{Lifestyle Portraiture} Mary's Wholesome Living Cooking Class | Chicago Lifestyle Photographer

I have had the pleasure of photographing Mary's classes before (see here for an earlier post). Not only is she an awesome cook but is also a great teacher. Last time I photographed Mary, it was in a small group class. This time, she was speaking and demonstrating her famous and fabulous Ginger Beer at the Chicago Green festival - in front of a huge crowd! - And Mary was just as awesome. She rocked the class - with her mike in one ear and talking through every step of the process. She even walked around the audience and took questions while multi-tasking and making the Ginger Beer. The best part of it all - she had samples for everyone and also had some half-pints of wholesome goodness for sale at the fest.

Mary, it was so wonderful photographing your class - you are such a pro - be it with a group of 3 or a crowd of 50! - Enjoy your sneak peek!

More information on Mary and her other classes can be found at Mary's Wholesome Living.

There was a long line of folks waiting to sample her Ginger Beer!

And it was absolutely delicious!!

{Personal Expressions} Life comes full circle on a Thursday | Naperville Lifestyle Photographer

Do you have fond memories of Kindergarden and Elementary school? Do you have pictures from that time in your life that you look back upon and smile at how much fun you had and the friends you played with? I dont! :)

I don't have fond memories of my Kindergarden and Elementary years. You see, I was somewhat of a loner with very few friends until I met my "gang" in 3rd grade. After that, life was good!! But before that I was miserable. I hated going to school. The reason why I hated it was because I had to eat lunch alone at school. My school had a policy where parents could bring lunch to school daily and eat with their kids or the kids that lived close by, could go home for lunch. So the few friends that I did have either had their moms come with their lunch or lived close enough to walk home. But I had neither. My mom used to work during the day so she could not come and bring me lunch. For a 5-6 year old, those were lonely times! But Thursdays were special - on that day, mom had half the day off so she would rush home, pack lunch and come spend time with me in school.

Mom and I looked forward to that day all week. Thursday was our special day - our time together - our time to hang out with each other at school. I was not alone on Thursdays!

Today was a very special day for me because I got my "Thursday" with my kid. Her school had a picnic day where parents could bring and have lunch with their kids. I must say, I have been looking forward to this day ALL week. I planned the menu, packed the basket and waited till lunch time so that I could drive to school and have Thursday lunch with my baby!

The day could not have been more perfect. The sun was shining and I found a shady spot under a beautiful tree and waited for her. I absolutely loved seeing the smile on her face as she walked out.

I know now how my mom must have felt all those Thursdays so many years ago. She too must have felt the same way as I did today eating lunch with my baby at school! Mom, if you are reading this - those Thursdays were among the BEST days of my life :)

{Lifestyle Portraiture} Sneak Peek - Nature loving family | Sugar Grove Family Photographer

A beautiful family session in the woods - climbing fallen tree branches, picking wild flowers, gathering sticks and stones, looking for fairies and elves, jumping in rain puddles and mud puddles!!! - these kids sure know how to have fun in nature and their parents let them! - how cool is that!

Thanks D family for a beautiful session out in nature! - enjoy your sneak peek :)

These girls sure know how to explore! - look at the size of that bark they found!

This little guy was not far behind. He kept picking up sticks and stones and kept giving them to his mom and dad :)

Did you ever think jumping in water puddles could be so much fun! :) - love their expressions - pure joy! :)

Another keeper from the last few minutes of the session - I love the rainboots, the raincoats and not to miss, the flowers that were picked out for mom!...how adorable!

{Lifestyle Portraiture} Sneak Peek - Family bonding through play and laughter | Naperville Family Photographer

I truly believe that a family that plays and laughs together, stays together. My weekend session with the S and W family was just that. It was such a blast because everyone got into the spirit of fun and games and pure enjoyment of each other's company.

During the course of our conversation, I was told that the family hasn't been together in a LONG time! - I knew I wanted to focus the session on the emotions and connections this family had with each other. And I was not disappointed. In fact they totally rocked the session!

Thank you to the S and W family for welcoming me into your home and giving me a glimpse of the special bond that is family! - Enjoy your sneak peek!

