The Professional Blog of C. Tyson Photography

Lightning Storm from 4.10.2011

2011-04-12T09:08:00.000-05:00

For a week in the northern IL area, we heard about this gruesome storm coming our way Sunday. I even canceled and engagement photo session I had planned due to this storm. well of course, the storm skirted by us with barely a drizzle. The benefit of that was I was able to take some lightning photographs without getting wet :D Enjoy!

Who says Geocaching is boring?

2011-04-07T20:08:00.000-05:00

I went out geocaching with Michelle today and found out this geocache had someone keeping guard :D

Groupon 2011 Engagement Photography Session

2011-03-29T21:33:00.002-05:00

~~In the next few days~~ Its now on! I will be featured on the amazing site Groupon. What is a Groupon? Simple, its a Group Coupon, once a set number of people buy the deal, it "tips" and the deal is on for anyone to buy! If the set number of people do not buy, the deal never "tips" and nobody gets the deal. Its a splendigital combination of bulk purchasing/coupons/social networking! Yes, I just said splendigital and if you know what it means, I have some stories for you.

So what is the Groupon I am offering? My offer is an 1 hour on location Engagement Photography Session, CD/DVD of all final images in full resolution with reprint release and an online gallery with reprint ordering for 90 days. This package I offer separately for $300 but for the limited time the Groupon is active, you can get this amazing offer for just $99! No catches, no gotcha's, no gimmicks!

The Groupon is live! Check it out here!

Still have not booked a photographer for your wedding? Purchase a Groupon Engagement Session and I will deduct the full $300 from any Wedding Photography Package I offer!

Wondering why you should do an engagement session? Check out this blog post.

New to Groupon? Sign up here:

If you know anyone that may be interested in taking advantage of this offer, spread the word! This Groupon is only for a short period of time and then it is gone forever!

Why should you do an Engagement Session?

2011-03-25T13:08:00.002-05:00

Why would I want an Engagement Session? When this question comes up during some of my consultation sessions, I make it clear that I am a huge fan of Engagement Sessions. While I do not make them mandatory, I strongly recommend them to every client I work with. The reasons may surprise some of you out there.

From just my perspective, Engagement Sessions allow me to shoot in places and in styles that through the course of most weddings I would not get the chance to do. The roots of many of my favorite photographs I have taken at a wedding can be traced back to an Engagement Session photograph.

Engagement Sessions also give me a very great insight into how you and your future spouse interact with each other. There is no magic formula to capturing photographs that tell a story, I have found the exact opposite works far better. I approach every wedding with a clean slate and its my responsibility to find the nuances that will show a complete stranger a view into who you are. Photographs and an approach that worked for me just a week earlier could fall apart this week.

For you, it gives you a great idea of what to expect on your wedding day. I have shot weddings where I am meeting the Bride and Groom for the first time when I knock on the door. I have also shot weddings where I have been booked for over a year and during their wedding I almost feel apart of it, just because of the time we have invested into each other. I would always choose to shoot the later of those situations.

I truly feel that an Engagement is something that should be celebrated, you should be excited to share the news of it!! This is one of the biggest choices you will ever make and you will have time to worry about all the little details in the coming months, so for now, celebrate!

Great I have some excellent pictures but what do I do with them now? The possibilities are pretty wide! Use your photos for all these and more

~A Guest Signature Album, pass on the traditional guest book and show off your photos to your guests, while giving the m the chance to write more than just their name and address.

~Your own custom wedding website

~Save the date announcements

~Post to your Facebook page

~Get prints made for the cake table at your wedding or on guest tables

~Use one as your announcement in the local newspaper

Like this post, have a better idea? Let me know!

Austin TX 2011, Mt. Bonnell, McKinney Falls State Park, Inner Space Caverns and pantyhose on my head.

2011-03-19T21:05:00.003-05:00

I finally got to squeeze a trip in to Austin TX and visit my sister Hannah and bro in law Drew and I had an amazing time. This was my second time visiting them so after having a great there once before, I was looking forward to this trip even more.

Downtown Austin, Chicago downtown is better but I would have no trouble spending a few days in the heart of the city.

McKinney Falls State Park, you can thank Geocaching to get us out here. I do not want to pat myself on the back too much but I got both Hannah and Drew to buy the official Geocaching app while I was in Austin :D

3 people went to this park, only one was not a complete wussie and chose to brave the fierce conditions without reading a silly warning sign.

Drew snagged this photo of Hannah and I while I was doing, um .... er....

I know my sister and I know she is going to hate this photo but I really like it. Too bad I am the one with a website Hannah.

The tree is a ridiculous 500+ years old...

Hannah and Drew

Inner Space Caverns

Mt. Bonnell

And that was my trip.

Whats that? Pantyhose?

Oh yeah, you mean this...

So my sister Hannah had no idea I was coming down to visit her. Zero. The best part was that a crazy amount of people did an dI had told some of them I wanted to scare Hannah. After being picked up by Drew at the airport, swinging by the local Walgreens to buy pantyhose, having both Drew and I trying to figure which color of pantyhose would be most appropriate, I set up my camera at Hannah and Drew's place and just waited for Hannah to come home. Of course my sister has to go to some dumb bookstore and probably oogle over some silly Vampire or Wizard shenanigans so I had to wait longer than planned. While I was hoping for a little more cussing, here is what happened :D

Rockford Ice Hogs 3.18.2011: Mullet hunting and a Sasquatch sighting

2011-03-19T09:39:00.003-05:00

I got to spend a great Friday night with my family and my youngest sister at the Ice Hogs game last night. For those of you who are thinking "Meh, hockey....." you need to see this game in real life to truly appreciate just how fast and precise these guys are. Plus there is fighting :D

And when you step into the Metro Centre in Rockford IL, be prepared to drop the gloves. No joke, the game started like this. Whistle, puck drop, gloves drop, fight. 5 minute penalties for fighting literally 3 seconds into the game, welcome to Rockford, Oklahoma City.

Did I mention we like to fight in Rockford? My favorite part of this photo, is the faces of the 3 in the box. The Ice Hogs players have the ho hum, this is just what we do look and the other guy is just beside himself wondering what our problem is.

People, we have a Sasquatch sighting! Now before you send me hate emails, look at the photo underneath this one, I took that one over 2 years ago and yes they are the same person :) I am not making fun of the guy, contrary I am a fan of his. I dig people who show passion for the sport they love and follow.

Back to the game...

Now did you really think I would go to hockey game and not do some Mullet hunting :) In case you were wondering, of course I had to use TRA's Bitchin Camaro preset for this photo. How could I not?

Love this post, hate this post, do not be afraid to tell me!

Before and After 6: Sunset Ring shot.... in Franchesco's Ristorante parking lot?

2011-02-12T10:24:00.000-06:00

I have always been enthralled by sunsets. I do not really know where it began but it has been inside me for a long time to stop and enjoy as many as I can. So when I was shooting Jake and Kristi's wedding last year and the colors of the sunset starting pouring through the windows at Franchesco's Ristorante, I knew it would make a great backdrop for a ring photograph. The only problem? In between their rings and a beautiful sunset was about 100 cars. This is where having a macro lens that can significantly blur your background, is life saving to have. In the background of the original photograph below, you can see 2 light colored blobs, yep, those are cars.

I positioned the rings, snapped a few shots at f/2.8 and actually closed down the aperture some to f/6.3. it is really tough to use a flash in low light when working with rings, as they reflect the light right back and create hotspots. So I went with no flash, ISO 400 and 1/80 shutter with the IS on the 100mm macro bailing me out and allowing me to handhold the shot.

Here is the original, straight from camera:

First, its a little dark, if I went higher ISO, it would have created more noise than I would have like and if I went with lower shutter, I would start to get some lens blur. Plus, its a sunset, so the light changes literally minute to minute. So I kept what I got and will attack the photo in post processing. First, I need to brighten the image. I had to use the Fill Light slider to brighten the image because if I had used mainly Exposure, I would have lost the color in the sunset. This will fade the image, especially the blacks, so I brought them back using the Blacks slider and the Contrast slider.

After these adjustments:

The ring is not quite bright enough for me, so I am going to use my adjustment brush and brighten and add a little clarity to just the area of the rings.

If you hover your mouse over the button on the image after you have used your adjustment brush, Lightroom will show you what you have done so far.

I then added a some Clarity to get a little more edge definition and Vibrance and Saturation to boost the colors.

After Clarity, Vibrance and Saturation, but also you can now see a "halo" effect around the rings. I absolutely HATE this look.

I will remove the halo effect by clicking my adjustment brush, then clicking the button on the photograph that my previous brush created. I can edit the settings of that brush. Here, I lowered the exposure some to get rid of the halo.

MUCH better!

A quick crop to bring the rings to more of the focus and BOOM!

A rocking ring photo at sunset in the middle of Franchesco's Ristorante parking lot!

As usual, love B/As or hate B/As, let me know!

Snowmageddon: 24 hours of the Blizzard from 2011 in 45 seconds

2011-02-02T10:08:00.000-06:00

Snowmageddon: 24 hours of the Blizzard 2011 in 45 seconds from C. Tyson Photography on Vimeo.

I started capturing images at 8am Tuesday February 1st and stopped capturing at 8am Wednesday February 2nd. 14 frame every 1 minute and 20 seconds.

Before and After 5: HDR Under the L at the Corner of S. Wabash Ave and E. Monroe St.

2011-01-25T14:21:00.000-06:00

If you want to divide a room full of photographers and start a fight between them, just bring up the topic HDR. High Dynamic Range imaging has been around for a while but has exploded more recently on most photo sharing sites like Flickr. What causes the impasse among photographers is that there is no agreement on what is a "correctly" made HDR is. I put "correctly" in quotes because I truly believe that like all art, photography is very subject to the person the person viewing it. I am not going to dive into the fray and start a scene but for the most part I embrace what HDR can do and use it semi-regularly.

With all that out of the way, lets take a look at what an HDR is. In the photography realm you start with 3 photographs taken at different exposures, one under exposed, one over exposed and one correctly exposed. I will then combine them into one photograph and get the benefits of all 3 exposures.

Here are the 3 photographs I am going to be working with in this Before and After. I took them on my last visit to downtown Chicago. It had been a while since I made it to downtown to just shoot and I forgot how awesome of a area Chicago is from a photographers standpoint. There is a reason why Chicago is continually chosen to shoot full blown Hollywood movies when it is no where near Hollywood.

Underexposed

Overexposed

Correctly Exposed

For creating the HDR and and applying the first round of adjustments, called Tone Mapping, I use Photomatix Pro. Photoshop does offer a HDR creation process but I have had much better results using Photomatix. As usual, I am starting in Lightroom, I highlighted the 3 photos and using the Photomatix plugin, I exported to Photomatix using the following settings. I have Photomatix setup to go directly into tone mapping, you can look at the image before tone mapping but its not worth looking at. Trust me.

Here we are in Photomatix

In Photomatix my goal is bring most of the color back and still maintain the existing sharpness levels. Depending on the style of photo I am working with, such as a senior portrait or a landscape, it will change how I go after the sliders. For Landscapes I start by lowering the Strength and Smoothing and raising Color Saturation, Micro Contrast and Saturation Highlights. Now there is not really a right or wrong way to here, remember photography being very subjective, but for the photo I was trying to maintain a true sense of realism and tried to stay with those confines. I ended with this.

Good, but with some Lightroom tweaking it be even better. So to automatically send this photo back into Lightroom, just close the photo down and the photo will show up on your filmstrip right next to the first photo used in this selection.

