The Daily - September 17, 2023 - Sunday Photoshoot

I slept in until 6:30. Had weird dreams - some people dumped three kittens in our driveway. Charlie was here, I confronted the cat dumpers and they apologized, said they would take the kittens back. Then I let them in for a tour of the house. This was not our house! Walk in laundry then an empty salad bar that I claimed we used to house condiments. It looked like something you would see in a restaurant. The family room was furnished with dark rust leather couch with wooden ball feet. Now that I think about it, maybe the couch is similar to what Janice has in her living room. So weird!

 
Today is a rest day - I did a short core routine and foam rolled. The foam rolling felt great.

 
I mixed together ground pork dumpling filling and will air fry them tomorrow.

 
Had a photo shoot with Noelle Ramaly this evening. I hadn’t seen her since she was a little child and here she is, a senior in high school with her small plane pilot’s license!

 

 
This session was super fun - she pulled the plane she flies out of the hanger and we took photos of her with it. The only drawback was the bright sun. It had been cloudy all day long until a burst of rain rolled through and then clear skies. Maura was a big help providing some shade with a bedsheet I brought but we were only able to keep that set up for a few photos. Still, I’m happy with several photos. We also went to the Japan house and got many great photos - just a sample here, she deserves her own post.

 

 

 

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Class of 2023 Part 1 - Claire and Hannah

Graduation season peaked while I was in France, but I took several portraits of the Class of 2023 this year and feature the first batch here. All of my subjects are children of personal friends, so I've known them since they were small kiddos and I've taken their photos over the years. These are my favorite subjects - the ones I've watched grow up to become adults.

 

 
First up, Claire. Claire's family moved to Indiana right before the pandemic hit. Even though they now live 2.5 hours away, they drove back for a photo session last fall.

 

 

 

 

 

 
For fun, here is Claire from 2014, age 9:

 

 

 

 
Next, Hannah, graduating from Butler University. Ahead of the curve, she completed all her graduation requirements in December but participated in graduation ceremonies in May. Hannah will attend medical school in the fall.

 

 

 

 

 

 
I also took Hannah's high school senior photos in 2019

 

 

 

 
And her first year playing baseball little league in 2008. Her dad was the coach of the team and our son was also on the team. This was the start of our families long and cherished friendship.

 

 

 

 
It brings me much joy to see the changes in these young adults - the future generation, full of potential and drive. Congrats to Claire and Hannah!

 

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Fine Lake Friends at The Wedding

13 months, three dates and two venues later, the Cox-Norman wedding finally went down on the most perfect day one could serve up in mid August. Awarded for their patience and tenacity, Katie and Jadan exuded love, respect and happiness and reminded us of the journey to the altar.

 

 
Set at the picturesque Stonegate Manor in Benton Harbor Michigan, we enjoyed the outdoor wedding ceremony then settled in for an evening of games, fellowship, dancing and out right fun.

 

 
Our contingent arrived Friday evening which allowed us to explore St Joseph beaches Saturday morning. The lighthouse along Lake Michigan gave us a landmark for this pre-wedding group selfie:

 

 
After the wedding ceremony, we milled about the lovely grounds and took advantage of the furniture vignettes set up on the expansive lawn. The vintage seating was the perfect setting to capture our Fine Lake Ladies group, all dressed up. I set up the scene and had Caroline take the photos with my camera. I was going for a more serious, strong, don’t mess with us vibe.

 

 

 
Of course there needs to be a relaxed and happy photo too.

 

 
Since all the couples were dressed up, I took portraits. (And not even with my normal portrait lens! I’m still happy with the way these turned out - taken with the Nikkor 24-70mm f2.8 on the Z6II camera).

 

 
Janice and Mike:

 

 

 
Nancy and Philippe:

 

 
Mary and Bob:

 

 
Jill and Buck:

 

 
I really need to have Janice take a couples photo of me and Scott! Next time I will position Scott, hand the camera to her, then get into the picture.

 
The official wedding photographer, Heather Kanillopoolos, did a fantastic job. So much hard work goes into capturing this once in a lifetime event. It is prudent to hired a seasoned professional. Heather’s work can be previewed at her website: https://www.heatherkan.com .

 

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The Class of 2021 - Nephew Matty Graduates

Graduation season is upon us and while most ceremonies still deviate from past traditions, group gatherings to celebrate this important milestone are no longer taboo. With lower virus positivity rates, high vaccination percentages, many states continue to move towards normal, pre-virus practices.

 

 
We traveled to North Carolina and attended my nephew’s high school graduation. Our local airport flies directly to Charlotte, making it very convenient and easy to visit. I flew there last November to spend time with my sister and ended up taking Senior photos of nephew Matty.

 

 

 

 

 
This photo was a test shot “outtake” but I really like it due to Matty’s attitude. Matty’s older brother Zach moonlights as a model and I found Matty’s expression Zach-like!

 

 

 
Matty’s graduation ceremony was held at the new Atrium Health Ballpark north of Charlotte. The outdoor graduation ceremony harkens back to our own past experiences - my high school graduation was held on the high school football field. With an outdoor venue, student cheering sections don’t feel disruptive (the shouts don’t reverberate like they do in a formal concert hall). Matty’s graduation was met with perfect weather and topped off with surprise fireworks. After a year and a half of remote learning, a normal graduation was a welcome and fitting way to cap off the Class of 2021’s high school experience.

 

 
Matty will attend NC State and study computer science engineering. We are so proud of him! The little ones grow up so quickly - this last photo is Matty on the left with his brother, Zach, taken in 2012.

