Miss Iowa!

Each year I volunteer some portraits for the Miss Muscatine Pageant. This past year I was lucky enough to photograph both Miss Iowa and the runner up. Jessica was amazing of coarse but the cool part was that she was one of those girls that just happened to do all the volunteer work and have some awesome talents and was talked into trying out for the pageant. Here are some of her portraits from her session.

Aaron & Caroline's Custom Album

Here are some very cool shots of Aaron & Caroline's custom album. They went with a 10x15 album with a custom crystal cover and a "datebook" leather. We loved it so much we also printed a sample for our studio.

A beautiful wedding

Caroline and Aaron's wedding was stunningly beautiful.  I knew from the beginning that it was going to be amazing though.  For their engagement session last year we went out to her parent's place (the same place where her reception was held)  We spent forever on her parent's horse farm and every shot was stunning (I have a bunch hanging in my studio).  Her wedding certainly lived up to my expectations - in fact I entered it into the Professional Photographers of Iowa Portfolio competition and it placed 1st!  Here are a few of the awesome portraits from that day.



Caroline's beautiful dress was from Schaffer's in Des Moines




Caroline got ready at hotel Vetro in Iowa City.  I love how elegant and classic it looks inside!





check out the vertical of these ninja groomsmen!




this carriage was unreal - check out the beautiful flowers by http://www.pleasantvalleyic.com/





Cakes by Adam of Tip Top Cakes (he's so fun to hang out with and he creates some amazing cakes)





gotta love the cool drink containers!





Caroline's mother put on some comfy shoes and some guest were barefoot, love being casual






Caroline and Aaron love to cook and entertain - you can certainly tell by the awesome menue and place settings!
wine was from The Bread and Garden Market in Iowa City

 

A dinner too good to imagine was catered by Blackstone



since Caroline and Aaron love to cook they gave all their guest measuring spoons in the shape of hearts





Their last shot of the night in front of their barn - awesome



Iowa Photographer of the Year!

What a great weekend hanging out with some awesome friends at the PPI convention. Besides the opportunity to be with good friends I was also named top Iowa Photographer for the second year in a row! I won 1st place in the wedding category, 1st in women outdoor, 1st in Illustrative, 1st in Digital. I also won a Fuji Masterpiece award and a Kodak Gallery Elite award! 2012 is off to a good start!  My next big competition is Regionals which will be held in Wisconsin this year and then from there I will enter them into International competition.  Last year I was honored with the International Diamond Photographer of the Year award by PPA and I'm going to do my best to get that again.  With these awards I have been getting lots of offers to travel around the country to speak to other photographers so keep an eye out for where I'll be next!

Ashley & Aaron's wedding

Ashley and Aaron were married this August and I was lucky to be able to spend the whole day with Ashley and Aaron on their wedding day and be there to capture their entire story of their wedding day. I started off at the hair salon capturing candid moments of the girls as they had their hair done and drank mimosas.  Then I met the guys at Aaron's parents house where they were hanging out and getting ready.  Their house was amazing and was the perfect backdrop for portraits.  Ashley arrived awhile later and the guys went to the backyard while the girls took over inside.  I especially loved the vintage feel and texture of Ashley's dress from Laura's Couture Collection.  The small details in the dress really stood out and definitely helped complete the awsomeness of her wedding.  Another great detail was her  lace parasol. I loved the parasol so much that after her wedding I went and bought one for myself in case a future bride wanted to use one.  Their reception was held at the CPMI Event Center in Ames.  I loved the look and details that Ashley had going with the cream and light green accents, fluttering ribbons and tents outside. Ashley's beautiful flowers were created by Cynthia Betts of Weddings in Iowa and the awesome dinner was catered by Occasions Made Right.  Aaron's custom ring was made at Gilger Designs and Ashley's ring was from Christophers Fine Jewelry.

Some big news

So things have been busier than I ever imagined they could get and I have been horrible at keeping up on blogging.  Facebooking is so much more fun.  I'm taking a few moments while lightroom processes some images to mention that I received the 2011 International Diamond Photographer of the Year award from PPA (the largest non-profit professional photographers organization in the world) http://www.ppa.com

 This award is one of the most prestigious awards that photography offers.  Only 11 other photographers out of thousands received this award this year.  I'm humbled an honored to have my work receive such accolades.  Below is part of the spread that appeared in PPA Magazine this month.

this is not my image but what the article says about award is pretty cool

Virgin Islands Destination Wedding

Todd & Jada decided to get married in the Virgin Islands on St John where he had proposed to her.  Around 30 of their best friends and family came down to help them celebrate and have some fun.  They were planning on having a reception back home after their return and they were looking for a photographer to be there.  But they soon realized that the fun and excitement of their wedding on a tropical island with their best friends is really what they would want to remember and have captured. 

So I had the priveledge of going along and capturing their amazing wedding.  The girls got ready in the morning in a condo high up on the hills overlooking the bay.    We photographed for awhile around the brighly colored shops and homes in town then headed out to Trunk Bay for the ceremony - a beautiful white sand beach that was nearly deserted.  After the ceremony we had more time to photograph on the beach as the sun began to set.  Then as it got dark we headed back to town for the reception at a cool outdoor resturant called Rhumb Lines.  It was an amazing fun filled day and Jada and Todd are going to have tons of amazing portraits to remember it by.  Here are just a couple that I have finished so far.