Always Keep Your Eyes Open

As a photographer, it's just as important to observe as it is to record. When I shooting Seniors, I'm always jabbering with them (I'm sure that a few can lay an Amen to the end of that statement). But, what it hopefully does for them is puts that person in front of the lens at ease. Being in front of the camera can be a bit nerve wracking. While I'm yakking away, I'm also watching. I'm looking for the sweet light if we're outside, I'm looking for a natural smile or just a natural look. Perhaps it has something to do with how a girl flips her hair, or just the way a guy stands when he's at ease talking about music. It's all about observing, to get the best image. This is a perfect example of keeping my eyes open. We shot her session in October, and it was starting to get cold out. When the session was over, she put on her winter coat and I saw the coolest looking hood on her coat. I said, "Wait! I want to do one more image!" So I sat her down, adjusted the lights a fired off 2 frames. I was elated. I knew I had a great image. I downloaded my card and went to work in Photoshop. Poof! The Ice Queen was born.

I'm just doing my job, ma' am

I was talking to friend of mine, a fellow photographer from the burbs of Chicago, and I said, "Well, I finally finished up all the Spring sports for the 2008 yearbook." He said, "Man, that's got to be a drag having to shoot all that stuff". I told him that I love doing it because I get to watch my friends play. Yeah, it's part of the contract thing to get some candid images of the games, but I really enjoy being there. Sometimes I get wrapped up in watching and forget that I'm shooting.



It's the perfect gig. I get to do what I love, watching my friends do what they love. All the while, I'm striving for that perfect image that defines what the sport is all about. When I was first starting out as a photographer (many moons ago), I was taken by the images of Walter Iooss that filled the pages of Sports Illustrated. Even to this day, his work still inspires me. His iconic images still make me go, "Wow!, that's just amazing". (sometimes, I interject some explicative before the word amazing, but never around my son) Anyhow, next time you see me at a game remember that I'm not just a photographer doing my job, I'm a fan (with a really expensive camera).

Ummm, I saw Elvis and football players in tuxes

Just so you know, this was not some kind of strange looking mushroom on my pizza induced dream. I'm talking about the Prom, where Elvis really did make an appearance.
When I was in school, the Prom was far less of an event that one attended. Back in the day, the gym was transformed into the magical land where the band played on. Yeah, a real band that played rock, not classic rock (errr, because it wasn't classic yet, it was just rock). Oh and one more thing, Elvis was still alive, although he would end up having a short summer that year. One thing that hasn't really changed much is football players clean up pretty good, hehehehehhee. I had a great time with the class of 2007. I have to admit that I've got a good gig. I get to do what I love, make some great friends, go to some cool places and have a blast.

Welcome

I am hopeful that you will help make this an active blog. Feel free to ask questions, post comments or tell a story. From time to time, I will post some of my favorite images and share a little bit about the behind the scenes stuff. They say the every picture tells a story, but sometimes, there are some pretty interesting stories that need to be told about the images.