A great thing happened today.  I became a grandfather.  I don’t feel any older and I’ve been told several times today that grandchildren keep you young anyway.  The little fellow came three to four weeks early so it was a bit of a surprise.  He is spending his first night out in the ICU, but he is looking fine and should be alright.  Life goes on and it is very exciting.  I can’t wait until he is out so I can get some nicer images.

 I was hired to shoot a family photograph on the day before Thanksgiving.  The family is a former client and I was very happy to do the job.  They rented a vacation home in the mountains and the extended family was coming in for the holiday. 

Not being familiar with the location I did a bit of research including looking at photos of the home on the internet.  We decided to shoot about 9:00 with the intention of shooting in the home, but that was up for possible change depending on the situation.  The group consisted of 12 adults and 12 children - a recipy for photographic disaster because most of the kids were 4 or under.  The other thing that weighed on my mind was that one of the adults was not able to make the trip due to school and I would have to stich him into the photograph at a later date.  I wanted to make that stiching job as simple as possible.  Finally, I worried about was the sun pouring in the large easterly facing picture windows.  I was beginning to think I selected the wrong time of day, but I had to go with it since the family was already at the location by the time I found the photographs of the home and I could not get a hold of them.

I left very early in the morning to give me time to wander around in search of possible outdoor location.  I found a few, but the mountain temperatures were rather chilly.  The first sense of relief came as I arrived and saw the mountain rising immediately to the south of the house, blocking the morning sun from the picture windows.  When I was greeted by my clients a presented them with the options.  I was glad to hear them choose the one I hoped for.  My favorite plan was to set up lights and a backdrop then shoot each family group individually.  I would later stich them together to create a high resolution image I could print to any size.  Another advantage was only having to work with two to four children at a time. (I like photographing children,  but it can be difficult to get a good family portrait if you have several young children who would rather by doing something else than be photographed.)

We set up the equipment and went to work.  For the most part it went very quickly except for one family.  They had a four-year-old who put on a scowl and hid his face as soon as he was placed in front of the camera.  That one took some effort, but we exceeded in getting one smile.  After the family shots were taken parents started asking for additional shoots of some of their children.  Normally I charge extra for additional sittings, but this day I didn’t worry about it and just continued shooting.  It turned out to be worth the effort.  I’ve posted a couple here.  The most significant shots are of the boy who earlier gave me the scowl.  We put him in a couch with his brother and started shooting.  His dad helped to bring out his true personality. The shots turned out fabulous.  They are going to tug at Grandma’s heart strings when she comes to view the proofs.

We sometimes worry about time and money when we are asked to shoot beyond what we were hired to do.  But I’m finding it to be well worth the effort to do a little extra.  If the clients like the extra shots I’m  apt to sell more prints and add to the bottom line.  Of course for that to happen I must first make clients happy and that is the rewarding part for this Utah Portrait Photographer.  Giving pleasure to others through my artistic abilities is a great blessing in this profession and makes me thankful to have talents in photography.  I think being thankful for the blessings God has given us is what the Thanksgiving holiday is all about.

I just finished shooting several events for the Utah Special Olympics.  What a treat!  I have a large family.  As I anticipated the birth of each of my children I worried whether they would be born healthy or not.  I wondered about the sacrafices that I had seen other parents go through caring for and worrying about their children with disabilities.  I’ve know many.  Even now there are children with various disabilities that play with my children regularly.  Fortunately all my children have been bless with good health - that is what we all want.  Having said that, I have learned a few new things about the blessings that children with disabilities bring to their families.  I’m in the process of certifiying with Special Kid’s Photographers of America which has already brought me great opportunity and led to my shooting the Utah Special Olympics which was the culmination of all that I have seen and learned in the past about children with disabilities.  

It started a number of years ago while I was attending the Wedding and Portrait Photographer International convention trade show in Las Vegas.  As I passed the seemingly endless rows of booths I came across a booth for Special Kid’s Photography of America.  After talking to the gal at the booth I signed up for their email newsletter.  Since that time I have wanted to certify with their organization, but have not had the chance.  In September of this year the gal, Karen, that heads the organization attended the IPPA convention here in Salt Lake City.  One of the local photographers offered her studio for the day so Karen could teach the certification coarse and administer the exams.  I eagerly signed up, and though exhausted from the convention, showed up early the next morning.  (It wasn’t all bad - the photographer’s good husband fixed us a great breakfast and lunch!)  After going through the course work we were given two exams.  The first dealt with the information we were taught concerning working with special kids and their different needs.  The second exam dealt with technical end of photography.  The instructor expected us to know that.  I have no Idea what was on the second exam because I didn’t have to take it.  Since I am a Professional Photographers of America Certified Photographer (the only one in the group.) I am considered to have the prerequisite knowledge.  I smiled at everyone, put down my pencil, and sat back to relax while the sweat rolled down the other photographer’s faces - Actually I don’t think it was that bad and everyone did pass.  whew! Glad to have that part over with.  Now all I have to do is accumulate all the neccessary images of special children to be reviewed.

