brianna gray photography

Fall Family Session

2011-11-05T16:14:00.005-05:00

It took a while, but here is the W, H and M families. Again, I love this crew.

Family

2011-10-22T13:37:00.000-05:00

Here's a sneak preview of the Whitmore family. They are sort of my all-time favorite family to photograph because they have fun and love to come up with their own ideas for the shots. W-family, I had a fantastic time with you! I hope you like this sneak preview as much as I do.

Senior: Alex S.

2011-10-11T14:33:00.000-05:00

I've never taken senior photos before, but I've always thought it would be a fun type of photography to try. I remember my senior photo session like it was yesterday mainly because the man my mom hired was a bit creepy (she didn't know... not your fault, mom). He tranformed his entire house into a photo studio. It wasn't a hip and cool photo studio you're imagining. He had more backdrops than I ever thought could fit into one person's home. It just had that eery factor. Trust me. Although my parents loved how my photos turned out, my mom did not hire him for my two younger sisters' photos a few years down the road.

Senior photos have come a long way. My aunt hired me to take my cousin's senior photos this year. She's been talking about me taking Alex's photos ever since he was a sophomore in high school. The day finally arrived! I really can't believe Alex is a senior. I remember visiting my aunt in the hospital on the day he was born. Alex is a great kid (yes, you're a kid to me still... sorry) and he has so many wonderful things ahead of him!

Rainy Day at the Farm

2011-10-09T13:59:00.000-05:00

C turned 4 this year! I took his photos for the first time when he turned one. Time has gone so fast! He's become a silly and warm little guy.

Love Shoot at Minnehaha

2011-05-26T15:26:00.000-05:00

I love meeting new people. Last weekend, I had the chance to do a love shoot at Minnehaha Falls. The day started out pouring rain, but just as our shoot was to begin, the sun came out! It was perfect. My friend, Becky, hired me to take engagement photos as a gift to her sister and her sister's fiance. What a great idea!! It was so fun to meet you guys and I hope you enjoyed your time at the falls!

First Comes Love...

2011-01-23T12:53:00.000-06:00

Then comes marriage... third comes the baby! It just so happens that I've been able to photograph this couple in all three of those phrases. Katie and I went to high school together. When she got engaged to Ben, I took their engagement photos as a very new photographer. I was her co-personal attendant at their wedding and took many, many candid shots that day. Now, they're expecting their first baby... a little girl! As usual, I love photographing a mama-to-be. Beautiful moms. Beautiful couples. Lots of fun. Katie and Ben - so excited for you to become parents! I hope I haven't scared you with my many Tyler tales. Looking forward to meeting your daughter so soon!

We braved VERY sub-zero temps for a couple photos!

Lucas

2011-01-08T21:05:00.000-06:00

I love photographing newborns, but it is especially fun when you are friends with the newborn's parents. My husband, Brian, and Jim (the proud new dad), went to law school together and became friends quickly. Rochelle, his wife and the glowing new mama, and I became friends then too. We were so excited to go meet Lucas this morning and I had the chance to take some pictures of him. What an adorable little guy! We couldn't be happier for you, J and R, and we know you are already amazing parents.

Baby C

2010-12-19T20:09:00.000-06:00

Baby C made an exciting entry into this world and his parents took him home from the hospital on the day of the big MN blizzard last weekend! I had the chance to take some photos of this cute family over the weekend. Here are some of my favorites!

I love the yawn.

10 days old and look how strong baby C is!! He is going to be an athlete!

Tagged: I'm It!

2010-11-29T21:16:00.000-06:00

My good friend, Beth, tagged me on her blog to answer a couple questions about myself. It's "Cyber Monday" and I'm on the computer anyway Christmas shopping, so I thought I'd do this too! Here we go!

1. Favorite flower: My favorite flower is a pink peony. I wanted peonies for our wedding, but they were all gone by the time July rolled around, so we settled for pink roses and gerbera daises.

2. Favorite color combination: Ooh, good question. I like brown (specifically the paint color "warm caramel") and light blue mostly because that's how Ty's nursery was done in our old townhouse. But for clothing purposes, give me grey and I'll put anything with it that I can find.

3. Favorite celebrity couple: Do Adam and Christine from "Parenthood" count even though they are a made-up couple? Yes? Then them. I find them relatable.

4. Theme song: I can't think of anything off the top of my head except for this one. A few years ago, I took the class "the mixx" at Lifetime once a week and the instructor played the song "Bring Me to Life" by Evanescence at the end of every class. For some reason, that song made us get through the last 5 minutes and work extra hard. So, when I signed up to run my first half marathon earlier this year, I put that song on my iPod to listen to while I ran. I found myself playing it on repeat because its one of the few songs that makes me kick my own butt and stay motivated. Seriously random, but hey, I'll take what works when it comes to staying motivated on a run. I can't even name another song this band sings, so yeah. Kind of weird.

5. Favorite "I had a terrible day" food: Frozen pizza and pop.

6. Favorite lip stick or lip gloss: I am a boring Chapstick kind of girl and hate the feeling of something on my lips (other than Chapstick of course). But I used to be really into Clinique's "air kiss" gloss in high school and MAC's lip glass. I have a pink lip gloss tube in my purse in case I need to look put together for something in an instant :)

7. Favorite magazine: Real Simple or Women's Health

8. Favorite things about fall: I love to wear vests and scarves, so the fall weather helps with that. I also love the colors, crisp air, Honeycrisp apples and taking long walks outside before winter comes. Oh, and I just started to bake more regularly (I was afraid of my KitchenAid mixer) and am loving baking pumpkin bread! Yum.

To keep this going, I tag:
Becky

And to end it on an extremely cute note, check out my baby experiencing snow for the first time!

My boy

2010-11-09T22:05:00.000-06:00

I love my baby boy. They say he's actually a toddler now, but he's my baby. I'm so in love.

A Family of Girls Plus Dad!

2010-10-24T21:43:00.000-05:00

A co-worker of mine hired me to take photos of her sister's family as their Christmas gift! What a great idea!! I had such a wonderful time taking pictures of your family, Carol. Your daughters are beautiful and it was such a fun hour we spent together!

Lanzen: Family of Almost 4

2010-10-13T20:54:00.000-05:00

I had the chance to take photos for the Lanzen family tonight at a local apple orchard. It was beautiful out for a mid-October day! Nealy is a fellow photographer and you can check her work out here. Nearly two years ago, I took her maternity pictures and soon, her and Kyle will welcome their second baby! These guys are so photogenic and cute! It was a fun time together.

Polly

2010-09-21T21:51:00.008-05:00

A few months after Arlo was born, his cousin, Polly, was born! What a beautiful little peanut. It was a joy to photograph Polly and her parents.

Arlo

2010-09-21T21:31:00.005-05:00

Welcome to the world, baby Arlo! Kelsey and I have been friends since middle school and we both had baby boys in the past year. It has been so much fun to watch her become a mom and to discuss parenting styles, baby gear and sleep issues time and again. Photographing Arlo was a lot of fun... reminded me of those first couple weeks I had with Ty. Just precious.

Who's Excited...

2010-06-18T16:21:00.001-05:00

For another cabin weekend?

Baby Tyler!

Little Girls: B and V

2010-06-13T21:07:00.009-05:00

On the same morning I took Sully's pictures, I took pictures for Bella and Victoria too! These two girls are adorable and I had a great time catching their smiles. What a beautiful family.

Sully

2010-06-02T21:19:00.007-05:00

Sullivan is so unbelievably cute! Agree?! He was born just a couple weeks after my wedding and I remember holding his tiny, little body. Now he's almost 5 (sorry, Ashley, does that scare you?). I've had the chance to take photos of him before and he just keeps getting more and more cute and silly!

Family Gathering

2010-05-26T21:24:00.006-05:00

You may recognize one of the couples in the photos below because I took their maternity pictures back in February. Unfortunately, I was too sick (thanks to daycare germs) to take their newborn photos, but I was able to take some pictures over Mother's Day weekend when the entire family came for a visit. It was so cold and windy... the babies were not enjoying themselves, but we managed to get some shots as keepsakes.

Toes

2010-03-20T09:36:00.001-05:00

My baby is 20 weeks old and loves his toes!

