued)

2010-02-04T17:55:00.001-06:00

Oh, and I forgot to mention - one of the shoots at our workshop will be an engagement shoot. We need two engaged couples (or couples that look like they could be engaged) for this and we're offering the shoot for free!

If you're engaged or know someone who's engaged or if you just want a free photo shoot of you and your significant other, contact us! Two lucky couples will get the opportunity to have lots and lots of pictures taken (and - double bonus - you get to keep the photos too.)

Photography Workshop - Madison, WI - April 2010

2010-02-04T17:22:00.005-06:00

Kelsey and I are announcing that we will be hosting a two-weekend workshop at our studio on April 10-11 & 17-18. There will also be an optional follow-up dinner and critique on April 24th.

We've been planning this workshop for a long time but originally were only thinking of using it to give our own assistants some good focused training and critique. A few weeks ago, Kelsey and I started talking about how many people there are in our area that love photography and have great potential, but just seem like they need a push in the right direction to really harness that potential. This led to the decision to open up our workshop to the public.

We've learned an awful lot from our experience since we started out and we're excited about the opportunity to share the lessons and the techniques we've learned with others. I'm confident that Kelsey and I will learn a lot by teaching as well - I'm especially excited about the critique sessions.

The workshop will feature training that covers pretty much the whole spectrum of wedding and portrait photography, from camera basics to lighting, to Photoshop, etc. We will also be holding two real live photo shoots so attendees will all get some hands-on experience and a portfolio boost.

If you or anyone you know a) has an SLR camera and b) is hungry to learn, then send them our way. The cost for the workshop is $350 per person and will include breakfast and lunch each of the four days. We're capping the number of attendees at 10, so if you want in, let us know soon!

Wedding Wire - Bride's Choice Award 2010

2010-01-19T16:09:00.004-06:00

I just found out today that Primavera Studios won another award! According to WeddingWire.com, "this award recognizes the top 5 percent of local wedding professionals from the WeddingWire Network who demonstrate excellence in quality, service and professionalism." Again, I didn't even know that voting was taken place, but it sounds like this award is determined exclusively by votes from real brides and grooms. So if you were one of them, thanks so much for your support!

The Knot - Best Of Weddings 2010!

2009-12-16T13:57:00.005-06:00

I recently got a call from The Knot letting me know that Primavera Studios has been voted one of the best wedding videographers for 2010! The Knot is the biggest and most popular wedding website out there, so I'm excited to be chosen as one of their "Best Of". This award is determined based on votes from real brides/grooms - I actually didn't even realize a vote was taking place, but apparently people were out there voting for me. If you were one of them, I want to give you a huge thank you. I'm honored and humbled by your nomination and I hope I continue to live up to it with my work!

A New Kitchen in 4 1/2 Minutes

2009-10-29T21:19:00.004-05:00

When Kelsey and I moved into our fixer-upper house almost a year ago, I knew that something had to be done with our kitchen. We began the renovation in April and after a crazy-busy summer, finally finished it just this last weekend. I could tell lots of stories about washing dishes in the bathtub, trying to keep a crawling baby from eating pieces of old floor, etc., but I won't go into all the boring details here. Suffice it to say that after 6 months of having a partially renovated kitchen, we are so excited that it is done! Being the videographer that I am, I decided to turn the whole thing into a personal video project. The video below is the entire kitchen renovation sped up 1000 times. Thanks to Doug (Oak-N-Things), Craig, Eric, Marshall, Kyle, Wayne from A/C Electric, Jim from Ace In the Hole, and everyone else who had a part in helping us make this happen!

Before:

During:

After:

Tawney & Jamie (& Sawyer Too!) - Monona Terrace

2009-10-28T13:51:00.004-05:00

I know it seems like I say this about every couple, but I had such a great time working with Tawney and Jamie. They were so friendly and probably one of the most laid-back couples I've ever worked with. Kelsey got to shoot this wedding with me and we enjoyed being able to take advantage of all the great photo ops that a wedding at the Monona Terrace has to offer. The cute little kid that shows his face in a lot of these pictures is Tawney & Jamie's son, Sawyer. Kelsey and I ended up with almost as many pictures of him as we did of the bride and groom :)

Alicia & Jeremy - Baraboo, WI

2009-10-19T18:48:00.003-05:00

Alicia & Jeremy chose a theatre setting (Al Ringling Theatre) for their wedding. The character of this building made it a really cool place for a wedding. We also made a stop at Devil's Lake en route to the reception at Baraboo Arts Banquet Hall, another location with a lot of character.

A & J and their wedding party and families were all great to work with and they did a great job of toughing out the cool fall air to get some outdoor photos.

The board shown below with all the dates on it was there for all the guests to pin their name on the year when they first met Alicia or Jeremy. I had never seen this at a wedding before and I thought it was a pretty cool idea.

Tara & Justin - Wisconsin Dells, WI

2009-10-15T00:25:00.006-05:00

What a great day: a beautiful location (Chula Vista Resort), the sun peeking out at the exact moment the bride came down the aisle, a riverboat ride on the Wisconsin River, and an awesome couple.

