Happy Labor Day to all my blog readers!  Traditionally Labor Day signifies the end of summer but as we in the Chicago area will attest, it really finally just feels like summer now (almost mid-September).  It’s been a crazy few months to say the least.

The three little cuties that I photographed late last week will attest to the sudden surge in temps!  We had a blast in the fields for a Marmalade Location session.  Thanks to their beautiful mom for bringing out three of the most adorable kids this side of Chicago.  Welcome to your sneak peek!

Homer Glen photographer

I love this quiet moment with the three of them!  Three under the age of 5 – it doesn’t get too much better than this! 🙂

 

Chicago Photographer

Giddy up!  T in her blue tutu was heaven on earth!

 

Suburban Chicago Photographer

He cracked me up – LOVED having the chair in a fallen down position.

Thank you to the C family for allowing me to capture these images for you.  I loved meeting you all!

• • • • •

Fall is pretty much upon us, I took the liberty at finding a couple of fun things to do in the coming weeks for the greater Chicago area.  Here’s a couple quickies.

Apples on Oak an apple orchard right outside of Joliet straddling that Lockport – Joliet area.  We were always under the mistaken impression that apple picking was an hour away from our home, this proves me wrong!  My client Andria had this on her Facebook so she deserves the ultimate kudos for finding this cute, not too far from Chicago orchard.  Situated on five acres, the owner told us that it’s his "hobby gone wild".   Apple picking begins in August and runs through late October/early November.  Don’t judge the orchard by their outdated website, it really is a nicely run orchard run by supernice people.

Dollinger Family Farm in the Minooka area, a short drive off of the I-80 / I-55 interchange.  We go to Dollinger’s yearly, it’s been our family tradition since 2000.  It’s an adorable farm.  The Dollinger Family is gracious and opens their farm up to visitors every year.  Admission is free, parking is free.  There are free and pay for activities.  They range from a small petting zoo, to little playhouses in the field for the kids, a corn maze, a haunted barn, jumping in the hay/straw bales and much much more!  If you’ve never been to the farm before it’s a treat to be there.  Opens for the harvest season on September 26 and runs until October 31.

Garden Patch Farms & Orchard outside of the Homer area.  I love the concept of this place!  It’s on our to do list this fall.  They offer pick your own fruits (strawberries in June!) & veggies (starting in July).  Seems like a neat place to go for locally grown produce.  Check out their website and if you go drop me a note to tell me how you like it.

 

Contact MeEmail This PostBack To Top
  • magda - September 7, 2009 - 5:33 pm

    I am a photographer in NYC, I envy the beautiful locations and your beautiful images of families. These shots of the three of them are incredible. Beautiful work as always Marmalade.

  • Leslie Campins - September 7, 2009 - 9:18 pm

    My heart skipped a beat when I saw my sneak peek. You are a genius! How gorgeous these pictures are. I am on pins and needles waiting for the proofs.

  • Leila - September 8, 2009 - 7:55 am

    love, love, love

  • Lisa Kelly - September 8, 2009 - 4:03 pm

    Amazing images, love the blue with the green grass, and the tutu is divine. The sibling shot is perfect.

  • Terrilyn - September 8, 2009 - 6:38 pm

    Oh Mare these are just stunning!! Beautiful lighting, location and subjects. I simply adore that first image of them all together. The second image with the tutu and the grass, fantastic composition and that sweet smile in the last portrait just melts my heart. These are all just perfect! Well done!

  • PamN - September 9, 2009 - 6:27 pm

    Wow, that blue really brings out their eyes! Gorgeous kids and setting, and the color is divine.

  • Kristie Stuckel - September 9, 2009 - 10:00 pm

    Soooooooo beautiful, you have such talent!

  • Brandy - September 11, 2009 - 9:59 am

    What a lovely family! Her outfit is absolutely adorable!

  • Life with Kaishon - September 12, 2009 - 11:22 am

    Thank you for being the judge at I heart faces this week! I loved your picks! Very cool! And I love these pictures here. How fun is that little girls skirt? SO cute! And God bless the Mama! 3 under 5! You know she has some BUSY days : )

  • […] was *so* happy to see these siblings late last week…some of my favorite images from last season were taken during their session.  The littlest guy is turning one and this session was for him (mostly) but of course his […]

These little cuties drove from the city to see me late last week for a Marmalade Session.  Thank you Courtney for coming out to the Chicago Southland for a Marmalade Location Photography Session.  I had a blast meeting your sweet family…your kids are beautiful, smart and oh so fun.  Enjoy these few little sneak peeks I have for you!

Chicago Child Photography

Chicagoland Child Photography

Professional Child Photographer

Thanks to the M Family!

