kendra elizabeth photography

***New Blog

2009-12-01T01:04:00.004-06:00

Hi fellow blog readers!

I have fun news for you!! I have a new blog that is exponentially cooler than this one! It looks awesome, so go check it out! That is where I will be posting all my new work from now on!

http://kendraelizabethphotography.com/blog/

Grad Invites

2009-11-12T20:42:00.001-06:00

Chels & Ang are step-sisters and did some together so they can send out a graduation party invite. These two were my favorite of the two of them! Thanks girls, I had so much fun taking your pictures :)

Ang's Senior Pictures

2009-11-12T20:34:00.004-06:00

Ang is graduating from Maple Grove Senior High this year. We had a great time taking her pictures! Right next door to her house was this great farm that we used to take a lot of her pictures!

Chelsie Senior Pictures

2009-11-12T20:28:00.003-06:00

Chelsie is a girl that is near and dear to my heart. We grew up in the same youth group and we just always got along so well! I was excited when she asked me to take her senior pictures!

Carroll Family

2009-11-12T20:19:00.004-06:00

I had so much fun taking these family pictures! We went to Pine Tree Apple Orchard in White Bear and it was the most perfect fall day outside. (Probably the last one we'll have :( But Carrie work in the Admissions Office at Augsburg with me and it was so great to see her whole family!
Here's the Christmas Card!

Family

2009-10-26T21:26:00.002-05:00

I had so much fun with this family! It's totally different doing a family session for all adults rather than a family of kids! I was surprised at how much easier it was :)

I worked with Travis (the boy on the right) in the admissions office at Augsburg College this summer! I'm so grateful that he recommended me on to take his family pictures! Thanks, Trav!
And she said she wasn't photogenic...I love this photo!

This is what I like to call the "Post- Haayyy" moment. If you have ever had me take your pictures before, you know exactly what I'm talking about. If you haven't, well you have to book a photo session to find out this little inside joke :)

Baby Dominic

2009-10-26T18:15:00.004-05:00

Remember this couple from my Hawaii wedding in January....well they had a baby!! Let me introduce you to Baby Dominic! Isn't he precious!

Congratulations on your beautiful little boy! He is perfect!

350.org

2009-10-25T22:01:00.003-05:00

Augsburg participated in the International Day of Climate Action on October 24th. I was there to document some of the day. Below you will find more about exactly what 350 means...

This info is taken from 350.org and will describe a little more about what this all means.

And what does this 350 number even mean?

350 is the number that leading scientists say is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide—measured in "Parts Per Million" in our atmosphere. 350 PPM—it's the number humanity needs to get back to as soon as possible to avoid runaway climate change.
If we're already past 350, are we all doomed?

No. We're like the patient that goes to the doctor and learns he's overweight, or his cholesterol is too high. He doesn't die immediately—but until he changes his lifestyle and gets back down to the safe zone, he's at more risk for heart attack or stroke. The planet is in its danger zone because we've poured too much carbon into the atmosphere, and we're starting to see signs of real trouble: melting ice caps, rapidly spreading drought. We need to scramble back as quickly as we can to safety.

{Enjoy} Part 2

2009-10-24T02:54:00.004-05:00

Here's a few more pictures from the workshop I went to on Wednesday. Check them out and let me know what you think!

Here's Erin, the fearless leader, in action!

This is what you call paparazzi...

{Enjoy} Part 1

2009-10-22T00:10:00.006-05:00

I went to this awesome workshop today hosted by the amazing, Erin Johnson of Erin Johnson Photography. It was incredible and I learned so much. I'll post tomorrow on everything I learned, but I thought I'd show a few images from the shoot today... Thanks for Kara & Bryant for being our models.

More images to come, so stay tuned!

Chelsea & Phil - Engaged

2009-10-19T21:19:00.004-05:00

I got to hang out with Chelsea & Phil yesterday and take their engagement pictures! We had so much fun! We were at The College of St. Catherines in St. Paul and it was gorgeous there! We lucked out with some pretty amazing weather!

Phil & Chelsea...I had a blast with you two. I love the way that you can make each other laugh. You two are great together! I hope you love your pictures :)

Braden - 4 months

2009-10-19T17:10:00.006-05:00

Braden is 4 months old now! He is growing so fast. It's such an honor to be able to capture a child as they grow. I did Braden's newborn pictures a few days after he was born, and it's so fun to see how much he has grown since then!

My favorite of the day! What a little stud :)

2009-10-12T23:49:00.002-05:00

I was organizing & uploading a bunch of pictures I have recently taken and just have to show you all this cute little family! I mean get real, how much fun do they look!!

Ali & I were up in Duluth a few weekends ago to shoot a wedding, and we got to do some fun family sessions with some great frineds, and I just stumbled across these. Check out her pictures of the shoot at www.alisonleaphotography.com/blog.

How cute are these girls' outfits!! I just love the little hats!
And check out how fun their parents are!!
What a beautiful family they have! Just thought I'd show a few pictures. Check out Ali's blog for the whole session!

Fall = Controlled Chaos

2009-10-11T22:57:00.004-05:00

Life is officially chaotic again. School has started, and it's my last year so everything is a little crazy right now! I will be graduating in May with a degree in Biopsychology. Pretty exciting.

Other that that I have shot 8 weddings since September 1st, been in school, and have been trying to enjoy fall. So that is the explanation as to why my blog has been super slow lately. Please forgive me...

I recently took a trip to San Francisco. Here are a few pictures from that!

