I finally got around to posting just a few photos from Becky & Mike’s wedding in September!
This Past Eventful Weekend September 14, 2009
This past weekend was actually pretty eventful. On Friday I drove over to Chaska to shoot a wedding for an awesome couple and I think that went really well! I do hope that I grow out of feeling panicky and sick on days that I do photo shoots though. I’m okay once I get there and start shooting but the time before that is pure hell for me. Hopefully I’ll get more work from that past wedding because one of their friends just got engaged and one of them is a music producer that took my card so maybe I’ll be doing some artist portraits too? One thing that I’m worried about with that is I don’t have a studio or portable lighting because it’s so expensive and I haven’t even earned back the money that it cost to buy the equipment I currently have so hopefully natural light/outdoor portraits will be okay. The bride & groom also told me that they’ll be calling me in eight months because they just found out she’s preggers. So Jessie will have to give me some tips on photographing babies because I haven’t even ever held one (out of my own will) before.
Also on the morning of the wedding I was woken up by at&t calling me about a job and had me answer some questions. I’m just afraid that I might have messed up because I was literally half asleep and can’t even remember the conversation. I just know that I froze up on one of the questions and that she said she was forwarding my application to a hiring manager and I might get a call within a few days. So maybe I won’t be so unemployed and poor for much longer?
On Saturday the whole family (Craig came home for the weekend) went out for a movie & dinner. We ended up seeing Inglorious Basterds because my brothers and I are Tarantino fans and the previews looked so good. It didn’t end up being what I expected but it was still okay since I’m also a fan of Tarantino’s dialogue (there’s a lot of that) but I do wish there was more action. I thought that since he loved the original Inglorious Bastards film so much and was making this movie because of that one that it would be more like the original but wasn’t at all. Oh, and I would highly recommend the origional if you like campy and fun war films from the 70′s. After the movie we decided to try Baja Sol which was pretty darn good. They have their own salsa bar for unlimited chips and salsa (yum yum!) and the menu was pretty awesome too (lots of vegetarian options). We also had a very upbeat waiter that let me have a Dos Equis although I didn’t have my ID with me.
Yesterday Craig ventured back up north for school and I ended up taking a few last minute photos of Eric since he had to leave today to go to school in Birmingham, England for nine months. He says that he will keep a blog over there so he better uphold his word especially since he won’t be back home until May and he gets something like two months off to travel around Europe. So his blog for that is here: http://ericintheoldcountry.blogspot.com/ Now here’s a few of those awesome (I’m allowed to like my own work) photos from yesterday:
Eric in his cowboy/outback hat that he bought during our South Dakota Trip.
Of course I had to shoot some funny face pics:
Yup, I really love these photos and I think it would be fun to do a collection of friends and family in the same style. Too bad Craig didn’t want his photo taken too 
Labor Day Weekend September 8, 2009
This past weekend of course was Labor Day weekend and I think this was the first year I actually had something to do for the holiday weekend. Usually my dad’s side of the family tries to get most of us together once a year up at Kathy & Jim’s cabin but this year we had to reschedule for September. I think this was actually the best weather we’ve had (it didn’t rain!).
Eric & Jim starting the beer drinking.
Craig and his very tiny tent. I would not sleep in that thing. I think it would make me feel claustrophobic not to mention too close to wildlife while sleeping because I like having some space between me and the tent walls at night.
My cousin Nick with a beer and a turkey leg.
Eric enjoying a beer.
Abri & Emily
Payton
Uncle Steve
This was actually a very pretty sunset but the sun doesn’t look right in this photo.
Abri
Emily (don’t you just love the soft light!)
Uncle John, Sammy, & Grace.
The four of us took a short little walk down the beach before dark. I love how sandy the shoreline is on Mille Lacs. It’s for sure one of my favorite lakes to swim in.
Some sitting around the fire:
Alan & aunt Mary Ann with Daphnie (the daughter of my dogs Gracie & Luke). They have to drive all of the way from Ohio to visit.
Craig & Nick
I think that Troy is getting a little big for this.
Jim mixed up a giant martini for uncle Tom.
