Heart & Soul

On Tuesday morning I woke up super early (anyone who knows me knows that I am so not a morning person) and photographed the "Heart & Soul Breakfast" for St. Joseph Hospital Foundation. The breakfast was one part fundraiser and one part thank you to the staff, donors and volunteers that make all of St. Joe's efforts possible. Charity events require a lot of posed group pictures, but I try to sneak in some more pj shots.

The event showcased several stories of St. Joe's. Amy Taylor (of 94.5 fame) was the Master of Ceremonies and also shared her own story of the birth of her triplets at St. Joe's. Cathy Bolton (local musician) performed live during a slideshow of images from the year. There was also the story of some Somali refugees who are being cared for by a St. Joe's physician who has lived in their region. A few of those families were there and the kids were so cute - they LOVED the camera and called out "again!" several times when I took their pictures and always asked to see themselves on the preview screen, marveling how they got in there. The event was at the Italian Community Center, which is much nicer than any of their pictures let on from their website.

Here are some of my favorites from the event:

City Slickers 2007

I had the honor of being the photographer for this year's City Slickers Event, benefitting Wheaton Fransiscan Cancer Care - St. Joseph David M. Sherman Cancer Center on Saturday. (I also did all of the graphic design for the event)

This unique party is held at the Sherman family's farm in Mequon and allows a bunch of city folk to be cowboys for an evening. (And you know me - I LOVE a good cowboy!) This year the event had a special layer of meaning, as it also honored Dr. David Sherman, who passed away last year from cancer himself. The love and admiration that filled the barn and tent as people arrived by horse-drawn carriages was so apparent. Though I never met him, it is obvious from the stories that were told and the hundreds of hugs that were passed around that Dr. Sherman was a caring and giving soul, who touched the lives of so many. All of the proceeds from this event go to support the cancer center, and from what I could see, it was a successfull evening! I am also proud to say that Mthree Studio donated a wedding day photography package to the cause, and I did enjoy the silent bidding war (albeit small) that it stirred up. Congrats to the lucky winning couple!

Oh yes, and I must name drop: I did get the opportunity to meet two local Milwaukee celebrities - Sally Severson and Brad Hicks, the latter of which expertly mc'd the event. And kudos to Saz's who created a heavenly station dinner with just about anything you could ever want to eat from mashed potato martinis to crab cakes.

Here are a few of my favorite shots from the night. If you were a guest and would like to order pictures of the event, please go to http://mthreestudio.instaproofs.com

I still can't figure out why my pictures aren't looking as vibrant in color on the blog as they actually are. They absolutely sparkle in real life and seem to fall lifeless here on the blog. Any ideas out there as to why?