Mother's Day Photo Special Jewelry Samples | Milwaukee Children Photographer

I am excited to reveal the jewelry samples that Dargonfly Designs prepared for us.

My Mother's Day Special includes

45-minute on-location photo shoot

Prints package

AND

Your choice of one of these designs with your photo! 

(see full details in the below flier)

It is a great special and will delight all the mothers in your world!

Call or email me to book. 
Deadline is April 15th to get necklaces and prints in time for Mother's Day, May 8th!

Hannah turns 3! | Milwaukee children photographer

Three years ago today one of the greatest people that I have ever met entered into this world.  She was actually due 5 days earlier, but just didn't want to come out of the cozy little cocoon I had made for her.  And who could blame her really?  We had a good time over that nine months.  But I was just about sick of being so huge so she had to come out.  On March 20, 2008 at 9:44 PM, Miss Hannah was born.  She was such a beautiful baby...and such a cuddler!  She would just curl her little body right under my chin.  Oh how I miss those days!  She is still a cuddler, but her long body makes it a little hard to get into those old curling positions these days.  So today she turns three.  She is quite simply amazing and I love her so much.  I took some special big girl pictures of her in honor of her special day.  These photos make me weepy because even at 3 years old, she looks so grown up.  I wish I could hit pause and keep things from moving ahead too fast, but I guess every mother says that.  At least these pictures freeze time a little...

(oh and these are just a few of my favorites that I could actually get through quickly...there are so many others!!!)  

Happy birthday, baby girl!

Baby D all snug | Milwaukee Newborn Photographer

There is something special about the way a newborn smells. It makes most women...myself included, just melt.  And as hard and Johnson and Johnson tries, they can't quite bottle that near perfect soft scent.  I had the pleasure of spending an entire morning smelling the sweet newborn scent of this little guy.  Once his belly was full, he was sound asleep and I had to wonder what he was dreaming about.  I got some super cute shots of him in dreamland...

Mother's Day Gifts by Chrissy Rose Photography | Milwaukee Portrait and Family Photographer

I think this package is especially appealing to all those dad's out there not sure what to do for Mother's Day this year. Plan ahead and get some awesome photos of the kids while also getting a lovely piece of jewelry for Mom.  I have limited availability so contact me as soon as possible to book your session!

This is a package ideal for Mother's Day. It includes:
45-minute on-location photo shoot
Private on-line viewing gallery
Artist time & editing talent
Prints package: 1-8x10, 2-5x7s & 4-4x6s of your choice
and
a one-of-a-kind, hand-made, beaded jewelry keepsake with a photo pendent by Dargonfly Designs

Price: $185 + tax & shipping

Contact me: ckrugergruendyke@gmail.com or 414-216-3602

JEWELRY SAMPLES ARE NOW HERE!!!!

One proud mama | Milwaukee Area Senior Portrait Photographer

While I was in Florida last weekend for other photo shoots and fun, I got to visit with my dear friend, Erica and her son. Her son has been accepted into the Naval Academy and will be leaving the nest in June. It is such an accomplishment and everyone is so proud of him...no one more then his mama however.

Erica is a special kind of gal. I call her Google (among other heartfelt nicknames) because she seriously knows something about everything. That was a great quality to have in a co-worker when we worked together at the Ringling Museum (she is still there, and should be running the place by now, btw). She is such a supportive friend too with just the right kind of comfort to send (i.e. a handmade quilt of joyously bright colors to cheer you and warm you at the same time). We have been friends for a few years now -- first working side by side at the Museum and now as long distance buds keeping up with eachother via Facebook, blogs and emails. I was among the lucky and loved to receive the text message sharing the great news about her son getting his acceptance letter to the one school he has dreamed about his entire life. Then I got an even better honor by being asked to take his senior photos next time I visited Florida. Here we are in February and I was finally able to fit it in.

Meet Alec. He is destined for greatness. You can just see it in his eyes. His smile might be slightly crooked, but there is nothing off balance about this kid. I say this with a tear in my eye...our country is very lucky to have someone like Alec dedicating himself to one of the finest military higher educational institutions in the country. He will learn and serve with strength, pride and intelligence. I am sure we will all benefit from Alec's promising future. I just hope he never forgets that he is who he is largely because of one awesome lady...his mom.

Peace and luck to them both!

365-day Photo Challenge Book Now Available

It is finally here!

It being the beautifully bound production of my 365-day photo challenge.  Now see the rich beautiful images you loved seeing every day on Facebook as a lovely, one-of-a-kind coffee-table book.

What a journey this challenge was for me.  My growth as a photographer is visible image to image, day to day. It was truly an amazing experience!

The book is available for purchase.  Check it out and get yourself one!

365-day Photo Challenge by Chrissy Kruger-Gruendyke | Make Your Own Book

Inspired by an artist | Milwaukee Area Photographer|

I love those evenings when I get to out of the house and participate in something inspiring. Last night was one of those times. I attended a talk by Alec Soth hosted by the Haggerty Museum of Art. Soth is an American photographer that produces large-scale photography projects. His photographs are part of collections at museums such as the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and the Walker Art Center. And he is also part of the current exhibition at the Haggerty Museum, "The Truth is Not in the Mirror: Photography and a Constructed Identity." You can check out Alec Soth's blog to learn more about him. But this is my blog so I am going to talk about what I think...

What I liked about Alec Soth's work is its photojournalistic feel. His photos tell a story. He approaches them all as experiments and trials, which is basically how I feel about a lot of my photography work. I kept thinking back to my 365-photo challenge. The photos in that collection document my journey to learning more about photography. I would say that it documents my year, but it really didn't. There are a lot of milestones and moments from last year that do not appear in that collection. Most of the images are of what I saw around me. My motivation was to stretch my abilities at the various stages of photo making (subject, composition, camera settings, shooting, post processing, etc.) But just because it isn't an accurate telling of my complete life, it is still a story and one that I am extremely proud of. I love that you can see my development as a photographer from one photo to the next. I love that each photo has its own back story. I love that there are some photos that I absolutely hate because those are the ones I probably learned the most from.

For those of you not in the know. My 365-day photo challenge was a photo project I did Dec 7, 2009 - Dec. 6, 2010. The rules were simple: produce and post one photo per day for a year. I posted my work to my Facebook page. I call it a challenge because it was -- I was often frustrated. But it was just the push I needed to make myself "figure it out". I learned a great deal during the year, but by the end, I realized I still have a way to go.

Soth said something really interesting that stuck with me "I am embarrassed to say I am a photographer because who isn't". Isn't that the truth? Everyone takes pictures, right? Every middle-class parent seems to have a DSLR camera. So what makes me so special? What makes me think I can be an artist? I haven't quite figured that out yet. Perhaps that's what the next leg of my journey is about...finding my photographic voice and answering that question. If so, Alec Soth was the first to send me on my way with some encouraging words. At the book signing after his talk he wrote:

And with that I am on my way...