Lake Orion Art Center Photo Competition

Read my full website post on my winning photo

Harlene and Glenn Wedding Photos Are up

All of the images form last week's wedding are up and available for you to view. If you were at the wedding and/or know the password, please take some time to look at the photos. I had an amazing time capturing this wedding. Here's the link: Harlene and Glenn Wedding Photos

Football Photography

Football photography has got to be the most amazing and excillerating aspect of this craft for me. As I watched the super bowl this evening I payed close attention to the photographers on the field and wished I was one of them. That would definately be my dream job. Getting paid to capture such an amazing sporting event must really be great. I'm sure it has it's ups and downs, but in general my experience photographing football has been really amazing. Here's a shot I took while on Ford Field last November. I loved the sense of motion portraid in this shot.

White House Wedding Chapel

I have the great fortune to shoot several weddings this year and I am looking forward to each and every one of them. I can't wait to capture those moments in time and to document one of the most important day's of people's lives. The above shot was taken last summer at the White House Wedding Chapel in Warren Michigan.

Would you like to do this for a living

While on the field last week I was asked this very question "would you like to do this for a living?" The answer is an absolute yes of course. Not many people get to photograph sporting events for a living, and I was fortunate enough to meet some of those very people last Saturday. Being on the field and capturing a sporting event is exhilarating. Knowing the sport is key to capturing those pivotal moments, but finding those photographs that have not been taken is a challenge and I hope that my imagery shows this. Capturing the story of the game is a lot more than photographing the key play or the pivital event. It's the look on the players faces after they make a great play or while they watch the clock tick down. It's the capturing of the sidelines as well as what's on the field. I love sports photography and all of the opportunities that arise on the field and off.

Rochester Park Portrait Session

It all started two years ago with a coupon. A Christmas gift in the form of an IOU for a family portrait session was given and then forgotten about (so they thought.) Steve told me how the grand parents presented the coupon a few weeks ago and requested a family portrait before Christmas time. So all ten of them met me at the Rochester park on Sunday and we had a blast. The following is just a sneak peak of this amazing family.

Closeup + Baby + knit Cap = CUTE

I call this one the inquisitive look.

Happy in the leaves. This is fall to me.

I really love these overhead shots a great deal.

We did not feed the duck, it was just as curious to know what Grandpa was talking about as the boy was.

As soon as this one sat down I had to take this shot.


They look happy now, but I bet 5 years ago these siblings were fighting and chasing each other.

Every photographer says that their next shot is their favorite, and this next shot is above that for me. It's nice when the picture on the back of the camera looks exactly as you pictured it, and this was no exception. I saw this image when we crossed the bridge and I had to take it.

Thank you for allowing me to photograph your family this year. I really had a great time. These are just some of my favorites from this shoot, and I can't wait for you to see the rest.

September Maternity Session

Today I had the great pleasure of capturing a moment in time for Kathy and her beautiful family before the arrival of their baby in November. We spent about an hour today capturing this maternity session, and we were able to accomplish a lot in that amount of time.

And now for the all important belly shot:

Hey look, someone is going to be a big brother soon.

This next shot had to be done today. The obligatory hands on belly shot is a must have for any parents to be.

I had about 3 seconds to capture this next gem, for he was on the move and ready to get as far away from the camera as possible. I love how the sun illuminates his natural curly hair as he ponders something important like "how to run away from the guy with a camera."

Thank you Kathy and family, I really enjoyed working with you today, and I hope you enjoy all of the shots we were able to capture today.

Award Winning Photographer

Patting Myself On the Back

Hey everybody, I'm an award winning photographer! For my first photo contest I received an honorable mention in the Art Center's photo competition. Watch me while I pat myself on the back. Thank you everyone who believed in me and my talent. Here's a link to my blog entry the week after I took this shot.

A taste from last nights wedding

A taste from last nights wedding

The happy couple were engaged in front of Cinderella's Castle in the Magic Kingdom. So naturally the cake topper had to be Micky and Minnie. This wedding was amazing and the bride and groom were obviously happy to be married.

I'm still processing the photos from this wedding, but I thought I'd give you a taste (Get it, cake, taste.....ok I'll work on my humor.) If you are a family member interested in some of the shots from this wedding, stay tuned for a link to download them.

Congratulations to the happy couple.


Camera: Nikon D80
Exposure: 0.02 sec (1/50)
Aperture: f/2.5
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 400

Tulip pose

Tulip Pose

People were posing for photos all over the park in Holland Michigan.

The Running From Camera Challenge Is On!

A good challenge helps to inspire creativity and keeps you striving for a goal to become better. My friend and fellow blogger Kevin from Kevin's Photography and I have agreed to a photography challenge this week. This week's challenge is called "Running From Camera" inspired from the blog with the same name.

The rules for this challenge match those of the Running From Camera blog:
"I put the self-timer on 2 seconds, push the button and try to get as far from the camera as I can."

So next Thursday March 27th, Kevin and I will post the result of this weeks challenge on our blogs, so stay tuned and see how creative we can become. Maybe we can get people to vote for their favorite :)

Air Book

Air Book

Giving yourself a photography assignment is a great way to keep active and help with creativity. Today's assignment was Education. The idea of this photo came to me after asking my son what he thinks of when I say the word "Education," and is first response was "books." All day I had been thinking about taking photos of buses, school buildings, and street signs and had not once thought of photographing a book. The bright sunlight and the cloud formations made for a terrific backdrop, and this was one of many photos taken of the book in flight. My son was nice enough to help me destroy the book by continually throwing it into the air.

NOLA Seating

NOLA Seating

I'm cheating on my rules a bit with this shot due to travels this weekend. I took this photo less than two weeks ago on the river in New Orleans (NOLA is short for New Orleans Louisiana.) As I was taking it, I intended for it to be black and white. Upon review of the photo I think Sepia gives it just the right look. Iron work is amazing to shoot. Taken at a 70mm focal length with an F4. I feel like I could have increased the F-stop to an F8 or F9 to increase the depth of field. It was a bright sunshiny day, so ISO 200 did the trick.

Let the photo assignment begin!

You are witnessing the birth of a large assignment. A photo assignment with the goal of becoming a better photographer. Every day I will post a photo taken within the week along with a brief description of how the photo was taken and other aspects of the situation as the photo opportunity came to be.

My gear:
Nikon D80 - A great entry level digital camera with amazing features for the price
Quantaray 70-210mm f4.5-5.6 lens - By far my favorite lens if the light is right.
Nikkor 50mm f1.8 - A necessity for taking gymnastics photos in low light conditions.
Nikkor 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 - Standard lens that came with my camera and great for getting those wide angle shots.

And so the assignment begins:

Purple Tunnel

Calling this shot purple tunnel is a bit inaccurate because the tunnel changes colors continuously. I found this location while traveling through the Detroit Metro Airport from terminal A to Terminal C. The sights and sounds of this tunnel are intended to make you forget you are underground and give a peaceful feeling of tranquility. I looked a bit out of place and got many stares as I stood with my camera, but the shots taken were worth it. I used the 50mm lense with F6.3 and and ISO of 400. Wishing I had a tripod, because I could have used a lower ISO. I chose shutter priority on this shot in order to control the speed of the shutter at 1/25.

I welcome your comments and suggestions for improvement.

Thanks for joining me on this journey to become a better photographer.