Lee & Steve from Texas

This weekend I had the pleasure of photographing Lee and Steve.  The couple is from San Antonio Texas and their family owns a beautiful golf course in Freeland Michigan, The Bayou, where they had their wedding.   They were a great couple and wanted some creative wedding work done.  The weather was questionable but ended up holding out for them.  Here is one shot that show them enjoying a romantic moment on the 5th green shortly after the wedding vows.

Samantha & David -- Bride with tattoo

I had the pleasure to photograph Samantha & David's wedding this past weekend.  They are great people and a lot of fun.  Samantha has a large tattoo on her back that could not be missed-- I tried to capture the tattoo in as elegantly possible.  They seem to enjoy life and had everything that you could ever want at a wedding including a Star Trek cake.  Maybe I will share more of the cake later.  Here is one that shows off Sam's tattoo while at an intimate dining table.

Photoshoot for James Swenor for State Representative

I had the opportunity to do a rushed photo shoot for James Swenor who is running for 51st seat in Michigan's State House race.  Jamie, as he is called, is a great guy and I look forward to documenting his race for office.  Here is a photo of Jamie and his wife Michele.  

Matthew's 12th Birthday

My son Matthew turned 12 yesterday.  Matthew is a great kid with a great heart and always thinking of others.  It was great to see Matthew enjoy his day!

Stephanie & Mike

Here is another photo of Stephanie and Mike from Goshen Indiana.  They wanted photos on the dock where they were engaged, but I just had to take a few photos of them on the stairs going down to the dock.  Here is another shot from the day. 

Indiana Wedding - Stephanie and Michael

I had the pleasure of traveling to Indiana this weekend to photograph Stephanie and Michael.  The wedding was in Goshen, Indiana which was a great town.  I went to college in Marion,  Indiana and truly enjoy Indiana.  I have always found the people of Indiana to be open and friendly. This trip to Goshen only confirmed this.

Stephanie and Mike are great people and have tons of friends.  I had the pleasure of spending the day with them and photographing everything from getting ready to a late night party.  It was a great day with lots of great people.  The town of Goshen gave us lots of nice backdrops for photos.  We were able to take some creative wedding party photos at the Goshen College, a place where the couple met.   This photo was from the visit to the dam where they were engaged.  These stairs walked down to a very small dock where they love to hang out.

I wanted to share this photo showing that even a small set of old stairs is a non-wedding type of location.  I say non-wedding because it was not indoors and there were five fisherman who were polite enough to step aside while we took a few photos.  (I am telling you people from Indiana are great!)  

Weddings and Kids

I have the privilege of photographing weddings which is sometimes a pretty serious task.  Some of the funniest moments are when kids are being kids at a wedding.  Now, being the father of four boys, I totally understand how kids behave. Many will say that my wife has five kids.  So I am constantly on the lookout before, during, after and in between for memorable times to capture kids.  Here are two photos that show how cute kids can be.  Many times the kids are not goofing off but simply doing what they have practiced and they are being cute during it.

The flower girls were adorable and I was able to capture the flower petals as they were in the air.

Here is another one of the flower girl and bible carrier as they waited for the ceremony to start.  They were playing a game and I was able to capture them with some great lighting coming from the windows of the church.

Wedding - On the Beach

Well, I think it is time to share a few wedding photos.  Let me start with one photo from last weekends wedding.  I had the pleasure of photographing Bruco, above, and his bride Melanie.  I will share more later but wanted to show you that it is possible to take a great photo of the men.  Too many times wedding photographers spend all the time trying to take photos of the bride and forget the groom.  Here is the groom, Bruco, and his group of groomsmen.  It was a great wedding on the beach with the beautiful setting of Lake Michigan in the background.  The wedding was in South Haven Michigan.  

Happy Memorial Day

I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day.  I had the chance to cover a Memorial Day Parade in Linden, Michigan.  The parade started at the Linden VFW hall and ended at the Linden Cemetery. It was nice to see the community come together to remember those who have fought and  died for our country.  We live in the best country in the world and owe our freedom from those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for us.   I had the chance to spend time with many veterans who have fought in many wars and here is a photo of two of the vets getting ready for the parade.

Gone to the Dogs

I had the chance to photograph a dog show this weekend.  I have a few dogs myself but I was not aware of all of the dog breeds that there are out there.  Dog owners from many states around the Midwest and Canada were in Michigan for a dog gone good time.  Here are a few quick samples.

I love working with people!

