Last Wedding of 2008

I was able to finish up the 2008 wedding season with Andrew & Jessica.  They are great people and their wedding was a fun time.  The weather was uncooperative for much outside but that did not stop the fun.   Jess and Andy will have tons of great photos to look through.  I wish them all the best and it was an honor to photograph their wedding.

Santa Comes to Michigan

There have been several people emailing me about my son Matthew.  Matthew has fully recovered from his rare illness.  He caught up quickly on his school work and is active living the life of a young kid.  Matthew is such a blessing and is a great kid.  According to the doctors his condition can flare up but we are praying that this does not happen.

Matthew's brother Nick dressed up at our Christmas party this year as Santa.  Matthew had the chance to thank Santa for all of the gifts that he received for Christmas.

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers for Matthew.

The NHL

Many of you know that I take photos for minor league hockey.  I received an email the other day from the hockey league that my photos were featured on the front of the NHL website.  I have been fortunate to have my work featured in many places in the past year.  I am going to try to post a few of them like this from time to time.  

Pull That Bus!

Here is a quick photo I took for a news agency for a school fundraiser.  The students had to pull a bus against other classes in order to raise money for the PTA.  I was bitterly cold but they still were able to put together enough energy to put a full size school bus across a parking lot.

How to Have Fun at Weddings.

Weddings are actually a lot of fun.   As someone who photographs a lot of weddings I feel that they are a sacred time for couples but they can also be a lot of fun.  If a couple, typically a bride will just allow the day to take its course, planned or not so planned, and relax, it can be a lot of fun.  No matter how much planning a couple does there are always things that just don't work out in the agenda.  Forget the details and allow yourself to enjoy the day and it will be a great time.  It is tough to get couples to relax but I have have perfected the skill necessary to get them to relax for a few moments to enjoy the day and each other.  This allows our little creative photo sessions at weddings to go smoothly and for the couple to photograph with emotion and romance.  

Putting Up the Christmas Tree

Well we did it.......sort of.  My wife actually is the true leader who coordinates when the tree will go up.  I was able to capture the festive time with my camera.  I went up the second floor and risked life and limb (I am afraid of heights) and looked over the balcony to take a shot of the family putting up the tree.  The last photo is of my son Sam who was doing a great job putting up ornaments.  

HDR

Unless you are a photographer or graphic designer you probably do not know what HDR is.  HDR stands for high dynamic range.  It is a process in bringing out stronger variations in light and dark areas within a photo.  I am not someone who likes "over processing" photos.  I personally think that every photograph can use some "tweaking" but I do not personally like them to be overdone.  HDR is something I have been avoiding but recently found a few uses for it.  For example in commercial photography such as portraits of bands etc there is a use.  Above are a few random photos that I did some HDR editing to.  

Veteran's Day

I have the greatest respect for the men and women who have served and are serving in our military.  I was honored to receive a news assignment today to cover a Veteran's Day service and have attached one photo, above, that I can share with you. 

I am scheduled to photograph many great people and events in the next year.   One event that I am looking forward to is a wedding of a military couple who have hired me to photograph their special day.  Speaking of weddings, yes I am planning on adding more photos to the blog and my website (http://www.StatsonPhotography.com).  I have lots of weddings that have not been added but will be added in the next few months.

Since today is Veteran's Day go out and thank a veteran for their service.  

Election Time

What a long and exciting presidential election year.  I have had the privilege of photographing many of the candidates who ran for the office of President.  It was a great year meeting many of the candidates and getting photos for many news agencies.  I am involved in local politics in my community and had the opportunity to stay close to home on election day and photograph local political elections.

A person I have had the honor of serving with on our local township board is Paul Amman.  Paul has been the Atlas Township Supervisor for the past eight years.  Paul lost the primary election and ran a write-in campaign.  Unfortunately Paul did not win his election.  I was hired by a news agency to photograph Paul as he took out his last campaign sign of the evening. 

The top photo is of Shirley Jones who won the spot of Supervisor.  Shirley is pictured on election day with supporters. 

Harvest Time

The Fall is a beautiful time in Michigan and the actual harvest for farmers is a reward for all of their hard work.  I set out to photograph whitetail deer the morning of November 1st and ended up with an entirely different set of photographs.  Little did I know that where I picked to photograph was the spot where Kermit Koester from Davison Township Michigan had picked to harvest the early morning of November 1st.  

