Portrait Party

Happy Birthday Ladies!

I love variety in my work. It makes things exciting for me and motivates me with constant challenges and opportunities for growth in my art.

This was a great evening of portraits. This lovely group of young ladies gathered for a birthday celebration. What a unique group of girls. I had a ball getting to meet and photograph them all.

Destination Virginia

I'm going to be on the road for a week starting tomorrow. I'm catching a train to Washington, DC and then going to Virginia for a week long mission trip with students from my church. This is going to be an exciting, exhausting and rewarding week. I'm really looking forward to the time to serve others and revisit the place where I first fell in love with photography.
DC is my photographic home. I went on an 8th grade trip there (a very long time ago) and the whole world exploded visually for me. My family didn't own a camera at the time and I started borrowing cameras from everyone on the trip to shoot what I was seeing. When I got home I started saving money and dreaming about my first camera. It's hard to believe my career as a photographer started on an 8th grade trip...
Pray for me while I'm gone. I can't wait to come home to show you the photographs!

Two Very Different Portrait Sittings

Portraits are exciting for me. I love to spend a bit of time with a person to get to know them and see a bit of their personality. That personality must show through the photographs we create - that is success...

Recently I had two very different couple for two Very different sittings in exactly the same location. I think this is a great peek at how different portraits can be depending on the people in them.

***Slideshow***

A Different Kind of Week

Every year I pour myself into a week of VBS at my church. I love kids and I love my church. It's a natural thing for me. Take a peek at my week.

Wedding Photography

I have been doing a lot of thinking recently about why I photograph weddings. It was kind of a shock for me to realize I have been doing weddings since 1989. That's a long time!

My junior year of high school my logic teacher told me I was going to photograph his wedding. I told him he was nuts, that I hadn't done one yet and that I wasn't about to photograph someone who could influence my graduation as my first. He insisted that not doing it might effect my graduation as well.

I called a good friend and photographic mentor and told her my situation. She easily said that I was ready and all I needed was some prep on the logistics etc. I was still unconvinced. Well, Carolyn had a two wedding Saturday scheduled soon after that conversation. I learned more that day than I realized. I was exhausted but unbelievably excited by the end of that day.

My first wedding went by with a relatively low level of stress. I think I was nursing batteries to make it through the end of the day, but I made it. He ordered reprints from me every year for a few years as an anniversary gift for his wife.

I've photographed a ton of weddings since then. I've made it a point to find opportunities to spend time around other wedding photographers who work in inspiring ways. I have also continued to challenge myself by raising the standard for my own photography. I've realized that I can never "arrive" and stop learning. I will continue to grow as long as I have the desire to do so.

I think I still photograph weddings because I love them. It is a great opportunity for me to spend the best day of a couple's life with them, share their joy, document it and preserve it so they can show the photographs to their kids and grand-kids. I'm creating history for those families.

Other photographers find weddings to be stressful or boring. I find them exciting and fun. There are so many opportunities for amazing photography. The key for me has always been to know a couple and enjoy who they are. When I can do that, my best work happens.

I think it's that emotional investment in a couple that really sets my work apart. I'm not working from a prescribed list of my favorite shots, I'm inventing, exploring and discovering what works for each couple as the day goes on.

One big change I've made in my business approach is I've stopped worrying about how many hours I'm working on a wedding. This opens doors for me to capture even more of the wedding day, create a better story and be available to all the moments of the day, not just the ceremony, formals and reception. I wish I had made that realization a long time ago.

Have a Great Fourth of July!

Album Design

Yesterday afternoon I finished working on the rough design for Amy and Darren. I'm a little biased, but I think their album is beautiful. Decide for yourself.

Amy and Darren

I photographed an amazing wedding this past weekend and I wanted to share it with you.

Amy and Darren are such a lovely couple. I've known Amy for too many years now adn was so honored that she wanted to have me as her photographer. She is a stunning young lady with personality to match her looks. Darren is a very lucky man!

I'm hoping to surprise them by having their images all online before they come home from the honeymoon. I'm halfway through designing their album and the images are on their way to Pictage as we speak.

Enjoy the slideshow.

Key Largo 2006

Key Largo 2006

I spent the last week in Key Largo with some amazing students from my church. We do this trip every year. We spend the week at one of my favorite places on the planet, Amy Slate's Amoray Dive Resort. The location is beautiful, the staff is excellent and the diving is outstanding. We all look forward to this trip every year. I've been there 9 times and feel like they are my family.

If you are at all interested in diving, snorkeling, nature and peace and quiet, this is a great place to visit. If you are an UW photographer like I am, this is paradise.

