Goodbye 2010, Thanks For Being The Best Yet!

Goodbye 2010, Hello 2011.

Funny to think that only a few years ago we were worrying about Y2K.

This has been the most amazing year of my 28 years of life.

Professionally, it was better than ever. It's always a goal to make every year better than the last...this year I was able to continue my streak.

The best part of the year, though, came July 29. My little baby Blair Harvi was born. From the very first moment I saw her face, I was hooked. I was captivated by something so little, yet so breathtakingly powerful. Powerful because my life didn't matter as much anymore, only hers. Life changed in that instant. Now, she's nearly 5 months old and captivating me on a nightly basis. Her giggles melt my heart. Her tears make me realize just how precious she is.

I make a fool of myself with the songs I sing to her and the high-pitched voice I use when talking to her. And I don't care one bit who hears me...

You might ask what else happened in 2010 to make it so awesome? Plenty of things took place but once I get to talking about my little girl, everything else important fades away.

2010 was the best year of my life. Next year, it's my plan to write the same about 2011 and that every one of you can say the exact same thing.

Happy December

Currently on repeat is Katy Perry's FIREWORK. Spectacular song... love it!

Spent the afternoon Wednesday speaking to the high school art students at Uniontown High School, my beloved high school. Got me to thinking about all the special photo shoots I've had this year.....and quite frankly, there's just too many to freaking list!

2010 has been a blessed year, both personally and photographically speaking. Hopefully in the next few days I can share more in depth about a few photo shoots that really stick out in my head. For now, though, I'll tell you a bit about a recent concert I photographed.


Country music star Luke Bryan performed a benefit concert in Fort Scott back in November. Jason Aldean did the same last year and I was lucky enough to be the photographer for both events. Like last year, I was given full access to do whatever I pleased...even going on stage to shoot from the back and include images of the crowd.

Prior to the concert I also photographed the meet & greet session with Luke, opening-act Craig Campbell and MLB stud Adam LaRoche, whose family sponsored the event.

Hopefully in the next few days I'll be able to tell you more in depth about a few other shoots I've been part of in 2010.

Playing Catch Up!

We've been playing catch up here at the studio...November and December are our craziest months with Christmas photo shoots and ordering prints for the holidays.

Outside of the normal family photo shoots, I've had the opportunity to photograph a few other types of sessions lately as well. Featured above is from a 13th birthday photo shoot. Bailey and her two best friends stopped by the studio before an all-night trip to Kansas City. This is one of my faves from the shoot.

Also featured are a few shoots I never got posted from the family special we had end of October. It's been THAT long since I've been able to post!!! CRAP!!!!!

Fall Special

Our first segment of the Fall Photo Special was AMAZING. 7 sessions on Friday then followed by 5 on Saturday. Quite the busy week....

First up I had the Stewart kids, Cole, Mya and Avery. They were a hoot!


This is probably one of my favorite images from the day, as it's a pretty good portrayal of a big sister with her little sister.

Everyone wants to shoot their boss...including me. I got to do just that first thing Saturday morning when he brought his family to Gunn Park for a quick session.

CK & Sydney tie the knot!

Congrats to my beautiful new cousin, Sydney Smith, and my near-brother CK. They were married Oct 23 and I had the pleasure of photographing their day. A few sneak peeks at the images taken pre-ceremony.

Levi & Savannah

Seems as if every wedding I photograph, bride and groom just can't get enough of the other. They get all gooey-eyed (real word?) when they see each other for the first time, cry a bit, smile a lot and then profess their undying love. Yada yada yada. Each couple is the same.

Levi and Savannah made me remember why I love weddings so much. She was the perfect bride. He was the perfect groom.

His eyes lit up the size of flying saucers when he saw her the first time. And then there were the tears. He went first and she followed.

The speeches at the reception were about their love. His mom said Levi had been head over heels for her since they first began dating.

Don't think these moments don't happen because they do. At every wedding. But these two had a sparkle in their eyes when they danced for the first time. It was....refreshing.

Wedding Details

In honor of the wedding I'm shooting Saturday, I'm posting a few of my favorite detail shots from the past 2 weddings I've photographed.

Whisper of Fall - Selected as KANSAS! 2011 Calendar Image

Whisper of Fall has been chosen as one of the images in the 2011 KANSAS! Calendar. The image was made nearly a year ago at Rock Creek's waterfall, located in the center of Bourbon County, KS.

The calendar will be printed this year and be released before 2011. Whisper of Fall will appear on the November slot.

It's available as a limited edition print. Nearly 1/3 of the 50 images have already sold so get yours quick if interested!

Print Sizes: 8x10 - $40; 11x14 - $65; 16x20 - $125; 20x30 - $275; 30x40 - $550; 40x60 - $1000

More Than A Photograph

Everyone I meet is a friend in the making. I've rarely met someone who I didn't like ... at least on the initial meeting.

As a photographer, I've been meeting a ton of new faces lately and each one of them brings something unique to the table. It's interesting to try and plan for a session based on preconceived notions and then to find out when you meet them, the person is nothing like expected. That's life. And it's quite amazing to go into something blind, which is essentially every photo shoot.

Photographer JoeyL said recently that photography isn't about just clicking a shutter, it's about what goes into the portrait. That's sooo true.

