[02.11.08] Monday Night Recap
- February 11, 2008 - posted by chicago wedding photographer nate mathai

categories: Personal, [MNR]
tags:

interested in booking? Head over to the the contact page or shoot me an email to info@natemathai.com

• [UIUC] I posted yesterday about my festivities at U of I. It’s always so fun to go and visit, but my time feels so short (even though I take Friday off of work to visit!). No matter how much time I have, I still can’t find time to meet with everyone I’d like to. Sorry people- next time we’ll create a list with 1.5 hour slots…will that work? Keep in touch even if I don’t visit! E-mail, IM…whatever!
• [TheKingdom] On night #1, we watched The Kingdom…I thought it was very well made. There’s something about these movies that get to me…keeps me interested. It always attempts to show the humanity of both sides. Opens up minds to perspective.
• [CFC] It’s great going ‘home’. I post this every time, but whenever I go back there’s always a handful of people not just saying ‘welcome back’ but ‘welcome home.’ I spent 4 and a half years being raised/trained there, and while many have left (including myself), we still have a bond that transcends location. A bit of teaching that hit me:
• at every single moment, we are seeking maximum pleasure
• past events don’t determine our current choices, though they do influence them
• Repentance is more “God Help Me” than “God Forgive Me”
• [Disappointed] My girlfriend and I had an early Valentine’s celebration since she’s away at school. We were searching for things to do and stumbled upon an event called “Covered in Chocolate” held in Monticello, IL. There were many different events, and we got tickets to go to a live jazz show with a chocolate buffet. And let me tell you, we were a bit disappointed. The jazz band was nice (though I guess we’re not that cultured to love it), but the buffet was said. It seriously seemed like a small table with 3 different chocolate items that they just purchased from Meijer. We made the most of the night and had a blast, but we expected more…I’m just saying. Maybe it’ll get better over time.
• [Allerton] The event was held at Allerton Park in Monticello. It was late at night when we were driving, and the place is not lit at all…no real street signs or lamp posts. We found our way by the occasional “Allerton Park -> ” signs. I’ve heard the grounds are amazing there, but the outdoor area is not lit at all to notice at night…so sad. We were inside one of the buildings for the jazz event, and it is a rather beautiful place. Anyone having a wedding in the Champaign area, I recommend booking the place (and book me too!), because you can get some great photos there. We did wander around a bit and took our share of photos in there, but my girlfriend’s bit shy, so I won’t post (all of) them.
• [SelfPortraits] People have always asked what who we’re going to hire for our wedding. I always tell them that I’m going to do it…I mean, I’m going to have the best view right up front. I’ll also set up a few cameras on tripod with a wireless remote in my pocket for different angles. Everyone thinks I’m joking…I don’t know what to tell them. But here’s proof of what’s possible! This was one camera, no tripod, no flash, no nothing! It might take us like 8 hours to do an e-session having to set everything up, but it’s possible! What do you think?

*I’m getting into a habit of pulling over on the side of the road when I drive. The banner picture is from one of those stops on my drive back from Champaign. Here is the full picture…

Quick Post – UIUC
- February 10, 2008 - posted by chicago wedding photographer nate mathai

categories: Personal
tags:

interested in booking? Head over to the the contact page or shoot me an email to info@natemathai.com

I just got back from Urbana, and boy did I have a blast. It was a rather busy weekend with the regular church events, meeting up with current undergrads, birthday celebrations, as well as spending quality time with the girlfriend. All in all, I had a blast. I didn’t get an opportunity to pull out the camera too much because of the busy-ness and such, but I did take a few quick grabs on Saturday. Here’s a quick recap first:
- Got in Friday morning, met up with two of my ‘children’, then got lunch with 2 seniors.
- Picked up girlfriend from law school, went bowling (redeemed my poor 64 from earlier this week with a 158), then went to starbucks and hung out.
- Afterwards, caught dinner with her and two of her law school friends, followed by CFC large group. The night ended watching The Kingdom.
- Saturday morning, met with a few more ‘children’, where my ‘kid’ and the ‘neighbor’s kid’ made me a pancake breakfast (they love their alumn!) and chilled/caught up.
- Lunch was at Ruby Tuesday’s for my ‘youngest daughter’s’ birthday with a crowd.
- Then I went and showered/changed, rested, went back to starbucks (it was a high coffee weekend for me), and had an early valentine’s day celebration at Allerton Park with the girlfriend.
- At Allerton was a [unexciting] Jazz Festival / Chocolate Buffet which had about 3 different chocolate snacks that could have been purchased from Meijer. But the place is beautiful and we had a blast wandering the grounds.
- Sunday morning was church, followed by the mandatory “Lunch at Za’s with the Alumn”…then a bit more chilling with the girlfriend before heading home.

Very brief, not much excitement in the text, but I truly had a blast! The play-by-play doesn’t begin to scratch the surface. Maybe I’ll provide more details tomorrow with the MNR, but for now, here’s a few pics of the kids making me breakfast, and the birthday lunch:

***The reason for all the single quotes ( ‘…’ ) is because I don’t really have any biological or legal children, but there have been a handful that I’ve taken on as ‘my own’ due to the fact that they go to U of I (and I practically raised them :) ). Don’t get it twisted…just go with it…

The Beauty Within – 01
- February 6, 2008 - posted by chicago wedding photographer nate mathai

categories: announcement, Personal
tags:

interested in booking? Head over to the the contact page or shoot me an email to info@natemathai.com

Earlier, I stated that I was going to start on a personal project outside of the project100′s (100 different images of the same type of subject). And this one is called “The Beauty Within”. What I love about photography is it captures the essence of life. It looks deeper than we did at a single moment, and allows a clearer reflection of our lives. With that in mind, I realize that there’s so much around us that we overlook so quickly. We might ‘experience’ it everyday, but from our general point of view, it looks very bland and doesn’t catch our attention. But from a different angle, everything can look simply stunning. This project is for me to capture 50 different objects within my house from an angle that I just might not totally look at it. Here’s image number 1:

Sometimes, you need to look at things from a different angle to see the beauty in it. A change in perspective can open up your eyes and your mind to new ideas and a greater vision. Do not let yourself be limited my consistency…work outside of the box, step a few feet back, and open yourself to a greater potential. Much love.