This guys rocks at soccer, track and has a sweet ride. It was a great time to shoot Ryan’s Senior Portraits at North Royalton. Congrats to ryan to being  part of the graduating class of 2011!!!

Here are some of favorite images from Allison & Jon’s Chardon Wedding! I put a slideshow for everyone to enjoy. And sorry for posting so many photos, I really wish I could show them all

Congratulations to both of you!

This past Saturday I had the honor of photographing a very simple, yet elegant wedding at University Circle. Sandy and Tony tied the knot at the duck pond behind the Cleveland Museum of Art along with a small gathering of close friends and family. The ceremony was beautiful, full of joy, laughter and tears. Towards the end of the ceremony, they even had a visit from the random shirtless man walking his dog. Too funny The reception took place at the historical Alumni House at Case Western Reserve University.  This place was AMAZING. I even had the pleasure of witnessing Tony jam some tunes with his band members.

Congratulations to Sandy and Tony!!

This was written by Elizabeth Reeves. The soon to be Bride with a heart of a super hero. It’s so interesting to read about the day thru their eyes. The images just make that much more sense. Here’s what she wrote:

“Cleveland, Ohio. Frigid, gusty winds; the meteorologist threatening snow. In the middle of April. Typical. Still, there was excitement dancing among the lamp posts and leaves. Our hero and his trusty sidekicks, Nikon and Holga, were on a mission: to capture the love between one Elizabeth Reeves and Christopher Kaboth. Mere clouds could not stop them.

Most girls dream of meeting their Prince Charming; I’ve always said I’d settle for no less than a superhero. But the heart wants what the heart wants, and mine was stolen by the most notorious of villains. Chris and I fell in love while swapping graphic novels, watching comic book movies, and sorting through our action figure collections. Like any normal couple, we have our disagreements. I’m a diehard DC girl, while he prefers MARVEL. He spends hours on XBox Live, whereas Mario’s my homeboy. Our friends call us the match made in dorkdom, and certainly neither of us thought our nerdiness would actually help in the quest for love. I definitely didn’t expect it to lead to the perfect wedding photographer.

I was already captivated by Edric’s work at my friend  April’s wedding. His excitement when he discovered that Chris and I attend comic conventions dressed as The Joker and Wonder Woman was second only to mine after accepting Chris’ proposal. We knew Edric was “The One” when he enthusiastically suggested that we do part of the engagement session in costume. Every couple wants their engagement photos to reflect their personalities; Edric wanted to shoot our true identities!

Hip yet historic, Ohio City was the perfect location for our more traditional photos. Beautiful Painted Ladies stand beside cozy bungalows. Artwork adorns planters that house trees which create a canopy across the cobbled streets. As the three of us wandered throughout the neighborhood, we stumbled onto W. 25th St, where the Cleveland Film Society resides. Little did Edric know, I was an intern there during my sophomore year of college! Showing Chris such a fun part of my past made our shoot even more intimate. Children played tag in the courtyard, joyfully shouting while my fiance and I laughed, kissed, and reflected.

If our session had ended here, it would have been a wonderful, albeit chilly, day. What we had planned next was (as the current linguistic meme goes) EPIC. With the help of the marvelous make-up artist  Jason Kelly, Chris and I transformed into our favorite comic book characters. Edric eagerly explained the story he’d conjured in his mind-madly in love with Wonder Woman, The Joker destroys Gotham to get her attention. The energy in the room rivaled Christmas and Halloween combined; everyone was freaking and geeking out as we drove to Cleveland’s more industrial landscapes.

Edric’s vision came to life right before our eyes. Each location looked like it came from those glossy pages that we love so much! The skeleton of the warehouse smelled like campfire and iron. Chris’ laugh bounced around the hollow structure. Getting into character was easy. Edric continued to narrate his story and give us great direction. When we moved down the road, passersby began to take notice of our unusual attire. You know your engagement shoot is unique when onlookers stop to snap a few pictures of their own!

Chris and I may not always be able to dress the part, but like The Joker and Wonder Woman, these images are timeless. We will show these to our children and grandchildren and they’ll understand not only our whimsy, but how two people can absolutely belong together. I’m thrilled Edric will also be part of our wedding. He’s become a good friend and Chris and I look forward to him documenting our future. ”

Here’s a Slideshow of the day, please click on the HQ button to view in Hi-Res.

