Bring On the Harvest!

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When you look at your calendar for the next six months, are you excited? Bored? Perhaps, even terrified? Fall is on our heels and besides being my very favorite season, it's also a time for reaping what you sow.

Among some of the 'seeds' I've planted in the past year (or longer), were some changes to my workflow and service offerings that are just now coming to fruition and have resulted in unprecedented efficiency and streamlineness (is that a word? Apparently not according to spell check...). My wedding clients have consistently gotten their proofs and albums back in what I'm pretty confident is a world record-setting turn around time while I somehow managed to achieve a bit more of a balanced life. I've enjoyed various public speaking opportunities, taken some great trips, and produced work that makes me proud (and makes clients happy). And on top of it all, I'm having an absolute ball (can you say "Dancing With the Stars!?")!

This coming year's harvest is poised to bring even more opportunity for adventure, fun, exciting work, great clients... and of course, learning opportunities! Over the next few months, I'm excited about so many things, not the least of which are...

September: I'll be sharing my wickedly rad workflow prowess with WPPI Roadstrip attendees in Detroit and, with a string of Friday weddings this month, I'll be celebrating a few Husker football Saturdays with the best of 'em! Some really amazing clients even surprised me with a pair of Husker tickets so that Emir could attend his first football game.... EVER! (How insanely cool is that!?) Also planning to finally complete an application/project for what will hopefully become a truly positive, life-changing travel/learning/work experience. Keeping my fingers crossed!

October: I get to dress up (and wear heels!) and head to Denver to attend one of my best friend's weddings as a guest (what to wear!?). Plus, Emir and I will have the honor of appearing in a photoshoot (with a piano!) by an über talented Texas based photographer while surrounded by the beauty of Nebraska's celebrated sandhills. AND... I'll be running my 2nd half-marathon in Des Moines with Emir and my sister (both of whom will be running their first half-marathon, and are already insanely fast and kicking my butt!).

November: Looking forward to diving into the book project I've had on the back burner for the past six years (it's time!). With my favorite publisher on board, I plan to really hit it out of the park and finally get started on the long overdue writing process!

December: Personal & business reboot time to finish up various projects and hopefully deep clean our closets/basement, etc... (somehow, spring cleaning becomes winter cleaning at our place... ha!) Planning some trips to celebrate the beauty of the season with Emir... not sure where we'll end up yet, but a good time is definitely on the agenda! Will certainly be spending some time in the kitchen cooking up a storm of holiday delights and if I get really brave... I may attempt to bust out my sewing machine again...

January: Hopping across the pond to present at SWPP in London. The InDesign revolution continues! We'll also be catching up with dear friends in Ireland and Whales before hopefully hoping a flight to Morocco for our first African adventure!

February: Bring on the fun of WPPI! I'll be heading back to Vegas for another year of sharing my heart with fellow photographers and helping them be at their best!

March: A yurting adventure with friends! Since first hearing this word back in 2008, I've been fascinated and can't wait for this trip lead by friend and outdoor professional (not to mention former kabloom groom) Jason!

On top of that, I have some really incredible weddings and portrait sessions coming up the rest of this year and into next year that I am stoked about!

Like I said... harvest time is my favorite time of the year. :) Now, I just need to get my hands on a few good caramel apples...

Down the Aisle: Christine + Ben

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What a gorgeous day for a wedding! After a summer of heat warnings and unrelenting humidity, it feels as though fall has finally pushed summer aside, making room for a cool, crispy (albeit breezy) afternoon for Christine + Ben. No detail was overlooked as Christine crafted the day of her dreams. As an Executive Meeting Planner at the Embassy Suites LaVista Conference Center, she knows how to pull together an event, and it showed! (PS: Thank you to all of her friends/co-workers who indulged my lighting requests at the reception... all for a good cause!)

Love that expression! The photo in the top left corner is Christine's reaction to the suggestion that her dress be removed with scissors... (the buttons up the back proved to be a bit of a challenge without a crochet hook...) :)

Ben was already fighting back tears without having even seen Christine yet... I love how her dad Hal walked her down to see Ben for the first time... such a doting father. You should've heard his toast... adorable!

Complete Music's Matt Everson was super DJ extraordinaire! High energy and enthusiastic, without being over the top... I loved the way he went around to all the tables to introduce himself and gather song requests during dinner. So proactive! Plus he had some wicked dance moves for the electric slide...

Nicely done cast and crew! (PS: For photogs who care... the boards in this blog post were built entirely in InDesign... cleaner, faster, better!)

