Laurey and Joel

It would be unfair to say that Laurey and Joel's wedding was my favorite to shoot thus far...but I might be bias, I've known Laurey and her son Ben for many years now.

So without picking favorites, let me say that this wedding was a blast to shoot. I had a great time, as, I'm sure, Greg did too. (Check his blog for images in a few days, I'll tell him to post them tomorrow.) I can see now where Ben gets his great sense of humor (and excellent dancing skills).

Thanks and good luck to both of you. It was an honor to shoot your wedding, and a lot of fun.

Iowa City by the numbers

Took a late-night trip down to Iowa City with Tom to visit a Ricky who had a partial lung collapse. He's doing fine, but a "get well soon, Ricky" is still in order.

Since Ricky was asleep most of the ride back, I drifted off into a daydream and compiled a list for you. Here's the number of:

Images I took: 375
Partial Ben Stiller movies watched on USA: 4
Cute X-Ray Techs: 1
Times I woke up Ricky accidentally by playing Jimmy Cliff too loud: 1
Energy drinks purchased: 7
Energy drinks I didn't finish because they tasted like cough medicine: 3
Donuts purchased with "the brightest sprinkles you have": 2
Fluid ounces of beer consumed: 120
Times Tom saw a bike chained up and began to tell me its features: +/-20
Times the doctors and nurses not communicating could have re-collapsed Ricky's lung: I lost count after three
Times I was surprised how cool Iowa City was: 9
Bags of animal crackers stolen from the hospital's command center: 2
Biplanes seen: 1
Times I heard to word "broheim" used sincerely: 1
Times I was daydreaming while driving and hit 90mph before I realized what I was doing: 4

Lori and Daniel

Lori and Daniel's wedding took place a few weeks back, and I'm glad I did. Both families somehow seemed to be made up of the friendliest people in the state. So, I suppose it was fate that Lori and Daniel met.
Be sure to check out Greg's blog for some awesome portraits from the wedding. And more weddings coming up later this week, so stay tuned...

Emily Anderson and Aaron Nix

Finally, the real couple...
Emily and Aaron must have been blessed by the weather gods. Waking up on Wednesday I was scrambling for portrait ideas involving an overcast sky. But by the time Aaron was done helping out at a film shoot, the sun was out and the sky was set up for a gorgeous sunset. Both Emily and Aaron were extremely accommodating, even driving out to Branched Oak Lake with us, where Aaron proposed and where they both met for the first time. (The "us" in that sentence, by the way, refers to my awesome assistants who just happen to be roommates Chelle and Breen.)

Good luck to Emily and Aaron in December

James Pauley's awkward afternoon

In case you didn't know, I have some of the best roommates in the world. But this post is about one in particular, James Pauley, a brunette six foot plus Capricorn hailing from Omaha, Nebraska. I was looking for places in the Haymarket to shoot some engagement portraits, and James brought his A-game happy couple modeling. So thank you, James.

Stay tuned for the real couple coming later this week.

Shannon Smith

Is an awkward yet patient model (and I thank her for that), is a lot cooler than she gives herself credit for.