new blog!!!

Please visit my new blog for new & exciting updates! I will now be posting all new posts there :)

http:/www.capturingsubtleties.com/blog

Thanks all!

maternity leave

It's a pretty bold statement considering I've seen some pretty great photos in my life, but I have to say that this is my ultimate favorite. :) It's an ultrasound picture of our baby boy - his little mouth and waving to the camera (he better get ready for more cameras!) I'm going to be on "maternity leave" for the next month or so, so don't be surprised if the blog is a little more quiet than normal! The little guy is due to come in the beginning of February so we're taking it easy until he arrives :)

I'm still available for client meetings and bookings and will continuously be working on some things behind the scenes - so this Spring will be full of excitement, new things and of course - photography! :) I also can't wait to introduce you to our new addition when he decides to join us!

the year of 2009 : in squares

I thought this weekend was a good opportunity to pull together a few of my favorites from 2009. :) What a great year! I've had the opportunity to meet such wonderful people, make new friends and learn (so much) more than I ever thought possible! I remember every single photo session with such happiness - it was incredibly hard to choose the few I did for this montage! If I could (and I actually tried) I would post the longest picture montage you've ever seen (seriously... for some reason blogspot wouldn't take something that long). But, luckily, I was forced to cut it down to a one pager... ;)

Thank you to all for your encouragement through the year. I can't wait for 2010 - more learning (I hope it never stops!), more experiences... and all the new exciting things that are still to come!!!!

merry christmas :)

I should be baking, wrapping presents, and... well, sleeping? But instead... I'm tromping around outside in the snow with camera in hand - taking in the wonder of winter :)

Wishing everyone a happy, wonderful and magical Christmas :)

morrow christmas card: outtakes

"Sandy! What do you want to do today?" -Mike
"Oh, I have the BEST idea..." -Sandy

I have a feeling Mike will never dare ask me this question again... as my fantastic idea included taking him, the tripod and the camera - to a local park for our Christmas Card photos in a cornfield/wheat field! To me, of course, this is an extremely normal thought. Yet, to people passing by... or my dear husband... probably not as normal. But I must say, the tripod did a pretty good job being our photographer for the day.

Clearly, my hat did not evoke holiday cheer, but more holiday craziness...



Wait... tripod! I'm not ready!



Now I think Mike is really getting into this whole wreath thing ;)



And yes, I am 6 months pregnant in these photos - to those of you who are wondering... where is that belly coming from!? :)



A pensive shot...







Obviously I wasn't quite aware yet that the hat was making the wrong statement...



The end! One of these will actually be used, so they're not all outtakes... but I'm still deciding which road to take... crazy, silly, or normal. :)

paige: senior pictures

Last week Sunday, Paige, her mom Kyle and I headed out to Grand Haven to take her senior pictures. And yes - you read right - Grand Haven BEACH in the middle of November! It was a 65 degree day and we definitely took advantage of it! We had such a great time walking around the beach and enjoying the day!

I hope you both enjoy the preview. I had SO much fun hanging out with you both!

Paige is beee-autiful! Even in the first (yes this was our FIRST shot) of the day, I knew we were going to get some great pics :)



I love the "beachy" feel of this next vintagey photo...





Oooo a log - can't pass that up!









Next we headed up to some beach grass... these might be some of my favorites! Look at her blue eyes!!













So, yes... it was 65 degrees outside. But the water? In November? Probably 30 degrees? Okay - maybe 40 degrees - but seriously! Paige was awesome! She climbed right into that water, clothes and all and took some GREAT shots in the water!







She doesn't even look cold! :)







After we dried off and changed clothes, we had a few minutes to grab some extra shots in downtown Grand Rapids!











So pretty :) :)







We had a great afternoon and I'm so glad we took advantage of this WARM November weather! Thanks again to both Paige & Kyle!

colleen+jeremiah

Meet Colleen & Jeremiah!



This is one of the most unique photo sessions I’ve done yet, so I’m really excited to share them on the blog! Colleen and Jeremiah are such a genuine and creative couple. I met Colleen a few years ago when we worked together - she worked in graphic design and I worked in marketing. I can still remember the fun we had together at work – creating marketing materials especially. I remember us laughing and laughing as we created marketing postcards to advertise (of all things) filing cabinets.

