Magical Moments Photography

Two hours in Wal-Mart!

2008-08-13T22:22:00.003-05:00

It has finally happened! Meghan is now concerned about making sure she has the coolest school supplies. So right after we picked the boys up from daycare, we headed over to Wal-Mart to get school supplies and then continue on with our regular shopping schedule. I thought we could breeze through all of the shopping. What I didn't count on was all of the thought which went into every facet of her selections.

Princess is out. That's for babies. So while it is ok for her family to know she still loves Cinderella, not a word to her school friends. Then there were several Hannah Montana backpacks to select from. Was the tote too big? Did the backpack have enough room. If that wasn't enough we had to find supplies for Mathew. He was not as picky but was upset they didn't have any Thomas merchandise. He wanted nothing to do with Batman, Spiderman or The Hulk. Surprisingly, he wanted Jonas Brother but alas, the store didn't have that either. Finally, he settled for greens and blues.

As we were checking out with our school supplies and our household supplies I looked at the clock and noticed it was 2:15! No wonder my stomach was grumbling. It was time for lunch. Grocery shopping could wait.

8 Years ago

2008-08-04T22:21:00.000-05:00

Not much to say but my little girl is not so little anymore. Today was Meghan's birthday. Between all of the birthdays around here, I'm eating too much cake.

Our Visitors

2008-07-29T22:14:00.002-05:00

Just after dinner this evening we had some visitors to our back yard. The whole family stopped what we were doing to watch there beautiful birds. They look like some type of hawk but we're not sure. I think these three birds are from the same brood and are staying together for the time being. We didn't see any adults around and these birds looked young. At one point a squirrel really took a gamble with its life as is scurried along on the wire directly beneath the hawk!

Happy Birthday Michah

2008-07-28T22:19:00.001-05:00

Michah's two today. Hooray.

Lazy Summer Days

2008-07-24T22:03:00.003-05:00

This heat is killing me. There is so much to do and it is hard to get motivated. We're getting restarted on the renovation project. We've completed a great kitchen design. Now we've got to pack up everything upstairs so the rennovations can restart. We're on our final push. Hopefully we can be done by Halloween, if not then perhaps by Thanksgiving. It will be nearly 2 years of an upset house as we've gone through the complete process.

Meanwhile, I've been busy with the studio. Almost too busy. I've started to fall behind in the work that needs to get done. No sooner than I finish one thing, than another critical project arises. E-mail, well that's a whole other story. It is relentless. I suppose it could be worse and I could have nothing to do.

Sarah and Will's Engagement Session

2008-07-19T21:45:00.003-05:00

It was a rainy misty day. But we made the best of it. Eventually the rain let up enough for us to get some outside photos.

A Wedding Without a Camera

2008-07-08T21:39:00.001-05:00

This weekend I went to a wedding without a camera in hand. It was a strange experience being empty handed at the wedding. The wedding I'm talking about was for my brother Rick and his new wife Karen. They were married on July 5, 2008. It was a beautiful day. They said their vows under a grove of trees on Rick's (and now Karen's) property. Afterwards we all went over to the Glen Loch Mill for an afternoon outdoor reception on the shores of the creek. It was a lot of fun spending time with friends and family I hadn't seen in a long time.

The day after the wedding, my cousin Lisa, hosted her annual picnic. She and her husband own a dairy farm. Every year right around July 4th, they host a picnic for all of their friends and neighbors. I've had a standing invitation but it is a little too far to travel. This year since I was in town for Rick's wedding, I decided I had to be at the picnic. It was a lot of fun with hay rides, good food and most importantly family.

Roller Skating

2008-07-01T21:30:00.002-05:00

Today Meghan and Mathew went roller skating with their summer camp. As I used to be a competitive roller skater, I decided to show up at the rink. I had always wanted to be able to spend time with the kids and skate with them. So after a long search of many boxes of stuff packed away during our renovations, I finally found my old speed skates. I checked them out and they were still in good condition.

The camp bus arrived at the rink at noon. I decided to show up about fifteen to twenty minutes later to allow the kids to put away their shoes and get their skates on. I couldn't have timed it any better. You should have seen the look of surprise on Meghan's, Mathew's and all of the other campers' faces when I entered the rink.

I put my skates on and loosened up. Saying a silent prayer that I would not kill myself in front of the kids. After not being on skates for many years, I was a little stiff when I first started skating. But fortunately, the rink had the same floor cover as my old rink. That meant my skates were properly set for the floor. AFter a while, my legs loosened up and I felt as if I had never been off of my skates.

I was able to help all of the campers with their skating. I worked with Mathew and Meghan trying to teach them to skate. They were a little frustrated that dad could skate as well as I did. In fact, some of the other campers were amazed at how well I was able to skate. One girl said to Meghan, "Your dad is really good, is he a professional skater?" All too soon it was time to put the skates away and go home.

