October Moon Photography (formally Capture My Heart Photography)

You Are Cordially Invited…| Cedar Rapids Wedding Photographer

Brent & Jen — Fri, 11 May 2012 01:11:45 +0000

…to the wedding day of Rachel and Jamie!

Brent and I were very honored to be a part of such a beautiful and special occasion. It was filled with happiness, laughter and 100% true love. Everything down to the last detail was perfect. It truly was an amazing, amazing day shared with family and friends. But there was one important person missing. About 6 weeks before the wedding, Rachel’s sister and Maid of Honor was offered a teaching position in Egypt so she was unable to attend the ceremony. She was Skyped in a few times throughout the day (isn’t technology wonderful?) but those moments via computer couldn’t possibly give her a full glimpse of Rachel and Jamie’s special day. So I wanted to do something a little extra for both Rachel and her sister. I have been editing like a mad woman so that I could share a large blog post that walks you through the beginning preparations of the day all the way through the “I Do’s.”

So sit back and enjoy your front row seat to the most awaited day in this couple’s life!

Cedar Rapids, IA Photographer | Inspiration

Brent & Jen — Mon, 07 May 2012 19:33:51 +0000

Over the weekend we packed up the family and headed to Lincoln, Nebraska to watch my brother run in his first half marathon. What a motivating morning watching all these runners in their pain and also their glory of accomplishing something that takes so much strength and endurance!

I am so proud of my brother as I know first hand what kind of commitment it takes to train for 13.1 miles. After all, he is the guy who motivated Brent and I to sign up for our own half. (Which, by the way, is in TWO weeks!!!! Eeek!) Of course we were on the sidelines with the camera capturing a part of his day. We were able to hop in and out of the car and meet Doug 5 times along the route to offer some support and encouragement. It was awesome and I almost found myself in tears a couple of times as I realized just how much he was about to accomplish. Take a look at his journey to the finish line.

Somewhere around mile 5 – a distance that is typically considered a “short run” in half marathon training and one that you would do several times a week.

Along the path of miles 8-10

Some support from little sis (aka – ME!)

Waiting for Uncle Doug…

The finish line was at the 50 yard line of Memorial Stadium and home to the Nebraska Cornhuskers. These were taken right outside the stadium and right around mile 12 – 12.5. This was new running territory for my brother as the farthest he had run up until this point was 11 miles.

Hamming it up for the camera!

We weren’t able to make it into the stadium in time to see him cross the finish line but I was glad to be able to be here to give him that last little bit of encouragement to push on through to the end. So very proud of you big brother! What an amazing accomplishment. :)

Cedar Rapids, IA Baby Photographer | Happy Birthday Little Miss!

Brent & Jen — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 19:34:00 +0000

Brent and I have had the pleasure of photographing Little Miss Brenna since she was a newborn. It has been so fun watching her and her personality grow and I think we caught a little bit of every side of her over the weekend. I absolutely love how this session turned out. I have slowly been collecting things for pure and simple set-ups to use during our studio sessions. There is just something so sweet and innocent about the simplicity that I adore.

LOVE these!

Doesn’t she just look like a little doll???

Seriously, I could just eat her up!

And remember what I said about us capturing just about a little bit of all her sides? Hahaha! This one cracks me up. She was so over her cake smash at this point.

Happy 1st Birthday, Brenna. Glad that you can have these memories of your milestone since you probably won’t remember much about your big day!

Cedar Rapids Newborn Photographer | Day 5

Brent & Jen — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 21:34:42 +0000

Sweet baby TJ came to us at 5 days old. He was so sleepy and relaxed and we enjoyed every minute of our snuggle time with him. He joins big brother Dylan and big sister Betty. I had the honor of being there during Betty’s birth and meeting her within her first hour of life and also got to watch her “grow up” in front of our lens. It is super exciting that we will get an opportunity to watch this little guy grow as well. But let’s not rush that. Let’s just enjoy the sweet little miracle as he is right now.

Cedar Rapids Family Photographer | Capturing Hopes

Brent & Jen — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 18:32:04 +0000

Brent and I were honored to be a part of the community of photographers from the surrounding area who participated in the Capturing Hopes Dance Marathon at the beginning of this month. Capturing Hopes is a non-profit organization with a passion for helping children battling cancer or other life-threatening illnesses. Each year they have a 21 hour Dance Marathon to honor those who have looked cancer in the face and survived, those who are in the fight for their lives and those who were taken from this world much too soon. To be a part of such a powerful event was just amazing! During our time there we met 12 different families and spent about 10-15 minutes with each of them capturing just a little piece of their strength and spirits! We heard some wonderful and miraculous stories and also some that brought tears to our eyes. But whether we meet these individuals in person or got to take a picture walk through their lives, we were in awe of the courage and character of everyone we met. We were even inspired to become part bone marrow registry that evening. To find out more about Capturing Hopes, please visit their website here. And if you would like to find out how you can become part of the bone marrow registry to hopefully save a life one day, please visit Be The Match.