Colleen also introduced me to the love of paper. She honestly helped to inspire my wedding invitations from that paper love when I got married. So, to see her planning HER wedding to Jeremiah is nothing short of amazing! The details and thought that she is putting into the entire wedding process (from invitations to the wedding location) makes me VERY excited to shoot her upcoming wedding this June!

I took a lot of liberty to add some funky details to her engagement photos as I wanted these to suit them as a couple – so be prepared as I really had a lot of fun processing these a little “different” than my normal style!

We started out at her and Jeremiah’s house, where we had fun capturing all the details of their normal activities. Such as… chilling on the couch reading & playing video games. Kyrie (her beautiful cat) wouldn’t cooperate and sit on the couch WITH them, but she certainly posed for a picture!









Their house is beautiful & eclectic. This was my favorite room with the two corduroy chairs and sweet looking rug!









They both have phones to match the exact colors of their wedding. I thought this was so great! We’ll definitely have to incorporate this into the wedding photos somehow!



Who has a CHALKBOARD in their house as a piece of “artwork?” Colleen & Jeremiah do!!! We completely took advantage of this and I think these may be some of my favorite photos!





Onto their kitchen, where I couldn’t pass up this adorable kitchen set… and a little goofy arm wrestling!



Love the rug. LOVE!!!



I also love Jeremiah's inquisitive expression here...



This is right outside their house under the mailbox - and has special meaning to both of them as it was their first “house” creation.



Next we moved onto the wedding location – her parents backyard! They are getting married right before this bridge, so we had to get a few photos of them on the bridge. The trees and atmosphere were amazing even though the trees are bare – I can’t WAIT to see this in the early summer. The pics will be magical!











Another special spot – Colleen’s parent’s front porch, where her and Jeremiah would end their dates! Trying to sneak in a kiss before she sneaks inside the house – I have a feeling was something that happened a lot during their early dating years! 







I may have forced them down this path to a beautiful field to grab a couple of romantic shots (crazy Sandy the photographer – can’t get away from them COMPLETELY – I can’t help it)! Can you tell that this field was also filled with pointy and pricking weeds? We braved through it! The sun was high in the sky which usually doesn’t work in my favor – but for this I think we really made it work.







Onto the Ionia Library for a few more shots… Jeremiah was uber excited to find Superman to read for these next few pictures ;)







Stealing a kiss (and a few laughs) among the shelves of books!



Colleen & Jeremiah - thanks for the great day! I had so much fun and can't WAIT for your wedding! It's going to be amaaaazing!!!

wedding: tiffany & jeremy

Tiffany and Jeremy were married on October 17th at Hope College. I was Mindy's second shooter and we had a blast! The details of the day were so beautiful, that it was incredibly hard for me to pick just "a few" photos to post (thus the somewhat lengthy blog post)!

We started out the day at the salon in downtown Holland...



I love the details of the salon... very eclectic!











Just a few miles to the beautiful Hope College campus, where the wedding ceremony was. It was a gorgeous day and the chapel was probably one of the most beautiful I've been in...





Tiffany was the most laid back bride I've ever met. She sat patiently waiting for me to take some detail shots of the dress, and about 10 minutes before the ceremony, zipped it on and looked absolutely stunning!



Look at that chapel! Wow...









The weather was chilly, but sunny and beautiful for some great group photographs around Hope's campus...





SO cute :)...



I love catching Mindy in action - trying to get those boys to laugh!





I thought the wedding party looked amazing with all black dresses & punches of red and orange bouquets against Hope's historic buildings. Tiffany & Jeremy did a great job coordinating all the details to make this wedding what it was!

















The girls were so much fun. We spent a lot of the time just laughing!



Adorable ballet slippers. I should have asked her where she found them, because I love them!





Looks like a scene from... Romeo & Juliet? Pride & Prejudice? Not sure, but absolutely gorgeous either way :).





Onto the reception... and look at this food! It makes me hungry just posting the pictures :).









They had a live band, which really got the kids up and dancing around!



