A friend of a friend has been asking for a couple of years now that I take photos of her son, and this being his senior year of high school, she really wanted senior portraits that were different than what everyone else would have in town. Since I'm not a portrait photographer - as stated here on this blog many times before - I declined several times, but finally decided why not. They can still have other photos taken if they aren't happy with what we get... Shaun is the first person I photographed that I don't personally know and I have to say that made it extra difficult! With my friends I can joke around and have a good idea of where to go for cityscapes and good times for light ... etc. This was scheduled for 2pm on a bright sunny day - not great. I really had to make the best of it and find shade anywhere I could. And... he's got glasses, oy! Do you know how hard it is to not get reflections in glasses? Even harder to try to remove said reflections if they do creep in ... Man, this one was tough! I think they are happy with the results - they used them for his graduation party invitation, but my own critique ... meh. It's REALLY hard to capture the essence of another person in photographs. Huge props to you professional portrait shooters out there!! 
smiling steve
My friend Steve does work that requires him to have new headshots all the time so we went around town snapping to see if we could get anything he could use for a couple of upcoming job auditions. We got a couple of decent shots - but I just really struggle with portraits. How do you get the skin tone the same with different light conditions, how do you get genuine smiles out of people (even if you know them) how do you find just the right backdrop and blur. Let's just say I do much better with architecture and landscapes ... All that said, we had a great day from the Art Institute to Millennium Park, cocktails at the Wit, walking the west loop and capping it all off with dinner @ The Publican - yum!! 
10 on 10 { april 2014 }
So... I had a bit of a fail on this months ten on ten .. I started it on the 10th, but being a weekday, completely lost track of time and got buried in the workday. So then I thought I'd pick up on the weekend ... but somehow managed to still come up short by a photo. I blame the miserable cold that has fogged my head for two weeks!! :( Ahh well, hopefully I will do better in May! 
joshua tree : take one
I finally made my way to Joshua Tree National Park and wow, is it something to see! I am not really a fan of the desert or the desert landscape (I'm a city girl for sure) but I do enjoy venturing out to see if I can find some beauty and inspiration when possible! I am always open to new places on this amazing planet!! We had a perfect day in California - 68° in the valley! Took the trip out to Joshua Tree for sunset - the colors were stunning! And holy smokes is that park huge! We never even made it to the cholla cactus garden because it's 34 MILES into the park! Given that we had no idea where we were going, GPS is non existent there and the sun was setting fast, we decided to stick to the Joshua Trees and a few of the rock formations. (side note: I had to pick up a sweatshirt because it was a good 30° cooler in the higher elevation - felt like a total rookie!)
Snapped a few photos, but to do this place right, I'd need a lot more time and gear! Really enjoyed it and the warm glow of the sun setting over the desert landscape! 
the happy show
Back on my staycation I took in The Happy Show by Stefan Sagmeister and LOVED it! I am only sad that I caught it on it's last week, so most of the interactive things were gone. That aside, I just love Stefan's take on the everyday and his handwritten display felt conversational, collaborative and personal - like he was standing right there talking to me. I don't typically feel this way about art - and I've seen a lot of art - so it was refreshing and I am really happy (ha) that I made it in before the installation left town. It's still traveling the country - maybe The Happy Show will soon be in your neck of the woods. 
marcey weds
My friend and coworker Marcey wed on Friday among a few family and close friends. This was my first muslim wedding and I was completely fascinated by the whole thing! I snapped a few photos to document the day and wish her and the new hubs all the very best. 
graceland instameet
Took in my first #instameet yesterday at the Graceland Cemetery - a beautiful park cemetery that has a some of Chicago's most famous residents - specifically architects and designers! There were about 35/40 of us walking around with cameras - mostly camera phones since it's specifically for instagrammers - while listening to one guy tell us about some of the notables. I both liked and disliked the instameet ... it's always great to meet new people with like hobbies and interests, but it kind of sucks to have 40 people all trying to photograph the same subject at the same time. Patience is certainly a requirement!! I have enjoyed watching instagram fill up with everyone's take - such different styles! I took a LOT of photos - I love statuary and the weather was really adding to the mood of the day, so lots of shots!! Here are just a few. *wink*
Oh and as I was wandering around I ran across a Seymour headstone - my grandmother's maiden name was Seymour! Might have to look the Chicago Seymour's up to see if we are any relation! 
leven family 2013
Popped into Robin's to catch the last part of Jordyn's fifth birthday party - the first in their new home! They set everything up in the unfinished basement and the kids loved it - loads of room to run and play! We tried to get a few family photos after, but you know how kids are... especially after they just partied it up! 
ohc : fourth pres
The Chicago Architecture Foundation is hosting Open House Chicago - a giant open house of 150 of the coolest places in the city - landmarks to design firms and everything in between. It's a great event - heavily attended, long lines at the most popular places. And the best part ... it's free! The only problem is that you have to be very organized - know the hours each site you want to visit, map out your attack and get out early to get in as much as possible!
I stopped in Fourth Presbyterian Church to see if I could finally get past the main hall, but sadly they had a private event and closed to the tour at 1pm - I failed to do my research! Oh well. I got some fun shots anyway. Will have to do better planning next year!
sunday in the orchard
Selika, Alex, Ricky and I set out for some apple picking fun in Hobart, Indiana! Thanks to my Indiana friends for recommending the County Line Orchard! We loved it! Still plenty of apples to pick (although Honeycrisp was gone) lots of pumpkins and some really amazing corn mazes! It's a big farm and the barn is chalked full of yummy goodness! It was the most beautiful Fall day - couldn't have ordered up anything better - really!