The blog of Chicago Photographer Amy Beth Photography has moved!

That's right, the move is official. This blog will remain here, but no further updates will be made. Follow me over to amybethphotography.com and update your feed readers, as well.

Thanks for your patience as I got settled into my new home. And just a reminder, some of the links in old images on this blog are broken due to the moving around - if you are trying to access images, try using amy-beth.smugmug instead of amybethphotography in their url.

Moving Time!

amybethphotography.com will be undergoing a face lift and a server change in the coming weeks.  Please watch the blog, which will remain at amybethphotography.blogspot.com until after the move, for any updates.

Please note: while some links may be broken during the switch, all of your galleries will remain in place and accessible.  You can either visit the site by following the link: http://amy-beth.smugmug.com and navigating to your gallery, or by simply replacing amybethphotography.com with amy-beth.smugmug.com in any private links you may have been provided with in the past.  All passwords remain the same, and all phone and email contact information will stay the same, as well.  If you need any assistance in finding your galleries or navigating during the transition, please feel free to contact me at any time!

Gina DeConti Family Session!

I have to admit, I was a tiny bit nervous when the amazing Miss Gina asked me to take some family photographs for her. You see, Gina is just absolutely one of my favorite people in the whole wide world! Not only is she amazingly talented, she's an excellent teacher, giving, funny, and just an all around fabulous friend. I've been lucky enough to be photographing weddings with her for three years now (and as I've mentioned, I get to share a wonderful studio space with her, too!) So anyway, no pressure at all!

But there was nothing to fear. Gina, Matt and sweet little Kai met me in Millennium Park (on yet another oppressively hot and humid morning - what are you trying to do to us this summer, mother nature?) where we strolled through the Lurie Gardens, played on the lawn near the band shell and of course, made our way to the fountains to cool off a bit. Thank you so much, Gina, for trusting your memories to me!

Of course, we had to start at the bean!

spinning in the garden

playing on the lawn

just LOVE the joy on Gina's face in this one

walking to the fountains

the beautiful family :-)

Kelly + Brian's Real Wedding | Elmhurst, IL Wilder Mansion Wedding Photography

Location: Wilder Park and Wilder Mansion - Elmhurst, IL

Photographers: Amy Harkess and Lacie Driscol

Kelly and Brian are just the sweetest couple that there ever could be.  Their smiles, their love, their joy - it was all infectious.  I couldn't help but to fall in love with them when I met them.  Along the journey to their wedding day, the joy and fun continued.  Even when they were struck with poison ivy just days before the big day, they didn't let it get them down and took it all with their wonderful sense of humor.  And it made me just swoon to read Brian's sweet love poems to Kelly which he posted each day on Facebook in the week leading up to their wedding at the gorgeous Wilder Park and Wilder Mansion in Elmhurst, IL.

Thank you again for letting me be a part of your special day!

How can you not love a couple who brings their pup to the first glance?

One of Lacie's lovely captures

And did I mention that I LOVE bagpipers?

D at 9 Months | Chicago Baby Photography

I had the privilege of capturing sweet baby D's 9 month images.  He was such a sweetheart and I can't wait for his one year photographs!

The S Family | Chicago Maternity and Family Photography

The S family traveled all the way from Indiana for their maternity/family session at the Garfield Park Conservatory.  Mother nature tried to foil our plans by sending a rainy snowy mix, but we took advantage of the beautiful greenery inside the conservatory, which made the perfect backdrop to their session.  We had a wonderful afternoon - I so enjoy spending time with families full of such happiness and love.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! | Ireland Photographs

Since I dug out some old images last night to share with some friends, I thought I'd share them here, as well. The images below are from a 1996 trip to Ireland. They were taken with an old point & shoot film camera and scanned in from the prints at a later date. Enjoy, and happy St. Patrick's Day!

Blarney Castle

Cliffs of Moher

Lakes of Killarney

Limerick

January Wrap Up :: Chicago Photographer Personal Project

You can catch up on the photographs I haven't posted to the blog in my 365 gallery over at the main Amy Beth Photography website. You'll find the 52 week gallery there, as well.

I also created a little slide show this evening that will quickly catch you up on my January personal projects. If you are on a feed reader, click through for the embedded slide show. Or click this link for the HD version (recommended).

Catch up Time! :: Chicago Photographer Personal Project

I have been hard at work behind the scenes getting my intimate portraiture site up and running, as well as starting to attack the redesign of the main website. I have made time to capture an image each day, but I've fallen behind in the sharing. So here's your quick update on the 365 project. A self-portrait update will come later this week.

16/365
1/16/2010

Peggy Notebaert Nature Center in Lincoln Park

I could spend hours and hours in the butterfly room. And I often do.

17/365
1/17/2010

From a trip to the World of Coke on one of my Atlanta trips

18/365
1/18/2010
Still life arranged by my niece and captured by me (check out her version in my 365 gallery on my main site!)

19/365
1/19/2010
My sandalwood mala beads

20/365
1/20/2010
Happy hair cut to me!

21/365
1/21/2010
My niece curled up with a book

22/365
1/22/2010
Knickknack

23/365
1/23/2010
Hula in the snow - there will be a full blog post on this on Wednesday, so be sure to stop back to view more!

24/365
1/24/2010
One of my favorite finds from the Container Store, enhanced with a texture I photographed and modified

25/365
1/25/2010
One of my sweet kitties

All That Glitters :: Chicago Photographer Personal Project

Time to drop off a few more photographs from my 2010 project:

13/365
1/13/2010
I need to keep this thought at the front of my mind

14/365
1/14/365
Playing around with some off camera flash and soon to be taken down Christmas lights and my niece

15/365
1/15/365
I stacked my extension tubes on my new 100mm f/2.8 macro lens and played with some craft glitter. Somehow, the out of focus blur of this image was my favorite of them all. Because technically perfect isn't always best.

Week Two Check In :: Chicago Photographer Personal Project

It's time for images 5-12, along with my second self portrait in my 52 week project.

5/365 - A view of part of my desktop at work. I've been cutting back on coffee and drinking a lot more tea this year.

6/365 - Playing with my new macro lens

7/365 - I also picked up a Lensbaby Muse (plastic optic)

8/365 - More Lensbaby fun. There's a bit of a learning curve to this lens.

9/365 - Finally, a Lensbaby image that I love! Taken at the Chicago Botanic Garden. No more Lensbaby shots for at least a week.

10/365 - Kitty time!

11/365 - Home sick, and stayed in my sock monkey PJs all day

12/365 - Kitty time again!

and 2/52, taken on the bridge to the Japanese Islands at the Chicago Botanic Garden