Love & a Vintage Airplane

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I've had the idea for an engagement session with a vintage airplane rolling around in my head for quite awhile and was waiting for the right time/opportunity/couple when I met with Amy and Adam and knew they were a perfect match. Not only are they fun, up for anything and utterly adorable... but their wedding reception is set to take place at the Strategic Air Command museum so airplanes were already part of their theme! Next came wardrobe scouting, lining up the make-up artist/hair stylist (thank you Casey!), and crossing my fingers that I could find the right plane! (Just because I had the idea doesn't mean I had the plane!) I struck gold when I was put in touch with Stacy who not only contacted the plane's owner to get permission for us to borrow it, but also gave up part of her Sunday night to come out to the airfield with her two kiddos to make sure everything went OK (seriously... I'm sending something special with your name on it!).

The wind was nothing short of fierce (at one point it ripped my lighting umbrella not only off my lightstand, but tore the fabric off the skeleton and sent the whole thing blowing down the runway!), but I'm pretty stoked with what we got!

Flying forward, February will be here before you know it! :)

Principles: A Steal for $6

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The sales associate had a chip on her shoulder the size of Mt. Everest. I mean, she redefined rudeness while practically escalating it to an art form. Yet, in an attempt to give her the benefit of the doubt, I entertained the possibility that maybe she was just having a bad day. Maybe she was dealing with unforeseen hardships or stress I can scarcely even imagine. Perhaps my sheer presence was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. But... I just can't swallow the excuses I tried to make for her. Principles aren't something you abandon on a whim in the name of a bad day.

After initially denying my request to return a small unused item, she grabbed the receipt out of my hand and rolled her eyes in a manner that was so emphatic and over exaggerated, she was deserving of an Oscar. "Well...." she huffed, "if $6 is that important to you... I guess I'll go ahead and process your return." Slamming the item down on the counter, she nodded to the other cashier behind the register to process my request. What?! She's deciding whether or not to honor store policy and return my item based on her perception of the value of its $6 retail price!?

In a dazzling display of self-restraint, I responded with a simple, "It's not about the $6, it's the principle." I had bought an item and was told I could return/exchange it (minus some other non-refundable items also included in my purchase). In an effort to simplify my life and keep unnecessary consumption at bay, I took advantage of being in the area and dropped in to return the needless item. Little did I know the event would be riddled with such drama.

After leaving the store, my self-restraint ran thin and I voiced an avalanche of pent up fury to Emir (bless his heart!) who patiently persuaded me to relax, convincing me not to return to the store with the few choice words I had for the two young ladies who were by this time, surely lamenting my sheer existence and having a gossip hay day.

Left to my own devices, I replayed the exchange over and over in my mind, escalating in fury at what seems to pass for 'customer service' these days. Does her boss know she treats customers this way? Or worse yet, was she the boss? How do businesses that operate this way manage to survive? In a world bursting at the seams with competition, the transparency of social media, and a sheer overabundance of options from competitors, having and abiding by principles is sometimes the only leverage you have.

I like to imagine that this young woman went home that night with a slightly altered perspective, even if she can't yet admit it. Maybe, just maybe, I taught her something. Even if it did cost the store a $6 sale...

Down the Aisle: April + Todd

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Yesterday afternoon, as the sun sparkled and the wind tousled everyone's hair... (and gave the wedding programs a run for it!) April, Todd & little Maddox became a family. I'm told that when Maddox was asked who Todd was going to marry, he answered, "Mommy & me." How cute is that? I fell in love with all three of these cuties while on their loveshoot this past spring and knew their wedding day would be nothing short of joyous. Even the weather seemed happy to cooperate!

After saying, "I do!" there was a strong sense of excitement in the air... this little darling exudes it perfectly!

Congrats guys! Enjoy Hawaii!

A Floating Workshop: Camera Cruise, Let's Go!

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How cool is THIS? A 4 day "Camera Cruise" with yours truly and the likes of David Beckstead, the Bui Brothers, Frederick Van Johnson, Sara France, Kevin Swan, Shaun Austin, Frederick Van Johnson and more! It's a floating workshop where you get personal attention from some of your favorite professional photographers who have been there/done that and and are eager & willing to help you rock your world! Thursday, November 11, 2010 4:00 PM  – Monday, November 15, 2010 10:00 AM $1,250 includes four days full of workshops, shooting and face time (AND lodging/meals). Leaving from/Returning to: Mobile, Alabama Stopping in: Isla Cozumel, Mexico

I'll be sharing my wicked fast workflow and album production process using none other than Adobe InDesign. Join the revolution!

For full details, check out the Camera Cruise blog or the Camera Cruise registration site.

Class of 2011: Monica

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Look at this girl go! Monica was all business when it came to these images... way to rock it M!

For some reason, I really, really, really love this image. I think it was because she was totally in her own world... not paying attention to the camera. This was a 'test shot' that ended up a keeper! I love the contemplative expression on her face...

Two cheers for pink!

Gorgeous!

Another love!

Great job Monica! Hope your senior year is off to a rockin' start!