My brother & I. He is my favorite :)

We biked across the Golden Gate Bridge which was one of the most remarkable experiences of my life. Minus the fact that Cameron & I thought it would be fun to rent a tandem bike instead of two individual bikes....Terrible idea with two grown people. But I guess I can check "riding a tandem bike" off my life to-do list.
San Francisco Giants stadium!

I was in love with all of the entrances to doors, and all the incredibly cool designs. All of these pictures in the collection below are actually a new series I am doing for my watercolor painting class.

And here's the whole gang. My dad, Cameron (bro), me, Cherie (aunt), and my momma. It was a great 2 days and we had lots of fun!

Kelsey's Senior Pictures

2009-09-29T01:27:00.002-05:00

I LOVE this picture... I think it's absolutely beautiful!!!

Kelsey is a senior at Minnetonka HS and is planning on going into physical therapy. She is a beautiful person both inside and out and I think she will do so great with whatever she does!!

Stay Tuned...Rockin' things to come!

2009-09-23T01:08:00.004-05:00

I have lots of really incredible new things happening!! So stay tuned for some fun things that will change shortly. To start it all....I got a new logo. It is displayed on the picture below.

A good friend I use to work with at Trout Lake Camp, Angela Norvitch, did all my design work for me. She is incredible, and I love the final result. So this is a sneak peak at it all...but check back, because soon there will be a brand new blog...so fancy and awesome. And come ask me for a business card soon, because I have orange ones now, and they are so stinkin cute!!! Yes, orange is my favorite color :)

Fall is here!!

2009-09-21T00:17:00.005-05:00

I was at Minnehaha Falls today, and it's official, FALL IS HERE! Autumn is totally my favorite season. I love the colors, the smell in the air, the chill that sets in and allows me to I wear sweatshirts again. It's simply perfect.

I had a wedding in Wisconsin this weekend, and fall was in full force in Dresser, WI. Colors were changed on most of the trees. I LOVE fall weddings. They are perfection. By far my favorite season to shoot!

Enjoy your fall season! I can't wait for all the trees to change, and the colors to pop brilliantly. And of course, my favorite fall activity...the apple orchard!!

Ron & Elayne 9.12.09

2009-09-20T19:34:00.009-05:00

Ron & Elayne were married in Charlotte, North Carolina on September 12th. Throughout the whole wedding they kept emphasizing the fact that God is a God of second chances. They both had tradegies occur in their lives, and after that, were renewed by God's grace and mercy and were brought together by mutual friends. It was an incredible story be a part of.

"The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning." {Lamentations 3:22-23}

I LOVE some good deatils for weddings. As you can tell in this wedding, they had some pretty great details.

The wedding party was made up of Ron & Elayne's children, and Ron's brother. It was a great wedding to be at. They both have such great, loving families, and it was great to be a part of their day.

2009-08-22T23:13:00.003-05:00

I shot a wedding today with one of my great friends, Tony Wallin. We had a lot of fun shooting together!!

The wedding was in West St. Paul. And here is a picture of the stunning bride, Tiffany!! And my other favorite image of the day is this little ringbearer. His name was Ryder and he was so fun! He loved taking pictures. So he would sit on my lap, and I'd hold my camera for him, and he would click the shutter. He was adorable. I caught him in this moment at the reception!! So cute :)

Baby Gray on the Way...

2009-08-17T23:08:00.006-05:00

It's a boy!! Bri & Brian are expecting their first child around the end of October! They are both so excited!

Bri & Brian - can't wait to meet the little Mr. Gray!!

Robyn & Carl Wedding - 8.15.09

2009-08-17T21:59:00.006-05:00

**Beware: This is a monster-post! I usually don't post this many pictures, but this wedding was AWESOME!!

It was a little over a year ago when I was sitting at a friend's softball game in Maple Grove. I turned around, and saw Robyn, who was a long-time friend from church. I went over and talked to her and she excitedly said "Do you see that boy playing 1st base... I kinda have a thing for him." I responded with something like..."go for it, girl." She said she was really nervous, but she thought they were going to hang out soon....

And as time flies, I found myself with the great opportunity to photograph their wedding. Robyn & Carl went to high school together, lost contact for a while after that, and then were placed on the same rec-league softball team together, and the rest is history!
Let me tell you...this girl knows how to plan a wedding!!! They had both their ceremony and reception at Edinburgh USA. This was one of the best weddings I have ever been too! Every guest there had such a great time, and Edinburgh needed a bigger dance floor for everyone who wanted to dance!
Carl is a big golfer. For their first date, Carl took Robyn golfing. Robyn will tell you that she mostly just drove the golf cart, but nonetheless, we found it fitting to take some golfing pictures on the wedding day.

I am a lover of all things detail at a wedding. Flowers, favors, colors...gosh, there's just something about them. My heart melted when I walked into the reception...check out all these details! LOVE!

The following is evidence of the BEST father/daughter dance I have ever seen! So fun to watch!

Robyn and Carl - I hope you have a fabulous time in Mexico! I hope you can find some wi-fi there to check this :) It was so fun to be able to watch your relationship grow and then to be able to have the opportunity to photograph your wedding! It was such a great wedding to be a part of!

Sneak Peek!!

2009-08-17T01:42:00.005-05:00

Here's a peek to your photos before you leave for Mexico tomorrow!!

