Dan & Amanda's ESession

It was a little breezy and rainy, but we got some great shots with Dan and Amanda at the farm. I am really excited to shoot their wedding in a couple weeks. It's going to be a great one.

Enjoy

A Busy Tuesday

Had a personal day from school and spent the day in the the cities. Shot the final session of the 2009 MN FFA State Convention at Northrup Auditorium at the University of Minnesota. This has become a yearly tradition for me since my wife works for MN FFA. Throughout the year, I am fortunate to photograph many events for FFA and love working with those kids. This is also the day that the state officers for the upcoming year are announced which is always exciting. It's sad to see the past year's officers go, but I can't help but think about all the times new officers will be in front of my cameras over the next year.





Following the Convention, I headed off to Como Park for Lindsay and Chad's engagement session. We had a great time on this beautiful, sunny, spring day and got some great photos. I am anxious for their wedding coming up in June!!

Also got two more client meetings in following this session, so like the title says...it was a busy, but really productive Tuesday for me!!

Featured on Crystal Velvet Weddings

One of this weekend's photos was featured on Crystal Velvet Weddings. Crystal Velvet Weddings aims to bring you the latest news and products from www.crystalvelvet.co.uk as well as a wide range of wedding information, products and advice. Crystal Velvet is based in South Cave in East Yorkshire in the UK.

The site is managed by Karen Clark. Karen is a Tiara, jewelery and wedding accessories designer and creator from the United Kingdom and does some really beautiful work. Check out the site!

Sarah & Dave's Saturday Sneak Peek (now with Video)

What a fabulous day with Sarah and Dave in Wabasha, MN!! One of those days where I just couldn't take a bad photo...just pushed buttons! Well, it might have been a little more than that, but it certainly was a fun day for me. Dave is 6-10 and typically it would be such a challenge with a groom that is 16" taller than his bride, but it was amazing how well these two fit together.

Here is just a little sneak peek at a couple photos and a great video. More to follow.

Enjoy~

More HDR & New Cards

A couple things on the docket...

I did some more HDR photos the other night just before dusk. The wind was really blowing hard so it made the clouds have a real "creamy" look to them. The three exposures were quick, but the cloud movement between shots when merged really added to the "ominous" look of the final processed photo.

I am so blessed where I live. There are so many things to photograph within steps of my door. I grabbed these images right after taking the kids inside. Set them down, grabbed my camera and ran back outside.


I also put in new order for business cards...that's a good thing (I must be giving them out!). I want to keep the same branding, but just altered the look just a tad. I also did them with rounded corners which should be cool and different. I love the photo of the red chair that I got last summer. It really brings to mind a lot of different thoughts for different people. A very introspective photo...one that should be good to hand someone on a business card. Maybe they'll walk away thinking about it...and theMOMENTS that Matter.

Facebook Best of 2008 Contest

Well the votes are in and tabulated...no recounts, court cases, or appeals here!

Congratulations to the winners:

Chris Quattrochi (Top Senior) from Lakeville South HS
Jamie & Clint Jones (Top Couple) from Winnebago, MN
The Steberg Boys (Top Kiddos) from Wanamingo, MN
Sara Lange (Top Bride) from Rochester, MN

They all will receive a framed and matted print of their winning photo.

Also a big thank you to all of you who joined in and voted. $25 Outback gift cards go to loyal voters Katelyn Schaefer and Angela Fredericks.

It was a fun contest to see what some others are thinking of the photos I've done the past year. We had over 100 votes in each category and have more and more people joining the Facebook Group each day. It's been another nice place to keep folks updated on what's going on in my world.

Dreaming

Well just see if this is the first of many, many blog entries about my little idea I have going.

I am not going to write much now as there are a few logistics cooking right now.

Here are some numbers however:

• 2 levels

• 1925 square feet upper

• 1400 square feet lower

• 117 years old

• 1 massive insulated wooden door
• 1000 hours of work ahead
• 1 big dream

And I supposed I better mention:
1 look-alike cigarette in Peter Schleif's mouth in the one photo. It's actually a sucker.

One Strange Morning

A beautiful, foggy morning in the valley this morning. I love mornings like that where the sun is kind of peering through the fog. It creates such a surreal light around you.

Here's the story...I am going to take Cameron and Emerson up to our friend Colleen's house up the valley about 10 miles. We're driving down the highway as Cameron sings and points out every tree, barn, tractor, cow and silo that he sees. The fog is such that I can see ahead about 5 yellow dashes ahead. As we come around a corner, here is what I encounter:

A blind man walking on the shoulder of the road.

In the fog.

Black glasses.

White walking cane.

Neon green, reflective jacket (obviously an intentional walk).

Is this just me or is this a strange, strange thing? Not enough that a blind person is walking...on the highway, but in the fog?? I just felt like I was thrust into some sort of crazy social experiment! I don't intend to make fun of the person being blind, but just couldn't get over the irony of what I encountered.

On a totally unrelated note, here is a cool HDR (high dynamic range) photo that I created from three different exposures from Kamel and Amanda's wedding this weekend. HDR is created by overexposing one shot, underexposing one and correct exposure "mashed" into one image that creates the ultimate in range of tones, values, shadows and highlights. I creates almost a surreal, illustrative effect to the photo.

Kamel & Amanda's Wedding

What a wonderful day with Amanda and Kamel in Albert Lea, MN. It was a beautiful setting at First Lutheran Church and the day was a great one. It started to drizzle a bit towards late afternoon which put a damper on our outdoor, post-ceremony shots, but a great time nonetheless.

And yes, that is a photographer's shoot through umbrella that the couple is using in the rain. A functional, yet nice accent with the dreary weather!!

Enjoy