Hey everyone! Welcome to my new and improved blog/site! I have merged both my website and blog into one place so it can serve as an easy-to-remember, one-stop shop for the most up-to-date happenings in my work and, basically, my life. There will be no more posts to the old blog, so make sure you update your bookmarks and RSS feeds to keep up! I have imported all the old posts here as well, so now there’s no need to keep yourself linked over there.

Below you will see the most recent information with what’s going on with me through my blog. And for those who are looking for a bit more information about Nate Mathai Photography, you can use the navigation above. I hope you all enjoy the new look, and I look forward to connecting with you all in some way, shape, or form. Oh, and leave me some comments! It makes me happy God bless…

[mail] | info@natemathai.com

*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…

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!

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.

My fiance (and others) are not huge fans of it, and I keep trying to convince them of the relational benefits that I’m reaping.  I’ve been a terrible phone person with keeping up with people in the past, but through twitter I’ve reconnected with some people and know a lot more of whats going on in their lives than ever before (and vice versa)!  Now when we see each other in person, we bypass a lot of the formalities and can get deeper into conversations.  And more so than just random knowledge of what people are eating for lunch, I’ve gotten a lot of personal benefits from it.  Let me share a few:

(1)  I was leaving work one day, and wanted something refreshing to drink…so I twittered that.  I got a response from a friend who works at Starbucks who recommended an Iced Venti Passion Tea Lemonade…and hooked me up since she was going there to study anyways!

(2)  In an effort to expand my fashion knowledge and such, I made a request to see if anyone had magazines laying around that were not in use (I was going to get a subscription, but figured I start with this first).  Within an hour I had 3 people offer, and have already received a handful of mags.

(3)  In need of a GPS, I posted for recommendations.  I got a slew of responses with what people are using, what price points they are at, and things like that, which helped  me make a decision on what I just purchased (and am pleased with my Garmin Nuvi 750).

Some bonus perks are I’m able to have my facebook status update with my twitter status, which frees up my time from having to be “as connected” to facebook…because I do twitter quite a bit though, you facebook friends probably see my status update a lot.  Sorry!

All this just to say…I love Twitter.  It helps me stay connected, get quick answers, and keeps me entertained throughout the day. Do you guys use twitter?  What’s your favorite part about it?  And for those of you who don’t, why not?

Oh right…it’s rude of me to have a post without a picture…so…ummmm…here’s what my desktop looks like right now (I’ll be getting this shoot up soon…):

EDIT

• [Photo Challenge] About 1 week left to get your self-portraits in…help me connect a name with a face!
• [Winter Weather] Today I woke up and had to scrape ice off my windshield…I’m not ready for this.  Need to go invest in some gloves, hats and scarves soon…

Jason and I pretty much grew up together (though he is a bit older than I am) attending the same church, and he’s also best friends with my brother-in-law.  Over the past few years Jason and Susan were out in Bloomington, IL, and had just moved back closer to the Chicagoland area much to the joy of many of us.  (He chronicled the transition for his family to move back as well as starting is insurance agency at this blog).  We’d been looking for an opportunity to do a family shoot all summer but it was quite difficult because of schedules, but finally were able to get something a couple weeks back.  We made our way out to the Cantigny Gardens in Wheaton, IL for some fun times with the family.

(side note:  Isabelle is also best friends with my niece Alexis, and has become like another niece of mine.  I think she likes me - except she constantly refers to me as the one who always takes her food…I don’t know what she’s talking about [kids always have good snacks wherever they go]. )

Definitely one of my favorites of the day…

Of course, we were able to grab a few of just Jason and Susan too…

and I LOVED that patched lighting by this bench…a beautiful set…

Little kids have so much fun making silly faces.  I’ve always wondered, though, where it starts…where do they get the inspiration to make these faces?  I think this answered my question.

Jason and Susan, I had a blast as always hanging out with you guys, and definitely look forward to seeing you more often now that you’re back ‘home’.