Dragon Country

This archway is the entrance to a place of adventure, a place of dreams, and a place of sport. It's the place where I've captured some really great images, and a place where many more of those images will come.

10,000 photographs

I shot over 10,000 images last weekend and am in the process of weeding through them. My workflow allows me to process them quite quickly, but there are still a LOT of shots to go through. Here is one of the shots I edited today.

A joke to get through a finger poke

Brave

Many young cancer patients have scribbled on this chalk board table at Royal Oak Beaumont's Rose Cancer Center. Notice the scratches in the table after years of Moms, Dads, Grand parents, siblings, and patients have been drawing to pass the time before their name is called for treatment. This is the word that my daughter chose to draw today, and I think every one of the cancer patients that drew on this table has been brave. Every one of them has been a fighter. Every one of them has made their mark on this table. Today we scribbled on this table before being told that the girl holding this chalk (my brave daughter) is officially 5 years on remission. Today was the culmination of many very brave days.

Sparkie The Wonder Mutt

Half Dalmation, half rotweiler, 100% man's best friend. Sparkie was a gift that turned out to be a great friend. She's a fan of glucosamine due to her age, but she still gets around and has one mean bark. I call her a party dog because she becomes everyone's best friend at parties. Always on the lookout for free food, she doesn't beg for it though. She and I went to puppy kindergarden when she was young and it taught me more than it taught her. We learned how to lay down, sit, stay, circle, and heal. Sparkie is truely a wonder mutt.

Easter Time = Pastel Time

Pastel colors were everywhere including the Easter egg hunt.

Capturing the moment

Capturing the moment

There is a moment. A moment that happens so quickly. That moment longs, no; NEEDS to be captured. Capturing that moment on camera is like nothing in this world, and as a wedding photographer I see moments everywhere around me. You'll know when I caught the moment, because I'll give a smile or shout "yea!" I had many of those moments during Tom and Jessica's photo session in which I saw the image unfold before me and just captured it. It's during these times that a photographer doesn't need to think about what settings to use, he doesn't need to worry if the camera is set right, it just happens. The adjustment is made quickly without worry and the moment is captured. In order for this to happen the camera needs to be a natural part of the photographer.

The image above is the foundation of being able to capture those moments. I know it has nothing to do with brides, weddings, or engagements, but it has a lot to do with capturing that split second in time that will never happen again. It's about bringing my camera into a Meijer store with me and ignoring the looks people gave. It's about knowing my camera, my gear, the light around me, and how to capture what I see. I knew that a moment like this would present itself to me and I needed to be able to react and capture it without thinking. It's because the camera is with me everywhere that it has become a natural part of me.

I am a wedding photographer and I capture moments.

Meeting of the minds

What does this photograph mean to you? For me, it means several things including great conversation, friends, comfortable footware, alternate perspectives, and baseball. I tell stories with photographs. Not every photograph tells the story you intended it to, so let me hear your thoughts on this shot.

Tigers Opening Day

Today was opening day for the Detroit Tigers and I had the extreme pleasure of attending this game with family and friends. The Texas Rangers didn't come to play today, and that made for a very high scoring game 15-2! Here's a macro shot of my seat.

National Anthem

I was standing at the other end of the rink when Michele Whitlow was singing the Canadian National Anthem. I couldn't believe the power of this woman's voice, so I rushed around the underbelly of the stadium to capture this shot while she sang the US National Anthem.

Game 5 Whalers Vs. Spitfires

Wow, what an awesome game to photograph. Photographing hockey is like no other sport I have photographed before. I was amazed at how fast the sport was and how difficult it is to get the shot. Learning to follow the puck and anticipating where the puck will be was a challenge and it took until the third period for me to begin to feel comfortable anticipating the shots.

Here's one of my first shots through the glass. This is Vern Cooper, a first round draft pick in 2006.

Penalties are never taken without an argument

As the game drew on I began to anticipate more.

The determination on the players faces during a fight is great to capture.

During the third period I chose to stand next to Josh Unice, the other goalie from the Windsor spitfires. He was really into the game and I could tell that he just wanted to be in there facing the puck.

Special thanks to the staff at the Whalers for allowing me to photograph this amazing game.

Dragging the Shutter

Here's a shot I have been wanting to get for a while. It's a "dragging the shutter" shot where Tom and Jessica stayed real still for me allowing me to keep the shutter open for a bit longer than normal. It gives a nice sense of motion to the photo in contrast with the stillness of the subject.

Track Season

One of the most rewarding things that I do is to coach the hurdles for the track team. Here's a shot from this past week's Lake Orion High school track meet.

Last one from Tom and Jessica

Kissing Montage

I was standing in the middle of the street for this shot and I asked them to keep a lookout for any cars, so they did just that.

Tom and Jessica

Meet Tom and Jessica. Yesterday this amazing couple joined me in beautiful downtown Rochester Michigan for their portrait shoot. We really had a great time exploring the city for textures and photographic opportunities.

The first thing I noticed about the two of them were their matching Dr. Martens, so this photograph had to be taken.

We photographed near sunset, and the sun was casting some wonderful shadows.

Tom and Jessica, thanks for allowing me to capture this moment in your lives.

Slideshow

Yellow Pipes

Tonight's engagement photo shoot was a blast. Here's one more from last weekend's photo walk. Stay tuned for a preview from tonight's portrait session in Downtown Rochester.