Feeding My Addiction

Where does the time go???

I realized that when I decided to blog, it would be an on going effort to keep it up to date. For a while I had no trouble adding a new post, almost daily. It was new and fun, but after a few short months it became more of a chore to keep the blog going. I really don't know if anyone is actually visiting the blog and viewing the photos; I often think about adding a post, but life sometimes gets in the way. Anyway, here are a few photos I've created since I last posted. Enjoy!

Around the House

Though I wish that I had a shoot everyday, the fact is I don't. So, to keep my skills sharp and to continue to learn new techniques, I shoot random photos around the house or around town. It was really cold today, so I stayed indoors and shot. I was experimenting with using my speedlight off the camera. I mounted the light on a tripod and carried around with me looking for cool shots. I like these. They're shots of my kids' toys, some candles, a cross that hangs in our hallway, and a butterfly that hangs from the ceiling in my daughter's room. Thanks for looking.

Trash the Dress

I have wanted to do a "trash the dress" shoot from the day I found out what it was. For those of you who don't know what this type of session entails, it's pretty much a girl trashing a wedding dress in some way. Many times this means that she is in a body of water, but I've seen photos of girls with their dress burning (imposed), or muddy, or covered in paint, and so on. A good friend of mine volunteered to be my guinea pig for a shoot. I thought immediately about chocolate syrup, and paint. My wife thought of soap bubbles, I'm proud of her. :) Rachel looked great in her dress, and we started off doing some formal shots. Some of my favorite photographs came out of these shots. We then moved on to chocolate syrup, followed by purple paint, and finished up with the soap bubbles. My wife, improving on her idea, thought of using a foot bath that we have to make the bubbles, so we were able to set the bath in the middle of the set and let it go until we had enough to get the shots. Overall, I am very pleased with this session. It was a lot of fun, and quite messy, but more importantly, Rachel did an excellent job. She looked fantastic, and the photographs are some of my best. Enjoy!

The Thompson Family

I've met some really great people in the past year while doing photography. I can't believe it's been a year already! I've spent time photographing individuals, families, objects, and events; I've loved every minute of it. When I started the business, I was quite nervous about how I was going to be able to attract new clients, but as I worked this past year some pretty cool things have happened. The most important lessons I've learned is: 1) Create great photographs, and 2) Give your clients what they ask for while creating things they may not know could exist. I've met some of the nicest families doing this job, and the Thompson family one of the nicest. I've done a couple sessions with them already, and did some product photography for one of their employers based on their recommendation. When we have our session, we work in their home, which by the way is so full of color and interesting items it makes a fantastic backdrop. They are always so welcoming and generally happy to have their photos taken that it's a pleasure working with them. They are a good looking family, and I look forward to many more sessions with them. Enjoy!

Energy in a Can

Sometimes, when you are constantly on the go you need a boost of energy. I avoided energy drinks for years because I figured they all taste as terrible as Red Bull does. Even they know their drink tastes bad. I once saw a print ad for Red Bull that showed a can, and a checklist of three features. It read something like: Boosts Energy - Check, Natural Ingredients - Check, Tastes Great - "no check". I thought that was really good marketing; since they were being honest about the flavor of their energy drink no one could be disappointed when they took a sip.

Amp, on the other had, tastes pretty good. The flavor resembles that of those green freezer pops in the plastic tubes; which by the way, is my favorite flavor of freezer pops. Amp is made by PepsiCo and is pretty close to the flavor of Diet Mountain Dew. Wait....I'm not trying to advertise for Amp, I am just illustrating my addiction to it!

This picture is an ode to my newest vise. The can was sitting on my desk aching to photographed. I do like the colors in this photo, and of course the can was soon empty after I captured this image.

Dog Days

So, the black and white dog, Gizmo, doesn't really care for the tan and white, Jake. On this day, however, they were as close as they had been up to this point. They were laying on the deck looking all lazy while watching from beneath the railing. I couldn't resist taking the photo, and adding some sort of saying. The only fitting thing I could think of was "Dog Days of Summer." Not very original I know, but I thought it was cute.

Night Visitor

I thought the title would capture your attention. It may have worked. :)

This little guy stopped in to see my wife and I the other night while we were out on our deck visiting with our neighbor. I had spent some time earlier in the day looking for bugs in the yard to photograph with no success. I was able to find a bunch of tiny spiders and ants, but the spiders were nearly translucent and not that interesting; ants just don't stay still long enough to photograph. This walking leaf, I think it's called, seemed to pose for me as I got very close to it for these photos. I think these are really neat insects, and I was happy he stayed long enough to capture these shots. It was night time, and I had lent out my speedlight, so I used my onboard flash, set my ISO to 200, shot it aperture priority mode with my aperture varying between 7.1-5.6 for a nice bokeh.