Baby A

2010-03-02T22:19:00.009-06:00

Doesn't it seem fitting that my first shoot after having a baby was a maternity one?! I think so! I have known Craig and Lindsey for years and I was so excited when they asked me to take baby bump shots for them! We had a great time throughout the shoot and I am looking forward to meeting their little boy or girl (they have SO much patience to wait to find out the gender) in just a few weeks!! Congratulations, you two! You will make amazing parents!

I'm Back!!

2010-02-26T11:35:00.007-06:00

The time has come. I am officially taking myself off maternity leave from my photography business and am ready to get back into taking pictures of your beautiful kids and families! The past 4 months since Ty's birth have been amazing and, at times, challenging. But I wouldn't trade it for anything. I love my firstborn son... everything about him from his smiles, his giggles, his cooing on Saturday mornings when he sees me walk in his room and his new desire to chew on anything that comes near his mouth! Precious. So, here are a few photos I took of him around his 3 month birthday. It is good to be back!

Info on 2010 shoots:

- maternity, baby, kids, family (6 or less people)

- all shoots are $100 and include everything

- you receive images on a disc and have the rights to print them on your own

- for package deals, families larger than 6, or other type of shoot, please contact me for pricing

Thanks!

The Story of Tyler

2009-11-04T08:22:00.003-06:00

Since it is terribly hard to respond to every email I've received with the details of Tyler's birth, I thought I would write something here to update you. So... here we go.

On the morning of Thursday, October 29th, we had a doctor appointment. I was two days overdue and more than ready to have the baby. Dr. M said the baby was really low, but my body just wasn't ready for him to arrive yet. I wasn't experiencing bad contractions or anything painful... some cramps here and there was all. She stripped my membranes (Ouch!!)and ordered a gel treatment to be done starting that night at the hospital. I would go back Friday, Saturday and Sunday to get it done again (keep in mind, it would take 2 hours every time! yuck.). If that didn't work, I would be induced Monday morning. The absolute last thing I wanted was to be induced, so I was counting on the gel treatments working. We went to work after the morning appointment and I decided that I would take Friday off. If I was going to spend 2 hours at the hospital anyway during the day, why not just take the day off, right?! I knew that day was my last day of work since I'd be induced Monday no matter what. I packed up my stuff (ok, I got excited and packed up the week before so my cube was already empty and the only way you knew who sat there was by the name plate on the wall). I said my goodbyes and was done... for 3 months!!!

That night, I made spaghetti for dinner around 6. The hospital gave me about 30 minutes warning and wanted me there for the treatment at 7. We ate quickly and headed to United Hospital. They got me all set up for the treatment, but monitored the baby and myself for 20 minutes first. The nurse came back in and said I was having contractions 3-4 minutes apart. She was stunned I couldn't feel them, but thought it was my body reacting to the membrane trama from earlier in the day. Unfortunately, they don't give the gel treatments if you are contracting that much, so I was told to come back and try again the next day. We stopped by Trader Joe's on our way home to grab some treats since I was disappointed. I got some awesome chocolate ice cream and Brian got apple juice and vanilla cookies. Weird combo. At home, I ate some ice cream and just relaxed before heading to bed... still feeling disappointed.

1:27 AM: Hellooooo contractions!!!! I woke up out of a dead sleep with painful contractions. The first one I timed was 8 minutes, then 7 minutes, then a couple at 6 and within that hour, I was having them at 5 minutes apart. At that point, I woke up Brian. We waited through a few more to see if they kept up at 5 minutes apart. They sure did. We took showers just in case it was the real deal... yes, I was still in denial. I called the hospital and they suggested we come down. Brian drove so fast. He is typically a drive-the-speed-limit kind of guy, so driving down the Montreal Ave hill at super speed felt like we were riding a roller coaster when I'm used to driving it at 35 mph.

4:00 AM: Admitted to hospital. I put on that beautiful gown, got in bed and had no idea what to expect. I was scared, excited, anxious and still a little bit in denial. My contractions were getting stronger, longer and closer together. It was pretty much the worst thing ever. I wasn't sure if I was going to throw up, cry, or pass out. Thankfully, I only cried out of those three :)

The next few hours are a blurr. I took a pill that was supposed to make me feel drowsy and that did not work at all. At about 7, I think, the nurses changed over and Nicole was my new nurse. She was so amazing. I was very much ready for the epidural at this point and she was on top of it. Dr. Lee showed up quickly, got that huge needle in my back and relief was on its way. Oh how I love Dr. Lee. They started me on some Pitocin to keep my contractions strong since the epidural weakened them a bit, but hey, I couldn't feel them, so bring on the Pitocin! I slept a bit, tried to smile while Brian took some pictures and talked to my mom on the phone once. Brian curled up on a tiny chair and slept a bit himself.

1:18 PM: 10 centimeters and here we go! I did not expect to be to 10 already, but I was and now the show was really going to start. My fear returned, but I was also really excited because I knew within a couple hours, we would FINALLY meet our son! Pushing the baby out was pretty much the most awkward moments of my life. I'm not even going to say why. It was just so weird. I'm sure many of you can relate. About a half hour in, I didn't think I could take it any longer. I was tired and I felt like my head was going to explode. Brian motivated me and kept encouraging me. I am SO thankful for a husband like him. I literally could not have done this without him next to me... holding my hand, holding my head, and talking me through it. He is such a great man. Still pushing. Pushing some more. It was nearing the end and I started getting an awful pain in my left hip. It was almost intolerable. I didn't know what was going on. How was it my hip was hurting when everything else was happening? The nurse thought the baby came down crooked or else he was coming with a hand next to his head. When she could clearly see that I couldn't take it any longer, she went to find the doctor. Dr. O came in within a minute from another delivery, saw what was going on and in two more pushes, baby Tyler was born. I'm not sure what she did, but what a relief.

2:39 PM: Tyler made his entrance... screaming!!!!! He was warm and slippery and completely full of energy. But I loved it. I held him close, we cried, Brian took some pictures and we were just in awe of what had happened. They let me hold him for a while before taking him out of my arms to be checked on, which I loved. Our son was born.

Tyler weighed 8 pounds, 1.3 ounces and was 21 1/4 inches long. His head circumfrance was 14 inches, which they said was normal for his weight. Now, I was expecting a 9+ pounder since Brian was almost 10 and I was 8 1/2 or so, so I was totally happy with an 8 lb 1 ounce baby if you must know. We took more pictures, held him and then Brian called our parents. Mine had been in the waiting room since 1 PM and were just itching to see him and us.

At 4:30, we moved into the room that we'd use the remainder of our stay. It felt like a dream. This baby was ours. He is absolutely beautiful and we are so happy. We learned so much about parenting so early on. Brian changed his first diaper and held a newborn for the first time. It is so precious to watch him interact with Tyler. He is truly in love.

We were sent home Sunday afternoon and the time at home has been wonderful. Our first night was a little on the rough side. Tyler did not want to sleep unless he was sleeping in our arms. He is adorable, so how could I resist holding him? I was up most of the night and watched an episode of Little House on the Prairie to stay awake. Trust me, it was the ONLY thing on TV besides paid programming and it never occurred to me to put a movie in until right now. Ha ha. The second and third night were great. He slept in his pack 'n play right next to me and only needed to eat twice during the night. What a good baby... so far! We are learning to be flexible and patient and we are relying on each other more than we ever have. I loved my husband so much before this, but I love him on a much deeper level now. I cherish him.

So, that is the story of how Tyler entered the world. I said before and I'll say it again, we were and still are in awe of the miracle he is. God gave us a beautiful gift in Tyler and we can't wait to see how he grows and who he becomes. We are so thankful for answered prayers that he is healthy and that everything went safely for me and him. Those gel treatments and induction never had to happen. Way to go body for doing it on your own! I'm not sure I can do childbirth again, but I'm sure someday I'll forget about how awful it was and want another tiny baby to curl up on my chest and fall asleep. Precious.

