Movie Review and Thanksgiving
- November 27, 2008 -
On Tuesday, my fiance and I went to see Slumdog Millionaire, and I wanted to get a recommendation out to everyone to go out and watch it! It’s an independent film only playing in select theaters, but definitely worth the travel. The basic premise of the movie is a kid from the slums of India has made it onto the Indian version of “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” and makes his way to the last question. The whole country is buzzing, and everyone questions how it could be possible…many assumptions of him cheating somehow to do it. Entangled within is a well written love story as well. The cinematography of it all is amazing, probably the best movie I’ve watched this year and quite possibly in my top 10. There is also such a great portrayal of life in the slums of India, the experiences they have, the living conditions, and the possible options that many have to choose as they grow. It’s especially challenging in light of the season we are in, as many of us can live so comfortably. So with that, go out and check it out! You can find out on the movie’s website to see which theaters near you are showing it.
Also, as we all know today is thanksgiving. I’ve just returned from church and was reminded just how great God is…there are so many things overlooked that we need to give thanks for, both individually and in our communities. I’d like to list a few…
- Life. Quite possibly the most overlooked for me. Everyday I wake to an undeserved gift and I need to constantly be reminded that it’s a bonus to be here, and I need to do my best to live it out right.
- Salvation. For over 10 years I’ve been trying to faithfully follow Christ, and though I fail many times, I’m completely indebted to the the gift of salvation I’ve received. Completely unearned, extremely undeserved.
- Family/Friends. How can we not be thankful for our loved ones around us? I think about some people’s and communities where if you hit hard times, you don’t have a place to really turn to. I am so lucky to have so many people who care and are willing to lend a helping hand no matter what the need is.
- Fiance. It’s been 2 and a half years of a blessed relationship, with about 9 months left before marriage. I’m thankful for such a strong support, and God’s provision in how we’ve met and where we are headed.
- Photography/Clients. I’m constantly amazed that I’m able to do what I love as “work”. And I’m so in awe that people are willing to financially support me in my endeavor to share with them a glimpse into my vision. This past year was great, and I feel like I’ve been able to give to and receive so much from this industry and all those who I’ve worked with – thanks for making it a joy for me to do this.
- You. It boggles my mind sometimes when I think about how many people read my blog and follow my work. It’s not as if you have any obligation to come here, yet you do time and time again, and I am extremely thankful. Your comments and words definitely encourage me to keep going. This blog is for you!
It’s definitely not an all-inclusive or exhausted list. But seriously, I just wanted to give thanks. Before heading off to 3 Thanksgiving dinners in 3 days, a black friday outing (should I bring my camera to document the madness?), an engagement ceremony, and a flag football matchup this weekend, I’ll end with a paraphrased quote I heard earlier today:
‘God has given me so much, yet I ask for one more thing: a grateful heart.’
be sure to visit the contact page if you’re looking for a chicago wedding photographer, available nationwide.
natemathai | 
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[11.24.08] Monday Night Recap
- November 24, 2008 -
- [Photo Challenge] Just a reminder that there’s about 1 week left in this month’s photo challenge so get your images in!
- [Guys Night Out] Last Friday, my fiance went to Phoenix to visit her sister, which meant time for a Guys Night Out! It started with a couple of us getting a dinner at La Tasca in Arlington Heights, a tapas restaurants. Afterward, we headed over to Pinstripes in Barrington for some good old bocce ball! I went and played bocce a week earlier for the first time, which got us hooked to come back again. It’s a pretty fun/relaxing game. Well after that for an hour, we ended the night with a little Quantum of Solace. I was never a huge Bond guy, but it was a pretty decent movie. I was getting very tired though as it’s seriously been awhile since I watched a midnight movie. All in all, an entertaining night with the guys. Here’s a couple pics from our bocce game:
- [Zachariah Family] On Saturday morning I headed out for an early morning mini-session. They wanted to get a couple ‘formal’ pics taken for Christmas cards, so we did a quick session in the morning and will be doing a full portrait session with them a little bit late. Here’s a quick teaser of the kids:
- [Ecumenical BBall Tournament] In Chicago, there are quite a few Indian churches in the area, and every now and then we try to set up various types of meetings and events to bring the churches together, and this Saturday there was a 1-day basketball tournament, with each church setting up their own team. I swung by for a bit after the session as a bunch of my church friends were playing (as well as a bunch of regulars from Summer League) to check it out. If anyone knows the outcome fill me in as I left pretty early, but here’s a couple images from the start of it all…
- [Bears] Finally, an easy victory. Our defense was finally able to get pressure on the QB with a couple sacks and pulled off some picks as well. The downside: Hester still doesn’t know how to return kicks (and hasn’t made it up on offense either). I still believe he’ll return at least 1 punt or kickoff for a TD before year end.