Cristina and Aaron's wedding

2008-06-30T21:19:00.003-05:00

Once again I was at one of my favorite venues, Starved Rock, for Christina and Aaron's wedding. It was a beautiful day. I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

5 Years Ago

2008-06-26T22:32:00.002-05:00

5 years ago today, my wife and I walked into the dr's office for her weekly maternity check. Little did we know that Sheryl would be whisked through the secret cypher locked door directly into the labor and delivery suite at the hospital. Hard to believe that 5 years ago, our son was born. Our little baby has grown into an amazing boy.

This boy continues to amaze us on a daily basis. He has already started to recognize simple sight words like "the", "and" and "dog". I'm not sure if he has memorized stories or can actually read them but it is still quite an accomplishment.

My how the time has flown. In just a few short months, Mathew will be starting Kindergarten. It really makes me wonder what the next 5 years will bring or the 5 after that....

Congratulations Pro Scapes

2008-06-20T22:26:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Pro Scapes, my brother's landscaping and snow plowing company for being awarded the 2008 Excellence in Business and Safety awards at the recent annual award banquet hosted by the Snow & Ice Management Association in Buffalo, NY. I know my brother, Rick, works hard to maintain a customer centric, high quality organization. Way to go Rick!

The Fake Rave

2008-06-17T21:12:00.002-05:00

It is amazing how much we have come to rely upon the internet and various boards for purchase information. However, how much do you really know about the person making the recommendation. I am fortunate enough to be a subject matter expert on a bridal forum. Every so often I see a post extolling the virtues a photography studio or product. Upon closer examination it becomes obvious the rave was posted by the vendor themselves and not by a happy client. Some signs the rave might be fake include:

1) This is the writer's first post on the forum. Why would somebody who has never visited, let alone posted to a board, suddenly show up and start praising a specific vendor?
2) The writer talks about only one vendor. Why not talk about the rest of your vendors too?
3) There is contradictory information listed. For instance, the post says something about a November '07 wedding but the profile shows an August '08 wedding date.
4) The wedding date given is a week day

The fake rave is just a way to obtain free adversing for the vendor in such a way as to deceive you. Just as the fake complaint is an attempt to drive people away from a competitor. For how to you really know who is the author of the anonymous post? In the end, do you want to hire a vendor who lies to you via a fake rave? For who knows what else they may lie about!

Webkins

2008-06-12T12:15:00.000-05:00

"But mom, I'm the only one in the whole wide world who doesn't have one!. I want a Webkin" Over the last school year, we've heard many variations of this whiney complaint from Meghan. She's begged, pleaded and used every tactic known to a seven year old girl in order to convince us to buy her a Webkinz.

In case you're not aware of the Webkinz craze, it is basically a Beanie Baby. However, along with the purchase of the Webkinz, you also receive a code which allows access to the on-line Webkinz world. This is a world just for kids. It has games and activties. And oh by the way, the Webkinz you've bought comes alive. The kids have to feed and care for it every couple of days. Otherwise, it can become sick.

To make things interesting, the food, toys and activities for your Webkinz are not free. The owners have to earn Webkinz world money to purchase these things. I guess it teaches kids to save and budget. How do I know this now. Well, last Sunday, Meghan figured out she had $28 which was enough to buy a Webkinz. Since it was her money we decided to let her buy a Webkinz.

Tuesday evening, Meghan and I went to the mall to buy her Webkinz. She had spent time researching her purchase and knew exactly which one she wanted. Goldie, the dog. First we stopped at KBToys. They did not have the dog she wanted. They had frogs, cats, tigers and other animals but not the dog Meghan wanted. So we went to antoher store where we had seen the Webkinz. Meghan managed to grab the last Goldie.

When she checked the price, she discovered it was on sale. She asked if she could buy two. Before, I could say "No!," Meghan explained she wanted to get one for her brother Mathew because she knew that he would be upset that he didn't have a Webkinz too. After much consideration, Meghan selected a Brown Lab Webkinz for Mathew. The total came to $28.12. I was so proud of my young lady that I made up the shortage. She beamed with pride not only for making her own purchase but also because she was able to do something nice for her brother. Her mom was pretty impressed with her too!

Linda and Jim

2008-06-08T01:09:00.002-05:00

Some days you just get lucky. There are those who say luck is when opportunity meets preparation. But then there are times when you have to notice the opportunity in order to take advantage of it. Today was a little like that.

I had the honor of photographing Linda and Jim's wedding on Saturday. As I walked upto their apartment, I noticed a window sill with an interesting view of a brick wall. I thought that if time worked out, I would sit the bride there for some portraits. As luck would have it, we did have time. I took a test shot to get my camera set and noticed the grooms reflection in the window. A little adjustment, and we have the shot you see here!

We had an opportunity to take a couple of quick snaps at Humbolt Park.

The ceremony and reception were at Calo in the Andersonville area of Chicago. Calo had placed votives in the brick wall.

A moment of levity during the ceremony.

I walked by a wait station at just the right time: 6/7/08 9:10 PM

The end of a wonderful and memorable day.

New Web Site

2008-06-06T21:37:00.002-05:00

It's done! I have a new web site. After six weeks of hard work, we finally finished the site and uploaded it on Thursday. Take a moment to check out the new site.