Mixed Emotions

2009-10-20T20:51:00.004-05:00

So, you can see that my due date is ONE week from TODAY! I remember when I put the ticker on my blog months and months ago when October seemed so far away. But now with one week left (possibly two if I end up going over), the days seem looooong. Far too long. Every time I feel our baby wiggle and squirm around (which is very, very often), I am reminded how strong and ready he is to enter this world. I can't get him off of my mind these days, but I know that is a good thing. It is just hard to focus on other aspects of life on a daily basis knowing he is going to arrive so soon. At the doctor's office today, I had to get an ultrasound to determine the position of the baby. For a couple weeks, the doctor said the baby was head down and suddenly today, she was unsure. Talk about freaking me out! But, the ultrasound revealed that the baby is still head down... thank goodness! Not that having a c-section is the worst thing in the world, but it isn't a road I want to go down. Tonight I'm watching The Biggest Loser and I am extremely jealous of these people killing themselves in the gym. I miss running until my face is red and splotchy. I also miss looking down and seeing my feet. I can't even see the bones in my feet anymore because they are so swollen! Thankfully, I have an awesome, supportive husband who reminds me this is temporary and in just a few short days, we will meet our son. He also gives amazing foot rubs! So, it has been a long road and these last few days are going to feel longer than the previous 8 1/2 months, but it is all worth it. Soon, I will snuggle with my baby boy and time will start to fly... but I'm not going to think about that.

Wow, this was random.... and this is why I got nothing done at work today!

Love for Lake Harriet

2009-09-14T21:27:00.010-05:00

Over Labor Day weekend, the Johnson family came together from all over the United States to celebrate their mother's birthday! There is a strong love for the lakes in this family, so what better place to shoot than Lake Harriet!? It was a beautiful, warm September morning and I had a great time capturing many special moments between these family members!

Not even 24 hours

2009-08-26T22:20:00.009-05:00

At around 21 hours old, Sophia had her first photo shoot! My friend, Beth, gave birth to this precious baby girl, so I went to the hospital to take some pictures of the baby and new little family. I've been exploring ways to try some new types of shoots and this idea came to mind about a week before Sophia was born! Good timing! Congratulations on your daughter, Dan and Beth!

Not-So-Rainy Day

2009-08-09T09:59:00.007-05:00

Last fall, I did a shoot for these two girls and I remember them being so silly and making the craziest faces almost the entire time we were together. Well, they've grown a bit, but their personalities are still quite goofy! S and E's mom bought these adorable matching rain boots and umbrellas to use as props for the pictures. I'm so glad it didn't actually rain! I had a really fun time with this family and wish them well on their big move coming up.

This was the first time I'd seen a 3 year old girl bribed with a worm! I wasn't sure if I should laugh or cringe at the thought of her holding this and being very, very happy.

So, it has been busy

2009-08-04T21:39:00.007-05:00

There's just a few things going on right now. My day job is forcing overtime, which is no fun in the summer! We've had a couple extended cabin weekends. We celebrated our 4th anniversary not too long ago. And... I'm 28 weeks pregnant today! But I feel like I've neglected this blog, so here are a few photos just for fun. I have a few more shoots before I call it quits until Baby Gray arrives, so be on the lookout for those too!

The last Gray family photo before Baby Gray arrives!

I know these last three photos aren't anything special, but I was practicing manual settings at the cabin and felt like taking some down by the dock.

Also, the new Write Away website is up and running. Check it out! The site turned out great!

That's about it for now! More to come soon... I promise!

Daddy's Girl

2009-06-30T20:59:00.004-05:00

Back in May, I helped a friend out with a Mother's Day surprise for his wife, who is one of my good friends. They have the most darling little girl... as you can see below. I took some shots of E and her daddy and he gave one of them framed to my friend on Mother's Day. So cute if you ask me!

Write Away

2009-06-23T19:03:00.009-05:00

Write Away is a great personalized stationery company based right here in Minneapolis. Co-owners and neighbors, Meredith and Sarah, are in the process of updating the company's website and needed some new images of their products. So, over the weekend, I took a bunch of shots and we had a great time together! We're doing some more this weekend and their improved website should be ready to go in no time! Check out their website and maybe you'll just find something you'd like to order! Here are a couple shots.

a CUTE family

2009-06-19T17:50:00.013-05:00

Welcome to blog post 3 from the sculpture gardens! I love this family. The littlest of the bunch has changed so much since I last photographed her last fall. We had a great time together even though it was so hot! I could have photographed these two kids all day... gorgeous eyes and hilarious expressions! And an adorable puffy pink skirt (good taste, Katie!).

21 Weeks... Repeat!

2009-06-17T21:37:00.003-05:00

So, my ticker has been backed up a week or so... I am no longer 23 and some weeks... I am 21 weeks and one day! Ahhh! At my latest appointment, the doctor decided to move my due date back to October 27th. In all honesty, it really isn't too big of a deal. At least this way, if the baby is late, he won't be as overdue as he would've been had my date stayed the 14th. Makes sense to me.

Baby boy Gray (whose first initial starts with the letter T) is growing and kicking and having a grand time. I hope he is anyway. I feel good. The weather is getting warm. This could get interesting.

Another wonderful sculpture gardens shoot to come soon! I'm doing a stationery shoot this weekend... yes, a shoot for paper. It'll be fun!

Ben and Jerry's Phish Food and I have a date on the couch. Goodnight.

Cherry + Spoon #2

2009-06-11T21:23:00.010-05:00

The Mpls Sculpture Garden is a hot spot! This shoot with Eli and his parents took place there and my next shoot this weekend takes place there! Three in a row! I don't mind one bit. The grounds are beautiful and there is a ton of stuff for little eyes and fingers to see and touch! Trouble is... getting them to look at me! As I was editing Eli's photos, I kept thinking to myself, "Oh, he is so stinkin' cute!" He's a great client... as are his parents! It was fun to see him again since I hadn't seen him since his one-year photos last fall.

Half-Way, Baby!

2009-06-04T17:19:00.004-05:00

I'm 21 weeks as of yesterday. I may be a week behind that according to the ultrasound measurements, but I'm just going with 21 because I feel BIG enough to be 21 weeks! My wonderful husband was kind enough to snap some photos last night. Oh, and this outfit is brand new... Gap maternity is my very good friend. No more stuffing myself into regular-sized pants and sitting for 8 hours at my job. Talk about uncomfortable!

I like pointing at my ball-shaped belly!

Mr. and Mrs.

2009-05-30T16:11:00.009-05:00

The BIG weekend is past us now, but it was so much fun! It started on Wednesday night and lasted all the way to Monday. Two very wonderful things happened. First, our ultrasound revealed my husband and I are expecting a BOY! We are thrilled and have already begun registering at various stores. It is overwhelming, but exciting. Second, I have a new sister, Kala. She married my husband's brother and it was an honor to stand up at her wedding to celebrate their marriage and new life together.

Here are a bunch of photos from the weekend. I'll provide a link at the bottom of the photographer's site where you can find their AMAZING wedding day photos! You HAVE to check them out!

I was in charge of getting all of Kala's getting ready photos for the day as well. And later down in the blog, you will see my obsession with her wedding shoes... gorgeous!

See, they are gorgeous! As was the bride :) To see some ridiculously great shots from the wedding, head on over to Alison Lea Photography blog.

Location: Saint Cloud, MN and surrounding areas

it is a BIG weekend

2009-05-21T09:14:00.006-05:00

Well, here we are at 19 weeks already. The time is going so so so fast. I'm feeling BIG! A lot has changed since the last picture I posted of my growing belly. I sort of actually look pregnant now instead of chubby. I've also felt the baby move and wiggle around!! I'm still feeling great, but have to remind myself every now and then that my body is working hard... I need to slow down! Here is my 19 week photo taken yesterday. Please excuse the gross-ness, but it was in the 90s and we don't have our a/c installed yet. I was hot. I found a great and comfy (most importantly) pair of shorts at Target that I think I'll be living in this summer. OH, and tomorrow is our ultrasound!! We are totally finding out the gender of this kid... as long as he or she allows us a good view! I'll be posting the good news!

Another reason this weekend is so BIG, my brother-in-law and his fiance are tying the knot on Saturday! Do you remember these guys? We are so excited to be part of this special day. Both my husband and I are in the wedding (yes, the dress fits) and we couldn't be happier!!

I love 5 day weekends!!

18 Months and Counting

2009-05-15T16:00:00.010-05:00

Doing shoots for return clients is great especially when they have young kids. I get the chance to see them at different stages as they're growing up. I did a shoot for Grant when he turned one last fall and a couple weeks ago, we got together again for his 18-month session. He smiles more, talks more and runs way faster, but it was a lot of fun keeping up with him! I caught my breath (keep in mine that I am 4 1/2 months pregnant and totally out of breath all the time) when he sat down to read a good book. This family is great to work with... so laid back and up for anything I want to try! Love it!