- [Fantasy] Even though I’m already knocked out of the playoffs, my role this week was to play the spoiler. Sadly, it didn’t happen. Now I’ve got one last game next week to save my pride and keep from being the worst player in the league. This always happens when I play fantasy sports. Ah well, here’s to next year.
- [Norwegian Recycling] I’ll finish it off with an awesome mashup that I found. This guy goes by the name Norwegian Recycling and does an amazing job with mashups of a lot of pop/rock/rap songs. It brings me back to my slideshow days…I never mixed like this though. Enjoy this one:
be sure to visit the contact page if you’re looking for a chicago wedding photographer, available nationwide.
natemathai | filed under: [MNR]Who Would Shoot Me… (Jerry G)
- November 23, 2008 -
If there were no restrictions what-so-ever, I would also have Jerry Ghionis shoot my wedding.
He leaves me speechless whenever I view his work. With countless awards won, he sees things that others miss. Jerry is like the MacGyver of wedding photography, being able to take a flashlight, a candle, and a stick of gum and turn it into the most beautiful portrait you’ve ever seen! Seriously, what grabs my attention most is his ability to fuse the strong quality of true photojournalism, while at the same time producing some of the most amazing posed/directed portraits I’ve ever seen. I seriously sit in awe looking at his composition.
check out his work: site | blog
be sure to visit the contact page if you’re looking for a chicago wedding photographer, available nationwide.
natemathai | filed under: PersonalChicago Photowalk
- November 19, 2008 -
Yeterday afternoon I decided to do a little photowalk in Chicago, as I realized I haven’t many opportunities as of late to “shoot for myself”. It’s fun just wander around with no rush, no real direction, and just let your eyes lead you. So I stuck my 17-35 on and headed around Millenium Park and the likes. For all you photogs out there, I challenge you guys to take your least favorite lens (if you always shoot tight, take a wide angle, or vice versa) and spend a day just shooting with it. Here’s a handful of views of the city through my eyes…
*note: Again for the photogs out there, these images were all shot in JPEG and processed in Bridge – none of them were brought into Photoshop except for my standard branding/resizing action.
And we’ll end it with my favorite ‘bean’ shot…
be sure to visit the contact page if you’re looking for a chicago wedding photographer, available nationwide.
natemathai | filed under: Personal[11.17.08] Monday Night Recap
- November 17, 2008 -
- [Photo Challenge] Just a reminder that we’re a little over halfway through November’s challenge, and the weather (at least here) is changing drastically into winter so be sure to get your “Fall” pictures taken!
- [NavJeevan] The NavJeevan Centre is an organization in India that my church is connected with, which helps children of women who are in the Red Light District. For the past few years, we’ve been able to send a team out every year for a few weeks to serve out there, build relationships with the kids, and things like that. This past Friday, most of the team members took off for two weeks, which include my sister and brother-in-law. In total, its a team of 8 that will be out there spanning 4 weeks. Keep them in your prayers, for both physical and spiritual protection.
- [Winter] I’m not sure what the true definition is for the change in seasons, but this is how I know:
- [Bears] For the first time Lovie’s career as head coach, we lost to the Packers…and it was to Aaron Rodgers too! It was an extremely sad game to watch. Our defense got owned, and our offense played like…our offense. Not a good combo. If we don’t make changes fast it’s going to be a fast fall from the top.
- [Fantasy] It’s official…I’m knocked out of playoff contention. I had some poor management yet again with my RBs, but even if I picked the best lineup and my opponent made the worst choice, I’d have still lost – it was just one of those weeks. All well, it was a fun 11 weeks so far, and for the last two I’ll just play the role of spoiler.
- [Snuggies] For some reason, I seem to be stumbling across a bunch of infomercials as I flip through channels. And the latest one that scared me was for “Snuggies“…I seriously thought it was some sort of cult-ish outfit when I watched. Would anyone of you guys wear this? Or more importantly, do any of you already have it? (And if so, please disregard the “cult-ish” statement :) ) The big question: Have you purchased anything off an infomercial, and did it live up to the hype?
- [MammothMen] So a little while back a group of 6 awesome photographer friends got together for a week away for Snowboarding and fun times in Mammoth, and its become a regular occurence now. They have now doubled in size, and are on version3 of their trip, which is being fully documented on their blog. So if you’re looking for an overload of awesomeness, be sure to keep up with them. If Indians enjoyed cold weather sports, I would so be looking for my own set of Mammoth Men. But alas, we do not…but is anyone looking to just get away for some fully documented fun times!?!?! Let me know!