Jackie and Steve/Robin and Rob's E-Sessions

2008-05-31T21:27:00.001-05:00

I had two engagement sessions this week. Two very different sessions. The first was with Jackie and Steve. For their e-session we walked around the Lincoln Square area. It was the area where they first met and spent a lot of time. As we were walking we found the "Bad Dog Tavern" As you can see, we had a little fun at the tavern!

A couple of days later, I was out in the St. Charles area for Robin and Rob's engagement session. This time we were at a park on the banks of the Fox River. It was quite different from the one a couple of days before, but we still had fun.

New Look!

2008-05-29T21:20:00.002-05:00

Over the last couple of days you may have noticed a couple of things. First, I have not been posting as regularly as I normally do. Second, there has been a change to the color and header to the blog. While these may not seem related, they are. I've been busy working on a new web site and branding for Magical Moments Photography.

If you look at the blog header, you'll notice the new font for the studio name. My magazine ads reflect a varient of this as a logo. In addition, the color scheme of the blog has changed from blue to purple. This is to match the new web site's color scheme. I hope to make the blog integrate better with the site.

In the meantime, I'm excited about the new look for www.mmpix.com. Early reviews for the site have been quite favorable. In fact, I've decided to enter the site in the 2008 PPA AN-NE Marketing Awards Competition. We'll get to see how well the new site compares against others in the field. I hope to be able to work the last few bugs out of the site over the next few days. Once we do, we'll go live. Stay tuned for an announcement about the new site!

Kindergarten Orientation

2008-05-15T21:11:00.002-05:00

It is hard to believe that we are going to be sending Mathew off to Kindergarten in the fall. But the signs are there. Earlier today, I attended Mathew's Kindergarten orientation. We met his teacher for next year, Miss Femmel and Mathew got to play in her room for a little bit. Meanwhile I sat in the gym with all of the other parents to listen to Mr. Henry, the principal, speak about the school and the paperwork needed for next year. There were a lot of questions from first time parents. When it was time to leave, Mathew was having so much fun he wanted to stay longer. At bedtime, he asked if he was going to Kindergarten again tommorrow!

Georgia's Christening

2008-05-04T20:59:00.002-05:00

I seem to be on a run of unique events. This week was the Greek Orthodox Christening of Georgia Doran. The best way to describe this is "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" but there was only one side of the family there. We started at the church and then had a big party at Concorde Banquets in Kildeer. The theme of the party was "The Greatest Show on Earth" They did a great job with the theme and once again I had a lot of fun at this unique event.

Happy Birthday Shirley

2008-04-27T20:42:00.002-05:00

Last night's event was a little different. It was a birthday party thrown by the guest of honor herself. I'm not going to tell you how old the birthday girl is but needless to say, she threw a nice party. We were at Indian Lakes in the Sonoma Room. Shirley's party had plenty of orchids and even some hula dancers. Who would have thought you could find a bit of Hawaii in Chicago? It was a wonderful evening and a great change of pace from wedding photography.

Melissa and Jeff

2008-04-20T02:00:00.001-05:00

Today (well technically yesterday) was Melissa and Jeff's wedding. They got married at Starved Rock, one of my favorite venues. Unfortunately, it had rained for the previous several days and the ground was too soft for an outdoor wedding. But it was onto plan "B" and everybody had a great time. Here are some photos from the wedding.

New Website Coming

2008-04-13T01:55:00.000-05:00

I've been taking a hard look at a lot of details related to Magical Moments Photography. No stone is being left unturned. Recently, I looked at my website and decided it was no longer doing the job it was intended to do. Basically, my photography has outgrown the website. A friend who I asked to critique the site said it is like a Sears store that has all sorts of great new products but still has the old fixtures.

A look at some other photographer's website confirmed this assessment. So I've decided to redo my site. Look for a great new www.mmpix.com in the coming months. I know what I want it to look like. Now I just have to make it happen. All of this while I gear up for the upcoming wedding season.

April 6th Bridal Show

2008-04-08T01:52:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday I was at another bridal show. This one was at the Renaissance O'hare. But it is not actually by O'hare. It is located just off of Cumberland. Anyway after driving around for a bit I found the place.

The winner of Sunday's drawning for a complimentary Engagement session is Jennifer Small who is getting married on July 5, 2008. That just so happens to be the same day my brother Rick, is getting married. Well I hope it is a lucky day for both of them.

Beautiful Day

2008-04-05T18:42:00.001-05:00

Today was the first reasonably nice day of the year. I decided to let the kids out of the house to ride their bikes. As you can see, they had a lot of fun zooming around the neighborhood.

Michah not sure what to make of Spring

Mathew's a little rusty at riding his bike.

But, he got back on and rode away.

Meghan riding her bike.

First flowers of spring.

Happy Birthday to me!

2008-04-01T20:37:00.001-05:00

Today is my birthday! Hard to belive another year has rolled around. The kids couldn't wait to open the gifts they gave me. They just don't quite understand that they are supposed to watch me open the presents they gave me. Anyway, they had a lot of fun. As always, there were a couple of gag gifts. Mathew gave me a picture book then claimed it as his own.