Location: Mpls Sculpture Garden

Growing

2009-05-01T23:05:00.005-05:00

Well, my ticker does not lie. I am just now 2 days past the 4 month mark and wow, time is going so fast! Our future nursery still looks like an office/clothes drying area/guestroom/anything else that doesn't fit in our tiny little place room. Four months have come and gone so fast, but it has been wonderful. I was never sick and am pretty darn proud of it... although I know it had nothing to do with me, but the way my body responded to pregnancy. I just feel fortunate. Maybe that's a better way of putting it :) Because I nag my friends to post belly bump shots, I thought it was only fair to post my own. So, here it goes...

11 weeks (disclaimer: this was taken right after dinner, so I probably thought I was showing more than I actually was... ugh... but who cares, I was excited!)

15 weeks, 3 days... kind of a weird shot, but my husband laughed at how funny my feet looked, so I thought I'd post it for you.

15 weeks, 3 days... sorry for yucky background. This outfit was my first maternity clothing purchase... Gap jeans and Old Navy shirt. Love them. I was hoping to make it to 16 weeks before going the maternity route, but comfort was calling. I like to squeeze into my normal jeans still using my trusty rubberbands connecting the button and the button hole, but that probably won't last much longer.

bG (baby Gray) is growing and there is no stopping him/her/them.

Family Vacation: Seattle, WA

2009-04-19T08:28:00.020-05:00

My Seattle photos are finally here. Back in March, my mom, dad and my middle sister, L, took a trip out to Seattle to visit my youngest sister, T. Sister L had never been to Seattle before, so we took her all around the city showing her all the coolest places we could find and remember from our trip out last spring. It was absolutely wonderful to visit T, see her dorm room, meet some of her friends and just spend time together. The whole trip kind of reminded me of family vacations when we were lots, lots younger... sharing a bed with L and fighting over who touched whose foot first while we tried to fall asleep, T sleeping on the floor in the hotel room on a bed made of pillows and blankets, dad waking up early to go workout in the hotel gym and returning before any of were awake, and mom creating the shower schedule so we were out the door on time. The list goes on. These photos aren't necessarily anything to be proud of technically, but I guess it is more of a personal post to share the photos with my family. Have fun enjoying our vacation with us!

Upon arrival in WA, we picked up T and went straight to the 5 Spot restaurant in Queen Anne.

L enjoying some pastries at Macrina Bakery in Queen Anne. I think we went here 3 times and the same staff was working every time. They knew us.

T sipping on a vanilla latte at Macrina's. You'll notice a trend. We eat a lot on vacations.

L's first visit to the Public Market. The photo is dark, but I was trying to cross the street at the same time and not get wet, so please, no judgments on this photo...

At the market, L got picked to catch a fish. Her goal for the whole trip was to be a part of this little show the guys put on at the market and it worked out! She caught the fish!

You can't go to the market without drooling over the produce. If I lived in Seattle, it would be hard to not buy your fruits and veggies here fresh every day.

Mmmm...

We also visited the very first Starbucks store down by the market. This little band was playing outside and they were impressive. The girl was even tap dancing on that wooden board while playing and singing.

A dreary view of the market, but it was kind of rainy and cloudy that day. Thank goodness for rain boots!

Brighter days ahead! We took a walk around a grassy area known as gasworks where the views of the city are amazing.

Mom and dad on the shore at gasworks. The water homes behind them were incredible and one of them is even the house from "Sleepless in Seattle".

At gasworks, my dad still finds time to mess around.

If you ever find yourself in Seattle, you must go to Thai Tom's restaurant. It's located on the campus of the University of Washington and was the dirtiest restaurant I've ever eaten in. It was also some of the best food I've ever had. We sat at the counter about 3 feet from the hot stove where I assume Tom was creating about 7 dishes at one time. The line was out the door and the restaurant only held about 20 people. We were all stuffed, but agreed we'd go back when we're in Seattle again. And yes, that menu is on a piece of wood. Delicious.

Dad thoroughly enjoying his red curry at Thai Tom. And L being a goof.

Our hotel was pretty close to the space needle, so one night we drove by and took some shots of it. The building on the left is the musical experience museum place.

There is a certain street in Seattle that has two huge retaining walls with bright lights shooting upwards. The lights continuously change colors and there are benches for people to just sit and hang out in this park. We thought we'd take some photos of us in front of the wall. It was hard to kneel down in the rocks to get my camera perfectly ready for this picture and get the timer going, so its a bit lopsided. Oh well. Left to right, we have T, mom, dad, L and myself.

T making her own special shape.

L making her jumping move. Her favorite thing about this picture is you can still see her shoes are pointy :)

And that is the end of the vacation.

Crazy Good Things!

2009-04-08T21:47:00.012-05:00

If you haven't noticed the ticker at the top of the page, look now! The little chick is my favorite part. Thanks to thebump.com, I was able to post a ticker on here announcing that my husband and I are expecting our very first baby! It's a bit scary and crazy, but we're so excited! So, here's a couple photos from the day I found out to the day we told our families.

First, a photo of the actual test. Trust me... it reads positive, but it was a faint line. We had it confirmed a week later at the doctor's office. I kept it a secret all day from my husband and told him later that night after work by wrapping up a onesie with airplanes on it.

A couple weeks later, we hosted a dinner for my family and my husband's family. It's not unusual for everyone to see each other, so we didn't think they'd have any idea of what we were going to tell them. My husband broke the news right before dinner and everyone jumped up and started screaming! My brother-in-law and his fiance brought a jar of baby food because they were 95% certain that was what the dinner invitation was for. How did they know?? It was a really great night full of hugs and questions. We reenacted the expressions for the camera.

Unfortunately, some of our family lives out of state, but we had to tell them the news that night. So, we logged on to Skype and told my husband's sister and her husband. I managed to snap two photos in that quick moment. One of my mother-in-law holding up the onsie to the webcam and the second of my sister-in-law's reaction.

My youngest sister goes to college in Seattle (yes, those pictures are still coming...) and she was working this night. With the time change, it was hard to connect with her, but my husband and I finally were able to call her late that night. She was on the bus riding back to campus and we asked her if she'd be interested in babysitting for us next Christmas when she's home on break. She said, "What?..... whaaaat???....." and I'm pretty sure she broke into tears. She's been on us about having a baby since our wedding day, so we know she is thrilled! We were sad to not share the exciting moment in person with those couple people, but it was good to just share the news! And that's the story. The number one thing I've been asked so far is "How are you feeling?" and the answer is... Great! I haven't been sick at all and feel very fortunate about that.

More to come in the months ahead...

A bit more C...

2009-04-02T22:10:00.007-05:00

I'm back! Refreshed and ready for spring... if it ever comes. Anyway, here's more from the shoot with C a few weeks ago. Seattle photos to come soon!

C being very independent

Singing "Baby Beluga" in the swing to wrap up the afternoon...

Sneak Peek!

2009-03-26T22:39:00.003-05:00

I'm back! But not for long! I have to wake up in a few short hours to catch a flight to Seattle for an extended weekend. But since I've been absent from this blog so long, I wanted to give a little sneak peek from my last shoot. "C" is now 18 months and was SO much more mobile than his 1 year shoot with me last fall. Kids change so fast! Yikes!

More to come upon my return from the West coast!!

At 5 Days...

2009-02-27T21:34:00.004-06:00

A couple months ago, I took maternity photos for my friend, Nealy. Loved that shoot! Her daughter was born back in January and she asked if I'd come take Callie's birth announcement photo. So, here is beautiful Callie at 5 days old. Precious.

Newest Kid on Campus

2009-02-10T21:51:00.014-06:00

Over the weekend, I met a great family at the University of Minnesota campus for their session. Lori and Justin met at the U, so it was a great location to have their first family portrait taken! It was a beautiful morning for being February, so I was excited to get the shoot underway. But first my parking meter broke after inserting half my quarters and then I stepped in a giant puddle on my walk to the Washington Ave bridge where I would meet the family. I was worried about what else could go wrong, but nothing did! I had a blast working with Lori, Justin and Zoey and can't wait to meet up with them again in the future (I hope!).

The Secrets of a February Thaw

2009-02-06T22:12:00.011-06:00

It was a beautiful 40 degrees today when I left work at 4:30 PM. On my drive home from work, I thought what a great day it would be to go out and do some experimenting with my camera. My goal was to use ONLY manual settings... as in ONLY use the M on my DSLR... as in I would HAVE to pick the shutter speed AND the aperture. Guess what? I did it!! I first went to a bridge as a freight train was passing underneath. I played a bit with blur. Then, I noticed this tiny stuffed animal laying on a sheet of ice in the street. I started noticing all this other garbage on the sidewalks and in the street. It was all made visible from the melting snow. So, I shifted to two goals: shoot manual and shoot garbage revealed by the February thaw. It was a fun 30 minutes, but kind of gross and disgusting too.

