This morning, our extended family headed into Portland, and Ezra, Jamie and I explored the coast. We had such an amazing time with all the cousins (and Ezra's Aunt and Uncle!), and we were a touch sad to see them all go. But at the same time, now we can just let the days (and the naps) happen as they may.And speaking of, we really needed those naps to fall into place today because Ezra was up every hour ALL NIGHT LONG with an upset stomach last night. Don't worry, he's feeling much, much better now. But we were a bit like zombies today. So what did we do? We tackled the laundry, had a picnic on the beach, drove down to Manzanita and took in the sights and watched part of The Grand Budapest Hotel. Overall, a pretty great day.In Manzanita, the clouds were magnificent, and I shot a few images of the beach and the kite surfers out on the water -- that's the photo up top, if you're wondering what those black specks are in the sky and on the water.Also, the drive to Manzanita goes by my very favorite spot in the U.S. (yes, it's true), so I took more photos of it. If you've ever been to my home, the I have a similar shot from my last visit hanging above my fireplace. It's below.
I mean, really. Is that not amazing?And lastly, Jamie took some images of Ezra and I on the beach tonight during our dinner picnic. I tend to object to my own photo being taken, particularly after a night where I got no more than 1.5 hours of consecutive sleep. But I had to post this one because my kid is just too dang adorable. Sorry.
That's it. No internet share today because I'm beat and heading off to bed. Please send me all the good sleep juju you can muster!
Well kids, it's almost time for our summer vacation. This has me packing Ezra today between answering emails and finishing up last-minute work details. And this girl here? She knows what that suitcase means. And until she sees her stuff make its way into said suitcase, she's a little depressed.There was a lot of moping around the house today. Heavy sighs. Avoided eye contact.Aw, man. I'm gonna miss her so much. But I'm pretty sure she'd rather stay here playing with her dog friend all week than fly inside the belly of a cold airplane for seven hours. So she's just gonna have to trust me on this one.For your internet share of the day, 
I took this photo before the concert last night, but I just wanted to point out how amazing the clouds were the entire time we were in Iowa. From soft and hazy to Simposons-esque, they were lovely the entire time. Good work, Iowa.Today we woke up early, grabbed some breakfast, got a car wash (that dust on the way to the barn was THICK), and hit the road. We took larger highways on our return trip, so it wasn't as lovely as the way down there when we saw Amish folk and many small towns and a "milk bar." But today we did stop off at a 
Today I played hooky from work and drove to Iowa with Meredith to catch Conor Oberst play at one of my very favorite venues, Codfish Hollow Barn. It was fantastic. Such wonderful sound, such an intimate show and just an amazing day. I have a million more photos that I'll sort through and post tomorrow, once we return back to Minneapolis.I love shooting Conor Oberst shows because his was the very first concert I ever attempted to photograph, and it holds a special place in my heart. I shot him in 2009 in Omaha, and Jenny Lewis opened the show. Man was that an amazing night as well. However, these photos are way better ;)No internet share -- I'm off to bed. More photos tomorrow, I promise.
The humidity has finally broken, and we are now in the glorious days of summer. I snapped this photo during last night's photo shoot. I feel like the spoon and cherry are always shot from the side with the skyline in the background, but this was the first time I had spied it from the other side, and I'm not sure why, but the reflection popped out to me more.Tomorrow starts a wonderful stretch of trips and fun surrounding my upcoming birthday, so I'm trying to wrap up as much business as I can in the office today, while leaving time for walks and time outdoors. You should do the same.Here are your internet shares: First, this young couple gets to see 
I had coffee with a friend from ... oh, I don't know. He's a tour manager with various bands so he's been on the road for almost a full year straight. So yeah. I don't know where he's from. Well, he's from Kansas originally, so we'll just say that.Anyway, we had coffee today because the band he's touring with is in town, and so we hit up One on One bike shop in town (they also make coffee). Anyway, it's one of the few coffee spots in the North Loop, which is sort of an "up and coming" (or already peaked, depending on who you ask) part of town. I really love the architecture down there -- especially all the huge windows. So I tried to capture that in the reflection of the bike shop window.For your internet share today, 
This morning we woke up to dark, cloudy skies and cold, refreshing air from the windows. (And a baby crying.)These are my favorite kinds of days. Wait, not the crying baby part, but the gloomy, wet, dark days of late spring. I am one of those rare creatures who prefers dark days to sunny ones (also? best photo light, for what it's worth).I've been taking my macro lens out more, and I've been loving photos of raindrops lately. Weird, I know. But I'll take inspiration anywhere I can get it. These were a few snaps I got this morning between storms.
For your internet share today, you should go listen to 
This morning I had a photo session with that little guy up there. He's only eight days old, and he is so, so tired. This big beautiful world can be exhausting! It was all right that he was so sleepy though because he had an amazing 2-year-old sister who more than made up for posing in front the camera -- she was delightful!The rest of the day was spent in front of the computer and walking the dog and doing laundry. You know, the glamorous side of Shuttersmack HQ.For your internet shares of the day, if I were hosting a birthday party next week, I would offer