The ice was bumpy and the temps were frigid, but Andrea and Cyrus kept smiling throughout their engagement session at Tenney Park.  I was sooo excited when they told me they decided to have an ice skating themed session.  We started-out on the ice and these two were pros — sliding all over without falling — even twirling.  I figured they got some inspiration from the Olympics, but Cyrus pointed-out that he was missing the U.S. men’s hockey game for the session … what a nice guy :)  I could tell that Cyrus was a former player — so easy-going on skates … (when I was nearly falling on my face wearing flat boots) … and Andrea looked like a natural as well!

Something I really love about these guys is how laid-back they are.  Their wedding will be super chill … a gathering of people they really care about.  I think it’s perfect for them and their easy-going demeanor.

Toward the end of the session, Andrea pulled-out some hats for them to wear and I loved it!  Seriously, props and extra accessories can never be bad.  We might not use them all, but it’s never a bad idea to come with extras.  I was so glad they did — they looked so great!  Thanks, Andrea and Cyrus, for spending time with me on the ice.  Can’t wait for your wedding this summer!

PS — I absolutely adore Andrea’s hair.  I’ve never seen curls like that and I wanted to photograph them all day long.  Fa’real.

Where has February gone?!  For real!  I know it’s not over yet, but I have shoots, a workshop, and another non-photography workshop every single day until March.  So I’m posting an update on my Book a Week Challenge NOW.  If you followed my old blog, you know that I have/had an extremely long To-Read list, and that one of my goals this year was to finish reading all the books on it.  I therefore challenged myself to read one book per week, figuring that if I don’t add any more books to the list (yeah right…), then I would finish the list before the end of the year. I am posting an update (to keep myself accountable and because I LOVE sharing and talking about books) each month.

The books I read this month include:

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery.  5 out of 5 stars.  I always read reviews after finishing a book — and I guess some readers found this book to be pretentious.  So maybe I’m pretentious … haha … but I loved all the philosophy and perhaps obvious thoughts on life and beauty.  Very well-written and enjoyable.  My librarian friend, Maria, recommended this to me.  And I’m now recommending it to you :)

Changing My Mind:  Occasional Essays by Zadie Smith.  4 out of 5 stars. Zadie Smith is a really good writer. I laugh, I cry, I get really into her words and how she weaves them together.  I recommend this book to voracious readers.  She references lots and lots of authors and I can’t imagine reading this book if I hadn’t already read all the others.

Spinning Into Butter by Rebecca Gilman.  4 out of 5 stars.  I don’t usually read plays, but my friend Lindsay is really into contemporary theater and recommended a few plays to me.  I loved this one!  And I realized that reading plays is pretty enjoyable.

Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy Krouse Rosenthal.  2 out of 5 stars.  This book was seriously awesome and hilarious for the first 60 or so pages.  But the final 150+ pages were so full of awfulness that I couldn’t stomach it.  Too bad — I really wanted to like it.  I won’t tell you who recommended it, or you might think less of her :)

and, Giving Up the Ghost by Hilary Mantel.  3 out of 5 stars.  Parts were great and lots of parts were boring.  I wish she would have written more about her adult (interesting) life and less about her child (boring) life.

My To-Read shelf now only has 26 books on it!!

In other news, I have finally — after searching forever — found the perfect camera bag!  What I mean by “perfect” is that it doesn’t look like a camera bag and it’s not cheesy or ugly at all!  I was incredibly giddy when Kelly Moore released her new camera bag line, which you can find HERE.  The bags look sooo good and I finally feel like I can bring my camera everywhere with me, in addition to my phone, keys, wallet, a notebook etc.  It’s roomy and the faux-leather is soft and textured and looks real.  I got the grey, because I love grey, but she has plenty of color options to suit everyone’s wants/needs/desires.  When my bag arrived I almost screamed with delight.  It was better in-person and the packaging was awesome (I LOVE good packaging!).

The bag was a *tad* stiff and I love things really broken-in.  I used to run over my Chuck Taylors with my car in high school in order to break them in … so I folded the bag in half a few times and put a ton of books and other things on top of it for 2 days so that it was completely worn-in.  I’m in love with it.  And I recommend them to everyone (men’s line soon to come)!

