"the most exciting two minutes" | a wedding video short

The Kentucky Derby is thought of by many as the "most exciting two minutes in sports." And that might very well be the case judging by the crowd of friends and family at one unique wedding-day/race-day May 4 watch party, derby hats and all (watch it in HD, full-screen to see their expressions).

Congrats to Orb, and an even bigger congrats to the newlyweds, Dave & Denise!

The Big Surprise | Big Daddy's in Soulard

Meghan, with the help of friends and family, recently threw a surprise party in St. Louis for her husband and new pharmacy school graduate, Mike. This is how it all went down at Big Daddy's in Soulard!

have your cake.

Maybe next year you'll eat it, too. Baby P gave it a shot. Maybe this whole birthday celebration thing just isn't for her. Maybe she's got more of Uncle Ben's blood in her than previously thought. :)

Wait! Here are a few more pictures from Peyton's first birthday party:


The sunset shot was not edited in Photoshop, Lightroom or anything else.

happy birthday, maddie!

It's been a while since we have gone to a surprise party. That streak ended this weekend with Maddie's 17th birthday celebration, where we got the opp to set up shop for Maddie 'n' friends and go to work behind the camera. Here are just a few of our favorites from Friday night (more on Becca's Facebook):

Meet Dominic!

We were honored to spend the day with Dominic to celebrate the Big-Oh-Three! He is such a sweet and loving little guy and we had such a good time (I even braved the penguin-themed party to hang with the Dominator). Dominic had a stroke in utero and consquently suffered brain damage to the basal ganglia, affecting his ability to suck or swallow. To learn more about Dominic and the mission his parents are on to give him the best life possible, visit: http://www.specialneedsconnections.com/

Matt and Hilary said it best with, "Dominic is our life; he is what makes our life complete... Blessings come in all shapes and sizes and our son is the best blessing that we could ever ask for."

the party's not over just yet

So grad season is nearing its 2009 farewell. I, for one, thought it was already over, but apparently not -- at least not as of yesterday, as the St. Charles Family Arena was spinning Francis Howell school district grads through left and right. Word has it there were three ceremonies basically back-to-back-to-back (baseball commentators use that term freely, which gives me the right, but is it actually physically possible and does it make sense?). Anyway, that leads us to today's post, a selection of photos from the amazing dinner party we went to yesterday evening at a friend's house 20 minutes down the road (basically on the way to the college), in honor of Meghan, a Francis Howell grad, and Kelsea, a Peachtree Ridge grad.

No details on the camera settings other than the lenses we used: the handy 17-70 Sigma f/2.8-4.5 (which actually has been having some issues lately not maintaining a sharp focus [a problem for the camera shop, not a psychologist]) and the trusty Canon 70-200 f/4L.

St. Pat's in Kansas City's Power and 'Lite'

"D'ya think we'll regret this, laddy?" was the question I had to assume was going through the minds of a few thousand folks the other day... For me, I feel like I got sort of lucky this St. Pat's Day, as I found myself plopped right in the middle of them in Kansas City, Mo., and at the center of an insane "Green Day" party (and I'm not talking about Billy Joe), a perfect photo op. Who knew Missouri had it in her to celebrate one of the most random holidays like the Mardi Gras'ers down south and the Chicago'ns up north? Quite the group of people, as evidenced in the 70 shots I'm sharing... From solo acts to super groups, Kansas City's Power and Light District was packed with people on Tuesday all day (when do they work?). It was a huge change from just the evening before, when practically every restaurant there was empty or closed (despite a strange claim somewhere that the PLD is buzzing all 24 hours)...







WAIT!... I promised 70 photos, and I'm sticking to it. In the interest of space and for the sake of un-neglect, you can see the rest on our Journeys page. Click here for the other 50 or so shots.