Tag Archives: food photography

March 15, 2015 · 10:10 am

WITU State Council Banquet + a fabulous loaf of bread

My very first volunteer opportunity for Trout Unlimited was helping to sell tickets for the raffles at our state council banquet. That was five years ago, and now I’m in charge of the raffle ticket sales. Times have changed!

This year, while we started the day in a meeting, our council hosted the first WITU-sponsored women’s fly fishing seminar ever here in Wisconsin. We had some incredible women instructors come and teach our attendees about the sport that we love, protecting the resource, and connecting with the outdoors in a truly meaningful way.

Here’s a couple of my favorite photos from this year- the awesome members who keep me coming back, our strong leaders who fight for the resource, the award winners, and all sorts of stuff. 🙂

This event was held in Oshkosh, and my best friends Amy and Nikki came out to help me sell tickets. We spent the night relaxing in the hot tub and drinking wine. It is a strange “girls’ night” but we love it. ❤

I returned home and prepared for our chapter’s fly tying night out at Clancey’s. We had great turnout, and a lot of fun! I invented a new pattern for the “Oberstadt sparkle dry fly” and I will let you know how it works ASAP. 🙂

We were in the middle of a cold spell, so I had to do the majority of my running indoors. When I had a 12 miler on the schedule, the high temperature didn’t get above zero. That meant I got used to this view:

I actually don’t mind running inside as much as you’d think- I can keep a water bottle and fuel (Starbursts, FTW) right nearby, and a sweat towel, of course. 🙂

Lucky me, I was busy carb loading with the subject of this week’s photo shoot- a loaf of Le Fruit, another Main Grain creation.

My view?

The finished product?

I lead a charmed life.

Up next? Our awesome Valentine’s weekend., including Jason Isbell in Chicago and my mom’s wedding!

Miles this year: 106

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Tagged as fly tying, food photography, friends, long run, running, traveling, Trout Unlimited, volunteering

March 14, 2015 · 9:40 am

Jessie Fritsch + cupcakes

Meet Jessie.

She invited me to her art studio for a shoot centered around her preferred medium- encaustic paint. In a nutshell, she uses colored beeswax to create beautiful scenes. Take a peek!

She basically melts the wax and applies it while it is still hot. It hardens quickly, then she uses a number of different techniques to re-melt it and fuze it to the previous layers. Hot griddles, heat guns, and scrapers are all a part of the art!

She has an adorable little studio, filled with hundreds of wax chips and lots of awards.

Thanks for inviting me, Jessie!

I was so inspired by her work, and it fueled me through two different cupcake shoots, both from the Main Grain Bakery.

I love the texture on the coconut…

And the chocolate stout with cream cheese frosting was every bit as delicious as it looks.

That’s all for now- up next? My Wisconsin Trout Unlimited banquet and a few more food items in the studio.

Thanks for reading!

Miles this year: 101

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Tagged as artists, encaustic, food photography

March 13, 2015 · 1:02 pm

Frame’s 150th, coffee and bars, and friends visiting!

Frame church, here in Stevens Point, celebrated their 150th anniversary.

We were asked to capture their special service and the social afterwards. It was a great time! This church holds a special place in my heart because they hired me as a college student to help teach music to their kids during their “Sunday School.”

They had beautiful music and a full house. Thank you for inviting us, Frame!

I was busy during the week with some delicious treats- cranberry almond oatmeal bars and coffee.

The swirls of cream in that coffee just make my mouth water!

Our friends, Erika and Chad, came home to visit. They moved to Florida after their beautiful Milwaukee wedding, and we have hardly seen them since! We all went out to eat for Mexican food, and it just so happened that the men on the other side of the table were the living embodiment of the progression of facial hair. 🙂

I love it.

I spent a little time tying flies…

Running with the girls (and pups!)…

And perfected my first handstand selfie!

Up next? A shoot with a very talented encaustic artist, and two divine cupcakes.

Thanks for reading, friends!

Miles this year: 93

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Tagged as coffee, food photography, friends, photography, pups, running, tying flies, Yoga

March 11, 2015 · 4:53 pm

Fly fishing on my mind

What is an avid fly angler to do in the winter months in central Wisconsin?

Go to trade shows. Lots of trade shows.

I went to the Chicago Outdoor Sports show to visit my friend, Jen, who runs DUN magazine and had a booth there. It was awesome to play around with a couple new rods and remember what it feels like to cast a line to water. They had a pool for us to cast into.

