October Senior

October is not only the season of football and Halloween, but a great time to add color to your Senior Portraits. With the colors of red and gold you get warmth to your portrait you will not see in a studio or in any other seasonal portrait session.
I had the joy in photographing a girl who I had not seen since she was 2 or 3 yrs old. When I got a call from her Mom that she wanted to have her Senior Portrait taken, I almost fell off my chair. It is hard to believe that 15 years or so had passed by that fast.
This session took place at the Marion Square and the ally across the street. When I take outdoor portraits I like to choose area that has character and complements the subject. I feel that I have achieved this with the round of portraits above. It was hard to choose a favorite portrait so I put the three that has caught my eye so far. Even with the pressure of an audience of her Mom and boyfriend she performed flawlessly giving me a lot of great smiles and always flashing her expressive eyes. The fall colors are rich and the poses are simple and that is what draws me to each of these portraits. I don’t like to work with a complex lighting set up, but instead I like using the background light, shadows and a reflector to capture the subject in the portrait.
I had a lot of fun taking these portraits and love the way they turned out. She has grown up and changed from a cute little girl to a beautiful young lady. If want to see more take a look at my web site and see more examples of past and current seniors that I have taken.

A Beautiful Day for a Wedding

Congratulations to Tyler and Alicia on tying the knot on Saturday Aug 30th. The couple’s ceremony was held outdoors in Solon at “The Barn”. The weather was beautiful with bright skies, cool temperatures, and a light breeze. The main round barn is not quite finished but where the ceremony took place, an arch made of limestone blocks stood as a picture window looking over the large pond surrounded by small woodland. The area stands as a natural amphitheater with a brick deck surrounded by limestone ledges and steps that lead to the large round barn. There are four other barns just down the road. One is an old red round maintenance barn and 3 limestone round barns. Torches lined the path to guide you to the one of the three barns is where the reception took place.
I felt that I witnessed a truly blessed event. With their family and friends at their side they took their vows and pledged their love before all to behold. From the moment they first saw each other dressed and for the rest of the day until I left you could see that they were in love. You could see they had a hard time refraining from smiling or gazing at each other. They were truly a happy, loving couple for all to see.
I really enjoyed myself while I was taking the portraits. Early in the photo session one of the bridesmaids found a small frog. I got a photo of the frog and the bridesmaid together. I don’t think she kissed the frog because we did not see a prince that no one could account for. We later discovered that we were surrounded by the small amphibians as they made their way through the grassy field to the large pond. The bridesmaids and bride had parasols for the portraits. The bridesmaids had lavender while the bride had white. The lavender made a great background on a portrait of the bride and really stood out against the red barn in another.
I would also like to take this moment to give a big thank you to Dawn for helping me out on this wedding. Not only did she give me the use of her camera, but was my “Patsy “to me. It would have been very hard for me to get the portraits I got if Dawn did not lend a hand. Thank you once again.
I would like to thank Tyler and Alicia for the privilege of taking your wedding portraits. Best wishes for the two of you and have a wonderful honeymoon. We will see you soon with the prints from your special day, I can’t wait.

The Big Day

Today is the big day for Tyler and Alicia. I attended their rehearsel last night and had a great time. It was a beautiful night with temperatures holding around the upper seventies. The bugs surprisingly scarce and I hope that this trend continues. I am so excited about taking the portraits and I am sure they are too. I extend my best wishes out to you, Alicia and Tyler.

Around the Bush

This past Saturday I was outside washing my wife’s car when I noticed that these butterflies were persistently hanging around our butterfly bushes. So quickly I got my digital PHD camera and returned to take their portraits. I was not entirely sure that once I returned that they would be there but there they were, still flying around the bushes. If anyone who has tried to photograph butterflies knows that once you have spooked them from their flower they rarely return. So with the camera on and the lens extended out I began to stalk the winged creatures. I was again surprised on how long they put up with my presents around them. I shot a dozen photos of each butterfly. After they had their fill of nectar and my shenanigans they took off. Later that night I edited the photos and created what you see here.

Besides taking portraits I am love to just pick up the camera and photograph something that catches my eye. I feel that it gives me a new challenge and a new way of looking at things, which only sharpens my portrait skills in the end. I hope you enjoy the portraits and if you have any questions about them, feel free to e-mail me or comment on them.

This weekend I will be taking Alicia and Tyler’s wedding portraits so keep an eye on the blog for their wonder portraits. I can’t wait!

My Nephews

My sister and nephews come to Iowa from Washington State last week to visit. Like a good uncle I took their portraits while they were here. I went out to Marion and used some of the alleys and store fronts as backdrops. I normally like to venture down town to take portraits in the alleys, but with the flooding that had occurred earlier this year I have had to venture out to find other area to use. I am glad I did because it pushed me out of my comfort zone and I think we had a great session because of that. Here are some portraits that came out of that session.
If you are looking for something different then look around to places you have been before. What I mean by that is; parks and studios are great places to have portraits done but they are not the only place. If you are looking for something different then look around at the places you spend time at or pass by each day. The store fronts in Marion were just the place for us, but maybe you prefer some of the shop fronts in down town Cedar Rapids. Perhaps your family spends some morning time at a little java joint with a warm atmosphere? Just remember anywhere could be a great place to use for a family portrait, all you have to do is ask your portrait photographer. If they are up for a challenge and the store owner is ok with the portrait session then be ready for great portraits.

Congratulations Adam and Courtney

I had the privilege to photography Adam and Courtney’s wedding a few weeks ago. Today was an exciting day because I got to hand their proofs off to them. I picked out a few that I loved and I am sure they will love them too. This wedding was the first one that I used this muslin background and I must say I love how it turned out. I traditionally photograph the bride and groom in the sanitary but other than the beautiful stain glass there was not a lot point of interests that would make a good background. I had suggested the background and I am glad that I did. My favorite portraits are the horizontal bride alone, groom alone, and bride groom together. I whipped up the collage at the last minute. I really like the black and white version of the church. I think that the clouds and church really pop against the black sky.
Well the day was perfect and I enjoyed myself while I took the portraits. Courtney was lovely and Adam was all smiles when she came down the aisle. The flower girl and ring bearer look smart and did a great job.
I hope you enjoy the photos.

Congratulations Jennifer!

I just wanted to give congratulations to Jennifer on her graduation from high school! I had a great time taking her Senior portraits this year. I have posted one image that had not made it to my website. This image was created out of two that were taken early in her Senior Session. I used this image, along with many others seen on the website, in her 9x6 soft cover book as well as her DVD with music. I hope that Jennifer has fun this summer and good luck next year at school