Is it that time again?

Well, it's official. Wal*Mart is playing Holiday Music, the city has wrapped the lightpoles in garland, and I've had people request Christmas trees for their portraits. This can only mean one thing, it's Christmas time again! I'm very excited this year because last year I got some great deals on cute little Christmas props for kids. I've got some giant bows, plastic snowflakes, and lots of other things including the adorable mini Christmas trees shown here. I had a really busy Holiday Season last year so if you need portraits take for cards or anything else give me a call today to schedule your appointment. My November is already half booked and if you wait until December, chances are it's too late. Call today: 722-3333.

Thankfully the weather finally turned back to pleasant enough for photography just in time for Matt's photo shoot. We started out in his wrestling room that was about 109 degrees. We followed that up with a nice session in an ally downtown with a windchill of about -3. My fingers were starting to tighten up on my camera and I could tell some of Matt's crossed arm poses were more for warmth than for creating a casual pose. The studio was a nice 70 degrees though so we were on easy street once we got back there. The wrestling shots turned out pretty cool considering wrestlers don't have a lot of built in props. No balls or equipment or anything else, just a big circle drawn on the ground. There's a cool selective color shot in the gallery. I hate to say it, but for anyone that hasn't gotten their senior portraits taken yet, you're either going to have to wait until spring or put up with being cold. I'm not sure how many more nice days we're going to get this year to do outdoor portraits.

What happened to the weather?

Well, everything was cruising along just beautifully then it dropped to 40 degrees outside! I had to do all of my scheduled senior portraits inside this weekend. Here's to hoping for a warm up for at least a couple of days so we can squeeze a few more outdoor sessions into 2008. We got some fun studio portraits of Brandon and his dog though. We also did some cool stuff with a huge US flag. We were hoping to do some stuff down on the dam, but with the huge drop in temperature and all of the nasty clouds rolling through we're pushing it off until a more seasonable day.

2008 LAA Photography Competition Scores

Advanced

Creative Manipulation
1st Ryan Buck Metal Church 6
3rd Susan Stewart Faded Caddi 53

Landscape/Architecture
1st Dale Sullivan Peggy's Cove 19
2nd Ann Weigand Desert Sanctuary 86
3rd Karen Nacke Ridgeview Lake 26
4th Ann Weigand Elegance in Architecture 88

Nature
1st John Troxler Hummer Tongue 11
2nd John Troxler Ruby Throat 8
3rd Dale Sullivan Gone Fishing 18
4th John Toxler Pollination 10

Open
1st John Troxler Sunrise Siding 9
3rd Susan Stewart Forgotten 59
4th Dale Sullivan Glacier 20

People
1st Ryan Buck On the Dock 7
2nd Susan Stewart Little Shy Guy 52
3rd Ryan Buck Little Angel 5
4th Karen Nacke Roasting Hotdogs 25

Amateur

Creative Manipulation
1st Jeremy Ashcraft Berries on Ice 97
2nd Don Weikle Lost in the Red 34
3rd Don Weikle Flowering White 33
4th Don Weikle Sunset on the Watseka 35

Landscape/Architecture
1st Ashley Meagher Behind the Window 58
2nd Arlene Puralewski Sunset on Lake Bruce 1
3rd Rosie Schafer Hidden Treasure of Cass County 74
4th Judi Barr Winter Valley Shadows 39

Nature
1st Stephen Goodwin Backyard Surprise 95
2nd Judi Barr Sky's the Limit 37
3rd Nancy L. Clark The Gulf Fritillary 64
4th Vickie Mechling Colorado Sagebrush 42

Open
1st Don Drone For Sale 84
2nd Don Drone Untitled 85
3rd Olga Khokhlova Fashion Time 61
4th Judi Barr International Charm 38

People
1st Arlene Puralewski Quinn at Park 3
2nd Vickie Mechling Goldminer 41
3rd Janet Fawley Honor and Courage 31
4th Olga Khokhlova Mother and Child 63

Youth

Kaylee Ervin Reflections 78
Tristan Kizer Reflections 67
Tristan Kizer The Forseers 68
Nicholas Kizer Shade Tree 71

Best in Show: Ryan Buck On the Dock 7
Youth Best in Show: Kaylee Ervin Reflections 78
Judges Award #1 John Troxler Hummer Tongue 11
Judges Award #2 Ryan Buck On the Dock 7
Honorable Mention Dale Sullivan Peggy's Cove 19
Honorable Mention Ryan Buck Metal Church 6

Luke Sparks

Little Luke didn't really enjoy his second portrait session with us. He seemed to really hate having the big shiny round thing pointed at his face. Every time I brought my camera up to my face he started squealing. It was kind of comical, but of course I felt bad for him. For all he knew my camera was some awful medical device designed to make his life miserable. We got some really cute shots and after about an hour of trying he finally figured out it wasn't so bad getting portraits made. Either that or we wore him out and he just gave up out of sheer exhaustion. I'm ok with either one.

I was so wrong!

I made a comment a few weeks ago about how the senior season was "winding down." I'd like to go on record now and say nothing could be further from the truth. I've never photographed so many people back to back to back like this before! It's really awesome. The only downside is I've had so much work to do I haven't had a chance to choose images for my gallery and I haven't had any time at all to blog about my most recent work. I also had a wedding about a week ago and I haven't had a chance to blog about it either. I'm so sorry the blog is being neglected, but as a photographer I'm absolutely ecstatic that I've got enough photography to keep me busy from morning till night. As soon as things slow down I'll try to get caught up on all of the shoots I haven't blogged about. Sorry everyone, but thanks to everyone out there that is making it impossible to blog! I wouldn't have it any other way.

