Jack Jack

As it turned out, we were able to get some great shots of little Jack as he turned one year old at Trimborn Farm, just a day after, and hours before it started raining yet again.  This spring has been full of disappointing days for photography considering how cold its been, as well as how much rain we have had.  With Jack, I went with a little different approach than normal.  I shot everything at f2.5 or lower, with no flash, on my Canon 5d with only the 85mm f1.8.  I wanted to try and get a lot of shots with great bokeh.  Many of the shots I took tended to include angles that exemplified the bokeh through the use of benches, walls, steps, porches, etc.

Just a Walk in the Park

I am sure that many of my clients are jealous that I can take pictures of my kids at any time.  Strange thing is, they hate the camera, and to get them to smile for it many times is a hassle filled with promises of cake, ice cream, and McDonalds.  As everyone else has gotten their fall pictures taken, we finally found some time to take ours.  I think its more difficult shooting the pictures and trying to convince our kids that what we are doing is truely fun.  In the short amount of time we were able to coral them, I managed to grab a few shots that might make their way onto some holiday cards this year.

5 Alive!

As fall slowly dies out, and the trees loose all their leaves, myself and 5 younglings head out in search of smiles, laughter, and fun.  There was no shortage of entertainment working with this group of children.  Everyone was so willing to express themselves, and I’m sure by looking at the pictures below, you can figure out what personality each one truly has bottled up.

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!

The Burlington Beat

As the fall arrives here is Wisconsin, there is no doubt leaves on the ground.  Instead of a traditional fall look, we walked through downtown Burlington, WI to get a little different perspective on fall pictures.  Little Eli, who just turned 3, rocked the lens all day.  The guy knows how to work it!

Hot Summer at Grand Geneva

A summer afternoon in Lake Geneva generally pans out to walks around the lake with a stop downtown for some refreshments.  This time I had the chance to walk the grounds at Grand Geneva with two young families to capture their kids, their expressions, and their youthfulness.  This summer I have been working on using the Canon 580EXII flash during the middle parts of the day to bring in a more washed out, over exposed look.  In many other instances, I like to back up the subject against the light, so that the sun is behind them and use my flash as fill light to light their face.  This has really helped with keeping some of that harsh midday shadows off their faces.

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.

The Train Yard

I recently found a fantastic venue to shoot at while taking a few shots of my 1986 Nissan 300zx. This place is great, our little subject could not stop talking and pointing to all the surrounding train related items. We found everything from rustic stock yard buildings, to rail spikes. A great place for a young train enthusiast.

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.

Farm Life

I had just finished up with shooting an engagement for a couple at Minooka park, and I was heading home.  It occured to me that I needed to stop at a few places on the way home and take pictures.  Why?  Since I didn’t have my wife and two little girls with me, I could take my time to get home, stop at these places that I drive past all the time and finally check them off my list.  I left the lens that I usually keep on my camera when stored in my bag, and threw it in the front seat.  Stopping off at two farms on the way home in Saylesville and Mukwonago I keep my 50mm lens stopped down to f/1.4 and grabbed these pictures.  Towards the end of the drive, the sun was setting under these wrinkled clouds that with a little Photoshop to enhance the purples really makes for a nice background.

Frame Park Falls

I had to run a few errands one afternoon up to Waukesha, and it just so happened that I had my gear with me.  I have been wanting to try out my neutral density filters since I got them a few months back.  Its funny, when shopping on Ebay and purchasing something from China, you cant wait to get it during the three weeks of shipping.  However, once it gets delivered, I never seem to use it right away anyway…so why don’t I shop there more often?  Thats another story for another post.  The purpose of a ND filter is to although greater flexibility with the shutter speed in daylight.  In this case, I used a ND8 filter and slowed the shutter down to 1/5 – 1/30 to let the water soften through its natural motion.  I really like the effect however, some blur did occur as it was a bit windy for even the tripod.  I look forward to taking some pictures again here soon…there are other areas that I didn’t have time to explore.