Brittany & Janssen

I am continuously AMAZED at the incredibly COOL people I get to shoot. In my head (not to mention on the outside) I'm this chubby red-headed kid with geeky tendencies and some pretty cool toys. It still amazes me that such fun, interesting, attractive people continue to work with me. All of our couples are just flat awesome. We don't get bridezillas or divas. We get intelligent, dynamic brides and grooms who know what they want and trust in me that I can get them what they envision as their dream wedding photos. All I can say is thank you for letting me be a part of your lives.

The post for today fits the previous thought because the event I am posting is one of those couples. I've already shot some great weddings so far this year that you'll begin to see more of as I finish the post production on them. Brittany and Janssen are no different. They are getting married at the end of May.
This is their engagement shoot.

Click here to see more of their images in my featured events on my website.

Kids, kids, everywhere!

We shot 5 kids from two families all in one big shootapalooza! Here are the results.

What's My Wallpaper? (Episode 1)

I thought I'd play a little game I call, "What's My Wallpaper?!" It's played like this: I tell you what is currently the wallpaper on my computer and you try to care. Sound fun? Good, then say it with me, "Let's play, What's My Wallpaper?!"

Today's wallpaper is...(drum roll please...):

My little family in Hawaii from February 2008! (Applause!)

Thanks for playing What's My Wallpaper!

You can now play the home game at www.donotclickhere_itisnotarealgame.com!

Milestone Image #3

Here is another significant image from my time in the Czech and Slovak Republics. It is my very first ah-ha moment about depth of field. It is a shot of a couple of kids shopping at a Christmas flea market in Prague. I didn't know that much about depth of field at the time and I didn't actually do this on purpose. It worked out because in such a complicated scene, shortening the dof brings the focus to the kids and minimizes the distractions. It gives the impression that the kids are looking at specific puppets as opposed to just browsing.
You'll see a consistent scratch running through all of these shots. I'm not sure where it came from but I actually think it came from the machine that scanned these here in the US as opposed to over there when they were originally developed. Hmmm.

A couple of other shots from the same era as well. The first is one of my favorite shots I've ever taken. Not incredibly significant but I love it. I have a thing for old statues. There's something about shooting a "portrait" of statues that I really enjoy. It's a lot like a person posing for the camera.

The second supplementary shot is a slice of life shot from our apartment in (I believe) Zilina, Slovakia. It's kind of fun.

Don't fret little Kira, tax day is always horrifying!

Okay, so here's the deal. I like shooting kids. I'm just not sure they like being shot by me...
Here's proof positive that I might be just a bit too scary-looking for babies. It's from a shoot today with all sorts of kids running around. (We actually shot 5 kids and babies in an hour or so. I actually had a great time, I just wish poor Kira could say the same! (Is that pure terror or just sheer horror? I can't tell...)

Sam + Lindsey

I have taken up doing quick impromptu portrait sessions of my friends as the come over to our house. It's a fun thing, mostly for me--nothing professional to be sure. I don't have a lot of room in my dining room but I have a two light setup I'm playing around with and I just invite people to pose for a minute. Due to a small space and a low-hanging light fixture, I need to crop quite close most of the time. Most "sessions" last just a few minutes but I get to have shots of the important people in my life done with no pressure on anyone. We kind of get what we get. Here are Sam and Lindsey Smith. Thanks for posing. You guys rock!

New DVD Slideshow Video

We are adding the option of digital slideshows to our product list. Here is an example. Imagine YOUR photos here. Pretty cool.

Priesthood Session

I've always been amazed at the Priesthood Session of the LDS General Conference. Millions of men from around the world all meeting together to hear prophets of God speak about being better fathers, husbands, citizens, and men. Being a photographer, I wanted to document it visually. At first I felt bad taking pictures during the meetings...then I realized that they do it all the time for the Ensign magazine. So I took a few with my camera phone. I'm really realizing that I'm not just a photographer, I'm a photo junkie. It's like an addiction. I also can't believe how easily we have come to trust camera phones. The quality is terrible. I know people who don't own another camera because they figure their camera phone works. It's sad. I think that the quality of photos has become both exceptional and horrendous in the digital age.

Classic best man photos

Some of my favorite photos of the groom and best man came out of Colleen and Derek's wedding March 18 in Provo, Utah. Derek fought hard for the hats and tails and they looked AWESOME! I don't know what to say about these shots except that I love them.

Baby Girl

This shot is from what the photography world calls a "self-assignment." I like to call it, "taking pictures of whatever the heck I want."
I teamed up with Andrea Hanks, one of the most fun photographers on the planet, on a session to celebrate the one-year birthdays of our daughters, Hannah and Juliet. Like all self-assignments, this one got pushed aside for the paying customers and would probably never see the light of day if I didn't just retouch one and post it. So here is one of my favorites. I'd like to post more but it's back to work for the people who actually pay me.
We had a strobe with an umbrella on camera left. That's it. The umbrella allows light to bounce around and fill a bit on the back side, especially in a small studio space. The background is Andrea's. I like it.