Tornado in my city

While I was in Duluth shooting a wedding yesterday, I got into my car after the ceremony, I saw that I had 3 text messages and 2 voicemail. I checked the texts first and they all said,
"Are you guys ok?"
"Text me back-- want to make sure you guys are ok!" and my friend Nimmy wrote,
"Are you guys ok? Crazy weather!"
I checked my voicemail, and Aaron left me a voicemail saying that there had been a tornado, but everything at home is ok. He said he was sitting at the kitchen table when the wind REALLY picked up. He went to go shut the window and he heard a huge crack and he watched the top half of a neighbor's tree fall off. Just after that, the sirens went off, and he ran downstairs. I am actually very thankful that he saw the tree fall, because otherwise he may have just thought it was a windy storm.
(I took a photo out the window this AM of the tree... You can see the tree on the ground, and the tree it broke off of-- 20 feet from the ground):



Some of you may not have tornadoes in your area, so I'll explain that when the sirens go off here, it means that you need to get down to your basement because there is either a really bad storm about to happen, or it already is happening, including that there are perfect tornado conditions, or a tornado is spotted and may already even be on the ground... so you don't know how much time you have if a tornado were to hit your house.

There was either a very damaging storm or a tornado in my city(They're deciding today, I guess. I'm guessing it matters for insurance reasons?)-- there were many sitings of funnel clouds that were called in (perhaps people saw the same cloud?). My city isn't very large, so it was really too close for comfort. While there is no damage to our home, there was a lot of damage around the city. In Hugo and Blaine, neighboring cities, there were two more tornadoes. Hugo had the worst damage, and a 4-year old was killed, 1 child in critical condition, 8 people seriously injured, and 50 homes were destroyed. Please keep those families in your thoughts and prayers.


CLICK HERE to watch the clip from the news this AM. That was hardly any damage compared to what Hugo got (link below)...

CLICK HERE for the the article about the damage in Hugo. Make sure you look at the photo gallery... there are some incredible images that really show the devastating damage. Thank God there was only 1 death... Everyone else must have been in their basement. What a scary nightmare. There is this almost unreal photo...the roof and walls ripped off the top half of the house, and you can see inside the house-- the bathtub is still in place...


I've mentioned before that I am terrified of tornadoes, but that I am always taking photos of the sky if I think one is about to occur. God knows I would have been out there with my camera... I'm glad I was shooting a wedding instead, in much safer conditions.

Spring is FINALLY here in MN!

It has taken forever for it to get here, but Spring has finally come! The scent of
crab apple blossoms and apple blossoms fill the air! One of my favorite scents ever.

This was a photo I took in April of 2007... Spring decided to come a bit late this year!




Sometime in the next month, I hope to get a new bike! The gears on my current bike
are all out of whack, so it makes it really tough to ride! Aaron and I are planning
to do lots more riding this year.
Treadmill bike?

Kind of awkward...

Speaking of awkward, I stopped into the liquor store tonight to get some wine for
dinner tomorrow. As I was walking out the OUT door, there was someone else walking in
the IN door... A former tennis coach of mine. Talk about a hilarious place to run
into a former high school coach! HA! Actually, I didn't think it was awkward at all.
Just funny. He ran in to make his purchases, while I talked with his wife in the
parking lot, ALSO a former coach of mine. "You're of age now, huh??" She said. Haha:)
So we all caught up a little... It was such a pleasant surprise!

I will show my most recent work soon-- senior portraits! After
that, we'll do some more catching up on weddings. I'm so excited to be getting caught
up. It feels AMAZING. Also, Aaron is on a new work schedule where he is able to take
every other Monday off-- it is a perfect time for us to hang out, because I am often
working on the weekends and in the evenings. He had last Monday off, and we went to
see The Narnia movie... I'm not sure what the critics are saying, but personally, I loved it.

I hope all is well with you all. Get out and enjoy that lovely weather, and Drink
your wine responsibly! ;)

Anticipating the Moment

Aaron got home, and it was beautiful outside! We decided to go on a quick 5-10 minute walk. By the time I put my hair up, contacts in, and shoes on, the sky had turned cloudy. It was actually good for us, because it forced us to walk faster before the rain hit! About 10 minutes after we were done with our walk, there was a typical Spring Shower...lots and lots of small rain drops. After about 15 minutes, the clouds parted, and the sun came out, while it was still raining. I grabbed my camera and a coat to cover my head and the camera, and ran outside-- I knew there would be a rainbow to capture somewhere!

And there it was!



If you look close enough, you can see that there are even more colors, lighter colors, on the bottom of the rainbow. Cool, isn't it?
The rain was gone within 5 minutes, and so was the rainbow.

