Grand Rapids is such a fun city and not just in the summer! They’ve started an annual event called World of Winter and last weekend for the opening several local performers set up in Calder Plaza and did performances in the cold. Just for fun I brought my camera and tried some new skills of capturing motion in low light. I had no expectations the images would turn out perfectly as I imagined, but I still wanted to share some of my favorites from the event :)
Just for fun on the last day of this year I thought I’d post my favorite 22 photos taken in 2022. The more I looked through old posts today the harder it became to choose so few pictures to share! Eventually I settled on this combination of professional and personal photo projects and tried to include something from each season :)
Winter can be a tricky time for family pictures, but I’m grateful for hotels with beautifully decorated lobbies and families who are up for anything :) I met the Hounakey’s for the first time last December and we had lots of fun, so this year I was excited to do holiday photos for them again! The JW Marriott downtown Grand Rapids has an iconic staircase that I’ve used as a backdrop for photos during the day before, but I didn’t realize they lit it up blue at night and this just added to the festive look. Plus the Christmas trees were so pretty. Here are some of my favorites from the Hounakey family last Saturday!
Another class of 2023 senior session to round out this year! Joseph’s mom contacted me in November asking about taking his photos by the blue bridge specifically, and since this time of year Michigan is not exactly pretty outside (or warm) we made the most of the indoor spots downtown Grand Rapids. I love the sky walk that connects the hotels because it provides so much natural light, the stairs in the lobby of the JW Mariott are another favorite indoor location. Joseph was so easy going that we got lots of great photos in a short period of time. I had fun meeting him and hearing about his plans to study interior design at college in the fall!
On a warm fall day in mid October I got to return to my alma mater for Matt and Mary’s wedding. A year before we had their engagement session also on the Grand Valley campus on a beautiful fall day, these two have great luck with weather! These two met in a college class and I loved that they wanted their school to be part of their marriage by having the ceremony there. For the reception we headed downtown GR and enjoyed a walk around the city before dinner and dancing. Matt and Mary have such supportive friends and family, they were all a joy to be around. Here are some of my favorite pictures form their wedding :)
Fall photo season wouldn’t be complete until I saw the Johnston family whose pictures I’ve been taking annually since they only had one kid :) Luckily, we had unseasonably warm weather at the start of November and even though the leaves were gone from the trees it was fun exploring more of their property and finding new spots to take pictures. Claire, Andy, their kids and parents are experts at this by now which makes the photos so quick and easy. This year we even did a few inside with their new cat, a very unique sphynx. Here are some of my favorites!
Layna, Ellory and Ceana had been talking since last spring about taking senior pictuers together in the fall. October got busy quickly, but I’m so glad we made time for a quick 30 minute photo shoot at Heritage Park in Grandville on a cloudy Sunday evening! I’ve been the leader of these girls’ small group for six years and I can’t believe they are seniors who are looking at colleges out of state. I love seeing their friendship and I can’t help but remember them as 6th graders when I look at these pictures of them now :) Here are some of my favorite pictures of my favorite members of the class of 2023!
The day after Proposal 3 was passed in Michigan to restore women reproductive freedoms, I remembered these photos I took (but never edited) of the protests last June when the supreme court ruled on abortion. Since my days taking pictures for the high school newspaper, part of me has always been drawn to photojournalism. I think it’s important to document and remember what is happening not just nationally but also right in my city. I am proud of the hard work so many volunteers did to make history in my state with drafting petitions, gathering signatures, and encouraging others to vote! Here are some of my favorite pictures from a rally and protest June 25, 2022.
Some of these faces might look familiar and that’s because I’ve done family pictures for one family several times and senior pictures for two of the girls. The day after I took Brooklyn’s senior pictures, I met up with her extended family at Hager Park for round two of photography! It was so great to see four generations of a family all together and I’m grateful for this opportunity to capture a beautiful fall day with them.
At the beginning of October Abby and Nic has a beautiful fall day for their outdoor wedding at The Old Wooden Barn. It was hard to believe almost a year had passed since I took their engagement photos, but these two were just as photogenic and their bridal party was fun to work with! I loved the unique touches of burning a brand on a table during the ceremony, having a bonfire and s’mores kits available to guests after dinner and they made sure to include the dogs in at least one wedding picture :) Congratulations Nic and Abby, thanks for letting me be a part of your wedding day!
