Taking a Break With Some Art

Terri and I had consultations, weddings, and family portraits this weekend, so I'm sharing a little art with everyone until I can get through the edits!



Even though most of my posts are about the wonderful people that Terri and I meet, i still find the time now and again to take some photos for fun! These are the coolest stuff recently :)







30 Second shot on the full moon!




Autumn's Steaming Summer Shoot!

Autumn is super awesome. We braved a heat index of 102 at 6 o' clock to saunter around the finer parts of downtown Cincinnati Ohio for some beautiful senior portraits!

My beautiful wife Terri and I chose one of our favorite locations on the west side of downtown for it's complimentary textures and diversity of classic architecture.

It's nice to be able to get vintage images like this...

And then a block later look like you're swimming in a meadow of wildflowers in the middle of downtown...

And end up in the posh contemporary section. :)

(this image is fabulous.)

Breaking from my normal strobist style, here's a few available light images with my sigma.

Autumn looks great in every one of these! And it's hard for me to believe she wasn't sweating considering it was SO HOT! I was drippy in the near 100 degree heat, but Autumn kept it cool. Amazing!

Thank you Autumn for letting me take your portraits!!!

Modern Day Pin Up Calendar - Part 2

So here's the second half of the year ladies and gentlemen! I'm quite proud of the image above, I think this session was my favorite of the calendar. Thinking about it now, it's probably because we got a real stunt bi-plane to pose with, and I eventually got to chase it around the sky thanks to Andy and Tico!


In some cases budget and time just didn't allow for the full blown concept we had so we pulled inspiration from the flat minimalist backgrounds of american painter Gil Elvgrin. (The fire pole here is a broken lamp :)

(July)

This shoot was a scream. Sorry. Anyway, really it was taken the same night as July above, but it was about 20 degrees outside with wind. It was a really fun shoot and the cold just made us work more efficiently. :)

Once again, all of these images are for a really thoughtful and stylish gift for my friend's husband. Thank you SO MUCH Tina and Danny for letting me share these. This whole project was ultra fun. Tina and I had to coordinate this elaborate plot while Danny was at work so it would stay a surprise (and it took several months)! ...and Danny, I'm so glad you didn't find Tina's phone with messages like "We can't do it tonight, Danny stayed home sick." and come try to kill me. :)

If you are interested in creating a timeless masterpiece for you or someone you love please don't hesitate to call. It doesn't even have to be a calendar, it could just be a beautiful portrait.

Modern Day Pin Up Calendar

(Thanks Tom and Ann P. for use of your pool!)

It all started about a year ago. Tina had a fantastic idea to surprise her beloved husband (and awesome fireman stud) Danny!! A modern day pin up calendar!!!

So, Tina is a genius. She had most of the concepts well thought out by the time we started production. All I needed to do was create the image that she had constructed. It was a great team. With the help of my wonderful wife Terri and master automotive photographer OJ Santiago, the whole calendar was a joy to create!

This is actually Danny. We snatched a few images from their engagement session for the calendar when December started creeping up on us :) But with the shamrock dress we thought this would be a fine March.


(April Showers)

Look for some awesome outtakes from some of these sessions in the future!


(One of my favorites from the engagement session! That's Ella, the family dog. :)

This is only half of the images used for the Calendar. The other half will be posted soon!


Gem and Mineral show!

(This is a resin ring with real flowers inside. NOTE: Not a rock)

I love collecting rocks. In fact, my entire house is filled with them. Each summer and fall the Sharonville Convention Center hosts a gem and mineral show and Terri and I can't resist it!

This show was strange because, despite the name of the annual convention it is now mostly beads. :(

Luckily the remaining gem and stone vendors are high quality! (They were where we traditionally spend most of our money each year anyway.)

This trip was extra fun because we brought friends and family to join in the geological nerding.

This rock reminds me of my sister Julie who was sporting some rainbow hair her boyfriend Keifer was quick to point out is the same color pattern as "those duster things." Well played.

Since I've taken so many photos of the spoils of the continuous trips to the gem and mineral show I wanted to photograph the stones in a fun way. I hope I achieved it. :)



(This is the boring old studio full light on seamless way)

Fool's gold!

I really love vivid color. Especially blue.



More posts about rocks?





Baker Family!

It was my pleasure to spend last Saturday with the Baker family for a brief portrait sitting in the heat. :)



The Bakers are quickly becoming one of my favorite families! They are wonderful people and who could resist Zoe?

It's really rewarding preserving moments like these for my clients and friends. :)

Moments of Discovery!


She moves fast though! I had to keep clicking!

The magic really happened when mommy started singing!


Thank you Baker Family!