Love Yourself Challenge

This is for all the ladies out there who feel self conscious about their physical appearance. I have a friend, her name is Michelle, she recently has been setting as a model for a local photography class. She has had her pictures taken literally hundreds of times since the first of the year. Since she started all of this she has also lost quite a bit of weight and worked very hard at it. In celebration of her successful weight loss she wanted me to take boudoir portraits for her. We set a date to take her shots in a studio and, I couldn’t wait for the day to get here. In the mean time, Michelle contemplated cancelling the shoot several times because she was feeling like she needed to wait until she had lost even more weight. I kept telling her that she looked great but, she didn’t want people to judge her on her appearance. After a lot of thought and, soul searching she did decide that she was good enough and, that she didn’t have to be a twenty year old blond with no hips and skinny thighs to have boudoir shots taken. I was so thankful that she decided to go ahead with the session. She made it a sort of challenge. She wants every woman out there to realize that they too are beautiful no matter what size or age they are. Michelle and, I feel like there is no time like the present. It makes no difference if you don’t like certain parts of your body. With the right photographer and lighting, your beauty can be brought out and it is a liberating experience. Here is the challenge…. book a photographer that you trust, wear something that makes you feel good and have your boudoir portraits taken. We are all women with life experience and that makes us REAL women. Michelle and, I challenge every real woman out there to do this for themselves. You will never feel more beautiful. So in closing I would like to say “Find the courage to put yourself out there as a beautiful real woman.” Just Love Yourself!

I took the challenge, too!

The Rowdy Church Ladies

I was hired to shoot a surprise 50th birthday party at Aunt Hattie’s Tea Room last weekend. I bet Aunt Hattie’s had never had a more lively group of church ladies throw a birthday party at the tea room since they opened the doors.

My friend Perri threw this party for her life long friend Kathy. She was so surprised when she saw everyone. Kathy was lured to what she thought was a  lunch with her mother-in-law. She entered the room and stood there with her jaw wide open for several moments while the church pianist played “Happy Birthday” on the antique piano.

The gifts were hilarious which caused plenty of belly laughs. It was a wonderful party and, everyone had the best time.

Here are a few of my favorite moments from the day.

A First Time Model … Stevi

This young lady was a joy to work with. For her first time of being a model, she did a fabulous job. She wasn’t nervous at all and followed my lead very well. Here are a few of my favorites from our photo session.

Being the 2nd Shooter

I recently had the great fortune of being asked to 2nd a wedding with a good friend of mine, Ken Davis.

Here are a few of my shots. Click on Ken’s name above to see what a lead photographer has captured.

Delano Photo Walk

A couple of local photographers got together and, planned a photo walk through the historic Delano District here in Wichita, Ks.  Delano is one of Wichita’s oldest neighborhoods and, has seen a lot of revitalization over the past few years. You can click this link to read the history of this wonderful old area of Wichita: http://www.delanowichita.com/.  This is a great place to check out what is happening in Delano.

Ken and  Darrin are the two photographers that put in all the hard work to get the word out about this event. A huge thanks goes out to both of them. Around 35 photographers participated in the photo walk. The great thing about it was anyone of any experience level was invited. There were people who had little to no experience with point-and-shoot cameras to intermediate and, professional photographers with fancy Nikon and Canon gear. Everyone was welcome and, that made a great mix of people. Even children came with their parents and, shot pictures with little child-proof cameras. All in all, this was a fabulous way to spend a Saturday morning with people who all share the same passion for photography. Here are a few of the shots that I took. The rest can be viewed on my Flickr page.

Another Birthday…My Take on Aging

As another birthday approaches on the 6th, I realize that things are changing. There are a few more facial lines, the metabolism is starting to slow down, the grays are starting to encroach the hairline and, the scale seems to hate me! However, it’s better than the alternative. Age is just a number anyway right? I sure don’t feel 44 yrs. old.

So, my take on aging is to FIGHT back! I won’t just sit back and take it. Whoever said just grow old gracefully is an idiot in my opinion, lol. So what… I’m 44 yrs. old and, proud of it. So bring it on Father Time…. I hope you can take a punch cuz I’m throwing everything I’ve got right at your big fat head!