Stay tuned!! There's a mega-post coming your way from this wedding! It was incredible :)

Emily's Senior Pictures

2009-08-11T23:16:00.003-05:00

I love taking senior pictures! I think it's so neat to completely depict an individual's personality within their senior pictures. For some people, a farm where they grew up is where they want. Others want them done in a park. Some want them at a place where they grew up, like camp or a certain special location! I just think it's so fun to get to know people at such a great time in their lives!

For Emily, we went downtown St. Paul and just walked around until we found these AWESOME locations! Emily is an incredibly upbeat, easygoing person! It was so fun to hang out with her for the evening!

I love ugly walls, buildings, sheds, trailors, etc. I will be driving with my friends and freak out when I see the coolest ugly background... nobody really gets it. But when you take an incredibly beautiful person (like Emily) and place her in front of an ugly molding wall, or alley, or garbage landing, the person just pops out! I don't know what exactly about it, but I LOVE the way it looks. Below are some good examples!!

Seriously!! Isn't she absolutely stunning!!

Emily, thanks for rockin' it out for your senior pictures and being so dang fashionable!! I had so much fun, and I hope you did too!!

Camerons Senior Pictures

2009-08-11T23:12:00.002-05:00

This is my baby brother!! I know, he's cute!! Cameron is going to be a senior in high school, and I can't even believe it!!!

My brother and I never really got along great until I moved away from home. The minute I moved away, we became great friends....weird how that works, huh? I have cherished the relationship my brother and I have established within the last few years! He is a great guy and I am proud to call him my brother!!

Cameron is thinking about going to Alexandria Techincal College for Law Enforcement! He would be a great police officer! Good luck, Cammy!

My New Favorite Picture!!

2009-08-11T23:03:00.005-05:00

I actually got to attend a wedding the other day as a guest! I know, right?? It was the weirdest feeling ever. For many of you, it would be like going to work, sitting down at your desk, but doing no work at all! It was a pretty weird feeling. I got anxious a few times thinking I was missing the kiss during the ceremony, or was not in the right place for toasts. I kindly had to remind myself that I was supposed to be relaxed at this wedding.

Although, I couldn't resist bringing my camera. So, onto my new favorite picture...
This is me, my mom, and my sister (Angelique). Yes, I know, we all look alike :) We hear it everywhere we go. But I absolutely LOVE these women. They are the two most incredible women I know! My mom is my hero. I look up to her SO much! My sister is one of the most genuine women I know, and I love her dearly. Thus, I was pretty excited that we got a great picture all together!

A few other pictures from the wedding...

2009-07-29T23:17:00.003-05:00

This is Alison, of Alison Lea Photography, and her daughter Brenna! Aren't they cute!!

Alison is a really great friend of mine, and also happens to be my boss :) I shoot weddings with her, and am also her associate photographer. Check out her website, it rocks!! www.alisonleaphotography.com Ali & I have so much fun shooting weddings together! We laugh and have so much fun with our couples!

I am so thankful to have such a great friend that is able to continuously teach me so much about photography and about the wedding business! I am blessed to be able to work with someone like Ali every weekend and have such a great time doing it! I absolutely love my job!!

Amy's Senior Pictures

2009-07-27T21:43:00.011-05:00

I went up to Trout Lake Camp last week and had the opportunity to take Amy's Senior Pictures while I was up there! Trout was such a great place to be able to take pictures because there are so many awesome locations!!

LOVE her beautiful green eyes!

Amy's going to UMD for college. She is so excited to be able to hang out with her sister up there! They will have so much fun together! Am, good luck with college!

Lydia Mae

2009-07-27T21:36:00.005-05:00

My new favorite picture!! I just love this!Lydia Mae is growing up!! She's getting so big, and the bigger she gets, the cuter she gets! Seriously, look a that face! How can you not love it?
The Benney's are really great family friends that I have known for what feels like forever!! Lydia's dad used to babysit me when I was little, so it's so fun now to see that he has this adorable little girl!

Chicago!!

2009-07-27T21:29:00.005-05:00

So it was girl's weekend in Chicago!! We had the most fabulous time! It was my first time I have been to Chicago, and let me tell you...I fell in LOVE!! The whole time I kept saying to my mom, "Yeah, I think I could live here." I just love the big city!

We stayed at Hotel Allegro... it was AMAZING!!! It was spectacular and the service was incredible! Shoutout to our awesome concierge who pointed us in all the right directions. (Thanks Mark)

My favorite shot of the whole trip!!

This is all of us girls!! From the left, my sister, Angelique, me, my neice, Mya, and my spectacular mama. We laughed a lot, ate so much delectable food, and walked till our little feet could not take it any longer. We have decided to make this girl's traveling weekend a tradition!!

My two favorite kids!!

2009-07-27T21:23:00.003-05:00

I took a week of vacation last week and went up to my absolute favorite place in the world!! I went to Trout Lake Camp for a few days to hang out with some great friends, and then went to Chicago over the weekend with my mom, sister and niece. It was a great time to get some rest and relaxation.

At Trout, I got to hang out with two of my favorite kids ever!! I was Cass & Courtney's nanny for numerous summers up at Trout. They are so special to me! Courtney is quite an athlete. She is fast, and is willing to try anything! She's a risktaker and loves to go on adventures! Cass is the most imaginative boy! We had many afternoons of jedi-fighting with our light sabers and imagining that we were going through a wild forest being attacked by animals while we were picking raspberries. They are both so fun, so we finally got a picture together while I was up there! So fun!!

Ami, Nick & Delilah

2009-07-02T01:29:00.004-05:00

Ami & I work together in the Augsburg College Admissions Office. She is an absolute joy to work with and we have a lot of fun with what we do. Ami & her boyfriend, Nick, just got Delilah in April from the Humane Society. Delilah is a pitbull with a big heart. She is absolutely adorable!

