City Garden

I haven't been to City Garden in St. Louis in almost a year, so it was a nice surprise when my sister suggested a trip there with her kids.

We spent the afternoon watching the kids climb over the sculptures and run around the park. Definitely a great place to spend the afternoon!

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Davies-DeVoe Wedding

This past weekend I made a trip out to Broken Arrow, OK to witness one of my closest friends get married. The wedding turned into a two day event, with the wedding on Friday and the reception on Saturday.

The best man and I took photos over the weekend, and I hate to say I think he got some of my favorite shots.

The weekend flew by and before I knew it I was packing my car up and heading back home Sunday evening. The past few days were great. Much congratulations go to Heather Davies-Devoe and Douglas DeVoe who both found themselves a great catch.

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Frank Holten State Park

This past Sunday, a friend and I made a trip up to Frank Holten State Park to see what birds we might find. We spotted several Red-Winged Blackbirds, egrets, herons, ducks, geese, and a few Eastern Kingbirds.

We noticed the Kingbirds had an interesting habit of taking flight only to come back to the same spot, which, when we exercised some patience, made photographing them a little easier.

It wouldn't be Spring if we hadn't also spotted some Robins, including one digging for worms.

The Red-Winged Blackbird, common in this area yet almost always elusive to me, were also flitting around the park.

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March Barns

During March, whenever I had some free time, I found myself exploring the surrounding area on the look out for interesting barns. Madison & St. Clair County are great locations for this. Even though I've spent a great deal of time exploring the back roads of Illinois, I always manage to find something I somehow missed before.

If you're from the area and know of any barns (or own any yourself), let me know. I am always on the lookout for new locations, and love learning the history of the buildings in our area.

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D.C.

Last weekend I flew out to D.C. to visit one of my close friends. After a full weekend of catching up, meeting new friends, and going to the circus, we met up with her boyfriend for a photoshoot.

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Great Blue Heron

The first weekend in March, I fit in a trip to Horseshoe Lake to see if I could spot any of the mating Great Blue Herons or Egrets. I spotted a Great Blue Heron on the water's edge and was able to inch my way over to him, ending up about 10 feet away. I caught a few shots before he decided he didn't like my being that close and took flight.

The Red-Winged Blackbirds were also out. These little guys have eluded me for quite some time (and still do), though I managed to catch one in the photos below.

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Farm

A few weeks ago, I received a call from a gentleman who saw my barn photos at a local shop where I sell my prints. After seeing my work, he thought I might be interested in stopping by his farm, and I was invited to come out and take some photos.

These kind of invites are always a welcome surprise, as were many of the things I spotted in and around the farm. I especially enjoyed the kittens wandering around.

For those of you who know me, you know that I am drawn to unique textures. As a result, I had a lot of fun with the various items I uncovered while on this trip.

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Grayville, IL

February has been a crazy month, and I have been lazy with my updates. A few weeks ago a friend and I went to Grayville, Illinois, a place we'd been to a few times before. My friend's mother went to high school there, and for the past couple decades the school has been left abandoned. This was the first trip I was brave enough to venture upstairs into the building. Did I mention the right half of the building looks like this?

So yes, I am either incredibly brave, or incredibly stupid. Maybe both. I did, however, only walk up to the second floor and stayed a safe distance from the caved in library.

The above photos were taken in what used to be the math room. My friend caught a photo of me from parking lot.

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Dueling Pianos

Last weekend I had the opportunity to photograph the dueling pianos show at the Wildey Theater in downtown Edwardsville, Illinois.

It was a high energy performance with good music and plenty of laughs. If you weren't able to make it, it's definitely worth it to try to snag a ticket to next year's show.

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Fog

This past weekend, after sleeping over at my sister's house for a night of board games and Madlibs, I woke up early Sunday morning to fog. Usually fog doesn't last very long and has cleared by mid-morning. Luckily for me, by the time I drove home and grabbed my gear, it was still overcast and foggy.

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