Infrared Tree/Picnic Table

This is another one of my first attempts at infrared photos. I wish I had been standing on the other side of the tree, as the bright sun on the green leaves would have photographed as white. I'm sure I'll return to this spot this summer to see it from the other side.

The Grumpy Old Man

I bet the image you had in mind when reading the blog title does not match the photo on the left.

This grumpy old guy was found at the Baker Wetlands, located in Lawrence, Kansas.

I'll be sharing other photos later on where nature imitates life.

Gas Pump Humor

When I first printed this image and showed it, everyone said "I don't get it." Once I asked them to read the last work out loud, then they got it.

There were 4 pumps at the station, but only one had this humorous sign.

The Shotgun Wedding II

Of course, the girls were not about to be out-done by the guys and wanted to pose with the guns as well.

While most every photographer has done the "Charlie Angel" pose, I got to do an authentic one.

Whether in a family portrait session or a wedding, I always encourage individuality. You never know what opportunities you have when you say "let's go have some fun" or "bring something along that means something to you & your family."

The Shotgun Wedding I

Who says weddings have to be traditional and/or stuffy? This was an outside wedding and we all had a good time.



The groom had a collection of guns and they were all joking about how they should bring them out to pose with. I had been telling them all along that I was not opposed to having some fun with taking photos.

Forest Park Tree

Buffalo Woman

"Buffalo Woman" by Charlie Norton is a statue located in front of the Franklin County, KS courthouse in Ottawa, Kansas.

The statue was installed on October 7, 1989 to commemorate the 125th anniversary of Ottawa.

Flint Hills

I have always wanted to "get lost" in the Flint Hills of Kansas. This summer, I took a day and just drove several hundred miles taking photographs.

This photograph was taken out behind the Lower Fox Creek schoolhouse. I met a fellow photographer who was doing medium format photography. As we stood there talking shop, the sunlight decided to break through the clouds.

Panorama - Oregon

2009 found me at Cannon Beach, OR with two photographer friends. This is Haystack Rock. The little dots you see along the shore are people.

Definitely puts a perspective on the photo.

Trees in Winter

I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape ~ the loneliness of it,
the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn't show. ~~Andrew Wyeth

Macro Photography

I love macro photography. I like being able to bring a new view to an ordinary object. To see something in a different way.

This is a dandelion. I took it in July 2008, thinking how it looked like fireworks.

One of My Favorites

This is one of my all-time favorite wedding photographs. This is Henry. We took all the formal photos prior to the wedding.

Henry didn't want to smile at all in any of the photos. We tried everything. His mother was none too happy. I was finally able to get one smile when I did reverse psychology....telling Henry I did not want him to smile....nope, he couldn't smile at all as it could make the lights go out.

By the time we got to the ceremony, he obviously had had enough and just had a total meltdown right in front of me. You'll notice that everyone else in the photo is focusing on the bridesmaids and anticipating the bride.

Once the ceremony was over, I'm glad to say that Henry was all smiles the rest of the night.

Seeing, But Not Seeing

As a photographer, it is my job to "see".

When composing a photograph, I should not end up with a tree or pole growing out of someone's head. We are constantly told to look at all areas of the viewfinder.

Occasionally, I get surprised.

"The Ice Reindeer" is one I did not see coming. I was out doing some macro photography, looking at ice and its patterns. I was drawn to this particular icicle because of the bubble.

When I downloaded the image onto my computer, lo and behold, I found the ice reindeer.

This little guy also made his TV debut as a WDAF weather photo on 12/28/09.

January 19, 2010

We're now 19 days into the new year. We probably all had resolutions, or goals, for 2010. One of my goals was to start blogging about my studio and my photography. I am going to try my hardest to be somewhat consistent in this endeavor. I would love to promise a photo-a-day type thing, however, I'm not sure that would be a reality. I've seen photo blogs try it, however, somewhere along the way, things get in the way and the blog is forgotton.

The photo above was taken on 1/4/10 at the Johnson County (KS) Arboretum. This is actually an infrared photo. I will share some other infrared photos later.