: : JULIE+CHRIS : :

This past weekend I met up with Julie & Chris for their engagement shoot. I have been looking forward to this since booking their wedding and the afternoon exceeded my expectations. Julie is not only gorgeous but she's a total sweetheart and Chris had better consider himself lucky to keep her! Over a drink at La Jolla we all had great conversation and I found that Chris and I held very similar views on a lot of health related topics. Did I mention he's a chiropractor? Actually, he has his own practice, ProWellness Chiropractic.

After our mid-session stop at La Jolla Chris & Julie got a little silly and we had fun with our posing. Did I mention he even struck a George Costanza pose for one of the pictures?! Keep a look out for that one, as well as a few other fun shots to come! Until then...enjoy the two below. One was taken inside the Mavris, which is where they will be getting married next year. The other was out back behind the Mavris. Oh...and I should mention that Julie was kind enough to pick burs from the butt of my jeans after taking that picture! It's all for the shot!!

Heehee...one more fun one from Sunday!

My painted baby

After our shoot Saturday afternoon Noah and I raced over to Rocky Ripple for the Rocky Ripple Art & Music Fest. We managed to get there about an hour before it ended. In that time we: had a beer (me, not him!), perused the vendors and their lovely work, bought some handmade soap, played in the sand, listened to the Born Again Floozies, chatted with friends a many and got Noah's face painted. I'd say we fit in quite a bit of fun for only an hour of play time!

Monday...at the Central Library

Monday I had the opportunity to photography Sherry and her daughter, Lindsay. They are a sassy mother/daughter duo and I had a great time with them! I really wanted to spend more of our session outside but the winds were out of control that day. We did get a few really great images outdoors in the short time before we raced back inside where it was warm! Thanks Sherry & Lindsay for spending the morning with me!

A Busy Weekend!

Busy, busy weekend! With a session Saturday, Sunday AND Monday I was hopping around non-stop! Saturday Noah and I had a session with little August and his parents. This little guy has the most mesmerizing blue eyes ever...and that's coming from the mother of a blue eyed babe! :o)







My Sunday shoot was at the beautiful Natural Valley Ranch in Brownsburg with Sheri, Brian, Bryce & Riley. Sheri suggested the location and Chuck & Marie, the owners, graciously agreed. If you've never been to Natural Valley Ranch you should check it out! The property is beautiful and they have regular family nights and other events. Below are only a few of the images from Sunday, taken at an old barn on the property. The light was beautiful! There will be more posted soon, don't worry!









And trust me, I'll be back with pics from Monday, too!

Metamora, Indiana

Other than a trail race that Scott had scheduled (and WON!), our family decided to take the holiday weekend off. We had originally planned to head to Metamora on Sunday for not only a ride on a reeeeeally old steam engine but also for the Old Time (read: bluegrass!!) Music Festival. Unfortunately, we dragged our feet a little and ultimately decided to go on Monday instead. The reason I say unfortunately is because the music festival was only Saturday and Sunday. Regardless, we had a fun hour long ride on the steam engine and got to tool around in some of the little shops before heading home. I had to take some pictures to show just how jammed packed one of the "antique" shops was!

Remember T&D? They're hitched! ;o)

Not only did I shoot their engagement session but I was lucky enough to be invited, last minute, to help cover Tonya & Dionne's wedding day! There was a lot of driving involved that day...going from Indy to Gary, then Miller's Beach on Lake Michigan, Merrilville and back to Indy, but it was completely worth it! Not only was Tonya a stunning bride but she was so relaxed and laid back that it made the day so easy. Her bridal party was fantastic and I can see why she had so many people involved! Dionne surprised her by having a BMW pick her up at the hotel to take her to the church...the look on her face was priceless and be sure there will be pics up of that soon! Until then, enjoy some of what I have completed already!

Did you miss me? :o) T + D Engagement Session

My, my has it been a busy month! I'll be back when I come up for air...we had a great vacation in the midst of beautiful chaos. Right now I'm here to give a quick sneak of T & D's engagement session. What a fun couple and I wish we would have met before they made all of the plans for their wedding so that I could cover the wedding, too! We spent the evening all over downtown, starting at the circle and ending at Lucas Oil Stadium. They have been together for twelve years and I really admire the connection they have. Here are a couple of my favorites from last night, with much more to come!

And my favorite so far...

Sneak Peak of K!