Long story short but I had a chance to spend time with Farmer Kermit and photograph him harvesting his corn.  The photo above shows Farmer Kermit standing on his combine and not pictured is Kermit's son who has just brought up a trailer to off load the corn from the combine.  

To view a collection of photos from the time spent with Farmer Kermit and the harvest visit here:http://statson.smugmug.com/gallery/6437458_HGPJZ#407935777_23fzi

GREASE, the musical

I did an assignment for a news agency covering practice for a performance of the musical "GREASE".   For those old enough you will have memories of John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John when Grease is mentioned.  

Wedding Dress

The wedding dress shot is one I try to get if at all possible.  I typically position the dress in a spot that matches the surroundings of the wedding location.   I try to have the dress in a photogenic location that really flows with the wedding and backgrounds.  Here is a dress from a recent wedding that I positioned on a door leading out of the church reception hall.

Goodrich Michigan

Here is a photo from a historic building in Goodrich Michigan.  Goodrich is in the SE corner of Genesee County.  This building is now the Goodrich Historical Society and was the former Goodrich Library.  It is certainly not very big but a little piece of history.  

Before and After

There are many times that customers tell me that they do not think they need their photos edited.  I was out shooting for a history organization looking for a grave from a civil war veteran and took a few interesting shots.  The sky was very overcast today and there were a few sprinkles of rain.  This photo indicates that if you shoot a photo in "RAW", even poor lighting can be salvaged with editing. 

Behind the Scenes

I am not going to post many hockey photos here but wanted to at least post one photo from the back room, locker room area of Perani Arena.  The Flint Generals played their home opener last night and did a spectacular job winning the game and entertaining fans.  You can visit a few sample photos from the game at http://www.flintgeneralsphotos.com

Senior Photo Shoot

Here are a few photos from a recent senior photo shoot.  These are an example of photographing using the natural surroundings and textures.  Many people want water falls and "nice" pretty things but like one of the shots above, the red background is an old rusty horse trailer.  

He Shoots, He Scores! (insert hockey airhorn here)

Many of you know that when I am not photographing weddings I photograph many other things.  Of the events that I photograph are senior photos, news photography and sports.  Well this year I have signed an agreement with the Flint Generals hockey team.  The Flint Generals are members of the IHL and Double 'A' affiliate of the Stanley Cup Champions Detroit Red Wings.

I will still focus on weddings and the Flint Generals are very accommodating with my photography schedule.  Sports gives me an opportunity to strengthen my photography skills and will allow me to offer a new flair of photography to professional sports.  I intend on not only capturing goals, checks, fights but also taking a photojournalistic approach  and capturing many behind the scenes type moments.  I would have signed up as an actual hockey player, except for the small problem that I can't skate.  :)

Scary Photos with a Message

Both photos are from a shoot I did for a news agency.  They are from a haunted house, well more of what they would call "Reality House".  A church group put together a haunted house based on real life situations to get ticket buyers to realize how scary life is and that they need Jesus.  The top photo was of an actress who played a part in a drunk driving scene which told about the brutal reality of drunk driving.   The bottom photo is of an actor who plays the part of satan who tells of how just living a good life without Jesus will lead to hell.

For photography geeks:  Both photos were shot with a Canon 5D and Canon 35L.  The top photo was a challenge due to lighting but I positioned myself to where the lighting would balance and I could shoot to emphasize the girls wounds.  The bottom photo I thought would not work.  Technically it was VERY dark.  I did not want to shoot at too slow of a shutter speed,  so I shot with high ISO on the Canon 5D, something it is known to do well with.  Then with the strength of the 5D and the strengths of the 35L's 1.4,  I  positioned myself where I could get enough light to get a photo that told the story.  

Boxing at The Palace of Auburn Hills

The bottom photo is of the promoter Joseph Donofrio, pictured on the left, and in the light blue suit is the "Hitman" Thomas Hearns.  Boxing is a sport that has a rich history in Detroit but keeping the interest alive is something I give Joe Donofrio credit for.  

Family Time

I was out of town photographing a wedding this weekend.  On the way home I had a client scheduled for a photo shoot.  We did a few location shoots and as we were leaving a park I noticed a family eating lunch on a park bench looking over the water.  I was going to approach them and ask them if I could take their photo from the front, but did not want to disturb their family time.  So as I walked passed them I decided to take a quick photo.  Dad moved as I was taking the photo but I think it still tells the story.

