Movie Review and Thanksgiving
- November 27, 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

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.’

[11.24.08] Monday Night Recap
- November 24, 2008 - posted by chicago wedding photographer nate mathai

categories: [MNR]
tags:

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

• [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:

Who Would Shoot Me… (Jerry G)
- November 23, 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

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

« Previous Entries