maggie

we had to let our sweet maggie go yesterday. thankfully, greg was able to take her into the vet and hold her through the process. we rescued her from the animal rescue league when i was pregnant with our first daughter, sadie. when sadie was older, maggie would go into her room at night as soon as she saw her go in to brush her teeth. she would stay in her room until sadie fell asleep. then she'd come hang out with us until we went to bed and then go back to sleep in sadie's room for the rest of the night.
maggie got cancer two and a half years ago and they had to remove her right eye to stop the spread. she rebounded back from that with no problem and we were so lucky to get more time with her. sadly, the cancer returned a few months ago and just last weekend we knew she was beginning to suffer. we spent the last few days going on hikes in the woods and going through the drive-thru at various eating establishments.
we are so thankful for maggie and the monumental effect she had on our lives. we are also very thankful for the sullivan family pet hospital for being the best vets in iowa. thank you for your kindness.
we will miss you maggie. thank you for watching over my family.

molly and joe

molly and joe had one of those storybook weddings. joe came back to greenfield, iowa after his freshman year at college and spotted molly (who was going into her junior year in highschool) across the town square. or something like that. anyway, he took her to nodaway lake for their first date and proposed to her there years later. this is also where they held their reception. they just pitched a big tent right there on the lake.
so in between the ceremony and reception we went to joe's dad's farm. now, after this wedding, i decided i needed to buy some land in iowa. the herrick farm (and the land around greenfield) is that beautiful, rolling iowa countryside. we were there right at sunset and it was really, really cool. paige and i sort of freaked out and shot the heck out of it.
on the way home paige, mandy and i knew this would be a wedding that would always stick out as one that we'd never forget. well, i think mandy was sleeping. but i know she agreed with us later.

sarah and ryan

when sarah hugs people she closes her eyes for a few minutes and really takes it all in. she is the sweetest, most genuine person and we really loved spending her wedding day with her.
sarah and ryan together are a great match. you can really tell that they just get each other and love each other dearly.
after a hot, hot session in greenwood before the ceremony (at which not a single soul complained), they had a beautiful ceremony at st. augustine's and a really fun reception at the art center.
ryan is a really talented designer and made really cool invites and programs, from which the cake was designed.
we know you two have a great life ahead of you. thanks for letting us be a part of the celebration.

matt and jodi

ok, i'm going to try to play catch-up over the next several days. it's so hard to post now that we're so busy!
we shot matt and jodi's wedding WAY back in the beginning of june. we have a bit of a family connection here, as paige is dating matt's brother. so this made it very fun for me to shoot since i know matt and jodi. it was also fun because paige got to play photographer/guest and party it up when she finished shooting.



sweet jodi


this is a great succession of these two. they were so much fun.








perhaps the greatest groom shot ever captured by paige










paige and jason have only been to two weddings together. the first one, which was my friend nikki's, jason caught the garter. at this one, well, you can see it was meant to be.
first photo by mandy miller.

the r family

i shot nate and erin's family a few weeks ago. this was BY FAR the hottest day i've ever attempted to shoot a family. i don't think anyone even realized how hot it was until we got to the park that day. it was ridiculously humid. and there was not a single breeze the entire time we shot. i even called the shoot early, when i realized that i looked like someone had thrown a bucket of water on me and the kids looked like they had just gotten out of the pool. but what troopers they were. everyone just smiled and kept going. AND sweet erin is pregnant! regardless of the shooting conditions, the photos turned out so incredibly well. they are a really cool family and i'm excited to see that new baby. (and their little guy is in "school" with my youngest next fall. i'm sure she will be quite taken by him.)

jackie chan

my friend and his darling wife let me storm their house for an eight-week session a couple of weeks ago. dad is a musician and we think the baby may be headed the same way, seeing as how the daylight was a bit bright for him and we kept having to give him beverages to lighten his mood. he also only really smiled once we got into the music room and, as you'll see below, he's already pretending to sing into his "air mic".
he is a gorgeous baby and i'm so happy for the new parents. we're doing his six-month photos at the end of the fall, so i'll be sure to post them.

if i have to explain it, you won't understand

it's just fuggin' cool to shoot bands. and, really, there's not much that i like to shoot more than musicians (except, i do like babies, dogs and laid-back brides an awful lot.)
anyway, the soul searchers needed a few photos for an upcoming cd and it gave me a break from bridesmaids. if you get the chance to catch these guys out, it's worth the ride.