There is nothing better than hearty food on a cool day. Fall makes me want to spend most of my time in the kitchen baking up a storm! Chicken and dumplings on a nice fall day = pure bliss :)

Ironic story.

So, we were asked to photograph a boy who's turning one. Luke, his father contacts us, and is THE WORLD'S NICEST GUY on the phone (and in person). Extremely polite and very easy to work with. So, we talk and nail down a day and location to shoot he and his wife's son's photos. We meet at Shawnee Mission Park on one of the most beautiful days of September, the temperature could not be better. They're driving the Toyota that I wish our Scion would grow up to be. Maybe if we we're in a rainier climate, it might grow faster. :/ Anyways, Meagan and I finally meet Luke and his wife Ginger and introduce us to they're son Hudson. "Hey that's our son's middle name!" "Really? That's cool!" (I'm paraphrasing). So, we don't think about it much more at the moment, because what are the odds it will get any stranger than that? OK, so next Hudson has on the same exact shirt we just bought Liam... a little weirder... We continue to talk as we're walking to the trail and we finally ask... "so, what's Hudson's middle name?" Ginger answers, "Liam." I think Meagan and I both responded "are YOU serious?" at the same time. "Our son's name is Liam Hudson!" and Ginger quickly replies, "wait... what's your last name?!?!" lol! Crazy right? Yeah I thought so too!

The shoot turned out to be fantastic. Hudson, was a total stud and loved the camera. Luke was nice enough to point out poison ivy as we walked through the greenery, and Ginger kept Hudson happy with yogurt, goldfish, and that special touch that mothers provide.

We couldn't have asked for a better session!

Its not very often that I see wedding videography that really moves me - I mean obviously I get choked up at every wedding - but I have never become so emotional watching every.single.video on their website. Its like watching a Nicholas Sparks movie (only shorter). I love weddings, and I love people in love. Human emotion is amazing and these guys do such a great job of capturing that emotion. I am amazed. I am inspired. I cannot stop watching these videos - I can't help it.. I'm hopelessly romantic. And I have found my new favorite reality show - so grab your kleenex box and tune in to StillMotion (click on "cinema" to get to the goods)

StillMotion is my new bestie! See below:

veronica and neil's same day edit // do you need a hankie? from stillmotion on Vimeo.

I love days like today... cool enough to keep the air conditioning off, slightly cloudy (best lighting for photos), no work to be done... amazing. I'm trying to remember the little things on days like today - the things i'm thankful for on a day-to-day basis - the things that really document our lives as a family. Today I am thankful for my wonderful husband and my beautiful son. I captured Nate reading nursery rhymes to Liam today - love how the blue birds literally jump off the page! Liam is really into reading lately - his favorites are: Goodnight Moon, and Trucks (an especially cool book about different trucks/tractors, complete with little sliding doors, its hard to explain... see here).




The weather was so nice today, we all went outside for some exploring near the creek edge.. Among the things we found were poison ivy!?! We high-tailed it back up the hill where Liam had fun playing with his firetruck :)







While Nate was replacing the spark plugs in his car, Liam thought he would help by placing the cardboard package under the hood for daddy. So cute! LOL :-D




So I realize all this is totally random, but these are the little moments that make life special to me. One day I know I will look back and be glad that I was able to capture such things.

Saving the best for last: Liam with two binks in his mouth... I guess one isn't enough :) LOL

We generally don't plan too much on the weekends since they're usually spent working. So, as Labor Day weekend was approaching (with nothing but space in our calendars) we didn't even think to plan a little 2 or 3 day vacation somewhere. Friday night rolls around and we finally realize... "Hey we're free this weekend! What should we do?" We both thought of going to a zoo, and either St. Louis or Omaha became the destination of choice. We chose Omaha since it was a little closer. We left at 9 am and just got back an hour ago! Liam was EXHAUSTED! He was a great sport for 6 hours in the car and a long 13 hour day. We all had a really great time and Liam loved being close to all the animals and seemed especially surprised that a giraffe is so tall! Since in his kids books they appear to be the same size as the chicken on the next page. He got to stand about 10 feet from an 18 foot tall giraffe, and he just kept staring, pointing, and saying, what I assume was, "Wow! A giraffe is WAY bigger than a chicken!" Except it sound more like "Ga? Gaaa? Ca-coo ca-coo."

