A.J. & Craig are getting married in June in my hometown of Easton, Illinois, followed by the reception in Lincoln. They made a trip over to Urbana though for their engagement session, and brought along A.J.’s son Max to get a couple family shots in as well. For couples who already have kids, I think this is a great idea! It doesn’t take anything away from the engagement portion of the session, and chances are you don’t have any “new” family photos yet anyway! I look forward to photographing your wedding in just over a month!
One of my photos is in the running for one of 6 spots on billboards around Champaign-Urbana. Please visit this link and vote for your favorite! Mine is the purple/bluish photo in the airplane hangar. You can vote once a day through Monday. I’m currently in first and would LOVE to get billboard exposure around town! The contest is sponsored by 40 North & Adams Outdoor Advertising. The full photo is shown below from Kristen & Clayton’s wedding last fall. Thanks in advance for your votes!!
I had a pretty fun week last week. I was able to secure a press pass for the IHSA Class 1A State Finals in Peoria, and while I was at it, went ahead and got one for the Super Sectional in Bloomington. Cougar nation (Mason City, Easton, San Jose) had high hopes for their boys’ basketball team, after their 3rd place finish at State last year, and if they went back this time, I wanted to cover it.
Tuesday started out like any other day, I answered some emails and got my camera gear ready. There was a snowstorm in the forecast, so I told Aaron I was going to head out early to make sure I got there safe and sound (and on time.) I made it to Downs before the ISU athletic department called me and told me the game had been postponed. Oh well. The drive home was actually better anyway! So Wednesday, I repeated the whole process, and got over to Bloomington a few hours before tipoff. I was also able to stop by the hospital and see my past clients/friends Lindsey & Sam’s new baby boy Michael who had been born during the snowstorm the day before.
Illini Central ended up winning over Cissna Park, 50-39.
So then it was time to make plans for Peoria on Friday. I had a 6-month-old baby girl session first thing in the morning on Friday, so I did that session, and then left straight for the state finals from there. The Cougars ended up handling Nokomis in the semi-finals well, defeating them 52-38.
I spent the night in Hopedale at my friend Kristina’s house before heading back in to Peoria again on Saturday for the state championship. This game was totally intense. For you Illini fans out there, it felt like the 2005 Illinois-North Carolina game national championship all over again. Nothing was going our way, shots weren’t falling, our best big man was in foul trouble. But then in the 4th quarter, they turned it on, and turned the game around. This team was not going home without a win. I won’t lie, when they tied the score at 32, the tears welled up a little bit! Illini Central outscored Madison 28-12 in the 4th quarter to win 55-44. The Cougars were state champions for the first time ever. It was so cool being on the floor after the game, and seeing all these familiar faces from my hometown community congratulating each other and loving that moment.
This Cougar team was comprised on NINE seniors, and I’d like to recognize the whole team by name here: Jared Entwistle (all-state), Jordan Bradshaw, Justin Onken, Duncan McClure, Grant Bale, Connor Martin, Noah Kirby, Jesse Thompson, Ean Albers, Derrick Himmel, Willie Neuendorf, Cody Curry, Jordan Lynn, & Justin Luft. Congrats again to the Illini Central Cougar boys’ basketball team! I’m one very proud alum!
Cole Allen was also on team
Congratulations to John Giesler and the team.
Brianna & Ian were married last summer at the courthouse, but they never really had any formal photos taken either for the wedding or their engagement. They actually moved overseas last week for the military, so Ian’s parents wanted some photos of the two of them together before they left. We met up at Allerton where there was a lovely covering of snow on the ground, and even though it was chilly, I think the session turned out beautifully!
The 2nd annual One Winter Night event was held from 6pm to 6am on Feb. 1 & 2 in downtown Champaign and on the University of Illinois Quad. Founder Melany asked me once again to capture photos of the event and its participants. Since the scope of the event is somewhat large, I did my best to tell the story of the night. I ended up snowing somewhere around 1-2″ overnight too, so that was an added element to deal with. I went home and got about 4 hours of sleep, and then returned to be sure to get some images with the snow.
There are still opportunities to give to C-U at Home. Visit their website here.
Excellent intiative and very beautiful pictures
by admin
Tara Walters - These are so good!
Lynne Milby Onken - What great pictures.
Cari J Harvey - Those are so good.
Shirley Stover Point - Very good pictures.
Ashley Damm - Great pictures!
Barb Zimmerman - Very nice!
Beverly Pierson Lynn - So happy for you guys….