Back in Lightroom I am looking at doing 2 things, bring the exposure/contrast up and boosting the colors some but staying as close to real as possible. For the exposure/contrast I raised the Exposure (duh) Fill Light and Blacks, for this:

After the first edits Lightroom:

For the last step I am going to go for the color boost and I achieved that by raising the Clarity, Vibrance and Saturation. By raising these, I did darken the image some so I added just a bit more exposure.

With the final adjustments in place I cropped the image just a bit and I give you the merged and edited HDR. BOOM!

Did you like it, did you hate it or have an idea for a Before or After? Just let me know!

I am "that" Uncle.

2011-01-22T19:25:00.001-06:00

Tonight I am graced with having my niece and nephew over and my niece is even going to spend the night. So what does that mean? Well after unsuccessfully trying to get my niece to trade me her princess pillow with my mine, it was time to do all the things that they are not allowed to at home.

Tattoos and Mountain Dew :)

Before and After #4 Just lightroom, no presets or Photoshop

2011-01-13T14:21:00.002-06:00

For this B&A we are going to revisit a photograph from Jaci & Nathan's wedding that was taken at the Rockford Arboretum. While the Rockford Arboretum is pretty well known among the photographers in the area, it is generally unknown to most people in Rockford. It is a quaint open area with just some huge trees mixed in throughout which creates many great backgrounds, especially when the trees are changing color in the fall.

I chose one of these trees for some photos of just Jaci and Nathan and with the tree not buried amongst others, it gave me the chance to shoot from a distance to capture all of it.

Here is the original straight out of my camera, ISO 100, 50mm, f/1.8, 1/1250.

With it being a heavily overcast day, it muted most of the strong colors in the tree which I really wanted to make pop in this photo, so I started out with the usuals, Fill Light to 11, Blacks to 14, Clarity to +36 and Vibrance to +47. I have been asked the main difference between Vibrance and Saturation and it is how the colors are boosted in skin tones. Saturation, raises the levels on all color, Vibrance raises all colors usually not associated with faces. So if you want to make colors pop but want to avoid turning people skin colors to that of Oompa Loompa's use the Vibrance.

While we are in the right direction on what I want, I am just not liking the result so far.

I was looking at the history of my edits on this photo in Lightroom and I actually scrapped the direction I was going here. So I reached into my bag of edit tricks and pulled this one out. Sometimes to make the red/orange/brown colors pop, we are going to REMOVE all the Vibrance. I know it doesnt make sense, but work with me here. Vibrance to -100, add a little Saturation to +13, Clarity to +56 and the key adjustment, Temperature to +27000ish.

Now we are getting somewhere...

I am now on the path for the what I thought this photo could be. The colors and blacks are still a little muted so to bring both back to life I moved the Vibrance up to -59, Contrast to +50 and Blacks to 22.

Now that is a crackin photograph!

And the final step, add just a touch of vignette.

Which brings us to the final image.

Here is the original and edited side by side. BOOM!

Liked this? Despised it? Have and idea for a before and after? Let me know!

2010 in review, my favorite photographs you probably have not seen.

2010-12-30T10:26:00.002-06:00

I am a sucker for end of year lists.

I don't know what it is but no matter what the topic is, when I see that link or see a preview on TV, I have no choice but look at them. Last year I did a similar blog post and it was one of my favorite posts and to continue the tradition I give you my favorite photographs from 2010 you probably have not seen!

Off the Grid

I am in Key West Florida, maybe 15 miles or so north of Key West in the keys and I stop to take some photos. At that very moment this "boat" pulls out from the cove. I could try and explain what I saw. I could tell you on the side of the "boat" it says "Off the grid living". I could try and convince you that this "boat" made it to the Keys from North Carolina. I could tell you that if you look really close the "boat" has a website on it. I could tell you the website is designed WORSE than his "boat"?

Or.

Just click this link for the whole story.

Nighttime Geocaching

If you have been around me for any period of time, you know one of my hobbies I do not get to do anywhere near as much as I like is Geocaching. Don't ask, just click the link. There is a phenomenal nighttime geocache that my cousin Joel and my friend Hollywood went out and visited over the summer. The final stop takes you to well know graveyard that is rife with urban lore. Here is a link to the actual geocache if you are brave enough to attempt it.

Brown Pelicans in Mexico

I caught these brown pelicans cruising just over the water right before sunrise when I was in Puerto Vallarta Mexico shooting Nicole and Hector's Wedding.

Oh Canada

There is just so much going on here, I really do not know what to say about it. Maybe I will leave that to Doug, Hector or Jose. Help me out!

Jayden

I can't really get a grip on why I like this photo so much of Jayden but it is one of my favorite photos I took of him this year.

HI!

So I am shooting Jaci and Nathan's wedding and from behind me I hear crazy laughing and "Oh my God, does it say "hi" on your a--?". So I have to see what the heck is going on and well, just look at the picture. This needs to be a promo for hand held steamers that you can travel with. Now the questions is how this happened? Any theories?

Caption this photo.

I couldn't come up with a good caption for this photo, so I will leave it up to you. Post a comment for what the caption should be and I will add it the blog :)

Me and you kid, we have something in common

This is soooo how I was a kid, I can't imagine how I made it through my childhood with both my eyes and all ten of my fingers still working.

My sister can find them...

This is my brother in law, Drew. His hobbies include beating me at Guitar Hero, traveling with bands and riding motorized lifts at old churches.

One person is scared

Jayden, with Uncle Brian and about to plow into his cousin Kayla at Monkey Joe's. I can't help noticing that there is only one person who seems to not be having fun.

My start

Landscapes and my love of the outdoors is where I first fell in love with photography, so when I get the time to take these photos, I just gives me that warm, fuzzy feeling.

The 2 trouble makers

Tyler and Jayden. I can not believe the one liners that have come out of their mouth's through the years. "I knocked my own tooth out while playing catch with myself!" and "Oh look at that bug that was in my hair, no wonder my head has been itching!" are my favorites.

Stressing

The truth is that I stress over every wedding I have ever shot. I do not know what it is about them that causes it but its bad. Sometimes I feel I could throw up before and even during the wedding. That is part of the reason I love to shoot them. There is just something about being under pressure that I have always thrived on. I took this photo right before I was to start shooting Hector and Nicole's wedding Puerto Vallarta because I could just feel the "anvil" on my shoulders. Welcome to my world.

There you go, I hope these photos let you in a little to my day to day life. I thank all of you who spend time following my work and help make me better. A huge thanks to all the brave couple who have trusted me to be their photographer for the most important day of their lives!

Here is to hoping that 2011 will be a year that we can all laugh, love and smile more than we did this year!

Scott & Shelby

2010-12-28T08:21:00.004-06:00

Scott and Shelby came to me a little before Christmas and asked I would take some portraits for them so they could give to their mother for Christmas, and of course I was game for this. So we got a date where all of our were free, packed the gear and headed to downtown Rockford. The more I shoot in downtown, the more I fall in love with it. It frustrates me to see it falling apart and it just seems to happen so slowly, just a brick at a time.

As we were shooting, they told me that probably have not any portraits taken of them together in at least 10 years, so knowing how mothers are, I bet she had a wonderful Christmas morning.

Before and After 3: Hanging Lake Panorama

2010-12-18T12:52:00.000-06:00

In today's Before and After we are going to take a look at one of the coolest places I have visited, Hanging Lake in Colorado. A 1.1 mile hike with a 1,000 ft elevation rise is what it takes to get to this natural marvel and when your hike starts at an elevation of 6,100 it is no easy stroll through a park. Add in hauling your camera bag to top and it borderlines as no fun at all.

After your hike you are greated with just an incredible view of a lake at the bottom of of a series of huge water falls that is pretty much suspended on the side of a mountain. The first waterfall is call spouting rock as the water is just pouring out of the side the mountain.

Yes that is me at the bottom of the waterfall. pretty sweet huh?

Off we go, here are the 7 photos that we are going to create an awesome 180° panorama with. I could have done better in closing my aperture down for a little more depth of field but I have a great excuse as I just got done with that beastly hike and the air was a little thin :D

Here are the images in Lightroom 3 and I am going to select them all, right click, chose "Edit in" and then "Merge to Panorama in Photoshop". Starting like in Lightroom rather than Photoshop will allow me to easily send the image back into Lightroom for more editing.

Once the photographs are into Photoshop, Photoshop will give you a few option as how to create the panorma. For this project, I just used Photoshop's full auto option. Your computer will take a few moments as it processes and created the panorama.

When you are shooting your photographs that will be used in a panorama, try and give yourself some room to trim your image, so shoot a little wider than you would normally. Once the panorama is created you can see I will need to do some trimming.

Once trimmed, just close the photograph in Photoshop and it will automatically be re-imported into Lightroom right next to your originals in Lightroom's filmstrip.

Now back into Lightroom we are ready to make this photo go from meh to boom!

The day I was at Hanging Lake it was a very overcast bland day and it even rained on me a little. Without the sun creating some contrast, all the colors and shadows are very muted. So first thing I went after was creating that contrast and separation in the Tone sliders by raising the exposure and raising the black clipping.

Which gives us this.

Then I went to the Presence sliders and boosted all 3 options to create a color boost and also moved the Curve of the shadows down even more to created just a little more of refined contrast.

After Presence and Curves adjustments:

Almost done, but after our adjustments, the photograph looks a little cool. Roll in TRA's Totally Rad Presets and add "Afternoon Delight Lite"

and....

BOOM! We got ourselves a rocking panorama of an amazing location.

Click here to see this photo in the huge size it needs to be in to really appreciate it!

Liked this? Despised it? Have and idea for a before and after? Let me know!

2010 in review: My favorite published photographs

2010-12-16T20:54:00.003-06:00

If you have been paying attention to my blog or my Facebook page, you have seen these photographs sometime through the year. I figured I would show you out there what photographs I took that I am most proud of and give you a little more back story in why I am proud of them and how they were created. Without any more delays, here we go!

A wink is all it takes

This photograph was taken in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico the day before I was to shoot Nicole and Hector's wedding. After making it through the gauntlet of timeshare salesmen in the airport and finding my way to the resort, I headed down to the beach and met up with some of the bridal party. It was during this time, that the guy in the blue shirt looked at me and gave me the wink. That is all I needed. Camera ready, high speed burst primed, I watched the inevitable "You are my friend which means I am going to throw you into the ocean."

The capture of the drink meeting its demise in the Pacific Ocean is what put this one in my favorites for the year.

It is never all me

There are many different approaches to photography a photographer can take and the approach they take will always show through in their photographs. The approach I truly strive for is what I would call a commissioned artist. I look for some input and guidance from the people I work with and then have them turn the reins over to me and let me run with it while I tell their story through photographs. That is how I found this spot in White Pines State Park while shooting Kayla and Chris' engagement session. I would have no idea this little spot tucked underneath a bridge for trains would have ever existed if not for Chris' input. Not only was this spot perfect for this photograph, I thought it was so cool I took my friend there a few weeks ago and he was also blown away by it.

I have an "All American" family

No family is perfect, and well, mine is very not perfect. Those who know the whole story on my sister Hannah and I know why this photo of Hannah and I means so much to me. After all, it took me 18+ years to finally meet her.

Out of your comfort zone

What happens when the DJ at a wedding senses that he needs to bring a little life into the reception party? Simple, he takes the military groom, sits him in a chair in the middle of the dance floor and tells the bride "This is your chance for payback, have at him!" Hilariousness ensues.

