Here are some photos from Anthony's one year session. He's the first baby to have gone through our "Baby's First Year" Package. In case you're curious as to what that is, or even if you're not, I'll tell you.

The Baby's First Year Package is a series of photo sessions that document your baby as it grows from birth to it's first birthday. We typically do newborn, six month, and one year sessions. Some parents have chosen to add a maternity session as well. It makes a great baby shower gift!


Anthony's parents chose Minneapolis as a backdrop for the session (a VERY popular place as of late). It was a fun shoot. Anthony took a bit of time to warm up to me again but he was very good. Here are some of my favorite images form the session:

It was so fun to watch him grow up over the last year and it went so fast! At this rate senior pictures and wedding photos are just around the corner!

Hello world, meet Allison Rose! Our good friends, Nick and Rose, had their beautiful little girl on October 26th at 4:06pm. Tim and I visited them a few days later and I quickly snapped a few photos while Tim made us all lunch.

Congrats Nick and Rose! And welcome little Allison!

Nick and Rose have recently returned to The Cities and Nick is establishing his Chiropractic practice. He does a heck of a job, so if your neck's got a crick, go talk to Nick. (that's not his motto, but rhyming is always fun)

drishti (drish-tee): a point of focus where the gaze rests during yoga and meditation to aid in concentration and awareness.

This entry is overdue. I've wanted to blog about the Drishti Yoga studio ever since Tim and I took these photos and Tim and Bevans designed Drishti's website. Lauri, the owner, is a really wonderful person. She opened Drishti Yoga earlier this year.

Just a few months ago I started taking their beginning class on Wednesday mornings taught by Angela. It is the best yoga class I've ever taken. The class is small so we get lots of one on one attention. I love that Angela goes around and corrects our poses as needed.

I also had the opportunity to take two classes with Lauri during the last full moons. It was a full moon meditation at 9pm. Lauri was great. It was unlike any yoga practice I'd done in the past. I've always done yoga as a way to exercise. This class was more meditative; it was a really neat experience. If you've never tried this kind of yoga, you should. The next full moon practice is Wednesday, December 2nd at 9pm. It's free, just bring a food shelf donation. I hope to see you there!

I've known Sara for eight years. She is one of my closest friends. I was so excited to hear that she had found the man of her dreams. Joe and Sara are tying the knot this July.

Tim and I had a great time shooting their engagement photos last Sunday. Sara suggested we go to St. Anthony Main to photograph. It was a great idea! It quickly became my new favorite place to photograph portraits. It has it all: nature (trees, flowers, and water), urban backgrounds, a beautiful cityscape, and even some classic architecture.

We went to Panera Bread before the shoot. (By the way, they have an awesome Pumpkin spice latte!) After lunch, we walked over towards the river and began our shoot. Sara and Joe were so fun to photograph. Since we were with friends, Tim and I played around a bit more than usual and experimented with some different techniques. In the end, we got some beautiful images.

Sara, Joe, congratulations. You make a great couple. Enjoy your photos.

I admit, I am an impulse grocery shopper. I generally despise shopping, but when I'm walking the isles at the local grocery store, it's different. I love it. I buy pretty much whatever I feel like with no guilt. The only thing better than shopping for dinner at my local Cub Foods is shopping for diner at my local farmers' market. Tim and I headed to the St. Paul Farmer's Market on a Saturday morning and we bought the most interesting vegetables we could find, but the goal was not to eat them, we wanted to photograph them. We went home and set up a studio by our bow window to utilize as much natural light as possible. It was a nice overcast day and the window provided us with very soft side lighting. It was actually very dark in the room...that's why we're glad they invented the tripod. With a stable platform for the camera and a subject that doesn't move you can shoot as slow as you want. So we shot with a high ISO and very looooong shutter speeds. The average was .25-3 seconds. This process is made all the more easy by the use of an infared shutter release so we didn't have to worry about shaking the camera when depressing the shutter release button on the camera.

If you're in the area look for this series of photos to appear at Ingredients Cafe soon!


mmm... Minnesota sweet corn.


I know shallots are just fancy onions, but something about them just makes my mouth water...they go well with just about everything except ice cream, orange juice and pancakes (and I could probably be convinced to try them with pancakes)


I've never eaten a carnival squash, but if it tastes half as good as it looks then I'll be happy.


These are Thai eggplant...a very curious vegetable. Apparently they're a key ingredient in Thai curries, but aren't very good on their own. Unlike Japanese or European eggplant they are bitter and have a little spicy heat to them. To be honest I never did fiure out how to cook with them, but they were sure fun to photograph.


Yes these did taste as fresh and crunchy as they look.


It's just like normal cauliflower, but more fun.


