Winter makes me hate the outdoors and that if I am outside for 10 minutes, I lose feeling in my toes. But once Spring hits, those worries are gone. I can stand outside sans coat. Well, expect for the first day of Spring this year. Kansas City did have a freak snowstorm and we got about a foot of show. It happens...I guess. Another reason I like Spring more than Summer is because I can go outside and not unwillingly donate my blood to mosquitoes. I loathe those annoying little things.
And another reason I love some Spring...I get to fire my grill back up. You'd think I was a carnivore after my dinner tonight. Dinner consisted of steak, chicken, and hamburger. Well, I did consume a small amount of fruits and vegetables (pineapple and grilled onions). Holleigh loves it when I grill because I smell like hickory smoke. Here's to many more grillin' days...let's hope it doesn't rain too much!
Today was the first time I saw Noël since she was 2 days old. Now she is 4 months old, and still flippin' adorable. Since she was born in December, this is her first time to experience the warmish weather.
I love seeing Noel's tiny hands wrap around her daddy's long fingers.
Garrick spending some time with his little sister.
If her current length is any indication of her future height, Noel will be tall like her father, Alex. She won't remember being this small, but she'll have the proof that once she was "knee-high to a grasshopper" and ....
.... she'll see how much she was loved from the very beginning.
I can't wait to shoot Noel again when we can go outside and enjoy the elements.
I have wanted to post these photos for SOOOOO long. I told the boys that I would wait until they ordered the prints and hung them in the loft before releasing them to the public. 20 or so prints and a big ol' canvas have all been framed and hung, so I can now post this epic portrait session.
I give you, SHOTGUNS AND MUSTACHES ;)
And a quick story about how I was first contacted to shoot this. I received an email that said they wanted portraits of 3 guys in the West Bottoms and they wanted a black & white wall print 50 inches across. I asked if they were in a band...no they weren't. I asked if they had an idea for the photos...mustaches, black turtlenecks, and coffee mugs. At this point, I thought I was going to get jumped in the West Bottoms and taken for all my camera gear. Turns out, I knew one of the guys and it all made sense [this very much so fit his personality]. They just wanted some crazy portraits for their new loft. At the last minute they changed from the original idea to Shotguns and Mustaches...a good choice in my opinion ;)
___
I was asked to shoot the cover for Must Read Kansas City's February issue. The cover idea was cougar hunting. Cougar as in an older women looking for younger men...that type of cougar. We came up with some different ideas but settled on remaking the original cougar story: The Graduate. The funny thing about the shoot was that our leg model got an unintentional ab workout by holding her leg up so much. Here is the cover:
To read the issue, click here and then click the cover on that page.
Every month or so, a lot of us KC Photogs like to meet up and talk shop, not talk shop, and eat some good food. Yesterday, we braved the sub-freezing weather to go to Eggtc for breakfast. It was yummilicious and good to see everyone one more time before the Wedding & Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) conference in March.
Here is a quick video of the few photos I took at the end of the meal. Missing from the video is Stacey (he had to leave early) and myself (I forgot to turn the camera on myself).
One of my close friends (Mr. Savage) had an ugly sweater themed holiday party so I brought my camera and took some quick photos.
Mike has some awesome hair that can be styled with ease...makes me jealous that I have such short hair.
ATTACK OF THE CUPS!!!!
We tamed the cups and made them into nice hats. You can't get the full effect of my 'ugly' sweater in this picture, but it was ridiculously shrunken. It is wool and was washed/put in the dryer. Once it came out of the dryer, it looked like it was made for my 6 year old niece ;)
Mike and Amanda are doing some test shots for the Mustache Bash in the next couple weeks. Pictures of that awesomeness will be posted soon ;)
Mr. Savage took a right jab from Keith...I guess Keith didn't like the cheese tray or something.
It was a fun time and a nice way to end all of the normal holiday commotion.
Quite frequently I shoot photography at clubs. I shoot the people, I shoot the DJs...heck, I even shoot myself from time to time...that's the problem with carrying a loaded weapon ;) Last week I shot at Mosaic Lounge 3 days in a row. They recently remodeled and these photos are from their Grand Re-Opening on Thursday. This is a stop motion video I put together from that night...it is my first go at this type of video. More like it to come.
This is Claude...I see him from time to time and we have a standing pact to always take a photo together.
I love this shot. Nick is in the background making some weird face and Cali and Claude look like they are about to put the gloves on and fight ;)
Don't fight it...you can't hide from the camera...
Sometimes people I don't know randomly want a photo with me...I am happy to oblige.
If you can't read it...DJ Spinstyles played a Pants on the Ground remix...it made my night. IF you haven't seen General Larry Platt's American Idol audition, check it out here.
Okay okay...I really like taking photos of myself with people. This is Brittany...she works at Mosaic some nights but she does awesome work for the fabulous Hufft Projects (they are a Leed Certified architecture company.)
When Eugene tells you to take your skully off...you take your skully off ;)
If you ever see me shooting at a club or any event, don't be afraid to say hi...we can always take a picture together ;)
Well...that's not me, but that is my photo from a wedding I shot last year. It was Brooke + William's wedding at the Downtown Library. Brooke said that she "had attended too many weddings that seemed exactly the same" and that they "really wanted to do something more unique." Holly and I had the same sentiments from shooting so many weddings that we also wanted (and had) a unique wedding for ourselves.
My favorite detail from the wedding was their programs which I talked about on my blog post. If you want to read the article online, you can read it on INK's website.
Here's a funny side note on how I found out that I was in the magazine. I was at Kdog Photographers talking with Rachel. An INK sales rep stopped by and gave Rachel a couple copies of the new issue. It was a bridal issue and when thumbing through it, I saw a photo of a couple at the library dancing on the checkerboard floor. Kdog has a photo of a couple on that checkerboard during the daytime and asked if it was their photo because it looked so familiar (plus I love their photo of that). I then said wait, that's my photo (the photo was at night)...they are ALL my photos! We both just started to laugh. I was never contacted about my photos being used for the issue, but it was a happy surprise to see them.
I want to wish everyone a happy and safe holiday. I also want to pass along some photos and a video of a cool Christmas decorating job a house has.
My sister picked Holleigh & me up at the airport from our honeymoon and took us to a couple places with some great decorations.
The photos below are from the most unique installation I have seen in a while. A house in midtown put up some scaffolding in the front yard. They put washing machines on the base level and dryers above it. Inside the dryers were TVs that played a different Christmas movie each day. And the whole installation was wrapped with Christmas lights. Awesomely unique!
Here is a quick video I took of the installation...
My niece cracks me up. After Thanksgiving dinner at my brothers house, Holly noticed something about the cats. I will let you look at the next couple pics and see if you can tell.
If you haven't noticed, she cut the cat's whiskers in half. She told us she did this because when the cat would rub against her face in bed, it tickled. I am tickled silly that she did something like this. She didn't know that whiskers are an integral part of their senses. I foresee that cat getting stuck a lot now ;)
Sidney also made some name places. I was a bald man with a really dark tan, and her Dad was wearing a dress ;)