Creating a photograph vs. Taking a photograph

This photo is completely created. It is actually a composite of 5 different photographs taken at different levels of exposure merged in one. This is called a HDR or High Dynamic Range photograph. This is a great example of how I really do not care how I get to the end result as much as I get the end result I want. I am not afraid to use Photoshop or manipulate the environment to get a photograph that tells a story.

Timing and Luck

When you combine Baseball and the 4th of July, you get an absolutely perfect combination of American wonderfulness. Throw in a 200mm image stabilized zoom lens, a camera with a 8 frames per second burst mode and front row seats you are set for some great photographs. When you add the luck of J.T. O'Sullivan crushing a monster home run while my shutter button was held down, you get an incredible photograph. I was not the only person in awe of how far the ball flew, J.T. was hit by the pitcher on the very next pitch he saw.

Wedding Photographer vs. Rockford Airfest

I could duplicate many things to try and get this photograph again, but I could do everything right and still not get it. To have a vapor cone form this well you need split second luck and also the right air conditions. This photograph means a lot to me because I did everything right on my end and was blessed to have everything else fall into place.

Farm girl and City Boy

Photographs that tell a story, I know I say it a ton but that is really what is the driving force behind my photography. When you see a photograph of mine, I want you to feel that you are starting to know the people in the photographs, that you understand who they are. Sometimes that is capturing them in their environment in way that shows that, other times it is completely setting things up to show it. This was a photo I had bouncing around in my head for weeks leading up to Crystal and Jorge's engagement session. To see it now really puts a smile on my face and I hope it does for you as well.

Just love each other and do not worry about me

Every bride and groom that I photograph their wedding, hears this from me. It is part of the mini speech you have to listen to when I shoot your wedding. I really mean this though. The absolute last thing I want a bride or groom doing on their wedding day is worrying about their photographs, so I tell them to worry about loving their future spouse. I tell them to just enjoy your day as it will go by so fast and that if they truly are in the moment of their wedding I will capture it. This photograph was taken during Kristi and Jake's first dance husband and wife and like I said, do not worry about me, I will capture it.

Photographs that tell a story

I know, I know here I go with telling that story thing again but I really mean it. I am very hands off during a wedding day. Not too often will pull you aside or ask you to do something specific during your day. when I do, just trust me that it is for something like this.

Finally made it to Lambeau Field

As a photographer and more specifically a wedding photographer, my family puts up with some crazy schedules and crazy hours and for that I am very appreciative. So this fall when things slowed down a bit for me, I took my family out for a mini break that ended with us seeing the Green Bay Packers vs Detroit Lions. I had been to Packer games before but I never made it to Lambeau for a game. Getting a flyover before the game and watching them scream across the sky was just amazing.

Stay tuned to my blog for my favorite post of the year when I bring you my favorite photographs that have NOT been seen!

A first for me.... Samantha and Eric 12.11.2010

2010-12-14T19:04:00.002-06:00

When I started to turn my love of photography into a something that could put food on the table, I spent countless hours at Barnes and Noble's reading any book I could get my hands on. I joined some online forums where other pro hung out and absorbed everything I could. I even had an impromptu Q & A session with an established pro as well. One thing I never got the chance to do was 2nd shoot for another established pro.

I guess I can check the 2nd shooter off my list now :)

Enter Mandy Blair

See that photog in the mirror, that's Mandy and over the past couple of years I have had the chance to get to know her pretty well and follow her cracking work. When she asked if I was free to 2nd shoot I jumped at the chance, well after I said no to couple of other dates, I jumped at the chance. I had a blast with Mandy and if I were to transcript some of our conversations over the course of the day, it would cause any person who has picked up a camera to be rolling on the floor!

Enough of this intro back story stuff, off to the pictures! Well the ones I took when I wasn't trying to photo bomb myself into Mandy's photos ;)

Yes, those guys are doing the dance Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan were doing in their car, in the movie "Night at the Roxbury".

Who knew Legos could be so dangerous...

2010-12-06T11:27:00.001-06:00

Two Legos. Two small little Legos.

But when you combine them, they turn into something much more sinister...

When combined, they turn into what is known now in our house as...

::insert over protective parent voice::

"SEE I TOLD YOU THAT IF YOU USE YOUR TEETH TO TAKE THEM APART, YOU WILL KNOCK YOUR OWN TOOTH OUT!!"

Yep, that's my boy. He had a tooth that was just slightly loose, so we warned him that it will be falling out soon and that it will hurt a little but it is nothing to worry about. Fast forward to Michelle seeing him pry apart two Legos with his mouth and giving him the "speech". He was good about asking for help after the speech, that is until she walked out of the room. Fast forward 30 seconds later and there is a tooth on the floor (right next to the Legos that didn't come apart) and a hysterical 5 year old who just watched his first tooth fly out of his mouth.

I can't make this stuff up if I tried.

Rebecca and Art, a REALLY cold E-Session sneak peak 12.5.10

2010-12-05T17:38:00.000-06:00

22 degrees.

Not Celsius, but Fahrenheit.

22 freaking degrees while we shot this E-Session and it was a blast!

Its a good thing Rebecca and Art are a pair of souls that warms any place when they are together.

(I should write cards for Hallmark)

Fannie May + Eggnog = Splendigital Wonderfulness

2010-11-17T19:00:00.003-06:00

So I have a problem.

This problem is well documented.

It has even been documented by me.

My problem?

Eggnog.

This is the time of year where I get my money's worth from Peak Fitness. I have had many different variations of food products using Eggnog that go far beyond my staple of basic liquid Eggnog. Eggnog ice cream sandwiches, Eggnog pancakes from IHOP, my homemade Eggnog french toast, Eggnog jelly beans, Eggnog shakes from McDonald's, Steak and Shake and Culver's (Culver's is the best), and Eggnog ice cream.

But until 2 days ago, this little Eggnog treat in today's blog somehow escaped the death grip of my sweaty hands.

Eggnog creams by Fannie May.

Now through some connections of mine, yes I have Eggnog connections, I got a hold of some Eggnog creams before they hit shelves this Christmas Season. I can not tell how wonderful these creams taste through my blog, but I will at least do my best to help you.

Here we start with our basic Eggnog cream by Fannie May. I use the term "basic" loosely here, much like the way you would describe your "basic" Lamborghini or your "basic" 12 carat flawless diamond ring.

Notice the evenly spread nutmeg seasoning here, just enough to completely cover the top of the cream but not too much where it comes off on the inside of the bag. Or when you pick it up to take your first bite...

The first sensation that greets your mouth is a combination of condensed pleasure, mixed with sheer delight and a hint of passion.

As the second bite makes it way through all 5 of your senses, your body is starting be overcome with the warm, tingling sensation that is normally associated with the realization that you have all 6 matching numbers AND the matching powerball in this weeks $367,000,000.00 drawing.

Secondary angle so those who have won the $367,000,000.00 powerball drawing can verify its authenticity.

After the third bite, you are now being absolutely torn apart by the conflicting emotions of "This taste and texture is amazing and I have to eat this by the truckloads" versus "How in hell do I only have this one measly bite left?". But then reality sets in and pick up your last bite...

You are now left to the whims of this world. Where you must face the cold ruthless fact that are now on your own without the comfort of knowing that you have one of life's magical gifts waiting for you at home in your cupboard. So this Christmas season, with my strongest recommendations, I would suggest you click this link and go find yourself some of life little treasures.

And buy me some too.

My oppourtunity to give back: Project "Message from Home"

2010-11-11T20:45:00.002-06:00

When I pick up my camera and look through the viewfinder, I pause and ask myself how I can tell the story of what I see, I do not pick up my camera to simply document what is happening. When I am going through my photographs from a wedding, there are many well composed and perfectly exposed photographs that do make it to the final album. The reason they do not make the cut is that they just simple do not help tell the story. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but very few tell a story.

I really shy away from political statements in my blog or on Facebook, as I have found it to be a venue where you tend be more judged by the words on a computer screen than by the content of your heart. It is just too easy to label someone based on a fragment of a sentence. However, I am completely unashamed to make it clear that the people who are serving our country and by their own choice placing themselves in harms way, have my complete and unwavering support. I have a deep respect for anyone who chooses to put their personal needs above the needs of the many. Day in and day out this current generation, a generation that has received many less than flattering labels, makes a conscience choice to put their lives and sometimes their families, second to needs of a country.

We all have something that strikes a chord in our heart.

The things that stop your thoughts and make you think about the things that truly matter in life.

The things that in the midst of our Ipods, cable TV, Facebook, school, work, bars and Nintendo’s make us slow down and realize how few things we place such tremendous value on really mean nothing.

Those things that until you truly experience or deeply understand, you will never grasp the depth of.

Today is one of my weak spots. Veteran’s Day.

Let me introduce you to a family who I could not say enough about and whom I spent a couple of hours with this afternoon. Kris and Renee’s family.

Kris could not make it in person as he is currently in Kuwait. And has been there for the past 10+ months. And yes, that cute little boy Easton, is only 4 months old. Do the math. Kris has seen his son all of 3 days.

This is the story of so many families who serve the people of the United States, people like Kris who is a 3rd generation military personnel. A person who has a wall of medals and memorials that Renee has gone out of her way to show off. Not just Kris' either but Kris' father. And Kris' father's father. People who as I am looking at an older uniform of Kris', Renee makes it a point to say that she is happy that the newer uniform needs much less starching than the one displayed. These are the families who just know what it means to serve their country.

Meanwhile Kris and Renee’s 3 other children are playing the game "Life" and have a slight disagreement over whether one of them has to pay taxes.

Really? We are about to go into the holidays and Renee and her children will spend it without Kris, and they are arguing about taxes in a board game and thanking the fact she does not have to use as much starch in her husband’s uniform. I guess it shouldn’t have surprised me, but they have a dog. That was rescued from the shelter.

I spent part of this afternoon with them as part of a project I am starting to offer for the Christmas season. Project Message from Home. It is just a small way I can give back to those who so selflessly give so much. For those of you of there who have a loved one who is currently active in the military and in harm’s way, I want to tell a little of your story and also give a little hope to the person who is fighting overseas for what we hold dear at home.

I will come to your home, your work or anyplace that you choose and spend some time hearing your story and capturing photographs that will tell the story of you. I do not want to come take the typical portraits, I want to capture you in a way that will tell the story what is happening while your soldier is away. Please do not feel everyone has to have their hair freshly cut and everyone wearing their Easter outfits :) I would love to show your soldier and those who see my blog, just a snapshot of your everyday life. Those photographs will be available online in your personal album for a full resolution download at zero cost to you. If you would like to use my lab to print from, I will gratefully give any print you would like at my cost.

I also would like you record a short video, so you can directly tell the person who is serving in our military, what they mean to you. Whatever you would like to say and show, I am up for anything. I will take that video, transfer it to a DVD, print all the pictures from your gallery that I have taken and make sure it gets put in the hands of you loved one at a complete zero cost to you.

More than anything, I want to know that your soldier knows how much they have at home waiting for them and I want them not only see and hear you, I want them to have photographs that they can carry with them. In this small way I want to give back this Christmas season, in this small way I want to show my appreciation for the sacrifices that are made every day by those serving our country.

But I need your help. Do you have a loved one serving overseas and currently in harm’s way? Do you know someone who is? Please have them contact me here or through facebook and I would love to help give back to those families who are missing their loved ones during this time. So help me spread the word and let’s show the brave soldiers out there how much they truly mean to us!

