Playing with Light

It’s officially a family affair this photography hobby of mine. My sister got her first digital Canon Rebel while I was home last weekend and of course we spent the entire time playing with the settings. Because we’re awesome we spent Saturday night (yes, Saturday night) in the dark playing with multiple and long exposures. Here’s some of the fun…

We even got brother in on the action…

The Halloran standard, get all three of us in a single picture and at least one of us has our tongue out

My favorite – it’s a total lie but you get the idea

Me and Gracie down at the Train Yard

On my trip home my siblings and I went on a photo safari in downtown Detroit. Not knowing how much longer this beautiful building will be in our lives, our first stop was the old Train Depot. We packed an old mink of my grandma’s as a prop.

We went down to find the Ambassador Bridge for some more photos

Nicole – A Photo Shoot

I finally got the guts to go out and buy myself a new lens that I am pretty sure my friends are sick of hearing about. Well, it finally arrived on my birthday and my friend Nicole was kind enough to test it out with me last weekend. Nicole just finished Law School and passed the bar this summer. Congrats Nicole and thanks for being my model for the day!

One of my favorites right here!

Puerto Vallarta – Part 1

Last week I finally took my first “adult” vacation. By that I mean I went on a vacay with a good friend instead of siblings or parents.

IT.WAS.AWESOME.

Amy and I spent our days sunning ourselves, swimming and getting massages. Our nights were spent watching sunsets and having some of the most delicious food on the planet.

Below is part 1 of the photos. Another round to come later this week. Enjoy!

The View

Daily diet basics…

My lovely travel companion

Delicious bruschetta and some of the best tiramisu i have ever tasted all wrapped up with a gorgeous sunset bow.

Still in Love

It’s been almost 6 months and we’re still in love. Every day I find something new I love about you, dear sweet iPhone.

That’s right, I’m in love with my phone. From it’s ability to keep me connected and laughing on my ride home from work to all the photo apps available, I can’t get enough. I recently downloaded the “Best Camera” app from Chase Jarvis and have been playing a lot. My favorite is using it along with ShakeIt Photo. Here are just a few of my recent shots from the good ol’ phone.

M*WUAH! (That’s for you, iPhone)

P.S. I’m rolling my way to East Lansing (yay for the train and broadband) for homecoming weekend. I can’t wait to explore campus with my big DSLR (I didn’t have one in college).

Chicago iPhone Pics

Well, it is officially spring in Chicago. The weather is chilly and I’m pretty sure I’ve not seen the sun for days with all the rain we’ve been having. Because I like to live dangerously (and by dangerous I mean randomly) I decided today that I wanted to pull the images off my iPhone because I have a few I wanted to share.

I love the angle I got on this one – it looks like the bus is trying to run away.

Even walking in Chicago you run into pot holes…

April Showers bring Tulips!

Leaving Milwaukee to come back to Sweet Home, Chicago

A self-pic that I think turned out rather well…I can still feel the sun on the back of my neck

A Couple Portraits

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Can I just tell you how excited I am for this weekend?! The summer fun officially kicks off with Cub Hunt this Saturday. Cub Hunt is a scavenger hunt started last year by a friend of mine. I’ll be spending the whole day with my closest friends, running around the city of Chicago acting like a total goofball, what could be better? I will definitely be taking my my camera and capture the shenanigans! Until I have some of those pics to post, here are some of my favorite portrait shots I wanted to share.

My Waldorf Education

In 1993 my parents decided they wanted to explore options for my education. I was sent to visit a small school 45 minutes away from my home and thrown into music, language and art classes I didn’t understand. I wondered where the text books were and why we seemed to be on a totally difference academic level. I mean, weren’t we all the same age? Shouldn’t we be studying the same things?

Over the next 5 years I struggled to catch up to those same students, learning two languages (Spanish and German) developing my inner artist and trying to master various instruments all while learning math, science and everything else “normal” kids were learning in their schools.

Life after Waldorf was an adjustment as I went to a rigorous college prep Catholic high school and then a Big Ten University where even among the masses I felt my approach to life was very different from everyone else. It has taken me the better part of 10 years to fully appreciate the value of my Waldorf education. It taught me to look at my  life and the world from all available angles, encouraged my passion for learning new things and was the only place where I was ever truly comfortable to be my whole self.

It is absolutely impossible for me to convey in a blog post the magical and unique sense of family and self that develops in a Waldorf community. From the students, faculty, staff and even families everyone involved is an integral part of each journey. I am not going to attempt to go on but I encourage you to explore the Waldorf website and I would gladly take the time to discuss my experiences with anyone who is interested.

Here are some images from the Detroit Waldorf School (my alma mater) Auction I shot when I was home last week.

The beautiful hand made pieces that were up for auction…

The fabulous Miss Beth in one of her creations…

I had to resist the urge to go up and pet her…this jacket was amazing!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Creative Inspiration

I always enjoy a good TED chat. As someone who finds that I am shy in the most absurd situations, this really struck a chord with me. I like how he talks about using an analytical framework and pre-existing capabilities to tackle old fears and turn your dreams into a reality.

Enjoy!