Eclectic Images Blog » travel

st louis and chicago family trip!

admin — Thu, 17 May 2012 21:49:48 +0000

At the end of April I was lucky to take a trip to St Louis to photograph a fabulous wedding (pics of the wedding coming soon!) and I brought Mike and Zoey along for the ride. We hung out in St Louis for a few days and did all of the fun touristy stuff (The Arch of course, and the City Museum which is completely amazing)…and then after the wedding we took a train (fun!) to Chicago and spent the weekend there. Mike and I have ALWAYS wanted to visit Chicago and we loved it. Can’t wait to go back. It was actually a really blustery chilly weekend so hopefully next time we will visit in the summer. Here are a few photos of our travels!

The requisite photos of the St Louis Arch. Designed by famous mid century architect Eero Saarinen

My cute little Zoey playing on the grounds of the arch. She looks so tiny!

The one and only pic of Mike and I

When we got to Chicago we took an evening architure tour on the river. Mike and I both love architecture so it was very interesting to us. Though it was SUPER cold, especially coming from mild Austin weather.

Those cups of hot chocolate in our hands may be spiked with booze. It was what we needed to deal with an unruly almost 2 year old who was about sick of traveling!

A dusk shot of Chicago from the river tour. So pretty.

And our trip wouldn’t be complete without a trip to the Hancock Observatory!

seattle bachelorette trip and some pics of zoey

admin — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 21:33:47 +0000

Hi everyone!

It’s been a long, long time since I’ve had a chance to blog anything personal, so I am way overdue! 2011 was an amazing year – seeing Zoey go from a baby to a toddling little girl. She is the highlight of our world, and the love of our life! She is now 1 1/2 years old and she’s funny, silly, happy, smart, and overall amazing (doesn’t every parent think that?!) Here are a few recent photos of her, just at home being herself…not dressed for photos in the least. I’ve been making more of a concerted effort to document our everyday life at home (with my “real” camera as I call it, not just with my iphone!)…

And this is Linus, my first “baby”

On the left is Moo, my second “baby”. And meet Louie (on right), our newest baby! He is a rescue from Big Dog Rescue | BostonTerriers. If you want a Boston Terrier, check them out!

Some more shots of Louie, who is apparently a little camera shy. Louie, that is not gonna work in this household

Life is really rough, says Zoey.

And 2012 is off to a bang as well! I’ve got a few awesome destination weddings on the books (Colorado and St Louis!), my good friend Stacy’s (with SMS Photography) wedding (in which I’m a bridesmaid!), some more work on our home remodel (of course, it never ends), and lots of other stuff! And speaking of Stacy’s wedding, I was able to take my first non work related fun trip since Zoey was born for Stacy’s bachelorette trip to Seattle! Yes, Seattle is an unusual place for a bachelorette trip, but my bachelorette trip was to Maine so it’s par for the course! We had an amazing time touring Seattle, taking a day trip to do wine tasting, and of course lots of eating and drinking (it was a bachelorette trip after all)! Here are some of my favorite photos from the trip!

The bachelorette got to catch a fish!! And she actually caught it!

And this is my friend Vanessa (Photography by Vanessa) having the biggest oyster ever!

And some iphone snapshots!

My artsy portrait of Vanessa!

My portrait of Stacey (I’m obsessed with her tattoo)!

We did a lot of THIS on the trip. My liver hated me.

And the cute house in Capital Hill where we stayed!

Jeremy and Lindsay | Della Terra Mountain Chateau | Estes Park, Colorado

admin — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 17:35:58 +0000

I’ve been meaning to post photos from our trip to Colorado for months now (almost three months to be exact)! We went to Estes Park, Colorado for a week in July to participate in my brother’s wedding and to have a little family vacation. Unfortunately, Mike had major work obligations so he was only about to be with us for a couple days of the trip, but Zoey’s grandparents got to spend a lot of time with her which they loved. We flew into Denver where we stayed for a day (and drove down to Colorado Springs to see the Garden of the Gods, which you will see in the first set of photos). Then, we drove up to Estes Park, stopping in Boulder for lunch on the way. Estes Park was absolutely amazing, perfect weather (especially compared to Austin at the time), and just so pretty everywhere0 There is not a bad view any which way you look! We drove up into Rocky Mountain National Park a couple times and even got to see snow! In July! Jeremy and Lindsay’s wedding was beautiful and amazing and so much fun! So much fun in fact that my aunt Karen fell and broke her wrist! It was quite the fun and eventful reception. All in all, we were in Colorado for a week and loved every minute of it! It was so nice to spend some quality time with family. Here are some pics! (since it was my brother’s wedding and I was a bridesmaid, I didn’t take a ton of photos, but of course I couldn’t help but take some!). My good friends Diana M Lott and Stacy Sodolak were the official photographers, and I imagine they will be posting their favs online very soon!