Christopher Tyson

The Blog post that does not need a title.

2010-11-07T17:03:00.000-06:00

Its that time....

Before and After #2 Farm Girl and City Boy

2010-11-04T19:03:00.000-05:00

Thanks for taking a moment to look at how I create some of the photographs I have posted lately. Today lets talk a walk through how I created a photograph from one of my E-Sessions I took this summer.

The couple in this photo are Crystal and Jorge, in addition to being an awesome couple, they are a great example of the classic farm girl and city boy. The greatest focus I put on taking a photograph, is to tell a story with that photograph and I really do not care how I get to that point. I have a few pet peeves that I really try and avoid but for the most part every option I have at my disposal is fair game. So when I met Crystal and Jorge for the first time and started to piece together a way that could tell their story, this is one photo I really wanted to capture.

I wanted something that could tell their story of a farm girl and a city boy in one photo. When it finally came time for their E-Session and one of locations they were considering was to shoot at was her family's ranch, I jumped at the chance. Taking in the entire setting, the background with the fence and cows, throw in a rake and a cell phone and boom, we got the makings of a photograph that tells a story.

Here is their photograph straight out of my 7D, shot with my 17-55mm IS at 31mm ISO 100 f/2.8 at 1/160sec in aperture priority.

The first thing I am drawn to is the post on the left, so I cropped that out but still left most of image intact so you can see the background and get a good feel of the setting without much effort on the viewers part.

Some photographs I move to black and white for a specific reason, but this one was more of a feel that I wanted. I can not really give you one reason, but after a quick check in Lightroom, I know I wanted it in black and white.

One of my options when it comes to creating photographs that I really avoid is a basic black and white conversion. I just really do not like them. Here is this photo with a basic b/w conversion.

Just plain boring.

I really enjoy a black and white that has some grit to it, or a better word might be character. Sometimes I boost the clarity, blacks and contrast in Lightroom to get this effect. I do not use them as much as I use to, but I am a monster fan of Boutwell Studios, Totally Rad Actions for Photoshop and that is what I used here. So I opened up the photograph in Photoshop and applied the BAMF 16 bit B/W conversion.

I brought that photo back into Lightroom and boosted almost all the basic setting from their starting point of zero to get the grit and character I was looking for.

...and added just a little vignette...

Which gives us our final image, compare this one to the basic b/w above!

Ta-Da! A photograph that tells a story, not just any story but Crystal and Jorge's story.

Did you like this Before and After, want to know I created a different photograph? Let me know and maybe I will use your suggestion for my next before and after!

Jaci & Nathan's Wedding Sneak Peak 10.23.2010

2010-10-25T22:12:00.001-05:00

Here is something that may shock you, I have seen my share of weddings. Not really groundbreaking news for you out there, but there is one thing I have learned from being deeply involved in weddings.

When a couple gets married, it makes them more of what they already are as a couple.

Think about it, much like when a person wins the lottery it makes them more of what they already are. If that person was greedy and temperamental, they do not magically change for the good. With very few exceptions, it just makes them more greedy and more temperamental. The opposite is true as well. If that person was grounded correctly and compassionate, they become more of that. Now I also understand getting that money can corrupt, but I ask you this. Is it possible that the lottery winner who seemed great, only to spiral downward once they have the ability to, was truly a great person on the inside to begin with?

Now back to weddings, I put "couple" in italics because who the couples were as individuals is irrelevant. What matters is their traits as a couple, because the rest of their lives they will be one, not two. Their individual traits will dissolve and how they complete each other, or lack thereof, will only continue to grow.

Now that brings me to Jaci and Nathan and what I picked up on over the past few months shooting their engagement session and then their wedding. They are both very strong people but even on their wedding day, I could pick up on little things that were changing compared to when I shot their engagement session and this is a good thing. Because the things that were fading and the things that were becoming more prevalent were what you would want as a couple. I can not tell you for sure, but I have a strong feeling that if you asked the people who have been close to Jaci and Nathan over the years, they would be in an agreement that although they knew them as two individuals, they can no longer fathom them as anything other than just one.

Stacy & Micheal's E-Session Sneak Peak 10.9.10

2010-10-09T22:05:00.000-05:00

I have the awesome opportunity to be around many couples as they are starting to plan for the rest of their lives and then to officially consummate that by getting married. It really is one part of what I do that is really rewarding, especially when I have some time between a couple's engagement session and their wedding to get to know them. Above all else, what fascinates me about the people I get to meet is how they interact with each other. Truly, I have met couples that are so incredibly different with how they interact with each other, you would think they are from different planets.

When I shoot an Engagement Session I really am looking at how couple interacts more than anything else. I try and absorb every little detail on what I see, many of which only happens between that specific couple. Of all the differences there are between these groups of people, they always have one thing in common. Completeness. I mean, the couples I met at this stage in their lives truly feel they are made for each other and no matter their differences, or their individual flaws, when you put them together, they become whole.

Tonight I had the pleasure of watching Stacy & Micheal interact and without question, everything I had said above, directly applies to them. For those out there who know Micheal and Stacy, I am sure you will agree with me, that when you put these two together you can see how two people absolutely complete each other. Thank you Stacy and Micheal for giving me another night where I got to enjoy so much more than just taking pictures.

Becky & Peter's Engagement Session Sneak Peak 10.6.2010

2010-10-07T11:08:00.001-05:00

I meet new clients many different ways, they find me through Google, word of mouth from a friend or they see some of photographs on Facebook. But Peter and Becky had to be different. I was at Starbucks a few months ago, waiting to give a client their disc of images from their wedding and I hear my name called out. I turn and see Peter, I went to grade school with Peter but I had not seen him in at least 10 years prior to this. We chatted a little and got caught up and the inevitable question is asked of me, "Where are you working?". I told him about my photography business and how it is taking off for me and so on. I asked Peter whats new with him and well, wouldn't you know it, but Peter just got engaged :D

Guess who they booked to photograph their wedding?

Jennifer & Deron, Desination Wedding in Key West, FL at St. Paul's Church and The Casa Marina Resort

2010-09-27T18:36:00.000-05:00

I have always enjoyed destination weddings for many reasons, but there is a little give and take to them. So, to help you understand a little bit in knowing the ins and outs of what it takes to make a destination wedding happen, I give you my thumbs up/down. Every one of these circumstances happened to me on the one trip.

Thumbs up: HUGE props go out to Julie Shreck of Simply You Weddings, if you are anywhere near southern Florida she is the way to go with wedding coordinators!

Thumbs down: For being the only person at the luggage claim in Key West with no luggage, then having the airline computers go down so they legitimately have no idea where my bag is.

Thumbs up: Julie and Deron, a great couple, with crazy friends, who chose some incredibly beautiful locations.

Thumbs up: Sitting next to another photographer Rod, of Rod Roberts Photography on my flight from Miami to Key West.

Thumbs down: Having the weather go from rain/sun/rain/sun/rain/sun about 30 times a day. I have never had my sunglasses on with the wipers on my car going full bore that much in my life.

Thumbs up: Duval Street.

Thumbs down: Trying to park anywhere near Duval Street.

Thumbs up: Having Father Larry telling the wedding party to have fun in Key West the night before the wedding but not to get too drunk and get arrested in the most tactful way you could imagine.

Thumbs up: Laughing at the crazies on doing the Duval Crawl

Thumbs down: Trying to figure out why people were laughing at me on Duval Street.

Enjoy Jennifer and Deron's Sneak Peak!

Crystal & Jorge's Wedding Sneak Peak 9.18.2010

2010-09-19T21:32:00.000-05:00

A common question asked of me from my friends is "Are you shooting this weekend?". If my answer is yes, they generally ask which one. Most of the time, a reply using names is pretty much worthless, so weddings tend to get a specific tag that helps separate them. Similar to how hurricanes are named. Sidenote: How is Hurricane Igor not the most awesome hurricane ever? Crystal and Jorge's wedding got the tag of "The horsey wedding". The following conversation is an actual conversation I had with my friend Aaron.

Aaron: Are you shooting this weekend?
Me: Yes sir.
Aaron: Which one is this one?
Me: The horsey wedding
Aaron: Horsey wedding?
Me: Yeah the Bride is coming into the ceremony on horseback, how awesome it that?
Aaron: Very Awesome, but won't that be little weird with he father walking next to the horse?
Me: Nope, he is going on a horse as well.
Aaron: This sound interesting.
Me: Thats nothing, guess who one the ring bearer's is?
Aaron: Let me guess, a horse?
Me: Nope. A dog.

Aaron pauses as you can see the look of pure puzzlement on his face and then drops this question.

Aaron: Is the dog going to be riding a horse too?

I can't make this stuff up.

Enjoy the sneak peak!

Kendall & Doug's Engagement Session Sneak Peak 9.12.2010

2010-09-12T21:48:00.000-05:00

I had the great opportunity to meet Kendall and Doug through some good friends of mine and from the very first time I got to meet them, I knew shooting anything that had them in it was going to be a blast. Tonight was exactly why I really do love photography, with a great part of why I do, is the people I get to meet because of it. Kendall and Doug, I am so looking forward to your wedding next summer!

Kealy & Zak's Engagment Session Sneak Peak 9.11.2010

2010-09-12T21:28:00.000-05:00

Thank you Geocaching.

I would have never stumbled across one of the more ridiculous places in the Northern Illinois area if it was not for one of my favorite hobbies. When I was at "WaHoo", yes that is this place's real name, I told my friend I was with that one day I will shoot an Engagement Session. When Kealy told me she wanted something a little more unique for some her E-Session photographs, my wish was granted and off we went to WaHoo.

Susanne & Jason, Wedding Sneak Peak 9.5.2010

2010-09-06T18:41:00.001-05:00

Kristi & the worst dancing groom ever, Jake 9.3.2010

2010-09-04T19:19:00.000-05:00

Really he was.

By far.

Its a good thing I go back a ways with his family or I might suffer the wrath of his father ;)

Kristi & Jake, just one of those couple that you knew this day would come for them. Not because you believe it was just up to fate, but because when you saw them together you knew instantly they were meant for each other.

How I create photographs: Before and After #1

2010-08-31T20:49:00.003-05:00

Well here we go!

I want you to know I struggled over doing this series. I struggled with the idea of showing how I create my photographs once I get in front of the computer. Partly because of my own insecurities, I really do believe there are many phenomenal photographers out there so why would anyone want to know I how I post process? And also partly because I am a little nervous about training someone to replace me :D

In the end I would not be where I am at right now if I did not have many photographers out there willing to share their experiences and their ideas. So I want to give back and pass on that legacy of "opening the doors" on how I create.

Disclaimer: I know there are a very large group of photographers out there who whole heartily disagree with some of the ways I use my PC to post process. To them, I say, its cool. I am absolutely OK with that. I really am. I have never presented my work or myself as a photographer who is a "purist" and I will never do that. What is by far the important thing for me is to have photographs that tell a story, that have depth, that if you see a photography that I have a taken of someone who has passed it away, it will in its own little way, reflect that person's life. Truly, I do not care how I get to that point as long as I get there. Period.

Balancing statement to that last sentence in 3 ... 2.... 1....

I do not want to be the "Photoshopographer" either. For a photograph that does tell a story, there HAS to be a correct mechanical usage of a camera, mated with a knowledge and thought process of the theory behind the photograph to get an image that will stand the test of time. My focus while post processing is how to make a photograph better, not bury it behind something that it is not.