Oh, and the sunset was gorgeous! Especially the clouds.

I walked back to my front door after about a half hour and noticed this older couple walking along the sidewalk. It was just kind of cute to me. I had been reading online about street photography the other day and how I want to experiment with that sometime this spring too. Maybe that's why I snuck this shot of these two walkers.

Mental Health Vacation

2009-01-27T20:20:00.007-06:00

For all of you Minnesotans reading this blog, you know it's been a COLD winter so far. Last week, I flew off to Arizona with my husband. I couldn't help but take pictures of the sky as I laid by the pool. I know it's the same sky we have up here in MN, but somehow it looked warmer down there. So, I leave you with some of my sunshine from the trip.

But then it came time for us to return to the cold, cold north. I snapped a bunch of pictures out the window of the plane (which was SO dirty... ew!) hoping to have some lasting memories of that warm sunshine.

And then we landed at MSP... brrrr.....

A Year Has Gone By...

2009-01-10T09:14:00.012-06:00

It was just over a year ago that I purchased my Canon Rebel XTi. When it came in the mail, I remember sitting on my living room floor, looking at the box, and hearing my husband say, "Open it!! Open it!!" I finally did, but oh was I nervous. For the next couple weeks, I came up with excuses for why I wasn't using my camera, but it was really just out of fear. I didn't know how to use it, so I didn't! Eventually, I started taking random pictures. I took photos of the radiators in my apartment and I took one picture at my sister's birthday dinner. Pathetic, right?

A few months later, I had the opportunity to shadow Alison at this shoot and the rest is history. She let me snap away with her that day giving me tips along the way. She gave me compliments on my composition, which stuck with me and it gave me confidence that this was something I could do too... with practice :)

A few short months later I had a friend asking me to do family pictures. A friend asking me to do engagement pictures. Assisting Ali at my first wedding. And then came the first job that I was paid to shoot. I bought a domain for my future website. Volunteering snuck in there too. I started getting emails from friends of friends and met with people I didn't even know. But each time, people were willing to invest in what I could offer them and it was wonderful.

I have so much to learn and I don't think I'll ever stop learning. But this has been one fantastic year for me. I am capturing these moments that people treasure. That's what I want to do. I'm going to keep doing it!

A few more photos from my recent maternity shoot. I just loved the experience of this shoot! It was full of *life* and *love*.

Happy 2009! I have a lot of ideas and I can't wait to see what THIS year brings!!

Baby, It's COLD Outside!

2008-12-22T20:35:00.015-06:00

**Picture heavy post**

My co-worker, Erin, hired me to take photos of her siblings as a surprise gift to her parents. It was COLD, but we managed and it was a lot of fun! We met at the Mall of America Nordstrom entrance and did photos in the stairwell of the parking garage. Some people who walked by said, "You are out here by choice, huh..." and couldn't believe we were out in such frigid temps (just below zero!). Anyway, I love a lot of these photos, so I had to post a bunch! Merry Christmas!

I totally messed up with this photo technically, but I sort of like how it turned out. Not sure why.

This might be my favorite shot from today. Not one single thing is in focus in this shot and it was my very last image taken today (maybe my fingers were frozen?). We had lots of people inside Nordstroms looking at us taking these shots through the skyway. It was just a fun afternoon and even though it's completely blurred out, I'm calling it my favorite. I like it.

Christmas Give-Away

2008-12-22T10:08:00.009-06:00

Yesterday I had another great volunteer opportunity to take photos at a Christmas give-away event. My dad and his cycling buddies ("Team Roadkill" or "Roadkill Club" is what they call themselves) put out the word over the last week for people to donate new or used bikes. The club then cleaned and repaired over 100 bikes to give away to kids and adults who were in need of a gift this Christmas. On Sunday, the bikes were on display at Otten Bros. Nursery in Long Lake and the event started. Despite the bitter cold, people came out to get bikes for kids, teens, adults and even a grandma! It was really fun to be part of an event that was helping people feel special at Christmas time.

A Baby Girl Is Coming...

2008-12-13T16:44:00.012-06:00

Today I did my very first baby bump shoot! My friend, Nealy, let me come over to her and her husband's home to get the shots done. She was such a beautiful model and was up for anything I wanted to do. This shoot was so fun and I am pleased with how the images turned out. I am really excited for Kyle and Nealy to welcome their daughter into this world... and I am especially excited because she is due on my birthday!!

The Out-of-Towners

2008-12-11T18:31:00.009-06:00

On Thanksgiving weekend, I met a family at the Walker Sculpture Gardens for their session with me. Not one of them calls Minnesota home! The family gathered here to celebrate Thanksgiving and then went back home to their own parts of the country afterwards. They hired me to get some family photos while they were in town together. Maybe next time they'll pick a place warmer than MN! :)

An Early Christmas

2008-12-06T22:23:00.008-06:00

The Scovill family was celebrating Christmas early this year with a special family member home only for a short time. I was able to come over and get some family shots so they have memories for a long time. It was a chilly morning, but we managed to get through it just fine! I hope you all had a very merry early Christmas!

With dogs running circles during the big, family shots and with lots of funny personalities in this bunch, the candids are plentiful :)

Just Because

2008-12-02T21:35:00.000-06:00

Us... morning after a fresh coating of snow.

Baby Games

2008-11-26T20:23:00.007-06:00

Mary, and her sister, Anne, hired me to take photos of their sons. Both boys are under a year old and it was fun to be around such little babies! They had both been under the weather recently, so we met at the Walker Sculpture Garden Conservatory for their session where it was nice and toasty on our November morning. These two families were great to work with and I'm sure there will years of fun with these two cousins in the family (they were already wrestling...as much as babies can... by the end of the shoot!).

Changes

2008-11-24T22:14:00.014-06:00

EDIT: I had to do some maintenance to this post. More photos will be added at a later date.

A coworker of mine hired me to do a shoot for her sister's family as a Christmas gift! The "kids" are growing up and living their college life. I had a blast working with the Stinger family and really enjoyed their company. Linda was so kind and asked me every question under the sun about my business, my other job, my life. I felt like her friend by the end. They were all good sports despite the cold November wind! Brrr!!

In other news, over dinner tonight, I asked my husband what he wanted to do this evening and he casually replied, "Go buy a Wii." I nodded my head as if saying, "Hmmm..." and just sat there for a minute. He didn't really say anything either. I decided to quit resisting and appearing like a responsible adult because deep down in my gut, I want one too! So... we cleaned up dinner, drove to GameStop and bought a Wii. In our first tourney tonight, I won bowling, but lost tennis and boxing. Maybe I'll ask for Wii Fit for Christmas! I hear its fun.

Subtle Beauty

2008-11-12T21:54:00.010-06:00

My sister's friend, Maria, is starting her own business, Subtle Beauty Consulting, and asked if I would do a photo shoot to provide images for her website (coming soon!). Without a doubt, this was one of my favorite shoots so far because it was unique, girly, revolved around make-up and Maria provided pastries from The Isles Bakery in Uptown! Maria is a fantastic artist and I would recommend her to anyone. Here are some of my favorites from our time together.

Maria of Subtle Beauty Consulting

Another Purpose

2008-11-11T22:46:00.008-06:00

Over the weekend, I did my very first volunteer shoot for the Make-A-Wish foundation. I was referred by a fellow photographer/friend and after many emails, I found out I'd be shooting for a 4-year old's birthday party... Dora themed! It was a challenging event for me for many reasons (first shoot using my brand new Canon 580EX II flash, first indoor shoot, etc.), but it felt awesome being part of such a great event. Dora showed up, the limo pulled in and the kids ran wild! Success!

Good Times with Leaves

2008-11-07T18:43:00.009-06:00

The Deloia family was so fun to work with on a beautiful fall Sunday! We had to reschedule our original shoot due to high winds, cold and slush from the week before! Gross. We had a wonderful time together and I hope you enjoy your photos!

