Tiffany + Paul

Posted on November 4, 2016 by Lindsey

Saturday, October 29th, 2016
Oeder’s Lake Morrow, Ohio.

Please enjoy some images from Tiffany’s and Paul’s special day.Best Wishes and Congratulations to the newly married couple!

Making Strides 2016

Posted on October 30, 2016 by Lindsey

October 22nd, 2016 marked my second year capturing the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk, created by the American Cancer Society.

The event is held annually at Yeatman’s Cove, along the Ohio River in Cincinnati, Ohio. Strides participants walk to honor and in memory of those that have, that are, and that will face the terrible disease of breast cancer. It is a gathering of tens of thousands, dressed in head-to-toe pink attire.

I was joined by a team of beautiful, local photographers that donated their time and talents to helping me cover this amazing event.

Please enjoy some of the featured images from the day’s events:

To view all images from the Making Strides Walk, please click on the following link:
http://www.eclecticallyforyou.com/acs/strides2016

group A very special THANK YOU! to all of my generous and talented colleagues for helping capture this beautiful day. To learn more about these wonderful people, please check out their work:

Tiffany, TSI Photography
Pamela, Stevens Photography
Steven, Steven Kohus Photography
Adam, Gabbard Photography
Skyler, student

Sydney’s Bat Mitzvah

Posted on July 21, 2016 by Lindsey

A week or so ago, I was asked to photograph a bat mitzvah and the events surrounding. Disclosure: I have never had the privilege of attending one before so I was incredibly excited to not only cover, but to experience such an event. (read: hold onto your hats, there’s gonna be A LOT of pictures.) Especially with Syd playing the main role.

The last time I photographed Sydney, it was about 5 years ago. You can imagine that she experienced quite a growth spurt in those several years.

Dinner1

My “job” began Friday evening at The Stir in Montgomery, Ohio. The evening included cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, dinner, and good company.

Dinner2a Dinner2 Dinner3

I met Sydney and Co. the next morning, downtown at the Issac M. Wise Temple. As guests arrived, I made my way up to the balcony and prepped myself and my gear for one of the most beautiful ceremonies I have photographed.

Ceremony 2 Ceremony 3 Ceremony 4 Ceremony 5 Ceremony 6

Services were followed by a luncheon in the temple’s basement. I took the opportunity to snag Sydney and her girlfriends for a short, little photo shoot.

Girls

After finishing up some formal/family portraits, I returned home with enough time to whip out the hair crimper and heavy, over-sized earrings. It was time to cover the after party over at the Sharonville Convention Center. 80’s Style!

Party 1

As a child of the 80’s, I cannot even begin to describe the nostalgia experienced as I roamed Sydney’s decade-themed party. The center pieces were made with day-glow painted cassette tapes and record sleeves. The candy table included all of those candies from my tween years. The clothes… the attire was amazing.

There was a photo booth, a song list straight out of the 80’s and 90’s (hello “Humpty Dance,”) an Adults Vs Kids dance-off, a friendly game of Musical Chairs, 80’s outfits, a “Sydney” slideshow, and did I mention the 80’s clothes?

Party 2 Party 3 Party 4 Party 5 Party 6 Party 7 Party 9

So fun!!! Like, totally fun! Radical, you might say.

2016-07-09 17.12

❤ Lindsey

My Monday with Mr. McDonald

Posted on June 27, 2016 by Lindsey

Another year has flown by and I once again found myself hanging out with one of my favorite corporate icons, for one of my favorite organizations. June 20th saw the return of the annual Golf Classic, benefiting the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Cincinnati.

As with previous years, it was a beautiful, hot, humid, and very entertaining day. RMH1 RMH2

Yep, I got burnt. And I had a blast doing it. Until next year, golf course!

❤ Lindsey

Relay for Life of the Soul V2.0

Posted on June 24, 2016 by Lindsey

Greetings and my apologies for being so quiet on my blog. I think I’m still in denial about my cruise’s end, some five months ago. Anywho…

I’ve been keeping myself busy with family and photography; and I’m just now rediscovering some time management since school let out. So, let’s do some Show & Tell from the most recent American Cancer Society event!