We went to Como Park to take some pictures of the three of them! We had a great time!

Braden Gregory

2009-07-02T01:22:00.007-05:00

I had my first newborn shoot the other day and it was so precious! Braden was 9 days old when I took these photographs. He was not in the happiest of moods, but I think we got some great pictures out of the deal regardless.

Braden's dad is the Men's soccer coach at Augsburg. How cute is this little onesie... He's our new "little Auggie".

Gretchen & Nate Engagement

2009-07-02T01:13:00.005-05:00

Gretchen & Nate are planning an absolutely beautiful fall wedding. They will be getting married in October. We did their e-session the other day and had a great time! They took me around St. Paul, which was great, because I have not shot there very much. This bluff looked over the entire St. Paul skyline! How beautiful is that! And then we headed down to Rice Park for some other shots.

This is their little guy, Oliver Russel, who just turned 6 months old!

How cute is he??? Ah!
Gretchen & Nate - I am so excited for October! Your wedding will be fabulous! Enjoy your pictures!

Kristen & Josh - 6.27.09

2009-07-01T22:39:00.008-05:00

Kristen and Josh were married on June 27th, and it was quite a fabulous day! They are both students at Crown College in St. Bonafacious, MN and that is where they had their ceremony and the reception was at Maple Grove Community Center.

Every once in a while I encounter a couple that truly defines the phrase "they compliment each other's so well." This could not be more true for Kristen and Josh. Their personalities compliment each other so well. They both have many of the same passions; a big one being music. They led worship during their ceremony together. It was so sweet!

They met in high school while going to youth group together. They really connected on a mission trip they took together to Belize. Since then, they have grown in their love for each other and it is so apparent to everyone that surrounds them. Their wedding day was so incredibly special. The entire day was filled with many loving friends and family that support them in their love for each other!

I have never seen a wedding party so good at jumping as these people were! We had lots of fun taking group pictures. My stomach hurt by the end we were laughing so much!

Kristen & Josh, thank you for allowing me to be part of your special day. It was truly apparent to me that the love that you two share is something special! Have fun in Mexico! Can't wait to hear about it!

2009-06-28T23:58:00.002-05:00

Sunsets inspire me. Plain and simple. There's something about them that is just such a work of art. They are truly a masterpiece. I always enjoy seeing the sunsets (and sunrises if I am ever awake for them, which is rare). But every once in a while there is one that simply takes your breath away as you look at it. I witnessed one last night.

I was driving home from a fabulous wedding and was getting really close to my house. I looked as I was driving over the bridge and saw the most miraculous sunset I have seen in a while. It was perfectly silhouetting the skyline of Minneapolis and there was something about it that was so incredible. It simply took my breath away. So i quickly whipped an illegal U-turn, found a parking spot and ran to the bridge before the sun fell under the horizon. My goodness...so worth it. Check this out.

Big week for the Shockman family...

2009-06-12T10:03:00.009-05:00

Weddings are a big event for families to have. Lots of planning, accommodating, verifying plans are in place, etc. However, those things don't even phase the Shockman family. The figured if they were already having one of their daughters getting married, why not just plan two weddings at the exact same time!

The two Shockman women each got married within 4 days of each other. Elisabeth and Emily each had their own wedding, very different from one another, but yet still so special. Elizabeth got married on June 5th and Emily got married on June 9th. SO much fun for me to be able to spend LOTS of time with the Shockman family!

Here are the two beautiful sisters on each others' wedding day.

Each of the individual weddings are posted below. Check them out!

Eliabeth & Max Wedding - 6.5.09

2009-06-12T10:02:00.009-05:00

Elizabeth and Max were married on June 5th, 2009. It was the most perfect day that they could have ever imagined. They met each other in Moscow, Russia. Max has lived in Moscow all his life, and at a young age, Elizabeth became passionate about the Russian culture, so decided to move there. And that's when it happened...the met after church one day and the rest was history.

Max proposed to Elizabeth about 4 weeks before their wedding day. They quickly planned a beautiful wedding in Elizabeth's home town. I did not meet Elizabeth until the morning of her wedding, but for some reason it felt like I had known her forever. It was so fun being able to get to know her!

They are absolutely perfect for each other. They compliment each other in so many ways and have such a true love for each other and for the Lord. It was so neat to see. They got married at their home church, Galilee Baptist, and had their reception in the backyard of Elizabeth's home. We did some pictures at Como Park because that is the only place they have been on a date in the United States, so it served a special purpose.

Sibling love :)

The wedding party was great! Elizabeth had her sister Emily, and her great friend Anne on her side. And Max had two great friends from Russia come over to the States for his wedding. Borris is his cousin, and Mark is one of his great friends. I thought it was so special that they traveled all this way for Max & Elizabeth.
My favorite image of the day :)

Elizabeth & Max, thank you for letting me capture the love you two share. Congratulations, and safe travels back to your home in Moscow!

6.9.09 Chris & Emily Wedding

2009-06-11T14:37:00.012-05:00

Emily & Chris got married on Tuesday, June 9th. It was the most intimate, unique wedding! I had so much fun having the opportunity to photograph their wedding!

I met Emily at Trout Lake Camp in Pine River, MN. We worked there for many summers together. There were many summer nights that we spent sitting in Brown House or laying under the stars dreaming about what our futures would hold. What our weddings would be like, who we would be marrying, when it would be. Emily had no idea at the time, but the love of her life would soon be introduced into her life.