Random Shots

So, I got a new lens; I bought a 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 Macro. But, I'm not sure if I'm in love with it. Here are some random shots I have used to practice with the new lens. I think the focus points may be off slightly because it just doesn't seem that crisp where the photos are supposed to be crisp. I love the idea of having a macro lens, but am not sure I have the right one.

I Apologize

I am sorry I haven't been keeping up on my blog lately. I promise that I will do better. Summer has proven to be very hectic for my family and I; seems like we are always on the go. Here's a shot to hold you over though. This is a shot of a couple that have been married for 25 years, and they got married in this park, so I thought it would be fun to return to the park for a session before shooting their anniversary party. They are a great couple, and fantastic to work with. I don't think there is a nicer couple alive.

Alex's Senior Portraits

This was a really fun shoot, despite it feeling like 120 degrees. We found some really cool locations that I will be using in the future for some other sessions. Alex was very easy to work with. He has a natural quality that makes him really photogenic.

Saturday at the Ballpark

For me, there is no sport greater than baseball. I have been a Chicago Cubs fan since I was 12 years old, and I've had year after year of heartache as a fan, but I come back every year for more. Why? Well, I became a Cubs fan because the first time I met my Grandfather when I was 12, he gave me a Cubs hat. He is from Illinois and is a Cubs fan, and I thought the world of that hat. I lived in New York at the time, but we had WGN, and as with most Cubs fans outside of Chicago, I was able to watch them play nearly everyday in the summer. I also had the option to watch the Yankees and the Mets play. I never did like the Mets, but there was a year or two when Don Mattingly was still playing, that I did watch the Yankees. A lot has changed in baseball over the years, but my love for the sport and for the Cubs hasn't.

This past Saturday I took a road trip to Chicago to watch the Cubs play host to the hated rival, St. Louis Cardinals. I was with two hard core Cardinal fans, and one other Cubs fan, so there was some trash talking going on, even more after the Cubs emerged victorious in a close game. These two shots are of Cardinals first baseman, Albert Pujols and a shot of some good sportsmanship between catcher Yadier Molina and Ryan Theriot, after Theriot hit a foul ball. We had some great seats about 11 rows behind the Cubs on-deck circle, but didn't get a chance to catch a ball. All in all, it was a great day. Two of the friends I was with are military veterans serving in both Iraq and Afghanistan, so on our way back when we spotted a solder walking in full gear with his pack on his back, we were all happy to stop and give him and his girlfriend a ride for the last couple miles of their walk. He had just returned from two weeks of training, and has also serviced in Afghanistan. I don't think we all thanked him enough for his service to our country.

Summertime

It's summertime, and I have to ask - What kid doesn't love gnawing on an ear of fresh sweet corn? This little guy is really getting into it. I think about corn on the cob whenever summer comes to mind. It means cookouts and family gatherings; two of my favorite things. This is a pretty straight forward photo, I did isolate the ear of corn in Photoshop and adjusted it's color saturation. In addition I increased the vibrance of the trees and towels on the rail in the background. I love this photograph, thanks for looking.

Mr. & Mrs. Byrd

The Byrd's were in town from the Chicago area, and we took the opportunity to do this session in the park and down town this past Saturday. We had a lot of fun, and I think the photos are beautiful. Here are some samples from the session.

WWII B17 Sentimental Journey

.50 Caliber rounds that would have fed through one of the guns on the side.
Rear of the gun. It looks more complicated than the usual gun.
View from the cockpit.






Where the tail gunner would be during a battle.
If you ever get the chance to see a B17 Bomber up close, go see it. This plane, Sentimental Journey, was used in WWII, and can be seen in the movie "1941"; I haven't seen the movie, but that is what I was told. The bomber is now a flying museum based in Arizona. It tours the country, and it in Auburn, Indiana this weekend. For $5.00, to help maintain this bird, you can climb into the plane and walk front to the back. It is very tight inside, and I can not imagine being in the B17 during a battle. To get from the front to the rear you have to walk through the bomb bay. Essentially you are walking on a piece of steel, maybe 7 inches wide with rope rails for balance. For quite a bit more money, you can take a 45 minute flight in this warbird. The plane does fly, but it's not by any means a 747 as far as comfort goes. I was told that its very loud and the winds whistles into the plane through gaps around windows and doors. Not sure I would feel secure hearing that while flying.

These photos are just 15 of the 150 that I shot in and around the plane. It was a gorgeous day, and the clouds make a really pleasing backdrop to the external photos.