Collecting the images for review isn’t a problem.  I have photographed a number of young (and some not so young) special needs folks.  The problem was be getting the consent forms signed.  Its not that anyone minded - in fact everyone was very enthusiastic - its just that it has taken time to get a hold of my clients to get it taken care of.  I have one more to get signed and I will be ready to submit.

In the mean time I was called by a representative of the Utah Special Olympic soliciting a donation.  I talked to the person for a minute, then finally offered to make a donation of photography if they were interested.  She gave me the website and a contact.  After a quick bit of research I called and made the offer.  They were very happy to have me so I joined the crew.  I spent a long afternoon and evening photographing the athletic events that took place at the University of Utah.  The people running the event treated me like gold - they were very appreciative to have me be there.  (Although the honor was all mine!)  The athletes responded to the camera with smiles.  Many of them stopped to talk to me and gave me a hug or two.  It was a very special event.  I also enjoyed talking to some of the sponsors and others making donations of time.  The Panda Express catered a great dinner for the hundreds of participants.  My biggest thrill was meeting Big Budda.  I’ve been a big fan of the way he does his news reports.  I digress.  Several weeks later I covered the Utah Special Olympic’s Hall of Fame induction.  Another great event with great people.  I hope they will keep me for the future.  While I don’t consider myself an events Photographer I loved being around these people - both the special athletes and those who spend so much time and expense hosting these events for them.

I’m posting three photographs that I hope to be part of my submital to Special Kid’s Photographers of America.  They each have a special memory for this Utah Photographer.  One child is severely disabled.  It was very difficult and took a lot of effort to obtain the family photograph, but I’m grateful for the opportunity because I love the image of his head on his mother’s lap surrounded by his family.  The image of the gal is very telling.  I was able to capture her look and personality in this image.  When I suggested making the portrait to her mother, she jumped at the opportunity and scheduled the sitting right there on the spot.  It was the day after Thanksgiving and I spent several hours in their home shooting with available light from a picture window.  Shortly there after she was walking out to get the newpaper for her mother, slipped on the ice, and broke her leg.  She spent months in the hospital.  My crowning moment was the day I went to visit with her mother at the hospital.  This special person looked over and addressed me as her photographer.  Finally - the young Down Syndrome boy.  He is always a joy to see.  I photographed his family for their Christmas card.  The other kids in the family worried about him far more than they needed to.  I would just call him over, give him a hug, and put him back where I wanted him.

While I can only imagine the difficulties and sacrafices that go into caring for a special child I have been blessed to see the love and joy that they can bring into the lives of those around them.  I hope one of the greatest things to come out of the last national election was that the world saw a family of great accomplishment caring for and loving a Down Syndrome child.  I’m not sure I will ever forget the name Trig.

It’s starting to get chilly out there.  Last weekend was a busy one for me.  I photographed some families up one of the local canyons.  There was still color on some of the trees as well as on the ground where leaves collected to turn the otherwise brown dirt into shades of yellow, orange, and red.  Saturday morning I met a family and we traveled up to one of my new favorite locations.  The group consisted of a mother and father along with their grown son and his wife.  Two things affected the shoot.  One - I had put some thought into the way I would pose them the night before and started there.  I knew the location, its strengths and weaknesses.  Having an idea as to how I would set them in the scene really helped.  Once I had set up the gear I put the family into position and we were done fairly soon.  It worked out well.  That made things easier for the second thing I planned to do.  When I first scouted out the location I was enamored by a huge cube-shaped boulder sitting by itself in the middle of the trees.  What a great background for a portrait!  My thoughts started churning and I came up for a plan to shoot the parents as a couple.  When I returned home I called them and made a request for the photography session.  Although I had never seen it I knew that “dad” had a Harley so I asked them to bring it along.  It turned out to be just what I needed to create a nice image that they would love to hang on the wall in addition to their other family portrait.  We wheeled the Bike into place, added the couple and began to shoot.  I thoroughly enjoyed the session and loved the results.  (I inserted the images that the family chose.  They are as of yet - for the most part -  straight out of the camera.  I’ll give you a look-see when I am done with the retouching and enhancement and see if you can tell a difference.)

