Remembering when with Tiffany & Blake

Q U E S T I O N :
Is it good news
(or bad...)
if on-again
off-again rain
keeps sneaking
into the picture
the afternoon
of your
engagement shoot?

A N S W E R :
Well,
(at least if you're
Tiffany Anderson)
let me tell you,
your answer
is probably
GREAT NEWS!
Why? :
even MORE
possibilities!!


By the lunch hour it looked like the possibility rain, and by the time she left work that afternoon, Tiffany had secured the cutest umbrella & great galoshes and was ready for anything Mother Nature might throw our way. And oh, what fun! CLICK HERE for a slideshow of image highlights. You'll see FABULOUS footwear, a unique umbrella and a couple I wished lived next door. These two are great!!


Blake & Tiffany have dated a long time and it's easy to see how they bring out the best in each other. Loved getting to know them and having a chance to create these pictures. Can't wait for the wedding!! AND, big thanks to Annika Miller (who is coincidentally, Blake's first cousin) for assisting with this shoot; a the-more-the-merrier experience indeed. ~amy





enjoy the show! ~ amy enderle

Off the Grid with Friends in Taos, New Mexico

Just before spring break, our Michigan friends Kate & Bill called to see if they could spend a night at our house en route to Taos, New Mexico to do a little skiing and hiking. One thing led to another and, well, we hit the road WITH them.

We met Kate & Bill in graduate school at the University of Michigan before any of us had children (and before David and I were married...in fact, I credit Kate & Bill ~ along with a kite flying competition, a dairy farm and a nuclear power plant ~ for bringing David and me together...but that's another story...). And look at us now! Each family has grown to include two kids, and what a pleasure seeing our kids play, hike, ski & explore together!




Ok, I've got to let you in on the inside scoop for a delightful AND educational New Mexico vacation: find a way to stay at the "Sol Ship." The Sol Ship is located in a subdivision that is populated entirely by "earthship" homes ~ beautiful structures built with "rammed earth" tires (thus saving on landfill space) and other recyclables, like cans and bottles. The Sol Ship is entirely "off the grid," which means that the homeowners pay NO utility fees because photovoltaic cells, passive solar and thermal mass technologies regulate the indooor temperature without the use of standard heating and cooling systems.

Not only is it FASCINATING to see how the Sol Ship is built, but it is beathtakingly beautiful...filled with artistic details and with light that fuels a photographer's soul. Just take a look. From the front you can see the passive solar windows:

Inside, a garden is planted at the base of these windows:

and is bounded by a tiled wall:

The entire home is built into the earth on the north side:

Lovely from every angle by day:


and by night:


Thanks, Kate & Bill, for letting us crash your vacation! :')
~kim

Album Preview: Katie & Gunther, a new Queensberry design

We are LOVING Queensberry Albums out of New Zealand. Soon we'll have a studio sample album of Jane & Tim Allen's wedding to share ~ come by and take a peek.

First & Foremost:
Here's the link to see Katie & Gunther's wedding day. WOW!

We were so moved by THESE IMAGES and so excited about QUEENSBERRY, our newest album offering, we couldn't help combine the two.

When watching the album slideshow, you'll notice that some pages showcase matted images (there's a slight texture shown on the screen to indicate matting) while other pages are full photo spreads. Yet a third type of spread combines the two. We are ecstatic about such versatility!


What Makes Queensberry Different
Most of the albums we've designed have been White Glove Books. SilverBox brides seem to love them as much as we do. White Glove is the perfect choice when wanting a high end "coffee table book" with images printed directly on page spreads. If you haven't held one in your hands, please come by ~ they are amazing! That toothy quality of the paper gives a White Glove album tactile as well as visual impact. A big part of that visual impact comes from the use of opaque images. Couples we've designed albums for have loved the effect opacity allows. Two White Glove spreads from Lindsey Rendlen's and Chris Patton's Album to illustrate opacity:


We searched the world over for an album that was MATTED but that could also allow for full photo spreads that incoporate opacity in the design. And it was New Zealand that held the answer. The following spreads have all been designed for the same album: Katie & Gunther's.
The above features an opaque image in the background (Gunther dipping his mom) which spreads across both pages. The image in the upper right of the end-of-the-dance-hug is in full color, and really, the focal point of the page, but what a great background visual the opaque creates. [To emphasize the two-page-spread aspect, we've exaggerated the "break" with space + burgandy line.]
To be able to combine spreads like the one above with matted pages is a dream come true. Also from Katie & Gunther's album:

~ a full image page (thus HALF spread) beside a page with two matted images:

~a more traditional mounted/matted page spread:

What fun we've had with these images and Queensberry's near endless design possibilites. We know that an on-screen album slideshow completely pales in comparison to the real thing, but hope it gives you a taste of new album design and the fun we have with weddings we document. Katie & Gunther, thanks again!!!

