I’m back baby!

I’m back!  I now have a beautiful daugther, Adelaide, a new lease on life after some pretty awful PPD and I’m feeling a rush of creativity!  So I plan on updating this site more often, if you’ll have me.

A few words on my experience.  Motherhood…wow.  Never in my life have I felt more powerful, feminine and lovely and at the same time vunerable, unsure and alone.  You ladies out there?  You are a strong bunch of gals.  Mothers or not, we collectively rock.

So let’s get to taking some beautiful photos!

Hiatus

Hi all!  I realize I haven’t been updating here very often, though I have been frequently posting photos on my Flickr site.  I’m currently 5 1/2 months pregnant and finding that my weekends are filling up.  I may just go on hiatus on traveling outside of Chicago for awhile.

That being said, if you are in the Chicago area, give me an email.  I’m still here, just a little more silent but always working on photography!

Thanks and happy holidays!
Danialle

Why I Do This

There is something so stunningly beautiful about the photo of Angelina Jolie on the cover of W magazine, taken by Brad Pitt that I cannot help but comment.  I believe it has something to do with her genuine smile, that she is breastfeeding (possibly) her child, that it was taken by her lover.

…but it’s not a technically great photo and guess what, it doesn’t matter.  This is the type of moment I want to catch as a photographer.  I’ll be the first to admit I’m not good with the technical side, lighting, etc. but I absolutely love catching people in their pure moments, making them feel gorgeous.  This photo reminded me why I do it.

And this quote from her, doesn’t hurt either:

“I’m with a man who’s evolved enough to look at my body and see it as more beautiful, because of the journey it has taken and what it has created. He genuinely sees it that way. So I genuinely feel even sexier,” says Jolie…

Clearly her photographer for this picture feels exactly this way.  I just think I’d like to make more people feel like this after looking at themselves on “film.”  So I’m going to keep at it.

Welcome back!

Wow, what a long time it’s been since I have posted!  Turns out, I’m pregnant and man does that do awful things to your brain!  Then I lost a ton of emails in Google (sorry if you emailed me, please try again!!!) and now…I am back and ready for action.

Tonight I’m listening to some Dave Matthews Band and playing with some self portraits.  Though I have been gone, I have been constantly updating Flickr.  Go check it out!

Email me

I have been having problems with my gmail account putting everything into Spam!  If you have emailed me and I haven’t responded, please resend!  I would love to talk with you!

Thanks and sorry for the inconvenience.

K’s Turn

I had the honor of photographing my cousin’s wife in an impromptu session involving nothing more than a sheet, an SB-800 flash and her awesome up-for-anything attitude. I couldn’t be more pleased with the results!

(Going to Memphis this weekend for a girl’s trip and oh yea, I’m pregnant! So posting will be light until next week when I add more from this session. Thanks for checking in!)

Boudoir

Practice Makes Perfect

While my husband is off photographing weddings, I have been using the strobes at home to practice, practice, practice. I also have an upcoming boudoir assignment where the lady doesn’t want “in your face” sexy shots. So I thought I’d play around with some poses where it wasn’t all boobs.

Anyways, as always, visit Flickr for more!

Death Becomes Her

Having a husband that is just as kooky as I am sure works in my favor.  We don’t bat an eye when one of us suggests spending every single Saturday and Sunday mornings at the crack of dawn driving all over Cook County to visit graveyards and mausoleums.  Thank goodness too.

I have some upcoming events I’m very excited about too!  My father has entered his old dump truck in a car show in Indianapolis, IN so I will be photographing that weekend complete with pin-up girls, hot rods, and rockabilly bands!  I have also been granted pass to the Air Guitar Championship in June as well!!

Nothing I like more* than rocking out, old muscle cars and photographing so check back soon!!  (*also includes: good food, traveling, dinner parties with friends, floating in a river, wine and stinky cheese.)

Cemetery Travels

My very talented husband and I have taken it upon ourselves to see every single cemetery in the Chicagoland and suburb area this year! So far we are up to almost all of the ones on the north side, and usually try to hit up at least 2 every weekend. I’m constantly adding new pictures in Flickr, so check there for updates!

We got the idea when I picked up Matt Hauke and Ursula Bielski’s book “Graveyards of Chicago” at the library. He is also the owner of Graveyards.com. However, we thought we’d take a closer look at some of the details in the monuments and learn more about photography in the process. It is now our obsession (and not to mention, a very peaceful and quiet escape from the noisy city every Sunday)!

I hope you enjoy!

As always, check out the full Cemetery Set in Flickr! (Updated every Sunday.)

Heaven

As a gift, I took first birthday portraits of my cousin’s little girl, Heaven, this weekend before her big party. She was such a good model! Although she was wayyyy more interested in the park than posing.

As always, more in Flickr.