LT (College Boy)

The beauty of Mother Nature

I was sitting indoors editing my night away when I heard a voice yell from upstairs.....

"Erika, grab your camera and get upstairs. You have to see this."

Knowing it was going to be something good, I scrambled through my camera bag and put my gear together to see what was instore. I was rushed to the front yard, and as soon as I looked to the sky, this is what I saw...

My camera  cannot even do this sky justice. It was absolutely amazing. I watched as the three layers of clouds collided, all going in different directions. I'm no meterologist, but I'm pretty sure one set of clouds was the cool front moving in, and the other was the warm front moving out. As for the third...who knows. What I do know is that this was one awesome show in the sky.

The works of this planet never cease to amaze me. These clouds collided in the sky for about 15 minutes and left a breathtaking view for everyone who had the priviledge of witnessing it. Since becoming a photographer, I'm thankful for moments like this, when I am able to capture the wonders of the world.

Faith & Tahlon

Courtney (or Ourtney, as we established years ago), is one of my oldest friends, so I was thrilled when she asked me to do some pictures of her son Tahlon and step-daughter Faith. Her and I don't get to see each other too often anymore, so I was amazed at how big the kids had gotten when they jumped out of the car.

Tahlon is just like any other six-year-old. He was all ready to rock-n-roll at the beginning of the shoot, then his young little mind got the best of him and he wanted to run, jump and play. It's typically with younger kids and something I am very use to (which is why I try to get as many shots as I can within the first 15 minutes....shooting kids tip 101).

And Faith was your average almost-teenage girl. She seemed to enjoy the shoot and tried her hardest to get her younger brother to behave.

In the end, I think we got some great shots of these adorable siblings. And I apologize for the massize mosquitoe bites you all may have suffered with in the days following. Seriously, I think Tahlon and Courtney both got bit within the first 2 minutes of the shoot. Hopefully no one got poison ivy!!!!








Yep, that's Tahlon!











Yep, that's Tahlon again!!!!!





SERIOUSLY MOM?!?!?!?!?!?!

Rich & Diane

As I drove to Lake Michigan on that early Sunday morning, I was a weeeee bit concerned about the sky I was seeing ahead of me. It was a very dark, grayish blue color and Rich & Diane had planned a beach wedding that morning. I think I even started talking to the clouds during my drive..."Mother Nature, there better not be one single drop of water in those clouds!!!!!"

As I got closer, then eventually underneath the clouds, I took a very relaxing sigh. "THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!" There was no rain!

As I pulled into the parking lot of Silver Beach in St. Joseph, I was absolutely blown away by the setting Mother Nature provided. Granted, it was a bit chilly for an August morning, and pretty windy as well, but the colors and clouds in the sky, mixed with decent sized waves, made this one of the best backdrops I have ever seen for a wedding.

Rich was there waiting, and said it had started to sprinkle earlier, but it looked as though the rain was going to hold off. As we walked closer to the beach, my excitement grew even more. "Am I really capturing a wedding with this kind of background?" I kept saying over and over and over. Yes, I was!

If I ever had a beach wedding, this is exactly how I'd want the setting to look. Ok, maybe about 20 degrees warmer (ask Diane, her poor lips were blue. She was freezing), but I don't think these two could have asked for a more perfect backdrop for their wonderful ceremony!











Donny enjoying the waves with little Jackson. Such a perfect moment!











Sealed with a kiss...it's official!!!









This has my vote for a nice 16x20 on the living room wall :)

After the ceremony, everyone met at The Boulevard for an AH-MA-ZING brunch.

The newlyweds had planned an afternoon of swimming at the beach with their friends and family, but the waves put a hault to that idea. I believe they still went down and enjoyed the beautiful setting Mother Nature provided on that day. 

Rich & Diane - I wish you two a wonderful, happy and healthy marriage together!!