Ski Hi Fruit Farm in Baraboo

Autumn means apples in Wisconsin, and for me that means stopping in at Ski Hi Fruit Farm after rock climbing at Devil's Lake. Two minutes west of the Park, on a high hill overlooking the Baraboo valley and range, Ski Hi is a pretty nice place for an apple farm. The property has been an apple orchard since 1907, when Arthur Kamp Bassett mowed down the forest and planted apple trees in the stump holes. Though you can't pick your own fruit at Ski High, the store/warehouse has a classic, rural Wisconsin feel to it. Choose your apples beneath the watchful gaze of mounted deer, pay the cashier who lives down the road. No frills, no tourist trap crap, lots of love.

Chris & Blain - A Wedding in Madison, Wisconsin

Our wedding was pretty small (I think we had 40 guests?), but Chris and Blain's was even smaller. A close-friends-and-family affair, low on frills but high on class. Chris got her hair done downtown, met up with her girls and me at the Concourse Hotel off the Square, then we beat feet over to her mom's house on Lake Monona for a beautiful lakeside ceremony. Dinner at the Great Dane's wonderful patio, then cake inside when a surprise shower called for a shift in plans. The newlyweds both looked incredible... lucky them and lucky me.

A Good Thanksgiving

With the holiday season upon us, many families are scrolling through their 2012 photographs, looking for that one image that will faithfully represent their clan in the annual holiday card. If you can't find one, however, it's not the end of the world... you can always MAKE one. Just got everybody gussied up (or at least mostly dressed), set the timer, and take some pictures. If you aren't happy with the results, then bring me in to help... that's what these guys did.

Shooting formal portraits with young children always feels so crazy, like we are asking for the very last thing they would ever do of their own volition. I can hear them thinking, "Why on earth are we standing still, looking at that dude? This is boring." I sympathize, kids. I would rather roll on the floor with you, chase you around, and let you throw things at me. But occasionally, we need a family portrait to document to remind all our friends who we are, since we haven't seen them in years. You will understand one day, I promise.

I must take a moment to thank Dad for his heroism during the shoot. After his son accidentally threw his prized football off the bridge and into the river, Dad punched his hero card by running down the ball, wading INTO the river, and retrieving the ball, completely saving the day. And then he proceeded to pose and smile for another 30 minutes in wet shoes and socks on a sunny but brisk November day. Admirable.

Fall Family Portraits in Stoughton with Three Generations

When you've been married for forty years, you deserve a photo shoot with all the trouble you've created over the years. This clan gathered in beautiful Stoughton for a pre-Packer family portrait session on a quintessential October day, an anniversary gift from their kids, Bill and Leslie. Peggy and Bill Sr. presided over the family admirably, deftly juggling five grandkids while managing photo requests and looking dapper all the while. I had a ton of fun with the kids, who were all incredibly sweet to me, whether they liked the camera pointed at them or not (and some definitely did not). Thanks to the whole crew for your hospitality, cooperation, and light-heartedness... I think we made some great images together. Happy anniversary!

Claire at One

I had the honor of photographing Claire last year as a newborn in her parents' fabulous, dark cluttered attic, one of my favorite shoots of the year. Abbey was hoping to capture the beauty of the season this year, so we drove south of Madison to find fall color and rural landscape to enjoy. Drought brought autumn foliage early to Dane County, but fortunately we have been blessed with a nice, long visit and there are some gorgeous reds and oranges out there complementing the corn stalks and crisp blue skies.

Thanks to Claire, Abbey, and Connor for a wonderful evening enjoying autumn and some quintessential evening light. Those ten minutes of evening glow are worth waiting the entire day for.

New Digs, New Dog

It's pretty exciting to find a home that fits you just right, and Karen and Adam found their place last year after a long search. They followed up their move-in with a new addition to the family, an adorable, regal Bassett hound named Fannie, who pulls off some downright wilting looks with the grace of a queen. We hung out at the homestead for while while Fannie held court, then dashed off to a few local parks to catch the evening light.

Karen, whose sense of style far surpasses mine, loved the black and white images from the shoot and is evolving a gallery of them for a long hallway in her house. I thought I'd do a post in black and white only, in honor of our shared love of simple, classic monotone presentation.

Sisters

Tessa was a new addition since last time I shot with this crew, so she really should have been the star of the show... but it's pretty tough to compete with her scene-stealing sisters. With matching green dresses from grandma, we stormed the front porch, the backyard, the sidewalk, and the park across the street, managing to somehow keep the girls from getting bored along the way. Moira constantly impresses me with her defiant depth of character, her ability to go from playful to dead serious in seconds, exactly when the camera happens to approach her direction. But she can't keep it up ALL the time (thank goodness) and I love the challenge. Celia, on the other hand, is one of those kids who just LOVES to mug for the camera, and she smiles so big it shuts her eyes half the time - which is adorable. Looking forward to the next time I get to see all the girls again, though I'm guessing I won't be able to keep up with them anymore.

George, Two Weeks Old

Maya and I took Sebastian down to see Jon and Ann on Sunday, knowing we would get to meet their new little boy. The mystery man-of-the-hour turned out to be George Basil, a quiet, curious little guy who was constantly half-awake and quite easy to get on with. George has awesome hair - all those wonderful natural oils make him look like he just stepped out of a salon - and some gorgeous peepers, clearly a product of a top-shelf gene pool.

We passed the time hanging out lakeside, feeding the bluegills bread crumbs, frog-hunting, and discussing baby stories, until rain drove us inside for the evening. Thanks to the new parents for their gracious hospitality, which included ice cream, chocolate, and Jim Beam. A nice way to end a Sunday.

Door County

There is no better way to suffer through a Wisconsin heat wave than to head straight to Door County. It's hot there too, but not quite as bad, and the water is never very far away. My folks used to bring us camping at Peninsula State Park every summer when I was a kid, and good memories are around every corner. I distinctly remember learning how to hoot like a Great Horned Owl while on a night hike with my dad... eating Wilson's ice cream while watching the parasailers glide back and forth in Ephraim... and not getting a rainbow unicorn lollipop, no matter how many time we asked for one, from the sweets shop in Fish Creek.

We met up with my friend, Lillie, and her kids on Saturday and hit the beach with the crew. I've never seen Sebastian be gentle or cuddly with any of his peers, but the second he sat down next to Anna, his arm was around her and didn't want to leave. I love how serious the gang looks above at left - like angsty, depressed teenagers - and in a flash, it's back to cuteness.

Solstice at the Observatory

The long days of summer create such great opportunities to have a reasonable adventure after a full work day, and we've been doing our best to take advantage lately. To celebrate the looooooongest day of the year, we drove up to Washburn Observatory on campus for a solstice picnic. The views from the Observatory are not particularly photographic, but it's nice to just sit on a high hill and watch the boats skim across the water. And when you're with a 1-year old, you have plenty to photograph already.