Event Announcement-

This Saturday, June 25th from 8am-2pm my neighbor and myself will be hosting a Garage Sale that will have many wonderful items such as baby/children clothing,toys for boys and girls, furniture, jewelry and other household items. A local artist will be displaying necklaces that she makes with her great talent. I will also be displaying and selling my fine art prints and featuring the new branch of Stacey Cordes Photography which is starting to book sessions in July. This branch of my business will be a great way for clients to receive beautiful portraits at a lower cost than a full custom photography session but still receive the same quality and care. Full custom session are still available and have not changed in pricing for this year.

In the next few days I will be displaying pictures of sale items, jewelry, the fine art work and examples of this branch of my business. More information of booking sessions for the studio package (which involves indoor and outdoor shots, if desired) will also be made available. If you scroll back to the portrait sessions done over the last month you can get an example of these sessions also that were done in limited quantity over the past month with wonderful clients I have worked with over the years.

The sale will be held in the alley behind our houses.

The address is 5252 37th Ave. S.
Minneapolis, MN 55417

Time will be from 8am-2pm.

Watch the blog for pictures that will be posted daily til the sale, beginning tonight!

Oh and the post important part! Lemonade will be served by two cute kiddos!

{Look, Love, Laugh} Minneaplis, MN Nokomis Studio

I lay this suitcase on my chest so I can feel somebody’s weight.
And I lay you to rest just to feel a give and take?
I got a new interpretation and it’s a better point of view,
you were looking for a landslide I was looking out for you,
I was looking out for you, someone’s looking out for you ....

when you’re outside looking in you belong to someone
when you feel like giving in and the coming of the end,
like your heart can break in two,
someone loves you....

-Brandi Carlile
My Song

It was so hard to choose what pictures to post. So much fun, play, giggles.... I adore these ladies....
I adore the entire family:)

{Not all who wander...} Minneapolis, MN Child Photographer

"you are not too old
and it is not too late
to dive into your increasing depths
where life calmly gives out
it's own secret"
— Rainer Maria Rilke

{Back to School} Minneapolis, MN Child Photographer

First day of first grade. Excited about school. Less excited about me taking a picture before walking in.

{Simply A Day} Twin Cities Lifestyle Photography

{Hot Town, Summer In The City} Minneapolis/St.Paul Lifestyle Photographer

Then followed that beautiful season... Summer....
Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light; and the landscape
Lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood.
-- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Ah sweet summer. My favorite time of year. Long days, Afternoon Naps, Beautiful nights. Ice cream. Road trips. Last day of school. Picnics. Pool Visits. Fireflies. Fireworks. Fourth of July. Canada Day...(for my wonderful Canadian friends). Carnivals. Corn on the Cob and Oh sweet delicious Watermelon. Strawberries. Blueberries. Juice stains on your hands. Bubbles. Sprinklers. Dumping too much sand out of your shoes. T-ball. Hot Dogs. Ballgames. Sleeping In. Early Mornings. Hot Coffee and Cool Summer Mornings. Cabins.Weddings. Anniversaries. Birthdays. The State Fair. Mint Chocolate Chip Shakes. People Watching. Sidewalk Chalk. The First Day of School. Labor Day. Hiking. Camping...Gooey gooey smores. Yum Yum. Lemonade. Foggy Goggles. Sand in your toes. Sand castles. Bike riding. Picture Taking and Burger Making.
The smell of sunscreen, beach, sea, popcorn, cotton candy and sweat.

I really hope your summer is full of wonderful memories big and small. May you pause and take time to enjoy this moment of the year when there seems to be a unspoken permission to slow down, be lazy, nap more, laugh more and simple just be more.


I will be out of town July 3-July 29th. I will respond to email and voicemail but for the most part be spending the month embracing the beauty of summer and having fun with friends and family back East.

I have only two sessions available in August left. Please contact me as soon as possible if you are interested in a session.

That's it folks. Stay cool . It's nice and toasty out there. Ahhh. Time for a nap!

{The Blues} Minneapolis Baby Photographer

"Blue color is everlastingly appointed by the deity to be a source of delight."
--John Ruskin

Blue eyes get me every time. Delightful. Soulful, Crystal and Calming. I love blue.

{Gravel Lines} Minneapolis Fine Art Child Photographer

{Second Star, To the Right} Savage, MN Child Photographer

"All children, except one, grow up."
— J.M. Barrie (Peter Pan)

I have have photographed this sweet boy since he was about 6 months old and have know his family a bit longer. It is a great privilege and quite fun to watch families start, change and grow.
I look back in my memory and remember each session and time together. How he had a fuzzy head and barely sat. To his one year old session when he was shuffling and trying to walk.