Another double senior session on a beautiful fall day! We’ve been so lucky the last couple weekends to have great weather and the colors have been really vibrant. Having a friend to do senior pictures with makes the experience more fun for everyone. These two girls walked all around the Grand Ravines dodging mud puddles and following my crazy ideas. Brooklyn is interested in photography so she was a natural at posing and she had great ideas for Sydney as well. Have a great rest of your senior year Brooklyn and Sydney!
I’ve traveled to northern Michigan twice in the last two months and am finally taking time to look through the photos I took! Fall is such a pretty time in this state and I have pulled over on the side of a road more then once to take pictures of trees (or a rainbow) ;) Here are a few favorites, the locations are:
1 and 2. Grand Haven State Park lighthouse/ pier
3 and 4. Laughing Whitefish falls, Munising
5. Wagner Falls, Munising
6. Miners Falls, pictured rocks/ Munising
7 and 8. Rainbow near Interlochen
9, 10, 11, 12. Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive, Sleeping Bear Dunes
13. Empire Bluff trail, Sleeping Bear Dunes
14. Empire Beach, Sleeping Bear Dunes
15. DH day farm, Glen Arbor
Fall family photo season is officially beginning with the Still family! I’ve photographed Chris and Sarah so much over the years and it’s always a joy to see how their family has grown. This year Chris’s parents and sister joined for an extended family session and the kids had fun showing me their garden and the horses next door!. My favorite part of this session was after the group pictures were done watching the kids
(and adults) in the garden picking vegetables and smelling flowers :)
Friends of mine started a tradition back in 2017 of hosting a theme party each September, and I have been able to photograph the fun. Due to Covid (and their having a baby) the 1920’s theme party was delayed two years, but finally it happened. Mary and Aaron have a great backyard for hosting events, and this year the party had musical guests and a magician. Plus, they set up a photo booth with props in their garage! It was so fun to see everyone dressed up and all the themed decorations and food! Here are some of my favorite pictures from the event :)
Rayne’s mom contacted me at the beginning of August about taking senior pictures but we hadn’t decided on a date or location until I had the very last minute idea of doing a photo shoot at the fair. I’m so glad this worked out and I was able to meet Rayne after hearing about her for years because her mom and I used to work together. The fair was busy, but she was patient with me always waiting for people to move out of the background for our shots. Here are some of my favorites, have a great senior year Rayne!
I’ve known these two since they were in 6th grade and I can’t believe they are now seniors!! Ellory and Ceana are cousins so when Ellory scheduled her senior photo shoot at Hoffmaster State Park it just made sense to invite Ceana to join in on the fun. To be honest, beach photos are not my favorite because I have to work with direct sun and wind, but these girls made it fun and kept each other laughing. I highly recommend bringing a friend along for pictures because they can get you to smile and provide good ideas for posing :) Here are some of my favorites :)
At the end of June, my niece Sophie turned one! My sister in law set up a cute photo backdrop in their home and decorated for a mermaid themed birthday party. Sophie was in a good mood and eager to show off her new skills of pointing and waving to everyone at the party. She loved eating her cake and looking at all the gifts she was given. Unfortunately, the day we took family pictures Sophie had not slept well and was very attached to her mom. We managed to get a few smiles when she saw dogs or other kids walking by and she loved the few bites of ice cream she was given! Here are my favorite pictures of Sophie from the two photo shoots :)
Last month I was volunteering at Pride Festival in the Open Circle booth, and because I love documenting events, I brought my camera with me :) After two years off due to Covid, all of the festivals are back in Grand Rapids this summer and it’s great seeing people outside doing things that are “normal” in the city! This was my first time visiting Pride and it was a lot of fun seeing the kids, families, adults, and even dogs enjoying food and activities. Plus, everyone was so creative with how they incorporated rainbows into their outfits/ makeup/ hairstyles. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the day.
On a very hot June evening i met up with Elle and her mom at the downtown Grand Rapids library. to take her senior pictures! I was excited to take pictures in this cool building and the original plan was to take some inside and outside, but since it was an unseasonably hot day we chose to stay inside. Luckily there were many great spots throughout the 4 floors of the building and it wasn’t very busy at the time! Elle loves books so the library was a perfect location and since she is a dancer she was good at posing :) I enjoyed meeting her and hearing about her plans for the future. Have a great senior year Elle!
It was so fun seeing how much Ian has grown since I took his pictures a year ago! He is definitely a toddler now, and in typical toddler fashion had his own agenda for this photo shoot his mom had carefully designed :) Ian enjoyed looking at all the Pooh stuffed animals but wanted to carry them around rather then sit still with them. He was very uninterested in taking photos with his parents but we did manage to get a few smiles! Here are some of my favorites of the new 2 year old.