Chris and Emily met through friends at church, but soon grew very close. They are absolutely perfect for each other. They make each other laugh like I have never seen a couple do before. It's so fun to see.

The wedding party was so fun to interact with. Most of them grew up together in youth group at church, so they were all very close, and we had so much fun together!!

What a special moment before the ceremony. Everybody was praying over the bride and groom. Such a sweet moment.

And... my absolute favorite picture of the day! She's absolutely STUNNING!

Emily & Chris, thank you SO much for giving me the opportunity to be a part of your special day. I can see the love you two share between each other, and I'm excited to be a part of the lives you will now share together. I hope you love the pictures as much as I do :)

My beautiful sister, Angelique

2009-05-31T09:28:00.002-05:00

While we were taking Mya's pictures, we needed to get a couple of her mom, Angelique. I love coming down to Iowa to spend weekends with my sister! We always figure out how to find the best deals while shopping, and find the best show on HGTV afterwards. We always have such a fabulous time together!

She is beautiful!!!

Mya Rae

2009-05-30T22:10:00.003-05:00

I am proud to introduce you to Mya Rae, my amazing, gorgeous, and incredible neice. She is looking to dip her toes into the modeling world, and so we went to a cute little old town name Marion, in Iowa, and had a wonderful little photo shoot.

We found all kinds of fun little spots to take pictures at! I fell in love with this yellow door the minute I saw it!

For real??? How beautiful is she!!! Seriously!

Her best friend, Lucy, came along and of course we had to get some pictures of them being their goofy old selves. We had so much fun :)

Matt & Melissa Engagement

2009-05-23T00:15:00.004-05:00

Today I took Matt & Melissa's engagement pictures at the Scupture Gardens in Minneapolis. We had such a fabulous time! We laughed a lot and it got me really excited to shoot their wedding!! Matt & Melissa met at Augsburg College and that is where they will be getting married.

Thanks so much for allowing me the opportunity to take your engagement pictures!! I had a great time and I hope you enjoy the pictures!

Baby Holker's on His Way...

2009-05-13T21:35:00.004-05:00

Connie and Greg are expecting their first child on June 27th. Connie was absolutely glowing in every possible way! It was so fun to see the excitement and anticipation in their eyes! They are going to be fabulous parents!!

Look forward to pictures of Baby Holker in June sometime! :)

Marette & Justin

2009-05-06T12:06:00.004-05:00

I had SO much fun taking pictures of Marette & Justin! We laughed the entire time!! Marette was my R.A. at Augsburg last year and ever since then I have been telling her I want to take pictures of her and Justin. So finally we got to go last week to St. Anthony Main and take some fun pictures.

Marette & Justin are so fun to be around and it's so fun to watch them interact! He makes her laugh so much and they just adore each other! So fun to see!!!

Oliver Russel

2009-05-01T21:04:00.004-05:00

So I officially did not blog once in April....gosh that's no good. I just finished up finals week and am done with school until September!!!! I can't express my excitement in words!

A little visitor came into the office today while I was working. I decided to take a few pics of the cute lil' man. Meet Oliver Russel.

It's coming....

2009-03-30T00:09:00.005-05:00

Wedding season!! The first wedding of the year back in Minnesota is on Saturday, and from there, it will be a crazy couple of months! I am so excited :) I have a lot of new information I have learned, and a few new lenses to use that will make this year so great!!

I am still shooting most of the weddings this year assisting for Alison Lea Photography. Check out her BLOG! Alison has been an incredible mentor for me! Not only has she taught me a lot about photography, but I treasure the friendship that we have also.

I shot a corporate event for Verizon Wireless last night with her....And what's a post without a picture. Here's a shot of Alison & I from the photobooth at the event. Let's just say we had some fun with the props.

Can you tell we love our job???

A stroll down the beach

2009-03-18T00:18:00.006-05:00

I love the beach! I took a stroll down the beach with Jess today and we walked most of the time in silence. It was a good time to think. It was absolutely beautiful in Wilmington, NC (minus the fact that the sun has not appeared since I have been here) But nonetheless, I feel blessed to be able to be in North Carolina and see a different part of our country. Here are a few pics of the things that inspired me on our walk today.

Little reminders....

2009-03-18T00:14:00.003-05:00

So I'm on Spring Break in North Carolina with my friend Jess right now. We went to get coffee today and there was a quote on the cup. I have seen this quote once before on a Starbuck's cup, but I forgot how much I loved it. I thought I would share it with everyone...

People need to see that,
far from being an obstacle,
the world's diversity
of languages, religions and
traditions is a great treasure,
affording us precious
opportunities to recognise
ourselves in others.
-Youssou N'Dour

MakeAWish Foundation

2009-03-07T16:15:00.003-06:00

The MakeAWish foundation is an absolutely incredible organization. For those of who you are not familiar with it, check it out www.wishmn.org. I have been very blessed to be able to photograph several of their events in the past and recently photographed a quilt project. 12 Wish Kids came to a quilt shop in Minneapolis to design the quilt above. That is a drawing of what it will look like when it's done.

Each of the kids had the opportunity to design a "star" sqare for the quilt. They got to pick what color beads they wanted to put on it and how they wanted to decorate it. This quilt will be auctioned off at the annual MakeAWish Gala in May. Such a neat idea!

