Here is my latest and last post of 2011 and I'm so glad it was with these two absolutely awesome ladies, Ellen and Amy.  They are two good friends of mine who work at my favorite coffeeshop, Brewed Awakenings.  They were having fun finishing the year dressed up in fun outfits and they looked amazing, so I had to ask them to pose for A Moment In Fashion.  Happy New Year everyone!  Stay tuned to more amazing street fashion in 2012!!   :) 

I was having coffee with a good friend of mine and Emily was one of the barista's working that day.  She was sporting an awesome fall outfit and was fun to photograph!  Emily works at Brewed Awakenings Coffeehouse in St. Lukes Hospital.  Her service style is excellent and she always greets her customers with a smile.  I noticed how everyone who interacted with her left feeling joyful.  As did I!  Stop in and see her sometime!  :) 

This is a photo from early this Spring.  I was attending the wedding of a friend of mine and I believe these ladies were good friends of the bride. I decided that they definitely needed to be featured on A Moment in Fashion. 

This is Jenny, who was featured earlier this year.  She was attending the wedding of her boyfriend's brother, as was I, and I had to capture her style. Check out her awesome shoes!  Jenny is another amazing and creative individual and I'm hoping to do a full-fledged photo shoot with her someday!

I feel bad because I cannot remember this ladies name.  But she was really fun to meet!  She was at Barnes & Noble viewing magazines when I saw her.  I love how she put this outfit together and how her bag matches her boots!  As you can see from the photo, she has such a bright and fun personality!  :) 

Staci

Some people inspire you just by being around them!  Staci and her family are that way for me.  They are constantly overflowing with creative energy and I always feel inspired when I am around them!  I really liked this summer outfit that Staci was wearing at one of the CR Downtown Farmer's Markets.  She always has such a fun style! 

Sonya is one of my favorite fashion designers.  She comes up with the most amazing creations such as the outfit featured in this portrait!  If I remember correctly, the netting on her skirt is from a table cloth.  She takes ordinary items and turns them into extraordinary fashion items!  Please check out her blog:  ( www.ladyfits.blogspot.com ) Sonya has recently had the opportunity to work on projects in New York City.  I'm really excited for her!  Though I hope she returns soon because she adds a lot to the art and fashion community here in Cedar Rapids.  :)  

I was pulling into the parking lot at Barnes & Noble (one of my favorite places to be!) when I spotted Simona of Cedar Falls, who was out and about spending time with her parents.  I love how she added color with her boots and scarf creating a dynamic style combo!  I learned that she is a Salsa dancer which I think is really cool!  My wife and I have always wanted to learn Salsa dancing and Simona filled me in on the local areas where we could go to learn.  She was really fun to meet! 

This is my friend, Samantha, an amazing fashionista!  I did some family portraits of her family and afterwards she posed for style portrait.  Please check out her blog at www.thelittlegreydove.blogspot.com where you can see more of her great fashion styles! 

Check out this awesome jacket, worn by Monica! She is a spanish teacher at Coe College and is from Spain, where she found her jacket.  This was the second time I had seen Monica.  When I saw her the first time I missed my opportunity to ask for a portrait and I highly regretted missing her.  So I was grateful when I saw a few days later and she agreed to a portrait.  It was fun talking to her about Spain, a country I have always wanted to visit, and will visit someday!  :) 

 

For me, this blog wouldn't be complete without featuring the fashion styles of the love of my life, the amazing Melissa Marie!  She is always busy creating and doing something artistic and that creativity flows into her outfits.  She often makes articles of clothing, such as the top she is wearing in the above portrait.  It's always fun seeing what inspirations God has given her and I'm always honored to have a front row seat to seeing them expressed!  

Here is a great summer look worn by Melissa of Nancy Kula Pottery (www.nancykulapottery.com ).  I'd seen Melissa at several Farmer's Market events, where she often helps her mom, Nancy, but this was the first time i got to meet her.  :) 

It's always fun to capture portraits of Emily, one of my best friends!  I love her style and her smile and she always has such a fun energy about her.  In the top photo, Emily is sporting a summer style and in the lower photo she has a similar outfit, but in an early fall fashion style.  Doesn't she look great?!