Christi & Justin - Galena, IL

2009-10-13T20:50:00.005-05:00

Christi and Justin had an awesome wedding day. Shortly after I arrived, the decision was made to have the wedding outside, under the prediction that rain would hold off long enough to make it happen. It was a good decision because the rain did hold off and the Galena Ramada has a great backyard, which made for a really beautiful ceremony. By the way, I'm convinced that Galena, IL is one of the best places in the area for a wedding. Of course, I am a bit biased since I got married in the Galena area, but still...it is a great place. The setting, the decorations, the people, and most of all the obvious and grounded love between these two made it really enjoyable for me to be able to capture this day.

Christa & Paul - St. Paul, MN

2009-10-05T14:32:00.004-05:00

I've been looking forward to Christa & Paul's wedding for a long time. When Kelsey and I took these two out for their Engagement/Love Story Video shoot, we laughed so much that it hurt. Between their fun personalities and Christa's impeccable taste for style, I knew that documenting their wedding day would be a blast.

Christa & Paul's ceremony was at Calvary Church in Roseville, MN, and the reception was held at the Minnesota Boat Club on Raspberry Island in St. Paul. The photo possibilities here were endless.

Christa's dress was designed by Elizabeth Fillmore and she found it at L'atelier Couture Bridal Boutique in St. Paul.

A couple fun clips...

2009-09-30T19:39:00.006-05:00

Usually when I post my wedding video work here, I only post highlight videos and not many people really ever get to see any of the full-length video. Today I'm turning over a new leaf! These two clips are taken from Christi & Justin's full-length video and they crack me up. I hope they crack you up too.

Megan & Daniel

2009-09-30T00:43:00.003-05:00

Kelsey was the lead photographer for this shoot, so if you'd like to see pictures from the whole day, check out her post here. I just chose a few of my photos from our morning photo shoot to post here. We shot this wedding in Duluth and did wedding party photos on the shore of Lake Superior. This is exactly why I love traveling for weddings. Even though there's a lot of variety to be found close to home, I love getting out a little further and using unique settings like this one.

Ashley & Sean's Wedding Photos

2009-09-23T00:28:00.007-05:00

I had such a hard time narrowing down photos to post here from Ashley & Sean's wedding. In the end, I decided to just post a whole bunch of them. Kelsey and I have been friends with Ashley & Sean for quite a while. Kelsey grew up with Ashley and has been friends with her just about as far back as she can remember and we both got to know Sean pretty soon after they started dating. They're also talented photographers themselves and have both assisted us on some of our wedding shoots. These two are such a great couple. Their fun and laid-back personalities complement each other so well and we're so happy they found each other.

Ashley & Sean used Sean's parents' beautiful property as the setting for their wedding and the weather was perfect.

This was a first for me at a wedding and it was awesome - Sean and his groomsmen showed their talents as stuntmen with a mock fight. After the first dance, Sean's groomsmen pretended to make a pass at Ashley and Sean fought back, ultimately throwing each of them to the ground after a few punches and flips. It was quite the show!

It's that time of year...

2009-09-21T12:19:00.003-05:00

I know my blog has been incredibly lacking as of late, so I just wanted to write a quick post to anyone who might be stopping by periodically to say that lots of awesome stuff is coming soon! I'm currently in the process of editing 7 weddings, so I haven't had much time to blog anything lately. But I have had the opportunity to capture several incredible weddings (among other things), so hang in there and I promise my blog will be refreshed soon!

Rory & Brian's Highlight Video

2009-08-14T11:44:00.004-05:00

Rory & Brian got married on July 3rd at Allen Centennial Gardens in Madison. It was a beautiful day, a great couple, and a great location for a wedding. This was another day that Kelsey and I got to work together - check out her blog if you'd like to see some of her photos from the day. Congrats Rory & Brian!

Amanda & Joel Are Getting Married!

2009-08-06T16:30:00.003-05:00

This engagement shoot almost didn't happen because it looked like a storm was going to roll in right at the time that I had scheduled to meet with A & J. They decided to go through with the shoot despite the possible bad weather and I'm really glad they did. You can't tell from most of these pictures, but apparently there were lightning and funnel clouds all around us during our shoot...but where we were, the weather was actually fantastic! In the end, we had a great time and got some great shots!

Katy & Joe's Wedding

2009-08-05T12:02:00.004-05:00

On the fourth of July, Kelsey and I had the rare opportunity to photograph the same wedding together. Katy and Joe got married at Lakeview Lutheran Church in Madison with their reception at The Edgewater Hotel and you could tell all day that they were really enjoying themselves. Kelsey and I really enjoyed ourselves too. I especially enjoyed being an assistant for this shoot...which is way easier than being a lead photographer (although I really enjoy that too!) Kelsey took some amazing photos which you should check out here. I also went through my own pictures from the day and picked out just a few of my favorites to post here. I realize that in 3 out of these 4 photos, Katy and Joe are kissing... We really do try things more creative than such a standard pose as this, and no, Katy and Joe were not kissing the entire day long. I thought the kiss worked well for these particular shots though, so here they are!