Kristen & Josh: Engagement

2009-03-04T18:57:00.004-06:00

I had a blast shooting Kristen & Josh's engagement session on Sunday! We laughed a lot, enjoyed some coffee and had a great time walking around Minneapolis! I have known Kristen for a very long time! We grew up going to the same church so I'm sure we could find some pretty cute pictures of us as 6-year olds in the church musicals.

Kristen & Josh met at church during high school and have been dating ever since. I am so excited to be a part of their wedding day in June! It will be a beautiful wedding at Crown College!

Enjoy!

More from Hawaii...

2009-03-01T21:19:00.004-06:00

This is a picture-heavy post, so I won't say too much. I have had such a great time going through these pictures! Here are a couple more of my favorites from the day!

Vegas Baby,,,

2009-02-18T20:39:00.002-06:00

For the past 5 days I have been in Vegas experiencing the WPPI (Wedding & Portrait Photography International) convention at the MGM hotel. Four other photographers (3 from Minneapolis, 1 from Canada), and myself all came together, stayed in a room, went out to eat, and talked photography the entire time! It has been such a blessing to be here with them. I have learned an unbelievable amount of information about photography and how to be better, more efficient, and more confident! It has been absolutely incredible. I am so excited to get home and put all this information into play with all the weddings, engagements and portrait sessions this year!

I also broke my own rule and bought a new lens. I told myself I wasn't buying any more photography equipment until wedding season, but I just couldn't help myself. So I'm carrying home a Canon 24-70 2.8. A simply AMAZING lens! Can't wait to use it.

Watch for more Hawaii pictures by the weekend...there are more coming :)

Jeremy & Tracey - 1.18.09

2009-01-20T03:33:00.007-06:00

I write again from Hawaii. This time with a few pictures from the beautiful day. Tracey & Jeremy had their wedding on a beach right outside of Kona. They had a very small, intimate wedding with their family and friends, and then had their reception at a traditional Hawaiian luau. Here are some of the details from the day.

The wedding was absolutely beautiful. We had so much fun taking photos! Tracey & Jeremy, thanks so much for the opportunity to photograph your wedding! I could not have thought of a more perfect wedding! You two are a beautiful couple with a love for each other that shines through each of you.

There will be more posts with pictures from this wedding! I have tons of pictures to go through and I'm sure there are many more great ones! I'll leave you with one more which is my absolute favorite from the day.

Aloha from Hawaii!

2009-01-17T01:42:00.002-06:00

So Thursday morning I flew out of Minnesota and it was -24 degrees there with a windchill somewhere around -30. And I flew into paradise! Kona, Hawaii was about 82 degrees when I arrived, and I forgot just how wonderful that feels :)

This is what I woke up to this morning as I stepped onto my patio.

This is the beach where the wedding will be at on Sunday afternoon. The wedding is at 3, and then for the reception Tracey & Jeremy are having a traditional Hawaiian luau, which will be so fun! Check back for some pictures on Monday or Tuesday, I'll post a few from the wedding before I fly back to the frozen tundra. Until then, I'll enjoy the sun for all of you back in Minnesota!

Inspiration

2009-01-14T00:14:00.003-06:00

Tonight I attended this fabulous photographer's discussion group! It was great and so inspiring for me. I love meeting new people, but it's always so fun to meet other photographers! For me, it's really inspiring to talk to photographers about how they started their companies and how they run their business now. So tonight was great to be able to chat with some great people (and rockin' photographers) about this. We focused a lot of goals. I think it's really important to write goals! It can show you how far you have come, and what things you are still lacking. I recently looked back at my goals from last year, and my only goal dealing with photography last year was to be able to shoot completely in manual (control my own settings) by the end of the year, and I achieved that!!!! It's good to be able to see how I've grown in photography! So while we were talking about goals, we were asked to write goals for our own company, I came up with a few:
Short-term goals:

Shoot my first wedding by myself this weekend!!!! {I'm SOOOO excited :)}
Go to WPPI, which is a photographer's convention in Vegas in February, and soak in information and advice from some of the nation's and world's best photographers.

Goals for 2009

Challenge myself. Go to workshops, classes, and ask lots of questions. Figure out lighting, learn how to effectively use photoshop, learn the most efficient way to run things and so much more. Dive in and learn!
Shoot more. I want to be inspired by anything. To do this, I am going to just get out and shoot whatever my eye sees that day. Instead of just shooting on days that I have a scheduled shoot, go to a location and challenge myself to make something look rockin'.
Book 7 weddings next year for myself, and continue to work for the wonderful Alison Geier (www.alisonleaphotography.com)
I never want photography to become like "work" or a chore for me. So ultimately, my goal is to keep photography fun for me, and continue to do it because I love it, not because I feel like I have to. I love taking pictures, I love creating relationships with people, and I really love sharing special moments with people and being able to document them with a photograph. I want to keep that as my mindset throughout 2009.

Here's to a great year! I fly out of this frigidly cold state on Thursday morning to travel to paradise. I am photographing Jeremy & Tracey's wedding this weekend in Hawaii. It is going to be great! Check back soon for pictures from that!

How can you not love these faces?

2008-12-23T18:32:00.008-06:00

I have been at my sister's house in Cedar Rapids, IA for the past few days. Her house is more like a 2nd home to me and the reason I love it is because it is full of animals! I have no pets at home, so it's always fun to come here and play with all her animals! We had some fun taking pictures of all of them today :)

Introducing... Mr. Mortimer Snurdly Hummel
How can you not love his ugly little face???

He was not too happy when we tried to put these antlers on his head!

And next is Ms. Jinxy "Princess" Hummel a.k.a. the brat cat. She is a snuggly ball of fur and she is so spoiled around this household!