OK, rant over. On to the task at hand and off we go!

Lets take a look at the most recent photo on my blog, Jayden going to his first day of school.

Straight from my camera:

I wanted to try and recreate the feeling the viewer had on their first day of school, so I shoot low to ground to create the perspective of a child. If I would have shown his face, you would have looked at his face and thought about him but I wanted the viewer to think of themselves. I feel this shot from behind gives that effect. Finally, any time you can have lines point to the subject of your photograph, USE THEM! The edges of the sidewalk draws your eyes directly to Jayden.

I used Adobe Lightroom 3 for this entire edit, so after I imported it in I did these steps.

#1 I moved it to black and white.

#2 Then using the 2nd set of sliders, Exposure, Recovery, Fill Light and Blacks, I focused on trying to do two things. Create enough fill light to see the details in his backpack and maintain the true black levels in the areas that should be true black.

#3 I then boosted to clarity to create edges that were a little more gritty and pronounced.

Now that I had the coloring where I wanted, I cropped and rotated the image a little, paying specific attention to the horizon line and the rule of 1/3s.

Which gives us this...

Good but it just needs a final touch. I added just a slight negative vignette, do NOT over do this step, and added grain to 50 and bumped the up the size to 30 from the default of 25. You may ask, why would you add grain to a photo? In this case, simple, I want you to think of your first day at school. How many of you out there who can remember it, remember it perfectly? Most likely its a little hazy or dare I say, grainy ;)

Which creates our final photograph....

Ta-Da!! If you like this or found it helpful or want to know about a specific photograph and how I got there, just let me know and stay tuned as I try and make Before and After's a regular thing!

Do you remember your first day of school?

2010-08-30T11:10:00.001-05:00

The time has come.

My son had his first day of school this past week. Michelle and I spent the past few weeks getting him ready and telling what it would be like and when the time came, it paid off. Jayden walked right up on the bus took his seat and smiled the whole way. I could not have been more proud of him.

I have spent the past 5 years trying to prepare my son for this moment. Not necessarily going to school but the experience of leaving the umbrella of his home and parents and out into the real world on his own. I have done my best to teach him to respect adults, to help him be brave in moments of fear (see my previous post), let him know that not all people in this world will love him or even like him.

But by far, the most important thing....

GO PACK GO!

The Boone County Fair, traumatizing 5 year olds for generations...

2010-08-18T11:13:00.001-05:00

Before you ask the question of how a County Fair could traumatize a 5 year old, take a look at just two of the events my son had the "opportunity" to experience at the 2010 Boone County Fair.

The children's petting zoo, what could go wrong?

See, look how happy Jayden is!

Even cuter, the baby goat wants to give you a little kiss Jayden!

Here you can see Jayden's expression slightly change, he knows something is up.

Even though he didn't it kinda looks like Jayden is about to or has just cussed when he realized the goat's intentions were past the point of "kisses".

Finally, the "I am bailing this petting zoo!".

Now next to some rides, what could wrong here? He even got to ride with his Mommy, she would never put him put him in a situation where he would just scream for 3 minutes straight, right?

Wrong.

Still wrong. Look at those white knuckles.

Ahhhh the County Fair.....

No moon and 65 degrees = Star trails

2010-08-16T11:24:00.000-05:00

Packed up the gear, looked for a gravel road on the GPS North of Caledonia, IL and bathed in bug spray and went out to get this. The nighttime sky has always been a love of mine, there is just something about the vastness of it that has always challenged me.

Crystal & Jorge Engagement Session sneak peak

2010-08-10T22:04:00.001-05:00

I had the wonderful opportunity to meet Crystal and Jorge through Katie Bryant of Katie's Customized Events, shameless plug for her website, and today after many near misses, I finally got to shoot their Engagement Session. Let me just heap some praise onto Crystal and Jorge for working with me one of the hottest days of year in the middle of a just plain ridiculous amount of mosquitoes, you guys made it easy!

SoooOOOooooo here is where I usually write something about the couple to help you understand the beginnings of their story, but you know, I am just going to let you draw your own conclusions by leading off with this photograph :D

Happy Birthday to Jayden!

2010-08-04T21:04:00.000-05:00

My son turned the corner a few days ago and reached the magical age 5. The age where it is cool to like both Elmo and Halo and in Jayden's world if they made a video game that combined those two it would be perfect.

Side note: To some of my geek friends, you should make this game, it would be awesome.

Back on topic, I know every parent says it, but man, I really do remember him being just a little newborn coming home from the hospital in his Green Bay Packer outfit. Or repeatedly turning off my computer on me before he could walk or talk. Or even just recently he told me he lost his "hooker" down the drain while taking a shower. Yeah, that's a story :D

Anyway, here is to my little man, of whom I could not be more proud. Happy birthday Jayden!

Rockford AirFest 2010

2010-08-03T15:24:00.002-05:00

I had the wonderful opportunity to spend 7 hours out during a 90 degree, 90% humidity day, with zero shade, sitting in the scorching sun, in the middle of a concrete runway, where you were not allowed to bring any liquids in and then proceeded to charge you $3 for a bottle of water.

It truly was wonderful.

How?

The moment the A-10 Warthog airplane fley out and dropped a "bomb" that exploded and sent up a huge fireball..... and my son who was celebrating his 5th birthday, jumped out of his chair, arms up in the air, jumped up and down and cheered the, and I quote him, "Hog" for making a really big explosion.

:D

The A-10's gatling gun, delivering 70 rounds a minute to the hearts and minds of those who wish to do the US harm.

The A-10s gun is so big, the nose gear has to be offset to make room for it. Truly this plane is more of a gun with wings than a jet with a gun.

People who do this have a chemical imbalance if you ask me.

The missing man formation.

F-18 approaching the sound barrier and the vapor cone starting to form.

In these next two, you can see the shock diamonds in the jets exhaust.

The Thunderbirds.

Laura & Kevin's Wedding Celebration 7.10.10

2010-07-12T12:00:00.001-05:00

A hot summer afternoon slowly gave way to an absolutely perfect evening at Laura & Kevin's house as they celebrated their wedding with friends and family. I would call it a reception, but with with food being freshly grilled brats, hamburgers and chicken, 3 sets of bags tables going and just a relaxed environment, it was definitely a celebration!

Baseball on the 4th of July, The Rockford Riverhawks

2010-07-08T11:28:00.000-05:00

Baseball. Hot Dogs. 4th of July.

Could there be anything more American than going to a baseball game while celebrating our Nation's independence and eating hot dogs? I took the family out to enjoy exactly that on the 4th to see the Rockford Riverhawks, Rockford's Frontier League team. I still think Road Ranger Stadium and the Riverhawks is one of Rockford's little know treasures. For just $10 a person we got to sit front row, 1st base line, right on the visitor dugout. The boys got to dance on the dugout, play with the mascot Rocko and made for some great photo opportunities for me.

With the wind blowing out, we watched a home run slugfest including one of longest home runs I have ever seen at any level. The bad news, it was a 3 run home run by the visiting team, the good news, the guy who hit the home run was drilled in the ribs on the first pitch of his next at bat. That's how we roll in Rockford. I even had the perfect timing to snag this photograph of a home run by Patrick O'Sullivan. Capturing not just hit, but a home run was always one of my bucket list photographs, 1 down 354 to go! If anybody knows Patrick, please contact me, I would like to give him this photograph.

New Zealand to White Pines in Oregon IL, Cathy & Alistair 7.4.2010

2010-07-05T09:12:00.001-05:00

Sometimes its my desire to do something different, Sometimes its my passion to create with my camera, sometimes it happens because I give up my free time to seek out ways to get better and sometimes, well, I just get lucky. :) I have spent lest than $30 in advertising since I created my business, I truly believe that surpassing expectations of the people I come in contact with is by far the best for of advertising, but one of the few place I have spent money with is decidio.com. That is how I found Cathy and Alistair. Decidio put out a quote request that I received that looked something like this, a couple were looking for a photography for their wedding, they did not need a lot of hours, not too many guests, but a start time of 6:30am July 4th.
I was hooked.

After finding out that the couple was from New Zealand and that Cathy's dream was to have her wedding along a creek at sunrise, I was even more excited for this opportunity. Luckily for me, Cathy and Alistair chose me to be the one who captured their wedding in this incredible environment at White Pines State Park. Working with a couple that is literally half way around the world made for some quirks but we got everything planned and taken care of. Finally the day came we were all blessed with an absolutely perfect day. As the day progressed one of the tings I thoroughly enjoyed was the subtle differences in the traditions between the USA and New Zealand, my favorite by fars was fruitcake. Yep, fruitcake, that is New Zealand's wedding cake of choice.

So as my sister said, "Kiwis! Hooray!".

Jaci & Nathan's E-Session sneak peek, 6.30.10

2010-06-30T22:11:00.002-05:00

It took Jaci, Nathan and I a few tries to make their E-Session happen, but it was worth the wait as we got an absolutely perfect day and evening for their shoot! We started out at Rockford College and worked our way downtown to enjoy the sunset along the Rock River as I subjected Nathan to the most photographs in a 2 hour period he has ever experienced. If you thought that was bad, just wait until your Wedding! A Great night and some great people made for some great photographs, enjoy!

Kayla & Chris Wedding Sneak Peek 6.26.10

2010-06-27T18:40:00.009-05:00

When I book a clients to photograph their wedding, sometimes I have very little time to interact with the Bride and Groom before their big date and sometimes I have over a year. I did not have quite that much time with Kayla and Chris, but I did have enough to not only enjoy the day as their photographer, but to also enjoy the day almost a guest. A guest with a REALLY good backstage pass that is :D

Has anybody seen Godzilla? Because Mothra just landed on my deck!

2010-06-25T08:30:00.003-05:00

This Polyphemus moth made an apperance on my deck a few mornings ago and wow it was huge! In my hurry to get some photographs I forgot to take a photograph next to something to give you an idea of its size. In the first photograph the deck boards that the moth is on are 6" wide to help a little in understanding just how big it was.

Don't Tread on the US Soccer Team

2010-06-24T20:01:00.002-05:00

For those of you who do not know, I spent my entire childhood, my teens and a large part of my adult life playing soccer. It has always been a passion of mine and especially in high school an outlet for me escape into. I threw myself into the sport, literally and have the scar to prove it including breaking my nose twice.

It has never been the most popular sport in the States but every four years there is the World Cup and my world stops for the US team. My wife took this pic as I was serving pancakes and bacon to a few friends I had over to watch US vs Slovenia game that started at 9am. Great food, great friends and watching the greatest tournament on earth...

Nicole and Hector's Reception 6.12.10

2010-06-13T21:52:00.005-05:00

Remember Nicole and Hector? I had the great opportunity to photograph their wedding in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and now I went all the way to the Cedar Shack in Friendship, WI for the reception. If Friendship, WI sounds like one of those kind of small hick town place, well .... um .... er, how about this. I stopped at the Citgo right before the reception and it had a deer tagging station and its hours 7am-9pm. Yeah, there was some hunting going on there but the Cedar Shack made up for it with a neon sign that said "Go Pack Go". My kinda place!

You didn't think I missed this once in a lifetime chance did you? Of COURSE I got an animation of Hector dancing!

Lyndsey & David 6.4.10 Wedding Preview at The Abbey Resort in Fontana, Wisconsin

2010-06-05T23:42:00.005-05:00

It took a great amount of luck for Lyndsey and David to end up with me as their photographer and some perfect timing. Less than 2 months ago I had not received a single email from this awesome couple and over a year ago they had "booked" their photographer. In the end circumstances brought us together and I am very grateful that they did.

