Seeing Things Differently

Some photographers know exactly the shot they want.  Well, I like to consider myself a visionary but, in reality the good Lord puts things in front of me at different times that I do not expect.  For example, I packed up the vehicle with myself, my wife, and two of my youngest children.  For those that have kids you understand that getting everyone in the car is sometimes an adventure.  Well, I wanted to run to get a shot of this old church I had driven by a few times and thought that it would like good at sunset.  After loading the vehicle my wife then tells me that we needed gas.  While I left only enough time to run to the location and take the shot.  I did not plan on having to stop and fill up, but I took the time because otherwise we were walking home, the fuel gage was on empty.   After filling up I ran to the church location only to find it a little disappointing.  It did not quite match up to the sunset image I had in mind.  But lucky me right behind the church was this field and tree with the sunlight shinning through.  So what is pictured here is not what I had planned, but sometimes you have to look at things differently.  Instead of complaining (I did enough en-route to get gas, sorry dear) I was open minded enough to see the real shot.  The Lord led me to this church not to take a photo of the church but to see the beautiful sunset coming through an unexpected place.

Koegels Meats, Flint, Michigan

To see a larger version of this photo click on it and it should bring up a little larger image.  If not you can visit my smugmug gallery and I have it in there: http://statson.smugmug - places gallery

This photo was actually taken by accident.  I was in the area of Koegel Meats and saw this potential shot and just had to stop to take this.  To me it looks like a car advertisement, well that would be if the car was showing us it's better side. :)  Anyway I thought you might enjoy viewing this photo.  For those photography geek folks this was taken with a Canon 40D and Canon 17-40L.  

The Crim, Flint, Michigan 2008

Here is the starting line just seconds before the start of the race.  There were over 15K people at the race.  It was an extremely humid day but the rain that was predicted held off.  



The last photo was of the two finishers just steps before the finish line.  Both runners were from Kenya.  

Fitness Coming to Flint Michigan

I had the opportunity to do some work for The Crim Fitness Foundation.  This was an event promoting the Crim race this coming Saturday.  (Yes I have been contracted to photograph The Crim -photos to come)  --The Crim will bring over 15K marathon runners to Downtown Flint, Michigan.  It is nice to see a place like Flint bring in so many people for a great event.

Here are a few photos of people around the event.  

The Crim Fitness Foundation....well sort of.

Did you ever start out doing one thing and end up doing another.  I call it a "Dory" moment.  I was photographing for The Crim Fitness organization and was walking back to my car, when I saw a tattoo parlor.  I was glancing in the window when I was invited in.  I asked if I could take a few photos of their customers getting a tattoo.  Everyone was warm and willing to be photographed.  Here is a photo of Katie getting her tattoo.  Katie did admit that it was a bit painful but she was taking it well.  The last photo is another happy customer waiting for more work to be done.

Thoughts for the day.....

Matthew 6:25-27
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?  Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 

Alison & Marcus, Pentwater Michigan

I traveled to Pentwater, Michigan last week to photograph Marcus and Alison's wedding.  Their wedding took place at Alison's Aunt & Uncle's retirement home in Pentwater.   Pentwater is a place that I have never been to before.  It is a few miles south of Ludington Michigan.  What a great hidden place in Michigan.  

The wedding was attended by family and friends from all over the globe.  It was an excellent location with such a warm feel.  The wedding was elegant while offering such a great touch of warmth.  

It was a pleasure meeting Alison and Marcus.  Alison's father married them, and what a great job he did.  Even though there were only about 40-50 at their wedding I was able to blend in and capture the raw emotion of the day.    Congratulations Marcus & Alison, and thank you.

Please visit my website for more photos of Alison and Marcus: www.StatsonPhotography.com/sadie

Kirby Family, Rochester Michigan

Sometimes dealing with family is, well, not a lot of fun.  But in this case I was asked by my sister, Michele, to photograph her and her family.  We had lots of fun!  They are a great group to photograph and very photogenic.  Here is one shot from their photo shoot.

This may come to a shock for most people but the Kirby's are well known for their karate skills.  They have mad karate skills as seen below.

 

Shipping out DVD's

If you order the DVD option here is what I send out to you (with your photos of course) :)   

I was able to finish up quite a few photos and get them burnt onto DVD last night.  They are ready to go and will be shipped out tomorrow to the couples above.   The top photo is that of Tye & Piper who live in Iowa.  

I was able to ship out another DVD on Tuesday that the couple received on Wednesday (wow is that fast or what!).  It was nice to get an email that the DVD arrived and they loved them.  The actual email said: "Scott we received the DVD and viewed the photos......they are awesome!...."

Katie & Austin, Brighton Michigan

I had the privilege of photographing Katie & Austin's wedding last week in Brighton Michigan.   They are a great couple with great friends and family.  Above are two photos from the day.  I have thousands of images to process and these are just two quick ones from their special day.  It was an outdoor wedding at Austin's grandparents home.   The location was spectacular.  Thanks Katie & Austin (and family) for the great time!

Weddings, People & Places

Hello!  This week was a busy one.  I was able to tour the state of Michigan doing a little photography work.  Just as the title states I was photographing weddings, people and when I had a little down time I had the chance to photograph a few places.  Above it a photo of picture under the Mackinaw Bridge.  The "Big Mac" as it is called is quite a spectacular bridge.  It spans five miles over some very treaterous (sp?) waters.  I did not have a chance to photograph the bridge until after 10pm one evening.  In order to get good photos in the dark you need a tripod where you can leave the shutter open to collect light.  There was no visible light when I took the above photo.  

 The bottom photo was taken from the angle at the same time frame, after 10pm in the evening.  I had to put the camera, Canon 5D, on a tripod and leave the shutter open for 15 - 20 seconds or so.  I forget exactly how long but had to play with the settings to ensure the perfect combination.