photography | contest

recently i entered a photography contest for cbs2chicago. the theme was "capture my chicago". 28,000 photos were submitted and over 2 million votes cast. the selected photos were included in the 160 page book that is on pre-order. the first 17 pages are up for preview and one of my photos made it in!



i know what everyone is getting for christmas ...

;)

copy cat | assignment

i recently read a post by zack arias, an atlanta-based photographer who is already established, holds workshops, does commercial work, etc., but still pushing himself to be a better photographer. his assignment: take portraits of 10 strangers in 10 hours. some people turned him down but others agreed. he didn't just snap a picture and walk away; instead, he talked to the subjects, got them comfortable, asked questions. i think he sent copies of the portraits to them later.

anyway, i was inspired to try something like this, so i think i will! i'm headed to london in a week and then i have my towns of chicago and atlanta. probably visit new york sometime this year too. i'm going to step out of my comfort zone ...

stay tuned.

d + m | engaged

a few years ago they met.
she was taken, and he was taken by her.

a few years later they dated.

one year ago to the day...
they
were
engaged...

shot on location at the garfield park conservatory, chicago, il ... enjoy








slide show


on flickr

the p. family | 2009

my colleague invited me over to take some family photographs as everyone was over and dressed in new clothes for diwali, the indian new year. after some family portraits and letting the kids play in the park, she fed me lots of delicious and spicy indian food, complete with mugus!

here are some photos from the day.






there is a story behind the squirrel. the kids love the feed the squirrels peanuts, all except the scary gray one (scary because he climbed up on one of the kids who didn't toss the peanut fast enough). they loooove the other squirrels though!

gabrielle is 3 months today | family

my beautiful little niece gabrielle is 3 months old today! i cannot believe how time flies. she was a cute little blob 3 months ago; now she's a cute little jelly bean who can smile and stand (while being held of course) and coo and tell mom when she's hungry. all around the cutest thing (tied with ethan) that ever came to this planet!

and i'm not just saying that because she's my niece; it really is true.

;)

comfort with a side of snazzy | the-lovehandle.com

this is chicago and winter fast approaches. well, who am i kidding. it never actually warmed up this year. but fall saturdays are recipes in themselves for some really yummy comfort food.

elaine has been holding on to my aunt michelle's butternut squash & apple soup recipe since spring, saving it for a perfect cold saturday that was today. she improvised with the ingredients attempting to make it a little less fattening (isn't that the purpose though? to fatten up for winter to SURVIVE?)

;)


she accompanied the soup with a delicious warm pilaf made of quinoa, mushrooms, and carrots. she just couldn't serve it in a bowl though; she had to throw a bit of snazzz in.



and then we'd both been craving something sweet, so i whipped up a batch of outrageous oatmeal cookies. outrageous = purple & golden raisins, cranberries, and semi-sweet chocolate chips. yummy!



head on over to www.the-lovehandle.com for recipes and more info!

d + m | sneak peak

today i had the pleasure of photographing a couple's engagement pictures at the breathtaking garfield park conservatory. elaine assisted me for the shoot and even got in some photography herself!

more to come, but here's a sneak peak......

getting creative | saturday

i just got home from atlanta where i couldn't stop kissing my adorable niece, gabrielle. this has come to bite me in the rear as she was sick and now i am sick.

left work early on friday, had a dinner of 4 cups of hot cocoa (ran out of tea), stayed up til 4am watching on demand since sudafed has a way of keeping one wide awake.

so here i am, saturday. didn't feel like t.v. didn't feel like reading or going outside. so i collected a bunch of random stuff and held a photo shoot.


regular ole wine glasses


flowers & jewels


lovely jewels


my grandma's vase and some flowers my friend erin gave me years ago and i can't seem to let them go!