Fresh Ideas

2008-11-04T16:04:00.008-06:00

Recognize these fabulous models? My brother-in-law and his fiance got a summer engagement shoot and a fall session! Okay, so I offered because what a perfect way to get experience! I made them do some crazy things that normal people on a Saturday afternoon don't usually do, but we managed to only get a couple stares from random people walking by. I believe one person walking by even said, "Hey... cool photo!" At least I hope that's what he said :)

The amazing Alison from Alison Lea Photography will be photographing their wedding next May! What a lucky couple!

The Faces of a 3 Year Old

2008-11-01T12:07:00.008-05:00

I was fortunate enough to photograph another friend's family this past week. Katie and I have known each other since high school days and its so fun to watch her cute family grow and change. Caleb was so silly (as most 3 year olds are) and Hannah is just adorable! Katie has also referred me to many of her friends... even before she had her first shoot with me!! Thank you!! :)

"There's No One I Love More Than My Sister"

2008-10-28T21:01:00.008-05:00

I met this great family in their backyard on the eve of their big trip to Disney! The girls and I discussed princesses and a lot about this shoot reminded me of growing up with my own sisters. Everything from copying each other's every move to running away from the kiss your sister is about to plant on your face!

ps. The title of this post comes from "Little Women." My mom used to say this all the time around my sisters and I reminding us that we actually do love each other :)

How a Lollipop Changed the Day!

2008-10-22T20:19:00.009-05:00

My friend, Ashley, and I go way back. She even came to my wedding when it was about 95 degrees (with no A/C in the church) when she was 9 months pregnant! Now, her handsome son, Sullivan, is 3 years old. We took a walk through the woods behind their house on a gorgeous fall afternoon in hopes of getting some good pictures. Sullivan was not interested at all, but as we progressed (and tried our hand at many tricks...cars, candy, cloud formations), he turned into a goofy little boy... FULL of energy!

We may have bribed him with candy at this point, so he was closing his eyes and could barely wait another second to find out what was waiting for him! What could it be, but...

A red lollip! And like that, it was smooth sailing.

The props needed a photo of their own. We couldn't have done it without them!

Autumn

2008-10-13T22:48:00.009-05:00

I asked my sister to model for me in my parents' yard this past weekend. The colors were beautiful and the grass was covered in a blanket of red, yellow and orange. She agreed and here is what we got. Gorgeous.

I don't own Photoshop or any other editing software yet besides what came with my Canon Rebel XTi last year when I purchased it. Despite the lack of editing tools, I love playing around and I'm noticing that I usually lean towards extra contrast in black and whites and more vivid color when going that route. Its fun to learn and create. I can only imagine how much more I'll learn once I do take the plunge and buy better software!

Cutest Curls!

2008-10-13T20:36:00.008-05:00

My co-worker, Becky, kindly referred one of her friends to me a couple weeks ago! I was so happy to get an email from Amanda asking to hire me for her son's one-year photos (lots of boys turning 1 lately!). Since fall in Minnesota couldn't be more gorgeous, Amanda chose Minnehaha Park where all the leaves were orange, red and yellow. Little Eli's blonde curls were adorable in the sunshine and we had a fantastic time together!

Bride + Groom + Kids + Barn + Pig = Great Fall Wedding!

2008-10-12T00:03:00.005-05:00

I assisted at a wedding a couple weeks ago with Alison Lea Photography again. The wedding was outdoors overlooking Lake Minnetonka (the same place I took senior prom pictures in high school!!). After the wedding, we traveled to an open area where a big, red barn overlooked a smaller lake and fields. It was the most beautiful fall afternoon of the season yet. Alison sent me two of my shots from that day, so I thought I'd share them with you. You can also check out the rest of the wedding pics here.

Ever been to a party where a van pulls up with "Divine Swine" plastered on the windows and a large pig is in a roaster attached to the hitch? This was my first! I'm not crazy about pork, but after shooting for 9 hours, it tasted amazing.

Details Details...

2008-10-08T22:55:00.007-05:00

Over the weekend, I was in Nashville, TN celebrating my good friend, Lori's, wedding! As a bridesmaid, I got to be at every event all weekend and watch Lori be married to a wonderful man. While all of us girls were getting our hair done on Saturday, I decided to take a few "detail shots" since the real photographer hadn't arrived yet. What a beautiful day! This girl knew how to pick great details for her wedding!

A huge tin full of extra long sparklers for the bride/groom send off!

Lori's wedding band sitting on top of her white flat sandals. Not gonna lie... I'm loving this shot at full size.

Just one of her "something borrowed"... a bracelet from her cousin, Natalie.

Congrats Mr. and Mrs. Greer! All my love.

A Couple Extra

2008-10-07T21:29:00.005-05:00

I finished up editing Grant's cute one-year pictures tonight and couldn't resist posting a few more. Enjoy.

A Day in the Park

2008-09-27T20:27:00.007-05:00

My co-worker, Angela, hired me to do a shoot for her one-year old son, Grant. I remember the day I found out Angela was pregnant. We were at work and I screeched kind of loudly and some other girls told me to quiet down since not everyone knew yet. I was excited and I couldn't hold it back! Today, Angela, her husband, Matt, their beautiful baby and dog, Sasha, met me at Minnehaha park to capture some of Grant's cute moments. This kid has eyelashes to die for!

A NWC Wedding...

2008-09-24T10:53:00.001-05:00

The Labor Day weekend wedding I assisted at is now posted online. Check it out here on the Alison Lea Photography blog!

Esau (My) Family Photo Shoot

2008-09-22T19:13:00.006-05:00

My littlest sister leaves for college to the west coast this week, so we had a mini (as in 5 minutes) photo shoot to get a family picture before she heads out! I was the photographer AND a family member, so thank goodness for tripods and camera timers. I love you, Tay!

My heart melted when I saw this one...

And.. can we say these two girls are gorgeous or what?!

Family...

2008-09-18T21:36:00.004-05:00

That's More Like It...

2008-09-14T15:46:00.006-05:00

My amazing husband fixed our internet problem! So, to celebrate, here are more pics from the last couple shoots!

Tag... I'm It!

2008-09-11T10:25:00.003-05:00

I never liked being "it" for the game of Tag, but this form of Tag is a bit more fun. Thanks Ashley for tagging me!

List 5 random things about yourself and tag someone else:
1. I used a Caribou Coffee coupon today for a $1 off any large drink. I ordered a white chocolate skim iced latte and forgot to order half-caf!! I'm a bit buzzed.
2. I finally turned my hobby into a job (and hopefully a career in the not-so-distant future)
3. Two trips planned for October before the long winter sets in: Nashville and Phoenix!
4. I married my dream guy.
5. I'm very fascinated by Facebook... lame, huh?

I tag: Nikki!

Birthday Boy!

2008-09-07T14:00:00.006-05:00

My co-worker, Becky, hired me to take photos of her son, Conner, who had a first birthday two days ago! We met at the Walker Sculpture Gardens and it was chilly! Conner didn't seem to mind and he gave me lots of smiles! Happy Birthday, Conner!

I don't think he knew he had just turned one, but I thought we could pretend he does with this picture. I'm pretty sure he was trying to grab at my lens instead :)

black and whites are here to stay

2008-09-05T21:01:00.005-05:00

These are more photos from my brother-in-law and his fiance, Kala's, cabin shoot. I broke down and am using a flash drive to transfer images to our laptop that has a working internet. I'm loving black and white photos lately, so here is their mini black and white love shoot series...

This...and...That!

2008-09-04T21:10:00.002-05:00

My life is in swirls....here, there, everywhere! Ahh! My husband and I moved... our new place is a mess... our desktop computer's internet access is still having problems... so, I haven't had a chance to load any new photos lately. SOON though!

Upcoming posts: Labor Day weekend wedding at NW College (SO fun!), a one-year old's birthday shoot and much, much more! Stay tuned...

Baby Cousins!!

2008-08-19T22:12:00.007-05:00

On Saturday, I had a new kind of shoot. Two brothers, their wives and their baby daughters wanted to do a family shoot together. You may recognize one of the couples since they appeared in my very first family shoot. The morning at Como Park couldn't have gone better!

Out of curiosity...

2008-08-19T09:36:00.002-05:00

I've been doing some thinking and something has to change...

Pro photographer or not, leave a comment about what computer you use for editing your images. I'd love to hear your opinions! Thanks!!

I Remember When...