How cute is this - grandson pushing grandad on the swing!

Beautiful couple - inside and out!

This was a setup for a '60s Bollywood scene of a hero and heroine running around the tree :) - Little man S made a dash to be in the picture with his grandparents! - SO CUTE :)

Don't these two look like newlyweds! - There was a lot of teasing and bantering going on in the background but these two just fit like two peas in a pod!

Look at the kids all grown-up!

My favorite - To me, this picture just captures everything about this family - FUN! - I did not have to tell them twice for a silly face. In fact, I am sure I did not quite finish my statement and they were all ready with their pose :) - You know what I love the most - look at grandma's face - calm and composed - like this is normal in her family!...LOL

{Lifestyle Portraiture} Sneak Peek - Many faces of baby | Geneva Family Photographer

I met the J family at one of my favorite outdoor locations for a quick family photoshoot. Within a short period of time, little man R showed me so many faces - his moods matched his face and body language.

He was very alert and observant for an almost-5 month old. His eyes followed his mom and dad everywhere they went. Sometimes he would look towards me as if to say "Quit distracting me with that black thing in my face, can't you see I am focusing on my parents. They love me, you know! :)"

But how could I resist taking pictures of those gorgeous BLUE eyes!...sigh! - I could stare at them forever ;)

An adorable family picture and you can see he is loving the attention from BOTH mom and dad! He was not very happy with me trying to get his attention!

I love this one! - he was ANGRY and not happy with me at all. His whole body was stiff and his face was RED :) - poor baby! - we ended the session promptly after this face. How could you not!!!

J family, thanks for coming out early on a weekend and enjoy your sneak peek!

{Travel Log} Chasing waterfalls in North Carolina | North Carolina Outdoor Travel

Have you ever had a vacation where you come back home and think to yourself, "I wish I had done more of that" - could be a place you visited briefly, an activity that you did that left you wanting more or even a food that you relished so much that you want to eat it every day. Basically, an experience that was so fantastic that you wish you would relive it every moment of every day!

Well, let me tell you what has now become one of my most favorite activities - Chasing waterfalls! - and I mean that in its literal meaning. I LOVE WATERFALLS.

There is something so magical about hiking up to a waterfall, walking under it and even driving your car through it. The strength and beauty of a cascading waterfall is awe inspiring. In spite of the sheer force of the water tumbling down great heights, there is a sense of calm that you get from just staring at the water flowing down. The mist falling on your face cools and soothes you. All your problems momentarily disappear - almost being washed away by the water.

Did you know that the Cherokee Indians had a ritual of "going to the water" to wash off all their sins ?

On a recent trip to the Carolinas (see an earlier post about hiking the appalachian trail), we spent a whole day visiting waterfalls. Some we drove to, others we hiked down steep, treacherous inclines to get to and yet some we passed by while driving curvy mountain roads. But each glimpse that we got of the cascading water, we were left in awe of its wonders.

Thank you mother nature for a "natural" and "free" car wash! :)

This one was called "Dry falls" - can you guess why? Look closely and you will see the walkway behind the falls. You can actually walk under the fall and even though the water above you is so fast flowing, you are absolutely dry!

This one was completely off the beaten path. We hiked about 1 mile into a national forest and followed this cascading waterfall all the way to a base pool - another mile into the forest + about 1000 feet down! - it was so magical and there was not a soul around to witness this miracle (except us, of course)!

We drove through some very windy mountain roads and imagine our suprise when we saw a huge waterfall as we reached a bend. It seems to go on for miles and miles and dropped into a steep gorge.

The kids love the "left-and-right" falls (as they called it). The hike down was steep and we only had a rope to support us but the view was incredible. We could not decide which was more beautiful, the one on the left or the one on the right!

Did you know NC has the highest waterfall east of the rockies?

Perhaps some of this waterfall obsession came from the one in our own backyard. Our home away from home was a mountain home that has its own waterfall on the property! - we walked to it every day!

Feel free to contact us if these pictures motivate you to go chase waterfalls too :) - the experience will be well worth the effort. We will be happy to put together a custom travel package for an awesome experience.