Shelley and Nathan were married on August 28th. Brian shot the wedding with me on what turned out to be a beautiful day. There were several firsts for us. First time photographing a wedding at Lutheran Church of Hope. First time hearing Devil Went Down to Georgia played in a church, and first time I've been a witness on one of our couple's wedding license.

Lutheran Church of Hope is located in West Des Moines near Jordan Creek Mall. If you've driven to the mall down Jordan Creek Parkway you've probably seen it located on the East side of the road. During formal photos the church coordinators turned on some music. This was great. Normally formals are filled with silence between shots and poses. It was interesting in some of the music selections that played. Including The Charlie Daniels Band's Devil Went Down to Georgia. I like the song. Have it on my iPod right now...but wouldn't expect it to be played in a church (Although, I suppose the devil does lose.) This could only be followed up with a little confusion when Brian and I were the witnesses on the marriage license.

All those things make for great stories, but the real story of the day is how great the wedding went and how much these two love each other. We had a great time and the photos show how beautiful the day really was. Congratulations to Shelley and Nathan!

Ashley and I have known the Lisa and Matt for a long time. We've been taking photos for them for about a year or so. We headed out to Gray's lake last Friday for a family and kids shoot. Gray's lake has been plagued with flooding off and on all summer. Just recently did it open back up to the public. The beach actually wasn't in too bad of condition. We shot a few there then headed around the lake to the southeast corner where the bridge was located. Timing and location are everything. We hit that part of the lake at just the right time as the sun was spilling through the trees and creating long shadows along the bridge. We had a fun time. A few of our favorites are below.

On Sunday I photographed engagement photos for Emily and Brent. We traveled around downtown from Court Ave., to a secret alley, to the sculpture garden, to Gray's Lake. It was hot and windy. Does that make for good photos? Depends on who you ask. I say...somedays. In this case the photos turned out great. These two were awesome in front of the camera. These two made the engagement session a breeze. Even though the weather was less than desirable, they made the best of it and we had a great time. Below are a few of our favorites...and as always, plenty of kissing photos. Love, love.

On Tuesday night I photographed one year photos for Ethan. Ethan has an awesome little friend, that Ashley has photographed in the past, named Calen. I had a great time photographing both of them, Ethan alone, and Ethan's family. Ethan and Calen will be good friends for a long time to come. I see many years of backyard fights, tents and forts, and makeshift bicycle ramps in their future. We shot around the science center area including the old train depot. Below are a few of our favorites.

This week I shot photos of Sarah, Austin, and their awesome dogs. We shot the photos over at the Rose Garden in Des Moines. Their awesome dogs, Thomas and Alabama, did a great job. Any time dogs get out in the open they love to run, play, and avoid having their photos taken. I had a fun time and the photos turned out great.

Three month photos are the toughest of the newborn first year set. Babies aren't quite strong enough or active enough to get photos much different than a newborn, but they aren't as sleepy or pose-able as a newborn. Ashley still does a great job with them. The key to good three month photos is in the outfits. The more the better to give some variety because the posing and photo options are limited. Cute outfits, cute photos.

Another baby photo shoot that I recently shot. We took little Jolie out to Valley Junction for some more interesting scenery outside of the studio...we pretty much always recommend heading outside over being in the studio. The day of the shoot was one of Jolie's non-smiling days. She was as serious as could be. We tried and tried but she did not want to smile. We got some great photos...but only caught a couple smiles.

I shot Heather and Kevin's engagement photos on a Sunday afternoon. We had already rescheduled once due to extreme heat. No one wants to be real sweaty in their photos. Even calling it "glistening" doesn't help. We had a great time and covered a lot of downtown space. We also shot some photos on the new pedestrian bridge downtown. It was a great time and glad we waited out the heat.

Recently I have been shooting most photo shoots including babies, which normally Ashley would shoot. It is a nice change of pace for me and I have had a ton of fun with it. I shot Hayden's one year photos at Ledges State Park shortly after the recent floods. The lower canyon road was closed and for good reason. Once we hiked down into the park we found the park to be a mess. The creek had flooded severely and caused damage to the roads and surrounding land. We found a small space and shot what we could down there before hiking back up and catching a few more along the way. Below are a few of our favorites.