~amy enderle

Cari & Steve ~ what fun!

Can you tell how fabulous the weather is by looking at these pictures?!
The other thing that's oh-so clear: look how in love these two are!
Can't wait for the Steve & Cari's wedding!
Wanna see more?
CLICK HERE FOR A SLIDESHOW OF FAVORITES.



Heading out to cook outside.
Hooray...there's no better time of year.
~ amy

Signs of Spring

Lucie and Jonny came all the way from Texas to hang out with friends for St. Patrick's Day AND to do an engagement shoot. We scoured Columbia for a spot of green and other signs of spring, and we found them in some rather unlikely places:

~painted on the backside of a restaurant near the delivery entance . . .
~in a cemetary . . .
~and on a garage door.

I met Lucie & Jonny at Ellen & Ryan's wedding (who, on May 20, will have been married ONE year ~ Happy 1st Anniversary Ellen & Ryan)! Lucie & Jonny proved their love of a good party more than once that day...including a little dancing in the streets en route from Boone Tavern to the reception (there's Lucie, BIG SMILE, 2nd from the left).

Lucie & Jonny tie the knot on June 9 in St. Charles, Missouri. Check back in June for pics!

~kim wade

wow...katie & gunther, March 31st

Intermittant rains, threatening storm clouds, swirling winds and overhead skies that morphed from powdery pale to green to ashen grey to the bluest BLUE! (see left for proof) and Katie & Gunther, smiled & laughed and enjoyed their collection of friends through it all.
"No wind...No rain...No..." what is that next line?? ..."ain't no mountain high enough", (or for that matter, ocean wide enough -- Gunther's best friend Tom flew in from Norway to celebrate the occasion) "to keep me away...."

First, the guys -- Groom Gunther is 3rd from the right with Tom, from Norwary, being smack dab in the middle:




That Gunther is one lucky guy. Friends that come from around the world AND marrying into the Zguta family. The Zgutas are just terrific!

A few years ago, I documented Greg's wedding to Amy Ajans (oh, love love them!! - here are Amy & Greg at Katie & Gunther's reception.) I was DELIGHTED when Katie called (engaged!) to check available dates.

And NOW there's a Zguta GRANDBABY!!!


How happy & joy-filled Dr. and Mrs. Zguta look holding (or trying to catch up with) Eva.
Ooops, just re-read the last few sentences. Greg & Amy don't have children... yet....Eva is the daugther of Larissa and her husband (who were, darnnit, married before I ever met them.)

An image of the four siblings to clarify things a bit: Larissa, Greg, Katie & Ellen!



Katie & Gunther were wed at the Stephens College Chapel, an incredibly modern & unique building, desgined by Eero Saarinen, a Finnish-born architect, known most notably in Missouri as the architect of the St. Louis Arch . It's an amazing, albeit slightly "atomic-type" space, designed in the late 1940s yet sadly, most lists of Eero's "great buildings" fail to mention Firestone-Baars Chapel. Hmmm, anyone out there ever figured out how to add a line to Wikipedia?

The chapel is a wonderful and wonderfully unique place, embodying such a welcoming & community-embracing feel. From a wedding photographer's perspective, lighting can be a bit trickey but my oh my what great angles & views:

Three more things that delight my soul to note:

A. Annika Miller, the newest of the SilverBox shooting assistants, was the second shooter at this wedding, and wow I LOVED working with her and hope to do so for many years to come. We miss Sara Brown, who's now photographing weddings (and her cute kids) in Connecticut and Becca Young who has launched a terrific photography business in St. Louis (and getting married soon!--stay tuned for pictures.) We miss Leah very much, too, who is in and out of London photographing famous folks. (We'll have to check with her to see if we can tell you who....hint: movie set.) Jennifer and Karen and both here in Columbia (and we're lucky, lucky, lucky to work with them) and now to add Annika to the mix seems just right. Annika captured some great images of Katie & Gunther. Below is my favorite image of hers that day:
B. Stephens College offers such terrific venues. A number of couples SilverBox will be photographing this year will be married in the Chapel and then walk across the courtyard for their Kimball Ballroom reception. It is LOVELY for all involved. The ballroom rennovations continue to impress me. What a building!
C. a silly FYI: Eero Saarinen also designed the uber-cool Tulip Chair
...but I digress -- instead, let's focus (hee, hee) on THE PICTURES.

Katie & Gunther, wow!!-what a celebration.
Thanks so much for giving us the opportunity to capture these amazing moments.
Enjoy the honeymoon!!
~amy enderle