This wee one belongs to my sweet friend Stef. She has the audacity to live in WISCONSIN instead of next door to me, so she asked if I would ever consider traveling to her for her newborn session.

Only a 6 hour drive? A chance to snuggle this bundle of newness and shoot the heck outta his photos with no time constraints?

Sign me up!

So I got to travel to WI (alone! A SOLO road trip! MY OWN MUSIC!) at the end of April, car FULL of photography equipment and props... and I got to spend a lovely few days with Stef and Co. The photos were just a bonus. Truly, it was just lovely to be with my dear fiend for a little while. LOVE seeing her be a mama to a newborn...Since we have sons the same EXACT age (same birthday!) I only ever see her with a kid like mine. So watching her get extra tender with the teeny one was special. And this teeny one IS special. Meet Sam:

Favorite:

I love you, Stef. Loved this experience. Love your boys. Thank you for being in my life, my dear...

Friends Let Friends Think Outside the Box: Torn Paper

I promised you a few more:

I absolutely have to give credit for this idea to Duston Todd and THIS post. He is an incredible film photographer/artist my friend Katie introduced me to, and his work has completely captured my imagination. I love this paper idea, and am thrilled that my two girls were trusting enough to let me implement it.

A few more, for your (or at least MY) enjoyment:

(and of course the ubiquitous mustaches....)

(and some outtakes, in color... LOVE the color almost as much as the black and white... I dunno... Something about the faded finish...)

These girls + getting together in real life = TOTAL SYNERGY.

Love!

Friends Let Friends Think Outside the Box: The Wisconsin Sessions

So... a month ago I had the wonderful opportunity to take my boys for a road trip up to Wisconsin for a long weekend get-together with two of my dearest friends. The plan? Both had hired me to do their family photos, which turned into a bigger, more elaborate adventure involving two plane tickets from Utah, one packed car from St. Louis, three 18-month old toddler boys, some custom-ordered oversized balloons, and a few fake mustaches.

The result? An unforgettable weekend filled with magnificent photos and even more magnificent memories...

Thanks, girls... For letting me play around and for being willing to think outside the box!

{Warning: a gazillion photos ahead. I just simply couldn't pick a few favorites.

Warning #2: I have a few more AWESOME ones up my sleeves. Saving them for the next post so they have the OOMPH they deserve.

Warning #3: Some of these may be a bit... ahem... UNCONVENTIONAL. Ya know what? It's my style, evolving and discovering itself and getting comfortable in its shoes... Roll with it!}

{A little mustache magic--}

{the three of us.... Online Bessies and proud of it!}

{The Garage Session: **swoon** over this light!}

{And yes-- we thought we'd try to get these three precocious boys in a shot together, in their matching sock monkey t-shirts (explained more HERE)... But the garages setup? FORGET it. All were OVER it by then. Pretty much THIS is the best we got... Ha ha!}

*

{A few downtown Milwaukee shots...}

{And a few more of we three.... For now.}

Thanks for indulging me. I mean, sure, I should have narrowed down the photos... For your sake. But, well.... It's MY blog. And I ADORED this weekend. And the girls and babies and husbands involved. So neener neener. I'll throw down 35 photos in one post if I wanna.

Ha!

If I haven't chased you away by now, tune in next time for a few last clever ones... And a homage to THIS guy.