I met K's mom at the Chateau Thomas Farmer's Market. Last week I offered mini sessions at the market and they stopped by for a quick shoot. K is full of personality (and sass!) and in the short time we spent together I had a great time! She has a keen interest in photography so we were sure to include her camera in a few shots. While I'm up to my eyeballs in editing right now I've stopped in to give a quick peek at a couple of shots from K's mini session. I'm really hoping to get together with her again for her senior portraits!

Enjoy! :o)

Congratulations, Dan & Jamie!!

I just wanted to take a moment to congratulate Dan and Jamie...they will be tying the knot in Illinois tomorrow, surrounded by friends and family. Dan & Jamie are two of the sweetest, happiest people I've ever met and they are just perfect for each other! There has never been a day that I have seen either one of them without a smile on their faces. I thank them for this rare quality they posess...it always makes my day brighter when I'm graced by their presence. Scott and I spent the evening photographing their engagement session recently. I'd like to share a few that I feel really give a peek at their personalities and connection with each other.

Life, Love & Photography

When you put time, love and energy into something the rewards are unlimited. That's how I feel about many things: my son, my relationship, my photography and life in general. Except this post is mostly about my photography. It's a self-perpetuating labor of love. Honestly, there has not been a single moment since I began shooting again that I have thought "wow...I really hate doing this, it's more work than it is fun." It is no secret that I love people. I love experiences, interactions and just straight up people watching. I must say that people watching is much easier (and acceptable!) if you are being hired to do it! I honestly feel like any talent I have is not as much a creative talent, although that is getting better every day, but a knack for getting people to feel comfortable enough around me to let their guards down. Comfortable enough that they can be themselves and express their true feelings, allowing me the amazing opportunity to capture raw emotion in an image.

This last weekend was amazing in every way. Casey & Adam invited Scott and me to be a part of their wedding day and I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity. Love is a very powerful thing and it could definitely be felt in Paoli, Indiana last weekend. I think that it's safe to say that the atmosphere at Casey & Adam's wedding even made Scott and I a little more cuddly than usual, which can never be a bad thing! Take a moment and see why I love my job and my life so much.

More will be posted little by little on my site, http://www.chellecraig.zenfolio.com/


xo
m

It's been a while!

It's no secret. I need to improve my blogging skills! I am a sporadic blogger, I freely admit. However, since I have linked you all to my blog through my site it would only make sense to include you in my life, right? Of course! I will have to say that I am working on a new blog so stay tuned...better stuff is yet to come.

So on a photographic note, this summer has started with a fantastic boom! Lots of families, babies and now beautiful couples. Now if we could just *not* get rained out again for Megan's family shoot things would be fabulous! I have been dying to get her beautiful family in front of my camera for ages and when I finally get the opportunity...guess what? We get rained out. Twice. Now I'm all for shooting creatively, even in the rain. However, when there's a toddler involved and the photo shoot is going to also involve playing in the water and through the woods...well, let's just say that I have a certain vision in my head for this shoot and it does not involve rain!

On a more exciting note, this weekend is Casey & Adam's wedding and Scott and I will be there to cover their day for them. This wedding will take place outdoors in beautiful Southern Indiana, Paoli, to be exact. There will be dogs in the bridal party, a horse drawn carriage and an abundance of beautiful scenery...a photographer's dream, it will be! And the bride and groom, well let's just say there's some serious chemistry between them which always makes my job easier! (They're pretty nice too...they are making a special vegan dish just for Scott and myself!! Awww!) Clearly, I am pretty anxious for this weekend and don't worry, there will be a sneak peek of their wedding, no doubt!

I hope everyone has a great day and can enjoy this super rainy weather!!!

-m

Check this out!

Charlotte & Henry

The latest sneak peak! I'll admit that I was a bit apprehensive about an outdoor shoot at 10am yesterday morning. The weather has not exactly been conducive to having children outdoors without jackets. Oh, how I was surprised! Mother Nature kindly obliged and we had a fantastic shoot out in the country.

Gotta love great writers!

This month I am showing (and selling!) some of my work at the Monon Coffee Company in Broad Ripple. This body of work is made up of many abstract close ups, man-made and natural subjects alike. Each print is reasonably priced at $100 and the proceeds go to the fine education of Mr. Noah Sage! ;) Jen Litz, a freelance writer who does most of her work from the corner table at the Monon, has taken over writing for the coffee shop's blog. She has been so kind as to post a very flattering write up on my work being displayed. Take a moment to check it out here!Thanks so much, Jen!!