Oh man...this was a great conversation piece. To give you an idea of scale, this cabbage was as big around as a hubcap and so beautiful. According to the farmer they already came with modeling experience as they were photographed earlier this same day. It had the same effect as walking a dog. People kept on coming up to us and complimenting us on the gorgeous vegetable, asking us questions about it, talking about how we were going to photograph it, etc. The moral of the story is that if you find yourself in a new town and want to make friends fast you need to either find a dog, a baby, or a huge cabbage.

This post is inspired by my very good friend Rachael and her delicious food blog.

It was a lovely Sunday today and Tim and I had a wonderful shoot at the Crystal Lake Boat Launch. This family was great to work with. Karlee, the adorable 3 year old, was outgoing and not the least bit camera shy. Cam, on the other hand, was a bit serious and not too sure he wanted his photo taken. Andy and Katie were great with their kids. They kept them happy and cooperative by doling out Pez candy.

Here is a sneak peek of my favorites.

We'd like to thanks them the great shoot! We hope they are as happy with the photos as we are.

I've had this idea for a while now to try to get a photo of my sweet Bela so that it looked like she's licking the lens. I finally took some time to give it a shot. My strategy was to take a clean storm window and put a bit of peanut butter on it and photograph Bela licking through the window. (Tim would kill me if I put peanut butter on our lenses!) This first photo is of Bela just staring hungrily at the peanut butter on the window.



Here is my long awaited photo. What do you think?



There you have it. A big, wet, dog kiss from Bela to you!

If you know Tim and I, you probably know our dog Bela. She is our baby. We love her very much. We also love our vet, Michell Beck. She has been a family friend since before we had Bela. She has a natural way with anamals and a great passion for what she does. I'm excited to say she is opening her own practice, PAWS Pet Hospital (click here for more info). Tim and I got together with Michell and Matt and their Huskies Amarok and Czar to take some photos for their new business. Check these out.









This one's my favorite! Look at those eyes!

This was a cool wedding. Katie and Josh were such great people to work with, as was the wedding party. The event took place in downtown Stillwater. We started with photos at a small backyard garden next to the Stillwater library, where the ceremony took place. Now don't think that means they got married between stacks of books...the library has a rooftop pavillion complete with a white bevel-column pergola, wrought iron fence and panoramic view of the river.

Talk about beautiful photo opportunites...we posed this couple all around the area, in the library ,the street, the alleys, and next to the 150 ft. crane that dwarfed the whole scene. There were some serious concerns about this crane prior to the wedding, but in that situation you can either let it be a thorn in your side or you can embrace it.









After the ceremony we all went down to a favorite place, Northern Vineyards Winery. They bought a bottle of wine and went to enjoy it on the 3rd story balcony that overlooks the river boardwalk. When all the glasses were emptied we took a stroll through downtown to the riverside park and old lift bridge. The energy was high, everyone looked great, and love was in the air. All in all a good day.

Brad, our fearless tour guide, always armed with at least two maps, lead us all around Kyoto. Thanks Brad!


We visited Nijō Castle (二条城). It's known for its "nightingale floors" - wooden flooring which makes bird-like squeaking sounds when stepped on. It really does sound like birds! The garden around is was beautiful. It made me miss my own garden. I'm anxious to get home and see how much everything grew in ten days.




We walked trough a neat food market. I tried my first authentic Japanese tempura. It was covering Japanese eggplant, sweet potatoes, a bundle of peas onions, and a beautifully shaped vegetable called lotus root. It was VERY crowded. I didn't too to well with all the people but it was really interesting to see all the food.

Next stop, Fushimi Inari Shrine (伏見稲荷大社 ) which is dedicated to Inari, the god of grain. The fox is the god's messenger. The foxes are said to be helpful, but others are said to be dangerous and bewitch people, sometimes even in the guise of beautiful woman. The fox spirits are said to be able to possess people by slipping through their fingernails. There are stone fox statues all around the shrine.

I bought some candied ginger here. Tim and I love this stuff!



We had some Inari Zuchi sweetened sushi rice wrapped in fried tofu, which is said to be the favorite food of the fox.





Then once you pass the buildings, there is a path 4 km long of solid red gates. It is quite a site to see.



When we returned to Toyko via the bullet train. We got cleaned up and went out for Karaoke. Wow. That was a blast. We drank sake and plum wine with soda. I sang Lisa Lobe's "Stay" as well as many other songs.

And now to explain the title of this blog. After karaoke we took a taxi and got off by the bridge between everyone's apartment. We weren't quite done talking so we sat down under the bridge. We ended up sitting around a heater by a van down by the river. The van was also a bar. Cool. Beer please. (Wait, do I even drink beer? I guess so!) So that's how I ended up drinking a beer under a bridge by a van down by the river in Toyko, Japan.

[Videos of these adventures may (or may not) be coming soon.]