All that leads me to a couple of thoughts.  One is about taking the time to plan.  Even if you are spending just a few minutes of time to put the project into your head - it pays dividends.  In my case I had a very long and busy day the day before, shooting a family and covering the Utah Special Olympics for the committee.  I didn’t get home until late and had to empty my cards, back up the data, and recharge my equipment batteries for the morning.  It wasn’t until my head hit the pillow that I began to think about how I would set the family members up for their portrait.  But a couple of thoughts came to me and that was all I needed to get the ball rolling Saturday morning.

It is always fun to check out new locations.  New locations promote creativity.  After all who wants to do the same old thing?  Checking it out ahead of time and knowing what problems you might have to deal with helps you in your creative planning.

Finally - when you are planning your new portrait, think about accessories that help to tell your story.  Motorcycles, skis, hats, pets, - the list goes on and on.  I once saw an outdoor portrait of a family on a shoreline with dad’s float plane in the water behind them.  Be creative, go all out, help contribute to something you will be proud to hang on the wall.

Fine family portraiture, not just a family picture, is this Utah Photographers goal.  Let’s celebrate our families - they are the most important things we have. 

     Last week I headed up American Fork Canyon in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah to shoot some images.  It turned out to be a pretty good day for photography, although I should have started out a bit earlier than I did.  I took the Tipple Fork turn off and drove up above the Tipple Fork Reservoir where I started shooting photographs.  My first image looked down the canyon at Timpanogos, the highest peak in the area.  The lighting was good and there was a nice cloud cover that made for an interesting sky.  (One of the problems in utah is the weather can be so good during the year that the sky is nothing more than a boring expanse of blue.)  This is one of those cases where the first image turned out to be one of the best of the morning.  The colors in the photograph are quite pleasing and I like the shot.  I continued up a winding dirt road that strattles the edge of the mountain - one of those roads where you can’t do to much sightseeing for fear of driving off the edge and disappearing into a pile of rubble.  Passing Silver Lake Reservoir (not sure on the name) - I drove across the creek and parked the truck.  From there I wandered around with tripod in hand looking for interesting interpretations of the scenes before me.  One of the resulting images was that of the road winding into the mountains.  It intrigued me.  I converted the image to black and white then added some sepia tone.  While the color before me was spectacular, the now toned image had a beauty of its own.  Sometimes color distracts us from the essence of the image.  I wanted to show the composition in its simplest form.  I’ll let you be the judge.  I do think there is an elegance to black and white or in this case sepia toned prints that can’t be displayed in color images.  I would like my clients to consider black and white in their portraiture selections.  Such prints can be works of art on the walls of your home.  This Utah photographer wants to turn your family into a timeless work of art.  That is what I’m about.  Whether shooting a landscape of a beautiful loved one, I think an image should be treated as a work of art.  I can’t wait until the end of the week - it is supposed to rain.  Mother Nature is coming together to help me create another work of art.  Will I use color or black and white?   ………..hmmm?

In July I posted some images I made during a trip to Idaho.  I received a request to post some more and promised to do so.  It has taken me a while, but here they are with some brief explainations.  I hope to make some of them into art prints in the future so you will be able to purchase them via the internet.  Stay tuned.

This deer was hanging out near our camp.  I managed to snap the shutter before he disappeared back into the forest.

These two dears consented to pose for me the first evening we were there.  They were doing well considering the thousands of mosquitos swarming around us.

After shooting the girls I found this interesting view of the trees along the river.  Again - the flowers were beautiful.  The light grass and yellow flowers along with the light on the pines on the hill helped to make the aspens stand out.

The rays the emanated from behind the hill as the sun set made a most interesting image.  This was one of the last images of the evening.

There were no bugs the next morning.  I spent a lot of time out in this meadow shooting in all directions as the sun appeared over the mountains.  The leading line created by a small creek leads to the tree in the background.

The rays of the sun begind to shoot out as the sun got closer to appearing.

The skunk cabbage photographed well in black and white.  The camera was on a tripod and I was waiting for the sun to hit the peaks of some distant mountains when I noticed this shot.  I tilted the camera down and made this image.  Sometimes the right image is just below our nose!

The sun finally hit the mountain tops and I made this image.  Some flowers in the forground made the image.

I had to cross this stream at one piont down stream from here.  The water was up to the bottom of my suburban doors.

I found this old delapidated cabin as I hiked up the road.  I loved the way the early morning light filtered through the trees.

This is the road I was hiking up the mountain on.  This is where I turned around and headed back.  The road crossed the river again and I was not equiped to cross it on foot.  But it was starting to get late and I needed to be back for Lunch.  Not having had any breakfast I was in need of some nurishment.

I love the contrast of the yellow flowers against darker background.