2010: Austin wedding photography year in review

admin — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 19:10:04 +0000

Wow. 2010 was a pretty amazing year both personally and professionally and I am one lucky, lucky girl. In 2010 on the personal front, we continued the remodel of our home, finally completing the upstairs part of our house (including the kitchen, yay!) and moving all of our belongings from our cramped downstairs and unpacking many, many boxes that were in the garage for over a year. All of this while I completed the second and third trimesters of my pregnancy. Almost two weeks past my original due date on July 22, 2010, the biggest miracle of the year for us took place – our beautiful daughter Zoey was born, and the next few months were followed by a little bit of sleep and a whole lot of love

Also during the first part of 2010, and all while pregnant, I supervised the finish out and construction in my studio/retail space in the East Village Lofts. It was completed in late March, right around the same time our kitchen was completed in our home. Needless to say, it was a busy, busy first part of the year. Well, to tell the truth it was a busy, busy entire year!

I shot a bunch of beautiful and amazing weddings in 2010 and I have to say that I feel so lucky to have wonderful clients who really understand and appreciate my work and who are fun, laid back, creative, and elegant. I was also able to do some traveling in 2010…in February my husband Mike and I took a “babymoon” – a pre-baby last hurrah cruise to the Caribbean. Then, in August when Zoey was just 6 weeks old we took her with us to Malibu, California while I photographed the wedding of Maeling and Dzuy. Just a week after that, I traveled to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico for the beautiful wedding of Erica and Brian. And lastly, in October Mike and I traveled to Maui, Hawaii (while my mom watched Zoey, her first grandbaby) for the wedding of Anna Kate and Charles.

And now, here are my favorite images from 2010, one from each wedding

Carly and Stephen | January 16th 2010 | University United Methodist Church and The Austin Club

Ziem and Milan | February 20th 2010 | At their home

Melanie and Joe | February 27th 2010 | Laguna Gloria

Blessing and Allan | March 13th 2010 | Laguna Gloria

Lisa and Keith | April 10th 2010 | One World Theatre

Kristin and Matt | April 17th 2010 | St. Peter’s Episcopal Church and Riverhill Country Club, Kerrville, Texas

Jacqueline and Ryan | April 18th 2010 | Hotel St. Cecilia (getting ready and portraits) and Laguna Gloria

Alex and Dylan | May 1st 2010 | Horseshoe Bay Marriott

Ashley and Remmy | May 8th 2010 | Their estate

Evelyn and Collin | May 14th and 15th 2010 | Retreat at Balcones Springs

Amanda and Dave | May 22nd 2010 | Indian Summer Lodge

Tracey and Tanner | May 29th 2010 | Mercury Hall

Zoey Margaret Banks | July 22, 2010 | St. David’s Medical Center

Jake’s Bar Mitzvah | August 21, 2010 | The Four Seasons

Maeling and Dzuy | August 29th 2010 | Calamigos Ranch, Malibu, California

Erica and Brian | September 4th 2010 | destination wedding at Marquis Los Cabos, Mexico

Christy and Dave | October 1st 2010 | Laguna Gloria

Anna Kate and Charles | October 10th 2010 | destination wedding at The Grand Wailea, Maui, Hawaii

Anna Kate and Charles | September 23, 2010 | Wild Onion Ranch Celebration

Sarah and Gary | October 30, 2010 | Hotel Havana (getting ready) and Southwest School of Art and Craft, San Antonio

Leslye and Tom | November 6th 2010 | The Wild Onion Ranch

Aly and Rich | November 20th 2010 | Fleming Chapel and Bella Notte, Round Rock, Texas

And that’s the recap of 2010! I’m looking forward to everything that 2011 will bring, including two trips to the Cancun area of Mexico to shoot weddings, a trip to Colorado for my brother Jeremy’s wedding to Lindsay, Zoey’s first birthday which is sure to be fun (time flies!), and a ton of great local wedding and portrait shoots! So stay tuned to see what I am up to in 2011!

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2011! And I’ll leave you with a couple recent pics of Zoey at 5 months old

And lastly, a shot of our family (minus our pups Linus and Moo)

Erica and Brian at Marquis Los Cabos, Mexico

admin — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 12:52:42 +0000

Erica and Brian really know how to throw a fabulous wedding. With the help of Carmela with In Style Weddings and Destinations, Erica and Brian held a beautiful intimate wedding at Marquis Los Cabos in Mexico complete with a poolside ceremony with a view of the ocean, fabulous food and drink, and a VIP afterparty at Me Cabo. The bold colors of their decor and flowers really stood out against the ocean background, and the resort itself was amazing. One of my favorite parts of the evening was photographing Erica and Brian’s first dance because they really showed their love for each other and it came thru in the images. Also, special thanks to my good friend Vanessa with Photography by Vanessa for coming along as my second shooter. You can see her favorites images on her blog.