I hear many times how photographers in my industry complain because they have someone difficult they work with.  I guess I have been lucky because I have always worked with great clients.  I typically build a pretty strong bond with my clients.  I have been fortunate to have worked with great people.

I just had the honor to photograph a fantastic couple, Calista & Mark.  They are fantastic people and have great family and friends.  I will share a few samples from their wedding in the near future.  By the way, that is one thing I hesitate doing.  I hesitate in sharing photos because I feel that weddings are such a private, intimate time that I really am not comfortable sharing photos with the world.  I am very proud of my work but I put the privacy of others above just showing off photos.  So any photo I share is simply one of many that I take and deliver to my clients.  

What I share is not always the best, but photos I am comfortable sharing. 

Back to Calista and Mark, I wanted to share an email that they sent to me:

Scott,

Thank you again!!! Mark and I along with our parents looked at our photos. AMAZING! ......... You are truly awesome. 

 

-Mark and Calista   

The Editing Command Center

The photo above is a quick shot of my desk.  My father was kind enough to put hours of work into making me a custom desk.  I will take a few shots when I have a chance and show you more of my desk.  The reason for this photo is to show you the amount of work that goes into making photos perfect.  After taking the photo there are many hours of work editing photos.  I have several computers on my desk and they all have a purpose.   I just added the Apple iMac because of many frustrations trying to make things work on my Windows Vista machine. 

To ensure that no detail is lost I also have many different backup methods that are not pictured here.  But remember that it is not simply taking a photo and adding it to a CD or DVD.  There are many hours & days of editing after the photo shoot.  I will in the near future add before and after photos to show you the difference even a little editing work makes.

What has Scott been up to?

Hey thanks for asking.  Yes I have been taking tons of photos but I recently caught a cold.  After a week of dealing with feeling horrible my wife sent me to the doctor.  I reluctantly went and the doc determined I had bronchitis.   I suffered through bronchitis and after two weeks did not feel any better.  This time I willingly decided to go to another doctor and was diagnosed with pneumonia.  After some aggressive medication and treatment I am back on the mend.  I am glad to be back up and running and can't wait to be 100%.

It sure makes me appreciate my health.  I am thankful to God for giving me and my family good health.

I will try to play catch up in the next few weeks and post some of the work that I did.  I was able to do a wedding this past weekend and should have those up shortly.

Here is one of a mother and her son.  Let me give you a little story on this kid.  I was taking photos of him at a wedding rehearsal dinner.  I was up close and personal with him while he was eating.  He told me that it was dangerous to photograph people while they eat.  I asked him why.  He said because I could scare them and they could choke on their food and die.  Yikes.  I better brush up on my Heimlich skills. :)

NBC's America's Got Talent

I had the opportunity to do a photo shoot for a cute, talented, young singer. Rachel is only 4 years old but has a fantastic little voice. She was just invited to audition for NBC's America's Got Talent show. Rachel is from the Flint Michigan area and her mother contacted me to get some shots of Rachel for their marketing brochures. It was a pleasure to photograph Rachel, she is smart, talented and just a fun little girl. I have had the opportunity to work with Rachel before and hear her singing. I love to listen to Rachel on my iPod and wish Rachel the best of luck on her audition!

Flint Generals Hockey

On Saturday 2-16-08 the Flint Generals battled against the Ft. Wayne Komets at Perani Arena in Flint Michigan. The game was a tough battle for both the Komets and the Generals. The Flint Generals were successful after a goal in overtime. Here are a few pictures from the game.

Fight Night at The Palace of Auburn Hills

It was a pleasure working for Joe Donofiro, the promoter of Fight Night at the Palace of Auburn Hills,  Michigan. Joe is a class act and puts on a great show. Joe has a true love for boxing and does more than his part to promote the sport. Here are a few pictures from the evening of boxing.

Hands and Feet Project Concert

Here are a few pictures from another concert that I photographed this past weekend. There were several bands playing at this Hands & Feet Project concert in Michigan. Craig Lang & Driven, Andy Stefanic Band, Common Thread and Nailpoint Payment.

Sarah's benefit concert

I am a little behind in posting but here are a few photos from a benefit concert that Contemporary Christian singer Sarah Schieber put on. Sarah lost her husband Chad just weeks before her concert. Sarah's faith gave her amazing strength to go on with the planned concert. It was a pleasure meeting Sarah and photographing her concert.

North American International Auto Show in Detroit

Here are two quick pictures from the North American International Auto Show in Detroit Michigan. These, like the rest of the pictures here in the blog, are two quick samples of the many photos that I took that day.

Huckabee........the third and final Republican running for President.