My dear friends Alyssa & Justin have been married for a few years now and they got ahold of me to take some updated photographs. I went over to their well decorated, beautiful apartment for some wine and tacos and a mini photo shoot in their backyard.

At least once a year I get to hang out with the Johnson crew with my camera and this time was extra special for they have a new member in the family - meet baby Etta. This time we spent the morning at their home, making coffee, eating breakfast and trying to get Asher to not cry every time I pointed the camera at him. A morning at the Johnson house..

I met up with the Crawford family while I was in San Francisco to work on a fashion project with Janette  - check out her website here . We did a series of  matching without looking to matchy looks with her and her daughter and a few with her husband Jon -  here is the end result:

A few weeks back I met up with Alex, Doroteia and their adorable son, Desmond for their first family session.. I loved these three and I had so much fun working with them..

On (what I fear) the last day of summer I went over to get to know the Kovacic family and document their newest member of the family, Mikey. We had a great time in the heat and captured many great photographs of the whole family.

No words are needed to describe what is happening here...  

The reason we were connected with Seeds of Africa is the same reason why this organization has this wonderful Micro-Finance Project for the mothers- and this reason is the lovely Maggie Sands. I met Maggie a little over a  year ago on a shoot and while working together here and there I was able to learn more about Seeds and what they do not only for the children but also for the parents.  To start they offer an adult literacy program that offers the parents the opportunity to upgrade their level in reading, writing and financial literacy, acting as a tool for personal empowerment and a means to reach their full potential as parents, community members and employees. After that they offer a Three Day Entrepreneurship Seminar, and in November of 2012, twenty-three mothers participated. The seminar focuses on topics such as separating money between business and household, reinvesting profit, maintaining records, thinking proactively about new markets and a how-to in writing a business plan. If both programs are completed then the women are eligible for the Micro-Finance Project which allows the women to create a business through a Micro Credit of about 2,000 birr per person (2.000 birr is about 105USD). This opportunity allows mothers to work independently, train in a field to increase household income, and moving away from the traditional aid model, a shift takes place allowing mothers to support themselves and their families. So after Luke and I would teach during the week, on the weekends we would go out into the community to meet some of the business owners. On the first Saturday we went to visit Martha and Banchiayahu's mother who has a successful business selling injera, which is a traditional flatbread made out of teff flour and served with just about every meal in Ethiopia. While we were there we learned about her business and she talked to us about how big of an impact Seeds has been for her and her family. She told us that since she has opened her business she has made a wooden box and every day she puts a percentage of her earnings in the box, she plans to open after she has paid off her loan to Seeds.

A few Saturdays ago a very rare thing happened -  I had the day off, so I was able to go over to Grey Gardens for their pizza party. In the last year the Gagnon's built a brick oven in their yard and every weekend they have people over to make amazing pizza and drink wine- it is the perfect way to spend a Saturday.  

I enjoy photographing weddings, I enjoy working in fashion but if I am being honest, children are my favorite subject. Children have a way of forgetting about the camera- what I try to get everyone I work with to do, comes so natural to them. So yesterday I took the afternoon off to have lunch over at the Gagnon's - where we picked out lunch from their garden, drank tea and talk about life, Africa and how August in Wisconsin is perfect. After lunch, Nora picked me some flowers and some food to take home -- images below will show you the process of our afternoon together.  

Summer time become my busiest time of year and it is hard to stop working when your work is always on your mind. With this year being a bit more packed than normal with my trip to Ethiopia in the middle of the wedding season, I have a lot to finish and a lot to plan all before July 9th. The terrace has become my place to relax by the lake, sip a beer and listen to my friends play beautiful music. Last week at Dietrich Gosser's show, this beautiful boy had his Mother make him a jet pack - oh to be young again, how I long for the days where summer vacation existed and all you did was play with your friends and go to the pool to get summer blonde hair and have your skin smell like chlorine, always.

A few weeks ago I got together with my friends Jessica and Joseph to meet their daughter Dee Dee and catch up. I've Known Jessica and Joseph since the first week I moved to Madison, they both lived in my neighborhood and we would spend many late nights on the porch listening to records that would end in a dance party. I remember when Joey proposed, I remember their lovely wedding day and now, years later they have a little girl that I get spend time with and document her life .

Madison, Wi is where I decided to live, and I couldn't be more happy with my city, my job and my community. I sit drinking my Monday morning coffee and reflect on my weekend of photo shoots and the community I surround myself with and I feel truly blessed. One of the biggest reasons why I love what I do is the variety of work that I can do with my collection of cameras- one day I do a fashion shoot, the next day I am documenting two of my best friends getting married  to a Sunday with a family at the park, catching up and documenting their ridiculously cute child. Here are a few photographs from those three shoots: black & white look book - Styled by the lovely Char

Katie and Maia got married this weekend, a small backyard wedding with a guest list of 17 - service was done by my wonderful boyfriend followed by an amazing dinner and bonfire:

Jessica and Joseph were my neighbors back in my college days- we would spend many late nights on the porch listening to records that would end in a dance party, I remember when joey proposed, i remember their lovely wedding day and now, years later they have a little girl that I get spend time with and document her life .

I have been photographing the Johnson family images for the last 3 years and I am so happy that they are having a baby girl come July. I am so eager to meet her and to document her childhood, here is a collection from our shoot last week.

Friday I put on my polkadots, red lips and went over to the Gagnon's magical home for a tea party. We decided to do a shoot where we (the adults) had no influence, Nora had her cousin Nan over and they picked out their outfits and we allowed them to decide what to do and I documented the afternoon. Children are so comfortable in front of the camera, so I feel there is no need to pose them - just let them be kids and I'll document them.

A few Sunday's ago I went to see Amy and Tim, I photographed their wedding a few years back and was happy to hear they had a healthy baby girl, Esther Ann. They live in a beautiful home in Lake Mills, when I arrived Essie was sound asleep, but like all newborn shoots - that didn't last. It was the challenge of getting little Essie back to sleep, but she just wanted to hang out: