Jessica and Jeff are getting married this fall in East Lansing- same weekend as the Michigan State/Iowa football game. Works out well since Jeff went to school at Iowa.

Super excited to shoot on campus with these two + fall colors!
Meet their pup, Julius (awesome name). Such a cutie!

UMBowl III  ::   Park  West  ::  4/27  ::  Chicago(ooOOOooo)

iClips set up to stream the event on the Interwebz

\mm/Q2 – All improv Stew Art
Middle Eastern Metal… two thumbs up.All in Time to open Q3.@soundcaresser holding it down.iPhone Pics ::

Last month, we took a 6 day Umphrey’s inspired vacation. We flew from Chicago to Las Vegas and from there drove to LA to San Francisco to Sacramento… what we called “west coast ter”. With being on the road almost everyday and 4 consecutive nights of shows, I wouldn’t say it was a relaxing vacation. But, we like to be on the go and see as much as possible… which is what we did.

3/15 :: Las Vegas, NV – Silverton Hotel & Casino

PPhotos of Ryan and I during 2nd set by Brian Spady.

A few on the drive from Vegas to LA:

3/16 :: West Hollywood, CA – House of BluesTotally made my night to finally meet this guy below - Tim Wheaton - Incredible music and portrait photographer out of SoCal. Tim, please come to the midwest soon!!!
Friends from Japan that we met at setbreak. SanFran. Instantly fell in love with this city. It’s now tied with Denver on my “places I want to live” list.View from Buena Vista ParkAlcatraz3/17 :: Oakland, CA – Fox Theater

St. Patty’s day celebration.. extremely well lit by our fave LD, Jefferson!

Some sequential Instagram pics from the trip.
 Loved every second of this adventure.

Next up,  UMBowlIII in Chicago.

I am so excited to finally share these wedding images!

Bethany and Darren’s wedding and reception was in the heart of Chicago at Hotel Palomar. Being at the end of January, cold temps and wind limited us to a lot of indoor shots. Fine by me.. this hotel is FABULOUS. I was overwhelmed with cool spots to shoot, which is never a problem!

We had planned to do Bethany and Darren’s first look on the 17th floor balcony. Extremely high winds + pre-ceremony hair with a veil aren’t exactly the greatest combination. Because of this, we were a bit hesitant of going through with the original plan. Bethany decided to go for it and their first look was just incredible! So much emotion and love with a skyscraper backdrop. Definitely one of my favorite moments of their day.

Also, I think this was the first wedding I’ve shot where a dog had a role in the ceremony. Bethany and Darren’s dog, Sam, was walked down the aisle by the ring bearer. Sam was such a good sport, especially with an unexpected visit to the vet that morning.

The ceremony and reception took place in the same room and the transformation during cocktail hour was astonishing. Gorgeous setting for both the ceremony and the party!

Truly an amazing day… huge thanks to Bethany and Darren for having Misty and I along!

Katie and John are getting married next month at Crystal Mountain ski resort in Northern Michigan. With all the summery weather we had in March, their engagement session fell on a day with sunshine and temps into the 70′s. No complaints here  We went to the ‘Student Ghetto’ on Western Michigan’s campus… they spent a lot of time at these two houses when Katie lived at the house on the right.

These two are awesome! Looking forward to their wedding in less than 8 weeks!

Bethany and Brandon’s winter wedding took place in East Lansing. Gorgeous coulple and the most perfect day for a wedding! Fresh snowfall and sunshine… although it could have been a little bit warmer
One of the bridesmaids called Bethany a “Winter Goddess”.  I agree completely… so stunning and classy.Bethany and the baby lamb on her parents farm. Adorable!

I love these two! Seriously, can’t handle the cuteness… haha

We were hoping for a snowy engagement session and set the date for our shoot a few weeks in advance. Sure enough, we had snow fall the day before and sun + flurries for their pictures. Funny how things work out!

Cailey and Ryan are getting married in September… so excited to spend their day with them!

Happy Friday everyone!

Spent last week in Las Vegas with my coworkers & boss!  WPPI, one of the largest photography conventions in the world, took place at MGM Grand and I was fortunate enough to go and work the booth for our company! Good times were had to say the least. WPPI is the best place for photographers to network and I’m so happy to have met all the awesome people that I did!

View from our room… hot air balloons included:
View inside the room on our last day… it was a bit of a wrecking zone between 3 girls.Headshots turned photo shoot with Katie on our last day. She’s also a photographer and I’ll soon be able to link to her new website!
Shopping carts… cause Katie hates shopping.Hodgepodge of Instragram and iPhone pics…….

It’s nice to be back to normalcy after an exhausting week… but pretty pumpted to return to Vegas in less than 2 weeks for Umphrey’s at the Silverton!

Thank you guys so much for the comments on my 2011 concert photo post. Your words make me feel overwhelmed with gratitude to be able to document shows and share these photos with the fans.

It was super fun to see everyone’s faves and I look forward to seeing lots of you in Detroit next weekend!

First print goes to:  Amy M

Oh man, it’s a toss up between #11 (the date should read 6/3 though- show of the summah!) and #1. My 2 fav guitarists. I think I’m gonna have to go with #1– my good old Michigan boy. Hi Abby!

Thanks for correcting my date typo as well!

Second one goes to :  Ted Roethlisberger

I like them all…but for me, the “rainbow Waful” is my fave. Loved that show, and the state theater in kalamazoo is so cool architecturaly

Congrats I’ll shoot you both an e-mail to get your shipping address. Thanks all.. much love <3

I make it a priority to go to as many concerts as our lives will allow each year. Other than weddings & engagements, I love nothing more than photographing musicians at their finest moments.

I’ve been meaning to post my top 10 (which turned into 15) shots from 2011 since the new year. Time got away from me in January, but I narrowed down my personal favorites from live shows and festivals in 2011. The choices are a bit Umphrey’s heavy, but hey, so are the concerts we attend.

Leave a comment with your favorite that made it in the top 15. I’ll randomly select two comments and send those people a free 16×24 print of that image. It will make for some cool wall art The two comments will be picked on Friday at 6pm (EST). I’ve never done a giveaway before, but thought it might be fun… I know how much I enjoy having these photos hang as art in my home!

15.)

Bayliss and Bra Silhouette

7/4 – Boulder, CO

14.)

Blue Lights

11/25 – Chicago, IL

13.)

Ben Zito from the Crane Wives

9/8 – Grand Rapids, MI

12.)

Chicago Mass Choir joins Umphrey’s Mcgee at the Aragon Ballroom

11/26 – Chicago, IL

11.)

Smiling Trey

6/3 – Clarkston, MI

10.)

Haji Bayliss

8/20 – Hoxeyville Music Festival – Wellston, MI

9.)

Rainbow Waful

11/4 – Kalamazoo, MI

8.)

Fishman framed by his kit

6/3 – Clarkston, MI

7.)

All Things Ninja

11/25 – Chicago, IL

6.)

D.J. Willie Bayliss

10/23 – South Bend, IN

5.)

Fingers

2/4  - Columbus, OH

4.)

Trey takes the Stage

6/3 – Clarkston, MI

3.)

Basses and a Keytar

4/2 – UMBowl II – Chicago, IL

2.)

Red Rocks

7/3 – Morrison, CO

I have this one as 20×30 on my wall…  Love the fans’ expressions.

1.)

The list wouldn’t be complete without some Jaco action

12/30 – St. Louis, MO

Almost didn’t bring my camera to this show… Rookie mistake.