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Minneapolis Photojournalist | Father's Day Photo Promotion

As you're wandering the corridors of your favorite big box store on Father's Day eve this year, think to yourself: "Does dad really need another World's Best Dad chef's apron? Or another tie to add to his collection of formal wear he avoids like the Plague?" The answer is no.

Dads are good at doing man stuff, like fixing things with duct tape, brewing their own craft beers, and creating fishing lures. You know, MacGyver style, with a paper clip and thread ripped from his shirt sleeve. And they work, too!

So this year, instead of getting dad a gift that says you had no clue what else to get him this Father's Day, get him a meaningful surprise that will stand the test of time: a photo session that documents dad working on his favorite hobby.

Whether your dad plays guitar or rebuilds transmissions for fun, we will simply tag along and let the man do what he does best. And before you know it, we'll create some amazing pictures that celebrate your dad's unique talent and show that you truly know what makes him special.

Contact us before Father's Day (which is Sunday, June 17, 2012, by the way), and tell us you'd like the Man Cave Special. You'll receive an awesome photo session at an even better price, and you'll have until July 31, 2012, to then schedule your actual photo session. So, what do you get in this manly collection?

• Up to one hour of on-location photography in the Twin Cities

• Up to four individuals participating in the session ($25 for each additional person)

• Edits and enhancements of your best pictures (you know, like the nifty B&W and muted colors you see in this post)

• A password-protected online gallery for photo sharing and convenient ordering

• Usually about 100 finished photo files!

• All your best images on CD with the copyrights to make unlimited 4x6s on your own

• The satisfaction of knowing you thought of the best gift this year

What's it cost? $100 (save $50)

The non-so-fine print: You don't actually need to be a dad to get in on this deal. If your man rides Harleys and you want cool pictures of him tinkering on the motor, we can do that. Just let us know if you have any questions: info@theanthologie.com

So what are you waiting for? Reserve your session today!

Lonsdale, MN Engagement Photographer | Bill and Candis

If one could catalog each life event and analyze the data, there would undoubtedly be some startling revelations and coincidences. For example, Candis Bastyr and William Parkos would hardly be surprised if they somehow discovered that they actually first crossed paths at a wedding.

It seems as though each milestone in the couple’s relationship has centered around the nuptials of others. As is turns out, though, the two first met in a tavern.

Stockings Hung With Care

Bill is a hardworking man with sort of an aw-shucks disposition. The fruits of his labor are hidden in plain sight. They’re in the stable ground our homes are built on and below the roads we rely on to get us from one place to the next every day.

A year after graduating from Montgomery-Lonsdale High School in 2003, Bill began working as a heavy equipment operator for a contractor specializing in earth moving.

When the weather is cooperating, it’s not uncommon for Bill to leave his home at 5 a.m. and not return until 9 p.m. It’s not a glamorous job, but one he wouldn’t trade for the world.

“It’s nice being outside all of the time, and not having the restraint of being in the same place every day,” Bill said.

On a cold November evening in the winter of 2006, Bill stopped in to what was then Railway Liquors (now Whistle Stop Tavern and Grill)  in Lonsdale, MN, knowing he wouldn’t have to take the helm of a bulldozer the next morning. He was anticipating to savor a few libations and share laughs among friends.

What Bill wasn’t expecting, however, was to cross paths with Candis. He did so quite literally — walking directly under a ladder she was perched on to hang Christmas decorations for her mom (Candis wasn’t an employee of the tavern) as he walked in the door.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Be careful there,” Candis said to Bill and his friends.

That innocuous warning was enough to catch the attention of Bill, though he didn’t show it. He and his friends were soon striking up a conversation with Candis while she continued to decorate. She was enlisted by her mother to write names on miniature stockings and hang them up on an iron wall screen in the bar.

In short time, Candis and Bill realized they had many friends in common. Despite growing up in small towns near one another, they hadn’t previously met since Candis was a year older and attended New Prague High School about 10 miles away.

At the time, she had just returned home from earning a bachelor’s degree from St. Scholastica in Duluth, MN, and had started her new post as a “Jill of All Trades” for the City of Lonsdale Police Department.