2008-08-15T23:00:00.006-05:00

About a month ago, my high school youth pastor's wife contacted me about doing some portraits of their kids. I was thrilled to work with them! The kids were more than into it, which is always helpful :) I was a senior in high school when Kate was born and I even have my picture with her when she was a baby from some church event. I remember when these kids were just teeny tiny and they are so grown up now!

Cabin Love Preview...

2008-08-11T20:44:00.002-05:00

I spent the weekend at my in-laws' cabin up in northern Minnesota with my husband, my in-laws, my brother-in-law and his fiance. While there, we did a mini engagement shoot. Here is a preview... more to come!

A Lake Nokomis Shoot

2008-08-01T22:49:00.011-05:00

My wonderful aunt, uncle and three cousins live about a block off the beautiful Lake Nokomis. I asked them if I could do a family shoot for them as practice. They were totally willing and excited (I think!). We had a great time and I'm so thankful that I have them so close by! Thanks J, J, A, H and K!

Our Own Love Shoot!

2008-07-28T21:51:00.003-05:00

Aside from our wedding, I feel like my husband and I have no special pictures together. This was my best attempt during our get-away. It was difficult on a sandy beach, but thank goodness for the gorillapod (mini tripod with legs that bend!).

Anniversary Get-Away...

2008-07-27T20:43:00.004-05:00

My husband and I spent a weekend in Duluth to celebrate our 3 years of marriage. He planned everything about this weekend down to the last detail. Both days were about 85 degrees and pure sunshine. A slight breeze off Lake Superior made it absolutely fantastic. On our drive up, we stopped at Jay Cooke park for some hiking. Then we ate at Gordy's Hi-Hat in Cloquet. Later, we checked into the South Pier Inn right in Canal Park. We spent time at the beach, on our room's patio, and around town. What a great weekend and what a great husband for planning such a fun get-away. Here's to us...

The Lift Bridge rising for a sailboat to come through. And that is our hotel on the right. We were right on the water! Gorgeous.

Aww. Happy 3 years...

On another note, over the past week, I booked a bunch of photo shoots for August! Keep coming back and check them out as I post. First one should be posted by the end of next weekend!

So much stuff!

2008-07-19T23:05:00.003-05:00

There are so many exciting things happening!

1. I've purchased a domain! Is that how you say it? The new website, http://www.briannagrayphotography.com/ is officially under construction! I'm also exploring business card ideas. Fun stuff.

2. Knowing that a bunch of equipment purchases are in my not-so-distant future, I've come up with a price plan for photo shoots. If interested, please drop me a note at briannagray123@yahoo.com for details!

3. On a personal note, this week I will celebrate 3 wonderful years of marriage with my husband, Brian. I love him more and more as the days go by. Here's a pic from our weekend in honor of my husband (doing what he does best... eating!).

*More pics to come!

They've been posted!

2008-07-12T22:54:00.003-05:00

The wedding from last weekend has been posted on the Alison Lea Photography blog (see Paula and Ryan's wedding). I will have my images in a week or two, so I will post those then!! For now, check out the awesome images on Ali's site!! What a fun, beautiful day!

Can't Tell Time...

2008-07-08T09:39:00.002-05:00

A good friend informed me that in my last post I say I got home at 10:45, but my blog was posted at 10:39. This is a sign that I was extremely exhausted and couldn't think straight. Oops!! I'll work on my telling time skills next time around. I'll give credit to my personal editor, Robin!

The enormous lens!!

2008-07-05T22:39:00.003-05:00

Although I have no pictures to post (yet), I have to gush about my day! Today, I was an official assistant to a professional photographer, Ali, of Alison Lea Photography. Wow! What a day! Although I have taken pictures at a wedding before (remember Katie and Ben's post?), this was totally different! Between the three of us (Ali, her assistant, Kendra, and myself) we had 6 or 7 camera bodies, a lens for each one, and a couple other lenses we would use throughout the day. We went through 12 memory cards shooting in RAW (we're talking images in the thousands), so they will be great to edit down the road!

The day started at 9 when we met at Ali's house to talk about the day. We met up with the wedding party in downtown Mpls at the church later on and started right away. Family pictures, a ceremony, a stop at the sculpture gardens, and a reception at the Grand Hotel all went by in a flash and I walked in the door to my apartment at 10:45 tonight.

The best part of my day was watching Ali interact with the clients, getting to know them personally, and even helping the bride attach her veil. The other favorite part of my day was Ali letting me use her enormous telephoto lens!!! Okay, this thing made my arms ache it was so heavy!! It was the coolest thing I've ever used and I am starting a savings plan today so I can buy one myself!

Overall, it was a great experience! Ali is a wonderful mentor on top of being a fantastic photographer. I look forward to shooting with her in the future (if she lets me) and learning more and more along the way. All my images were taken on her memory cards, so if I never get to post any of the images here, I'll lead you to her blog where hopefully she'll have pics posted soon.

Seriously... bed time.

30 Years!

2008-06-27T21:10:00.005-05:00

My parents are celebrating 30 wonderful years of marriage this summer. My sisters and I became the "party planning committee" for a couple months and put together a great family get-together this week. We had over 40 family members and celebrated on a gorgeous summer evening. Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad. We love you!

What's a party without a little Cafe Latte dessert?! YUM!

Father's Day!

2008-06-15T11:23:00.004-05:00

A couple days ago, I took some headshots of my dad. As many of you know, he's an author/speaker guy and wanted some better pictures to put on his future books, current website and other new publicity stuff he's doing. So... he asked his daughter to do them! Cool! The mosquitoes were horrible in my parents' yard, so we managed to get through pictures fast!

Happy Father's Day, Dad! Love you!

Cabin Fun!

2008-06-11T19:54:00.005-05:00

What a great weekend getaway! Here are a couple pics from being on the lake. Having my new camera is wonderful when taking pictures of Brian waterskiing! If you can click on this first picture so it fills your screen, you can see so many of the little water beads. Hopefully a better lens is in my future so the pics are even better! My old camera will never be taking waterskiing pics ever again!

The water on the lake is so clear and clean! Gotta love northern MN.

Hey!

One more!

2008-06-06T17:31:00.002-05:00

I forgot about this image. I thought it was so cute!

The Wasserman Wedding

2008-06-01T22:06:00.007-05:00

A few posts back I mentioned that I would be posting some wedding pics! That weekend finally arrived! My high school friend, Katie, had an 18-month engagement to Ben. Despite many wedding planning bumps in the road (you Minnesotans all heard that news story about the bridal shop closing... yep, Katie's dress was from there, but she somehow managed to get her dress despite the shop closing unexpectedly ONE month before her wedding!), the wedding was wonderful and perfect in every way! The weather couldn't have been better and both bride and groom looked stunning!

Luckily (for my sake), there was only one photographer, so I got to play "second shooter" for the entire day! 400-500 images later, I was exhausted, but pleased! It was SO fun to follow everyone around and just snap away at all the candid opportunities. I even got to use my 4G memory card for the first time (not sure why that excites me so much...)!! The pictures seem to be in reverse order! Oops!

Best wishes to the very happy couple... vacationing in Jamaica... lucky ducks!

A couple of the groomsmen goofing around while the real photographer wasn't looking!

The photographer suddenly forgot something, handed his big camera off to Abbey, one of the bridesmaids, and then ran off for a while. So... what to do, what to do... she turned it on and started snapping! It was hilarious and the photographer will have quite a surprise when he looks at his images! :)

Ben's niece, Eden. She was sooo sweet.

Katie requested this shot, so I gave it my best attempt! Her bouquet is unusually similar to mine :)

Long story, but a funny one. If you know Katie, ask her.

Getting ready...

This event was a blast! Let's see... I've done their engagements and lots of wedding photos... so what is next? Baby?? ;) Love you guys!

Graduation and Grandpa Gil

2008-05-26T21:57:00.004-05:00

This weekend has been really fun, but also very exhausting. I think I saw just about every single member of my family and Brian's.

Brian's brother, David, graduated from Bethel University on Saturday. It was a great ceremony and we're so proud of him! The recessional at the ceremony was mine and Brian's wedding recessional! It was fun to hear it again :)

Then, on Sunday afternoon, my parents, sister and I headed down to Mt. Lake (my dad's hometown) for a Memorial Day celebration in "the park" (gotta love small towns). Memorial Day is very important to my Grandpa as he served in WWII, participated in the legislature in his younger years and has been involved in Memorial Day services for many years. We are proud of him and what he did for our country all those years ago. The Esau family is quite large in number, so we all gathered at my aunt and uncle's turkey farm for a big bbq on Monday. There is always too much food, but its always good and we have a great time as a family. Here are a couple pics from the weekend.