Erin & Tim's Rock Star Video!

2009-07-31T22:00:00.003-05:00

Erin & Tim's wedding was absolutely beautiful. Kelsey and I had the privilege of being at their wedding to capture it with both photos and videos. Check out a few of Kelsey's photos from the day here.

It's amazing how much creative energy comes to you when you work with people that you just click with like we did with this couple and their families. We put a lot of energy and thought into shooting this event, but it felt effortless to do so because we enjoyed it so much. Erin and Tim were all about doing things a little differently, so they chose the Rock Star video from me and I'm pretty excited about how it turned out.

The Anticipation...

2009-07-23T13:07:00.002-05:00

I'm currently finishing up a Rock Star Video for Erin & Tim, one of my wedding couples from this summer. I think this video just set a new personal record for the most hours I've ever put into a highlight video. The above picture is an image of the timeline where I put the video together. It's probably a bit of a silly thing to post, but I think it looks cool, with all those clips scattered all over the screen. I'll be posting the actual video within the next couple weeks and it's gonna be sweet!

Katrina & Anthony Are Married!

2009-07-15T13:53:00.003-05:00

You may remember seeing Katrina & Anthony's Love Story Video on my blog not too long ago. Now they're married and I love how the highlight video of their wedding turned out. On the day of their wedding, it rained in the morning and then turned into a beautiful day just in time for the wedding. When evening came, the sunset was amazing and the warm light flooded onto the dance floor, which was really cool. Also, I've gotta say that I love my job. I work with so many awesome people and because I work so closely with them capturing every moment, by the end of a day of shooting I often feel like I'm a member of the family. Then I get really excited about being able to show them everything I captured. Katrina and Anthony and their families definitely left me feeling that way and I'm excited to display their highlights here.

Alicia & Jeremy's Engagement Photos

2009-07-09T18:05:00.002-05:00

Alicia & Jeremy are getting married this October and we recently went out to get some engagement photos. Just from being with them during their engagement shoot, I can tell already that their wedding is going to be a lot of fun - A & J love each other a lot, they're good at being themselves, and they're laid back and fun - all things that make a photographer's job a little easier :) Here are a few of my favorites from our engagement shoot:

Kristyn & Ryan

2009-06-30T17:35:00.004-05:00

Kristyn & Ryan were a really fun couple to work with. They got married a couple weeks ago at First Presbyterian in Oregon with their reception at the Madison Marriott West. If you watch this video, be sure to watch the end, because it's my favorite part! I like it all, but from about the cake cutting on, their reception highlights are so fun to watch! Partly because of the backlighting on the dance floor. (I'm a sucker for backlighting.) Oh, and also, their wedding cake was made by Sweet Nothings Cakes and was immaculate.

Amy & Dennis

2009-06-22T13:12:00.002-05:00

Amy and Dennis got married on June 12th at Blackhawk Church in Madison. They had a small and intimate wedding and it was a lot of fun capturing the moments and finding creative ways to use the space at the church. These are just a few of my favorites from the day.

Micah, my assistant for the day, did a great job helping me out. The picture below is one of his shots. He has a creative eye and I love how this one turned out!

Congrats, Amy & Dennis!

Beautiful Morning

2009-06-19T08:43:00.003-05:00

This is what I saw when I first opened my eyes this morning :)

Lauren & Tom at Oak Hill

2009-06-16T22:04:00.004-05:00

Almost three years ago, Kelsey and I got married outdoors at a beautiful location near Galena, IL called Oak Hill. Just a few weeks ago, we both returned there to shoot someone else's wedding. Lauren and Tom got married in the on-site chapel, so it wasn't exactly the same spot that we used, but it still was so cool being back there. It brought back lots of memories!

Their reception was at Eagle Ridge which also provided an absolutely beautiful setting. Lauren & Tom had all their family and guests drive to Galena from Chicago because Lauren wanted to use these locations away from the big city.

I must confess that personally, I'm not a huge country music fan, but I wanted to post this video anyway. Tom & Lauren had a bit of a country theme going on, and I think the music they picked out ended up fitting their video really well. Plus, they got married at Oak Hill, so I've got to show it off!

Kelsey was the photographer and she got some great pictures - check out some of her favorites from the day here and here.

Katrina & Anthony's Love Story Video

2009-06-10T09:25:00.003-05:00

Katrina has spent the last few years in Missouri, Anthony in Indiana, now they both live in Minnesota, they're getting married in Illinois, and they came to Wisconsin to make this video - talk about road trips! I'm starting to think I might be making a lot of these videos in the future - as enjoyable as the usual slideshow can be at a wedding reception, a love story video just seems to better apply to a wedding and IMHO, it's just more fun to watch! Katrina & Anthony are getting married this Saturday and I'm really looking forward to working with them again!

