Derek's Photo Blog

Katie & Mike :: Two Harbors, MN Wedding Photography

DRock — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 00:32:57 +0000

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of shooting Katie and Mike’s wedding at Superior Shores, which is just north of Two Harbors. This had to be one of the prettiest lakeside resorts I have seen since I moved up here three years ago. This couple knows how to pick out the scenic spots. Back at the beginning of the year, I photographed their engagement pictures at Katie’s parent’s cabin on Lake Superior near Silver Bay. The more I spend time around Lake Superior, the more I would love to have a home where you can wake up and see the lake. In the meantime, I’ll continue to enjoy spending time on the lake at places like Superior Shores and with people like Katie and Mike. Congrats to Katie and Mike!!

Kelly & Mike :: Cable, WI Wedding Photography

DRock — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 16:20:37 +0000

A few weeks ago I had the chance to travel to Cable, WI for the wedding of Kelly and Mike at Lakewoods Resort on the shores of Lake Namakagon. In what would become a perpetual theme over the next month, rain threatened the outdoor wedding, but cleared up just in time for the festivities. Those gathered here really took advantage of the photo booth and delivered quite a few surprises when I checked the images the next day. Below is a short one minute video of most of the photo booth pictures taken at the reception. For me, one of the coolest things about the photo booth is that I never really know what I’m going to find when I download the memory card and this wedding was pretty exceptional in that category. Check out the images after the video!

Fireworks!!!

DRock — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 22:22:45 +0000

For Independence Day this year, I ventured down to watch the pyrotechnics from my fiance’s brother’s place, which is about half a block from Lake Superior. My fiance Kristin, her brother Jake, their parents and Evan took in the show from the rocks along the shore as the rain cleared out for one night that weekend to make way for almost perfect conditions. The shoreline of Lake Superior in Duluth is a great place to watch the fireworks because you got an unobstructed view of the Aerial Lift Bridge while also being able to see Superior’s fireworks show. Another cool thing I noticed for the first time is that if you look out across the lake toward Wisconsin, you can see about four or five other fireworks shows in other cities. For now, check out the images below and be sure to check back here in a few days for another post.

The Aerial Lift Bridge, for you non-Duluthians, is the yellow bridge directly under the fireworks. It connects Park Point to the rest of Duluth and was built for the city's shipping industry.

Looks like a shell exploded on the ground in the image on the right.

Evan handling fireworks for the first time. As you can see, this was serious business.

An afternoon at the Beckers

DRock — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 23:12:12 +0000

A couple weeks ago I had the chance to go back to a place I had spent many days during high school and while in college: the Becker homestead just outside my hometown of Sparta, WI. One of my best friends, Brian Becker, was home for the weekend for the most glorious of all Sparta days: Butterfest. This festival brings footlong hot dogs, carnival rides, a beer tent and many other splendors to Sparta’s Memorial Park during the second weekend of June year-in and year-out. This time around was a little different as Becker brought home their new addition to the family, Kate, to visit the grandparents and hang out in Wisconsin for awhile.

Kate had just turned a year old and it was my first time seeing this mini-Becker. She’s as cute as the pictures reveal and she definitely has that Becker smirk. Joining Kate were Becker’s (when I say Becker, I mean Brian since everyone calls him by his last name, it’s just the way it’s always been, kinda like any brand of tissue paper is kleenex whether Kleenex makes it or not) siblings and their kids. We decided it was as good a time as any to grab some photos of these kids so we went into the backyard to get some shots. One of the last times I think I was in that yard, I was limping around with a bloodstain made out of ketchup on my derriere while filming our version of Forrest Gump for a high school physics class.

Thankfully, we were able to beat the rain that weekend and make a few fun photos. Check ‘em out below!

Lester Park Engagement :: Katy & Jacob

DRock — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 21:09:27 +0000

I could fill the blog for months with all the work I’ve done the past few weeks. I’m not complaining, but that’s why I haven’t found the time to updated the blog in awhile. Now that I have some breathing room, there will be a few updates coming every couple days over the next week. To start things off, I thought I would share some photos of a recent engagement session I did with Jacob & Katy. It was a slightly overcast and warm day, which made for some great light late in the evening. I’ve really started to enjoy taking photos at Lester Park because the streams, cliffs and forest combine for some awesome scenery during every season. It also doesn’t hurt that it’s only a mile from my front doorstep. I’ll be shooting Jacob & Katy’s wedding later this month and hopefully the weather will be as nice as it was during this engagement session.