Fine Art Wedding and LIfestyle Portraiture | MN + WI | Simplee Photography » Fine Art Weddings | Lifestyle Portraits

Sand, Sunshine, & the lost art of being in focus.

05.21.13

Everybody wants me to be who they want me to be except you
All I wanna do is be with you
They all tell me that there’s something strange
I don’t wanna be with nobody new
All I wanna do is be with you

Life sounds like
I’m alive

-Michael Franti and Spearhead, “I’m Alive (Life Sounds Like.)”

So many thing have been happening lately.

Work.

Life.

Chickens.

(Mustn’t forget those ;)

I also wrote an article which was included in the printed edition of The Sandbucket Issue Five (released last week — go see!) inspired by how our daily, our stories, happen in the details. Our lives happen in the backyard, in the sunshine, at the dinner table, in the nightly bath time ritual…and while these may come to seem routine, they are fleeting gifts of time. And we owe it to ourselves to be present for them.

To not only be aware,

but to be focused on them. To put away the distractions, the To Do’s and the I Shoulds, and to truly be in the moments happening in front of you. While they are happening.

After submitting this article, my family and I went on a vacation. Nothing but sunshine, ocean, plus us for seven days…and at some point during the week I realized that I was only just beginning to truly understand my own written words. To truly live and appreciate the weight of them. This time with my family…the person crazy enough to love me for death do us part, and the three tiny humans we were crazy enough to bring into this world…was nothing short of pure, unexplainable bliss. We lived minimally, snubbed technology’s gadgets, and focused just on loving life and each other. We had our share of adventure…roadside stranding, a mild jelly fish sting, a minor meltdown at the loss of a roll of film (oops ;) … but I wouldn’t change a single minute of our week together.

Isn’t it funny how getting away from all that you’re working towards magnifies what you really value?

(New goal: Oceanside property.

I’m kidding.

Well, sort of ;)

Below are some of my favorite snippets from our great south Florida getaway. A combination of both digital and film imagery (Mostly film. I have recently acquired an older Pentax K1000 which I have been enjoying creating with — exploring the unique qualities of film in an old camera has become my newest obsession.) This is us, this is our story, and while our surroundings might now be different, the details worth focusing on are the same.

This is us, alive.

And this is what it looks like :)

I say we do it again :)

xo,

Kelsea

Posted in Children + Babies, Families, My Life in a Nutty Shell Tags: beach vacation, film photography, lifestyle photographer, midwest photographer, Minneapolis/St. Paul photographer, simplee photography

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I Love It | Styled Bridal | Trash The Dress.

04.25.13

You’re on a different road, I’m in the milky way

You want me down on earth, but I am up in space

…

I don’t care, I love it.

I don’t care, I love it, I love it.

I don’t care, I love it.

-Icona Pop, “I Love It”

I like to think that inside each of us, there is a rock star. A version of ourselves that only wants to play her (or his!) music much too loud, shake her hair free of cares and worries, and shout to the world at the top of her lungs … simply to revel in the fun of it all.

This winter, I collaborated with two other incredibly amazing creative minds, Lisa and Ashley, and together we designed a styled bridal shoot that radiated this fundamental core at every turn. Drawing inspiration from the increasingly popular “Trash The Dress” trend, we found a willing dress + a willing model, rented a studio space, then combined them with a collection of purposeful details and vivid fashion. What we created was an icon of inspiration for the celebration of color — vibrant and unafraid — and loudly embracing the art of life. Of throwing paint against the palate of white and loving it with wild abandon. A visual representation of playing your music too loud and saying to the world, “I don’t care. I love it.”

(Be sure to take note of the list of vendors at the end — I truly was fortunate to work with such a fantastic group of visionaries :)

Photography | Simplee Photography

Venue | Minneapolis Photo Center

Model | Melody Fiscus

Hair and Makeup | Lisa Reinhardt Makeup & Hair Artistry

Coordinator | Simply Elegant Bridal Consulting | Blush and Whim

Floral | Donato’s Floral

Wedding Gown Redesign | JenMar Creations

xo,

Kelsea

Posted in Collections, Weddings Tags: fine art wedding photographer, midwest photographer, minneapolis photo center, Minneapolis/St. Paul photographer, paint, rock styled bridal, simplee photography, trash the dress

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Nonsense. | WI Photographer

04.18.13

A little nonsense now and then, is cherished by the wisest men.

-Roald Dahl

We may not have true spring weather yet….

but nonsense?

That we have in abundance :)

xo,

Kelsea

Posted in Children + Babies, My Life in a Nutty Shell Tags: fine art child portraiture, midwest photographer, Minneapolis/St. Paul photographer, mn child photographer, simplee photography

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A Gift-Away | Midwest Photographer.

04.08.13

*UPDATE: The voting period for this gift-away has now closed, and the winner has been contacted. Thank you to all for participating!*

We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.

-Winston Churchill

This business. Simplee. It is a labor of love, and an outpouring of my heart into the pixels you see on this blog. It is a dream that I hope will continue for the forever of my existence, and none of it would be possible without the wonderful clients who have supported me along the way. To each of you I give my love, a hug, and extremely humble gratitude. I wish I could give each of you the world, but unfortunately, I haven’t figured out how to accomplish that quite yet ;) So, for now, I will give away one of my favorite things to one very lucky client.

A 16 x 20″ canvas wrap!

Of an image of their choice from one of their sessions! (Clients: you will not be required to select the image featured below for your canvas.)

EEEEEEEEeeeeeeeek! (Translation: I’m super excited about this :)

How It Works: Below are numbered images representing clients from 2012 to present. To vote for an image:

1) Make sure you have “liked” the Simplee Photography facebook page here.

2) Submit a comment at the end of this post stating the number of the image that you would like to vote for. Voters are permitted one vote per day. The image with the most votes wins!

3) Voting will be open until 11:59pm CST Monday April 15, 2013. The winner will be contacted via email.

Friends, I hope you have as much fun with this contest as I did putting it together :) To revisit all of the fun from the past year was incredible, and I am so grateful for each and every one of you who have stepped out in front of my lens. You are all my favorite :) And now, in no particular order….

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.

31.

Good luck!

xo,

Kelsea

Posted in Giving. Tags: black and white photography, fine art child portraiture, fine art newborn portraiture, giveaway, lifestyle photographer, Minneapolis/St. Paul photographer, senior portrait photographer, simplee photography, WI wedding photographer

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