 

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MIchelle S, Class of 2021 - Fall and Winter Looks

We thought the Class of 2020 bore the brunt of the global COVID pandemic. Certainly after months of remote work and learning, mask wearing and other precautions, life would resume "back to normal". We, however, failed to recognize how long the virus would continue its impact and who knows what "normal" will look like going forward.

 
Michelle, Class of 2021, is making the best of the situation. An avid runner, she ran cross country on her team's modified fall season and was named to the All-Area Team. Michelle displays a casual and sporty calm in her demeanor and she is most comfortable when down to earth scenarios. Her family hails from a farm in Indiana so the rural, prairie setting was perfect for our fall session. Photos taken at Allerton Park in Monticello. 

 

 

I'm good friends with Michelle's mom, and she mentioned how much fun it would be to have photos taken during a fresh snowfall. We received a decent amount of snow last weekend, so we headed to a friend's backyard and held photo shoot number two.

 

 

It wasn't actively snowing, but with some help from friends, we made it lightly snow. 

 

 

Behind the scenes, trying to make it snow - another friend with a long cleaning brush, knocking down snow from the tree tops. Michelle's mom took this photo.

 

 

Good luck to Michelle on the remaining school year - perhaps with the availability of the Covid vaccine they will be able re-start the regular High school events in the spring.

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Ties That Bind - What Defines Family?

I had been consistently taking photos and blogging, then mid June hit and I lost momentum. I'm not sure what to blame - our area started to open up, we started going back into the office so I got busy with other things. Then I had to travel for work to a location in Kentucky, about 4 hours away by car. I stayed in Kentucky for over a week and will drive back sometime this week or next.

Regardless of that, today I'm sharing photos taken at the end of May - the "family" of Senior Addison. Why the Quotes? Several years ago, the KO family formed by combining two family units. Two sets of parents, two sets of offspring and two sets of dogs. The two families were great friends so they decided to buy a house together and join their distinct clans together. They called it their "great social experiment". The union dissolved due to new job opportunities outside the area. The KO family asked me to take photos of their clan before they parted ways. I love the challenge of new things - this large group with their dogs certainly lived up to that challenge!

For the group shots I ended up learning how to "head swap" for an optimal group shot. I only had to do this two times (thank goodness).

Family "O"

Family "K"

The Adults still get along even after living together for 3+ years.

And to earmark this unique time - pandemic masks.

Family - certainly not defined by blood, but by love, respect and friendship.

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To The Class of 2020 - Sam

The last of my High School subjects, Sam and I started in his small-town downtown area before heading to the forest preserve.

One of the parking lots downtown features this great brick wall covered with meandering vines. That's the backdrop for this first photo:

And a cool fire escape. I looked around the corner and knew it was a great spot to take photos:

But I admit I'm most comfortable taking photos in the woods

Another local senior headed to the University of Illinois - Congrats to you Sam (and mom Mary)!

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To The Class of 2020 - Addison

I'm about half way through my Class of 2020 Seniors - and here is Addison, the daughter of long time friends / co-workers, fellow runners and Tae Kwon Do family. I've known Addison since she was maybe 5 years old. Her dad, Chris, works with me and inspired me to run a full marathon. He is also a Full IronMan Triathlete, having completed that grueling event three or four times.

The idea for Addison's Senior portraits originated from Luke's mom, who works with Addison's mom, Amber (small-ish town means less than 6 degrees of separation between people). I consider Addison as a low maintenance person, who doesn't conform to cultural norms (like typical senior photos) but her mother wanted them, so she showed up. No outfit changes, just what she was wearing, a total first for me.

In hindsight, one outfit completely worked because I simply focused on Addison - her lovely smile and beautiful blue eyes.



We met at a local park that features a sculpture garden, so Addison picked out an edgy, stainless steel sphere to interact with.




I, of course, am drawn to the beauty of woodlands and other natural areas, so this one is my favorite (and one of the last photos we took that fall evening):


Addison completed her High School requirements last December and immediately jump started her higher education journey by taking college classes at the local community college. She will start at Illinois State University in the fall, studying speech pathology. Congratulations Addison!

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To the Class of 2020 - Luke

I'm continuing my Class of 2020 recognition. This week is Luke, the son of a good running friend. Luke loves soccer and plans to attend Eastern Illinois University in the fall. Luke's family lives across the street from a beautiful forest preserve that I like to explore by running or hiking. Luke's mother, Michele introduced me to the trails out there and through our weekly summer runs, I no longer get lost in the woods. These photos were taken in the forest preserve.







These soccer photos were taken at the local pitch.




Congratulations to you, Luke!

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To the Class of 2020 - Charlotte

I really feel for the graduating class of 2020. They've seen their senior year upended as they remain cloistered at home, unable to savor those last events of high school or college. I know they are resilient and will make the best out of this tumultuous time, using their creativity to celebrate these significant milestones. Over the month of May, I'll highlight photos I've taken of the Class of 2020.

As photography serves as a creative outlet for me, I only hold portrait sessions for friends. This year I photographed four high school seniors starting with Charlotte, the youngest daughter of my friend, Heather. Heather led our neighborhood Book / Wine club until she and her family moved to Michigan. Even with the distance between us, we all remain good friends - Heather still visits once or twice a year, and she invites us yearly to a weekend retreat at their lake house. The photos from this shoot were taken at the lake house in July 2019.

I also took photos of their family prior to the move in 2013. So I went through my photo history and found this photo of little Charlotte, maybe 11 or 12 years old.



How much they change in a few short years (but the smile is still the same):


This one is a favorite of mine.


The slouchy, casual, happy go lucky Charlotte


Of course there needs to be a serious, pouty look.


Charlotte plans to attend Michigan State University in the fall. We congratulate her on her accomplishments in high school and wish her the best in college!

For more of Charlotte, a small sampling of her session here:
Charlotte, Class of 2020

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