Well, anyways... Omaha was a really great zoo and we're very happy we had some time off together as a family and moreover got to spend it outdoors in this amazing weather!

~Nate and Meagan

At 4:45 (15 minutes before our e-session) the weather was looking a little dodgy. Severe Thunderstorms and 70mph winds were forcasted and we were already getting rained on beneath some very dark churning clouds. Meagan and I have always wanted to get some photos in a downpour so we were actually very much looking forward to the prospects of this "normally less than desirable weather" but we were still a bit nervous how this particular storm was going to develop. Emily and Ryan were super ambitious as well and had no reservations about making the most of the situation, so we just went for it! The worst of storm ended up missing us and we had a really great couple of hours! Thanks very much to Emily and Ryan for braving the conditions and going the extra mile! We definitely owe you guys some hot chocolate or coffee, I know it was frigid stepping out of the water into that wind! :-)

So I have realized that every time I edit photos of wedding cake I literally start to salivate... I'm thinking "Man, that sure was a good cake - so buttery and delicious..." Seriously, one of my favorite parts about being a wedding photographer is getting the chance to eat wedding cake - I know that sounds horrible, but its so true :-/ I have a weak spot for sweets... and one of my favorites happens to be wedding cake - how convenient for me! Not so much for the waist line :(

~Meagan

Liam (our 15 month old son) woke up last night around... well, right at 2:18. I think he had a bit of a stomach ache, so I just had to hold him for a while and comfort him as his tummy pain went away. Finally he fell asleep and now it was my turn to go back to sleep. On my way back upstairs, I noticed it was REALLY bright outside. I stepped out to see if we got a new street light installed or something, but it was just from an incredibly bright and full moon. The temperature was perfect and suddenly I didn't feel like sleeping! There were a million stars in the sky and a huge bright moon! How could I sleep? I had to try and capture this! So I went in and grabbed my camera and the wide angle. My goal was to get a star trail shot (which I had never done or even researched). I didn't want to set up the tripod and the remote and do it all proper like, so... I just set the ISO at 200, shut the aperture all the way down (I think it was 22), and then set the shutter to bulb. Next laid belly down on the driveway and laid my camera on it's back with the neck strap bunched up behind the eyepiece to protect the screen. I got comfortable and was in it for the long haul. 20 minutes of manually holding the shutter down to try and create the star trails. Bear in mind this was my first attempt and under the circumstances I think it turned out pretty well! There's some things I'll do different next time, like shoot on a night when the moon isn't illuminating the entire sky. But other than that, I'm pretty happy with it!

~Nate

I would like to introduce someone to you, someone who has become very influential to me lately: Jasmine Star. She is an ah-maze-ing photographer out of California who happens to love teaching other photographers! (Very cool - seeing as how most photogs like to keep their secrets locked down) Today I watched, recorded, and took detailed notes as she spoke on creativelive.com (which happens to be hosted by Nate's new bestie, Chase Jarvis). Listening to her speak I couldn't help but become inspired to do more with our photography business. Heck, she has only been a wedding photographer for 4 years and she is now very well known. I think she was named one of the most influential wedding photographers of 2010 or something?? I feel like we could learn a lot from her, and so, as my eyes were glued to the computer monitor I tried to soak up as much as I could. I've already started sketching plans for a new website! Woot! I think you will likey ;)

So far Nate and I have had to learn the hard way. Everything we know about being wedding photographers we have taught ourselves. We started with nothing and have made it this far. We are steadily growing and always seeking new ways to branch out - but i'll admit, its hard. And its scary at times. But, with every couple we meet, and every wedding we photograph we become more and more hooked on this business. We are so in love with experiencing the love between others - its so refreshing and makes us feel closer to each other as husband and wife. I cannot think of a better thing to do... honestly. We love seeing people in love. We love happy people! :-D

~Meagan

It was one HOT, emotional, and beautiful day!!! We wouldn't have traded any of it! OK, welllllll maybe the heat... but overall it was a wonderful experience and we're so happy for Mike and Amanda and the opportunity that we had to share this amazing day with them! We wish you two the very best and a rocking time in the Bahamas!!!