Friday, September 28, 2007

Get Drenched

This summer Genesis held our first baptism service! Ten young men and women went into the waters to publicly declare their desire to follow Jesus. It was amazing to hear their testimonies and see how their lives have been changed by knowing God. I had the privilege of photographing the event...

My friend Jenn is so joyful and excited about what God is doing in her life! My brother-in-law, Michael is our Pastor and had the pleasure of taking each of the 10 through the waters.



Evan (center) and Jay (left) went into the water together and were both baptized that day.



Kayleen (center) and Danielle (left) also shared the experience with one another. I just love the look on Kayleen's face as she's coming out of the water!



Congratulations to each of you!!
Check out the slideshow below to see the rest :)




The joy of business travel...

I LOVE to travel. It's so amazing to me how we can fly all over the world in a matter of hours. It's just so cool!

But, sometimes, it's such a pain! Tonight, I flew from Boston Logan to Chicago O'Hare. First, I can barely get into the airport by myself because I'm carrying so much gear and stuff - 4 bags in all, 2 of them on wheels. Thank God that my brother-in-law, Michael, was able to give me a ride or I'm sure this story would've begun with some crazy cab anecdote. Anyway, so I make it into the airport and walk up to the kiosk to check a couple of bags. I checked-in online, thinking I'd save a little time, right? No. I stood at the kiosk for 10 minutes after I'd finished my part, waiting for someone to check my bags. When they finally came to ask if I needed help, it turns out my luggage tags didn't print. So, they figured that out, and it looks like they've got my bags and I'm all set. Great. Security goes off without a hitch (I've heard that they're sending dSLRs through the x-ray separately now, but not at Logan, yet). So, I head directly to the gate they told me to go to. There's no one there. I think, maybe I'm early? So I sit down, plug in the laptop and surf some blogs. Finally, a lady comes and tells me that my gate has been changed. Ah-ha! I guess that's what I get for not checking. By the time I get to my gate, they're starting to board, I get on with no problems. Sleep through the whole flight :) Wake up, land at 5:30pm, struggle to get my wheeling carry-on into a bathroom stall, and out again, and head down to baggage claim. The bag with my clothes comes out right away - excellent! But, I continue to wait for my tripod bag. And, I wait, and I wait. Finally everyone else has left, the conveyor belt has stopped, and my tripod has still not arrived. So, I go to the United desk and ask a friendly customer service rep. He tells me to try the conveyor belt for oddly-shaped luggage. Ok. No luck, it's not there. So, I go back to the desk. He tells me that I'm not supposed to talk to him, and takes me to a different desk. I fill out the paper work to have my tripod sent to me if it ever shows up (they tell me it's been scanned coming off the plane in Chicago, so I don't know if it's been lost or stolen or what). And I head to the rental car agency. As I walk outside, I see that I just missed the Hertz bus, so I wait for another. In the time it takes Hertz to send another bus, every other company has had 2 - 6 buses pass me by. Deep breath. The Hertz bus finally comes, and gets filled to overflowing on the way to the pick-up. Somehow, I managed to get off the bus ahead of everyone else, and into the queue to get my car, find the car with no problem and head off into some good-ole Chicago traffic. By the time I get to Lincoln Park to my friend's apartment and find a parking spot, it's 8:30pm.

That's a total of 7 1/2 hours door to door for a 2 1/2 hour flight. But, it's still better than the 15 hours it would have taken to drive - and thanks to Tivo, I was still able to watch the whole premiere of The Office. All in all, that's not bad :)

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Chicago, here I come!

Well, it's that time of year again - time for me to come back "home" to CHICAGO!! I'm so excited to come home, see friends, eat pizza, and enjoy the city during my favorite time of year!! And of course, shoot another Chicago wedding while I'm in town.

One fun thing is that a church on the South Side of Chicago has contacted me about my photography, and is showing some of my Missions Photography from Mexico and Sri Lanka at their Artists' Cafe this Friday night. It's all the way down in Chicago Heights, about an hour South of the city, but I hope some of you out there will be able to come!!


I'm staying with my good best friend, Janell, and we'll be making the most of my free time over the weekend - eating all of my favorite foods, hitting the lake shore, worshipping at Chicago Tabernacle, and who knows what else. If you can't make it to the show on Friday, but want to hang out on Friday during the day, or on Sunday afternoon/evening - let me know!!

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Gabriella's Bat Mitzvah

I shot Gabriella's Bat-Mitzvah a few weeks ago at the Hilton Logan in Boston.
It was such a great time! Check it out...

Gabriella with her parents and brothers





The crowd was totally excited and danced the whole afternoon. It was high-energy and lots of fun!




I think some of the adults may have even been having more fun than the kids!




All in all, it was a great day. Congratulations Gabriella!!



Your slideshow and the rest of the pictures will be up online by the end of the week!

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Sunday, September 2, 2007

Marc & Kirstin's Wedding!

A few weeks ago, I got to go down to Cape Cod to shoot Marc & Kirstin's wedding! It was a very intimate wedding, with just 20 friends and family. It was a really wonderful day - check out some of my favorite shots...

Kirstin getting her hair done
The ceremony on the beach

Kirstin was such a fun bride!

Some of my favorite portraits of the Bride & Groom





During the toast

Eating the delicious cake!


Marc & Kirstin, it was a beautiful day! Thanks for letting me be a part of it. Your photos will be ready sooooooooooon...