More Politics

I worked a news assignment last night covering local campaign offices for Obama and McCain.  As a photojournalist I try to keep my opinions out of what I am documenting but let me give you an overall observation.  Typically, people are very enthusiastic about choosing a side, but I have found that this campaign season many are hesitant in sharing their views.  I even found as I was taking photos that there was a person picking up lawn signs.  This unnamed person did not want me taking his photo because he did not want people to know who he was voting for.  I suggested to him that maybe the lawn sign would give it away.

Anyway, because of this hesitation I wanted to make sure that the faces photographed were not necessarily recognizable.  

Sam's Birthday

I wanted to make sure that with all the attention given to Matthew that I gave a little time to one of my other boys, Sam.   For his 9th birthday, Sam wanted drums or an alien mask.  Well, this birthday he was fortunate to get both things that he wanted.  After traveling for a wedding this weekend I came home and Sam wanted to show me his alien mask and a few songs he could play on his drums.  Happy Birthday Sam!

Matthew's Progress

Many of you know that my son Matthew has been sick for a while.  He came down with a rare auto-immune disease called Henoch-Schonlein purpura, or HSP.  Matthew has been in a lot of pain for the past month or so.  He was hospitalized at the University of Michigan Hospital for kids called Mott Children's Hospital for a while and then at home.  It has been over a month now but we are glad to say that he is recovering.  Matthew actually went outside today and did a little playing.  We are so blessed to have Matthew recovering.  He has missed a lot of school and the goal is to get him to school in the next few days.  

Brenda & Matt Family Photo

Brenda and Matt are great people.  I had the chance to photograph their wedding in Frankenmuth Michigan last year and now was a chance to do a family photograph. We picked a location in historic Holly Michigan.   Typically I like shooting in the historic battle alley but we happened to pick a day that there was an antique fair going on!  Well we enjoyed our time and got a lot of great photos of their growing family.

Running Around Again, well photographing runners.

I am often contracted to do non-wedding photography work on days that I am not photographing weddings.  The other day I had a pretty busy day I had to photograph the Brooksie Way Half Marathon in the morning (early in the morning) and then I had to do head shots for a pro sports team in the afternoon.  Anyway, above are two quick photos the first is from a runner the second is the Oakland County Sheriff's Department clearing the course.

Getting Better with Age

I have done a lot of work in the past few months (weddings, news, politics etc).  I did an assignment for a news agency coving a bluegrass event, by the way I am a smooth jazz type of music fan, anyway, but took a few photos that I can share with you.  The fella in the red shirt Royce "Razorback" Bassham told me that he gets better with age.  I thought about that and it sure is true.  As a photographer the style in which I shoot is getting better.   I am one of those people who believe in the constant improvement of myself.  The first photo is of Mel Hammond a famous bluegrass performer.  

Thanks for following my blog.  I will have many other posts as often as I can.  I have lots to post and a big announcement in the next week.  

On the Road to Recovery!

Matthew has been home from the hospital for a week now and as of today he is feeling better!  YEA!  Matthew has had a long hard road with HSP and he now feels well enough to play video games.  Now this may not sound great to you but Matthew has been in severe abdominal pain and unable to do much other than lay in pain.  We are blessed to have Matthew on the road to recovery.  Our hope is for Matthew to start back at school slowly, maybe even this week!  YEA MATTHEW!

University of Michigan Medical Center and Matthew

My son Matthew, 12, has been in the hospital for almost two weeks.  Matthew came down with sudden "tummy" pain and after a day or two the pain worsened.  My wife and I took Matthew to the hospital where initially the thought was he had an appendicitis or maybe a tear in his intestine.  He was transfered to U of M Hospital, where his team of doctors diagnosed Matthew with a rare auto-immune disease called Henock-Schonlein Purpura or HSP.   According to to the physicians, Matthew's case was rare, he had severe abdominal pain and a small rash.  Generally the the rash is large but the pain is less intense, that was not the case with Matthew. 

I want to thank a special 3rd year U of M Medical student for all his work on diagnosing Matthew, Milad Sharifpour.   Milad was one of the U of M physician team members and spent a lot of time with Matthew.  Milad was able to evaluate Matthew, do a lot of  homework and come up with the diagnosis.  Prior to this Matthew was on morphine that did not give Matthew much pain relief.   Thank you Milad and all of the doctors who helped Matthew along in his progress.  We also want to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers during this time.  God is good!

Obama Visits Flint, Michigan

Here are a few quick photos from Senator Obama's campaign visit to Mott Community College in Flint Michigan today.  It was a small event given to invite only guests.  The crowd was comprised of mainly Democrat supporters from the Flint, Genesee County area.