I stayed with my aunt Eileen and uncle Rick in their beautiful Elk Grove home, and I got to hang out with my ~~cousin~~ twin, Killeen. She just bought a super cute house and it was wonderful to hang out there, drink some wine, and relax. 🙂

I loved running around their neighborhood- they even have a little pond.

I returned home to the frozen tundra, and headed over to the Eastern part of the state for Fox Valley TU’s Cabin Fever event.

Jen is an active volunteer in the Fox Valley chapter and she’s doing great work for the women’s initiative. It was great to see you, girl! I also had a booth at Central Wisconsin’s TroutFest, and I’ve been working on reaching out to the women in our communities and in the angling industry to get them hooked up with the work that Trout Unlimited does here in Wisconsin. 🙂 I also have some blank trout outlines for kids to color. How cute is this?

The short days and no sun has really been getting to me, so my incredibly talented electrican husband whipped together a light box for me.

After sitting in front of that contraption for a few days, I felt like a million bucks! We were lucky enough to cap off our busy week with Central Waters’ 17th anniversary party. I was covering the event for Hoopla magazine, but I ran into Lydia at the party!

We drank some delicious beer and danced to live music. A perfect Saturday!

Thanks for the fun night, Central Waters!

I’ll leave you with some of the most refreshing subjects I’ve had in the studio lately- fruit!

I just love working with food. Seriously. 🙂

Up next? Frame’s 150th anniversary, an encaustic artist, and out of town friends.

Thanks for reading!

Miles this year: 84

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Tagged as beer, Chicago, concerts, family, fly fishing, food photography, friends, fruit, music, photography, running, traveling, Trout Unlimited

February 25, 2015 · 4:19 pm

Green Fountain Inn

On a snowy winter day, I headed over to Waupaca, Wisconsin, for a photo shoot at the beautiful Green Fountain Inn.

I love bed and breakfasts: the entire vibe, the food, the history. This one was no exception!

The bedrooms were all so unique and interesting- I wish I was staying the night!

Part of my excitement in this place was that they are known for both their baked goods and their tea. I love both, and I especially love shooting baked goods.

Cindy, the owner, was such a delight. She even fed me creme brûlée for breakfast!

I’m such a spoiled girl. At least I know it! Cindy boxed up a scone with lemon curd and some hot soup for me to take home. Thanks for your hospitality, Cindy!

It was an action-packed week, from a visit to my favorite frozen yogurt place and being literally picked up by a retired Packer player…

…to a snowy run with Carmel on Rib Mountain…

…to a cozy gift for Abbie from our clients, Lindsey and Derek (remember their wedding?)…

…and dressing to the nines for Sunday church.

I topped off the week with a short shoot at The Sky Club, featuring their old fashioneds. I feel like every supper club in Wisconsin features their old fashioneds, but that is okay with me. 🙂 Whether you like it with whiskey or brandy, sweet or sour, Wisconsin is the place to be.

Up next? An adventure in Madison, and spring fever sets in.

Miles this year: 66

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Tagged as food photography, photography, Rib Mountain, running, traveling, Waupaca, Wisconsin

February 24, 2015 · 10:40 am

PJ’s and SentryWorld

I was such a lucky girl- I was invited to the new restaurant inside the SentryWorld complex- PJ’s.
They are known for their Bloody Mary, and I made sure to feature that…

The restaurant has a really unique design- the facility just screams, “Wisconsin!”

The general manager, Mike, offered to give me a tour. I’ve shot weddings in SentryWorld before, but not after their remodeling. This building is just beautiful.

I loved visiting this place. Maybe I should take up golf!
In the meantime, I’m working on my skiing. I got a ski waxing lesson from the awesome folks at the Hostel Shoppe, and I’m on my way to enjoying our Wisconsin winter!

It’s been pretty cold, but I get Abbie out for a few miles when it’s warm enough. 🙂

We’ve also been battling our dry winter air with the best humidifier- home brewing!

As always, more adventures to come. Thanks for reading!

Miles this year: 63

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Tagged as Abbie, beer, food photography, homebrewing, photography, pups, running

January 4, 2015 · 12:35 pm

A restaurant + a barbershop

Two awesome shoots this week… starting with Sconni’s up in Wausau.

They are known for their blackberry old fashioned. Beautiful!

