Archive for the ‘travel’ Category

chicago family vacation photojournalism | christening in harbor springs.

Sunday, October 30th, 2011

If you follow our blog then you probably already recognize this awesome family whose birth story I captured earlier this year.  I had so much fun working with this bunch, you can imagine my delight when they asked if I’d be free to come document Sloane’s christening in Harbor Springs, Michigan.  After discussing their goals for the event, we decided to make a whole weekend out of it and capture the full story from start to end.  We started out on day 1 with a beautiful cocktail cruise around the lake on The Pointer, a small but sturdy boat whose history goes way back with the town of Harbor Springs.  Then, we all got together again on day 2 for the actual christening, which took place on the beachy shores of Lake Michigan at Sloane’s grandparents’ house (did you know that Sloanie will be the fifth generation of her family to be going to Harbor Springs for their summer tradition?!).  They finished up with a nice family dinner on the porch and finally, on day three we hung out for a bit in the morning.. they showed me around town one last time and we took their water-loving-bursting-with-energy-loveable-silly-lab pups to the beach before I headed back home.  Sadly Vasili got sick right before the weekend and had to forgo the trip, but I actually found it quite fun and almost my own little adventure to make the 5 hour trek up to the northern part of Michigan and explore the town by myself (I’ll be sure to share some of my own personal photos I took around town on another day).

Anyway, here’s but a few of my fave moments from the weekend.  Thank you so much Sloane, as well as her dearest family and friends for inviting me out to capture such a special weekend of yours.  Thank you even more for your great hospitality and kindness, and for introducing me to the world’s most amazing cookies *drool* (again, will save those stories for another time!) xoxo

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chicago lifestyle photographers | the summer of everything

Wednesday, August 31st, 2011

The last few months have been so insanely busy for us that I woke up today and realized that summer is almost officially over *sigh*  This has been both an amazing and incredibly difficult year for us as we’ve experienced an enormous deal growth and change and also pushed through hard times in both our personal and professional lives.  So far this summer we’ve photographed 18 newborn babies; a Day in the Life Of session; 3 engagements; 1 birth; 5 weddings; 9 family sessions; 6 maternity; 1 boudoir; traveled to Michigan, Virginia & San Francisco; celebrated World Breastfeeding Awareness Month; photographed a church baptism and christening in Lake Michigan and somehow enjoyed life with friends & family in between (well, somewhat lol).   Yep, we’re totally insane but I wouldn’t have it any other way :)  And no worries for those of you who have missed the regular smiling baby or loving family on our blog as I promise I’ll be returning to my regular blogging over the coming months as we have a lot of exciting changes, growth and announcements to share with you.  Also expect to see a little more of who we, Vasili & Suzy, are as my goal is to do more sharing of our own personal lives and daily life experiences.

Anyway here’s a little peek into our summer of everything (and certainly not all of it!).  Hoping everyone had an equally amazing summer, and with that I anxiously say good bye to the season and onto the next which is my absolute favorite of all – fall.

NOTE: Speaking of moving into the next season, if you’re interested in having us photograph your love this fall or holiday season please contact us asap to make sure we’re able to fit your family in as we’ll be reducing the number of sessions we take on each month.  Although it’s been a ridiculously fun and wonderful last few months, it’s made me realize the importance of limiting our schedules so that we have enough time to still give back to ourselves and to our clients the way we believe we should.

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chicago lifestyle photographer | my 26th birthday on film

Tuesday, August 16th, 2011

A couple weeks ago I turned 26 and officially became closer to 30 than 20 (of which I say in a positive context as I whole heartedly believe my 30′s will be the best years of my life).  When I was younger I remember birthdays being a day to celebrate and get lots of gifts – to feel special and important.  I find that as I grow older birthdays now have become a day to relax and escape ‘real life,’ to reflect about the blessings I have or the things I’ve achieved since the year before.  For my 26th birthday I was really hoping to do just that and escape the grind of work and spend time with loved ones.  Not only did my birthday wish come true but I got so much more as one of my best friends surprised me with a trip to San Francisco for the weekend!  So me and my friends packed up our bags and spent the weekend away. We did all sorts of things like visit the house in the opening credits of my favorite childhood show, “Full House;” we went to the Fisherman’s wharf for clam chowder every day; and we did olive oil tastings in Napa Valley and drove aimlessly through the hillside together..  I took all of my vacay photos with my film camera and just got the scans back now – how fun it is to look back and already reminisce on so many good times during those 3 days.  And the one that I’m most proud of all – that of the Golden Gate bridge.  I almost thought that I wasn’t going to get a photo of the classic landmark since the day we planned to visit the bridge was both our last day in SF and a big fog cloud decided to roll through the area.  The fog was so intense you couldn’t even see any of the bridge from far away (which apparently is the norm in SF).  After we had dinner and I’d thrown away all hope of capturing it, we noticed the sky had cleared up so we drove by to take a peek.  Unfortunately in the midst of our trek there, we missed our exit and in a wave of panic I made Kevin pull over.  I jumped out of the car on the side of the highway, hopped the fence to the viewing point and took my picture right as the sun was disappearing over the horizon :) (when I want something bad enough I’m very determined ha!)

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chicago photojournalists & lifestyle photographers | carefree.

Tuesday, July 26th, 2011

So I’ve decided to start working with film more in my personal life and projects… partly because it reminds me of my childhood memories & pictures and partly because it makes me feel so much more connected to my photography (though don’t get me wrong, I love my digital work too for so many wonderful reasons!).  Vasili and I dropped off a whole load of film rolls to Richard Photo Lab recently to be developed and spent an hour or so last night downloading all of the image scans online.  I can’t even describe how special of a feeling it is to go through all of these images we took and the surprise that each holds within it, particularly those that we took while on vacation in the Bahamas this past February.  Remembering the place that we got breakfast at every day and the delicious coffee they served on the aqua tabletops we sat at… the little alley way that led us to a remote spot on the beach we would walk along as a shortcut to our hotel every time we left… and the four miles Vasili trekked with me along the coast so that we could take pictures at sunset of the ocean and each other  :)  I love all forms of photography and on all mediums – but I think that there will always be something so nostalgic and magical about film.

* If you have a session planned with Simply by Suzy and are interested in having us shoot your love in film, let us know so we can give you special pricing & information on this *

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favorite moment | chicago wedding photographer

Friday, August 6th, 2010

I was finishing editing all of my photos from Ireland and came across this sequence of when the bride was opening a gift that her husband-to-be gave her (though I wish she had been a little more excited about getting such a gorgeous pair of diamond earrings *wink* :o ).  Anyway, it made me smile and I wanted to share since we all know that happiness is contagious.

Oh and I also find it hilarious that this was happening at the same time…

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