the ex•position

this is a good depiction of what tyler does most of the day every day: studying.

his first med school final exams are wednesday-friday this week.  say a little prayer for him if you think of it.  : )

- rachel

beau did a great senior shoot of nicole last saturday.  she and her mom wanted a fall shoot with more traditional poses, and i think it turned out great.  nicole definitely looks relaxed in the photos.  plus, she is so beautiful!

yummy evening light.

love the colors.

sparkly eyes.

really cool, red sun flare.

thanks, nicole, for being a great subject!  we’re excited to show you the rest.

- rachel

here’s a preview of nicole’s senior portraits.

isn’t she stunning?

more coming soon.

- rachel

saturday was another perfect fall day — sunny skies, 60s, apple cider slushies, a hike, pumpkin carving, coffee, brownies, yankee candles, and two great friends to share it with.

maggie and steve are pretty experienced pumpkin carvers as you can tell.  i am amazed at their owl and so excited i get to show it off on my porch.

since tyler and i would be classified as beginners, we kept it simple with a block-lettered “fitch” and polkadots.  pretty cute, i think.

isn’t fall the best?

- rachel

if you follow both our blogs, you already know that we had 3 weddings & a “day after” session this past weekend.  we combined our forces, traveling from 4 locations to meet in good old central illinois to make it happen.

but, although we were crazy busy, we managed to make it to two family birthday parties.  tyler’s sister darby turned sweet 16, and we celebrated with her when we arrived friday night.  then on sunday, my daddy turned 55.

here’s a picture of my amazing parents!

jordan and heather came home too for the occasion, and since it was the most perfect fall day, we spent 10 minutes or so taking some pictures.

the last time tyler & i sat in this old hammock, it broke and we fell to the then very muddy ground beneath.  apparently jordan + heather < tyler + rachel.

they’re pretty cute together. : )

- rachel

beau did an awesome shoot of alex last week.  enjoy!

i love that this is a silver slide on a playground.  definitely one of my favorites!

lounging on the steps.

the standout favorite:

hope you like the rest tomorrow, alex!

- rachel

we had the best day saturday driving around southern illinois with tyler’s family.

we went to the garden of the gods (if you look closely, you can see lots of tiny people on the rocks):

and to a town called cave in hole where we ate at a floating restaurant:

cave in hole is named after this cave (makes sense, huh)…

that picture of me and tyler was taken by darby.  : )  i am in love with it and can’t wait to get it printed.  i especially value pictures of us together since we’re usually on the other side of the lens!  thanks so much, darby!!!

as you can see from these photos, southern illinois is just not cornfields!  i, for one, had no idea any of these incredible places existed until we moved to alto pass.  southern illinois has so many awesome trails, wineries, orchards, and places with huge rocks/bluffs.  you should really plan a weekend to explore it.

- rachel