So enough gushing about this couple and off to the pictures. The wedding and reception were at the beautiful Abbey Resort in Fontana, Wisconsin.

Vince Vaughn filming the movie "The Dilemma" interrupted my trip to Chicago...

2010-06-04T14:01:00.006-05:00

Like so many of my stories, this one again starts with "So, Joel and I......."

So Joel and I spent most of the afternoon in Chicago just enjoying downtown and of course we took some photos as we roamed about the downtown. It had been a few years since I was actually in the downtown area and I so forgot how awesome this place is. From the food to the architecture, I truly understand why Chicago is one of the greatest city's in the world.

This is the new SkyDeck on the Observation Deck of Willis Tower. The greatest part of this experience was watching Joel being a complete jerk to the women who were scared to walk out on the ledge :)

The L at the Corner of S. Wabash Ave and E. Monroe St.

Sing it with me! "Love and Marriage, Love and Marriage..."

Then Joel and I had the "incident" as it will be known as. We were walking from Grant Park to Navy Pier when we came across this truck with a huge amount of camera gear of it. As we were walking towards it to investigate I saw the guy in the Dodge Challenger turn his head and I told Joel that was Vince Vaughn. As soon we both realized what was happening we instinctively raised our cameras and.....

the Sugar Honey Iced Tea hit the fan...

The mountain of a man who stood a few feet from us yelled "NO CAMERAS!!!", but it was too late. *click* goes Joel's camera. At this moment Mr. Mountain Man was not too happy with my cousin, so we put our cameras down and just observed. Well we both knew we REALLY wanted pictures of this but we had to figure out how to do it. I told Joel to step away and go into the bushes behind us could go get his zoom lens on, hide in the bushes and get the shot, while I stayed on site and run "interference" and draw attention to myself so Joel could go get the shots.

My mistake.

As Joel was hiding and changing his lens, Vince left in the car to go film a take. With nothing on the site to draw the attention of the filming crew, they turned their attention to the guy holding the huge SLR camera. I was told in multiple ways, by multiple security that I was making them nervous. So I put my camera behind my back. All that got me was a visit from one the dudes that was not part of security but was best described as a site manager. After this stern and very forceful conversation I walked about 200' away, regrouped with Joel found out that that he didn't get his lens on until after Vince drove away. My troubles were all for nothing.

But alas, this only inspired us.

We devised that as soon as Vince came back we would go back to our spots, this time with my camera in its bag so they can't say anything to me but since I already had the attention of security, I should be a good distraction for Joel.

Nope. Not even close. They were so on to us.

They had people watching us the moment we started walking back to the site when Vince showed back up. I saw a guy go to the area where I knew Joel was hiding and yell "YOU, PHOTOGRAPHER IN THE BUSHES!!!". I am not going to lie, I kinda giggled to myself that Joel was finally getting some of what I got from the security guards. Needless to say our cover was blown and we had no chance of being within any range to get any photo. Joel came to me, and in front of the security guards, we spoke that we agreed we were leaving and heading to Navy Pier.

Or did we? :D

See, we had the advantage of seeing and knowing where the "scene" they were filming was most likely going. Sooooo we moved a couple of blocks away, placed ourselves behind some trees and hoped that there was going to be another take. Well after a few minutes, you can tell me what happened.

I win.

After a little research the movie is going to be called "The Dilemma" and stars Vince Vaughn and Kevin James and is being directed by Ron Howard. Who would have know that the short walk from Grant Park to Navy Pier would have been so eventful!

Facebook Photograph Request Day #1

2010-05-20T20:58:00.002-05:00

So a few days I posted on my Facebook page that I had a day that was free and I wanted to get out and take some photographs but I was lacking in ideas and asked for some help. In a few hours I had enough requests to fill up most of my day. I am sure some of these were done out of sarcasm *cough Melanie cough* but I did the best I could to make them happen and truthfully, I had a blast doing them! As you can see this is labeled as #1 and yes, I am sooo going to make this a somewhat regular thing. So off we go.....

Jason - Leggy Supermodel

Yeah, this one stumped me at first until and I had my eureka moment...

Natalie - My dad's retiring in a few weeks and would probably love something to commemorate his last few weeks as a principal. Plus, he likes you. :-)

Ok, I am not going to lie, I know the principal of my grade school because I really did have a lot of visits with him. Truly I deserved almost all of them, I say almost because there were a handful of times my street cred landed me in the office when I was innocent of all accused crimes. Mr. T. was tough, but he was always fair and always tried to get to the root of the problem, rather than just hand out discipline like candy. And for that, I will always be thankful.

Dan - old people wrestling in mayo

Yeah, I tried. I really did. I knew I couldn't get this one verbatim, but what I did try is this. I went to Wal-Mart found the biggest jug of Mayo I could and asked random old couples if I could take their picture for my website "fighting" over the Mayo. I actually had multiple couples where one was all for it but the other was not, I just couldn't find the couple where both were for it. After getting eye balled by an employee, I ditched the Mayo in guys jeans department, took my pic and moved on. Sorry Dan.

Khalead - Take 1 of ur little ones toys and pose it around town. Personify it....

I had the most fun with this one. Jayden first called this bear "Grun Bear" when he got it and the name has stuck since then. I wish I could tell you my son is more creative naming things but he is not, Grun Bear is lucky he ever got the "Grun" for a first name.

Jade - Time lapse!

Hollywood and I went out geocaching, and before you email me and ask, click this link

Melanie - Any dead bodies floating in the Rock....

Suck on this photograph Melanie, look what I found. Duct tape and all....

Thanks again for the ideas and if you missed on giving suggestions the first time, stay tuned for Facebook Photograph Request #2

Why I enjoy my Canon 100mm L Macro...

2010-05-17T11:38:00.002-05:00

I have had my share of lenses in my time of photography, my best math and memory puts me at 11 with currently owning 5. My Canon 100mm L f2.8 IS Macro has quickly become of my favorite lenses. The Image Stabilization is just unbelievable with this lens and it amazing how slow of a shutter speed I can hand hold without a tripod. I recently to this picture of a baby squirrel that my boys found while playing outside, and of course before I could tell them not to, they had handled it. So this story probably does not have the best ending, but it did allow me some great pictures.

Now what makes this picture amazing is in the squirrel's eye. If you look closely you can see the reflection of me laying in the grass to take this picture! Here is a crop so you can see it better...

I love this lens.

Tiffany & Dan's Wedding Sneak Peak

2010-05-09T20:55:00.003-05:00

A quick look of a few pictures from one of the most entertaining Wedding's I have been a part of. A huge plus for me and something I will not forget was sharing the experience with my sister who was also a Bridesmaid.

Why leaving for me takes approximately 12 minutes.

2010-04-25T11:46:00.002-05:00

So Jayden has developed a routine with me that whenever I try and leave the house for any reason, he HAS to ask me and I HAVE to respond to a series of questions before he will let me leave. It doesn't matter if I will be gone for 10 minutes or 10 hours, it is always the same. So enjoy the perspective I have when leaving with an over protective 4 year old son.

It usually starts with Jayden hearing me grab my keys, he will run to the stairs and block me from passing, giggling the whole time...

I have tried to trick Jayden by saying something like "Look, a piece of candy!" but he is on to me and if he thinks I am being shady, this is what happens...

Inevitably he will lose focus, remember 4 year old, and start to trail off in his sentences...

Only after I have answered all of his questions to his satisfaction will I get my kiss and he will let me leave. So the next time I am 5 minutes late to something I hope you understand what leaving the house actually takes for me...

Old Man Jim...

2010-04-18T08:23:00.007-05:00

I had a very weird/tough day. One of those days that you think you knew what to expect only to have every preconceived notion thrown out the window.

Backstory.

I went out a couple of weeks ago along the Rock River with an idea in my head of a shot I wanted. When I got to the spot I had thought would make a great a shot, I found out that it was basically impossible to get without massive Photoshoping. I am big fan of using Photoshop to help tell the story of a photograph, but I absolutely despise using it to create a photograph. So I packed up my gear and proceeded to head back to my car when I came across this spot on the river. Just one of those spots that stops photographers and instantly you can see the final photograph in your head. The only way I ended at this spot was to have my original idea I was looking for, fall apart. I had no intentions to shoot star trail photographs that night and did not have my timer with me, so all I could do was take a few test shots and get a rough idea of how it would turn out. And then wait for a clear night.

Back to today. I went to a memorial service for a former co-worker today in Batavia, he was lovingly know as Old Man Jim. When I started working with him in 98' he was about 812 years old then, thus the Old Man name. I rode with some co-workers out there and we talked about many things, most of the hilarious moments at our old work. Old Man Jim showed up every day, did his job, smiled, laughed and went home. His two must have accessories with him were always his suspenders and glasses case in the pocket of shirt. Sounds like the regular retired happy Old Man you can find at most retail stores. Not this one though, so we all came to find out.

Old Man Jim grew up on rural farm in Illinois that was know a place you could visit during the the Great Depression if you needed a meal. Old Man graduated as Valedictorian of his High School class in 1942. Old Man went straight to the Army's 541st Ordinance and was there at both the storming of the beaches of Normandy, France and the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium. Old Man finished his time in the Army and only put 25 years in at Allstate Insurance. Old Man retired from Allstate in 1987 so he could work part time at both Office Depot and Ace Hardware. Oh, and Old Man was married to Betty for 60 years as well.

The ride home was much different.

So here I sit on this park bench listening to my camera shutter click every 30 seconds, having the wind blow right through me because it got a whole lot colder than I thought, all the while keeping my eye on this goose that is about 15' feet away from me. I sit here with a different perspective, a different outlook and I am not going to lie, some questions about my own life. Much like me finding this spot for my photograph, some things in life can not be thought through and when you do think you have it figured out, life sometimes makes sure it falls apart in front of you. At that moment you have a choice. Either way, you have to "pack up your gear and move on" but what happens next is truly a matter of your perspective and outlook.

"I'd like the tears of those who grieve, to dry before the sun of happy memories that I leave when life is done" ~ Old Man Jim

Kayla & Chris an E-Session Sneak Peak

2010-04-12T08:59:00.003-05:00

A wonderful pair matched perfectly, through something so imperfect :) One thing was made clear to me and that was they both wanted to be outdoors and they wanted to have a mini adventure. I hope that both White Pines State Park and my camera were able to capture who Kayla & Chris deep down truly are.

Sunsets 1,800 miles apart with a few photographs in between

2010-04-02T22:15:00.008-05:00

I have not posted a blog in a while, I have been pretty busy making sure everything is taking care of at home before Wedding season hits me. That does not mean I have not made it out though, enjoy!

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Who said it had to be all buisness?

2010-03-18T20:33:00.007-05:00

I took some time out from processing images from Nicole and Hector's Wedding to give you a glimpse into what took place when I was not shooting. I had the great benefit of knowing a few of the people who made it down to Mexico to be at the Wedding which made for some fun shooting. Enjoy!

My first night there, just a beautiful place to be.

I would love to know more of the history of this place I came across geocaching, there were 3 of these arches still standing and nearby the foundation of large building that was just about completely reclaimed by the land.

Danny and Doug

Danny gave me the heads up and what can I say, I am just there to capture what takes place...

Without question, one of my favorites photographs I have taken, freezing the action of Doug's drink is priceless.

