Montana and Landon are married!

How can you argue with a beautiful breezy beach wedding?  Montana was a beautiful bride, and it was obvious to everyone how much Landon cares about her and the kids.  Congrats guys, and I hope you have a fantastic July 4th :-).  

Morgan and Cody are married!

What a wedding.  I've had the honor of photographing both of the Troyer weddings and I always love it.  They are so heartfelt and so much fun.  This one was set up in Gene and Brenda's back yard, and I loved that we could photograph in a place that meant so much.  Congratulations, and it was an honor to be with you guys.  

Maggie and Branson are married!

Maggie and Branson had a beautiful Sunday afternoon for a wedding. Wait till you see Branson's face at first look, and I loved that we were able to sneak away at dusk and get some photos.  There is just so much feeling in late evening.  Congratulations guys, and thanks for having me be a part of your wedding day! 

Ceremony: St Patrick's park

Reception: The Brick

Decor: A Trick or Two

Katie and Garrett are married!

There are a lot of photos here.  I don't regret that.  I'm loving getting back into wedding season, and I'm happy it was with these guys.  The whole day was full of fun, and it's great to photograph with a crew that doesn't take themselves too seriously.  Congrats! 

Also, venue was Potawatomie Conservatories, which was lovely.  

Miranda

I'm discovering that collaboration is the next level for me in creativity. It feels great to be working with people who are bringing their vision to me, and working together to achieve it.  For this shoot, we brought 4 people together who all brought strong artistic visions and decided to see what we could do. I loved the process and I'm happy to recommend everyone listed here.
Model: Miranda Savoie
Stylist: Tania Ballvé
Makeup: Ashley Troxel

The Listening Series

Taking photos of people is delicate work.  

There isn't so much danger for a photographer, but for someone who sits for a photo, (particularly for someone who isn't a professional model) it is a vulnerable experience.  In some ways I've blocked that out of my mind because for a photographer, the job is intense enough without that weight.  Do we have the right light? Is everyone on time? Are my 22 batteries all charged? Do I have the correct modifiers?  Do I know where I'm going, and will my contact be there? Of all these concerns, many times except for the most basic concerns, the comfort of a subject is not high on the priority list.  Even less, my understanding of their story.  

While writing my best of 2016 blog, I stumbled upon a realization as I was writing.  A camera serves as a shield.  In fact I've kept it up at the expense of knowing almost anything about my subjects.  This gets work done, and allows me to make photos, but I'm not sure that it allows me to make portraits.  To me, a portrait is made through a connection.  It can be as simple as putting the camera down and asking questions.  So that's what I did.  I recruited 10 volunteers to meet with, and simply put the camera down.  I planned to ask them 3 questions.  

1. How did you grow up?

2. What is a good memory you have? 

3. What is something you miss?  

After 1 or 2 people, I realized that the first question could simply open the communication by itself.  As it turns out, people generally are happy to tell a story to someone who is actually listening (as I have failed to do so many times), and the stories were wonderful. People are so much more interesting when you are interested.  After a while, I found my camera and took a few simple photos, or photos that i thought they would enjoy, sometimes while they told me a story and that was that. 

I was thinking of a clickbait headline for this project.  "Photographer asks questions, and what he found will change everything!".  That would be a good way to both cheapen and complicate a thing that was neither cheap, nor complicated.   It was a simple exercise, and I learned simple but important things.  We all want to be heard, and we all have much more depth than we are able to show on a regular basis.  It's refreshing to share that depth on occasion, and it's important to share it with the right people.  We need face to face time with people who listen.  That transcends photography. 

Rudy and Michelle are married!

 This wedding had the distinction of having the most ice on every single surface of any wedding I've photographed, but the ceremony was full of warmth.  The hymn sing during the ceremony took me back to childhood as well.  A beautiful wedding in Champaign, IL and a wonderful couple.  Congrats Michelle and Rudy!  I was honored to be a part of it.