brettmaxwellphoto.com

What is Dad thinking?

Brett Maxwell — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 18:50:25 +0000

I commonly think and wonder what’s going through a bride’s head as she walks down the aisle, but as I was looking at this image I sat and wondered for the first time what Dad is thinking. What a crazy feeling to “give” your daughter away…

One of the (few) benefits to Michigan winters and the small number of weddings is that I get some availability to shoot weddings with other photographers. This frame is from a great wedding in Grand Rapids that I second shot with my friend Melissa.

Kylee and Adam – Engagement

Brett Maxwell — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 20:24:27 +0000

Usually people try to schedule their engagement session during the Spring or Fall, but Kylee and Adam are different; the first time we met it was decided a snowboarding engagement session would be a lot of fun and really fit their personalities, even though there was plenty of time for a Summer or Fall shoot with great weather. Sure enough, it was fun! They were all about just hanging out and enjoying ourselves, which makes my job easy. I got some fun candids and we only stopped to really shoot for a few minutes all day.

Their wedding is coming up next month and I’m really excited. Seriously, not just saying that, I’m really excited.

In high school I used to snowboard 100 days a year. I feel really old thinking how long ago that was. Now I get in a few days when I go visit my parents, and this was actually my first time snowboarding in Michigan. We went to Nub’s Nob and I was happy to find a nicely cut 20 foot super pipe! It’s been a few years since I’ve rode a half pipe, and clearly I’m no Shaun White, but I let Kylee use my camera and she did get some proof that I can still get at least a few feet above the lip:

snowboarding + engagement session

Brett Maxwell — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 02:09:01 +0000

Fun from yesterday, more to come.

Kids at Weddings

Brett Maxwell — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 20:15:06 +0000

I love kids. It started when I got a baby sister when I was 12 and it has continued as some of my good friends have great kids I babysit regularly. Kelli and I have been married for less than two years so we’re waiting a little while to have our own, but it’s something I really look forward too. In the meantime, I have a lot of fun at weddings watching and photographing the kids. Sometimes they’re running around or dancing, they’re constantly goofing off, and I’m not opposed to breaking from “photojournalism” mode to stick my tongue out or make a funny face to get a reaction. Here are a few of my favorite kid moments from weddings in the past year or so.

Paint

Brett Maxwell — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 15:02:14 +0000

A little aside from the normal photography thing today; I want to bring a little attention to some artwork I love. My friend Jeremy Mason is an amazing artist doing abstract stuff with paint. Go check out his site at jeremymasonart.com, and since little web photos don’t communicate well enough the color and texture in his pieces it’s definitely worth going to one of his gallery showings.

Here’s one of his pieces hanging on my wall. I got it for Kelli for our first anniversary, which is supposed to be the paper anniversary, but I figured canvas was close enough. I’ve got my eye on “4 Grain” next, so go buy a piece, but not that one.

Susie and Shawn wedding in Troy, MI

Brett Maxwell — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 23:00:29 +0000

Back in October I had a free Saturday and connected with Chicago wedding photographer Nate Mathai to shoot a great wedding with him in Troy, MI. I don’t get many opportunities to second shoot, but I absolutely loved photographing this Indian wedding (with an Orthodox ceremony) because the food was awesome, it was really colorful, and they knew how to party! Nate put up his post of the wedding last week here, and I’m happy to see that a lot of his favorites from me were my favorites also.

Melanie and Matt – Engagement Photos at The English Inn

Brett Maxwell — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:32:34 +0000

Melanie and Matt are getting married this summer but they live in New York City, so scheduling an engagement session was a little tricky. They were visiting Michigan for the holidays so we connected last week, and since it was about 15 degrees we shot mostly inside at The English Inn, which was a perfect fit since that’s where they’re getting married in June (and it’s perhaps my favorite venue around Lansing).

Shanyn and Steve Wedding

Brett Maxwell — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 11:08:12 +0000

Shanyn and Steve got married today in Gun Lake, near Grand Rapids, and it was a great way to start 2010! The wedding party even braved through some outdoor photos in the snow and freezing cold, but I’d say it was worth it:

It’s been a long night (I made it back to Lansing to catch the tail end of a good friend’s wedding) and I’ll have to put a blog post up with some more of the great stuff we got today, including the photobooth, which was again a blast. I think I need to come up with a prize for photobooth picture that gets me to laugh the most, tonight as I scanned through it was this one:

Update: Lots more photos on Facebook now!

Merry Christmas!

Brett Maxwell — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 00:50:31 +0000

Kelli and I have been visiting my family in California this past week to celebrate Christmas. It’s been an awesome trip; snowboarding, catching up with friends, In N Out, and lots more fun. We also celebrated our anniversary out here and went to the California coast and took a short hike through the redwoods.

I’ve been trying to keep up with some email mostly using my phone, so sorry for any delays, but we’ll be back in Michigan this weekend and getting all caught up. Merry Christmas!

Judy and Michael Wedding

Brett Maxwell — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 04:43:17 +0000

Judy and Michael got married today at Holt Presbyterian Church with a reception at The English Inn, and then a traditional Chinese tea ceremony at Michael’s parent’s house. It was my last wedding of the year, and a really great one to end on! But seriously, who gets married in December in Michigan? Oh wait, I did too!