Goodbye my friend

2010-03-12T20:50:00.003-06:00

Earlier this week I said goodbye to my first DSLR, my Canon XTi. I had not used it in over 6 months and it truly did not serve any purpose to carry in my bag, but I will say, it was tough to let go of. It has found a new home with someone who will appreciate it and I hope will help them capture many more amazing photographs. I though I would share a few of my favorite photographs I took with it. So here is to you my beloved XTi it is with you that I fell in love with photography...

Nicole & Hector, a destination Wedding in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

2010-03-11T11:31:00.003-06:00

I had the incredible opportunity to spend the the last 3 days in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico photographing Nicole and Hector's Wedding. I say incredible because I could not have asked for more gracious hosts, a more beautiful location or an easier to work with couple, I had to remind Nicole that I was working for her! Here is a sneak peak of their Wedding, check my Facebook page to see the full album when its ready.

Giant Rats make kids happy...

2010-03-06T21:17:00.002-06:00

...unless that kid is mine. Jayden is terrified of any person in animal costume, could be anything, the Easter Bunny, Hammy the Ice Hogs mascot and of course Chuck E Cheese. Well in between his moments of terror, he played some games and actually had a little fun.

Plus I got a sweet self portrait out of it too :D

I need a Sherpa...

2010-03-03T19:04:00.003-06:00

As I am getting ready to head down to Mexico to shoot Nicole and Hector's Wedding, I figured this would be good time to give all you out there and idea what I drag along to every Wedding and most other portrait shoots.

Click each picture and it will take you to my flick page where I have labeled every piece.

Julia & Cory, A Valentine's Day Engagement Session

2010-02-15T21:38:00.004-06:00

These two are just a wonderful couple who braved the cold and let me take their photographs on this most romantic of days. Taken at Swanson Park and Prairie St Brewhouse in Rockford IL.

Downtown Rockford in Winter, Panorama

2010-02-15T19:47:00.002-06:00

I was out shooting an engagement session on Valentine's day, with a phenomenal couple who took the cold like champs, and I couldn't pass up this shot right after sunrise, enjoy!

Neon plastic? I remember mine were made out of wood...

2010-02-11T11:36:00.001-06:00

My Super Bowl party in 2 min & 32 sec. Time Lapse with a Canon 40D and TI-84.

2010-02-08T17:11:00.007-06:00

Time Lapse Photography is something I have been wanting to try out for a LONG time, ever since I stumbled across this posting probably over a year ago now. What has become an American Tradition, the Super Bowl, gave me a great backdrop to try this out. Using my new Gorillapod Focus, this tripod is amazing but that's another post, I set up my camera. I used my 40D with a Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 IS lens. Set the camera to Av priority so if the light changed the exposure would stay the same and then set the aperture to 4.0 for a little depth of field. ISO was at 800 and picture quality to the lowest the camera would take and I turned off auto focus, image stabilization and image review to get the absolute most shots I could get. With these setting and 2x 2000mh batteries in my grip I started shooting at 5:20pm and 4,559 shots later at 9:01pm my batteries in my camera died. I took all the images and compiled them in Quicktime and added a little music, courtesy of NFL films and ta-da! Time lapse Super Bowl. Enjoy!

Bonus points if you can catch Jennifer falling asleep :)

My favorite single image... Right after Eric after scored one of the cheapest goals in FIFA I have ever seen. The look on every person's face was perfect.

A drive to nowhere with a stop by at St. Peter's Cathedral in Rockford IL

2010-02-06T12:23:00.003-06:00

Occasionally I am asked how I come up with inspiration for my photographs, truthfully there is not a lot rocket science to it. I do spend a decent amount of time on photo sharing sites and forums for photographers, two I visit frequently are Flickr and Photography on the Net. The inner geek inside me likes to find photographs that I have no clue how they shot them and try to deconstruct the process of how they took it. Other times, I pack up my gear, get my GPS and just start to drive. Its amazing where you end up and what you can find, it really is like therapy for me sometimes. Recently I went out and just drove and I also swung by St. Peters Cathedral as I have a wedding there June 5th. First the drive to nowhere..

I logged the spot on my GPS while I was out, click here and you can see the exact spot the tree is and also how deeply in the nowhere I really was.

I took my time wandering back to Rockford and went by St. Peters Cathedral. I had heard this church was beautiful and is a excellent location for a wedding but I was taken aback when I got there. I am absolutely stoked about being about to shoot at this location, The church is nothing but old stone, wood and stained glass. Perfect. I look forward to sharing your day there Kayla & Chris!

Self portrait?

2010-02-02T19:32:00.005-06:00

This is what happens when a photographer starts to go stir crazy with cabin fever on a day off. They start using seat belts and bungee cords to hold their tripod in place and just start driving....

I like this picture, you can barely tell I have broken my nose. Twice.

No I won't tell you what the Kanji means.

I guess I am not completely immune from taking cliche self portraits.

So I have a nice quiet 4 year old the whole day until I start to post process and then he acts like he is a spider monkey hopped up on Mountain Dew.

Jane, the Tyrannosaurus Rex at Burpee Museum of Natural History

2010-01-23T18:20:00.002-06:00

I spent many, many days at Burpee as child growing up, I remember the sheer joy I had as I rode in the car across Whitman St bridge. I remember seeing Leroy, Burpee's mascot, in back of the museum slowly work his way towards the river. I had the chance to show my son this experience and also get to see Jane, the most complete juvenile T. Rex known to date. When I finally got the chance to look at this beast and take in the the full skeleton, I felt like Calvin, from Calvin and Hobbes. I was just engrossed with it. I find myself right now still daydreaming, thinking of what it must have been like to see this reptile roam the lands....

10 of My Favorite Photographs of 2009 You Have Never Seen...

2009-12-31T18:28:00.006-06:00

New Years. It means celebration, it means a reflection of the year before, a chance to remember the good and bad and of course.... top ten lists. I wanted to do one as well so I could feel I have contributed to general society but I wanted to go a different direction than the status quo. So here you go, ten of my favorite photograph of 2009 that I have taken, that you have not seen before. Welcome to a small glimpse of my everyday life, enjoy!

Taken at Edwards Apple Orchard, I can almost feel him breathing on me right now.

After an Engagement Photo session that my friend Kyle, not the old guy :) helped me with, we took a few moments to see what was taking place at Midway Village. We found ourselves trapped in small space with a blacksmith who knew a tremendous amount about his craft, but also felt we needed to know a tremendous amount of his craft. How do you tell a guy holding a sharp object that is glowing white hot that you want to leave?

I really do not know what to say but I do know I truly dig this guys passion for the Rockford Ice Hogs.

So I take my son to one of the greatest places in Rockford IL for kids, The Discovery Center. My child once again found a way to show who his father is and make his father proud in one simple act. Completely on his own, of all the things he could push into the wall of pins, he chose his butt. Pardon me as I wipe away my tears of laughter/tears of joy.

Just one of my favorite pictures. Ever.

Ladies let me introduce to you to my friend Daniel Davis. A well educated, self motivator with a an excellent sense of humor, he enjoys making the little things matter in relationships. What more could you ask for? ... What was that? .... Well yeah, he is little afraid to make any sort of commitment. Come on Dan, at least take your hands out of your pockets for the garter toss....

Hanging Lake in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. A hike that starts 4,000 feet above sea level and is 1.2 miles long with a 1,000 ft elevation rise, completely unpaved that takes you to an incredible sight. Carrying two camera bags, being caught in rainstorm on a mountain top and using my little waterproof point and shot camera did not give me a good picture. Things could be worse though, I could have been passed on the hiking trail by a young woman in her 20s carrying a baby on her back like my cousin did :)

A meeting with the tamest squirrel I have ever seen, in Austin, Texas.

::sighs:: That is my little man.

I have run into many crazy things happening at Weddings, including this one, having the Bride's veil blown into a nearby pond while taking photographs and then being rescued by her brother using an algea covered stick. Unplanned, unscripted moments is what truly makes a Wedding, your Wedding. That is what I strive for when I take photographs, I want to capture images that tell stories. While this photograph is not one the Bride is going to show her friends regularly, it will be moment that she will never forget.

Thank you for sharing 2009 with me through my blog, so here is to you, your family and to seeing what incredible moments await all of us in 2010!

The Stars are Big and Bright... Austin, Texas

2009-12-18T09:13:00.004-06:00

I had the chance to run away for a few days and visit my sister in Austin, Texas. An easy flight. some good food, great pictures and special people, it was a perfect getaway.

My sister and I got to see one the happiest dogs I have ever met at The Barton Springs, he would just enjoy nothing more to swim upstream. To the proud dog owner who asked for pictures, just contact me and I will get you the rest of photographs of your wonderful dog.

The view of downtown Austin from Zilker Park.

My sister in Zilker Park.

3 of my favorite photos from the trip, the Texas Capitol Building in Austin, Texas.

The view directly above you, in the middle of the rotunda of the capitol building.

The Medallion in the floor at the center of the rotunda, I consider myself a history buff, but I had no idea of the depth of the rich history Texas has. Just reading some the plaques and hearing what my sister has learned, as I walked around the capitol building really gave me an insight into what Texas has been through. Again, just a completely perfect few days, and big thanks to my sister and her husband for being such gracious hosts!

A Snowfall at Rock Cut State Park

2009-12-09T18:24:00.007-06:00

Smoke over the Sunset Harvest

2009-11-07T20:09:00.003-06:00

Caught this shot of smoke hanging over freshly harvested corn while out enjoying a 70 degree in November, how often do we get that? A sharp unexpected turn and short walk through the field left me a shot that I truly enjoy.

Zach's High School Senior Photos

2009-11-05T20:36:00.002-06:00

Pondering Galactic Domination....

2009-10-31T20:41:00.002-05:00

Ashley K. High School Senior Photographs

2009-10-25T21:15:00.002-05:00

Throughout the year....

2009-09-25T19:54:00.005-05:00

I was doing some post processing and got distracted and ended up going through some of my photographs from the year that have not had any attention from me yet. Here are few from this year that just made it out of Lightroom/Photoshop, enjoy!

I was out geocaching and caught this sunset over the hay.

Jayden after throwing his whiffle ball in the corn and I made him go get it. I was a little surprised he found his own way out.

The biggest double rainbow I have seen in my life, in Denver CO. 4 images stitched together in Photoshop.

Unattended Children

2009-09-17T20:58:00.007-05:00

Sometimes I think the mere fact that I am in charge of another human life is utterly ridiculous. I promise you, he was only outside for seconds before I found him like this....

Nicole & Chris 8.28.2009 A Wedding in Sycamore IL.

2009-09-02T08:24:00.002-05:00

Portraits: Tyler and Jayden at Rock Cut State Park

2009-08-30T09:05:00.004-05:00

2009 Boone County Fair, The Ferris Wheel.

2009-08-13T22:26:00.007-05:00

I had some free time tonight and was able to take this long exposure photograph of the Ferris Wheel at the Boone County Fair. The dark blue background is really tough to catch, there is only about a 5-10 minute period after dusk where the sky is just right to get the dark blue color. The photographs I have of the next set of riders all had the black background, I got a little lucky and it all worked out.

Trista & Chad, A Wedding in Beloit WI, 8.1.2009

2009-08-01T23:06:00.001-05:00

Classic Mercedes-Benz 220 in HDR

2009-07-30T20:13:00.005-05:00

I took this photograph a while back and just got some time to post process it. I had to ask for some help from a friend as to what model/year it was. His thoughts a quick google search says its a late 1950s Mercedes-Benz 220. I wish there more vintage cars like this one parked in the streets around here....

