My Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades

Lindsay, a Francis Howell Senior ... and Batman extraordinare! Lindsay's family have been friends of ours since we moved to Missouri seven years ago. Now Lindsay is nearly 18, applying to colleges and graduating high school. My, my how time flies. Congrats Linds and GOOD LUCK- You're going to do AWESOME things!

clever juxtaposition

It was a good call on Ryan's part on the location, clothing choice and time of day. All we had to do was show up and shoot. Well, more or less.

About the photo: 50mm. ISO 200. Aperture: f/5.6. Shutter speed: 1/160.

Two kids. Too cute.

"Ummmm. I'm telling Mom."

175mm. f/4.0. 1/160. ISO 200. Colors edited in Lightroom.

It's not a painting. It's Klondike Park.

Without a doubt, Klondike Park offers one of the prettiest fall scenes in town. And if it's this pretty and the ground is this white in October, we're wondering what it looks like in December...

Guess we'll have to get Marlie back out there next month and see.

Eric and Ola + One

Tonight was a good night. We were among the first in the world to meet Baby Max, son of Eric and Ola, born on 11/10/11. And while he was awake and alert for a good portion of the shoot (yeah, he must have been excited to meet Becca), you'd never know it by looking at the images below with Mom and Dad.


Later, on our way home, we found out our awesome sister-in-law had checked into an L.A.-area hospital, ready to give birth to our second nephew and their third child. To our surprise, it wasn't but a few hours later that we received a few texts and video proof that our cross-country addition had arrived! Ahhh... We feel so, so blessed.
Now sleep well, sweet boys. You've got a lot of growing up to do.

all grown up

When Hannah asked us a few months ago to create senior portraits with her, she made a special request: Any chance you can find a grand piano to use in the shoot? Good question, we thought. But after some brainstorming we pulled it off, thanks to our neighbor and friends, the Meiers. (Thank you, btw, for letting us take over your upstairs music studio for an hour!)
(Sorry if this next part is embarrassing...) So, Hannah and Ben go way back – all the way to when he was in high school and she was in the nursery. Good family friends dating back years, I think it was an especially fun and enjoyable shoot for Ben (even if it made him feel a bit old). It clearly meant a lot to him to get to see Hannah’s sister, Joanna, during the Quail Ridge portion of the shoot.

And now, Hannah’s all grown up. A superb student. A talented musician. A great person. And about the same age as Ben was when the two first met. Crazy.

photography = ...

Today, we're giving away The Secret. More than the camera. More than the lenses. More than the lighting, location or angles.

Yes, this season we have discovered the magic formula: Photography = one part stress + one part timing + two parts pure joy. Seriously. Busy? Yes. But we love what we do. Especially when you get to watch a person or a family--like the Streichers in this case--grow so much and change over time. It just helps put it all into perspective, that you're doing more than just snapping photos. We record history.

megan and the morning sun

Sunrise or sunset... that is the question. Which time is better for a senior shoot? It's one question that may be unanswerable, but Megan's morning session sure helps us form an opinion. Love that morning sun.