- [Wish List] Christmas is right around the corner, so I guess its time to start thinking about what I’d like to get (that’s reasonably priced and not photo-related). Any suggestions? What was your favorite Christmas gift and why? What are you looking forward to getting this year? Help a brother out!
be sure to visit the contact page if you’re looking for a chicago wedding photographer, available nationwide.
natemathai | filed under: [MNR]Carolyn and Chris :: wedding
- November 12, 2008 -
A short while ago I second shot Kenny Nakai at the wedding of Carolyn and Chris. Except…this wasn’t your normal second shooting scenario, because Carolyn is Kenny’s sister! And to make matters even more exciting, Kenny was a groomsman as well! I give him major props for having the energy to fulfill the duties of brother-of-the-bride/groomsman/photographer.
Back in September Chicago got hit with a terrible storm, flooding streets like crazy. That didn’t put a damper on this wedding, though. Once you got inside the First Presbyterian Church in Evanston, there was no reminder of the weather outside, and everything was beautiful from start to finish!
For a more complete coverage of the wedding, be sure to hit up Kenny’s blog as well. Now on to the pictures!
One of the more powerful moments of the wedding is when the bridal party prays over the bride or groom…
Some brides are nervous before the walk, but Carolyn was all smiles…
After the ceremony, we headed out to Grazie in Des Plaines for the reception.
The flower girls were the cutest things ever. And it seems they got to the cake just slightly before Carolyn and Chris did…I love this shot:
The first dance…
First Dance version 2.0 (quite possibly my favorite first dance shot to date…)
As a surprise to Carolyn, not only was there a father daughter dance, but each of her brothers danced with her as well. Quite an emotional time for everyone there – now that’s love.
After the bouquet and garter toss, they opened up for a night of dancing. Some people weren’t that into the dancing, though, and found some more entertaining things to keep them occupied…
Carolyn and Chris, you guys had a beautiful wedding and it was my pleasure to take part in it. I wish you all the best as you move forward in your married lives. Take care!
be sure to visit the contact page if you’re looking for a chicago wedding photographer, available nationwide.
natemathai | filed under: Personal[11.10.08] Monday Night Recap
- November 10, 2008 -
- [Presidential Election] Unless you were stuck under a rock for a week, you probably heard that Illinois senator Barack Obama won the recent presidential election in a landslide (based on the electoral college system). At the last election, I remember staying up until 5am following the polls because it was just so tight! This one was decided by around 9pm. It’s really only just the beginning – Bush is still in office for a little bit longer, and then we’ve got 4 years. Don’t expect everything to be spun around overnight, but here’s to hope and change!
- [The Office] It’s finally getting back on track! The first few episodes were funny, but not to the same extent as previous seasons, but its starting to pick up again. Loved the halloween episode. I love looking forward to Thursdays…
- [Black Friday] It’s coming. Are you guys ready? Care to share your plans? Last year I was up around 4am to wait outside Best Buy, and I think we’ll be starting around the same time again this year. What are you guys looking to pick up this year? Let me know if you know of any amazing deals too!
- [Bears] I almost get an ulcer every game. Going in I wasn’t really expecting a win. But then they tease me by playing just good enough to give me hope, but just bad enough to lose the game. It’s surprising that we’re still #1 in the NFC North…I’ll take what I can get.
- [Fantasy] This was quite possibly my worst managed week of the year, and probably knocked me out of playoff contention (I’m clinging to a thread over these next 3 weeks). I left 50 points on my bench between two running backs and a wide receiver (the running backs I started barely got me 5 points total). BLASTED!
- [Nieces] You probably remember Izzy from the family session I did a short while ago. While her mother and my sister took a weekend escape of sorts and left the fathers to babysit, so I went over to hang out on Saturday. I got there just in time for their dinner…pizza and green beans. They had a contest to see who would eat the green beans the fastest too! I love how kids can make a competition out of anything. I wonder when we grow out of that. Enjoy the pics…
- [Coming to an end?] As we close off the year, I’m pretty impressed with myself, as I have been keeping the MNR going for over a year now (That’s a lot of Mondays!). I’m thinking it’ll be coming to an end soon though. The good thing, though, is it’ll hopefully get me blogging more regularly as I’ll spread out the topics throughout the week (hopefully). Also, I got some interesting stuff that I’m *hoping* to get up and running soon too, that will most likely keep you all entertained. (Again, if there’s anything you’d like to see/hear about, feel free to leave it in the comments)
be sure to visit the contact page if you’re looking for a chicago wedding photographer, available nationwide.
