Waking Up in Michigan

Lake Michigan Recreation Area Photography

I close my eyes and all I hear are the leaves being slowly pushed by the wind. This is where I am most at ease; the most myself. I enjoy it. Waking up with the trees above your head, cooking a meal over a fire, listening to the wood crackle as it burns while breathing in the fresh air. A couple of weeks ago, I drove up to the Lake Michigan Recreation Area. There was no reason in particular, I guess it just seemed like a good opportunity to get away for a day; to keep it simple, no distractions and to just be. I knew I was getting close as both window seats were filled with views of endless trees. A bumpy, dirt road gently carves it way through the forest as to leave the least impact of it ever being there. Once I opened up my door, there seemed to be a sense of relief. The air carried the soft sounds of laughter with a backdrop of the lake meeting the shore. I smiled with every step closer to the beach, and as my feet hit the sand I felt like a child again. Whenever I road trip, hike or just wander by myself, I always feel like I’m at peace, like I have the world in the palm of my hands. Maybe because I can clear my head of every thought and just live in that moment. Here are a couple of those moments that made me smile.

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See More Travel Photography:  Living Under the Stars | Pictured Rocks | A Nature Walk

    

As the Sun Goes Down | Engagement Photography

Ciara + Mike | Patriots Park Engagement Photography

I had recently been asked if I could do a wonderful couple’s engagement photography which I have been fortunate enough to be friends with for quite some time. I of course couldn’t have been more delighted. We chose to do the session around a small lake at Patriots Park in Downers Grove, IL. The weather was perfect and as the sun was going down, it filled the park with a beautiful, warm glow. The whole time felt like just a couple of friends hanging out, laughing with the occasion snap of the camera. I couldn’t have been happier to not only be part of this momentouis time for them but more for what lies ahead for the both of them.  As they say “We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone.” I hope that they return to this moment someday, and smile. 

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See More Photography:  A New Chapter | Chicago Winter Engagement | Set the Sky on Fire

    

Living under the Stars

Driving through the pitch black woods at 12 am until I see a faint light at the end of the road, well not a faint light I guess just less darkness. I reached the end and I can hear the waves. Beverly Shores Indiana is quite a hidden treasure. This was my second opportunity visiting this beach and it’s about an hour drive from Chicago. Beverly Shores is a secluded little oasis right off of Lake Michigan, but what makes it truly beautiful is that it’s the #7 dark sky community. Walking down the steps to get to the beach is a task in its own if you do not have a flash light but once you reach the beach you instantly feel like your hundreds of miles away. Being from the Chicago area, I get happy when I’m able to look up and see the big dipper, but here… here the sky is alive. It’s pitch black with only the stars to offer you light and the waves to play you music. Enjoy your weekend!

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See More Travel Photography:  Exploring Iceland | Pictured Rocks | The Mountains Were Calling

    

All Things Will Pass

All Things will Pass. I recently came across an old friend’s status which were quite inspiring to me. It’s truly courageous to hear other’s perspective on life, on their happiness as well as how they deal with pain and fear. That is a major reason why I enjoy reading everyone’s blog and posts. I just want to thank each and everyone of you for your words, for they can affect and change a persons outlook on life and can make a positive impact in a persons life. I’ll leave you with some words that made me write this post and think about how I handle fear.

Over the last few weeks I have had to come face to face with fear. What is fear? We all have fear, but we all choose to face it in different ways. For me, for the longest time I would put anything I feared on the back burner and would hope it would just go away, but that wouldn’t solve anything, it would only burn and grow bigger and stronger. I’ve realized that it’s okay to have fear- but rather than avoiding it- taking it head on and confronting that which you fear. Detachment. Nothing is permanent, we live with temporary situations with temporary attachments, it’s when you separate yourself from the thought of attachment that abundance flows and the permanence you seek comes to you. Energy goes where energy flows. Time to conquer the fears and triumph over them.

– Tiffini –

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See More Chicago Photography:  The Way We See | Up Up & Away | Home

    

A Dream to Travel the World

A Dream to Travel

Traveling the world is a dream; I love and cherish every moment that I can set foot in a place that I have never been before.  I wish that I could spin a globe, close my eyes and wherever my finger lands, that’s where I’ll be when I open up my eyes. That is why it felt so good to have just booked my next adventure. I’m drawn to an adventure and led by my curiosity. Last year was a life changing experience when I walked off the plane and set foot in one of the most beautiful places that I have ever seen; Iceland. From the culture, to the art, to the people who treated me as a longtime friend to the absolutely breathtaking landscape. I truly felt like that was my first step in everlasting journey to see as much of this world as possible. See you in September Norway.