Friday, June 3rd was my second time covering the Relay for Life of the Soul at Woodward Career Technical High School in Cincinnati, Ohio. The event was created to celebrate cancer survivors and their caretakers; as well as honoring those that have been lost to the disease. Soul also helps to bring more awareness to the African-American communities about early diagnosis, treatment, and support.

Participants are invited to camp out in the football field, walk the track, eat some tasty foods, watch performances from the New Jerusalem Baptist Church, participate in raffle drawings, dance, play games, and party their night away.

So without further adieu… ACS1 ACS4 ACS3 ACS5 ACS6 ACS8 ACS7 ACS2 ACS9

For additional information on the American Cancer Society and their events, please follow this link.

ACS10 To view and/or purchase images from this event, please visit my website under the ‘Communities > American Cancer Society’ tab.

So I Went on a Cruise…

Posted on March 7, 2016 by Lindsey

It was my first time ever. I left the kids and the husband at home, and went on a cruise with my girlfriends. And it was AWESOME.

WARNING: I am going to post a bunch of images. We had a balcony off of the back of the boat, so there will be A LOT of back-of-the-boat sky pics. I mean, of course there are a bunch of those, right? Don’t worry, our boat made several stops, so there will be more than just sky. But still, lots of sky. (Sorry, not sorry.)

Our trip was a 7-day, Western Caribbean on the Carnival Splendor, out of Miami, Florida. We had 4 ports; 3 of which we stopped at (more on that later.) My girlfriends and I flew from Cincinnati, down to Miami on Saturday, February 20th. Our ship embarked at 4:00pm the following day.

February 21, 2016 Embarkation: Port of Miami a (1)

*We spammed the heck out of social media, so if you want to see more of the “selfie” shots, you’ll want to go to my Instagram. From here on out, it’s my DSLR that will be doing the shooting.

After boarding the ship and grabbing our FunShip drinks, we set off from Miami, en route to Cozumel. a (2) a (3)

February 22, 2016 Day 1: Fun Day at Sea

February 23, 2016 Port of Call: Cozumel, Mexico

We spent a beautiful day in Cozumel. Our excursion was the All-Inclusive Isla Pasion by Twister Boat. <- So fun!!!! And Passion Island was GORGEOUS! Apparently, the location is so beautiful that it is where the Corona ads are shot. c (1) c (2)

February 24, 2016 Port of Call: Belize City, Belize

This port was the location that “chose” the cruise itinerary (at least for me.) It was uncomfortable, hot and humid, but was still an amazing place to see. Because of a barrier reef surrounding the shores, we were transported by tender from ship to shore. It wasn’t as bad as I imagined it might be, but it was a lengthier ride and the boat was rather cramped.

Our excursion for the day was the Altun Ha Mayan Site and River Wallace. The river tour was awesome. We saw all kinds of critters, including: manatee, bats, iguanas (they are eaten like chicken in Belize,) crocodiles, howler monkeys, etc.

We were lead by our tour guide, Maude, along with the boat captain and river spotter. d (1) d (2)

At the end of our river trip, we stopped off at the Black Orchid Resort for lunch, which consisted of the national food, rice and beans, as well as some jerk chicken and fried plantains. d (3)

The Altun Ha Mayan site was incredible to see, but it was incredibly warm; especially after climbing to the top of the sun temple. Our Chukka tour guides (Maude and Marvin) told us of the site’s history and walked us up and down those steep stones. d (3a) d (4) d (5)

February 25, 2016 Port of Call: Mahogany Bay, Honduras

Today was the day I dieted for. (No joke.) We had planned our Canopy and Gumbalimba Park excursion, which featured zip-lining and spider monkeys, to include a GoPro and all necessary accessories to capture all of the fun. And then we got rained out of port. No docking possible.

February 26, 2016 Port of Call: Grand Cayman Island

Today we were going to play with stingrays! Our excursion was the Deluxe Stingray City Sandbar. And then it rained again. And all water-involved activities were canceled.

