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Portrait of Big Ben

Chicago, Illinois
Meet Ben. He just turned two. What a perfect day to take some portraits!
Ben is such a cutie! He’s super inquisitive. It’s so much fun to watch him see everything and take the world in one piece at a time. And he has the best faces! Here’s an homage to the Brady Bunch. It would make a great gallery wrap.

I love dramatic panoramic horizontals or verticals as gallery wraps or as a 2-page spread in a photo album. And I love Ben in these panoramics.

Ben was super serious for most of the session. His mom got him to smile for this photo.

It’s time for me to say goodbye. Don’t cry Ben!

FL&R

Family Portraits

Chicago, Illinois

The best thing about going back to Chicago is seeing my family and friends. I hung out with my super cute cousins Natalie and Sara, and their dog Lucy. I couldn’t resist taking some photos while we were playing.
Natalie is the ham…

but Sara can be just as silly.

Lucy is camera shy, but posed for a few photos anyway.

Thank you for a fun time! And thank you to my cousin Ania and Aunt Basia for dinner!
FL&R

My Kind of Town

Chicago, Illinois

Here are some of my favorite photos from the Chicago trash the dress sessions last month. Meet the lovely brides: Kirsten, Celeste, Jenni, Katie and Jackie.

I love the early morning light and Jackie’s cool shades.

Jenni is The Rocker Bride.

How cool is she?
Not only is Jenni gorgeous, but she has a kick-ass voice. Check out her band One Night Stand on My Space and try to catch one of their shows. Their cover of Chris Isaak’s Wicked Game is awesome!

I had so much fun with all of the brides and tried to really capture their essence on camera. Katie is a teacher so the alphabet graffiti was picture-perfect.

Katie is a natural beauty. I love the bare feet in this photo.
Jackie is Hollywood glamour, especially with the shades.

This is my favorite photo of Jackie. The light and shadows are reminiscent of film noir.

Kirsten’s strapless wedding gown shows off her gorgeous tattoos.

When we saw this ladder Kirsten rushed over to climb it.

Celeste has a dreamy quality about her.
She reminds me of times past, as if I had seen her in a painting from centuries ago…

or was it Paris in the 20’s?

We walk down Michigan Ave. to Agora, an outdoor art installation by Polish sculptor Magdalena Abakanowicz. Kirsten and her husband saw this forest of giant legs as they were driving by to meet me and thought it would be fun. I agree!
Isn’t this shot haunting? I watch too many horror films, especially bad ones. There’s so many good B-movie titles for this shot: Vampire Bride’s Revenge or maybe The Third Bride. Cue the scream.

There are so many different ways to photograph these legs.
It is called the Windy City!

Time to go!

Thank you to all the wonderful brides and to my awesome sister Alicja who assisted on the shoots. I had so much fun!!!

FL&R

Anonymous - Al – these shots are FANTASTIC! – Denise

Where’s Polka???

This last month was crazy busy, lots of shoots, some farther away from home. Can you guess where I went? This photo is a clue.

First person to leave a comment with the correct city name wins. Extra prize if you correctly identify what this lion guards.
And no cheating – so if I already told you where I was you’re not eligible for the prize.

FL&R

Smuah - Can I take a crack at it?

Polka Photos - Smuah — I think it’s too easy for you πŸ™‚

Melanie Avila - Of course I want to say Chicago and the Art Institute, but I believe there would be a building in the background.

So… NYC?

Roxana&Claudiu - It is definetly in Chicago at the Art Institute of Chicago….on S. Michigan Ave.The lion guards one of the museum entrances either the south or the north gate, because there is one lion at each entrance.
Looking forward to the prize..Love, Roxana & Claudiu

Anna - Ola, mi to siΔ™ kojarzy jedynie z Chicago i lwami przed Art Institute, ale to pewnie dlatego ze poza tym nie znam dobrze zadnego miasta w USA πŸ™‚
Pozdrawiam Cie goraco.
Przeslij calusy dla Melanie.

Polka Photos - It’s Chicago & the Art Institute!

Melanie – I took the photo more from the side and looking up so the museum wasn’t in the shot. I’m sneaky that way πŸ˜‰

Anonymous - Its Simba!!! Lion KIng! DUH! Everyone knows that!

Claudiu - Hurrayyyyy…WE WON!!!!…Thank you Aleks?>..so when do we get our prize..???looking forward to it!!!