© 2024 Nick Wilkes Photography. All rights reserved. A Madison WI portrait and commercial photographer serving Madison, Milwaukee and southern Wisconsin. Site by Isthmus Design.
Autumn
I shot Jon and Ann's darling son George last summer when he was just a few days old, and now he has gorgeous long curls and a wonderfully stubborn disposition. Ann wanted to bring the entire family together at Ebert's Greenhouse Village in Ixonia, which seemed like a good idea to me. Turns out there is a LOT going on at Ebert's, so we ducked through the greenhouse complex and found the corn field, complete with tractors and a warm, quiet greenhouse.
Schedule the shoot... cancel because it looks like rain. It never rains. Reschedule for next week... the forecast calls for rain. Discuss two hours before the shoot... Molly wants to go for it. Drive to small town under dark skies. It begins to rain. Scout the small town, looking for places that make offer any kind of shelter. Rains gets harder. Start thinking about restaurants and bars. Molly calls and says, "It's totally cool, let's just shoot in a bar or something. That will be more fun anyway." Ten minutes before the shoot, the couple calls and says they are early. Rain stops, right then. Go to an industrial area, upon the Molly's request. Explore. Have fun. Get a little dirty. Get a little spooked. Go home.
If every engagement shoot was like this, that would be okay with me. Thanks you two.
Tyler somehow managed to stop cracking jokes long enough to get some really wonderful romantic shots. And Kathleen somehow managed not to flip out on Tyler for being a total goof ball. Enough said. Looking forward to the wedding next year!
Autumn means apples in Wisconsin, and for me that means stopping in at Ski Hi Fruit Farm after rock climbing at Devil's Lake. Two minutes west of the Park, on a high hill overlooking the Baraboo valley and range, Ski Hi is a pretty nice place for an apple farm. The property has been an apple orchard since 1907, when Arthur Kamp Bassett mowed down the forest and planted apple trees in the stump holes. Though you can't pick your own fruit at Ski High, the store/warehouse has a classic, rural Wisconsin feel to it. Choose your apples beneath the watchful gaze of mounted deer, pay the cashier who lives down the road. No frills, no tourist trap crap, lots of love.
"Should we wait to get married until it is legal in Wisconsin? Or get married immediately because we just want to be married, damn it?" It is ridiculous that gay couples here have to have this conversation. But at least for now, they do. Heather and Becci had been discussing this for a while, and ultimately decided to make the trip to Decorah, Iowa (the closest county seat to Madison where two gals can get a marriage certificate) to seal the deal legally. They decided to make the ceremony an intimate affair... I was the only invitee... and follow up with a party at Memorial Union in Madison.
We had a great time shooting in Decorah; it is a LOVELY town I will sure to revisit. The girls brought their dog to the ceremony, Becci wore her Chucks, and we hit up the local ice cream parlor for post-nuptial treats. The reception bash happened a couple weeks later, with perfect weather. The Main Lounge at Memorial Union is a great reception venue... it offers impressive privacy, while adjacent to the exciting energy of the crowded Terrace hum. Guests can hang out on the balcony and take in some fresh air and music, then come inside to a the private party. Couldn't be better.