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See More Travel Photography:  Exploring Iceland | Pictured Rocks | The Mountains Were Calling

    

Home is Right Where You Are

Home is where the heart is. Home is where you make it. Home is wherever I am with you. Home is family to some, friends to others; a sense of nostalgia. Some are still searching for home while others do not know what home is. For me home is a feeling. It’s not a specific street, a set of random numbers placed on my mailbox, but more of laughter, smiles; a sense of being on top of the world. It’s not one specific place but a plethora of places, although I feel at home in Chicago quite often. It’s that feeling you get while you are standing at that place. The sense of excitement, enjoyment, calmness. It’s as if nothing else in the world matters except for this moment. If you are smiling right now, laughing, curious, or in love. If you are happy, you are home. Home is right where you are.

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See More Chicago Photography:  The Way We See | Up Up & Away | Ripple Effect

    

The Way We Choose to See Things

Chicago Architecture Photography

The way we choose to see things makes all the difference. It gives you a different perspective. Sometimes I walk around and feel like I’m living in this little bubble, constantly going through the motions and stuck in a this world of “comfortability” sort to speak. Not to say that being comfortable is wrong/ bad by any means, but I tend to need a change in my routine every now and then in order to keep being excited about what I do. And this is not only speaking in terms of photography. Every time I travel to Chicago, I usually take the Metra Railway to Chicago Union Station. I get off and weave through the crowd of people with their own agenda at hand, and as I exit, I am always welcomed by the Sears (Willis) Tower. There’s always a line out the door waiting for their chance to visit the Skydeck, along with couples taking selfies with it in the background. I have seen it many times, and have photographed it too many times to count. I usually just pass by it now, as it has become yet another billboard on my route through the city. But instead of passing by it a hundred times and just brushing this architecture marvel off my shoulders, what if instead, I looked at it 100 different ways. Now that’s exciting.

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See More Chicago Photography:  Chicago Engagement | Up Up & Away | Ripple Effect

    

Live with the New Age Renegades

They Say, “Do What You Love, Love What You Do” and it never becomes more apparent than when I photography musicians. Whether I’m photographing a live event or simply going to concert solely for the music, theres no describing the energy and intensity each musician brings to the stage and this band was no different. New Age Renegades is a Chicago party rock cover band in which is pretty is conveyed in each photograph I took of them. If you enjoy dancing, singing along to your favorite songs, and enjoying watching/ listening to musicians who love what they do, they will not disappoint. Here are a couple of moments from New Age Renegades concert photography shoot.

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See More Music Photography:  A Night at Rehearsals | Lighting the Music | An Evening at the Double Door

    

The Photographer

Dreaming is one of the most important aspects of being a photographer to me. Photography doesn’t always necessarily have to be exactly what you see; it can be more. It could be what you want to see, or what you have never seen before. For me, photography has always been about seeing the world in a new way; changing ones perspective and challenging what you already know. Whether I’m in front of the camera or behind it, dreaming and exploring my creativity is what keeps the excitement alive.

They say dreaming’s dead, that no one does it anymore. It’s not dead, it’s just been forgotten. Removed from our language. No one teaches it so no one knows it exists. The dreamer is banished to obscurity. Well I’m trying to change all that. By dreaming every day. Dreaming with our hands and dreaming with our minds. Our planet is facing the greatest problems it’s ever faced. Ever. So whatever you do, don’t be bored. This is absolutely the most exciting time we could have possibly hoped to be alive. And things are just starting.
– Waking Life –

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See More Self Photography:  Flipping Through the Pages | Something I Can Touch | Trapped

    

Lindsey + Neal: Chicago Engagement Photography

Lindsey + Neal | Chicago Engagement Photography

It was the beginning of 2016 and the bitter cold was sweeping through the air in Chicago, as I join a newly engaged couple, Lindsey and Neal, through Millennium Park. Like any other Sunday afternoon, the city was full of life, which makes Chicago the perfect location for an engagement shoot. From Michigan Avenue to the Cloud Gate (the Bean) to the Planetarium, each location added it’s own energy creating a unique backdrop to a truly special and exciting time in this young couples life. Lindsey and Neal’s engagement photography in the heart of Chicago.

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See More Photography:  A New Chapter | Flipping Through the Pages | Set the Sky on Fire