• • • • •

Please see below for our September 19, 2009 Ltd Edition Sessions for Holiday Cards!

Contact MeEmail This PostBack To Top
  • PamN - August 29, 2009 - 2:47 pm

    These are SCREAMING to be large wall canvases…does the use of caps help get my point across, lol?!

  • Melissa Mullinax - August 30, 2009 - 8:25 am

    These are gorgeous, Mare!!

  • Anna-Karin - August 31, 2009 - 5:38 am

    Swoon……..these are just lovely. Love the summer outdoor feel of these from running barefoot to picking flowers. Just simply gorgeous portraits!

  • Irene Frankhouse - August 31, 2009 - 12:12 pm

    Wonderful shots!!

  • Danna - August 31, 2009 - 1:06 pm

    ohhh Mare…..your work simply rocks!! I LOVE your colors and you always seem to photograph the CUTEST kids!!

  • marie - September 1, 2009 - 8:00 pm

    that first one is a stunner!

  • Lisa Lucky - September 1, 2009 - 8:55 pm

    Beautiful! You really do know how to “find the light”.

  • k - September 2, 2009 - 12:58 pm

    Great images. I love them.

  • Terrilyn - September 2, 2009 - 6:25 pm

    Oh my word, Mare, one word: BREATHTAKING!!! Seriously beautiful portraits each and every one but that first shot just blows my mind! Incredible!!

  • Sherri W - September 5, 2009 - 4:59 pm

    Man oh man that first portrait is true art for that family. I adore it beyond belief!

  • Daveen - September 6, 2009 - 1:34 pm

    Such lovely portraits – love their sweet glances!

  • Brandy - September 11, 2009 - 10:00 am

    Absolutely gorgeous! Love the light!

Photography Promo

Announcing our 2009 Holiday Card Ltd Edition Sessions.

You may be asking, JUST WHAT IS A LIMITED EDITION SESSION? Holiday 2009 Ltd Edition Sessions are especially geared towards returning clients and clients who want a bit of a more updated image for their Holiday Cards for the Holiday Season. We will be offering three Holiday card collections as well as a la carte and specialty collections for additional purchase.

Limited Edition Mini Sessions are $295 and include:

• 15-20 minutes in front of the camera with the photographer

• Selection of three collections. We also are offering a limited edition session a la carte list of options to allow for add ons to your portrait selections.

• Two day online viewing of 12-15 presented images

Our Limited Editions Sessions are a spectacular way to get really great updated photographs of your children and a great way to purchase gifts for your family and friends as well.

Collections Available (included with $295 session fee)

Collection A:   50 – 5×7 metallic cards (choice of 5 pre designed selections)

1 – Gift print of the same pose (8×10 or smaller)

 

Collection B:   25 – 5×7 metallic cards (choice of 5 pre designed selections)

1 – 11×14 image on metallic (same pose)

 

Collection C:   75 – 4×6 lustre print images (no card design)

1 – Gift print of the same pose (8×10 or smaller)

 

Further details are available after booking.

Please call with your credit card number handy to book one of our Holiday 2009 Sessions.  815.603.8450

Contact MeEmail This PostBack To Top

I had the pleasure of meeting the lovely Q & her little brother D yesterday at their home on the North Shore.  It was the quintessential late summer day – it could not have been more gorgeous outside!  We hung out at their home for a bit and took off to the beach for a bit to capture just a little bit of summer 2009 in their lives.  Thanks to their lovely mom for welcoming me into their home & allowing me the opportunity to photograph them on this amazing late August day!

Chicago Photographer

North Shore Photographer

Chicago Family Photographer

Thanks again D Family!!

• • • • •

Limited Edition Sessions for the Fall will be held for one day only-Saturday September 19, 2009.  Details will be posted in the next day or two!  As always these will be for this date only, meant for up to 2 individuals for 15-20 minute sessions where you will be presented with 12-15 images in an online gallery for 2 days.  That’s it so far, look for more details in the next blog post!!

Contact MeEmail This PostBack To Top
  • Terrilyn - August 26, 2009 - 3:56 am

    Just stunning Mare! I absolutely adore that last shot of the two of them looking out over the water, that SO needs to be printed as a large canvas, it would be breathtaking!!

  • stella - August 26, 2009 - 10:43 am

    Oh my word ~ these are so precious. I would *hart having these kind of images of my kids. I just came across your website on the internet and I am very much into your work. Marianne you have an amazing gift~talent, what have you! Thank you for sharing your beauty of the world with all of us (and your special lucky customers)

  • Lisa Lucky - August 26, 2009 - 1:57 pm

    So great and WOW that last one is really amazing! You’ve got such a great style!

