Austin's Senior Portraits

Well, talk about the heat. It was just about as hot as it gets here in Indiana last week for Austin's senior portraits. I don't mind being hot and miserable, it's part of the job, but when the subject of the portraits is moist for every shot it makes for bad portraits. I think we went through an entire roll of paper towel keeping his forehead dry. We did have a lot of fun out at the Logansport Country Club. We spent a little time just getting some outdoorsy shots, then he changed into his favorite golfing clothes and we got some cool shots on one of the greens. I also took some shots of him driving a ball. It was awesome, one minute the ball was there, the next minute it was just gone.

Abby and Blake's Wedding

I had a really great time with Abby and Blake on their special day. They had a great group of friends and family gathered and we all just had a blast the whole day. The church was recently remodeled and while the bride and groom are obviously the focal point of the whole day, it doesn't hurt the portraits to have a brand new brick wall and stained glass for a backdrop. Congratulations Abby and Blake, I'm wishing you guys all the best.

Neil and Lisa

The weather last weekend was supposed to be fairly nasty, but it turned out to be a spectacular weekend for an outdoor wedding. A nice breeze blew the whole day and for the most part the sun was under cloud cover so it was really perfect for the guests and for me. The lighting turned out really great. It was a very nice day for everyone and it was a lovely ceremony. I wish Neil and Lisa all the best in their new life together.

Burrous Children Portraits

It's been quite a busy season doing last minute senior portraits, mostly outdoors even though the weather has been less than cooperative, but now that things have slowed down a bit we had some time to do some portraits with Dylan and Kelsey. They both did very well despite their agendas conflicting with ours. I think Dylan might be worried about snipers or something, he didn't stand still for a second the entire time, I guess he just didn't want to give them any decent shots. Despite this we got plenty of cute shots of him, and his sister did really well as well without too much effort, and as a nice cherry on top we got a very nice family portrait of the entire family. Check it out in my family gallery as well as more shots of the kids.

April Photo Shoots

So, I think I figured out why you don't do outdoor photo shoots in April. It's because April is insane. It's a totally crazy month. We knew going into Lee's shoot that weather could be an issue, and after an entire day of rain, we were pretty much resigned to just doing studio shots. Then at 3 in the afternoon the sun came out. We scrambled to get everyone together at the studio as quickly as possible. We made it, and just as we stepped outside to head to the first location, it started sprinkling. Then about 2 seconds later, it was a monsoon. We turned around and went back inside, disappointed, but not discouraged. We got some really good studio portraits, and as we were leaving, we noticed the rain was gone, there was very little wind, and there was a lovely cloud cover which I love for outdoor portraits. We ended up getting a really nicely balanced selection of studio and outdoor shots for him, so it turned out really really well.

Seth's Senior Portraits

Well, aside from gale force winds trying to destroy my lighting equipment this was a really good portrait session. We had some fun, of course we couldn't see because our eyes were completely dried out, but we had enough opportunities in between gusts to get some really good shots. We tried out a new spot I scouted out down-town mainly because I knew it was fully surrounded by buildings on 3 sides. I figured if there was any spot in Logansport shielded from the wind this would be it. I was wrong. It was a bit better, but still a lot windier than I normally like. All I can say is, it's a good thing Seth didn't have long hair because the wind would have been a deal breaker with anything longer than his hair. All's well that ends well though, we got tons of great shots including this one which I really like because I've used this location before, but I really love this angle, I've never shot like this before and I think it turned out excellent.

And it has begun...

Welcome to the wedding season everyone. I got started with a real bang this year. Heather and Jeff and their entire wedding party were great. We had a really good time all day long, and what a day it was. Probably the most beautiful day imaginable for a wedding. I wish you guys all the best.

Open House Invitations

I've been getting a lot of requests from my graduates for printed invitations for their open houses. Last year I designed a lot of 1 sided invitations and printed them myself on my color laserjet printer, but this year I'm pleased to offer 4 color press printed invitations. They are 4x6 bi-folds printed on really nice heavy card stock. I can design these for any senior that needs them, just give me a call and we'll start designing yours today.

Natasha's Senior Portraits

I had a blast with Natasha running around down town this week. We went to a lot of the same old places but I was really thinking outside the box for her posing and with her personality we got some really cool unique shots. This is not only my favorite shot of Natasha, it's probably my all time favorite portrait that I've ever made. I've used this location at least 4 times in the last couple of years, but I've never gone under the stairs, and just by doing that simple thing something really amazing came out of it. The shot is awesome plain, but I did some processing to it to give it some real edge and I think it turned out great. There are a few more shots of her in my senior gallery as well as 1 new montage, check them out. Of course, the senior season is over, but there is still a little time left to squeeze your shots in if you still haven't been able to do yours. Give us a call now to talk about your ideas and schedule a session.

