Travel Stories: Dubuque, IA

Back in June, my husband and I packed our bags to head to Dubuque, IA for the weekend. As with most of our Midwest travel, this journey was family focused. Brian's cousin Zach was marrying his college girlfriend Emma at Loras College, their alma mater. Brian was to perform a reading in the ceremony.

To our surprise, we both really enjoyed Dubuque. The bed & breakfast where we stayed was in a historic part of the city and steps away from downtown. Check out our summer fun and consider taking a weekend trip to Dubuque.

Farm & Preset Fun

These are outtakes from a pre-shoot photoshoot featuring me, my husband, my sister, Joanne the cat and my Grandparents farm. Taken in mid-December and edited with Phil Chester presets, these photos have a real aged, moody feel. Check them out.

Travel Photography: Eugene, Oregon

Last month, I went to Eugene, Oregon, to see my one and only sister graduate from University of Oregon with TWO master's degrees. It was a very immersive experience as I followed Lindsay everywhere. We partied non-stop in true Eugene fashion. My parents were there, you'll see several pictures of them in this post. Take a look at a week in Eugene, Oregon!

My engagement!!!

I took 4 photos the day I got engaged. The photos on their own may seem insignificant- a picture of Brian, a photo of a bridge, another of a creek.  But when I go through these photos I see the story of my engagement. A day so special, I couldn’t help but share.

It was Christmas day, 2016. We were making our way to Brian’s parent’s house in Elgin, talking about what a photogenic town Elgin was and how we wanted to take more pictures there.  When we got off the highway, into said town, I noticed we were not on our typical route. 

"Weren't we supposed to turn there?" I asked.

"I want to show you something," he casually replied.

A few minutes later, we arrived at the Tyler Creek forest preserve. Brian said this was a place he used to come visit when he was living in Elgin- that there was a bridge in the woods he wanted me to see. I assumed the purpose of this detour was to take pictures, so I grabbed my camera and hopped out of the car. Brian took my hand and we walked toward the bridge. 

As I was walking and looking at the snow covered ground I got the feeling I was going to come back to this place someday. That I would have the opportunity to see these woods again in their full green glory. 

When we reached our destination, I saw the bridge with a creek flowing underneath. I knew exactly the photograph I wanted to create. I was dreaming of one of those shots where the landscape is completely still, but the water looks blurry from its movement.  

Apparently, I was really into creating this photograph, because I completely lost track of where Brian was or what he was doing. Then I heard him say, “hey baby,” only to turn around and see him on one knee, in the snow. He was holding his grandmother’s engagement ring and said the words every person dreams of hearing, “will you marry me?” 

It was a complete surprise. I wish I could say I immediately screamed yes and we embraced for all the world to see, but I’m pretty sure the way it happened was a little different. I was in shock. I couldn’t believe it. We had talked about getting married, but I had no idea he was going to ask me on that day, let alone that winter. Eventually, I got around to muttering the word, yes- and there we were. In one of the most life changing moments of our lives.