Sweet William

Here is my favorite photo from a shoot I did yesterday.  William had the most amazing (and I mean AMAZING) blue eyes.  William is my nephew's son.  Not that I am in anyway biased, but I think they are a beautiful family, inside and out.

What amazed me most about this family was the way that they interacted with one another.  It was a pleasure photographing a family that truly loves each other.  

It was my pleasure to photograph Analise, Doug, and William.

Wedding Shoes!

When photographing a wedding, I like to focus on some of the details that are easy to overlook.  At an upcoming wedding that I'm going to be photographing, the bride asked me to be sure to take some photos of her shoes (she loves the shoes).  Rather than take the photos at the wedding, I asked the bride to let me use the shoes in advance of the wedding.  Taking the photos in advance allows me to take the "must have" photo in advance of all of the activity of the wedding day.  I used some backgrounds that are really colorful and accentuate her shoes.  It's always important to pay attention to the details.  I love the way the photos turned out.

Vintage Engagement Photos

I was recently contacted by a couple who wanted to have some engagement photos taken in a 40's theme.  I don't know why, but when I think of the 40's I immediately think of World War II and railroad stations.  The location that came to mind was Clara's Restaurant in Lansing, since it is a converted Railroad station that really has a unique ambience.

The couple arrived in vintage clothing and did an excellent job of posing.  I took the images, added some grain, blur, some lens flare, and some crackle texture to make the photos look old.  I'd have to say that the photos turned out very well.

Kitchen Abstracts

I thought it would be fun to try creating some abstracts using a shallow saucer of milk, some food color, and some liquid dish soap.  

I was pretty happy with the results for my first try, although the next time I will lock the focus on my macro lens once I find focus.  

I'm also going to try to set up some various pattern and color set ups just to see what will happen.

Cold winter morning

I was having my morning coffee and looked out the window as the sun was rising.  One of those beautiful cold winter mornings when it's cold, the sky is bright, and the sun is causing the snow to glisten like diamonds.  I quickly attached my macro lens to my camera and took some close up shots of the snow and frost.

A Christmas Collage

Sometimes the most memorable experiences happen unexpectedly, and such was my experience on Christmas Eve Day, 2010.   Call it kismet, serendipity, or a pleasant coincidence, but  I had the opportunity to meet a wonderful family and help them commemorate their Christmas celebration.  Let me tell you how this transpired.

I firmly believe in continuing education, whether it is formal study, or informal seminars, meetings, or conferences.  Life IS a continuous learning process.  Over a year ago, I donated a photography session to the Lansing Community College Scholarship Fund Auction, which I believe is a very worthwhile endeavor.  I placed a one year expiration date on the offer, which expired December 1, 2010.

I had heard nothing from the successful bidder and was becoming concerned since no arrangements were being made to use the photography package.  In mid summer, I received a call from the successful bidder (Rachael), and she explained that she would like to use the photography package to take some photographs of her siblings family.  Unfortunately, circumstances did not allow the session to happen, the December 1 deadline passed, and I heard nothing from Rachael.  I felt very strongly that a generous donor should not be penalized for missing a deadline and contacted Rachael to say that I would extend the deadline so that she had the opportunity to use the photography package.  

A few days later Rachel contacted me and she told me that her family would be gathering at Christmastime at her family's home, and how she would appreciate family photos being taken.  I agreed immediately, photographing a family is such a fun event!   Subsequently we talked about locations, and whether it would be indoors or outdoors etc.   I was assuming it would be Lansing.   I knew that Rachel thought she might be "pushing the envelope" when she asked me if I would be willing to travel to Wheeler, an hours drive from Lansing.  I agreed to travel to their home and we made the final arrangements for 10:00 AM on Christmas Eve day.

When I arrived, I was greeted warmly at the door.  I was immediately impressed and enveloped with the love, gratitude, and generosity that this family exhibited.  The family home was beautiful, and was in a wooded country setting.  A warm fire was burning in the fireplace and there was a beautiful mantle of white snow on the ground.  I spent a couple of hours photographing the family both indoors and outdoors and from various angles and in various configurations.  I knew I captured some great photos.  The time passed very quickly!  

The family prepared a plate of goodies for my trip back to Lansing.  During the hour of driving I relished the fun that we had as I was listening to Christmas music being played on the car radio.  Incidentally, the plate of goodies did not make it to Lansing!

It was such a good feeling to photograph this family, I know the photographs have a special meaning to them and it was my pleasure to memorialize the event.

I prepared a 13" X 19" collage print of some of my favorite photos which I will be giving to the family.  Here is a representation of that collage.

Thank you Rachel for allowing me to spend time with you and your family.

Lansing Bridal Association Show

This weekend I participated in the Lansing Bridal Association Exhibition at the Lansing Center.  I had two people assisting me as representatives who answered questions and assisted potential clients.  One of the representatives, Gary, is an aspiring model who is building his portfolio.  Since Gary was wearing a tux, we decided to take some photos of him during the show.  I found a location in the Lansing Center that worked well and I took some photos for Gary to add to his portfolio.  I particularly like this photo because of the background and the lighting.  To me, he looks like an executive for a Fortune 500 company.  Don't you agree?