Now, onto my favorite photos from the day!

maeling and dzuy: a wedding at calamigos ranch in malibu, california

admin — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 05:31:07 +0000

I am so glad that Maeling and Dzuy discovered me by way of a wedding blog and hired me to go to California to photograph their beautiful wedding at Calamigos Ranch! We made it a family trip and brought along Zoey at 5 weeks old on her first travel excursion. Young to be traveling, but I figure she best get used to it because we love to go places!

The weather was amazing the entire time we were there and I had never been to that part of California so we were so excited to explore the Pacific Coast Highway. The wedding itself was of course beautiful, Maeling and Dzuy are so laid back and cool, and if there was one thing that was prevalent at their wedding, it was fun and laughter. I loved it how they incorporated their culture into the wedding details and table markers, and how they also incorporated a tradition tea ceremony. And now, onto some pics. First, a few pics of our travels and then the wedding pics!

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martha’s vineyard and boston!

admin — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 19:16:44 +0000

Last month I traveled to Martha’s Vineyard to shoot Sarah and Frank’s wedding, and afterwards my husband Mike and I (we’re newlyweds!) spent a few days sightseeing around Martha’s Vineyard, Providence, Rhode Island, and Boston. I wanted to share some of my favorite personal photos from that trip. The first shot below is a shot of Boston from the duck tour!

Here is apic of me taken by my hubby.

This is my husband looking pensively out the window

Apparently there are attack lobster in Martha’s Vineyard. Who knew?

This shot below totally says “New England” to me.

Traveling in Boston.

Random hail mary shot on the metro in Boston. People riding the subway are always so serious!

Chinatown

Fenway!

My husband has been wanting to see a game at Fenway for pretty much his entire life. His boss out of Providence hooked us up with box seats! Mike, needless to say, was very, very happy. He had the goofiest childlike grin on his face. It was great to see him so excited! And I had a blast too. The game was very eventful – we saw a fight on the field, a few home runs, and a rain delay!

Here’s a shot of Mike and I taken by our waiter.

Love this shot of Fenway right before the skies opened up!

sarah and frank

admin — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 15:36:49 +0000

I was so excited and honored when Sarah and Frank asked me to travel to Martha’s Vineyard to photograph their destination wedding! I had photographed Sarah’s sister Ashley’s wedding a few years ago in Georgetown. What a beautiful place Martha’s Vineyard is, and the weather in August was just perfect and a total relief from the sweltering temps in Austin this summer! It was so great to get away with my husband – after staying in Martha’s Vineyard for a couple of days we made a short side trip to Boston before heading home to Austin.

Sarah and Frank had a beautiful wedding at one of the cutest and most light filled churches I’ve ever seen, the Old Whaling Church, and then held their reception next door at the historic Dr. Daniel Fisher House. I was really excited to get to go with Sarah and Frank down to the shoreline after the ceremony to take some photos on the beach and at the lighthouse, and a local sailer even offered to let us use his gorgeous sailboat for a couple of photos! Followed by their lovely afternoon reception, Sarah and Frank departed on a gorgeous boat with family and friends sending them off. It was the perfect end to a perfect wedding! Congrats Sarah and Frank!

Natalie and Lance featured in the Statesman glossy!

admin — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 15:12:45 +0000

Check it out, my image of Natalie and Lance from their Mexico wedding was featured last week in the Statesman Glossy! Thanks to Carmela with In Style Weddings and Destinations for setting this up and for planning the wonderful wedding!

maine

admin — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 22:20:12 +0000

I’m getting married in January, and so my girlfriends decided to surprise me with a “bachelorette” trip to Maine! Yes, not the typical place for a bachelorette trip, but we are not typical women! My photographer extraordinaire friends Diana Lott and Stacy Sodolak planned the trip along with my good friend and wedding planner Gina Whittington Wilson, and with the help of our non-wedding industry friend Jenny Isenberg. We had an a-MAINE-zing (Stacy came up with that!) time. The weather was perfect, the hurricane decided to go in the other direction (thank goodness!), and the leaves were just beginning to change. And best of all, there was lots of lobster to be had! I had steamed lobster, lobster caesar salad, lobster risotto, lobster chowder…the list goes on. I heart lobster! Now back to the treadmill!

Jenny (aka Jenny by the book) looking cute!

A Maine self portrait

I am in love with all of the fall colors in Maine!

Stacy took this shot first, and I copied her But I said I would have seen it anyways, she just got there first!

Jenny, Stacy, Gina, and Diana…

Gina’s perfect fall leaf

This is the bay in the town where we stayed, Camden. It was perfect!

We took a sunset cruise (freezing cold!) on this boat, the Appledore.

Gina looking pensive. (and cold!)

Gina trying her first whoopie pie. You can see she loved it!

Mmmm lobster.