Flying as high as the sky

2008-05-22T21:21:00.005-05:00

My friend and co-worker, Erin, asked me to come take some shots at her track meet. She is the pole vaulting coach at Concordia Academy. I was really nervous about going to the meet because I had no idea what to expect! I arrived a bit late and missed her only girl vaulter, but I did get to see 3 of the guys. Wow, they were good! I'm not so sure how the pics turned out, but I had fun and it was a gorgeous afternoon to be outside (yes, I did have on 30 spf).

This little girl was so funny! She showed up behind the fence (as in... in the neighborhood, not on the school grounds) with her dad. She took his camera (with a bigger lens than I had) and starting taking pictures beside me of the vaulters through the fence. It was too precious not to capture. I asked her if she got the shot and she replied "Yes!" with a big smile.

First Love Shoot!

2008-05-18T07:39:00.009-05:00

I've been excited to do this love shoot for about a month now! Katie is one of my best friends from high school. Us, along with a couple other girls, were inseperable and we even played in the band together (Katie and I both played flute and spent most of our time goofing around and eating candy during practice... so bad, I know... we were not the rebellious group if you can imagine). We sort of lost touch during college, but have reconnected since and its been nothing but fantastic! We are truly life-long friends. She met this wonderful man, Ben, and they are getting married VERY soon (you may even see some wedding pics within the month...). So, on Saturday evening, we went out to Centennial Lakes in Edina... gorgeous! Despite the WIND and random rain shower, it couldn't have been better! I hope you both enjoy the pics. I had a wonderful time doing my FIRST love shoot with you two, so thanks for asking and being so patient with me!

Rugby = Pain and Madness

2008-05-10T15:43:00.004-05:00

Brian and I went to watch his brother's last rugby game. He's a senior at Bethel and has done a great job on the team the last few years. But wow, what a rough sport! Here are just a couple shots from today's cold and rainy game against St. Olaf (which ended in a tie).

This guy running got totally destroyed by the Bethel guys. They were running right at us!

And Brian... he held all my crap :)

Cutie Pie!

2008-05-10T00:55:00.005-05:00

I got to babysit this cutie pie tonight! She smiled at me the second I walked in the door. My heart melted!

Mmm... baby gates taste so good!

I've Been Tagged!!

2008-05-06T20:47:00.002-05:00

My friend, Amanda, has the most adorable blog (http://nowiknowmyebcs.blogspot.com/) and she tagged me to answer these questions! FUN!! Here it goes...

I am….....a wife, sister, daughter, friend, co-worker, listener, whiner, crier, wannabe marathoner, wannabe cycler, soccer player, wannabe professional photographer, the list goes on...

I want..... everyday to be sunny and 75 for the rest of my life.

I wish..... I could turn my hobbies into my career and get rid of my day job.

I hate...... when the shower curtain touches my leg. I have to rinse my leg off with water every time it happens. Okay, so it can happen with my arms, hands, any body part. I hate the shower curtain and we have to have TWO since there is a window in our shower. Its a rough life.

I miss..... my sister living in Seattle and my sister-in-law and brother-in-law living in Phoenix. Family should always stay near each other!

I fear......being kidnapped or abandoned.

I feel........ really tired, but happy since my husband and I cleaned our apartment tonight.

I hear......... Brian relaxing after our cleaning extravaganza by playing video games and the airplanes outside.

I smell....... nothing really. Maybe just the smell of spring since we finally have the windows open.

I crave........ dinner. Yes, its almost 9 pm. Same thing happened last night.

I search......for jobs... a lot (not always for me...).

I wonder..... what my life will be like in a year. Will I still live in this apartment? Will we own a house? Will my hair be short or long? Will I still have this job?

I regret....... getting the college degree that I never wanted in the first place.

I love........... my husband, dinners at my parents' house in the porch or on the deck, McDonald's vanilla iced coffee, playing tennis on HOT summer days, pushing girls around on the soccer field (and not getting penalized) and comments on my blog!! ha ha.

I ache......... in my jaw most days. I have to constantly think to myself, "Relax.... relax.... relax..." or else just suck it up and take tons of Ibuprofen.

I care........ about doing something purposeful with my life.

I always...... look for an excuse not to clean or cook dinner (even though I love cooking! weird).

I am not….. confrontational.

I believe......... I am loved.

I dance......... never! I am so bad at dancing and I really don't like it that much. I slow dance, but that about does it for me. I've never been able to "move" and have done quite well resisting the pressure from my work girls to try out the hip-hop class at Lifetime. Uh... you don't want to see this doing hip-hop... trust me!

I sing............ in the car and secretly have always wanted to be a rock star. I wish I could play guitar and sing at the same time, but I'd have to learn how to do both well first! I'd love to write songs and record (thanks to dad's impression, probably), but I don't see that happening.

I cry........... fairly often, but mostly when I'm stressed or feeling like I'm failing.

I don’t always........ floss, take my vitamins, calcium, or fish oil pills, change my oil when its time, or put my clothes away (but that would be an "I never...").

I fight........ less with my husband than I used to. I think we understand each other more and more and we discuss more than fight. We were never big fighters before, but we both believe its healthy to disagree/argue/etc. We just are better at picking battles and fighting fairly now. Its good.

I write....... a lot of emails at work. Is that bad? I used to write in a journal throughout high school and college. I stopped when I got married. In fact, the last journal entry I ever did was about 4 days before my wedding. I practiced signing what my name would become after it was official! Ha...

I never....... thought I'd own a DSLR, understand how to use it and go on a photo shoot with one of my favorites!

I listen......... to co-workers' conversations sometimes. You really can't help it when you work in a cube farm! Sometimes I laugh to myself or email my cube neighbor/work buddy to see if she heard the same thing. She always does and we have a good laugh over email or IM.

I need.......... stability and great friends. I have both and I'm so happy.

I am happy...... that I snuggled up and took a short nap with my husband after work. Cozy.

Wow, that was fun! Took a while, but it was fun... nice way to relax after cleaning and putting away my entire wardrobe... not lying! I don't think many people read my blog, so I'm going to tag Nealy since I just checked hers and she hasn't answered the questions yet! ;)

G*night!

Lake Minnetonka Half-Marathon

2008-05-04T19:40:00.005-05:00

No, it was not me who ran the half-marathon... let's be real! It was my sister, Lauren, and two of her friends. I tagged along with my parents and snapped some pics as they blew past us! They did a great job... started and finished together!

Kara, Lauren, Kelsey

They are just a few feet from the finish line in this picture and I think they are just a bit excited... can you tell? :)

First Family Shoot!

2008-04-30T21:00:00.007-05:00

Beth is a friend I met on my first day of college back in 2000! We lived right across the hall from each other in the Getsch dorm at Bethel. We've changed so much since then... careers, husbands, baby (her, not me)! She emailed me Monday asking if I'd take some photos of her family (husband, John and brand new daughter, Meghan). I couldn't turn her down! What a great way to get experience and its just fun being around Beth and John because they make you laugh the entire time! Despite Meghan crying a bit at first, the day turned out pretty good. Here are a few from our time together at Minnehaha Park in Mpls in no particular order. I wanted to post these right away, so I haven't taken the time to edit them at all. I'll save that for later! The most difficult task for me today was dealing with the sunshine. The forecast said cloudy, so I wasn't quite sure how to adjust for bright sunshine. I guess its all part of the learning process...

(I must give credit to John for this "peek-a-boo" picture. It was his idea and I think its pretty cute!)

Second Shoot!

2008-04-29T21:45:00.004-05:00

I am so lucky that I get to try my hand at doing a family shoot tomorrow! Check back for the pics! Not so sure how it'll turn out, but a baby is involved and babies are always cute, right? :)

Also, I attended my first official photography class last night at mncp (www.mncp.org) and it was... well... overwhelming. Let's hope that the next 4 weeks go a bit better and that the info sinks in!

Last, but certainly not least, we upgraded to a bigger, better, beautiful new monitor! Looking at and editing images will now be SO much better!! Yay for new and improved technology (and for a husband who can't say no to new stuff like this)!

That about covers it!

Oh, I almost forgot! I added a song to the site, but I think you have to hit the "play" button. Check it out! My hubby found it and sent me the link at work one day... aw... love.