My last roll of had a very different tone to it. But I like it. The film is Fujichrome Provia 400X 120 and the expiration date is 1/2010.

The more I’m playing around with film the more I fall in love with the medium. It’s so organic and pure These images are straight out of the camera. The film I used is nothing fancy, in fact I picked it up in my local drug store. I do however plan on getting more professional film. The quality overall will be much better. Also, I just got a Twin Lens Reflex camera and it’s getting some maintenance at the moment. But as soon as I get it, you better believe that I will experiment with it. Keep posted.

Ok, so many people like the photos of Armand a few days ago. But they kept asking me to post some of Tabatha. So here it is, she was fully awake and in a great mood. I took advantage of beautiful sunshine coming thru the windows.

Last year I had the pleasure of working with an awesome DJ. We kept in touch since then and I decided to ask Brandon Brooks a few questions to help future brides in the decision process.

EM- Tell us a little about yourself.

Brandon-I am young and energetic, and see myself as a really easy going guy. I have always had a love for muisc, but it wasn’t untill i started Dj’ing that i actually began to appreciate it! When I started Brooks Music, I wanted to offer quality entertainment at an affordable price! I too am engaged and know what my clients are going through. Weddings are expensive, and that is why i have decided to have my wedding on a beach far away! I have to hand it to anyone who plans a wedding, it is hard work!

EM- Why do you love being a DJ?

Brandon-I am constantly around happy people! Knowing that i am a part of the biggest day of a couples life makes it really rewarding! Because of my love for music, it makes my job fun, and although it can be hard work, i wouldnt want to do anything else.

EM- How long have you entertained at weddings?

Brandon-I have been a wedding Dj for about 4 years now. I previously worked at another company, but I have recently taken the skills and knowledge i aquired and started my own company!

EM- What makes you stand out from the competition?

Brandon-At first look, it would be our prices! We have significantly lower prices than many other companies out there plus we don’t charge for things like lighting! Once our price draws you in, you will find that we have excellent customer service! We will work with you unlimitedly and treat you as if we have known you for years! In addition, we have a wide variety of young DJ’s to meet the needs of any client.

EM- What is your all time favorite song and music artist?

Brandon- Its hard to say, I love all music, and my favorite songs are constantly changing! If I had to pick one song that was my favorite, I would say it was “could you be loved” by Bob Marley. It is so relaxing and takes me away to a better place! However my alltime favorite artist is the King, Elvis Presley!

EM- What’s on your ipod?

Brandon-I have a little bit of eveything on my IPOD. You can find anything form Elvis to Eminem, Toby Keith to Miley Cirus, and Britney Spears to Lil Wayne. I really love all music, except screamo and death metal.

EM- What are your hopes and plans for the future?

Brandon- I really hope to continue to offer “Quality service that won’t break the bank” to Northeast Ohio. I would love to expand to a larger area, and even now offer my services to people all over. We actually have a wedding scheduled in Toronto!

EM- Anything else you want to add?

Brandon-We offer many packages that are sure to suit the needs of any client. We are now proud to offer travel assistance for your honeymoon, or any vacation plans you might need, as I am now a certified travel consultant! We also offer a money back referral program!

For more information on Brooks Music visit http://www.brooksdjservice.com/default.html

And here’s the man in action;)

Let me just say that my business is built on word of mouth and it amazes how far it has actually taken me. All of my weddings this year have come from previous brides from the 2009 season. No advertising folks!! Which has led to more gigs not related to weddings. For instance, below is April and Chris,

they found me while looking at a potential photographer for their wedding on his flickr friend. I was a contact of a contact of that photographer and somehow they found me. Months passed and I photographed their wedding. Few more months go by and one of her bridesmaid contacts me to shoot family portraits down by the  Columbus Ohio area.

Little bit later a student at the school that Chris works as a teacher saw the wedding album and contacted me to do senior portraits.

After that, Beth, a friend of April’s contacted me because she absolutely loved the way I captured her friends wedding and wanted me to capture her wedding. Which by the way I am really looking forward to. And now I will be doing all head shots for the school drama club (that’s where Chris teaches at). Wooo!! This is all so amazing. Word of Mouth… Gotta Love it!!

Photo shoot the day after wedding next to the Art Institute of Chicago with Thomas and Kim.