Amee & Carlton – In Good Weather and In Bad.

Amee & Carlton hired me to photograph their engagement portraits, the night before the eloped in Chicago! Their drive from out of state took longer than expected, so it was late evening before they arrived. The fog rolled in with quite a temper that night, but I was fortunate to get a few foggy shots before the thunder cracked down!

This first set was taken outside the Adler Planetarium. It was so foggy you could not see the water or the skyline of Chicago.

These two were so stylish!

This was the reflection on the planetarium glass door. what a beautiful evening.

Normally you can see the entire city of Chicago from this perspective!

Once the thunder and lightening cracked down, they made a quick change into their wedding outfits and we drove to cover!

Pu & Xue’s Chicago Cultural Center Wedding

Pu & Xue were married at the Chicago Cultural Center on a beautiful weekend this past February! I adore this building, if you have not yet visited the Chicago Cultural Center I highly recommend a walk through!

Congratulations to both of you and I hope your reception in China was amazing!!

<3

Liesl Diesel

These are the windows in Gar Memorial Hall, where the wedding took place. beautiful view of Chicago!

Pu with shadow

I love the contrast in this marble wall, and it made a great available light black & white portrait for Pu.

Xue's dress was incredibly flattering, accented by her jade necklace, love it!

I love this building, so many angles, SO many beautiful details!

After the Cultural Center we went for a walk!

Pu & Xue cast shadows on the bridge at millennium park

back light becomes front light at the bean in Chicago!

More reasons to love Chicago? This was mid-February . . .

Pu waits for Xue

Thank you Pu & Xue for hiring me to shoot your wedding portraits!


Railay Great View Resort, Thailand

Once in Krabi we relaxed by our pool at the Railay Great View Resort & Spa, rented sea kayaks and toured around the islands, did some rock climbing and ate some great food! Special shout out to Elaine, our travel agent, of N-JOY Rock Climbing for helping us with booking flights, resorts, and helping us get to know Krabi! I took a real break from photographing and only shot sunrise on one morning. It was perfect!

glassy water as the sun peaks up

I could not take enough photos of the sunrise!


Street Market in Krabi, Thailand

After Bangkok, we traveled to Krabi to spend some time climbing and kayaking and eating good food! We had some time to wait for our boat to take use to our resort, so we walked around the street market a bit.

double rainbows!

this is the fan tail boat that we took to get to our bungalow!

In Transit

Just a few shots from a bored photographer while waiting in airports for my next adventure!

One shot from Narita airport in Tokyo, Japan, the rest are from the Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok, Thailand.

Thai Ventures! Day 1 in Bangkok!

Some good friends of mine were married this past January in Thailand, and I was so blessed to have the opportunity to travel over there to witness it!

I love traveling but made sure to travel light.

My packing list for Thailand included:

one camera body, one lens: CHECK!

super mod hipster blue blockers: CHECK!

homeopathic jet lag pills: CHECK!

Ridiculously attractive traveling companion who can double as airplane pillow and body guard: CHECK!

We arrived early to adjust to the time change.

The cars run on propane in Bangkok, for the most part, so the air was very clean!

The Bangkok skyline, shot through a rusty fence.

I loved this tree!


also loved this super cute tourist!

We walked around our first day to get our bodies used to the time change, this park was a short walk from our hotel.

details


lily pad pond!

I like this story.

I saw this body guard for hire, but luckily I had already brought mine along. It's much more affordable that way.

These bunnies were so adorable and I got so excited when I saw them on the street market!

Then I realized they weren't being sold as pets . . .

Choose your food wisely! There were just some quick pics from my first day in Bangkok, I will put some more up very soon! What an adventure!!

Nikah for Iram & Salman

Iram & Salman held their Nikah wedding ceremony at the Chicago Marriott Schaumburg

Room design by: Amer Design Studio

Bridal make-up by:  Mehwish Khan

View their Mendi

View their preparation photos

View their wedding day portraits

Congratulations!

<3

Liesl Diesel

Amer used real candles on the curtain behind Salman & Iram, it was truly elegant.

Frank & Dawn’s Barefoot Resort Wedding

Congratulations to Frank & Dawn!

Ceremony – First Baptist Church

Reception – Barefoot Resorts

Thank you both for flying me out for your wedding!

<3

Liesl Diesel

What These Eyes See.

I know I am lucky, you can tell me again and again but trust me, I already know. I am an artist, and even better, I am paid to be an artist.

As if that isn’t enough, add on top of that fact that I get to photograph beautiful people at beautiful events looking their best and it is a constant flow of creativity!

BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE!

All of those fabulously lucky things would be nearly meaningless if I didn’t have clients that trusted me. They trust me completely, and on such a crucial day. This trust gives me the freedom to look around me and be as creative as possible with what these eyes see.

Most people would have seen a pile of dirt and a garbage dumpster by the smoking area for staff at a pub.

I saw light bouncing off a reflective yellow building and back onto this little bush I put Kristen & Jon in front of.

simple.

Love her purple heels!

Portraits at Kingston Plantation

After their beautiful outdoor ceremony at Kingston Plantation, Mark & Dawn walked the grounds at the resort and even went for a walk in the sand!

You can see their engagement session at this link, shot at the Little Theater Rose Garden.

Wedding Coordinator - Memorable Moments

Portrait location - Kingston Plantation

Flowers - Little Shop of Flowers

the resort has beautiful bouncing light everywhere!

.

Dawn is always laughing!

What a perfect evening for portraits, I will post up your amazing reception images soon!