The next day it was more warm sunshine 
Deja
Emily & Grace
Pat at the wheel for a while thinking he’s the captain.
aunt Kathy
Jim, the real captain. (as indicated on his cap)
Rick & Mitchell
At the end of the boat ride Jim told a few of the guys to put weight on the front of the boat so they all got up there without really thinking and the whole front end of the boat went down like we were sinking. Thankfully we didn’t sink but sadly I didn’t get that YouTube worthy moment on film I also went on another ride with the next group and noticed by the time that I got back to shore that I should have put on some sunscreen. I am seriously burned like I can’t believe. It’s painful to raise my arms and the burn has a purplish tint to it. Hopefully it will turn tan and not peel!
Dad, Rick, Derek, Mitchell, & Craig.
Jaspar is my hero! August 22, 2009
Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting my beautiful and talented cousin Jaspar at Lake Nokomis to take some photos for her upcoming CD. There were so many beautiful wildflowers, most of them being yellow which was perfect because that’s her favorite color and because they match her sunny disposition. We found this one beautiful location in the shade by a tree and lots of beautiful flowers and of course I don’t keep my big clunky camera bag on me while snapping away so I set it on the ground about 50 feet away. When we were done taking photos I turned back to my bag and there was a swarm of angry bees all over it! Now some of you know that I hate bees! I’m sure this goes hand in hand with my fear of needles. I had only been stung twice before by paper wasps on two separate occasions and would never want to be stung by one of those again! (Very painful! Burns for about 8 hours and I break out in hives.) So I was pretty weary about going over there to save my camera bag. I kept my distance but that didn’t help much because one flew over and stung me and then of course 3 others attacked me after that because when they sting you they release some sort of scent marking you as the threat/enemy. Since I was already marked and stung a few times I for sure didn’t want to walk up to the bag swarming in those little evil buggers and was thinking about calling some sort of pest control. Jaspar had never been stung before and wasn’t the least bit afraid. She was actually looking at it as a challenge. She put on a long sleeved shirt and wrapped a bandanna around her hand and pulled the bag away by the strap. Of course I also had the bag open which made it a little worse because they were inside of it. After all of this I walked away with 4 stings and Jaspar didn’t even get stung once! I guess next time I’m taking photos outside I’ll pay more attention to where I’m setting my bag so I don’t set it on top of another ground bee nest and make sure that it’s closed. Now today those darn bee stings are the size of ping pong balls and are driving me crazy like I want to tear them open and drain them!
Thank you Jaspar, for saving my camera bag!
Isn’t she beautiful!
Father Hennepin State Park August 13, 2009
I spent August 3rd through the 8th with my parents and aunt Mary & uncle Dan. (& Craig for 2 days) We stayed at Father Hennepin State Park up in Isle, MN on Mile Lacs Lake. Craig came home during the weekend while I was up at the cabin in Amery, WI and the day after I came home the two of us drove up to stay with the others in the campground. I think this was my first time camping that I really didn’t need any bug spray! The park has a really nice long & sandy beach, paved paths, and some hiking trails. The downsides were that it was crowded and the sites had no privacy and the park itself is kind of small. I think it would be the perfect park if the campsites had more privacy because that was a BIG downside. There were people walking through our site to theirs and while sitting around you almost had to look at your neighbors because they were so close with nothing seperating the sites.
Luke riding in Craig’s lap. Craig put on the brakes and poor Luke’s head smacked into the horn on the wheel. It was pretty comical but also a good reason your dog shouldn’t ride on your lap.
Gracie in the back seat where she later threw up a clump of grass.
Craig & Luke on a dock on our first walk around the park. Notice how you can’t see the shoreline on the other side of the lake. Mile Lacs is huge!
Nice sandy beach.
Me.
Dan & Craig.
Duckies!
It seems like everyone has these recliner chairs now.
Playing some washer and box game. (Almost the same as but not as good as cornhole).
It took some time for Gracie to get used to being tied up because at home she’s always running free.
Sunset!
Dad & the puppies.
Some funky mushrooms.
More duckies! (I love ducks).