This is Kirsten, she was at Barnes & Noble with her mom and had such a unique style that I had to ask her if I could make a portrait of her.  I really like the black and hot pink color combo. This is not a style seen very often here in the Midwest, so it was cool to see Kirsten sport this look!

Meet my new friend, Jurate Luckaite, CEO and President of Violet Luck, Inc. ( www.violetluck.com ).  I met her at an event in San Diego.  I highly encourage you to check out her website!  She is an amazing lady, full of vision and has such a genuine heart!  These photos aren't the best quality, but I absolutely had to post a photo of her outfit which is done with hand-painted art!  To see more artistic/fashion creations like this, please go to the Violet Luck website.  You will be inspired!  :)

This is Whitney. I met her at one of this year's CR Downtown Farmer's Markets.  She is an amazing photographer and artist and I loved how she paired these boots with her outfit!

Catching Up

It has been far too long since I last posted!  I apologize to those who were waiting to see their fashion portraits up.  I am planning to get back to posting on a consistent basis.  Thanks for your patience!  It has been a busy and active last few months.  There have been a lot of changes occurring in my life.  Thankfully they have been good changes.  :)   Please enjoy the latest street portraits of these awesome fashionistas!  

This is the amazing and super creative Sonya! She was at the Farmers Market with Quilt Stories http://www.flickr.com/people/quilt-tours/ , https://www.facebook.com/pages/Quilt-Stories/130422750373739?sk=info this past Saturday. I absolutely LOVE her fashion and she creates most of her outfits! You can find out more about Sonya here: http://ladyfits.blogspot.com/ :)

I met these two fashionista's at the July 2, 2011 Farmers Market in Cedar Rapids. Lisa and her daughter, Sophia are from Chicago and were out enjoying the 4th of July weekend and all there was to see at the market. They were both sporting great outfits and were really fun to photograph!

My wife, Melissa, has now added "fashion designer" to her growing list of creative talents! The incredible top she is wearing was made by her! I have enjoyed watching her build a stylish wardrobe of items that are her own creations! Melissa never ceases to amaze me with what she can do and as an artist myself, she is a wonderful source of inspiration! :)

I met Kristin in the Barnes & Noble cafe and asked her for a photo because her dress is simply amazing! The top that she put with her dress really compliments this look! I don't know Kristin, but I can tell that she has a wonderful and creative spirit about her!

I loved the outfit Mom chose for the last day of our vacation in Branson! She naturally has a wonderful sense of style and that showed as she put this outfit together so well! Its also fun seeing how her fashion has evolved and changed over the years and I am convinced that she just keeps getting younger and younger! :)

Chelsea and Kayleigh are siblings and residents of the Branson area. They were out and about in their fun outfits and were looking for a good place to get some ice cream. It was great to get a taste of the fashion style of local Branson!

While vacationing in Branson, MO this summer, Melissa and I were shopping at the Tanger Outlet Mall where we met Jennifer. I found out that Jennifer is also a photographer and is from Arkansas. I love her dress/boots and bag combo! When I asked her for a photo she suggested that Melissa be in the photo with her. :)

Thousands of people come out to the Cedar Rapids Downtown Farmer's Market events, so you are bound to run into people you know. It was fun seeing my friends, Courtney and her husband, Chris, and I thought it was great how their outfits kinda matched!

I went to the first Cedar Rapids Downtown Farmer's Market of the season where I met Margaret. I first noticed her lace-up tattoos and had to tell her how cool they were! Margaret was really fun to meet and with her stylish hat, and accessories I just had to get a photo for my blog! :)

This is Aubree! I love this outfit she wore to her sister's graduation party. Such a fun dress and her shoes are great! I have had the wonderful privilege to work with Aubree in the past in photoshoots. She is great to work with! :)

Nichole is such a fun and talented young lady! She has an awesome singing voice and a great sense of style! This is the outfit she wore to her sister's graduation party. I think this combo is excellent! Keep singing and never stop being you, Nichole! You've got a bright future ahead of you!! :)

I'm exited to be able to post another photo of Shannon. She has such a fun style and I absolutely love her smile! Every time I see her, she has this bright smile that is highly contagious! :) This photo was taken at a mutual friend's graduation party.