  • Kimberly Hill - August 26, 2009 - 3:10 pm

    That last image takes my breath away! Please tell me they ordered it as a huge canvas art print for their home. It will make a gorgeous focal point for a room.

  • Brandy - August 26, 2009 - 11:27 pm

    Just love these, and especially that last one – his little hat is adorable!

Officially I will be back in the office tomorrow but I’d first love to share a snippet of our FABULOUS time in Isle of Palms, South Carolina (not very far from beautiful historic Charleston!).

We spent a few days in the Smoky Mountains.  Here’s a quick shot of my youngest hanging out on the deck of our cabin with the most incredible views of the Smokies:

Smoky Mountains

This was the view we woke up to and went to bed to the two full days we stayed here:

Tennessee Mountain Views

There was also a hot tub on the lower deck where I spent a great deal of time!

The Smokies were unbelievable, we didn’t expect what we got from the area.  We ended up driving about 40 minutes away and went tubing on the Little Pigeon River.  It was an unbelievable experience to just be lazy river travelling…something I’ve always wanted to do.  One of my vacation highlights for sure.

If you ever are in that area I highly recommend the river tubing experience, the website is here: River Rat  We loved every minute of it.  The tubes are high quality, the people are nice and the shop is super well run!

We also hit the Smoky Mountains National Park for a few hours the same day.  I have images on my other camera, we hiked up to Laurel Falls, a nice calm (ahem) 1.25 mile trek UP a mountain to get to.  It was BEAUTIFUL!!  I’ll have to post those later.  We didn’t spend nearly as much time as I’d like exploring the park but I assure you what I saw was incredible!  The girls had their National Park Passports stamped (we started that tradition back in 2007 when we did our Yellowstone trip!) and we were able to experience just a bit of what the Smoky Mountains offers.  I was encouraged by some locals to go to Cade’s Cove to see the Black Bears gather in the morning so that is a definite must do for the future!

We left the Smokies on Saturday a.m. and drove to South Carolina where we checked into our condo.  We had the most amazing view of the beach on Isle of Palms.  We were lucky enough to have a private rooftop deck that we could use at our leisure to experience the salty winds coming off the Atlantic.  It was truly amazing.

We stayed in Isle of Palms for the full week, only leaving the resort for necessities and a day trip to historic Charleston (which, btw, I am in LOVE with!).  It was the perfect vacation for an overtired clan such as ourselves:

 

Chicago Family Photographer

Duane & I as seen by my oldest (wonder where she gets those mad camera skills from?) 🙂

Charleston Child Photographer

My oldest on the beach on our last evening

 

Isle of Palms Child Photographer

My youngest on the last night there

 

Charleston Children

The girls hamming it up in Charleston

 

Charleston Family Photographer

All of us at the fabulous STELLA NOVA , it’s hard taking self portraits of the fam 🙂

 

Charleston Child Portrait

My oldest hamming it up

 

Charleston Kid Photographer

Waiting in line to get into…

jestine

 

Charleston Real Estate

One of my Charleston dream homes on King Street. 

Charleston Dream Home

Charleston Carriage House

Carriage house.  PRETTY.

And finally: some more of the beach.  My two lovelies:

Charleston Family Photograph

and the beach on its’ own:

Beach Photography

Thanks for stopping in.  Back down to business later in the week!

Contact MeEmail This PostBack To Top
  • corey civetta - August 19, 2009 - 6:51 am

    Gorgeous captures! LOVE that view!! Looks like you had a wnderful time away!

  • Kimberly - August 19, 2009 - 8:27 am

    You were so close, and yet so far… next time!

  • PamN - August 19, 2009 - 4:48 pm

    OK, I’m only 90 minutes south of Ashville…next time!!!

  • Danna - August 20, 2009 - 8:40 am

    What a BEAUTIFUL place!! I am so jealous. Looks like you are all having a wonderful time! Thanks so much for sharing some of your holiday with us 🙂

  • Sylvia Laughrin - August 20, 2009 - 11:26 am

    wow, what a gorgeous location… i can tell by your images that you had a wonderful vacation.

  • Lisa Lucky - August 22, 2009 - 8:02 pm

    Glad you had a great vacation. Awesome pictures:)

  • Brandy - August 23, 2009 - 11:40 am

    It looks like a dream vacation! You’ve made me want to go!

  • elizabeth - August 23, 2009 - 1:30 pm

    i love these.. looks like a great time was had by all, and by the way So Nice to see you in some of the photos

  • Lisa Kelly - August 23, 2009 - 10:01 pm

    What a wonderful group of images. The first two though, those views are amazing. What a wonderful spot.

  • Terrilyn - August 24, 2009 - 9:24 am

    So much fun!! You really worked that wide angel well Mare. What amazing memories you’ve captured for your family!!