Photographing Juliana, Mark & sweet baby Laila J

I met Juliana when we both moved back to our home state of Michigan to work for AnnArbor.com. During that first month a group of us met up at a brewery to get to know each other better. I didn't notice it at the time, but Juliana was the only one drinking pop. Little did I know, but she was newly pregnant with a sweet little baby, Laila June.

Laila is eight-months-old now and Juliana and Mark decided to capture her cuteness in some family photos. We managed to squeeze in a photo session at their apartment just in time for the holidays. Here are a few of my favorites!

This photo was taken while Laila's special holiday dress was still special and before she realized it seriously hampered her mobility! Frustrated baby ensued! :)

Juliana had a second outfit for Laila and I stole this photo while she was being changed. The look on her face just makes me melt! What a sweetie.

Proud Mom and Pops!

Laila's nap was cut a little short so that we could take photos, her patience started to wear towards the end.

The Big Chill

The Big Chill was not too chilly and for that I am very grateful! Michigan hockey hosted Michigan State outside at Michigan Stadium at what turned out to be the largest attended hockey game ever. The official number was 113,411, which is more than any other college event in history.

I split my time photographing from the photo deck (way up above the press box) and in the stands with the 113,411 people. My primary goal was to photograph the atmosphere of the game and not just action. Check out a multimedia from the event below.

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Color Contact, NYC

In March of 2002, a couple of art students and I spent spring break touring NYC. Besides it being the first time I'd ever been to New York, it was also the six-month anniversary of 9/11. I came across this contact sheet while digging through an old box of negatives. It's sort of a mini time capsule, exploring an overwhelming city through the eye of a young photographer.