LAA Youth Art Show

For anyone who was at the Youth Art Show Reception on March 12th, we've uploaded all of the pictures taken, including several of winners with their works, to my online proofing site. You can log on and buy prints of these images and all proceeds will go directly to the LAA. We're going to try to do this for all of our receptions this year and we're going to try to get pictures especially of any youth that show up for the parents to buy, so if this is a service that interests you make sure you show up for the receptions and if you want a picture or two just grab the photographer and tell them what you would like.

It feels like August here with all of the seniors I've been doing. It's been hard work finding new locations to use in the tail end of winter, everything is starting to wake up, but there is no color anywhere, so we've been forced to do a lot more of the industrial types of shots. Which so far has not failed to delight. Industrial shots are always real crowd pleasers. Cody and I had a lot of fun out on the railroad bridge, and even though this is fast becoming my most requested portrait location, we got some really unique shots, and this selective color with the saxophone really turned out cool. We got some neat shots back at the studio as well and we got his sax back out and even turned on the smoke machine. Unfortunately his younger brother was in charge of the smoke and he went crazy with it, forcing us to evacuate the building soon after starting. We got a couple of good shots though before the fire alarms went off, so as far as I'm concerned it was a huge success. Luckily none of my neighbors called the fire department when they saw the smoke billowing out of my front door.

Joel's Senior Portraits

When we first started laying out Joel's senior portraits he described lots of grungy types of locations, and I had just found this really excellent spot in down town Logan with a really great building with 3 sides that each have something cool to offer. So we met at my studio this weekend and drove down to the building together only to find out, it was demolished! There was nothing left but a large patch of fresh gravel. Of course, we were not discouraged, it's not like there is a shortage of decrepit buildings in Logansport. We did an about face and did some pictures across the alley, the lighting was perfect and we got some really amazing shots. Then we went to the good ole rail road bridge on river road only to find a train idling on the tracks. We were a little nervous it would kick into gear at any point, so we stayed close to the edge, got a couple of shots, then got the heck out of dodge. Luckily there were no surprises at the studio, the building was still there, and there were no trains ready to disrupt our shoot. Joel had so many good ones, it's going to be really hard for him to choose, but I think this studio shot of him is my favorite, it's a really natural capture, I think it turned out really great.

Conner, Emily, and Ethan

We had a really good photo shoot last night for these little guys. We got tons of great shots for each of them. I uploaded my favorite of each into my gallery. Things have been slow this year up till now, but I've got a very very busy March laid out already. I've got a handful of last minute seniors as well. If you're needing any kind of portraits I'd call soon, it looks like this year is going to be a busy one.

Baby John's first portrait session

We spent a nice long Saturday in the studio this weekend photographing John for his 3 month portraits. For such a little guy he was able to sit up on his own and do lots of things 3 month olds usually can't do. We got lots of great shots, but this one is one of my favorites. I love using mom and dad as props with kids, but usually they feel self conscious and don't want to be in any photos. I think this is a great shot of baby and father and I'm sure when John gets older he'll love seeing this shot of his dad holding him.

Meagan's Senior Portraits

We spent probably 45 minutes out in the freezing cold this weekend getting some portraits around the "Berry Patch" for Meagan's senior portraits. We got some really great shots all around the cabin, the prairie, and down in the forest by the pond. Meagan wanted nice outdoor snowy shots and even though it had been 60 degrees this week, there was a ton of snow left in the places we wanted to shoot. This one is my favorite, it looks more like fall since you only see the tall brown grasses, but I really like the natural backlighting the sun provided, and the criss crossing grass stalks add a lot of wonderful depth and texture. I know not everyone is brave enough to get out in the cold to have their portraits taken, but it really is a great way to get really cool, unique shots. If you haven't had your senior portraits taken yet give us a call and we can talk about your ideas and see how we can make them a reality.

Happy New Year

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and so far is having a great 2009. We'd like to offer up our services to anyone that was hoping to get a portrait taken in 2008 but for some reason was unable to. If you call and book a studio portrait with us in the month of January we'll waive the sitting fee. Just mention this blog and your portrait session is free. That should be a great way to kick off 2009, but call now, the month is almost one third gone already!

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