City Methodist Church

First, thanks to my swell neighbor, Jen (blog here) for inviting me to join her on a photography adventure to Gary, Indiana. I know, you're wondering what the heck we would want to photograph in Gary. Turns out it's home to a beautiful abandoned Methodist church that I think may have been placed on Earth purely for the enjoyment of photographers and filmmakers. A photography group that Jen is a member of arranged an outing on Thursday morning. It was incredible, and I'm so glad I went. If it weren't so cold I would have explored the building for hours.

The building is completely derelict, with most of the windows broken and all of nature making its way in. The floor's integrity is questionable in some areas, so we avoided deviating from the main routes.

One of the first rooms we checked out had a decaying sofa and a beautiful fireplace. It may have been my favorite room:










Someone artfully placed a rose on the arm of the sofa. Little "props" like this could be found throughout the building.

Next we explored the main sanctuary, which was completely breathtaking. I attempted an HDR image, but wasn't happy with what I got after running it through the software, so come good ol' fashioned exposures will have to do :)









Next we headed to the second and third floors, where there were plenty of other props and little "scenes" just begging to be photographed:




This is HDR. I wish the ones I did in the sanctuary had turned out as opposed to this one, but its kinda cool.






We didn't go any further down this hallway. We were certain either a) the floor would give way or b) a man with a chainsaw would jump out at us.

I couldn't feel my fingers at this point, so it was a good spot to call it a day :). Overall a fun adventure, and I've enjoyed seeing photos shared by others in the group. I'll have to get over my shyness and post a few of my own.

And hopefully we can see what Jen did too! That is one of the coolest parts of this group - seeing how others photograph and "see" the same location.

Hopefully there will be more projects like this to come!

Mike, Kimmy, Sam, and Addison

Hi there! It's been awhile! But here I am, and with some photos to share.

I did a mini-session of sorts with some good friends over the weekend. Holiday photos and kids-playing-in-the-snow sort of shots. Very fun! I love how candid kids are :).













They are one of the sweetest families you'll ever meet.

The Del Carlos and Gerners

I don't have much time to be chatty, but here's a few shots from a family session I did over the weekend! They were a really fun group :).

Manny, Afia, Joshua, & Baby

I LOVE taking photos in the fall! The colors make everything look so lovely.
My most recent shoot was for my friends Manny and Afia and their little boy, Joshua. They are expecting another little one any time now, as Afia is 38 weeks pregnant.

Afia was a GREAT model. She really knows how to work it ;). So does her little guy. I think you'll agree...

Sophie's Six!: Sweet & Sassy Soirée

Last weekend I once again had the opportunity to photography my colleague's spunky little girl, Sophie. Sophie had her 6th birthday party at Sweet & Sassy, a salon for little girls that is a lot like Libby Lu's. All I could think was "wow...they didn't have places like this when I was a little girl!". The salon hosts parties that include dress up, makeup and hair, dancing, a walk down a runway, and the more traditional cake and party games. Sophie and her friends had a blast, and the fast pace and dim lighting was a great challenge for me.


The party room. I LOVED the retro-looking stools!


Sophie gets her nails done.


A princess makeover would not be complete without sparkles.






100% Princess-ified.


Dance parteeeee!!!


Time for some treats.

Dorene's 60th Surprise Birthday Party

Gonna make this a quick one! I had the privilege of taking photos at my aunt's best friend's surprise birthday party this past weekend. It was also my birthday, but being that photography is one of my favorite things to do, I didn't mind.

It was a totally different experience from what I'm used to, as 95% of the photos were candid. It was a little unnerving to have NO control over the lighting or locations. Now I sorta know what it's like to be a wedding photographer ;). I show up and have to make it work, lol. Nonetheless I had fun and it was great experience.

Here are a few of the more blog-friendly shots. I was only able to stay for the beginning of the party, so missed some of the action later in the evening. But I heard it was a good time!

Oh, and I'm thrilled that this is the first shoot with which I am utilizing my new online proofing and ordering system: http://pfishphotography.zenfolio.com/. I'm using it on a trial basis only at the moment, so we'll see if I decide to keep it.




Dorene's three sons rehearse a dance for their mom (Dorene is a dancer).


The Surprise moment.




Dorene and her husband, Tom.




The pretty flowers that a guest brought as a gift.


My aunt gives a toast.

Britney & Jonathan's Maternity Session

My coworkers are awesome. They've been very supportive of my budding photography business. Jennifer, one of my colleagues, has three grown sons, one of which is expecting their first child. I was honored to be asked to take maternity photos for Jonathan and his wife, Britney. I've only done maternity photos in a studio setting before, so this was a new experience! We got a lot of great shots and to my relief, Jennifer was quite happy with the final product (she knows what she likes, and isn't afraid to say so, tee hee).

Things I learned from this shoot:

1. Bring bug repellent. We went to a local park and I was EATEN ALIVE. Within 10 minutes I had no less than 20 bites between my two shoulders. I would compose my shot, swat, adjust the f-stop, swat, click, and swat.

2. Use a diffuser/reflector. They work great. However, sometimes even a nice diffuser won't do the trick, leaving harsh shadows on the subjects' faces.

And now for my favorites!






















This was awesome - while I was being eaten alive, this butterfly wanted nothing more than to sit on Britney. Initially we tried swatting it away (apparently Britney doesn't like bugs), but then decided to go with it. Too bad it didn't land on her belly :).



As always, thanks for looking!