Unfortunately, this stop was more of a let down for me, than being completely rained out of port the previous day. I’d heard so many beautiful things about this location. My experience was on a “chillier” day, with choppy water, decent island food, and the usual port shopping. e1 (1) e1 (2) e1 (3)

February 27, 2016 Fun Day at Sea

And now, as we cruised passed Cuba, the sun came out and the rain stayed away for our final full day aboard the Carnival Splendor.

February 28, 2016 Debarkation: Port of Miami

We docked in port around 7am on Sunday morning. It was a balmy 61 degrees when the sun came up.

Debarkation wasn’t terrible. A little sad to say “Good-bye,” but that’s to be expected, right?

After exiting the boat, we hopped into our Uber and traveled to Surfside, Miami Beach. We were fortunate to have a wonderful Airbnb host, which happily stored our belongings prior to check-in so that we were able to explore the community of Surfside and experience one heck of a beautiful beach. (Watch out for those Man-O-Wars though.)

That night, the three of us ate, drank, and experienced some of what South Beach had to offer.

February 29, 2016 Home

The next morning, the 3 of us boarded a teeny tiny plane and journeyed back to Cincinnati. I was hugging my toddler by 2pm.

Conclusion

I loved it! I had a blast! And I cannot wait to do it again!

I know Carnival Cruise Lines has made headlines in previous years; fortunately, we had no direct issues aboard the Splendor and have nothing but praise for the staff.

Special shout-outs to:

Jose, Daniel, Juan and several additional members of the waitstaff in the Black Pearl Dining Room. Our dining experiences were highlighted by the staff and their wonderful personalities, singing voices, and stellar dance moves. 😉
Fadil, the man that cleaned up after 3 messy women and still greeted us with a smile whenever/wherever we found him on the ship.
Hery, the king of selfies, and the friendly bartender that had the amazing super power of remembering our names and our drinks.

By the way, I drank a lot of fruity drinks while on board. For those that wish to join me in a fruity toast, you can get the drink recipes here.

Here’s to future cruises!

-Lindsey

To view/purchase images from my trip, please visit: www.eclecticallyforyou.com/prints/caribbean

Making Strides

Posted on November 10, 2015 by Lindsey

This year, I changed things up a smidge. This year I did not cover Susan G. Komen’s Race for the Cure. And if you have scrolled through my blog or my website, you know that that event was one that I always looked forward to. I missed it. I missed the community and the familiar faces. I missed the atmosphere.

Enter the American Cancer Society and their Making Strides Walk!

Yep. On Saturday, October 24th, I returned to the community that I was missing. At 5am, my alarm was going off, and by 6, I was hitting up Dunkin Donuts for some much-needed coffee with some of the members of my shooting team before heading down to cover another amazing event.

The Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event is held at Yeatman’s Cove in Cincinnati, Ohio. The route takes walkers across 2 bridges and along the Ohio River on both the Ohio and Kentucky sides.

I had the privilege of shooting alongside several area photographers. Some of which had covered events with me previously, and a few new faces joined in on the fun as well. Everyone had a great time and captured some amazing moments!

So, without further adieu, please enjoy some highlights from the day… blog1 blog2 blog3 blog4 blog5 blog6 blog7 blog8 blog9 blog10

The entire image collection from the Making Strides Walk can be found here: http://www.eclecticallyforyou.com/strides2015

Thank you to Carrie, Hannah, and the other amazing individuals at the American Cancer Society that invited my friends and I to cover this awesome event.

And a HUGE THANK YOU!!! to my friends/colleagues that donated their time and talents to helping me capture every nook and cranny of this event! blog11 Team Photographers:
Tiffany S. with TSI Photography
Pamela S. with Stevens Photography
Steven K. with Steven Kohus Photography
Kasie F. with Kasie Fisher Photography
Tara F. with Tara Fahlberg Photography
Monica J.
Lindsey D. (that’s me!) with Eclectically for You Photography

My Very Pink Day 2014

Posted on September 22, 2014 by Lindsey

Sunday, September 14th was the 17th annual Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Cincinnati. And I was back with my camera gear, my booth, my pink hair, and a team of talented photographers. This year saw a few changes: the date was moved to a Sunday; the 10K competitive run and the kids’ run were both canceled; and the event was relocated to Coney Island. Don’t get me wrong, I love photographing that pink sea of people covering Freedom Way, but this location added a bit of whimsy to it.

