Friends, Laughter, Wedding…Minnesota

I was asked last spring to attend a wedding of a friend of mine that grew up with me.  Once invited a few months later I was asked if I would take the pictures. If the first part wasn’t enough of an honor, the later really meant a lot to me.  A really small wedding on the beach of a quiet lake made for quite the romantic little ceremony.  With that backdrop, mixed with the fun of the “North Woods” we had a great weekend filled with laughter, crying, and a lot of shutter clicks!

A Solider and His Girl

I had the pleasure of shooting a co-workers daughter and her soon to be husband.  He had just recently come back from Iraq, and we had a small window to shoot.  Using the St Francis Monastery for a backdrop made for a romantic sanctuary for these two love birds.

Zootober

We had family in town for the weekend, and while most people were heading to the apple orchards to eat caramel apples, taking hay rides, and cutting up Jack-O-Lanterns…we went to the zoo.  I have to be honest and say that I have never been to the zoo outside of the summer months, so it was going to be interesting to see the animals in their winter habitats.  Still, as of mid October, there were many that were still outside.  What was missing though was the mass barrage of families.  The place was dead…maybe 50 cars in the parking lot.  This made for watching our oldest girl much easier.  We didn’t have to constantly look for her as you might with the large crowds.  I took my zoom lens in hope of spotting a few key shoots, and I was pleasantly surprised by the results…even indoors, and some through the glass.

I am seldom a believer in printing pictures, especially in a digital age.  However, these will be printed larger for my daughters room as there is one strange thing about kids, they know their farm and zoo animals before many other things in life and we have the stuffed animals for them all to prove it.

Wipe That Smile Off Your Face

I was given an opportunity to take senior pictures for a good friend.  We were under the crunch on time and went out on a sunny afternoon…which made taking pictures a real pain.  The sun was so harsh and bright that trying to get some fill light was tough.  We came back a few days later to take some more, found a few shaded areas, and was able to shoot later in the day which made all the difference.  One thing is for sure, taking senior pictures of guys is a little more challenging than girls.  You have to find a way to show their artistic style, yet kept their masculinity in tact.

This was my first chance to use the long flash sync cable that I got recently, and remotely fire my flashes.  I was looking to get some interesting light angles, as well as use the softness of the umbrella to help lighting the face.  It worked really well…although I will be looking to purchase another one.  Naturally the wind is strong when you need to use an umbrella…rain or photography.  I will be looking to radio transmitters in the future, however right now the 32′ cable is working wonderful for my needs outside.  At some point in time I plan to head to the Third Ward of Milwaukee to take a few more industrial shots.  Most likely spring time…but who knows, Milwaukee winters are strange, it could be sunny and 50 degrees in December.

All in all, there were lessons learned from this experience.  Take senior pictures well before the school needs them, find the right day with the right light, and most importantly have fun…since this is one time where many people will look at this picture this year, and many years to come as they reminisce high school years.

Circle of Life

On my way to work over the past few years a tree has been dying, and this summer it finally gave up, and no visible leaves were present.  In the morning, the sun shines perfectly on this tree, and its surrounded by a lush forest preserve.  The clouds were finally right where I wanted them, and I had remembered my camera.  The bark is stunning on the tree, and the amount of limbs that hang over heard makes it creepy driving past it at sundown seeing the shadows on the road.  It was there to tell stories, shade and protect new growth, and now shows it legacy to all the saplings nearby.