They also make a flatbread that screams “Wisconsin” since it has cheese curds on it.

They’re an ale house with a very cool ambiance and delicious food. It was a fun (and delicious!) shoot. 🙂

I also had a shoot at the Chop Shop- a new car-themed barber shop in Plover.

I don’t even need to caption these- this place was awesome. It even had a little car as the child seat! I made an appointment for Brian while I was there. 🙂

The cold weather has arrived, and Abbie has lost all desire to play outside.

Even with the cold, we ventured out to hear our friend Ryan play a faculty jazz piano recital. We love jazz, and it’s awesome to hear a friend play so well. 🙂

Congratulations, Ryan!
Carmel and I didn’t let the cold stop us either, and we headed out on the Green Circle.

I’ll leave you with a little field trip. I headed over to Green Bay to see “Flies, Films, and Foam.” It was sponsored by Tight Lines Fly Co., and was a highlight reel of our favorite F3T segments over the past years. I even saw some of my favorite Wisconsin TU women, and all the proceeds of the event went to help with TU work projects. A win-win!

That’s all for now…

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Tagged as barbershops, concerts, fly fishing, food photography, friends, photography, running

October 19, 2014 · 12:40 pm

Sal, the Brew Crew, and my amazing windshield repair!

I was so excited to head back over to Bistro 212 for another shoot with Sal. He’s such a nice guy, a passionate chef, and he produces beautiful (and delicious!) food.

Thanks for lunch, Sal! 🙂
A few of my ballroom dance students, the rowdy ones, invited us along to a Brewer game. We had a blast! They even gave me a customized bottle of Jameson to celebrate my birthday. Thanks, guys! We love you!

Last, but not least… I had the chip in my windshield repaired. Have you ever had this done before? How amazing!

Miles this year: 454.5

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June 11, 2014 · 2:53 pm

So much summer fun.

Hi, friends! Thanks for sticking with me on my adventures..
I’ve been having a lot of fun doing the things I love- taking photos, running, traveling, and paddling, among so many other things! Here’s a few of my recent trips…
The Freckled Frogg is an adorable little restaurant in Waupaca, Wisconsin. A lake town dominated by water sports and relaxation, I love to drive over there, paddle on the chain of lakes, then dance all night to live music with our friends. Here’s a few captured shots from the Frogg.

I also had the chance to meet (and adore!) Nancy, the fly fishing extraordinaire! She invited me over to her home and barn along the Tomorrow/Waupaca River, and we drank coffee, giggled over “designer” fly rods, and tried to lure out some big fish!

Speaking of fly fishing, I had a cookout party to celebrate my two year fly fishing anniversary, complete with fishing-themed snacks. 🙂

I also let some of my chives flower and made a couple batches of chive vinegar! 🙂

I paddled, ran, and skated.

Up next? My Green Bay half marathon recap and details from my trip to Pennsylvania!

Miles this year: 273.55

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December 27, 2013 · 11:39 am

My new BFF, Aurora…

A couple months ago, my friend Chad (a meteorologist) gave me a heads-up that the northern lights would be visible here. It was a cool night, and I wasn’t exactly sure I wanted to leave the comfort of my home, but I’m so glad I did. In fact, Brian and I went out to look, and I didn’t take my camera. I was going to try and take it in with the lenses of my eyes, not of my gear…
…but alas, I returned home, left Brian to his saxophone, and headed out, tripod in hand.

I wanted to go to the interstate. I had this vision… Something like “Northern Lights meets Southbound Lights.”

I only got in a little trouble.

What a kind officer- he saw me standing on the bridge and was worried about me 🙂 I reassured him… I’m fine!
I actually did have a cold, but one visit to Lor’s for a shoot of their delicious Vietnamese food, and I felt healed by the tea and the spices.

A week later, and I was over in the thriving metropolis of Waupaca, WI. Little Fat Gretchen’s is an adorable little cafe, specializing in pies and really, all things delicious.

Yes, I definitely ate this roasted beet panini.

I’d highly recommend stopping in for a visit! Seriously, though… have you ever been to a place with an “Eat” sign that wasn’t delicious? I didn’t think so. 😀
It was the peak of fall colors, so I was squeezing in family photos left and right! Here’s a few of my faves from the Meachen extended family’s shoot. The grandpa is a fly fisherman… as if I could love this sweet family any more than I already do.

Grandpas are precious. Here’s a phone photo of me with mine. I love this man.