Christa & Paul's Love Story Video

2009-06-01T15:26:00.003-05:00

I'm pretty excited about this video because it's the first of its kind for me. I've offered the "Love Story" video for quite a while, but Christa and Paul were the first to take me up on the offer. They're planning to show this right before their ceremony and I think it will be a great way to set the stage. C&P - thanks for giving me some great footage - can't wait to get some awesome photos at the wedding!

Alyssa's Senior Photos

2009-05-15T15:19:00.006-05:00

I had the opportunity yesterday to take Alyssa's senior photos. I've been friends with Alyssa's whole family for about as long as I can remember so it was great to spend part of the day with her and her mom yesterday. This was my very first shot at a senior portrait session and I think it turned out pretty well!

Lesson learned from this shoot: if you're taking pictures on a really windy day, find a location that's well-guarded by lots of trees!

A Day In the Life of Avery

2009-05-08T10:46:00.003-05:00

Just a quick little video to shamelessly show off my daughter. This is how Avery spends much of her time these days - standing, dancing, and rolling around on the floor...she also tends to make a lot of noise, but I guess I'll have to save that for a future post!

Desktop Still Life

2009-05-06T16:26:00.002-05:00

Every once in a while something that I'd generally consider ordinary catches my eye and seems for a moment to encapsulate some form of simple beauty. A groundhog making a visit above ground to look for food, the long shadows of chair legs cast by the setting sun through a window, drops of water falling from a showerhead... I don't know if these little moments of visual serenity happen to other people or not, but I love it when they happen to me. I think they help ground me, reminding me that there is beauty even in the midst of the busyness of daily life. This happened last night as I was working on a wedding video. My desk was a bit cluttered and nothing had been placed anywhere for an aesthetic purpose, but warmed by light of my desk lamp, this scene of my work space struck me as a picture of peace, in the midst of my long-work-hour day. Generally, it seems to me that if you try to take a picture of these moments, you can never do them justice, because for some reason, a camera lens just doesn't let you "feel" a scene the way your eyes can. But I tried to capture this one anyway.

Amy & Dennis Engagement Photos

2009-05-04T14:46:00.005-05:00

Amy and Dennis will be getting married this summer and this last weekend, I took them out for an engagement shoot along with Dennis' two sons, Clay and Chase. As you can see, the four of them make a beautiful family! We had some great weather and some great locations and I'm excited about how their pictures turned out!

These guys were real troopers - Amy was wearing raised-heel shoes with slippery soles and she and Dennis still made it out onto the rocks in the middle of this pond. And the boys, of course, were willing to go anywhere.

Sword-fighting never gets old.

Thanks for the great photo shoot, Dennis & Amy (and Clay & Chase). I'm looking forward to seeing you again at the wedding!

Spring is Here!

2009-05-01T19:43:00.004-05:00

We are so blessed to have a backyard. It's so amazing to be able to walk outside and have a little square of nature to enjoy on a nice sunny day. Since our new house was vacant for the last couple years, the lawn is a wild mixture of grass, dandelions, little purple weeds, thistles, mushrooms, violets, and a whole lot of rabbits. The funny thing is, I actually enjoy the wildness of our backyard. It feels real.

Avery's latest trick is being able to stand all by herself. She gets so proud of herself and she gets so excited about taking it to the next level by trying to walk. Meanwhile, she still hasn't really crawled, and doesn't really care to.

The New Office!

2009-04-21T11:34:00.006-05:00

Our house has been on ongoing project since we moved into it and will probably continue to be for many months (or years) to come. The latest big project was the office. Since the wedding season begins for me this weekend, it was pretty crucial for us to get our work space set up asap. When we first saw the house, this room had padding and tack boards laid down for carpet...apparently a renovation that never got completed. In order to move into the house, we were required to install carpet. Then, since this was the only room that had a finished floor, ALL of our stuff got moved into this space. I wish I had an in-between picture to show this stage of chaos, but you'll have to do without :) After carpeting the rest of the house, we finally cleared this room out, installed shades, ripped out the carpet, installed new flooring, and put our new desks together. Now we have an office!

Before:

After:

Website Evolution

2009-04-06T14:50:00.002-05:00

We recently updated the Primavera Studios website and as I was putting the finishing touches on the new site, I thought it would be fun to look back at the history of how our website has evolved. It's amazing how as your skills and creativity evolve, you look back at your old work and cringe at the lack of the quality which you have come to expect from yourself. It takes a little humility to show the image you presented of yourself (or your work) in the past, but it's also fun to see how much you've grown. Check out these screenshots of our website's evolution:

Website #1 - The original! I threw this design together after having only done a couple weddings. Can you believe the images were taken from standard resolution video footage? This design was quickly replaced by the next one.

Website #2 - Progress...?

Website #3 - The final version of the Altair Productions site, and the first design I was truly happy with, featuring a 16x9 dimension ratio to subliminally simulate the feel of film...or something like that.

Website #4 - Kelsey and I joined forces and launched Primavera Studios. Together we designed 5 or 6 different designs in Photoshop and from those, we liked this one the best.

Website #5 - Our current site and first to be completely Flash-based! We decided we needed a makeover, including a logo that wasn't so ridiculously busy. And if you haven't noticed by now, we apparently enjoy using Kelsey's sister in our website images...

Cousins

2009-03-31T08:12:00.005-05:00

I like this picture and thought it would be a good one to share. This, I believe, is the first picture taken of all these cousins together. On St. Patrick's Day, Avery and all her cousins were together in Monroe. Even though Easter was almost a month away, cousin Rilian had his heart set on having an Easter egg hunt, which they did, as evidenced by the basket in the picture.

Get Inspired '09

2009-03-02T15:14:00.003-06:00

This last weekend, Kelsey and I attended the Get Inspired '09 workshop in Grand Rapids, MI. What a great weekend! It was so refreshing to get behind the camera again and get some great instruction and inspiration from three of the best photographers in the state of Michigan - John Pottinger, Jen Kroll, and Holly Henderson. These three photographers are awesome at their work and are some of the nicest people ever. I think everyone there learned a lot and came away with some great ideas. These are some of my favorite shots from our photo shoots at the workshop.

Check out this hottie...

Justine & Dan - Rock Star Video!

2008-12-15T17:43:00.004-06:00

It's been almost a whole year since I've made my last Rock Star wedding video so I was really excited to make this video for Justine & Dan! This style of video takes SOOO long to make, but it's SOOO fun for me to see the fruit of my labor once it's done! I have been so blessed to shoot weddings for some of the nicest people in the entire world and Justine & Dan and their families were no exception. They were definitely rock stars!

Quick Shoot

2008-12-10T09:26:00.002-06:00

After shooting a wedding together in Rochester a couple weeks ago, we headed south to celebrate Thanksgiving with family. As we drove through the countryside of Wisconsin at sunset, we couldn't help but stop for a quick impromptu photo shoot...oh, the joys of traveling with pro photo equipment!

Kelsey is the best wife in the world. She is such a beautiful, industrious, and supportive woman, always striving to put my needs ahead of her own, which I think is the definition of love. I'm challenged every day to love her as well as she loves me!

The Little Creatures Within

2008-12-05T10:28:00.004-06:00

I'm taking a quick break from photo and video blogs here to write a bit of a more personal note. For the last few days, I've been living with these little visitors in my body. I began feeling a little something in my throat on Monday night and only 4 hours later, I crashed hard. Kelsey said I slept for 40 out of 48 hours. I tried to do some work in front of my computer but it took everything I had just to answer a couple emails and go back to bed. I felt miserable - fever of 102.3, chills, throbbing neck, head, and throat, and the most disturbing sleep I can remember. Yesterday, I felt well enough to leave home, which I did, figuring I probably needed antibiotics. The doctor confirmed Kelsey and my suspicions, announcing that I had a classic presentation of strep.

The point of this note, however is not to talk about how sick I was, but rather, what a blessing it is to be healthy. Whenever I get really knocked out like that, I'm always amazed at how incredible it feels to become well again. It's easy to be grateful for your health when you feel like you have 10 times the strength you had just a day ago. It's also easy to take it for granted when you're blessed with health for an extended period of time. I wanted to put this thought in writing to challenge myself and others. If God has blessed you with good health, he has given you a very beautiful gift. Praise him for that gift by using it! Our bodies are made for movement, activity, and the enjoyment of this world. Maintain this gift and enjoy it to the fullest!

Beth & Jason - 11/15/08

2008-11-20T12:36:00.006-06:00

Kelsey and I had a lot of fun shooting Beth & Jason's wedding - they are both great people and theirs was the first wedding that we got to shoot at Calvary Church, which is our own home church! This was actually one of Kelsey's weddings, but because of some post-pregnancy issues, she wasn't able to take the entire burden of being the lead. So we pretty much ended up tag-teaming it all day. These are some of my favorite pictures that I took from the day.

The James J Hill Library in downtown St. Paul. What a great spot for a wedding reception!

Instead of hiring a wedding band or a DJ, Beth and Jason brought this trio in for music during the reception. These guys were great - they actually gave a private serenade for each table in the room!

Naked Baby!

2008-11-16T20:21:00.003-06:00

Today was officially naked baby day. It all started late last night when we suddenly realized we were completely out of diapers. But I'll let Kelsey tell you the rest of THAT story! Later on this evening, I decided it was time for the naked baby photo shoot that I've been wanting to do before Avery gets too big!

The milestones keep coming for this cute little girl. Yesterday Kelsey made Avery laugh for the first time. It was a quick awkward laugh, but a laugh nonetheless! And today, she said her first Spanish word! Sometimes when I talk to her, she watches my mouth and repeats what I say and today she said "hola"! Only 2 months old and little Ave is already well on the road to becoming bilingual...

I don't know if she was enjoying being a model or being naked, but whichever it was, she wasn't happy after the photo shoot was done!