On another walk.
We played a very loooong game of Canasta followed by a couple games of Liverpool.
The only deer I see the whole time I’m there & it’s an albino one!
Wedding with Ashley July 26, 2009
Today (technically yesterday) I shot a wedding with Ashley as her secondary photographer. Wow, it was a long day! I had to wake up at 7am which is almost impossible for me because I’m used to going asleep around 5am. I tried going to bed at 11pm but then got an email from an etsy customer so I was online for a bit and then started worrying about Luke because he was still outside barking at something and it was past midnight. So I wandered outside in my pajamas with a flashlight calling and looking for him but no luck. A little later my mom woke up off the couch and let him in but I didn’t know he was let in so I was still in bed worrying about him. Finally I got up and listened outside and didn’t hear him barking so I searched the house for him and gladly found the little bugger curled up on the giant pillow downstairs. A word of advice, if you want a crazy little dog get a patterdale terrier because they are insane, fearless , love to run, and aren’t easily obedience trained. Of course I love him though So anyways, long story short I didn’t sleep a wink.
Despite being super nervous about today I ended up being fine and even had some fun once I got there and met Ray and Angie (the bride & groom). They are such nice people! It is also much less stressful to be the secondary photographer and also not be on your own. One first of mine today was riding in a limo which I had never done before. After the ceremony I rode around with some of the wedding party and bride & groom to a few different bars before the reception. At the first bar the groom insisted on buying me a drink which at first I refused but then accepted after he insisted. Shortly after getting the beer everyone decides it’s time to head to the next bar but I still have a full glass so let’s just say that baby had to go down quick and they now have a photo of me chugging one to always remember me by (their idea). At the next bar they offered to buy me another a few times but I refused trying to stay professional. One cool thing about the reception is they had one of those photobooths set up for their guests to take photos in and then put in the guest book with a little note. Of course Ashley and I took one and left a little note for them. :
Yeah the quality isn’t the best, I should maybe try taking a picture of it instead of scanning it. (and yes, I know I look like a dork.)
I’ll have to post photos later after I’ve gone through them but I don’t have any energy to even glance at them right now.
So yup, yup, yup, pretty good night. One funny thing, all night Ashley kept going on about how “yummy” Angie’s cousin is and kept staring at him. Of course I had noticed too because he was quite good looking. So later on he ended up coming over to us and talked for a while and ended up inviting us to a bar after the reception but we didn’t really know where it was (one that I was at earlier). Oh well, when we were saying goodbye to Angie she said that he mentioned that he wanted our number so it does lift your self confidence a little to be hit on by a “yummy” guy Well, hopefully off to sleep now and time for my achy feet to heal and my sunburn to feel worse in the morning.
Send Me Home Pre-CD Release & Farewell Show July 13, 2009
This past Friday on the 10th we took a little trip up to Minneapolis to see my cousin Jaspar’s “farewell show”. I’ve always felt so bad about not making it to any of her shows and I thought this would be an important one to go to since it’s one of her last before she moves to South Africa for two years. It was held at The Glacier Fringe and the show started at 8pm but we ended up being about an hour in a half late because Eric didn’t get off work until 8pm so we waited for him so we could all drive up there together. We hit some traffic on the way up and then drove in circles for a while trying to find a place to park which can be very dangerous for pedestrians when a middle aged man that hates driving in the cities and is becoming enraged is behind the wheel. He almost hit two kids and then a guy in a wheel chair but I think the guy in the wheel chair had a death wish anyway because he was using one of those motorized chairs at night with no lights of reflective tape so he was almost invisible. I was afraid that we would miss the whole show with being so late! It ends up that we got there during intermission (so we missed the first half) but we did get to see the second half and got to mingle with family for a while before and after the second half.
Jaspar can be found here: http://www.myspace.com/jasparlepak
Here’s just a few photos from the night:
Jaspar’s husband Kale played the accordian and provided some harmony vocals:
Mom & Eric
Mom & Teri
Carol & Jake
Dad & Greg
Eric, Jaspar, & Jake
Me & Jaspar
Kale & Jaspar