Judys Dance Academy

Judys Dance Academy

This is a series of photographs from the Judy's Dance Academy annual recital at the Lakeland Civic Center. i was blown away at the level of dance and production for this event. I grew up without dance lessons, piano lessons, t-ball teams, select soccer... you get the point. I had no idea that kids dance could be so beautiful.

Disney Vacation

Disney Vacation

Amazing few days at Disney with my family!

Life is Good...

Sigur Ros Video

glosoli_hd_1000.mov (video/quicktime Object)

This is an amazing and video and some haunting music. As a photographer I love the visual feel of the whole package. As someone in leadership I find it very challenging.

Queen of Peace School

Queen of Peace School

This is the second time I've written about this little school. I really love the atmosphere and the people there. I went back for an end of the Year Picnic and Social recently. These are some great people. Whenever I'm in Gainesville I'll be dropping by to check in...

Real People. Really Remarkable Lives.: The Fear of Failure Drives Success?

Real People. Really Remarkable Lives.: The Fear of Failure Drives Success?

This is an amazing article. David Jay from OSP pointed me in this direction from his blog and I had to pass it on.

I grew up pretty poor. We always ate, but there was always a sense that we didn't really have enough to get by each month. i know that experience has dirven me a great deal in how I approach life.
I love to save money and hide it away. I'm always driven to work harder and acheive more. I hate to waste. I've always believed fear was only a bad thing. Maybe it's good in some controlled doses... I'll have to check my perscription.

Congradulations Hope!

My sister-in-law passed her Florida Bar exam! Her family had a blow out for her with all the friends and relatives and lots of kids running around. They had a ton of fun, I had a ton of fun photographing them.

Check it Out!

Mary Kay Portraits

I had an amazing weekend trip to Gainesville. I went up to see some of my Mary Kay ladies again and to a photo-shoot for the "Gator Connection" unit. I always leave Gainesville exhausted and completely recharged at the same time. These are some really fantastic people, I look forward to every trip.

What was exciting about this trip was I had a great mix of make-over portraits, families and children to photograph. I love kids, they are so much fun and I laugh a lot when I'm photographing them. I also get a lot of hugs which makes it even better!

Take a peek at some of my favorites!

Fiction

I haven't read fiction since I was in college. My wife and some of my friends will often tease me because I am a non-fiction only reader. I love histories, biographies, and theology. I spend a lot of time reading. It brings a lot of creative energy and new ideas into my life and that is invaluable.

Recently I was shopping with my assistant and she pointed out a book to me as a suggestion for a graduate gift. It was a book about a diver with a Christian Publisher. She thought it would be a very personal gift coming from me because of my love of diving. I wanted to read it first before I gave it to a student.

I finished it a few days ago. The book is Deep Blue by Tom Morissey. It turned out to be a fantastic book. I had some reluctance to enjoy this book because it was fiction, but I was able to get past that as the plot and characters drew me in.

Maybe that means I'm growing. Maybe that means I needed something different in my diet to break things up a bit. Change is good. I might even be willing to try another one, but not right away.

I also finished The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel. Two very different types of books to be reading side by side. I've read the Case before. Very compelling book with much to offer for someone who is alwaqys digging deeper, asking questions adn pushing farther in their faith. Strobel is a very compelling author and presents a great depth of material in an intriguing framework with many references to his work as a journalist at the Chicago Tribune.

Kristen and Yancey's Album

I've been working on this album design for a while now. Soon I'll be amaking a sample album from this layout. Kristen and Yancey were such a fun couple to work with. Their zest for life and beautiful morning wedding made for a natural choice for a sample. Since I changed labs and albums I've wanted to update my samples. I'm pretty close now. Soon I'll have it in hand. I can't wait to show it off!

My Wife is Amazing

My wife is amazing! I am so proud of her. In the past two years she has been teaching full time, serving in our church, being nominated for the top ten of teacher of the year and working on her masters! This weekend she crossed the finish line! I could bust...

Microsoft Future Pro Photographer Contest

Home - Microsoft Future Pro Photographer Contest

This looks like a great way for a young photographer to get a good start in their career. This is the first year Microsoft has taken on this contest. For someone right out of high school or in college this could be the big push you need to get things really rolling. $20,000 buys a lot of camera gear and could be great money to start a busniess or fund a long term special project.

Kaitlyn's Journey

Kaitlyn's Journey

This is a post and a prayer request. The above link is to a blog from a friend through Open Source Photo. Eric is a great photographer and dad. His beautiful daughter has been diagnosed with Leukemia. Visit his site to see what her status is and fall in love with her. Please keep their whole family in your prayers.