My summer film is in, and now it is time to accept that the chill is in the air and summer is over. As a photographer I try to shoot film often - making myself think about the one frame, instead of taking 10 for that 1. Digital has changed photography and as convenient as it is, specially for the shoots I normally do, there is a part of my that misses film and the challenges it brings. So I try to carry my film camera around with me  and today you will see my summer shots - Starting at my dear friends wedding to a test shoot I did with Alina. I did a film series during my time in Ethiopia, you should check that  post here.
Laura and Aaron will be getting married this coming April here in Madison. A few months back we met at Bradburry's to meet and plan engagement photographs and talk about their wedding - and a few weeks ago I met them at their apartment to spend the afternoon documenting their cuteness - I can't wait to spend another day photographing their love - enjoy!
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.
Today features Fanaya Dinku who started a restaurant using a Seeds of Africa Micro Loan (more information about the program in here). We went to visit Fanaya's restaurant on a Saturday afternoon and there weren't many seats open - we wanted to interview her but it was so busy - Â needless to say, her business is very successful!
Teamed up with some friends and talented folks at ShopBop to do this shoot. Stylist: Bao Xiong
Hair & Make up: Debbie Jacks
Model: Zorana Kuzmanovic
You may remember Marcie & Bill from my blog last September, they were married in late September with a small group of people on a perfect fall day. A year later they have a beautiful baby boy names Jack and they celebrated their marriage and family at Quivey's Grove . I was so happy I was able to document both events and to get a change to meet their son. It was a perfect night filled with wonderful food, friends from all over the country and lovely tunes from Hometown Sweethearts (if you are planning a wedding and want a live band, I strongly encourage you to contact these gentlemen) - Enjoy!
No words are needed to describe what is happening here...
It is always a little bit sad when Labor Day is coming, it's that feeling that summer is coming to an end, where even though I have been out of school for years, I still get that feeling that it's time to go back. Rock County Folk Symposium has changed this feeling for me, every Sunday of Labor Day weekend I get to go to Janesville, drink Furthermore beer, eat walking tacos and watch all of my friends play music until the early morning hours. This is one of my favorite events of the year, it makes me happy I have chosen the midwest as my home. If you are someone in the band and would like to use some of these images or see more (there are many more) please contact me through my contact page on my website.
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 - Â 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.
Today I get to brag about my boyfriend Luke, and what he did at the Take Root Center while we were in Ethiopia. Luke is an elementary art teacher  here in Madison so prior to us leaving I knew he was going to feel right at home. Luke worked on a music project with the students, he helped them record songs that either they have written or their teachers did, he also had them create album art and he taught them basic video editing. He will be putting together an album of all the songs that he worked on and will hopefully sell them to raise money for Seeds of Africa.  Together Luke and I made videos of the songs, I would take video clips throughout the day and then Luke would put it all together, you can see my favorite one here. Luke also had the idea to put together a little documentary about the Take Root Center, you can watch that here. I have heard from many people here in Madison that Luke is an incredible teacher, and although I have never doubted it, it was so wonderful to be able to witness him in action, it was an amazing experience to share with Luke and he is the best travel companion a girl could ask for.
Teamed up with some amazing stylists and wonderful model from my freelance job, ShopBop and worked together on a shoot last week. The team:
Stylist: Chloe Helland
Assistant Stylist: Jess Ploessl
Hair & Makeup: Cindy Adams
Model: Alina
Skateboard Expert: Cory Peterson
Everything about this wedding was perfect, from Megan's dress (with pockets) to the beautiful venue in Minneapolis (Nicollet Island Pavilion). Megan and John now live in Hawaii and came back to the Midwest to celebrate with their friends and family, it was a wonderful ceremony, with written letters to each other that made everyone cry, to vows from The Simpsons for some comic relief. It was a great day to be apart of, filled with beautiful people to photograph.
During our time in Ethiopia I took a few rolls of film, and after I got them developed I wished I would have taken more. Below is a collect of my film shots, I only took a few at the Take Root Center but most of them are from our last days in Ethiopia where Luke and I spent it exploring Addis - drinking coffee, searching for cassette stores and wandering the beautiful city.
About a year ago I joined up with Paul Otteson to sing harmony on a couple of songs and now a year later we are Paul Otteson & Faux Faun and this summer we have recorded one EP and yesterday we started on a full length. We will be playing a free show tonight at Tempest Oyster Bar around 9:30 for the whole night, so stop by for some oysters and music.
I photographed a wedding a few years back that these lovely two attended, and during the reception I could not help but photograph these two on the dance floor - they we so happy, such good dancers and so in love. I remember going up to the bride, pointing them out and telling her when those two get engaged to send them my way because I want to document that day. So when Dick gave me a call and told me that they would like to have me photograph their wedding, I was pretty excited. They got married in Marshfield, WI at in Rosemary's parents backyard, followed by champagne brunch, then later we all got together for a pig roast and dancing.
Last week I got the opportunity to photograph one of the most promising new movements in youth culture, Girls Rock Camp. Girls Rock Camp Madison is an intense, one week day-camp for girls ages 8-18. Campers of all skill levels learn guitar, drums, keyboards, bass and vocals, form a band, write a song and perform at the end of week for friends, family, and hundreds of screaming fans - Girls Rock Camp is great because it recognizes the potential of every young woman to be a strong, talented, creative and empowered individual while providing a safe space where all girls rock. I have been photographing their showcases for a few years now and I finally have gotten around to write a blog about it. If you would like to learn more, send your child or if you wished this was around while you were young, no worries - they have Ladies Rock Camp as well - visit their website here. 
This week on Ethiopia Monday I have a collection of images of the staff at the Take Root center. They all were incredibly dedicated, treated us like family and made us feel very welcome. Â We worked with them at the center and had lunch every day over at Genet's house - always amazing and always made me eat way more than I needed to.
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.