Katie & Steve - October 18, 2008

2008-11-11T13:42:00.004-06:00

Katie & Steve's wedding was so much fun. All day, I felt like I was a member of the family. All the details were totally classy and beautiful and God blessed them with the most gorgeous fall day you could ask for. I think their video turned out really well!

The Girls

2008-11-05T10:19:00.003-06:00

Last weekend, Lauren came up to visit us, in part so she could watch Avery while Kelsey and I shot a wedding together. During her visit, we enjoyed a quick little photo shoot!

This was Avery's second "official" photo shoot. The brisk fall air made it a bit harder for her to cooperate for this one!

Kelsey and I call this face Avery's "old man face". It appears often in two situations: when she's upset and when she's...pushing. This particular time, it was the former!

Thanks again, Lauren, for helping us out! Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Go Vote!

2008-11-04T11:11:00.002-06:00

It'll make you feel good!

Avery Speaks!

2008-11-04T07:28:00.005-06:00

At some point, I plan to take all my footage of Avery and make a really cool video out of it. That might be a little while in coming, so for now, here's a quick little sneak peek! Recently, Avery has been smiling and "talking" quite a bit, which has made her one very fun baby! Here's a little excerpt from our footage:

Christa & Paul's Engagement Shoot

2008-10-31T08:31:00.005-05:00

Our friendship with Christa and Paul began at Northwestern College where Christa and Kelsey were fellow art majors. Kelsey is actually going to be a bridesmaid in their wedding in September and they've asked me to be their photographer. I am very excited to take pictures for their big day! A couple weeks ago, the four of us headed down to St. Anthony Main in Minneapolis for an engagement photo/video shoot and we had a lot of fun! During the majority of the shoot, I was actually getting video footage for Christa & Paul's "Love Story" video. Kelsey was taking most of the pictures. But there were a few times when I had a photo idea and she was gracious enough to let me steal her camera for a few quick shots!

During the time that I was NOT stealing Kelsey's camera from her, she captured a lot more shots than this and I thought they turned out really well. Check out her pictures of Christa and Paul here.

Avery Abelle

2008-10-30T08:07:00.006-05:00

After nearly 41 weeks of growing in preparation for the world, Avery was ready. On September 9th, Kelsey and I walked to Subway for dinner and then came back and played some Wii. About this time, the contractions started, but we didn't think too much of it, because it was about the gazillionth time Kelsey had experienced contractions. Three hours later, we started taking it a bit more seriously. We left for the hospital around 2:30am, and after Kelsey's epidural, we actually got a short bit of sleep. Around 9:15, Kelsey started pushing and at 9:44am Avery arrived! These first 4 pictures were taken during her first 5 minutes.

Check out that beautiful new mom! After delivery, we all stayed in the hospital for 2 more nights. We enjoyed some postpartum Papa John's delivered right to our room, Kelsey drank about 2 gallons of water per day, and Kevin was so tired that he slept soundly on his pull-out couch. Kelsey was just as tired, but she was more attuned to Avery's cries, so I'm not so sure she slept as well...

Avery is a very energetic girl. She is also very strong and stubborn. She is almost always wriggling around, flailing her limbs in every direction. From Day 1, she was able to hold her head up without any support. She likes to fight sleep, she loves being held, she loves her books, and she loves music - she gets mad when we take either of the latter two away.

Happy baby, angry baby, sleepy baby - Avery rotates quickly between the three personas, and often in that order. Hungry baby also shows up often, scattered among the three!

Avery was about 2 weeks old when we brought her along to Afton Apple Orchard. She liked picking raspberries a lot more than picking apples - probably because the breeze made it feel much cooler around the raspberries.

Our beautiful little girl.

Kelsey Propaganda

2008-10-28T10:56:00.003-05:00

This is a fun little video that Kelsey and I made earlier this year. To give you some background, there's a photographer in Louisianna named Kelly Moore who is the absolute best wedding photographer in existence, in our opinion. Kelly and three other great photographers put on a photography workshop for women that Kelsey really wanted to attend, but since it's in San Diego, we couldn't really afford tuition and travel costs. But they offered a scholarship to the winner of their contest - basically they asked people to submit anything, as long as it had the words "Love Affair" in it (the name of the workshop). This is our submission - I thought it was worth sharing! Kelsey didn't win, but that's okay because we found another great workshop that we can attend together instead!

Marcia & Troy - August 9, 2008

2008-10-27T14:26:00.005-05:00

There were a lot of couples that got married on 8/8/08 for good luck. Marcia and Troy got married the next day - they told me they don't need luck to keep their love alive! These two loved each other very much and were so much fun to work with!

When I first met with Marcia and Troy, Marcia told me that her biggest "splurge" would be her wedding dress, which she ordered from Italy. True to her word, the dress looked amazing!

My own lovely wife, Kelsey assisted me for this wedding. (She was 8 months pregnant at the time, but she stayed strong all day and had a lot of fun!) This last picture is one of her shots.

Sondra & Travis - July 25, 2008

2008-10-27T07:50:00.003-05:00

Sondra and Travis were a great couple to work with. They were a lot of fun and it was great to watch them thoroughly enjoy their day!