That's kind of how my job is as a wedding photographer. When I anticipate that there will be a moment, a reaction, or an emotion, I grab my camera and go! I have captured so many fun emotions and moments that if I hadn't been thinking ahead, anticipating, I wouldn't have caught it. And it's super exciting when you DO capture it!
Other times, I'm there already, with my camera up and waiting to click the shutter until I see what I want, and it happens-- that moment, that emotion, that perfect photo.

Most people know when a rainbow should appear, and with experience as a wedding photographer, it becomes easier to anticipate certain moments, while others just happen! Either way, it's a pretty cool job to have a camera in hand all the time, and be able to capture these types of things before they're gone... in 5 minutes, or in 5 seconds!

Published online!

My friend Kallie has always been an extraordinary tap dancer. I always say, "Just when I think she couldn't get any better, she does!"

Some of you may remember that she and I did a shoot sometime last year. Well, they used one of the photos today in this online article:

*****Click Here ****
to see the article. Be sure to click on the video below the pic, too! (It's the 2nd video on the page).

I'll be shooting Kallie and her friend Ned (who is also an amazing dancer) in two weeks. Really looking forward to it!

Congrats on your achievements, Kal. You deserve it. Much love!



So, sometimes I look at the Animal Humane Society's website. That's where Aaron and I picked out 2 cats: Bowie (who now lives with my parents, because he loved it there, and I'm not sure my mom wanted to get rid of him?), and Spartacus, who lives with us now.

I would love having a 2nd cat, but Aaron's not really excited about that idea. I still send him links to the Humane Society's website anyway.
I sent a link with this cat, named Binx, to Aaron:


Aaron and I emailed back and forth today:
A: Binx looks pissed.
G: No, Binx is SAD!!!
A: Nah Binx is suuuuuuuper annoyed. You could not get Binx because he hates getting his picture taken. He would claw the camera.
G: Nooooooooooooo! You are wrong. Binx says, "I am SAD. I need an owner who LOVES me!"
A: "I hates owners, and their silly cameras!!! I is a mad catz."



I mean, come on. Binx is obviously SAD, and not mad. No way.
You don't know, Aaron. You don't know.

This was another favorite from today. This is Harry:


He's a Maine Coon cat (which are really huge cats!).
I think he has a cute chubby face. And I want him.

The good thing about the Animal Humane Society (in Minnesota, anyway), is that they do not put the animals to sleep if they are at the society for "too long." They only do that if there are health issues, or the animal is violent and cannot be trained out of the violent behavior. They are a very humane society. They hang onto the pets until they get adopted, which makes my heart glad:) Someday, I'd like to volunteer my services to them somehow. Photographic, or in other ways.


For those of you who are dog people, that's ok! I understand. I am an all-around
animal lover. Aaron and I just aren't home enough to have a dog.


I hope you all have a great day:)

Slideshows!

Here are two slideshows I put together of my most recent sessions.
Just click on the links below. Enjoy!


Natalie's 2-year Little One session


Lindsay & Andrew's Wedding

Motivational Posters

Ok, just about to go to bed, and since I said I'd post a photo, I will.

I didn't take these, or make them... they were forwarded in an email to me by one of my best buddies Marie. Motivation for us all...

Quick Update!

Ok, so I'll do my best to post some photos tomorrow!

Natalie's 2-year old pics were SO much fun. I'll have those done soon.

Andrea's senior photos were a blast. I ended up eating dinner with her family after
the shoot, at Brit's Pub, where we did the shoot (Andrea's favorite place!). We
talked for, like, 2 or 3 hours? So great to have good conversation!

Texas wedding was awesome. The bride and groom were so wonderful, and their families
were SO much fun. I got to spend time with them at the rehearsal dinner the night
before, and then of course at the wedding. What a great family (both sides).

I'm shooting Amanda's senior portraits today. Her sister and I graduated high school
together, and I met Amanda at a friend's wedding. We're going to shoot at Como, since
she liked a lot of the backdrops there. There are so many options!

I'll be finishing up a wedding tonight. I stayed up all last night (I've mentioned my
sleep schedule is off), and I'm doing well, sleep wise, except for my right eye is
all bloodshot!! Ewww! So I'll see if my contacts go in. I can shoot in my glasses if
I need to (Steph doesn't know how I can do it! I don't get it! It's easy-peasy!)

So, I have MANY photos to share soon! I'll try to post some tomorrow! I think the
last wedding photos I've shared were from OCTOBER, so yes, I do indeed have more
weddings to share! I use Photobucket, and it's kind of a hassel-- but then again,
maybe that's the easiest way to do it. If you guys have any other suggestions, let me
know!