Here is our little tribute to the families that touched our lives.

Cedar Rapids, IA | Family Photographer…Snow!

Brent & Jen — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 17:34:05 +0000

SNOW! Finally! We have been anxiously been awaiting this session for almost 1 year. After their fall family photos in 2010, mom was eager to get on our calendar for 2011 for a fun snow session thinking that snow is bound to appear around November/December. After all, we do live in Iowa. November came and went…no snow. December came and went…no snow. We were beginning to wonder if Mother Nature was going to take us directly from fall into spring. But finally, 11 months and 1 week from scheduling the session, we got snow. And we had the most beautiful day to shoot in! OK, well sure it was a bit chilly and the wind was a little breezy, but the light was golden and beautiful and warm. And the family was full of great attitudes and adventure which made for the perfect combination for an excellent session. We couldn’t be more pleased with how these turned out. Now go get your own cup of cocoa to sip while you enjoy these images!

2011 – A Year In Pictures | Cedar Rapids Photographer

Brent & Jen — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 00:49:20 +0000

2011 was a year filled with beautiful people, both inside and out. We enjoyed getting to know each one of you and helping you create some treasured memories in your life. Thank you so much for your trust and support. You are the reason we do what we do. Please enjoy this collage with select images from our sessions throughout the year! Looking forward to seeing you again in 2012!

Doubly Blessed | Cedar Rapids Newborn Photographer

Brent & Jen — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 16:19:50 +0000

When I found out my friend was pregnant with twins, I think one of the first things that I told her is that we are definitely doing her newborn images! :) And we are so happy that she agreed because they are just the most beautiful and perfect little babies you could ever imagine. It really took us back to those early days with our dynamic duo – two car seat to lug around, double diaper changes, struggling when trying to trade off one baby for the other, swaying back and forth with a baby in each arm, delirious sleep deprived nights, but best of all double the noses to nuzzle and twice the love in your heart.

After many anxious month of waiting for these little guys to arrive safely into this world, they are finally here! Meet Blake and Beckham. (So in love with their names!) And I think that after studying the one image where I know for sure who was who, I can now tell who is who in the others. Because let’s face it, when trying to photograph identical twins even we forgot who had the painted toes and which baby was fed last or who we had just got done taking individual pictures. We even had a full nights sleep. Tanya, congratulations to your entire family! You have such a handsome crew!

Mr. Beckham

And Mr. Blake

Sweet, sweet brothers. They fit together so nicely. They even pretty much did this with their hands on their own once I nuzzled them together. *Melt* (Oh, and I have no idea who is who here. LOL!)

I just HAD to add this one! I was in the middle of posing the babies when Beckham broke into this huge grin. I quickly pulled my hands away so that Brent could capture it!

Wedding Guests | Cedar Rapids Wedding Photographer

Brent & Jen — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 16:03:24 +0000

Well we weren’t really friends of the bride or groom type guests at this wedding, we were more guest photographers at the wedding. Since Brent and I are hitting the wedding scene again next April, we wanted to make sure we did all of our homework in order to make sure that we understand all the ins and the outs of wedding photography. Events are quite different than our normal portrait work so it was such a wonderful experience to be able to 2nd shoot the wedding of Erin and Jeff. It was really a lot of fun being a part of the excitement of the day and sharing in the relationships of everyone in attendance. Here are some of the resulting images from the day.

Erin and Jeff did not see each other before the wedding. This was taken right as the door was opening and Erin was seeing her groom for the first time. Love the emotion in her face.

I love the attention to every last detail with weddings. Erin’s mom made the cake and I heard that Erin even helped a bit. Isn’t it just gorgeous?

So in Love | Cedar Rapids Couples Photographer

Brent & Jen — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 00:39:14 +0000

In April of next year, Brent and I are venturing into the wedding scene again. (I guess that is what happens when people talk nice to us. We say yes to something that we don’t typically do!) But we are so glad that we agreed to shoot the wedding of Rachel and Jamie. We met last night for their engagement session and had a ton of fun. Over the course of the last several months, I have had many email exchanges with Rachel. In every single one of those exchanges, I got an instant feel for what a warm and beautiful person she is. I could also tell just how much she adores Jamie! In fact when I wrote her some questions just so I could get to them and their relationship a little better, I could just hear the giddiness in her voice through her writing. Seriously. She is just head over heels in love with this guy. And why shouldn’t she be? He is pretty amazing and quite easy on the eyes. Just by watching them together we can see the pedestal that he holds her on. It is so incredibly sweet and romantic.

Their session was so much fun. We laughed. A lot. Rachel’s laughter and beaming smile and Jamie’s easy-going nature are qualities that just make you feel good being around these two people. And we have no doubt that the people they surround themselves with will be just as warm and uplifting. We cannot wait to meet their friends and family and share in the joy of their special day! But until then, enjoy these images of soon to be Mr. and Mrs.

Look at the way they look at each other…so in love!

Special request by Rachel and Jamie. Some good ‘ole leaf fighting fun!

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