I love the backlight on the trees and the shadows that lead your eyes to the flowers.

More mystery and intrigue in light and shadow.

Even with the color surrounding me I still love black and white.  I was hiking up another trail in the late afternoon when I shot this.  The lighting was still a bit flat, but image is still interesting.

Another shot I made with an interesting sky.

The tree in the background was actually some type of pine.  Looks like it was split by lightening.

I was wasted by the time I reached this lake.  The full day finally got to me I guess.  The scene was beautiful, and I enjoyed it with a nice long rest.

Some of my wife’s cousins enjoyed some successful fishing.

Cases mean serious fishing to me.

One parting shot I made on the way down the mountain.

I just photographed a wedding in the Ogden area.  Due to the short notice I was not able to scope out the territory ahead of time like I usually do.  No worries - on the day of the event I showed up  early enough to do a once around and prepare for the shoot.  The wedding was held in the Groom’s, now the bride’s, back yard.  Time was going to be limited by the setting sun and what we had to get done.  After discussions with the bride the plan was to shoot the ceremony then move on to do the formal group shots.  I didn’t think the later would take too long because of the small group, but I was wrong.  They wanted a lot of different combinations and we shot all the way to sunset.  But I digress.  Since I was early to the wedding I spent some time shooting some of the details around the yard.  There was a pool right in the center of everything that lent some beauty as well as challenges to my photography that day.  They had professional decorating that  added to the atmosphere and made for some great images.  I moved around with caution - imagining myself holding my camera gear in the air as my backside hit the water and I headed for the depths below.  Fortunately that never happened and I got away that night with my cameras and flash cards intact.  The pool was decorated with flowers held together with all but invisible fishing line.  The flowers, and other decore around the edges all tied together and made my work fun.  The sun, now low in the sky, made for interesting shadows as well as some beautiful light.  The colors on the mountains changed constantly as I photographed the family groups during the sunset.  I love Utah for the light on the mountains and how is changes with the weather.  As a Utah photographer I continue to enjoy spectacular scenery at my photography shoots.  To make a long story longer, I tried to capture some of those decorative details with an artistic point of view so the couple could remember there special evening in an esthetic way. Those details will add to the slide shows and album design if they should desire to purchase them.  The details are as much a part of the wedding as the emotion and they are fun to shoot.  I finished the evening with a panoramic of the pool and house as the croud sat around the table enjoying their catered meal and I’m sure, some great conversation.

Tuesday I photographed Sam and Shelly’s wedding.  I met Sam many years ago when he was working on his Eagle Project.  I was at the local model railroad hobbyshop, The Hobby Stop, milling around.  I over heard his mother talking to the shop owner about problems her son was having with his Eagle Project.  Sam had suffered from a cronic illness and spent a lot of time in and out of the doctor’s office.  To give back, he decided to build a small train set to display to young patients who have to visit the doctor from time to time.  Anyway - his mother was relating to the hobby shop owner that the project was complete, but Sam was having trouble getting the trains to run well.  After listening to the conversation for a while I stepped in and offered to help.  I’m not sure why, other than I thought maybe I could be useful.  I gave her a card with my phone number on it and told her to have Sam give me a call then forgot about it until about  four weeks later when he gave me a ring.  We talked for a while, then made plans to run up to Primary Children’s Hospital where the doctor’s office was located and have a look.  When I finally had a chance to check out the train set I had mixed feelings.  He had done a nice job on the presentation side.  It was about four feet by four feet and covered with a nice looking plexi-glass top.  The railroad was built around a mountain with tunnels, and buildings, etc. decorating the scene.  The problem he was having was in the track design.  Not wanting to get into too much detail here - it came down to the fact that he tried to put too much track in and technically it wasn’t going to work.  I didn’t think I was going to be able to fix it, but I spent some time with the soldering iron working on the integrity of the track and wiring.  I managed to get it to run, but I wasn’t too hopeful for the future.  I was right - sometime later Sam called me to say he was having problems with it again.  After thinking about it for some time I made a proposal to him.  I suggested that we take it apart and start over.  The next thing I was talking to his mother.  She wasn’t keen on the idea because it had taken him several months to build.  I convinced her by promising to do the entire project in two days.  We went up to the hospital and took careful measurements of the train set so that the new one would fit under the original display case.  Sam’s mother dropped me off at the house about 5:00pm.  My son and I went to work and by 10:00pm we had trains running.  I had leftover track and plywood from previous projects  that I used to build the new railroad.  When Sam and his mother dropped by in the morning they were very surprised to see what we had accomplished.  Sam, my son Rob, and Gil Bennett all pitched in to build the scenery.  By the end of the day the project was complete and ready to be transported to Primary Children’s.  I don’t normally do so much on an Eagle Scout project, but he had esentially complete it - I was just helping him so that the project would accomplish its goal.  What does this have to do with a wedding?  Such a simple act of service lead to a long time friendship.  You never know where something take you.  Sam and my son Rob became best of friends and remain so today.  When Sam decided to get married he mentioned me to his fiance and she gave me a call.  It brings me back to the reason I enjoy weddings.  I enjoy the relationships that develop between me and the family.  This one was the renewing of an old friendship and that made it lots of fun.  Sam is part of a great family (He is marrying into a great family too.) and we have enjoyed a great association.  Great associations are part of the reason that this Utah photographer continues  to enjoy what he is doing.

