Michael Krakora Photography

A Photographer and Her Baby

Mike and I have been friends with Jen for a long time. She started as an assistant to Mike on weddings when I was pregnant with our second child who is now 4. Now she has a very successful photography studio in Middleton. 

Jen is amazing!  Not just as a photographer, but as a person as well.  I was so honored to be asked to photograph her and her second daughter! Seeing the connecting between the two of them was inspiring. It helped me realize how much I love photographing new mothers.  Everything is so new, even with your second, and being asked to be a part of that by documenting it is a real gift. 

Jen, I can't wait to do it again!  :o)

One Stinking Cute Baby

I was so lucky to get to document another wonderful and very old friend. If anyone in this world has dirt on me, it is Anne. We have had so much fun through the years. Even though life is turbulent – Anne and I have seen each other through those times. And now I am lucky to be a part of her life when she has a child. August is amazing! I can tell already that he will have Anne and Joe's crazy sense of humor. The laughter, as it always is, was loud and free flowing.

Here are more of my favorites in a slideshow.

His smiles were so contagious!

He makes this look not only easy, but tasty too!

This was my favorite from a series. Anne's hair is so thick and beautiful. She was nuzzling his noes and he would open his mouth just enough to let her hair brush against his mouth and he would giggle.  It was a really sweet moment that I keep replaying in my head. It is wonderful to see Anne so happy.

One thing Anne and Joe really wanted was an image of August crying. Got it!  LOVE this shot!  Even crying, he is so stinking cute!

Old Friends

Ken and I have been friends since about the 7th grade. He has been like a brother to me for, well, a LONG time. When he met Sarah I was ecstatic – she is fantastic. And, when he called to tell me that there was a bun in the oven, I was even more excited. The only sad thing is that they no longer live in the midwest, but in Portland. I really cherish those last minute calls around the holidays where we can share a bit of chaos. This year they wanted to get some shots of the family in and I am so glad Mike was able to do it!  I love how these turned out. Such a fun session with such amazing people. 

I love this! Emma was soooo fast. 

Ahhhhh!  Giant baby!  :o)

This series cracks me up! Ken hasn't changed a bit!  He has been making these faces forever and it just cracks me up to see these.

Ken and Sarah,  you guys are amazing and we feel so blessed to have you in our lives. I just wish you were closer! Hopefully we will get to see you guys this summer. 

Here are some more images in a slideshow.

Wisconsin Bride :: Featured Wedding

We are so excited that Ruthie + Tom's wedding was chosen to be one of the featured weddings in the latest issue of Wisconsin Bride.  We just found out we will have another wedding featured in the next issue.  Stay tuned!  :o)

And, while I am at it...It is that time of year again. Voting is open for Wisconsin Bride's Best of 2009.  Vote for your favorite Wisconsin Wedding Professionals by March 1.

Happy Belated Halloween!

We have been getting a few requests to see the boys in all of their Halloween splendor!

We've got one sorcerer and very fast Nascar racer!

More posts to come...promise! We are knee deep in orders and finishing up weddings!  

Madison Wisconsin's Farmer's Market

Never a dull moment.

We love Madison!

Lord Help Us . . .

We may have another artist in the family!  A couple of weeks ago, our oldest son was curious about the burnt wood left in our fire pit. Mike showed him how you could use it to draw. The rest is history!

The best quote was, "Mom, sometimes I just have to make big art."

Oh – and never mind the goofy teeth – they are gone now!  (sniff, sniff...our little boy is growing up!)

You Mother Was A Hamster...

And your father smelt of elderberries!

I think I have mentioned this before, but Mike + I rarely get out! Since we are huge Monty Python fans, this was a real treat. I wasn't so sure about all of the hype that has followed "Spamalot," but WOW! That is all I can say. I was laughing so hard my cheeks hurt. If you can go see it – do it, go now! I promise it will make you look on the bright side of life. {har har, I couldn't resist}

On a more serious note, The Madison Wedding Guild is having a show on Wednesday, May 14 at the Inn Towner from 5:30-8:30. All of our favorite vendors will be there with beautiful flowers to smell and tasty cakes to sample.

The Week of the Young Child

The Week of the Young Child was a couple of weeks ago. To aide in the celebration, Mike went to our youngest's preschool to document these little three year olds having the time of their lives. What a sweet group of kids and a fantastic group of teachers! Nolan absolutely loves his preschool! (As do we!) I am using this as excuse of showing off our younger child. He is notorious for not letting us photograph him, or, if we do, for making some really obnoxious face. I am biased, but he is a real sweetheart. Mike did a fantastic job capturing his personality.

Hey Look! We're in Yosemite!

We arrived in Yosemite today. We are here to photograph a wedding on Sunday and are enjoying a little free time. The drive in was amazing. The last time I was here was when I was in photography school. It was early December so things were a bit different. Today, the falls were going full force and just spectacular. Bridalveil Falls was the first one we saw so we tried to do my patented one arm self portrait in front of it, even though there were many friendly offers to help. We just said, "No thanks, this is just what we do."

When we checked in to the Lodge, we saw a tree that was in bloom outside our room. It had the most amazing flowers on it. These bright green flowers at the end of the branches were one of the most unique blossoms that I have seen. Heather couldn't stay away from them and as soon as we got into our room, the camera came out and she was on the balcony shooting away. Check out the awesome selective focus. Look for more to come in the next few days.

**UPDATE** the tree was a Dogwood! (that was simple enough!)