Well sportsfans, I've got my second wedding under my belt. Taking pictures for Ben and Jill was a lot of fun. I almost got sucked into the "wedding photographer zone" again...NO...NO, I SAY!...um, ok, I'm back.
Tried some new stuff this go around. Again, lighting was really dark in the church, so I brought a secret weapon...one of my studio lights with a soft box. Oh, it was nice, especially for the after-service portraits.
Well, the severe weather that was threatening Wisconsin last week (June 7th) missed us, with only a strong thunderstorm blowing through late that evening. Nice lightning, but that was about it.
Northern Wisconsin wasn't so lucky, with large hail and a few tornados. I started to get a little curious that afternoon when I noticed reports of a kayak in a pine tree. White Lake? That's where we do our whitewater rescue training for Timber-lee's widerness trip staff. They had just been to Bear Paw Resort, our traditional training spot, earlier that week. The resort was hit square on by a F3 tornado measured at almost a half mile wide with winds around 160mph. All of the buildings there were severely damaged or completely destroyed.
An example of God's protection: my friends John & Roy were at Bear Paw helping with training that week & were at the resort on the day of the storms. They had almost settled on taking a nap, but decided that they needed to eat, so they went into Antigo for dinner. On the way back they encountered a roadblock. Evidently, search crews were looking for 2 men missing from the resort. "Uh, you're probably looking for us" was John's response & they let them through.
Pray for Jamee, Shirlee, and the rest of the Bear Paw crew. Roy lost his minivan and a bunch of climbing and river gear.
Check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dghx4_iywOY for John's video (no sound) of what they found once they returned from dinner.
Well, I survived my first wedding photography job. It really was an experience. My friends Ryan and Sarah were married last Saturday. The night before, I went to the rehersal to check out the church, get a feel for how the service was going to run, etc. I tried really hard to "be" a wedding photographer, taking test shots only of traditional-type pictures. The church was small, the lighting was poor, I had to take almost all my pictures using a speedlight.
The pictures sucked. I discovered I'm not a wedding photographer! But what was I going to do? They were counting on me to take their pictures. Then I remembered something Sarah said when she hired me - she loved my particular style & that's why she wanted me to be their photographer.
I just had to be me! When I arrived at the church the next morning, I felt free. I had fun throughout the day. It was a ton of work & I definitely earned every dollar I was being paid.
I'm definitely not looking for a career change, but I've discovered that my key to photographing weddings is to stay true to myself. I love capturing life, and that's what I did last Saturday. Thanks, Ryan and Sarah, for letting me share your special day with you!
What a trip! It didn't exactly start out the way I wanted it to. Being the meticulous packer that I am, I pulled out & considered 3 different sleeping bags for the trip...and didn't bring any of them! Needless to say, I got a little chilly Friday night. Tried sleeping, wrapped in my tent's rain fly. By 4:30am the cold was too much & I rested my eyes in the truck. We got up & had our site packed up by 5:45am and were hiking up the bluffs by 6:05am. Sounds early? Not early enough! It was a huge weekend at the park. We got beat by an outfitter who was working with a Boy Scout group, and he grabbed our preferred spot (Misery Rocks.) Sad!
We ended up setting ropes at Cleopatra's Amphitheater. Access was kinda tricky, but we made it work. Group arrived a little after 10am & we spend almost 4 hours on the rock with them. Our group talk with them went really well & God gave me the words to say - you could see it on some of the kid's faces.
Following tradition, Kurt, my friend Paul, and I went to Pizza Hut in Baraboo for pizza and salad bar.
Hey there, davewave fans! I'm writing this during a little break in the action. I've got to pack for a climbing trip I'm leading at Devil's Lake tomorrow. We're taking a confirmation class from a church in LaCrosse climbing and rappelling as part of their "graduation." The rappel is symbolic of their stepping into adulthood & trusting God with their lives. My friend & co-leader Kurt and I are leading a bible study on the rock with them. Pray that God gives us the words to say that communicate God's desire to be a vital part of their lives.
Wow, our first parental holiday! It was so weird getting Jen a Mother's Day card. That's not a holiday we normally shopped for. Our moms celebrated Mother's Day (and we usually forgot it!)
So many firsts! Soon I'll be celebrating my first Father's Day. I wouldn't trade it for the world!
For Mother's Day, we went to have pictures taken with five generations of firstborn girls on Jen's side of the family. Pictured is Olivia with Gram (Lila Hubing, where Olivia gets her middle name!) Gram turned 100 recently!
Well sportsfans, I've got my second wedding under my belt. Taking pictures for Ben and Jill was a lot of fun. I almost got sucked into the "wedding photographer zone" again...NO...NO, I SAY!...um, ok, I'm back.
Tried some new stuff this go around. Again, lighting was really dark in the church, so I brought a secret weapon...one of my studio lights with a soft box. Oh, it was nice, especially for the after-service portraits.
Well, the severe weather that was threatening Wisconsin last week (June 7th) missed us, with only a strong thunderstorm blowing through late that evening. Nice lightning, but that was about it.
An example of God's protection: my friends John & Roy were at Bear Paw helping with training that week & were at the resort on the day of the storms. They had almost settled on taking a nap, but decided that they needed to eat, so they went into Antigo for dinner. On the way back they encountered a roadblock. Evidently, search crews were looking for 2 men missing from the resort. "Uh, you're probably looking for us" was John's response & they let them through.
Well, I survived my first wedding photography job. It really was an experience. My friends Ryan and Sarah were married last Saturday. The night before, I went to the rehersal to check out the church, get a feel for how the service was going to run, etc. I tried really hard to "be" a wedding photographer, taking test shots only of traditional-type pictures. The church was small, the lighting was poor, I had to take almost all my pictures using a speedlight.
I'm definitely not looking for a career change, but I've discovered that my key to photographing weddings is to stay true to myself. I love capturing life, and that's what I did last Saturday. Thanks, Ryan and Sarah, for letting me share your special day with you!
What a trip! It didn't exactly start out the way I wanted it to. Being the meticulous packer that I am, I pulled out & considered 3 different sleeping bags for the trip...and didn't bring any of them! Needless to say, I got a little chilly Friday night. Tried sleeping, wrapped in my tent's rain fly. By 4:30am the cold was too much & I rested my eyes in the truck. We got up & had our site packed up by 5:45am and were hiking up the bluffs by 6:05am. Sounds early? Not early enough! It was a huge weekend at the park. We got beat by an outfitter who was working with a Boy Scout group, and he grabbed our preferred spot (Misery Rocks.) Sad!
Hey there, davewave fans! I'm writing this during a little break in the action. I've got to pack for a climbing trip I'm leading at Devil's Lake tomorrow. We're taking a confirmation class from a church in LaCrosse climbing and rappelling as part of their "graduation." The rappel is symbolic of their stepping into adulthood & trusting God with their lives. My friend & co-leader Kurt and I are leading a bible study on the rock with them. Pray that God gives us the words to say that communicate God's desire to be a vital part of their lives.
Wow, our first parental holiday! It was so weird getting Jen a Mother's Day card. That's not a holiday we normally shopped for. Our moms celebrated Mother's Day (and we usually forgot it!)
For Mother's Day, we went to have pictures taken with five generations of firstborn girls on Jen's side of the family. Pictured is Olivia with Gram (Lila Hubing, where Olivia gets her middle name!) Gram turned 100 recently!