We had originally planned to go to a park for group photos, but just as we were about to leave, it started to rain! By the time the rain stopped, we didn't have time to make it to the park and back, so Kelsey and I scoped out our options and found this great spot nearby. The only problem was that it was across a busy street - but as you can see, the bride had no problem stopping traffic!

Everyone had a great time at Sondra and Travis' reception. My favorite part was when Travis wheeled his grandmother out onto the dance floor where she joined in with the party!

Kelsey @ 7 1/2 Months!

2008-10-24T19:21:00.001-05:00

Amanda & Neil - June 28, 2008

2008-10-24T19:11:00.004-05:00

The day after Rachel and Billy's wedding, Kelsey and I trekked up to the north shore of Lake Superior for another awesome wedding. Amanda and Neil are a very cute couple and I love this video because everything was just so beautiful all day long! Whenever I watch this video, I find myself lusting over the strawberries on their cake. I mean seriously, how do you find so many plump strawberries like that in Minnesota?

Rachel & Billy - June 27, 2008

2008-10-24T17:24:00.004-05:00

Rachel & Billy are possibly the nicest people I've ever met. And I know a lot of nice people! When I first met with Rachel & Billy, I thought they were only looking for a videographer. When I mentioned that my wife does photography, they wanted to book her right there without even seeing her work! I'm not sure what prompted the blind faith, but I'm glad I got to work alongside Kelsey for their wedding. We were both able to get to know them a little bit and Kelsey got some great pictures from the day. They mentioned that they'd like to expand their family sometime in the future - we're excited to meet their new addition(s) whenever the time comes!

Sheila & Charles - June 13, 2008

2008-10-24T17:17:00.004-05:00

Sheila & Charles' wedding featured the most fun reception-entrance dance I've seen (with lots of Liberian spirit), the best salad I've ever eaten, and a beautiful in-love couple. I was so impressed by how the participants in their wedding didn't rush anything. They took the time to savor every moment and truly experience the events of their day - which challenged me to do the same everyday.

Kelsey @ 6 Months!

2008-10-24T16:13:00.003-05:00

Kelsey was exactly 6 months pregnant with Avery when we went out for this photo shoot. Of course, nobody knew Avery's name at the time, except us! Look how beautiful that pregnant woman is!

Some of the best shots are taken candidly - no posing involved. I love this one.

Joy & Trevor - April 26, 2008

2008-10-24T14:46:00.005-05:00

I had to put this video on the blog. Joy and I have known each other since we were about 2 years old. My first memory of Joy was being together at a daycare while our moms were at a Bible study. I remember seeing this girl who had the audacity to chew her gum with her mouth open. I told her close her mouth when she chews! To be fair, I hear one of her first memories of me was of her scolding me for coloring outside the lines. Fast forward 20-some years and we've both found spouses who can accept us, flaws and all! Joy and Trevor's wedding was stunning - thanks in large part to Joy's mother, the queen of crafts. I learned that it's quite a challenge to work at a wedding where you know most of the attendees, especially when you haven't seen many of them since college. I think I managed to (somewhat) catch up with people while still shooting all the action!

Abby & Adam - March 15, 2008

2008-10-24T14:25:00.006-05:00

Abby & Adam's wedding was the first that I shot as a lead photographer. I was lucky to be able to shoot such a beautiful wedding for my first lead shoot!

Adam's daughter, Mary, was their flower girl - she was very very cute!

This one might be my favorite shot of the day.

I think this wedding is where my suspicion was solidified that I really could love photography as much as videography. Even though photography and videography have similarities, you have to approach the two roles with an entirely different frame of mind. They definitely are two very separate skills, but I'm having a blast with each of them!

Abby & Adam had a very small and intimate wedding, but went all out with their dinner menu. Their chef and wine expert worked together to create a custom 7-course meal, each course with its own wine pairing. This lobster bisque was the first course. Kelsey and I didn't stay to see all 7, but if they tasted anything like this bisque smelled, they had one absolutely incredible meal!

Elise & Josh - January 12, 2008

2008-10-24T10:40:00.006-05:00

Rock Star wedding video numero dos! Josh and I have been friends for a long time so this was another wedding that was very fun to shoot! It was also nice that their wedding day was about as warm as you could ask for a day in January to be! I really wanted to make another Rock Star video, and since I didn't have one to show when Josh & Elise booked us, I don't think they knew exactly what to expect. But I talked them into switching out a less cool part of their package for this video instead and I think it was a good decision! I made a regular highlight video for them also, but I wanted to just pick one for the blog, so here it is!

Adair & Ben - December 8, 2007

2008-10-24T10:27:00.005-05:00

This video represents a milestone in my artistic progression in video. Sometime during the fall of 2007, I came across a video on the internet that inspired me to think of wedding videos in a whole new way. I've always tried to make my videos more exciting and dynamic than the average traditional wedding video - and here was an opportunity to take it one step further. The idea of the "Rock Star" wedding video was born. A few months later, I had the chance to make one! Here it is - Rock Star wedding numero uno.