This event was also a little more challenging for me. Along with the venue change and the usual last minute alterations, this was my first big gig after maternity leave, and it followed my sister in-law’s wedding the night before. Late night of party fun! (Congratulations, Annye and Zeke!)

I was lucky enough to have a team of 9 photographers this year!Let me repeat that… 9 wonderfully busy humans donated their Sunday morning to capturing this awesome event! Not only were there 9 of us photographing this event; Jill, my favorite henna artist and friend (see my Henna for Heroines post) offered up free henna at my booth. AND, my Grandma also came out to hold down the fort and man the EfyP booth. Basically, I was surrounded by amazingly generous individuals. The 5:30am wake-up call was not so bad.So, if you’ve never attended one of these events (or read my previous Komen posts,) the morning starts with registration and the opening of the Expo. The ‘Expo’ encompasses sponsor and vendor booths, kids activities, food at the Komen Kafe, etc. This is where people can personalize back signs “In Celebration of…” and “In Memory of…” And most all booths have fun takeaways (knick-knacks to takeaway and keep,) so of course I like to join in on the fun. I had my safety pin ribbons, made lovingly by hand while watching Game of Thrones; and new this year (and a very last minute addition,) a photo booth, sans the back drop! I made the props myself (I’m kinda proud of my glue gunning skills -no burns!)After you worm your way through the Expo area, you make your way to the Main Stage, which was next door to the Start Line this year. The Main Stage holds Jeff and Jenn from the Jeff and Jenn Morning Show on Q102, general event announcements, check presentations, work-out/warm-up instructors, and performances. As the morning progresses, the area is gradually filled in with breast cancer survivors, friends, family, runners, walkers, and media types. At 8:45am, the first gun shot is fired, triggering the 5K competitive run.Following the competitive runners, the 5K run/walkers line up at the Start Line, and my short self is finally hoisted above the crowd in a baby scissor lift. At 9:20am the shot gun pops and the 5K run/walk begins.As people start their journeys, Jeff and Jenn announce the teams and team signs as they pass by. “Bailey’s Brigade,” “Team Carol,” “Team Grandma,” “Kellie’s Believers,” “Peace Out Cancer,” “Team CANcervive,” “Connie’s Crusaders,” “Walking with Double D,” “Team Diana,” “Burke Team of Hope,” “Jan’s Rack Pack,” “Patti’s Posse,” etc….

After people make their way through the balloon-marked start line, I make my way to the Finish Line, which is already receiving the competitive runners. (This is my favorite part of the day.)

At the final stretch of the 5K, the Finish Line forks. “Survivors on the left,” The New 94.9’s Jay Kruz is joined by a whole bunch of energetic cheerleaders to welcome the survivors as they finish their race. After the people in pink (this is a man’s disease as well) make their way through the paparazzi (teehee,) Kruz with his microphone, and the cheering cheerleaders, they are handed pink carnations and rejoined by their family and friends.Following the run/walk, event participants are invited to attend the Celebration of Hope ceremony to honor survivors at the Main Stage. Q102’s Brian and Laura host the event and invite select survivors to the stage. This is followed by the annual Survivor Group Photo and a performance of “Amazing Grace.” And if the performance doesn’t bring a tear to your eye, the dove release just might do it. From there, some people filter home; while others stay behind to ride some Coney Island rides.

And then the rest of us went home…

THANK YOU AGAIN! to the wonderful photographers that made themselves available to help capture this event. And to Jill with Jaiswal Design, for her amazing henna artistry. They are all kind, local, and incredibly talented individuals!Please check them out!