Look at this sweet little face!  I couldn’t decide between the black & white or color, so I am posting both!

Here she is 4 years ago:

And here she is a couple weeks ago.  Isn’t she beautiful??

Here is adorable little Logan less than an hour after he was born last November:

And here he is at 10 months old:

Big brother loving on Logan!

Playing with Aunt Annie!

Go, Micah, Go!

I had a couple concepts in mind, but this one came together the best.  This was shot in the middle of the afternoon on a bright, sunny day.  I had a Speedlite in a softbox just to the left of the subject, and set my camera to completely darken the scene before adding the light.

“Defeaning Silence”

A special thanks to Annie for modeling for me, and Jenna for holding my light!

She was ready to be done!

I love this sweet little face!

Four beautiful generations!

I am really looking forward to shooting their wedding next June here in Burlington.  It is going to be amazing!

This just might be one of my favorite engagement images ever!

When someone calls me to talk about booking, I provide package information and set a time to meet in person so that they can see several complete weddings. When choosing a wedding photographer, it is important to see more than just a few shots from one or two weddings. Seeing how a photographer covers an entire day, and many different situations, is an important factor in the quality they produce.

Once a wedding is booked with me, we schedule an engagement session, which is a great way for me to get to know my clients, and for them to get comfortable with my shooting style. I don’t like to ask my clients to post perfectly and stand up straight and smile, and by seeing Amy & Josh’s engagement session in St. Louis a few posts back, you can see this. I love shooting destination engagement sessions and traveling to where my clients live. I’ve shot several of these now, and love getting out of Burlington once in a while!

Throughout the months leading up to the wedding, I keep in touch with my clients, providing recommendations and answering questions. A month or two before the wedding, we get together again to talk about a timeline for the day, shooting ideas, and locations. This goes a long way in making the day of the wedding run smoothly, and to make the most of the photography experience!

The day of the wedding, I don’t just photograph the wedding. I have helped brides into dresses, bustled trains, cut cakes, and given the bride a ride when she forgot to arrange transportation to see her groom for the first time (on more than one occassion). I’ve pinned flowers on groomsmen, fixed bouquets for bridesmaids, fixed viels, and assured the bride that it doesn’t matter which leg the garter goes on. I know which goes on first, the engagement ring or wedding band, show people how to cut a cake (you would be surprised how often couples ask me this!), and help figure out how to transport a 12 person wedding party when the limo doesn’t show. I fluff the train before Dad walks his daughter down the aisle, and get the guests ready to blow bubbles or throw petals before the new couple makes their exit. I’ve paddled around a pond in a paddle boat (pictures to come), climbed trees, laid on the hot pavement in full sun, and braved traffic to get “the shot”. I love what I do, and do whatever I can to make the day as carefree and fun for my couples, because when it all comes down to it, they are what it is all about.

After the wedding, I take a day or two to clear my head and bask in the post-wedding love that always pours out of my clients and their family and friends. I am always so happy after weddings! Once I come down out of the clouds, I download my cards and those of my second shooter and start sorting and culling. I look at every single image I shoot and process them all myself. While I tell my clients 3 to 4 weeks, I usually have them up in just a couple. The last three weddings I photographed, I had posted in their online gallery in just about a week from the wedding, just in time to surprise the newlyweds as they return from their honeymoon.

Over the weeks following the wedding, my graphic designer posts the album pre-design, and we meet again to create a custom album that is perfect for each couple. I can go into my client’s homes and assist them in creating a beautiful portrait wall with images from their day, and once in a while we’ll do a trash the dress session or bridal session.

Once everything is all said and done, my clients often keep in touch as their lives progress, and I find myself shooting their pets, their first born, their families. It is always so amazing seeing these young couples in love grow and start families, and I love that I become a part of their new life together!

I truly love what I do, and love creating images for my couples that they will have for the rest of their lives. Here are a few from Amy & Josh’s wedding, and I hope that 20 years from now, they will see these and remember their love for each other and how it felt to be newlyweds all over again!

If you had your dog’s portrait taken, visit the Pet-Palooza gallery to order prints:
http://wendiriggens.zenfolio.com/petpalooza

First, a thank you to Officer Bloomer and Reno for their demonstration. Seeing him at work was incredible!

This is Kenra, of Jen & Kenra’s in Ft Madison. She’s such a diva!

Hi Maddie! She’s the star of the Free Of The Leash blog! BTW, I love the dog park tshirts. I bought two!

This is my cousin Tedra and her cute pooch Monster. Tedra owns Peavine Lane Pet Spa in Ft. Madison, and yes, she did paint her pretty pooch blue! I spotted a couple dogs sporting “doggie tattoos” on their bottoms after visiting her booth!

And just a few more of my favorites from the day:

She wasn’t sure about me at first, especially since I have to get so close with my fisheye for the effect we were going for, but after a few minutes, she gave me some smiles!

I have a soft spot in my heart for English Bulldogs. My parents raised them for 20+ years, and my grandparents for twice that long. I shot several on Sunday, but this was my favorite!

When I saw this beautiful boy, I cried. Even though he is a harlequin and our great dane was all black, he reminded me so much of Salem. He is the first dane I’ve seen since Salem passed, and all I could do when I saw him was pet him and cry. He was just beautiful! Then we saw this super cute little puppy, and I couldn’t pass up a chance to photograph them together. It’s amazing the difference a year makes in size!

This little lady won the “Ugliest Dog” contest, but I think she is beautiful!

Just a few more…

I want to give a special thanks to the committee that worked to get a dog park in Burlington. As a dog owner and lover, it was much needed, and after seeing the community come out in full support on Sunday, I know it will do well here!

I’m going to blog this in two parts.  The first, this one, will feature the leash cutting and dog swim.  Part two will feature a few of my favorite pet portraits from the day.

I LOVE the logo for the dog park!

The leash cutting and blessing

My booth! The sporadic wind kept blowing everything over, so we had to forgo my big easles and rest the large prints and canvases against the table legs, risking being “marked”, and duct tape the backs of the other prints to the little easles. More than once, people ran to help us set back up after a gust of wind blew everything off! :)

The dog swim – I think this was such a great idea! The dogs LOVED it!

The little dogs and those afraid of water or that didn’t know how to swim hung out in the kiddie pool.

Yes, that included this St. Bernard puppy! I was playing with the dogs in the water (yes, fully clothed in jeans, and with my camera in hand) when this sweetheart came running over to me and leaned her soaking wet body against mine. I couldn’t resist throwing my arms around her in a big hug! She was so funny, she’d get to the “deep” part of the kiddie pool, which is only 1 foot deep, mind you, and then get scared and hurry back to the edge! Here is one of those moments!

The big pool was full of labs and sporty dogs that loved loved loved the water!

Be sure to check out Free Of The Leash for more info on the dog park, and for more images of the event!