My sessions lately have produced seniors and families who I feel connected to as soon as they walk in the door and as they leave the studio. And then some of them become immediate friends who won't depart from my friendship box in the near future.

To me, photography isn't about snapping the shutter just so I can see the back of the camera and then show it off to all my good friends. I didn't become a photographer so that I'd be the cool guy (I'm a LONG way from that point). Photography is about more than a photograph. Its also about the experience and the relationship developed between subject(s) and photographer. I've shared Wendy's burgers and fries with some of the coolest people I've ever met and nearly lost a toe in the same afternoon with the same people. They put up with my rambling and I learned about their Amish adventures and hidden, stolen bikes in cars to avoid trouble from mom. We trespassed, listened to great music that I'll never be able to dance to and had a blast. Long story short, if you want an experience along with your portraits, I think you know who you can call. If you aren't interested in anything but snapshots, well, I'm into creating memories that last a lifetime....

Each person I meet has a story of their own and I love to learn it and remember it.

There have been people walk in front of my camera scared to death that they will look bad or "break the camera". It's not happened yet and my camera's been through more than 200,000 shots. When they see the results, there have been shrieks of joy, laughter and even tears because they didn't realize they actually looked as beautiful as they really do. And that to me makes it all worth it.

Nothing is more satisfying than capturing those first smiles of a brand new baby, the first kiss of a newlywed couple and every other milestone and everyday moment that happens. Photography is so important to me that I live it on a daily basis. Everyone deserves that one perfect photo that makes them say "I can still remember the breeze, the smell of the trees and why I was laughing! THOSE were the days...."

If you want that, let me know and we'll create something that will last longer than Facebook News Feeds.

I've Been A Busy Dude Lately!

Many apologies for the crappy blog posting as of late. It's a good problem to have, being busy and all. But I miss writing and sharing my photos. Here are a few teasers!

Delynn - Field of Crosses

A friend told me about this magical field of crosses several months ago. Before I saw it, I envisioned Celtic crosses in a weedy field. After I visited this field it was evident that photographing a model near the crosses would be incredibly difficult because of the problems with the light - the light would only have worked 10-15 minutes before and after sunrise and sunset (not an optimal time to photograph a senior!).


So instead I thought it would be cool to add lots of textures and do some design work on the images to help them come together (Thanks to designer Brittany for that work!).

Delynn's mom actually requested that we go here and I was quick to oblige. Getting to the crosses takes about an hour from Fort Scott so I didn't want to waste my time with just anyone and Delynn seemed to be the perfect fit! We had a great time and I love the images! Enjoy!

Arden & Sloane

People come and go all the time, especially in my line of work...I meet a new person, photograph them and then never see them again. It's just the business...I don't like that part of it but it's the truth. But then again there are people I meet and become lifelong friends with.

I met a couple recently who I wouldn't mind if they became part of that smaller statistic of sticking around for ages.

Bo & Lindsey and their two beautiful girls, Sloane & Arden, were recent subjects on two different shoots in the Kansas City area. Sloane captured my heart at Loose Park (near the plaza in KC) a few months back when I photographed her 18 month portraits. Then, a few weeks later, I got to meet Arden at their home in North KC. She was a beauty and I had a blast trying to make the perfect images of her little features.

We battled torrential rain, monsoon winds and tornado sirens but she was a piece of perfection and stayed calm through the whole shoot. This is one of my favorite images - taken in their front yard about 4 minutes before the storm hit.

In total, I've spent less than 4 hours of my life with the 4 of these people but I felt an instant connection with them all and hope to document their lives with my camera for many years to come.

Busy Busy Busy

First off, we have the Allen Community College Red Devils volleyball team. This is the 2nd year I've photographed the team - all gorgeous of course - and I'm glad they found me as I enjoy each shoot immensely!

Secondly, the book I did the photography for is now available in stores (life + style in Fort Scott; the Fort Scott Tribune are two that are for sure carrying it) and online at http://www.thechefslife.com/. Get your copy soon!

We are wrapping up our senior photo specials (they run June - August) and we've had some GREAT senior models come in. Below are a few examples:

Miss Pat & Her Glamour Girls

Miss Pat is well-known in Fort Scott as the owner of the Lyons Mansion. I've known her for awhile and have done several photo shoots on her property.

This was my first time to photograph she and her 5 granddaughters - it's a yearly tradition for them but I've not had the privilege. It was a little stressful thinking of where to take them and how to pose them...I had tough shoes to fill as Gary photographed them last year here at the studio. But they were a delight from the start. Each of the girls wanted to come up with their own poses so that made my job a bit easier.

Hopefully next year we can do another shoot and top this one...it's one of my faves so far this year. :)

The Taylor Family

Troy and Penny Taylor will leave the country this fall and won't return for 5 years. As missionaries, they have been called to witness in Verona, Italy.

When they called a month or so ago to do family portraits, I felt honored to be the one to capture their small family of 4. These images will be given as gifts to family and friends before they leave.

Noah & Rowen, 4 and 2 years old, were a delight to photograph, as were mom and dad and a family friend who joined them for a few photos.

They stopped by the studio to select the images they wanted and handed me a prayer card (above) with one of their photos on it. It's now sitting beside my desk...every day when I get to work I'll see it and hopefully remember to pray for their adventure.