Troy and I have been going to Door County every winter for 5 years now.  If you know anything about Door County, you know it can be a kitschy-touristy locale in the summer.  But in the winter … it’s dead.  It’s perfect.  Nothing but a snowy landscape, a lodge with a fireplace, a couple restaurants with open doors, and maybe a good open coffeehouse too.  This year we went with some of our friends (it was so good to finally see them again!) — and although the weekend was different than usual, it was still full of the good things I love about vacation.

To me, the perfect vacation includes walking (lots and lots of walking) all day outdoors, eating at local restaurants, not being on a schedule, and stopping to read a few times at cute coffeehouses or next to a huge body of water (like a lake or an ocean :)).  Mix in a little bit of good shopping — and nothing is better to me!  My most favorite vacations have been to San Francisco, the Southwest (AZ and NM), and to several Latin American countries.  Places where the walking is great, the local food is greater, and the scenery is to die for.

I hate being on a schedule or following any sort of itinerary on vacation.  This is why I dislike tours of any sort or planned group trips put on by an agency or even National Geographic, haha. I simply want to immerse while on vacation … immerse in the local culture, cuisine and scene.  My friend, Natalie, is the greatest person to visit (in NYC) because she loves doing all the same things as me — walking around, eating, reading, drinking coffee — and there is absolutely no pressure to “do things” or to be somewhere at a certain time.  We just hang out, walk, eat, and live.  It’s awesome.

The highlight of our Door County weekend this year was definitely going out to eat and skiing (the winter substitute for walking, haha).  Our fave restaurant there is JJs La Puerta — a Mexican and all-sorts-of-other-kinds-of-food place with a great atmosphere.  Their margaritas are super good too :)

Here are a just a few pics from our weekend away:

Sometimes they just don’t care that you’re sticking a cool camera in their faces, hoping for cute expressions.

Troy and I don’t have kids.  But we spent some time with our friends’ kids in Door County over the weekend (that’s their kids in these photos).  I have to say that I give mad props to kid and family photographers  … it’s sooo not my thing, haha.  I’ve always known this about myself, and therefore I don’t take on family portrait commissions. I think it’s important to find what you truly love as a photographer, and really work at it and be your best at that one area (or in a couple areas; I love adult portrait work, too).  For me, it’s definitely weddings and engagements.  I love working with adults.  I love working with people in love and with people who love my style … and trust me as an artist.

Kids don’t do that.  Kids could care less.  And yet … I do love capturing fun candids of kids at weddings.  They do the sweetest and most hilarious things.  They run away from the camera one minute, and the next minute they are showing off for you. But you’ll never see me trying to get acceptable expressions out of multiple children at one time for a family portrait session.  I’ll be sticking to weddings.  It’s my love; it’s my thing. Will I change my mind after having kids of my own?  Probably not :)

On a photography note, I used my new 35mm 1.4L lens exclusively over the weekend.  I love the wide angle perspective and I love getting right up in people’s faces when I am shooting them … but I think my heart is still with the 50mm.  We’ll see what I think after taking the 35L for a spin (literally) during my ice skating engagement session later this week!

PS — That amazingly cute Oscar hat that you see on my friend’s daughter?  Well, she made it!  She makes tons of other great stuff, including custom designs.  You can check them out HERE, in her Etsy shop!

Have I mentioned before that I have the coolest, most rockingest clients?  Because I do … and Lindsay and Chad are total proof!  Not only did they insist I have complete creative control throughout the session, but they really were up for anything.  Chad was a film major and therefore had a great eye for lighting and architectural lines.  Lindsay came smiling with stylish outfits and her adorable and sweet personality.  Both of them were easy to talk to and fun to hang out with.  It was hard to take a bad photo of Chad and Lindsay together.  I loved how they interacted as we ventured around the capitol area and Monona Terrace.  We trekked down an ice-covered and blocked-off parking ramp as they threw snow at each other and were just having a great time in one anothers’ company.  So fun to watch and to be with.

Lindsay just got a DSLR and is learning photography, so I can’t wait to see some of her photos someday (hint hint, Lindsay :)).  I also can’t wait for their October wedding at Olbrich Gardens in Madison (that’s where I got married as well)!  Thanks, Chad and Lindsay for rocking my world.  You’re the best!