Nieces & Nephews - November 2007

2008-10-24T09:36:00.003-05:00

As my pursuit of artistic photography began to take shape, Kelsey and I made a trip to Nashville to visit Kelsey's sister & fam. Kelsey brought her camera and I took advantage of the opportunity to try out some photojournalistic shots on some very good-looking subjects!

Ella (bottom right of these top 4) is the only baby in my life experience that would cry at the sight of me. As you can see by this rare smile, I've been making progress!

Gideon and Rilian were gifted with Spiderman suits this particular weekend, which they donned for the entirety of our stay!

Little baby in a big world...

Katie & Matt - July 14, 2007

2008-10-23T16:55:00.006-05:00

Katie & Matt's wedding was so fun to shoot. You'll see why if you watch this video - their wedding location was absolutely beautiful, God couldn't have provided better weather, and Katie and Matt were both so HAPPY all day long! It was also a momentous time for Kelsey and me. Our 1-year anniversary was the next day and this was the first wedding where we worked together, providing both photography and videography. Somehow, the timecode got messed up in this video during the last two shots when Katie is coming down the "aisle", so there's a weird shot of the bridge in this video instead of Matt's expression...oh well, at least it's right on the DVD!

Jen & Eric - June 9, 2007

2008-10-23T09:21:00.007-05:00

The creativity in these shots is actually due to Kelsey since she was the one interacting with the bride and groom as their photographer. I was just along for the ride as an assistant, grabbing candid photos wherever I could. Jen & Eric's wedding was my first experience on a true wedding photography job. Just like with video, I've learned a whole lot about photography since this first shoot and I hope to continue learning at the same pace for as long as I take pictures!

I wasn't quick enough to get the focus right on this last picture, but I still like the moment that was captured!

Megan & Kyle - June 2, 2007

2008-10-23T09:08:00.005-05:00

Kyle & Megan are really good friends, so this is one of my personal favorite videos just because they are in it! I was one of Kyle's groomsmen, so I had my wife and sister take the job of shooting the ceremony. They did such a great job that I've continued to use them both as assistants since then! I love the shot Lauren got of Megan smiling up at Kyle on the altar with the background all dark behind them.

Christy & Marshall - September 2, 2006

2008-10-23T08:41:00.004-05:00

I'm not going to post every wedding video I've made - I don't think anyone would ever want to watch all of them! But since the top of this blog says "photography and videography", I do want to post a few significant ones along the way. Christy and Marshall were my first real wedding "clients" and their wedding was the first that I shot AND edited. I always get really excited to shoot a wedding if I really care about the couple or if I can tell that they are nice people and really love each other. Of course, C & M had all of those things going for them! And on top of that, their video gave me a legitimate sample to show future clients of my own work. So I was almost as pumped for them and their day as they were!

Our Wedding - July 15, 2006

2008-10-22T13:53:00.004-05:00

My career as a wedding videographer kicked off with our own wedding. Technically, I had filmed another wedding previously, but I was really sick that day and the video was never edited, so I don't count that one! If I look at this video with a "professional videographer" eye, I have to cringe at the low video resolution and the lack of editing prowess. So it's a good thing I don't look at it that way! This video actually fits our wedding very well. Our wedding day happened before Kelsey and I had really jumped into the "wedding industry", so we didn't have all kinds of preconceived notions about which wedding trends were in, which weren't, and which trends were too "cliché". We just had a wedding, Kevin & Kelsey style. And we were very happy with how it turned out. I could say the same about this video. I know so much more now than I did then about making good videos, but this video has the exact flavor that we were looking for at the time and because of that, we still enjoy it very much - I hope you do too!

The Brand Spankin' New Blog!

2008-10-21T11:20:00.001-05:00

You might ask, "Kevin, you already had a blog - why'd you have to go and start a new one?" Well, my old blog was a conglomeration of random commentary, pictures, and ruminations. I wanted to start something with more of a streamlined purpose. The purpose of this blog is to provide a place for me to display my work and document my growth as both a videographer and photographer while maintaining a personal, rather than business, feel. So don't expect to see long philosophical essays here. But you can expect to see lots of pictures and videos!

Now, at first, this blog may seem a little strange, because I'll be posting a lot of my work from the last couple years. The reason for this is that this blog is the only place I have to create an online portfolio of all my work, past and present. And since I'm looking for more and more photography jobs, I really need a place to which I can direct people to see the work I've done. So bear with me as I trudge through the recent history of my work. It won't be long until this blog is current!

Finally, I know a lot of photographers (and videographers) out there have blogs like this and many of them choose to keep their blog strictly professional. There's nothing wrong with that - but I've decided that my own blog will include updates from my personal life too. After all, if you know me, you're probably most interested in recent pictures of my family! So stay tuned for many pictures - and possibly videos - of Avery (and future kids too - Lord willing). As you can see, there's already one here. Isn't she a cutie?