natemathai | filed under: [MNR] No Comments | add a comment
[11.03.08] Monday Night Recap
- November 4, 2008 -
- [Photo Challenge] For those who haven’t done it yet, I’ll give a bit more time to get your submissions in from last month’s challenge (self-portrait). I’ve just posted the November challenge, and here’s the image to get your thinking:
- [Fantasy Basketball] In the middle of last week I realized I joined a fantasy basketball league with some kids from my alma mater, and I finished the first week with a 6-4. I also realized why I don’t do fantasy basketball or baseball anymore – it requires way too much time! Unlike football where it’s a once a week thing, these sports have games pretty much everyday. It’s still fun, but I realized I don’t have time like I used to to keep up with it…but we’ll see how it goes!
- [World Series] Yeah, I didn’t care that much either. But for those who do care enough but didn’t hear anything…the Phillies won. Woo.
- [Chicago Sports] The Bears have the best record in the NFC. Do we think they’re Superbowl winners? Nope. The Bulls have started out pretty strong. Are we expecting them to go deep in the playoffs? Not Really. Why? In recent years, Chicago teams have now been consistently good during the regular season (see: Cubs 2007-2008, White Sox 2005-2008, Bears 2003-2007…) yet haven’t been able to finish. So I guess we’re a bit spoiled with consistency and now need big finish. So which team will do it first?
- [Bears] We pulled out the win, yet it was really sad. Detroit hasn’t won a game all season, yet were up 23-13 in the 3rd. Adding insult to injury: Orton is hurt, Mike Brown is hurt, Vasher is hurt, Hester has forgotten how to return kicks. Next week will be a huge game though…Grossman’s first full game back, going up against the undefeated Titans. Should be fun! (or very depressing)
- [Fantasy] 1.32 Points. That’s all I needed. If I knee McGahee wasn’t playing I would have played Pittman, which would have done it. Or if Leftwhich would have thrown a 15 yard pass to Washington at any time during the 4th quarter, I would have won. But no…this is depressing…
- [Vote] you’ve got a few hours to learn about the candidates to figure out who you agree with the most. Then for those who didn’t vote early, go out and vote tomorrow. And then we’ll see what the next 4 years look like…
- [Should I go?] Downtown Chicago is going to be buzzin’ and crowded like none other. Should I schlep my gear and try to see how close I can get to Grant Park during Obama’s party, or save myself the time, worry, and pain and just watch the polls with some friends?
be sure to visit the contact page if you’re looking for a chicago wedding photographer, available nationwide.
natemathai | filed under: [MNR] No Comments | add a comment
Julie and Mark :: e-session
- November 1, 2008 -
When Julie first contacted me, I got really excited. Although its really difficult to determine emotion and tonality through text, it was obviously clear that she was so excited to have their portraits taken, which is a photographers dream! (note to future clients: tell me how excited you are and that you’re up for pretty much anything and you’ll make me really happy) Mark and Julie have known each other for quite awhile through a family friend, but had only started dating in 2007. Even though Mark’s from Dallas, they were able to see each other all the time as Julie would go out to the area to visit family and such.
Their wedding is going to be held out in Dallas next fall, but Mark was able to come up to Chicago recently and we got there session taken care of here. We had an extended session as they wanted both casual portraits as well as some with her decked out in her Indian outfit. So we started the day out downtown, and finished off with some shots around Itasca.
Major Props Alert: Mark deserves a special shout out for his proposal (which happened the night before). Julie had not gone to prom, but they had talked about all the details she would have liked. Mark with his awesome memory remembered it all, and gave her her own prom! With the help of Julie’s family and friends, they set up the scene with everyone acting as guests. Mark bought her the same dress that she had told him she would have loved to wear. After dinner, he brought her back and when they opened the doors – she was at prom. When it was time for the “King and Queen” dance, everyone else stepped outside as they danced, and then he proposed to her there! I mean…seriously! He definitely raised the bar for all you guys who haven’t proposed yet…
Definitely love this one…
After our time in the city, we headed back to Itasca where they changed up a bit to finish off the shoot:
Definitely my favorite:
Julie and Mark, it was my honor to shoot for you guys. I had a blast getting to know you, and I wish you the best of luck as you prepare for your upcoming wedding, and more importantly the marriage ahead.
be sure to visit the contact page if you’re looking for a chicago wedding photographer, available nationwide.
natemathai | filed under: Modern Portraits
