Celebrations of Life

This weekend I was remembering back to my college days and a Gerontology class I was taking as part of my Sociology major. I vividly remember the topic of age and the many stages of life. My grandfather, pictured here, constantly reminds me that he is in his dying stage. He goes into elaborate details of all the stages of life he has embarked upon. And this week he will celebrate is 92nd Birthday. And as sad as it is to hear him talk about his impending death, I try to reflect on all the stories he has shared with me over the years. And the many treasures he holds in the photograph albums he covets. So often my visits are trips down memory lane with my mother as a little child growing up in Chicago or his rehabbing a 3 flat on Cullerton Street. This is one of the first non-posed photographs that he has allowed me to capture and hopefully an ongoing project for me...to capture his spirit in celebrating life...especially his. Carpe diem.

High School Seniors

Met a gorgeous young lady the other day, headed off to college for the first time. She just finished her senior year and wanted to get some portraits redone before she left. She was so enjoyable to work with and I believe she had a fun time posing and modeling! Here is one of my favorites...showing attitude, style and poise...not to mention a cool hair style! I wish you all the best and have a blast at college...go Bulldogs!!! Carpe Diem!

Eagle Project #1

I decided I'd share one of my son's Boy Scout Eagle Project with you! Joshua chose to work with the Nature Conservancy to help restore a portion of land back to native prairie. The prairie is called Sundrop Prairie. What a difference in how it looks today. I can only imagine what it will look like in 3-4 years when the prairie flora and grasses begin to surround the area as it once did hundreds of years ago. Needless to say, a dad couldn't be more proud of a son that worked as hard as he has to get this project off the ground and completed. AWESOME job Joshua! Carpe Diem!

Pet Portraits

Just the other day I had the opportunity to photograph Max. Max was a rescued dog from a shelter and is as gentle as they come...unless you get near his tail! That tail wags at the speed of light and is powerful enough to give you welts on the leg. Due ot the welts I know Max enjoyed the studio, especially the area outside of the camera area. And as time progressed, his owner and I figured it all out...Max didn't like the canvas backdrop on the wood floor...he wanted the area that had the padded carpet over by the computer work station. Ahh, even dogs love comfort! Here is a profile image taken during the session. Carpe Diem!

The Little Flower Girl

Today I had a memorable moment regarding children with my good friend and fellow photographer Theresa Costa. Our conversation began discussing the challenges of helping in a professional organization and how TIME is the one thing that can not be recovered once it has passed. Conversation was abruptly interrupted by her son running into her office to share his news of the one corn stalk he planted in the spring having grown some actual corn! And I could hear his full-bodied excitement through the phone...a memorable moment for me today! It reminded me...that life is precious, so very precious, and we need to take life lessons from children, especially us busy adults. When was the last time you became excited seeing something as simple as a corn stalk growing? Do you fully enjoy the little things that happen each day in your life? Are you thankful for what you have rather than worried about what you don't possess? This caused reflection for me in the studio today and after filing my sales tax online for the first time (the government tells me that it is easier for me...how nice of them to think of me so kindly) I decided to search for the Tea Party portraits I did recently. The portrait helped me reflect on how life for children is and should be simple, fun, inquisitive and full of exploration. Something as simple as a set of play cups and pots created joy and an enjoyable moment for this "little flower girl". Carpe Diem!

Wedding Prices

Recently a wave of phone and web inquiries have been coming into the Studio asking for prices of our wedding packages. My guess is that people are shopping ONLY for a price, especially when you take into account the current unemployment and economic scenarios. And yet most of the time people don't even leave a name or number, just want us to respond to an "empty" email address. Empty in the sense that there is no person associated to the email. We know nothing about them...their interests, tastes, styles, or even more importantly, what and how much they value photography. Yet these are very important factors to the Studio when working with future clients. Today, more than ever, a person can pick up a consumer camera, turn it on, and instantly take a very respectable photographic image. All camera at that point...yet...no thought to composition, lighting, design, color balance, impact...you get the idea. A camera can only record the photographic image as seen by the photographer. And I'm not sure most people understand the relationship between talent and education as it relates to what makes a truly artistic, professional photographer. But then again, when you only look at price as the qualifying factor, I do believe you get what you pay for. Here is another recent wedding image...sure to garnish an award at a future print competition. Carpe Diem!

Wedding Art

Last month I attended, and hosted, an all day workshop held at STUDIO 42, which was led by nationally acclaimed wedding photographer David Ziser. David and his wife were nothing more than the kindest, most gracious and pleasant people you would want to host. David spent the Wednesday night before addressing 65+ photographers on his style and approach to wedding photography at the Chicagoland Professional Photographers Association. With the very next morning speaking at the studio and planning a live-wedding model-session. David shared numerous ideas, suggestions and approaches to helping make wedding photography more artistic and a better value for our brides and grooms. But one of the more profound things he said that has lingered with me was this...When I am hired to photograph a wedding, I have been given the greatest honor and privilege to share in this couple's and family's special day. It is an HONOR...and that very statement has given me a different perspective on photographing weddings for my brides and grooms. Thank you David for the inspiration. Here is an image from a wedding just 2 days after the seminar...Carpe Diem!