chicago | a farewell

this is an odd post to write.

since summer 2004, all i wanted, dreamed and eagerly anticipated was to live in chicago. a lot of feelings and experiences went into fueling that desire, too many to explain now. in spring 2008, i finally got what i wanted, 4 years in the making!

and now, a mere one and a half years later, i'm leaving chicago. did i build it up? i don't know. i still love the city, the lake, the architecture and history. i'll miss it, in fact. it is an absolutely beautiful city.

other things didn't turn out as i expected. i thought i would find x, y, or z, but instead i found confidence, knowledge, relationship, a new definition of 'cold', and a passion. those weren't reasons i came to chicago, but i leave with them.

so i am moving this friday. in 2 days. i'll start a new adventure in atlanta as it won't be the same as when i left it.

i am glad.

e + j | engaged

my dear friend erin and joe are tying the knot! they met a long time ago in atlanta, traveled all of the world together, live in and near london, and got engaged recently in paris. the only thing left is finding the ring!

in the meantime, we tried to squeeze a photo shoot into the dwindling london sunset....

first, a little london alleyway




then sunset from the millennium bridge; see if you can spot the tower bridge or the tate modern museum





slide show


on flickr

congratulations you two!

2-9 | birthday

i'm in london! so... a bit more exciting than last year.

albeit, i'm in a windowless room... with underwriters... and actuaries...

;)

the g. family | 2009

remember this guy? well, his parents liked the sign photos and wanted to get some 6 month photos of little max himself. this little guy had the most ridiculous blue eyes!

ethan & gabrielle | family

the last time i was in atlanta for almost a week, i didn't take any photographs until about 3 hours before my flight was supposed to take off! the sun was setting, the kids were all washed, my sister actually put on make up ;) so i couldn't pass up the chance. good thing i didn't; little miss gabrielle was so precious and ethan was as animated as ever.





i sure miss them!

luckily, in about 3 weeks, i am moving to atlanta and there will be a lot more opportunity to see them regularly

:)

p.s. welcome november!

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!

capture my chicago | contest

check it out! i've entered contest put on by cbs2chicago for photographers to put their favorite, most representative, chicago photos up for a vote. the winners will be included in a coffee table book for sale.

voting ends october 17, 2009 and you can vote for my photos HERE!

i'll update this post if any of my photos are selected.

southern soul | the-lovehandle.com

elaine is a fan of the series true blood. she usually watches it after the sunday night ritual while i edit food photos. when asked why i don't watch the show, i say it is because i can't stand there terrible southern accents!

well, season 2 just ended, and elaine commemorated the finale by making some southern food at last: chicken fried steak & gravy, collard greens, and cast-iron-skillet cornbread. this week, i also contributed with a red, white & green salad.




head on over to the lovehandle for recipes and insight!

a + s | surpise engagement

i've been friends with aimee for a few years now. we met through buckhead church in a community group. the first time i met her, she told her story of how she ended up in atlanta and actually cried a little bit. i thought 'whoa, what? why is she crying? she's very in touch with her emotions (and i'm not)... i wonder if we'll be friends outside of this group...'

fast forward, aimee and i have hung out at la fonda on many occassion, ventured around atlanta, gone down to blue angels weekend in pensacola, attended church, prayed together. i'd say we're friends!

we she met scott at the labor day retreat last year, i figured he was special from the first time i heard her talk about him. aimee's never been one for commitment, so when she told me she wanted to marry him, i was honestly shocked. but pleasantly so. aimee is wonderful and deserves someone who complements.

after they met, i started getting into photography and asked casually when they came to visit me in chicago over 4th of july if they would mind posing for some fake engagement photos for my portfolio. they agreed; but we were so busy that weekend, we never got around to it.

on the side, i told scott if he ever wanted to capture his proposal, we could set it up as a fake shoot and he could really propose.

i guess he kept that in mind. he found out i would be at the beach over labor day weekend the same time he & aimee were going (exactly 1 year after they met). we schemed for a few weeks via email and i got aimee to agree to pose and drag scott along (so she thought).

there were so many times i was sure she was onto us! like how i asked her to drive over an hour to this beach closer to me. i was sure she would be annoyed. but she wasn't; a good friend she is! i told her she could use a picture for a christmas card and she said she wanted to use them for engagement photos (i said, 'do you know something i don't know?'). or how i posed them so her eyes were closed, scott looked at me, and i gave him a big thumbs up just as she was opening her eyes.

after all that, she didn't suspect. and after scott got his courage, i stepped back and let him go with it. i'm not sure what he said, but her reaction says it all.

enjoy.












for all the pictures in a slide show:


on flickr