Jinxy is often found in pretty random places. She loves boxes, plastic bags, and places you woulnd't expect to find a cat. We found her in some funny places while I had my camera out.

Then, there is Brady Bear Hummel. This is my sister's 'baby'. The New England Patriots are the star team around this household, and this dog was named after the infamous Tom Brady.

And we managed to find the last animal for just one picture. This is Spooky Hummel. She likes to hide, so she is not seen very often.

Thanks Jess!

2008-12-18T21:30:00.008-06:00

This week was finals week at school! Urgh...craziness! Anyways, Wednesday afternoon I was freaking out because I was stressed with all the tests I had. SO to relieve some stress I took out my good friend Jessica and we walked around campus and took some pictures. I absolutely LOVE that photography can be a stress reliever for me!

SO this is what came out of my de-stressing session. I love these pictures! Jessica's eyes...seriously? Check them out!!!

LOVE this picture! I kept saying the word fierce while taking these pictures... But I think that's the only word I can think of to describe this picture!

School's over for the semester! I start again January 12th. In the meantime I'm looking forward to Christmas with the family and counting down until the Hawaii wedding in January! Enjoy your Holiday! Drink some cocoa, wrap up in a blanket, and relax a bit! It's that time of year :)

Auggie Ultimate

2008-12-15T01:18:00.003-06:00

So for those of you who don't know, I am a student at Augbsurg College in Minneapolis. I absolutely love it here! Throughout the past year, I have taken pictures a few times for our Ultimate Frisbee team. The guys on the team are some of my best friends, and it's always fun to take pictures of them! If you haven't ever watched Ultimate, it's a very fun sport to watch. So try to catch a glimpse of the action sometime!

Let It Snow Let It Snow*

2008-12-07T18:05:00.008-06:00

All this snow falling lately has been absolutely beautiful! Britni noticed it on Friday night and asked if we could go take some pictures of her and Tom. This is what we came up with...

Teaser

2008-12-07T01:49:00.001-06:00

There's more to come, but I had to post this picture!

The Hummel Family

2008-12-02T21:46:00.008-06:00

This is my AMAZING sister, Angelique, and her family! Aren't the awesome? I was the flower girl in Scott & Angelique's wedding, and I must add I may have been one of the cutest flower girl's ever!! :) Then to complete the family along came my niece, Mya, and my nephew, Noah. They are just the cutest family ever.

We took a few minutes on Thanksgiving day before the turkey came out of the oven to take some pictures! The boys gave us a whole 3 minutes to take all the pictures we wanted, so this is what we got! I think they are great!
Hummel family, I love you! You guys are great!

And after the family pictures were done, Mya let me use her as a model to test out some backlighting! Love the end result!

Thanksgiving

2008-11-30T17:15:00.006-06:00

Thanksgiving is by far my favorite holiday! All the food is awesome! (Mashed potatoes are my fav. food) And I love just being able to hang out with my family. This year, we had about 30 members of my family all gather at my uncle's house in Rochester! It was fabulous to be able to see everyone and just relax and catch up.

My cousin, Cherie, who flew in from California really made the weekend great! She specialized in the place settings for all the meals this weekend. So here are a few examples of what an awesome job she did!

Pretty fantastic, huh?

Right before I left for Thanksgiving I bought a new lens. A Canon 70-200, which is awesome! So i enjoyed experimenting with that all weeekend. Here are some other fun shots from the weekend...
The tradition is every year that all the cousins do a puzzle. This was by far the hardest one we have encountered yet...
The best thing about Thanksgiving is that right after you can start getting excited for Christmas!! Have a blessed Holiday season!

2008-11-20T13:11:00.004-06:00

So I haven't been posting much because the year is slowly coming to a close!! I can't even believe it. The wedding season ended on November 8th. I shot my last wedding of the year assisting for Alison Lea Photography, www.alisonleaweddings.blogspot.com. I shot 14 weddings with her this year and it was a fantastic year. Beautiful brides, fabulous details, and wonderful people. I am so blessed to be able to have the opportunity to do this! I absolutely love it!

As Thanksgiving and the Holidays approach, I am truly learning what I am thankful for. Enjoy this holiday season, treasure the families and friends that surround you, and remember the true reason of it all!

-Kendra

A few more from the workshop...

2008-11-20T13:05:00.004-06:00

Haven't posted much lately. Thought I'd let ya see a few more from the workshop!

FOCUSED Workshop

2008-11-03T15:08:00.008-06:00

This weekend I attended an absolutely amazing workshop! A friend and fellow photographer, Noemi, http://noemiphotography.com, held the workshop and she did such a great job planning it. Within 3 hours we photographed a family, a couple, and a bride and groom at three different locations! Talk about a packed day!!! But it was so worth it.

I absolutely love this sequence of pictures! This couple, AJ & Micah, have the most beautiful family! All of the photographers kept joking that they were a family straight out of a J-Crew catalog.

I'm really excited to take everything I learned from this workshop on Saturday and put it towards future work! Thanks Noemi for sharing your knowledge and experience in photography! I had a great time! p.s. If any of you are interested in participating in a workshop, check out Noemi's website. There is going to be a series of workshops that she is going to continue to host. So sign up, it's great :)

Tracey & Jeremy's Engagement Session

2008-10-08T01:29:00.007-05:00

Tracey & Jeremy are planning an absolutely wonderful wedding for January 18th in Hawaii! They currently live in West Des Moines Iowa, where Jeremy is a firefighter, so we had fun taking pictures at the fire station!