Nathan's Senior Portraits

I haven't done any cool edgy portraits all year so it was really exciting working with Nathan yesterday. He had some really good ideas for poses and we put them together on some of the dilapidated buildings in down town Logansport. We created some extremely interesting portraits, one of which I'm planning on entering in a contest this month. This portrait is one of my favorites, we broke all of the rules for a good portrait and it turned out amazing.

Brittany's Senior Portraits

We had a nice studio session this weekend with Brittany, and got some amazing portraits. We also tried to get some shots in the Berry Patch up at the high school, but it really didn't look that great, photographically speaking. The floor of the forest is mostly just dirt and fallen over trees. Nothing green anywhere except 200 feet up in the trees. We decided to postpone the outdoor stuff and find a more picturesque spot. I'll be sure to post some in the gallery once we schedule the second session.

Kayla's Senior Portraits

I have to say that even though I really enjoy photography and I'm willing to put up with almost anything just to have the chance to do it, I'm so so happy the weather is cooling off and I don't have to put up with oppressive heat and humidity. Last nights shoot with Kayla was just a real pleasure. A gentle breeze was blowing the whole time which not only felt wonderful, but it also blew her hair around a bit giving her shots a really dynamic feeling. We spent some time walking around downtown getting some grungy portraits then we spent a half an hour or so at Spencer Park posing on and around her parent's motorcycles. It was really fun and we got some great shots, to see more check out my High School Senior's gallery.

Bethany Sager's Senior Portraits

I'm having such a blast with Seniors this year. No matter how many times you use a spot for portraits each person brings something unique to it. Bethany really rocked it on the railroad bridge and even though we do portraits there a couple of times every year, she got some truly unique shots. We got really good stuff at every spot we stopped, from Little Turtle all the way back up to my studio. The seasons starting to wind down, but I've got plenty of evenings free if you still need to schedule your senior portraits. I'm pretty sure I'm booked every weekend for the rest of September though, so unless you're willing to wait an evening will have to do.

More Senior Portraits

It's been a crazy couple of weeks but it looks like it's finally slowing down a bit. We had a lot of fun this weekend with Nathan posing on his dad's old Ford Tudor. Talk about a great old car and they had an even better old barn full of antique farm equipment. We got some really neat dramatic shots inside the barn, they were so full of texture, rough wood, rusty metal, straw, and pretty much everything in between.

Lamar's Senior Portraits

Well I guess senior portrait season is here in earnest. I've been averaging 3 seniors a week all month long and it's been great. I had a lot of fun with LaMar. She kept things simple with just a few outfit changes, but we made the best of it. We got great portraits in all of the scenes we made in the studio and out at her dad's house along the river. She did an awesome job posing all I had to do was snap the shots. If you still need your senior portraits taken give us a call and we can talk about any ideas you have and how to make those ideas a reality.

Tee's Senior Portraits

We got a huge variety of portraits last night out on Tee's farm and back in the studio. We covered everything from his yellow truck to a big stack of hay all the way back to football portraits and then some casual street clothes shots. It was a fun ride that's for sure and we got some amazing portraits. I know they're going to have a hard time choosing the best ones because they're all so good.

Brittany's Senior Portraits

We had a nice quick jaunt up the creek at France Park for Brittany's senior portraits. The bedrock makes the neatest little water falls that are much more photogenic than the large waterfall that everyone always thinks of for their portraits. We got some really good shots then headed back to the studio for some fun casual shots.

Hanna's Senior Portraits

I had a ton of fun, and almost a heart attack, doing Hanna's senior portraits. Talk about a muggy humid day. It was so oppressive I actually had to stop halfway through and take a break. We got some really amazing shots though, and considering most of the outdoor shots look like they were taken in the Amazon, I guess the humidity was just part of the effect. It was a relief to get back to the studio though for her final portraits.

I love newborns!

After all of the toddlers I've done recently it was wonderful to get a nice sleeping 2 week old in. Aside from keeping the studio warm enough to keep the little guy comfortable this session was a breeze. The shots are super cute too, we did some with nice blue blankets and also a few with our angel wings.

Josh is Two!

Ahh, two year olds. Do I have to say anything more? It's great that they're developing minds of their own, but boy it does not help when taking portraits. We tried everything to get little Josh to sit, stand, or kneel in front of my lights for a portrait or two. He fought us every step of the way, but we got the last laugh. I didn't make more than 30 exposures, but we got about half a dozen really cute shots. This one is my favorite, but there were a couple of really cute smiles that mom really loved.

Missy and Justin's Wedding

I had a great time in Indianapolis photographing Missy and Justin's wedding. It was ridiculously hot, but we all managed to get some great shots in and around the church. The garden was just beautiful and Missy and Justin couldn't keep their hands off each other. Their portraits really capture how truly in love they are, anyone that looks through their gallery can see it. Congratulations you two!

4-H Fair Week

It's that time again, the Cass County 4-H Fair is in full swing. If you've been wanting to see some samples of my work close up come on out to merchant building number 2 and see my booth. I've got a dozen of my finest samples on display as well as all of last years sample coffee table books. I had a blast last night meeting so many people, I'm really looking forward to the rest of the week. I hope to see all of you there.

Meagan and Matthew

I don't know what is going on with this crazy Indiana weather, but what started as a bleak stormy day turned into a gorgeous day for a wedding. Meagn and Matthew had a beautiful ceremony in Kokomo, Indiana for what seemed to be most of the county. That was by far the biggest guest list I've seen this season. It was a beautiful huge church though, so it wasn't an issue at all. We had a lot of fun and, of course, we got some awesome images. Here's to a lifetime of happiness!