Metropolitan Imageworks

We have removed the need to register on the Metropolitan Imageworks blog in an effort to make it much easier for all of your lovely comments! Please feel free to share your comments on our posts and images!

The Metimages Best Wedding Image of 2009 contest is open until midnight central time on March 1st so you have 5 more days to vote!

Go to the contest blog post, look at all the images and register and leave a comment for your favorite image. Please include your name in your registration!

Best Wedding Image of 2009 Blog Post

Some of you may have caught the article on the front page of the Chicagoland Extra section in today’s Chicago Tribune. Yup, we’re famous for a day! All because of our backyard chickens!

Upon our return from Arizona this past spring, Victor and I decided we wanted to be more self-sustainable and reduce our energy usage. We explored different options and started small – Victor built three 4×4 foot raised planting beds and started our Square Foot Garden, we built a compost bin and now we compost our kitchen scraps rather than just tossing them in the garbage, we added two rain barrels to collect runoff when it rains, and during the research stage Victor learned that in Naperville we could raise chickens in our backyard as long as the coop was 25 feet or more from the neighbors houses and they were not a nuisance.

So with that bit if info he built a chicken coop (using mostly free & recycled wood from Craigslist and Freecycle) and we became the proud “parents” of four chickens. We purchased two baby chicks from the Feed Store in Summit, IL off of I55 on Harlem Ave. Originally we were told they were New Hampshire chicks we now believe, due to their coloring, that they are actually Black Sex Links, but we’ll see. I never thought baby birds were cute until we brought Hammie and Bella home on my birthday in June. One week later, Victor bought two Rhode Island Red hens that were about a year and a half old from a small farm in Crowne Point, Indiana. We have had the hens about a month and already reached three dozen eggs in our egg count. Pure Genious. Our pets make us breakfast. Now if I could just find a talent agent for Mater (the world’s best Aussiedoodle) so he can contribute to the household as well, our little commune will be complete!

Photos from the Chicago Tribune article, taken By Chuck Berman:

Look closely at the right side of the photo – Mater has a cameo appearance!

Here are a few photos I took in June of the beginnings of our Suburban Microfarm:

I still need to paint the coop! Before summer is over, I promise!

Nikolina and I go way back. We worked together for almost five years in the corporate world and immediately hit it off because we have the same silly sense of humor.  I met Peter soon after they began dating and have collaborated with him on a couple of photo projects. I was so genuinely honored to be chosen to photograph their wedding day.

The weather was overcast and rain threatened throughout the day but amazingly held off at all the times we needed to be outside!  The blending of the families and cultures – Niki is Macedonian and Peter is Polish – added unique and fun elements throughout the day! And the dance floor was torn up all.night.long!

View their full wedding gallery & slide show.

Ceremony: First Church of Lombard, Lombard, IL

Officiant: Reverend Tom Brandsness, Lyons, IL

Reception: Itasca Country Club, Itasca, IL

Band: Idolsi, Chicago, IL   773.727.2097

Reception Florist: The Wedding Hive, Spring Grove, IL

This week is jam packed with portrait sessions at my location.  I’m putting the new studio through the test.  Check back here every day for new sessions to be added to the blog!

Sunday started off with a maternity session for Lisa, who is 5 weeks away from the big day! We were also able to add a few guest appearances of her husband, Andrew.

For those of you that know me personally, you know I have a lot to say! It’s a wonder it took me this long to get a “voice” and gain control of my blog.  I can feel 2009 is shaping up to be an incredible year for Metropolitan Imageworks and I’ll have a lot to share. Not only will I highlight weddings, portrait sessions, events and of course personal adventures that strike my fancy, I also thought this would be a good place to highlight photography tips, such as care of your digital files and albums, how to select a wedding photographer, what to wear for portraits etc, etc, etc.

I just finished the design and cover selections for a new sample album and let me tell you, I have not been this geeked about a sample album in a LONG time.  I am very excited about going in a new direction for final album options and I think the new company I have selected will fit the bill perfectly.  Not only are there tons of options for layouts, sizes and album styles but their cover options really exceed imagination. You can mix and match colors and textures to create your own personal fit.  I am particularly fond of this since I believe one size does NOT fit all.

When looking for a photographer, many times you will see compilations of work, the best of the best. As long as as the photographer also shows you full weddings from beginning to end, so you can see exactly how they will capture your day, then you are in good hands. I say weddings plural, so you can also get a feel for the consistency of their work.  I have online galleries of my recent weddings available for prospective clients to view. They can see the day captured in it’s entirety and there are multiple weddings available to view, so they can see I shoot in a particular style no matter the clients or the location.

The final album process, the final piece of the  pie, really.  While Metropolitan Imageworks doesn’t force you into buying a final album at the time you book us to photograph your wedding, we love to work with you WHEN you are ready for the final component.

Even if you are not purchasing an album up front, it’s very important you select a photographer not only to capture the important and fleeting moments of your special day, but also that you select a photographer with the expertise and know how to compile those images into the perfect storytelling album.

Here’s a sampling of some of the layouts. Can you see what I am excited about? Stay tuned, I’ll post photos of the finished album when it comes in to the studio.

Thanks and shout out to Seth & Meggan for allowing me to highlight their October 9, 2008 wedding as one of my new samples!

View Full Album Layout.

I FINALLY added a blog. A photography blog. Just like all of my peers. Albeit 2 years later. Metblog will be another area to share our work and talk about what we love – photography!

2008 is the year of great happenings at Metropolitan Imageworks and what better way to share new offerings, successes and of course what we do best – photos! You may have noticed we updated the website with new images, more details about weddings and portraits and my personal favorite, bios on the entire Metropolitan Imageworks team complete with photos of each Associate and Assistant photographer.

Go ahead and browse http://www.metimages.com and report back – do you like what you see?

We plan to share highlights and some of our favorite images from the weddings, portraits and exciting events we shoot. We’ll even share some personal projects here and there.

Please bookmark us and check back for updates and leave your comments.

-Rachael