It’s almost a week later and I am still tired!  Last Friday I was on site and ready to go at 8:30am.  It was a Latter-day Saint wedding so I waited for them to come out of the local temple.  It was a cloudy day which made things easier.  About 9:00 the festivities began.  I started out with all the group shots of family and friends.  That took a while.  The groom’s father is hispanic and the bride is from Tonga so there was a lot of family to photograph.  What a wonderful group.  From there I took the couple around the grounds to make images of them together.  We spent well over an hour shooting at various locations then it was over to the groom’s parent’s house for a quick bite to eat.  I didn’t stay long because I had to put together a short slide show of the morning’s events for display at the reception.  I met the couple at the Marriott downtown Salt Lake City to shoot some more images before the reception started.  We started out in front of the Salt Palace fountains then moved to a small outdoor restaurant and finally into some city alley ways where we finally finished up.  It was in the alley that I shot “the Image of the day”  as they kissed on a fire escape stairs.  The composition with the lines of the railing and the posing itself just came together.  I love the image and may consider it for competition this fall. The reception was something else.  When hispanics and polynesians get together watch out.  They really know how to party.  And why not.  Weddings are a celebration.  Standing in line for hours shaking hands is a tradition that should only be exercised at funerals.  Everyone who attended Dave and Glenda’s reception had a wonderful time.  I didn’t leave until 11:45.  Exhausted I made the 30 minute drive to the house and downloaded my cards, backed them up, and headed for bed.  The next morning I was hung over - and I don’t even drink!  It was worth it because this Utah photographer had a ball.  I  learned a lesson too.  Life is short and we aught to enjoy our time together.  What better way to do so them to celebrate the beginning of a new family.  Did I say I was tired?

The son of one of my  clients was over to have a quick photograph taken for his missionary plaque.  He was about to leave for two years to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints.  Shooting a Photograph for their plaque is a complementary service I provide for my clients.  (As a Utah photographer I run into this quite often.)  While they were over, his mother expressed a desire to have some senior photographs taken.  (He graduated in the spring and she hadn’t had photographs taken.)   It was late afternoon and the lighting was not optimum for the location I wanted to use.  Unfortunately he had plans for the evening so waiting was not an option and if we were going to do it we needed to do it now.  He is a baseball player and I would have liked to have  shot him with a ball and glove,  but there was no time to get the props.  His mother said he was a t-shirt and jeans kind of guy so that’s what we went with.  while he was changing out of his suit I grabbed a reflector and the cameras.  We went up to a field near the house.  The sun was in and out of the clouds so I was hoping to catch it behind a cloud for the shoot, but nature didn’t cooperate.  It was then that I spotted an old fence - not that I hadn’t known it was there - it’s just that I had not considered it for photography before.  It was in a bit of a revine and we would be shooting on the shady side.  Off we went.  The fence made a great leading line into the portraits.  and the vines and oak added just the right color and interest.  The shade took care of the contrast and the open sky gave directional light into his face.  After making some images in that location we decided to go back up the hill and try again to get that shot on the hill with the mountains in the background.  I had mom hold a reflector to fill in the shady side of her son’s face.  She had to get in tight to do it well, so I put him down in the lower right-hand side of the image and began to shoot.  After a couple of shots I backed down the hill a bit, putting him in more of a commanding position in the photograph.  It turned out to be a winner.  Knowing how to work with the light is important.  A Utah photographer has to deal with harsh light.  We can’t always get the light we want.  I positioned the young man so the sun became the key light and the reflector acted as the fill.  It was just like a studio, but outside.  The color worked well too, although the shot you are looking at is still in the proof stage.   The  yellow of the grasses and the greens in the mountains along with the blue in the sky work well to make this a beautiful outdoor image.  The clouds made the sky very interesting.  It’s just too bad they weren’t between me and the sun.  But then again the image looks good as it.   Anyway - I was very happy with the results and more importantly - so was the client.