Katie's Senior Photographs, Rockford IL, 7.25.2009

2009-07-25T22:45:00.008-05:00

Catherine & Luke, a Wedding at Klehm Arboretum

2009-07-18T22:06:00.002-05:00

Catherine & Luke, July 18th, 2009, at Klehm Arboretum.

Melissa & Don, A Wedding in the Woodstock Town Square

2009-06-22T15:18:00.006-05:00

Unbeknownst to me, is that there really are town squares alive and thriving, Woodstock, IL is one of those towns. I meet Melissa, Don and the big eyed soon to be flower girl Olivia, back in March. When setting up a meeting to review my business, Melissa thought we could meet at the Starbucks right off the town square. I chuckled to myself a little bit but whole heartily agreed as it would give me chance to see the actual place they were getting married months before the actual wedding. Well I must say to both you Melissa and Don, you picked a perfect location for you to share your special day! OK, enough of this "Town Square" shenanigans and off to the photographs.....

Deep into the Rocky Mountains

2009-06-14T19:58:00.005-05:00

I wanted to take a few days out of my summer to escape the every day stresses and recharge my batteries, so took I a friend out to Colorado and visited my cousin. Well I ended up completely exhausted by the end of the trip but it was worth every moment.

Hanging Lake, Glenwood CO

A hike that was 1.2 miles over a completely unpaved trail with rocks the size of beach balls, oh and I forgot, over that 1.2 mile hike there was 1,000 foot elevation rise, oh and add 25lbs of camera gear too. Worth every moment.

Sunrise from Mt. Evans, overlooking Denver CO

What better way to relax after a tough hike the day before by getting up at 3:30am to catch a morning sunrise from Mt. Evans and the highest paved road in North America.

Echo Lake from Mt. Evans

Caught this great view on the way down from our sunrise photo on Mt. Evans, Echo Lake.

Kathy & Justin's Wedding, Maplepark IL 6.6.2009

2009-06-07T21:13:00.005-05:00

In a day filled with many wonderful memories and a few very unique one, who really has eggs THAT handy, the one I will carry with me is how gracious of a couple Kathy and Justin are. Thank you so very much for making the time truly enjoyable. That and having the DJ sing me Happy Birthday.....

A few informal shots from the Runte wedding last weekend.

2009-06-02T22:40:00.004-05:00

One of my good friends little sister had her wedding last Saturday and I was invited to tag along and shoot most anything that was not formal. I personally have much greater desire to capture the moments that people do not see at every wedding, so giving me the freedom to do just that was perfect. But the highlight of the night was watching my friend almost pass out at the sight of his little sister getting married at the altar, must have been tough on him!

Guess which one is the brother....

Catherine & Luke, at White Pines State Park in Orgeon, IL

2009-05-21T22:10:00.009-05:00

I had the wonderful opportunity this evening to spend some time with this very down to earth and excellent couple, Catherine and Luke. We took a series of photographs at two different locations, White Pines State Park and the lookout at Castle Rock State Park. With some perfect weather and an great couple, the night was a success and I will you guys soon! In the next few weeks, keep checking here for the full album.

The Stonemen along the Rock River in Rockford IL.

2009-05-05T11:39:00.004-05:00

All in all, Rockford probably is not going to rate high in being an overly interesting city, it is more than anything, your typical Midwest city. There are a handful of unique places spread around the area if you look carefully. One of these I photographed today. I took a walk along the river and stopped at the Stonemen statues right near the Sinnissippi Gardens. I really do not know very much of the history of them, anybody out there want to chime in?

The Rockford Ravens Rubgy Football Club

2009-05-03T10:07:00.004-05:00

A quick phone call from a friend Friday night, led to a great experience to a sport I have always had a strong curiosity about, Rugby. The Rockford Raves are local RFC that was established in 1976 and has been going strong since. An absolutely perfect Saturday morning made me wishing I at least had a rough idea of what was taking place so I could join in controlled mayhem. The one thing that really surprised me was the difference in body types on the field. So many different sizes and shapes, but as the match flowed, it all made sense as to why there was the difference. An excellent experience that I will for sure be visiting again. Check out the Rockford Ravens website to see what the team is all about and maybe even show your support at a match.

Star Trails over Pierce Lake at Rock Cut State Park

2009-04-07T23:16:00.007-05:00

I know I have been posting a lot of pictures I have taken at Rock Cut State park, but this is one that I had to share. I got out on a cloudless night with a near full moon at my back, 47 minutes later while my friend kept my mind off the cold by chatting with me, thanks Jim, I was able to capture this image. One of my favorites at my favorite park.

Take a moment

2009-04-05T20:58:00.004-05:00

We had a warmer night Saturday night and I was out with my fiancee and we decided to take a walk and enjoy the sunset. It turned out to be a very beautiful sunset and very camera worthy. I have always enjoyed when nature gives you a reason to stop and pulls your attention from all the craziness of your life and forces you to take a moment and enjoy the gift of today. Tonight was one of those moments for me.

We can't shake winter...

2009-03-28T09:39:00.003-05:00

So here it is, the last few days in march (first few of spring) and the Northern Illinois area just can not seem to get past winter. I was watching the news last night to get the latest on the weather, of course I close tonight and then open tomorrow, and we have not had a recorded snowfall since February 21st. That will most likely change tonight, as 6-8 inches of snow is coming. This winter was not too rough on the snow but, it sure was cold. As a testament to how cold and windy it was, I snapped this pic off my balcony during a sunrise of icicles that are growing sideways because of the wind. Blah, I thought is was spring already.

Downtown Rockford

2009-03-13T11:13:00.004-05:00

This past summer my cousin Joel, who is from the area but currently lives in Denver Colorado, came out for a few days and since he shares the same passions with photography as I do, we spend a day just roaming around taking some photos. We spent part of the day in downtown Rockford, as anybody from the area knows, downtown is suffering and has been for quite sometime. We parked by the dam and just took our time moving through the area and wondering aloud what it must been like when the area was thriving. Joel ended up striking a conversation with a couple of guys who probably have seen better times....

I don't know what to say about this photo, it just shows the clash of cultures that currently downtown Rockford is. The guys were great to talk to, one thing I have learned is that you do have to take them with a grain of salt sometimes, but everyone has a story. We moved to the other side of the river and I took this HDR photo, the bridge the guys are under in the above pic is the same bridge in the photo.

You can see the hydro electric dam to the right in the photo, the dam is built on one of the shallowest parts of the Rock River. The is where Rockford started as a city and also how it got its name. This part of the river was know as the "rocky fiord" and was one of the few places you could cross the river on foot. People settled along this spot of the river and eventually was called Rockford.

I have always enjoyed a photo that is taking as is, more than a photo that is posed and manufactured. There is a time and place for the posed photo, but I feel it captures less of what is happening at that time. During the day my cousin took a few pictures of me that I didn't even know he took until we got home and we started to post process our photos. I really like this one he took of me as I was just walking along the river looking for the next photo. This is a great example of a "photo journalistic" approach to a photo. It can be a little more difficult style of photography, but in the end I feel it tells a story better than any other approach to photography. Thank you for the great picture Joel!

Geocaching with friends

2009-03-07T10:56:00.004-06:00

I had the chance to enjoy some close to 60 degree weather yesterday and went out with two of my friends to do some geocaching. Geocaching is the worldwide GPS scavenger hunt game which you are the search engine. It will take you to many places where you never would have found or even gone to. Yesterday I found myself on a gravel road in the middle of harvested corn field and in park in the small town of Kingston IL. You add in my desire to take photos that tell stories and it creates many unique photo opportunities that I would never have found without geocaching.

This photo was taken on the gravel road in the middle of nowhere. Oh and as I walked back to my car I noticed one of my tires had a nail in it. Did I mention we were in the middle of nowhere?

I took this photo of this majestic tree Knute Olson Jr. Forest Preserve in Kingston IL. The image is and HDR or High Dynamic Range image. It is created by taking different exposed images and with a little work in Photoshop and Photomatix combined into one image.

The Frozen Pond

2009-03-04T20:49:00.005-06:00

It finally warmed up a bit today as Mother Nature gave us a glimpse of spring time in Rockford, so I ran out after work to play with my new Canon 40d. It has been tough to just look at it the past few days, but between the warm weather and clear skies, it was some great conditions for a few pictures. I went to Rock Cut State Park and parked by the Native Prairie Planting on the north side of the park. When you see the height and strength of the grass in this prairie you begin to understand how difficult it must have been to clear the land for farming.

I took this bridge over the frozen pond....

And finally took a series of photos and stitched them together for a panorama of the entire pond and sunset.

New Gear, Canon 40d

2009-02-23T17:26:00.005-06:00

I officially retired the Canon XTi and moved onto the 40d this past week and my first impressions are very good ones. There are many features that made me take the jump to the 40d, 6.5fps, live view, longer battery run time but the one with most value to me was the high ISO capabilities of the camera. Not only is it ISO 3200 capable, but the noise level on the 40d at 3200 is similar to the noise level at ISO 800 on my XTi. I have not had the chance to take too many pics with it but I did get this one of my little boy after his bath. I did some post processing in Lightroom 2.0, but that is it. Oh, and this was taken in ISO 800 :)

Summertime fun

2009-02-17T18:51:00.006-06:00

This past summer I had one of my joys of my childhood relived and passed it to the next generation, The Rockford Speedway's World Famous Figure 8 Trailer Race. I mean really, is there a better way to spend mid summer's night with good food, family and watching the ridiculus chaos of trucks pulling all manner of trailers in a figure 8 demolition derby style? I am by no means an auto racing guy, I fully know the risks the drivers put themselves through and rigors of racing, but I have not been hooked by it. But give me some friends on warm night and I will be a right along side watching this spectacle every chance I get.

Tilt Shift Photography

2009-02-15T18:32:00.018-06:00

This past fall I was giving the great opportunity to spend the afternoon at my friends farm during the corn harvest. It was cold and windy, but well worth the time I had there. It also gave me the inspiration to try out a new type of Photoshop effects I had recently learned about, Tilt-Shift Photography. Using Photoshop you can recreate the look of miniatures, much like taking a photo of a model train set. After climbing up a grain bin and positioning myself correctly I was able to take this photo.

It is a good photo, but fairly non-descript, but after apply the Tilt-Shift effect...

And you now have a completely different photo. For my photos I want them to tell a story, so the purist may not like this technique, but I will use this many times in the future. This is the tutorial I used, and take some time and look at the other examples, some are just incredible.

After the day was done and I sat to have some dinner with my friends family, who were incredibly gracious hosts, I began to work through the photos I had. Many of which I feel captured what a farm at harvest time is like, but not the amount of work it truly is. If anyone give you the chance to spend a day on the farm, by all means, take it.

To see the rest of this photo set, click here.

Star Trails

2009-02-15T16:43:00.013-06:00

When I first purchased my DSLR, one of the pictures that I truly looked forward to trying to capture was the stars rotation in the nighttime sky. I took some time at some of my favorite photo sharing sites and got some ideas on how to take the pictures. The dilemma with taking these pictures is the time that required for them. You invest so much time before you know what the end result could be. Add in needing a clear sky and minimal light sources and that make its even tougher. After a few tries I finally nailed this picture.

The star in the middle of the rotation is Polaris, or the North Star and stays virtually motionless in the nighttime sky. Now that I have got my feet wet I am really looking forward to get a little more creative with this photo style.