You guys, I got to shoot the most beautiful wedding last week. Not only was it in a gorgeous location (The Bachelor Farmer) with a gorgeous dress (consignment!) and a beautiful couple (mreow), but the love in that room... it was so genuine and warm and perfect. There was so much laughter and tears and even more laughter.I am so lucky to call this bride and groom friends of mine. I could not have been more thrilled to photograph this wedding. Enjoy!
Oh, how Memphis and Merlin loved to play as pups. Jamie and I were reminiscing about how our house at the time was like a huge puppy obstacle course. This photo was taken a short time after we got Merlin, so both dogs were about 4 or 5 months old. And they weighed 40-50 lbs (Merlin later grew to 80).They would wrestle anywhere they could (like on top of this chair) and there were endless games of keep away and chase in our house. I remember my mom visiting once and telling me that my dogs had way more energy than toddlers (and that's saying something) as she ducked out of the way of some serious tug-of-war in our kitchen.Today, whenever I've gotten sad about Merlin (which has been a lot), this happy playing is what I've tried to remember, and what I hope is happening in heaven up above.Many, many, many of you sent me wonderful comments or sweet emails or notes on facebook. Some of you even brought me flowers or mailed me cards that somehow already arrived today. You guys out there are the BEST. Seriously. I have been blown away by your kindness.Tomorrow things will return to a bit more normalcy around these parts, but today I wanted a little more of a happy Merlin post. So here you have it.Now go snuggle your animals.
There are wadded up tissues all over my house. This was the worst kind of day.I have eluded to the fact that Merlin here has been struggling. This weekend, and yesterday in particular, were very tough on the boy. We could see him trembling in pain, and he couldn't even stand to greet the guests who stopped by the house in the morning. So we made the call. The call that you never want to make.We hired MNPets to come to the house to put Merlin to sleep this afternoon. We didn't want him to suffer through a car ride to the vet (which stresses him out). We wanted this to be the best day possible for our love, and I think it was.
We started by keeping Ezra home an extra hour this morning so the two of them could have more time together. Merlin especially adores Ezra, and he ignores how Ezra pulls on his fur. I love that moment they were having up there.
Then we got Ez ready for school, and Merlin kissed him goodbye. And the tears... man, the tears... but you know... what are you going to do?I tell you what you do. You lay down on the floor and snuggle your heart out with the best dog on the planet. You tell him what an amazing creature he is and how much joy he brought to your life and how you can't stand to see him suffer. You stroke his ears and inhale his scent (earthy, like cedar) and you try to be as present as you can.
Then you bring the collie lunch from McDonald's. Hamburgers (yes, plural), and french fries. And of course you top it off with ice cream (I mean, really, why not?). By now, Merlin is following you all over the house because he can't believe his luck, and he's thinking, "My God what else is she gonna give me?!"
He seems stronger now, so you take him for a walk down the block and back. His last walk.And he smells everything and he marks everything and he enjoys the wind in his fur, and only when he has 2-3 more houses to go before we're home does he begin to stumble and shake due to the pain.Then you get home and you snuggle even more. You rub his feet and scratch his back. And then the doorbell rings, and it's the vet who is here to help. He greets her so enthusiastically. She has a bag full of stuff! Is he getting more treats!?We lay him down in the living room, and Meredith comes to take Magda for a walk (bless that Meredith).Jamie and I lovingly pet Merlin and tell him over and over and over and over again how much we love him. How much we'll miss him. How he's the best dog we've ever had in our entire lives. How it's ok now. How we want him to feel better.And then it's done. It takes awhile -- longer than usual. He stopped breathing, but that heart. That heart won't give out. So we wait, and pet him, and tell him it's ok. He can play with Memphis again. And please give her our love.And we cry and cry and cry and cry.Today was the worst kind of day.
Happy Monday! Last week was insane. We had Ezra's first fever, Merlin was sick, Magda was sick and then I got sick, too. Ezra, however, who started all this, began feeling better just 24 hours after he got ill, thank goodness. His other firsts this week included steak and asparagus! And how cute is it that this kid loves steak? Adorable.I also ran into several readers this weekend who all told me what a smiley baby I had! Well, he is pretty smiley. But you have to remember that I'm choosing the photos you see each week! So this week, I chose a few images of his resting gaze, which I adore just as much as his smile.
This shot was taken for my mother. She loves those two guys up there so dang much :)
So here's where I'm going to give you the biggest, most important tip of taking great photos. FIND THE BEST LIGHT.That sounds easy enough, right? Well it's not always the case. And if you have ever turned on the lights in your house to make a photo look better, then you are doing it wrong.And I'm going to note here that this post is talking strictly about natural, available light (not flash). In my opinion, natural light photos are prettiest (yes, I'm biased).
So first, we're gonna talk about the direction of light, and how that makes your subject look. Remember when you were a kid? And you would shine the flashlight from below your face? Or from above your face? And how the shadows made you look spooky? Yeah. You don't want that.The most flattering (and easiest) light, is generally coming in at a parallel to the subject's face (whether it be directly in front of the person or off to the side). If you think about it, this is why photos taken in dark restaurants with the light hanging above look so bad.Now, let's talk about the sun. The same rule applies! The most flattering light is when the sun is not directly above you, but coming at you from the side. This is exactly why outdoor photos look best when taken near sunrise or sunset (assuming you are following the rules we discussed earlier ). The lower the sun, the more flattering the angle of light.
