Quiet Passion | South Bend Indoor Couples Session

To meet Emily is to immediately experience her passion.  It’s not that she speaks loudly or uses grand gestures so much as when she talks about something she cares about you can feel what she means and know that what she says comes from the heart.  And when she talks about Rodney, you feel like you must meet him next.  Then you see them together and you sense their natural ease with each other, their genuine affection for the other.  You can can’t help but smile with them and feel all kinds of good vibes.  I love how she looks at him.  I love how they laughed and connected throughout the session, almost as if no camera was even present.

In a time when the simple things are often taken for granted, these two find the best in one another and from those things, they draw strength.  I hope that they never lose sight of those little quirks that make each of them so unique and that, combined, make them such a special couple.

The way she looks at him.Easy laughsLaugh and love.

So good.Come closer.Sweet nothings.

Cozy up.Sometimes

Hold on.Cuts like a knifeShe can hear him smiling.

Just the two of us.

Engagement Session in the Snow | Michiana Couples Photographer

This brave bride-to-be wanted a winter scene for her engagement photos, and Mother Nature provided just the right amount of snow and the perfect winter sky to capture the wholesome beauty of young love.  Anyone who lives around here knows that February temperatures can be brutal and that we often deal with a dreary overcast backdrop this time of year.  Nevertheless, this city girl, who captured the heart of a country boy, seemed to know that everything would work out fine–and indeed it did.  Warmer temperatures earlier in the week threatened to melt our last snow, but we were left with enough to create wonderful lines and patterns.  Additionally, what started out as a sunny day turned cloudy in the afternoon before just enough sun peeked through the clouds to give us beautiful blue and reddish hues in the sky as it set.  It seems God is smiling on this sweet couple.  I thank them for enduring the cold and trusting both Mother Nature and me to deliver engagement photos that tell their story.

Engagement ring

 

Tenderness

 

Lean InYou are the center of my universe.

New Year, New Project

For the first time, I have officially taken on a 365 project.  I am committing to taking at least one photo per day for the year in an effort to better my skills, to hone my ability to “see” the world around me, to find the beauty in the everyday, and to express gratitude for it.  Truthfully, some days are dreary and that’s how my work feels.  Some days I don’t produce anything I love.  But making myself look up and around (and down and back) has already opened my eyes to new possibilities.  Here are my four favorites from January, which featured low light, flat light, and cats, with some kids thrown in the mix.

 

The Backstory No. 1

This is the first in a series of posts to share what compels me to make a photograph and how I have constructed my favorite images.  Some are intentional but candid, and some are planned from beginning to end.

This image was inspired by my daughter’s tenth birthday last spring.  In my mind, it was a major milestone.  She had been with us for a full decade.  Her age would forevermore be written with double digits.  It was one of those occasions that made me feel like time was slipping away.

The balloons are symbolic not only of her birthday, but also of the passage of moments and how hard it can be to hang onto them.  One also realizes that once these moments are gone, we cannot get them back.

Her dress is simple and timeless.  The downtown location was selected for its textures and lines, and the time of day was chosen for the long shadows that would be cast.  I used the lines and shadows to lead the eye through the frame to the girl with her gaze on the haphazardly floating balloon.  I clicked when the balloon was clearly isolated in the sky between the buildings and the edge of the frame, leaving me with the feeling that if I had waited another instant it would no longer be visible.  I chose to convert it to black and white to emphasize the common feeling we all have when we see something we love escaping our grasp–and knowing that we just have to let it go.

I still can’t believe this baby has been with us for ten years (quickly going on 11, actually.)  How time flies!

This is my story.  What’s yours?  I’d love to help you tell it–in pictures, of course.

 

 

 

 

 

O Christmas Tree

As the first real snow of the season was accumulating, this family set out to a local Christmas tree farm.  Here you see the story of the Christmas tree hunt captured on a frigid day outside, with warm hearts inside.  Clothing and accessories styled by Heather Strycker Style.  You can find her on Instagram and on Facebook (hstryckerstyle).

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