http://kevinweinstein.com/index.php en kevin@kevinweinstein.com Copyright 2010 2010-07-27T03:51:58+00:00 http://kevinweinstein.com/blog/article/megan_and_marks_wedding/ http://kevinweinstein.com/blog/article/megan_and_marks_wedding/ I could have done an entire posting of images from just the first 5 minutes of Megan and Mark's wedding.Chadd and I didn't do any preparation imagery, and began our day with the bride and groom's meet-up.  We started in one of my favorite adorable little parks in Chicago.  It has this neat little brick-lined path with trees that cover the walk-way like something you would see in a Paris park. Weddings 2010-07-27T02:51:58+00:00 http://kevinweinstein.com/blog/article/samantha_bens_wedding/ http://kevinweinstein.com/blog/article/samantha_bens_wedding/ Whew.  I believe this is the largest set of images I have ever posted on my blog.  While I firmly believe a blog posting should not contain more than 20 images, there are several factors why I chose to break my own rules. Ben and Sam are special to me.  Their hire occurred after 9 long months of hard work rebranding my business and one month before I landed my first lease on a studio space in the West Loop.  Being chosen to shoot their wedding validated many of my business decisions and insecurities revolving around those choices.  I am so honored to celebrate this time of my career with them as well as their families. Weddings 2010-07-20T12:41:52+00:00 http://kevinweinstein.com/blog/article/samantha_ben_engagement_session/ http://kevinweinstein.com/blog/article/samantha_ben_engagement_session/ Oh vey.  Sam.  Samantha.  Mrs. Kreisman (considering they got married a week ago at the Elysian).  But before we go down that road, I want to share their engagement session we did in May.Sadly, they are moving.  In a few weeks.  But I do get the opportunity to have dinner with Ben and Sam once again this Sunday.  Bring on the food, wine and the aching stomach from laughing too much!I usually keep a professional wall between me and my clients, especially until their wedding is complete.  But Ben insisted we have dinner last winter, and then go for drinks afterwards.  So, I did.  I sense the loosening of my rules led to an incredible engagement session, and a fantastic shoot at their wedding (posting next week). Engagment Sessions 2010-07-13T16:51:14+00:00 http://kevinweinstein.com/blog/article/rupel_adams_hindu_wedding_part_three/ http://kevinweinstein.com/blog/article/rupel_adams_hindu_wedding_part_three/ Last January, I posted a blog on Courtney & Erik's wedding regarding my passion and the importance of ambience.  Rupel & Adam's wedding is another prime example.For those who have been inside the Palmer House Grand Ballroom, it is a stately room, to say the least.  Thousands of hand-cut crystals hanging from their newly restored chandeliers shines an intense amiable glow throughout the dual-floored room, elaborate crown molding and embellished ceiling medallions.  It is simply breathe-taking.  And while not my taste (if I were to marry), I can't deny it's beauty one bit. Weddings 2010-05-26T03:26:01+00:00 http://kevinweinstein.com/blog/article/rupel_adams_hindu_wedding_part_two/ http://kevinweinstein.com/blog/article/rupel_adams_hindu_wedding_part_two/ I have spent a lot of time looking at Rupel & Adam's faces.  And I swoon every time I go through these pictures.Rupel's girlish charm, absolute beauty and sincerity complete with Adam's boyish smile and giddy demeanor just makes me want to re-evaluate what it means to find a soul mate.  Yea yea yea.  We all shout out our clients.  It's the thing to do, and good for marketing. Weddings 2010-05-25T10:56:35+00:00 http://kevinweinstein.com/blog/article/rupel_adam/ http://kevinweinstein.com/blog/article/rupel_adam/ Photographers tend to be on a quest to learn from what they don't understand.  Some of us are shy and timid, some are gregarious.  But in the end, we have a segue into the lives of other people. Our cameras. In 1989, 4 years after picking up my first camera, I used my Nikon 8008S as a tool to get me into a world right down the street from me, but far far away.  These transsexual prostitutes and their clients had fascinated me for quite some time. This is THE project responsible for taking a dormant passion instilled at birth and fueling the desire to make documentary photography a job: To learn more about people different than myself. Weddings 2010-05-24T14:49:25+00:00 http://kevinweinstein.com/blog/article/stefanie_jakub/ http://kevinweinstein.com/blog/article/stefanie_jakub/ There were a lot of tears.  A lot.Stefanie was so excited to marry this man, Jakub.  However, just a little more than 4 years ago, when they met, the introduction was a little less … um … tasteful.  Jakub was at a bar with his friend, who happened to be Stefanie's brother, when he tried to get a laugh out of the friend by dancing on "this lady" while she wasn't looking.  "That lady" happened to be Jakub's friend's sister.Oy. Weddings 2010-05-02T18:02:02+00:00 http://kevinweinstein.com/blog/article/melissa_alan/ http://kevinweinstein.com/blog/article/melissa_alan/ What do you get when you attend the Vertebrate Paleontology department's holiday party at Columbia University in Manhattan?  Love!The two met when Melissa was invited to the soiree by a mutual friend when Alan was getting his PhD 6 years ago.  Once the two met and locked eyes, they spent the remaining hours sitting on a radiator avoiding intense discussions.  They spoke about Buffy the Vampire Slayer, working in museums (Melissa works at an art museum) and watching people take shots from an ice luge shaped like a dinosaur (which tragically the tail melted so it looked as if people were doing shots off the dinosaur's butt). Weddings 2010-04-26T23:32:01+00:00 http://kevinweinstein.com/blog/article/jillian_snow/ http://kevinweinstein.com/blog/article/jillian_snow/ I have been to a slew of Bar/Bat Mitzvah's over the past several decades.  In fact, so many that I still can't shake the chanting and Torah portions from my head after my own twenty-six years ago. Before I show the images from the recent Bat Mitzvah of Jillian Snow I shot in January, I do want to take a walk down memory lane and share with you some thoughts and pictures from my own Bar Mitzvah.  Yes, twenty-six years ago.  While I don't recall much from the year-long studying, the actual ceremony, nor the reception, looking back at the pictures stowed in my closet do bring back vivid memories filled with emotions from my early teen-age years. Bar & Bat Mitzvah 2010-04-19T15:34:28+00:00 http://kevinweinstein.com/blog/article/lauren_michaels_wedding/ http://kevinweinstein.com/blog/article/lauren_michaels_wedding/ Lauren & Mike.  Sigh.  Two absolutely adorable people.  Ya kind of want to get mad at them for being so darn cute.And to add to the charm they possess?  The two met 11 years ago in high school before the millennium, and shared their first kiss on New Years, 2000.  One.  Two.  Three.  Awe!  I do like that.  I am a sucker for these stories.  Weddings 2010-04-10T22:03:41+00:00