His tender and insightful personality that shines once he is comfortable has grown more assured. The big sister and mom and dad who love him terribly are still his favorite people. When I walked into their home this past session, I saw a boy. A little face that has filled out to look more mature, sentences in place of babbles and a gentle hand that took mine as we spent time together and played.

{Lessons. Lived & Learning} Twin Cities Lifestyle Photographer

"Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw some and paint some and sing and dance and play and work everyday some."
— Robert Fulghum

Spring is here and it has been just beautiful in every way. I've been lucky to be quite busy personally and professionally and have found my blog to be slightly neglected.
Sessions to edit, previews to post, kids to kiss, calls to make...
Feeling blessed and loved.
With that being said, I share with you few of my favorite things....

{blossoms & tulips}

{pure delightful sweetness complimented by long days of beautiful light and rest}

{smart, beautiful and creative little girls who take after their mom}

{bear hugs from friends strong, comfy and the giggles and joy that ensue}
{there is so much more, but for now, that's all she wrote folks. lots of previews and updating to come}

{whole new world} St. Louis Park, MN Child Photographer

"When you are inquisitive, Jane, you always make me smile. You open your eyes like an eager bird, and make every now and then a restless movement, as if answers in speech did not flow fast enough for you, and you wanted to read the tablet of one's heart."
— Charlotte Brontë (Jane Eyre)

If I had to recall one of the sweetest times, as a mother to my own children, it was the age of six to nine months, when absolutely everything is a new discovery and elicits excitement and inquisitiveness that is akin to emotion when one is about to tear open a gigantic birthday present after much anticipation and longing. This is the time where the very sight of loved ones brings joyful expressions, adoration and hugs that are almost explosive. Even if gone only for a second, the moment mom or dad reappear relief, giggles and love abounds.
This small gentleman, at nine months, had exuberance and curiosity flowing from his beautiful blue eyes straight out his cute baby toes that was inspirational, natural and simply a pleasure to capture his story during this special time of life.

{properly dressed} Apple Valley, Minnesota Child Photographer

“A woman whose smile is open and whose expression is glad has a kind of beauty no matter what she wears.”

-Anne Roiphe

Or perhaps it should read a little lady whose smile is open...This beauty is turning one in a week and it was amazing to watch the multitudes of emotion and expressions she brought to life in our time spent together. Always excited to be near mom and dad, full of smiles, curiosity, screeches, delight and confusion. All wrapped up to perfectly to tell the tale of the amazing first year of life which starts as a newborn, when one cannot even hold up her head, and ends as a toddler about to walk and take on the world.

{While in Dreams...Awake} Twin Cities Fine Art Photographer

... Have you been half asleep? And have you heard voices?
I've heard them calling my name.
... Is this the sweet sound that calls the young sailors?
The voice might be one and the same
I've heard it too many times to ignore it
It's something that I'm s'posed to be...
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection,
The lovers, the dreamers, and me.

{Rainbow Connection}

{a rose by any other name} St. Louis Park Maternity Photographer

There should be a song for women to sing at this moment or a prayer to recite. But perhaps there is none because there are no words strong enough to name that moment. "
— Anita Diamant (The Red Tent)

Waiting for a new little person. After such a long time of knowing each other but in a different way. There is an intimacy, closeness and love that cannot be named. Even at the moment when he finally is welcomed into the world. Breathing on his own. Completing the family after a long period of anticipation and wonder.

{one} Twin Cities Children Photographer

“Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it”-Albert Einstein

I think after working with children for quite sometime I have realized that maybe we should age in reverse. This came to me as I spent the morning with this wonderful family. The littlest man just turned one and his eyes, soul and sense of wonder displayed the glorious first year where everything is new, fresh and ready to be explored. Included in our time was a 3 year old big brother who helped me navigate his house, engaged me in fun and interesting conversation while I captured both of their stunning blue eyes, delicate features and enjoyable personalities.
I concur with Mr. Einstein, in a sense, that perhaps wisdom is a product of a lifelong unschooling and remembering what we started with. Those glorious first years when everything was a discovery and anything could be where your imagination could take you, including a stack of yellow lego blocks, that, just happen to be mom's princess hat.

{half-dozen} Twin Cities Child Photographer

There are lives I can imagine without children but none of them have the same laughter & noise.

-Storypeople

{Hanging On} Twin Cities Lifestyle Photographer

There is a privacy about it which no other season gives you.... In spring, summer and fall people sort of have an open season on each other; only in the winter, in the country, can you have longer, quiet stretches when you can savor belonging to yourself. ~Ruth Stout

or in this case the city...

{zonked} Twin Cities Child Photographer

I've been working hard to update my website and looking forward to posting in the next few days when it is finally completed. I hope everyone had a wonderful new year. It is hard to believe we are a decade into 2000. Really gets you thinking...hmmm....talk to you soon! Please stop by.