Isn't Tracey beautiful? Just look at her!

Tracey is my wonderful cousin & I soon look forward to Jeremy being part of the family! I'm very excited for their wedding in Hawaii, it will be an absolute blast!

A weekend with the family...

2008-10-04T22:19:00.003-05:00

This weekend I made my way down to Iowa. First I stopped in Des Moines to do an engagement session for Jeremy & Tracey, which will be up shortly. And then headed to Cedar Rapids to hang out with my sister and her family, and my grandpa. All these pictures were taken in Amana, Iowa and we just had a blast.
This is my neice, Mya.
My mom, my sister, and me!

We had a great Saturday with absolutely beautiful fall weather!

The Loewenstein Family

2008-09-27T20:51:00.006-05:00

The Lowenstien's are good family friends of ours that go to our church. My dad was their realtor when they moved to Minnesota from out of state. Since then, there have been some great days on the lake in their boat, and some great times & memories with them.
Tim & Candace's three kids, Preston, Peyton & Maddie are a blast to be with! They are a bunch of goofballs that are so imaginative & fun!

My Friend, The Pageant Queen...

2008-09-16T15:27:00.003-05:00

So, this is Jaimie, one of my good friends from high school. Awhile ago I heard that she was picked as one of the top finalists for the Ms. Teen Universe Pageant!!! How cool is that?? Well anyways, she needed some headshots done, so that is where I come in.

Jaim, good luck with everything! I'm sure you'll come out with some great experiences, new friendships, and many, many stories.

Ms. Lyds is growing up!!!

2008-09-11T16:14:00.005-05:00

Lydia Mae is getting so big! We took pictures at the beginning of the summer, and now, just 3 months later, it's crazy how big she has gotten!

These are what we call the "surprise eyes"
She's a giggler if you can't tell by these pictures. The whole time we were taking pictures, she would just laugh and laugh. Isn't she precious?

Jenna's Senior Pictures

2008-09-11T16:06:00.005-05:00

Jenna is another one of the wonderful people that I grew up in youth group with. My senior year of high school, Jenna & I were in a small group together! That really helped us get to know each other a lot better!

Jenna has such a kind heart & is such a wonderful young woman! Jenna, good luck with everything you do! Even if you don't know now, it will come to you, I promise! Keep smiling & trust in God, he will guide your way!

Make A Wish

2008-07-30T17:03:00.016-05:00

The Make A Wish Foundation is an absolutely incredible organization. For those of you unfamiliar, check them out at http://www.wishmn.org/. I absolutely love to volunteer my time with them because I am so blessed by these children. They are so incredible and have such amazing spirits.

These pictures are for an event that MAW does called Stories of Light. It is held at the Mall of America, in the amusement park, each year around Christmas time. It's a great way to raise money & raise awareness of the awesome things this foundation does.

Miss Lydia Mae

2008-05-27T17:48:00.012-05:00

Lydia Mae is just the cutest little thing in the world. She is such a calm baby and she's always happy.

This was just the cutest baby outfit in the world. I love the hood and the footies.

It dawned on me as I was taking these pictures that time flies by. Lydia's daddy actually used to babysit me when I was little. Aaron used to babysit my brother and I and he was always referred to as "The best babysitter in the world." Now Aaron has this cute little baby and maybe I can babsit her once or twice :)

Alysa's Graduation Pictures

2008-05-26T21:37:00.008-05:00

Alysa & I hung out around the Maple Grove/Plymouth area and took some fun pictures.Alysa's family goes to the church I attend, so I have known her for awhile now. We had a great time and I really enjoyed taking her pictures!

Alysa is going to NDSU next year to become and engineer! Woah, you go girl! You'll do fantastic.

My Favoritie "Roomie" Anna

2008-05-15T22:10:00.002-05:00

Anna was my roommate at Trout Lake Camp during the summer of 2007. This is a picture of us. I'll let you guess who was the lifeguard and who worked in the kitchen as a cook...

I loved taking Anna's senior pictures because she just thought of the most silly ideas (like this van below) and made them super fun! You'll only find this kind of a van with this much mud on it at Trout.

Anna is graduating in June from Moundsview High School and she is going to college in Michigan! She will do amazing things with her life and bring her wonderful character with her wherever she goes.

Anna plays the cello and has this ridiculous yellow, hard-case backpack that it goes it. It's one of the funniest thing I've ever seen. We took some fun pictures by the lake with her cello and she even serenaded us for a bit.

Anna, you're the best. Good luck with all that you do. I'll have to go on a road-trip to Michigan next year to come visit you. Thanks for being the best roomie and putting up with me (and lynda) :)

Courtnie's Senior Pictures

2008-05-15T21:10:00.001-05:00

I have known Courtnie since I can remember. We grew up going to the same church, MapleRidge Church in Maple Grove. She is a fantastic person and we always end up laughing and having a good time when we are together. She has the most bubbly personality and we really had fun taking these pictures!

We took the pictures at Trout Lake Camp where we both worked this past summer. It is the most beautiful place in the entire world and provided for some good backgrounds.

Courtnie has 3 sisters, and they all look so much alike. I see everyone's expression in this picture!

Now this is the true Courtnie! I love this picture because this is just her being her.

Courtnie, I wish you all the best in everything you do. You will succeed and do great in whatever you choose to do. You are a beautiful woman, not only on the outside, but you have the most gracious heart! Here's to many more laughs, memories, and maybe a trip or two to Goodwill :)