Here is a photo of my amazing wife and our good friend, Ingrid! We went to a graduation party together and I had to get a photo of their outfits! Both Melissa and Ingrid love fashion and have both already been featured on "A Moment in Fashion". Ingrid is also Melissa's hair stylist and does fantastic work!! :)

Meeting new people is so much fun! I met my new friend, Andrea, at the Chalk The Walk festival in Mt. Vernon, Iowa. She has such a positive and upbeat spirit about her and you can't help but smile and feel good after talking with her! I loved her outfit and I'm looking forward to doing a photoshoot with her someday! :)

My sister-in-law, Charity, was in town for Easter Sunday and she wore this fun combo! I thought it was an excellent choice and captured the feeling of Easter very well! Charity has a really fun style, so its always a treat to capture a photo of her! :)

Here is another photo of the amazing Alice! :) She is a fun and talented young woman from London who was teaching at Coe College. I love her personal fashion style and the color combo in this outfit is excellent! I hope she comes back to Cedar Rapids this fall! The more creative people in this area, the better! :)

This is Alice, she is a wonderful fashionista that I met at Brewed Awakenings, my favorite coffee shop. On this day she had also just happened to also be photographed by Cliff Jette for the CR Gazette's MyStyle section. My wife and I had been featured in the prior issue. The Gazette article with Alice was excellent and Cliff made some great portraits of her! I was honored to also be able to feature Alice on my fashion blog. She has such a great style! :)

While I was hanging out with a friend at Brewed Awakenings, this cool fashionista named Logan walked in. She is a senior at Washington High School and another person with amazing style! I think this combo is excellent and fun! It was fun to meet you, Logan! I wish you the best as you finish out your senior year at WHS and begin your next journey where ever that may be! :)

I was just getting ready to leave Barnes & Noble when I saw Jeremy. He is a Coe College student who enjoys and is studying art and writing. This guy has an amazing style! And it was fun to find out that he and I have the exact same coat! Its always great to find guys who put creative thought into their personal style!

Penny

This is Penny! She was enjoying an afternoon at Half Price Books with her fiance and they were checking out some cool DVD's. Penny's dress is awesome and the cardigan that she put with it creates an amazing combo! Spring fashion is in the air! :)

I met Allison at Barnes & Noble this week. She is a Kennedy High School student who was looking at books in the art section. I was not surprised to see her there because her outfit is the result of someone who has a fun and creative mind! This outfit combo is excellent and I like how she even added fashionable gloves as well! Fashion is such a fun way to express creativity and personality and Allison has great style!

Jenny was looking at some cool fashion magazines (i.e. Nylon Magazine) with her boyfriend, Joshua (who is also a good friend of mine) when I decided to approach her for a photo. I really like how she put this outfit together. I was not at all surprised to learn that she is studying fashion in school! She has great style! I really enjoyed meeting Jenny and it was really good to see Joshua again.

I was coming out of Half-Price Books when I saw this fun couple. They were headed to their car, playfully enjoying each others company and looking great! They were very patient with me as I had to dodge all the cars which were suddenly coming and going while I made the photo. Couples are so much fun to photograph! Especially couples like Emily and Anthony, that have great style! :)

My wife and I stopped at Bruegger's Bagels for a bagel a few nights ago when we met Katharine and Maddie. These two Washington High School students were enjoying a meal with their friends. I thought it was really cool how they both sported animal print styles. They were both really fun to meet! :)

Meet talented hair stylist, Ingrid. She is someone who is overflowing with creativity and has a great heart to match! I have been impressed with Ingrid's fashion style ever since I met her and so it was a pleasant surprise when she and I were both going into Barnes & Noble the other day at the same time and I was able to capture her style for my blog. :)

This is my good friend, Heidi, who I have known for several years! She is an amazing lady and I have always enjoyed her fashion style. Heidi has a wonderful creative spirit and is often full of great artistic ideas and perspectives. I was at River of Life Ministries when I captured this fashion portrait and was glad when Heidi enthusiastically agreed to a photo! :)

My wife, Melissa and I were on lunch break at Jimmy Johns when Morgan came in on her lunch break. A great choice as Jimmy Johns is awesome! But it was her choice of style that caught my attention! This is such a great combo and she looked great! I especially like her white jacket! I was very thankful that Morgan took a moment to allow me to capture a photo of her for this blog! :)