Love this last shot - so romantic of their first dance together as husband and wife :)!



Thank you, Mindy for asking me to join you with Tiffany & Jeremy's wedding!

fall's serenade

summer turning into fall is absolutely breathtaking!

family: katie, chris & ella

Last week I had the opportunity to do a family shoot for my dear friend Katie's family. Katie introduced me to my now husband - twin brother of her husband, Chris!! So to do a photo shoot of her, Chris and Ella was so much fun for me. The colors were beautiful and we had lots of fun playing in the fall foliage. Here are a few of my favorites...





I love how Ella is holding onto both of their hands... so adorable!



We're learning how to walk! Ella just turned one a week ago!











Ella's not 100% sure why I'm standing on a lion statue to take this picture... at least Katie & Chris didn't think I was crazy (at least, they didn't say so)...



Okay, okay... I know guys - this isn't an engagement session - but I couldn't resist! This is one of my favorite photos of the whole day! :)





How do I pick favorites!? Look at how happy they are! SO CUTE!!!





Loving Ella's expression here...







I did NOT pose this! This hand pose is completely natural :) Can you tell they're family?!









We were pushing our luck - almost an hour past eating time, but I had to get a shot of them on their front porch and their amazing house!!



Thank you Katie, Chris & Ella :)

ceremony : danielle & dave

Last week Saturday, I had the opportunity to help Mindy (from Mindy Leigh Photography) for a few hours with a wedding she was shooting. I came for the ceremony only, and I was so glad to be there! The church was in such a beautiful setting (surrounded by cornfields!) and the ceremony was lovely.

Please, please take a minute to check out Mindy's blog for the entire wedding day - especially for some great portraits of the couple and wedding party!

Here are a few of my favorite images from the ceremony...



























Congratulations, Danielle & Dave! You are an amazing couple!!

artprize : grand rapids

This weekend, Grand Rapids was buzzing with ArtPrize... the entire city was filled with all kinds of amazing artwork from local, national, and international artists. We went downtown on Saturday to check it out. Here are only a few of the many, many pieces of art...

A close up of an amazing canoe mimicking a guitar... it was beautiful.



This was right next to the canoe... beautiful colors.



A popular favorite, Nessie, emerging from the waters of the Grand River. I captured a young girl taking in the sights in a vintage tone.





I was amazed at how crowded it was downtown... I've never seen this many people outside of the museum before.



This "sharing tree" had leaves was made from recycled bottles! We met the artist and he was a great person. Definitely voted for this one! Notice, my mom's favorite part - the tree's face. :)



Ladders as... art? :) I decided to mess with it in Photoshop a little more to make it look even better (or worse, depending on your viewpoint, but that's art for you)!



According to Michelle DeSelms from Fox 17 News... 300,000 votes already! It'll be interesting to see who the winner is!

wedding: annie & eric

On Saturday, I got the opportunity to second shoot a wonderful wedding with Mindy from Mindy Leigh Photography. What a great experience! I learned so much and had a great time capturing Annie & Eric's special day. Here are a few of the photos that were my favorites!

Beautiful Annie before the wedding...



I got the chance to capture a lot of detail shots. The church was gorgeous!













I think this picture is so sweet - the way Annie is looking at her dad, and the way he's holding onto her hand :)



Look closely... and you'll see Annie & Eric getting married! :)



Alright!!! Married... first kiss :)



While Mindy was taking some great family photos, I captured these two cuties...



Then it was off downtown to grab some post wedding shots!











These two were so adorable, and so in love...







Mindy, in action... I'm so excited to see her photos!





And then it was off to the reception...







Congrats to Annie and Eric! And thanks Mindy, for asking me to second shoot. It was an amazing & beautiful wedding!

a break

It's been awhile!

We went camping last week... it was so nice and relaxing! I'd love to live in a forest and be just a walk from the beach every day...

capturing subtleties : the website!!!

An exciting day here at capturing subtleties ... the launch of my website! I've been a little quiet in the past few weeks because I've been diligently working on getting the website up and running.

Visit the website here!

Because I've been such a quiet person lately, I'm going to make it up by announcing an introductory deal! Be on the lookout! :)