There, she supervised the evidence room and performed as an office clerk in addition to her many other duties as a civilian employee. With few opportunities to put her studies in biochemistry and biology to good use in her hometown, Candis said she was happy to take on her position at the station house.

“I always wanted a family and I always wanted to be close to my family here (in the Lonsdale area),” Candis said. She planned on using the position as a gateway to the world of forensics.

However, it didn’t take a scientific investigation to realize a connection was starting to form between Candis and Bill. After returning home from school, Candis began to frequent the tavern to visit with family and friends more often, and eventually even took a part-time job there. It seemed as though Bill’s face was showing up more and more, and that the two were always talking.

“I noticed (Bill) and I liked him, but I wasn’t flirting with him by any means,” Candis said.

The bashful dance continued between them for nearly five months before an official connection was made.

Wedding Bells are Ringing

While Candis and Bill were hanging out with mutual friends in the spring of 2007, Bill was talking about his role as an usher for the upcoming wedding of his brother, Scott. One of their friends, Kristi Power, asked Bill if he was bringing anyone to the wedding. He had no plans to do so. With Candis standing in the midst of the conversation, Kristi bluntly asserted: “Take Candis.”

After recovering from the initial awkwardness of Kristi’s ploy to help Bill get a date, he agreed as did Candis. An official first date was set for May 19, 2007.

Having their first date at a wedding turned out to be a much more positive experience for Candis and Bill than either had expected. The often unpleasant get-to-know-you chitchat and awkward pauses in conversation were absent as there were so many events propelling the date.

Candis was able to get to know Bill’s family relatively quickly. And she had the benefit of being able to check out Bill’s moves on the dance floor.

“Bill hated dancing and said the only time he would dance was when he was in a tux,” Candis said. “He wasn’t too bad. He just had to keep moving.”

“I can slow dance!” Bill added.

In between Bill’s official duties in the wedding party, he and Candis had a lot of time to spend together and enjoyed each other’s company. Candis stayed until the last dance of the night, but she would have to wait a bit longer to receive her first good-night kiss from Bill.

The next day, Bill called Candis to glean her impression from their time spent at the wedding. To Bill’s delight, he found out that Candis wasn’t at all put off by the unorthodox nature of their first date.

“I wouldn’t recommend (having a first date at a wedding) to everybody,” Bill said. “But for us it worked out. I had fun.”

Within days the two were hanging out again, though neither recalled if they were specifically “dates” or not. What is certain, though, is that the two officially became a couple on May 23, 2007.

As Bill approached the driveway to drop Candis off at her parents’ home, where she was staying at the time, they hobbled around the topic of their relationship status.

Bill: “So, what? Are we, like, dating now?”

Candis: “I don’t know. You never asked me.”

Bill: “So, will you be my girlfriend?”

Candis giggled and said “yes.” Her reply was followed by a first kiss for the couple in the driveway. It wouldn’t be the last time Bill needed a gentle nudge from Candis.

In Step

Candis and Bill continued to learn from one another and grow closer over the next two years. They enjoyed the art of long phone conversations, dining out, traveling and sharing in new experiences.

The couple was introduced to the world of wine together and has since made a point to visit area wineries. Candis was always there to cheer on her man when Bill played in a Thursday night bowling league, and she was even able to coax him on to the golf course, albeit mini golf at the Mall of America.

In between outings to a Twins game or their favorite restaurant, Candis and Bill learned that what really made the two of them work as a couple is that they compliment each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

“I like that Bill is a little shy,” Candis said. “I’m a very social person, so if I’m too loud or too social, Bill is always there to pull me back a bit.”

And Candis is always there to push Bill forward when he’s a little reluctant, like when the couple started looking at homes together and talking about their future. One night, at a wedding of course, the conversation stretched to the dance floor.

It was exactly two years from their first date, and at the same venue (the American Legion in Montgomery, MN), so naturally, Candis and Bill were thinking and talking about where they were headed in their relationship. Both mentioned they wanted to be married.

“Why don’t we just get engaged already?” Candis said.