And it appears that I will reach 1,ooo hits in 2 1/2 months as a bonus birthday gift! Thanks to all who have visited

Photowalk at Botanica

Yesterday was a great day for a photowalk with my good friend Darrin. We went to Botanica, Wichita’s botanical gardens for some R&R and, a few floral photo ops.

As we were ending our outing we happened across this lovely statue of two children holding a basket. It turned out to be the perfect thing for a little goofiness on Darrin’s behalf, lol.

She’s more than a pageant queen… My photo shoot with Miss Kansas

I had the pleasure of meeting Emily Deaver who is the reigning Miss Kansas and, she isn’t your typical pageant girl. Emily has represented our great state as a wholesome home town girl with grace and, dignity for the past few months and, will hand over her crown in June. During her reign she has made many appearances and, has been an excellent role model for every young Kansas girl with a dream. Emily plans to resume her status as a college student after her commitment to the title of Miss Kansas is fulfilled. Many people in the general public might think that as a beauty queen, Emily could be a Diva. She is quite the opposite. She is a talented young lady who not only has beauty and, grace. I was elated to find that she is also a “down to earth” Kansas girl with big dreams to become a famous singer.

Emily is a very talented vocalist and, pianist with the drive to do some big things with her talent. I fully expect to hear her on the radio some day soon. She’s focused and, driven to succeed. Listen for her name on your favorite  station  in the near future. It won’t take her long to get there.

When I met her for the first time ( 10 minutes before we started shooting ), I just had the feeling that we were going to have a great shoot. I was very grateful to have the opportunity to not only take her portraits but, to meet her in the first place. I fell in love with her happy-go-lucky personality and, just wanted to capture that side of her.

When we began our photo shoot I asked her to just relax while I checked some settings on my camera. I wanted to capture the real Emily Deaver and, not Miss Kansas. For the last year she has had thousands of pictures taken with that “Miss Kansas” pose and, smile. I pretended to check settings on my D300 until she relaxed and, then quickly snapped a few shots that she wasn’t aware of. I got a couple of great “test shots” that she liked. I think when she saw that I was trying to find the real Emily Deaver she new she could relax and, have some fun. My assistant, Michelle Rufnak was fantastic at getting Emily to open up. Michelle is a free spirited woman who is so much fun to have around. I found that this pairing of Michelle and I, worked wonderfully to put Emily at ease.

The three of us walked around down town Wichita to a few sites that were not the typical places a beauty queen would have her pictures taken in. We found some great locations in an alley and, started shooting away. As we went from one location to another, we spotted a man leaving his place of business on his motorcycle. After a little coaxing from Michelle, he was very happy to stop and, let Emily pose with his bike. Impromptu things like that are always a great photo op. She had fun with it and, we got some different pictures that she wasn’t expecting to have. After we played around down town, it was off to the  studio that is owned by a friend of mine, Jeff Cowell. He has been so wonderful to me in my quest to learn and, grow as a photographer. This was only my second time in the studio so Jeff was right there if I needed help. He helped me set things up while Emily changed and, freshened the hair and, makeup. Thanks to him and his support I got some really nice portraits for my portfolio.

We had a blast at the studio and, I got some great  high key shots that Emily really liked. All in all, I would say that my experience with “Miss Kansas” was one that I will always remember. Emily was so sweet and, funny. I just loved that she was such an all around good person who was just having fun with a couple of new friends. She was Emily! And, she was fabulous.

Photo shoot with Alyssa

This was one of the best shoots I have ever had! Alyssa was a great subject, full of emotion, fun loving, easy to work with, and gorgeous. We also did some dark, thought provoking shots that I just love. Check out some of my favs below.

Pear Blossoms

Every spring my Colonial Pear Tree blooms beautiful white flowers and, I always tell myself “I should capture that so I can remember them in the dead of winter”. This year I did just that before the wind took them away on a stiff southerly breeze.