Hillebrand Photography Blog » Gabe & Jen’s Life

Easter Peep Show

jhillebrand — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 18:10:52 +0000

We found them…

We loved them…

And…we microwaved them.

And the winners are…

jhillebrand — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:30:51 +0000

We are happy to announce that we are one of the top 3 winners in The Bliss Blog’s 2nd Annual Engagement Photo of the Year Contest!! Many, many thanks to all who voted and supported us! We love what we do and are so excited to do more of it!

Here’s the winning photo featuring one of our 2010 wedding couples, Meredith & Kyle:

Thanks again for your support! Much love to all of you!

Leona Jagels

jhillebrand — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:00:17 +0000

It’s not often that you come across individuals who stop you dead in your tracks and inspire you. We met the beautiful, ethereal, saintly Leona Jagels in December when we were doing a family session for her daughter, Mary Sue. We didn’t have much time to get to know her because it was a busy shoot with a gorgeous family of five! However, during the short time that she was there, I became intrigued by her. There’s just something special about Leona. As I dug around and got some information on her, I found that indeed, I’m not the only person she’s had this effect on. In fact, many people have said that they feel they’re in the presence of a saint when they’re with her. There’s just something special about this woman. Leona will be 88 this coming March. She’s a mother to 6 children, a grandmother to 12, and a great grandmother to 5. She was born and raised in Detroit and is a devout Catholic. At a glance, these are just facts and figures, but I supposed the real magic comes when you’re simply in her presence. Her spirit is full of peace and her joy is contagious. She exudes wisdom and steadfastness, but at the same time, is full of child-like glee and wonder. The following images are my attempt at capturing 88 wonderful years in a few, small frames.

Leona in the kitchen of her Rochester home, which she’s lived in for several decades:

Leona looks over a book detailing her personal history. It’s an heirloom that she created for her grandchildren:

Mary Sue is the second-to-youngest child, and Leona’s only girl. Behind them is a painting created by Leona’s daughter-in-law, Pati, who is married to her oldest son. The painting was a gift for her 25th wedding anniversary:

A devout Catholic, Leona prays the Rosary daily:

A section from a book called Momilies, mini “homilies” written for anyone who needs a mother’s advice. At one point in her life, Leona owned a Christian bookstore in downtown Rochester:

Leona with a painting of her late husband, Leonard Jagels. He was also born and raised in Detroit and the two were introduced by mutual friends. He passed away in 1983 at the age of 63:

Leona reflected in a photo of her and Leonard on a trip to the Middle East. They were laughing as they struggled to climb onto the back of camel:

Leona loves to laugh, and her joy and inner peace is felt by anyone who’s around her:

Leona and her 6 children at a family member’s wedding. Pictured from left to right: John, Mary Sue, Mark, Leona, Jim, Mike, Paul:

Radiant with life and love, Leona’s sparkling blue eyes dance like sunlight reflected on water:

Thank you, Mrs. Leona Jagels for inspiring me to photograph you, for being a light and a hope to the world. May we all learn from you and live to the fullest, embracing each new opportunity and inspiring those around us.

To see a slide show of her session and to link to her gallery, click here!

Gundale Family Portraits

jhillebrand — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 05:13:07 +0000

We spent the holidays with Gabe’s family in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul. There are some adorable kids in his family so naturally, we photographed them! How could we resist? For this set of images, we took a very loose, au naturel approach. It was great to capture the people we know and love in their environment, all defenses down. So, enjoy some of our favorite family pictures featuring beautiful baby Brenna, precocious and precarious Micah, the absolutely adorable Anja, and the new Australian Shepard puppy, Cedar.

To see the full gallery, click here!! Then just scroll down to “Gundale Family Portraits.” The gallery is password protected, so please contact us if you’re interested in viewing.

Holiday Love

jhillebrand — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 15:39:25 +0000

Thank you everyone for a wonderful year! We wish you all a fantastic holiday season and a very blessed 2010!

With much love and gratitude,
Jen & Gabe

Puppies: My Ultimate Weakness

jhillebrand — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 19:40:21 +0000

This is literally the CUTEST thing I have EVER seen!!! Click the link below and…brace yourselves.

Puppy Howl

Thanksgiving Love

jhillebrand — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 16:24:00 +0000

Cabin Fever

jhillebrand — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 23:28:00 +0000

Hello Hillebrand Photography fans! We’ve been on haitus for this long, cold winter as evidenced by our slacking in the blog-post department. But, we have been doing some “inside” work in the way of fine art prints. Here is some of Gabe’s work which will be displayed as a part of juried art exhibit at Cafe 1923 in Hamtramck. The opening is this Saturday, March 7th from 6 – 9 pm and it runs through April 11:

Speaking of fine art photography, here are a couple of images from when I lived on a ranch in Montana one summer. And yes, all of our work is for sale! Call or email us for sizes and pricing.

Stay tuned! As soon as the weather breaks, we’ll be doing more portrait work so watch the blog for updates! Hanging in there until Spring

Surreal Winter Beauty

jhillebrand — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 20:06:00 +0000

Gabe loves winter. (I know, I think he’s crazy too.) But I have to give it to him, he sees a lot of the beauty in the crisp white snow blanketing the earth than most of us. Here’s some of the loveliness that he found on his walk around the neighborhood the other night.

A Hillebrand Christmas Experience

jhillebrand — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 16:04:00 +0000

It’s getting a little late to be posting about our holiday maddness, but better late than never! Every year, our Christmas celebrations are a whirlwind of family, presents, food, more family, more presents, more food. By the time it’s all said and done, we’ve celebrated the birth of Christ 6 times in 5 cities, 3 counties, and 2 states. Enjoy a little mosiac from our Christmas adventures, 2008