Then, as a handful of couples slow danced around them, Bill got down on one knee and said that he and Candis were best friends and that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.

“Will you marry me?” he said.

She said “yes.”

“I was shocked at first.” Candis said. “I was really excited. I don’t think I stopped smiling for the next week.”

While the couple tried their best not to take away from the excitement of the wedding couple, their news quickly spread. Wedding guests were congratulating them all night.

“I would have rather waited until I had a ring and do it the traditional way,” Bill said. “But being spontaneous is fun.”

Weddings have served as milestones in Candis’ and Bill’s relationship, and now, they’ll have the opportunity to be married at one. The couple is planning to be married on the 28th wedding anniversary of Candis’ mother and father, April 27, 2012, in Veseli, MN.

Just how they’ll top a first-date wedding and a proposal wedding remains to be seen.

“I’ll think of something,” Bill said.

Northfield, MN Wedding Photographer | Rob and Felicia

Since it's so cold today in Minnesota we thought we'd take a look at a wedding that's sure to warm you from the inside out. Rob's and Felicia's rustic nuptials at the Red Barn Farm of Northfield (www.redbarnfarmofnorthfield.com) were special for so many reasons.

We love the way the bride and groom made family the focus for the entire day, right down to couple's children rounding out the roster for the bridal party, and providing readings during the ceremony. A portrait gallery of the kids was also installed inside the main barn.

The country and harvest theme was tastefully applied throughout the site without the treatment becoming too romanticized or corny. And the vintage details were a real treat.

Best of all, the day truly celebrated what the event was all about — bringing together two families. Sure, the wood-fired pizzas made with ingredients grown on the farm, and perfectly sweetened lemonade with fresh mint were fantastic, but the love Rob and Felicia have for each other and their children took center stage.

To view more wedding pictures from this event, visit our Facebook gallery.

Montgomery, MN Engagement Photographer | Matt and Lori

I first met Lori while she was being set up for a proposal and I was in on the scheme put in motion by her then-soon-to-be fiancé Matt. (See more photos from the event HERE). With Lori being such a good sport about the surprise, I knew working with the couple on engagement photos was going to be a breeze.

However, when Matt and Lori first suggested we use the Montgomery Orchard (www.montgomeryorchard.com) as the location for their engagement photos I was a bit taken aback. After all, they don't have too many ties to the area. But I figured we'd have some great opportunities to photograph in the groves of trees ripe for the picking, and that it would make for an easy theme for the fall photo session.

What I completely forgot was that the orchard's six-acre, Be-A-Mazed Corn Maze was also groomed and available to challenge all those who enter — including engagement photographers! Always up for adventure, Matt and Lori suggested we go for it. The eight-to-12-foot stalks would make for a good wind break and hopefully warm them up a bit from the chilly autumn air.

I'm used to working on the spot, and having to make do with whatever conditions are thrown my way, but I have to admit, I was a bit worried about photographing a couple in such difficult surroundings. There's not much space for me to distance myself from the couple, the corn made tough lighting conditions, and honestly, it seemed as though there weren't too many options for compositions to make when you're surrounded by wall-to-wall corn!

Thank goodness for happy accidents, because I ended up being quite pleased with the results. Oh, and the maze is by no means simple. Be sure to stop by fall 2012 if you're up for the challenge.

Eagan, MN Family Photographer | The Christophers

When the Christopher family first contacted me they had a dilemma: with triplets, they were often approached by photographers seeking to photograph their adorable toddlers, but they were never too pleased with the "cutesy," posed shots. They had seen my work and wanted me to try a different approach, one that wasn't so contrived.

I knew the perfect alternative was to call upon my background as a photojournalist and simply capture the entire family playing together. And, rather than focus on the triplets as a unit, observe and photograph their individual personalities.

For the Christopher family photo session, we simply used the family's Eagan, MN property as the setting, allowing the children to feel more comfortable than working in front of foreign backdrops and unsettling studio lighting. At home, the children were able to romp in the leaves, start some new family traditions and even get some chores done in the process. Oh, and we were able to create some beautiful family pictures, too!

Thank you so much, Christopher family, for allowing me to document this wonderful fall memory for you!