So those are general principles. Let's put this into real family scenarios though, shall we?Say you are having a great day with your family at the park, and it's noon and the sun is right up high in the sky, and you want a great shot of the group. What do you do? The sun position is awful, creating terrible shadows and everyone is squinting.Here's how to fix it: Move the entire family into a shaded spot (like I did with the girl above). 1) Whatever is creating the shade is blocking the sun from above, letting in light more evenly and 2) You can always find shade in Minnesota. What? Yes.How is that possible?It's possible because here in Minnesota, we are so far north (and the sun is so far south) that the north side of any building has shade. Seriously. Try it. So just find the north side of a structure, put your family there, and take your photos.
Ok, now here is the lesson I *really* want you all to take. If you are INSIDE shooting photos of your friends and family, this is what you should do (during daylight).1. Turn off the house lights. These lights photograph yellow or green and the shadows are terrible.2. Move everyone near a big window -- and have them face the window (this will work even if you cannot turn off the lights).3. Stand with your back to the window, and photograph them like that. I promise, you will get better pictures.
Above is an example. The photo on the left was shot in the middle of a room with a skylight above the pair. The bride's face looks great because, well, a) she's gorgeous, but b) her head is tilted so the light is hitting her cheeks and eye evenly. The guy though? See the shadows under his eyes and nose? That's what you want to avoid.In the photo on the right, there is a large window directly behind me, and you can see the skintones on both subjects is great. I should also note both of these images have zero photoshop retouching.
Another option, if there are not a lot of windows, is to put your subjects just inside of a doorway, and you stand outside the doorway and photograph them like that (which is what I did in the image above). By having them covered, the light is not coming from above, but from directly behind you. Voila!So next time you are out to eat with friends or at a party and someone wants to snap a photo, don't let everyone just pose where they are standing. Simply ask to move near a window -- you will be amazed at how much this helps.
Tonight Jamie and I had a date night planned to see OK Go! over at First Avenue. I wouldn't say either one of us are *huge* fans of the band, but we like their songs, love their videos, and we know they put on an amazingly photographable show. So we were in!And then poor little Ezra got his first fever last night.We thought it had broken by morning, but daycare sent him home when it spiked again, and I stayed home nursing him back to health and running to the doctor for a quick check to make sure he didn't have an ear infection (all good). By tonight, his fever was down and he was ready to crash for the night, so we decided to leave him with our AMAZING babysitter and head on out.I'm so glad we did! He slept almost the entire time we were gone, and we got to see and photograph this super fun show.I'll have a full set of photos posted tomorrow, but for now I'm off to bed before I get woken up for a feeding.For your internet share of the day, how about the band's first video that ever sucked me in? So fun!Update! To see the full set of photos from the show, take a peek over here. Enjoy!
Oh you guys, you are gonna LOVE this one.Jamie made me fish tacos this week, and they were AMAZING. So tasty and so easy and you need to make these as soon as you can. For real.So here's what you're gonna need to serve six:+ Coconut oil (or whatever oil you like to fry stuff in)+ 1 filet of fish (I love tilapia, but cod is def. cheaper)+ a can of beer (you only need 1/2 cup, but I think you should drink the rest)+ 1/2 cup flour+ cayenne pepper to taste+ a bag of shredded cabbage+ an avocado+ a cup of plain yogurt+ a cup of mayonaisse+ your favorite salsa+ corn tortillas+ fresh cilantro+ a lime
First, you fry the fish. Before doing anything else, heavily coat the bottom of the frying pan with coconut oil (you want it to come up on the edges of the fish, so be generous), and heat that on medium-high while you continue.Then mix the flour and beer in a bowl. The proportion is 1-to-1, so if you think you'll need more or less than I used, feel free to go ahead with your bad selves. Add in some cayenne to taste (we sprinkled it in along with a touch of paprika).Next, cut the fish into chunks before frying. Next time we'll do small strips (like fish sticks -- which reminds me! If you are super lazy and don't want to fry your own fish, buy some good fish sticks).After cutting the fish, dip it into the batter, and lay it into the hot oil, cooking 2-4 minutes per side. You want the batter to be crispy and golden, but you also want to avoid overcooking the fish inside that delicious pocket of beer-batter goodness.When each piece is finished, set them aside on a paper-towel lined plate and blot away the excess grease.
While you are cooking that, make someone else in your household dice an avocado, slice up some lime and chop up some cilantro for garnishes. Also have them mix up the dressing, which is just combining the yogurt and mayo in a bowl. I also sprinkled in some cayenne to this is well, but to each his own.
Lastly, warm the tortillas in the toaster oven (or stove top -- whatever is easiest) and then lay in your fish, add some avocado, dollop on some creamy dressing, dollop on some of your favorite salsa, sprinkle with cabbage and cilantro and finish with a squeeze of fresh lime. Voila! I promise you are gonna LOVE these.They clock in at 377 calories each, but you can forget the tortillas and serve the rest in a bowl to save 100 calories (that's what I did). And the leftovers are amazing as well.For your internet share of the day (yes! I remembered!), check out these amazing paintings made with coffee. Awesome. Or if you'll be dyeing easter eggs this week, might I suggest this method? Gorgeous.And lastly, if you liked this taco recipe, don't forget my rad breakfast tacos or my mexican tacos. Let's eat tacos every day, yeah?
