Ainsley, Children’s Portraits04.21.11
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Transitions03.08.11
The 2010-2011 PIAA wrestling season for my son came to an end Friday night. It was a tough end to a rough grinding sophomore season. Trey seemed okay with all of it. He was not happy to have the season end without a trip to Hershey, the location of the Pennsylvania State Championships, but he rebounds quickly and keeps everything in perspective. He is good like that. He thinks through challenges and works on finding what can help him advance the next time.
That is my son.
(This is Trey in his first wrestling tournament at age 5. )
(and this is Trey after his first wrestling season age 5. )
Me? Ahhhh, I have other issues. I did not fair so well this year as a dad of a wrestler. It finally hit me this season that Trey is fighting his own battles. He is going into competition and going it alone. I have come to understand this season that Trey is doing exactly what all fathers inspire their boys to be, what we want our boys to do. They learn to become men. Tough transition for me. My job is to protect Trey from harm and help him fight through battles. I have learned this year that he is fighting his own battles and learning from every win or loss. I have learned (the hard way) that I cannot fight his battles for him like I used to when he was 4 and 5. (There is a story about a certain play ground in Brookline, a neighborhood in Pittsburgh, where I had to actually defend myself and Trey from an overly aggressive father of a 6 year old. But that is a rather old story and one I would rather not bring up today) It is truly a bitter sweet moment.
(2010-2011 Sophomore year)
I hope that the next season is a little kinder to me than this season was. I know Trey will do fine and will progress on the mat without my help. He did a fine job this season without my help. I am not worried about Trey coping with these issues. I hope I can keep wandering the back walls of the gymnasium and not have my heart jump out of my chest as he is walking out onto the mat for battle. I hope I get to the point where I can sit in the stands and just cheer for Trey (not have my heart in my throat) and enjoy each match and watch him grow into an even better man on and off the mat.
So a funny thing happened a few weeks ago…..03.02.11
I saw a photo of myself a friend took during my last wedding I shot. Jerry, my second hand man during weddings, took the picture. I skipped right by it and about two minutes later it dawned on me that the image was of me. So I scrolled back a few hundred images and opened it up in Lightroom. Yup….. it was me. (ugh) Really? “You gotta do something about that joe” I murmured to myself. The photo was a not so flattering photo of me from the side. “Really Jerry? Thanks buddy”, I was thinking. Then I noticed the image was properly exposed and was a pretty good shot. It just turned out that the image was pretty true to life. After looking and studying the images for a bit I turned off my PC and went to bed. “Really Jerry!?” , I thought to myself….again…..
The next morning I was checking out Facebook and noticed a friend of mine had joined a group that was filled with photographers…………. working on a lifestyle change. Seems I was not the only photographer that had noticed himself in an image that was less than flattering. So I “liked” the page and found five other photo friends that had joined this group.I read through a few posts and clicked on a link that explained a little about this diet/change of habits. This link sounded good to me and I had friends who were already committed to this and were having great results. So, I looked at Jerry’s images he took of me again and decided it was time.
Four weeks later (maybe five now as I did not circle my start date) I am down twenty-five pounds and feeling pretty darned good about it. A good friend of mine (not a photographer) started his own journey with this plan and has been going to workouts as well with me the past four weeks and has lost fifteen pounds. (He has much less to lose mind you and is almost to his goal) I am not at my target weight yet, but I am a lot closer than I was last month.
Bonnie and Rob's E-Session. Grove City, PA01.19.11
Sure it was a cold day. Well, VERY cold day! I think the time outdoors was worth the effort.
What was fun about this shoot was that they still wanted photographed outdoors. You just have to dig working with couples like this! I know I do.
Bonnie and Rob seem to understand my need for FUN.
Thanks to you two for a great shoot!
Ashley and Scott E-Session, two University of Mount Union Grads11.18.10
Ashley and Scott. Great fun. Low key. Enjoyable. It is any wonder I love doing my job!
Armstrong Farms, Saxonburg, PA Wedding11.04.10
October 10, 2010 was a great day to have a wedding at Armstrong Farms! The day was perfect for Shelby and Josh, just perfect! The video is a little teaser of the days events. Very little retouching in the video images as this is more of a proof video than anything else. Enjoy!
Shelby & Josh Wedding @ Armstrong Farms, Saxonburg, PA10.18.10
What a wonderful venue to have a wedding! Armstrong Farms was the perfect location for Shelby and Josh’s wedding. The weather was nothing but superb and, well, it was a most wonderful day!
Just a few beautiful detail shots.
Shelby LOVED her shoes!
Her flowers were gorgeous and exploding with color. Beautiful work done by Reed & Petals Florist from Wexford, PA.
And Shelby & Josh were the perfect couple! I love capturing the first look. It is what the day is all about.
What a wonderfully perfect day!
Slippery Rock High School, PA Senior (with a tad bit more information)10.12.10
I have known Kayla a long time. Mostly through the wrestling community here in PA. I have had the joy and pleasure of watching her grow into a great young lady and a fierce wrestler. Kayla will graduate from High school this year. We had been working on getting her portraits taken for most of the Summer but had not been able to connect. Seems she has been a little busy this Summer. So busy in fact that I had to travel to Cleveland, Ohio back in April for the 2010 USA /FILA Championships. The original post is here. But here are a few of her pics I captured.
Since then Kayla has been busy with the wrestling. In June she was ranked 3rd in the country at 51kg. not bad considering these are women’s rankings and she was still waiting to enter her senior year in high school. Before that she placed 3rd at the US World Team Trials. Traveled to Mexico and represented the US. then spent some time in Colorado at the Olympic Training Center located in Colorado Springs. She has done more then what I have posted, but I think you get the picture.
Soooooo, we finally got together the other evening for a short session in order to get her picture into the Yearbook. It was funny. Kayla is all rough and tumble and is on her way to becoming a world class athlete. Yet she is just this young student/athlete at a small high school and was excited/nervous about getting her picture taken. After a little chatting and some down time Kayla relaxed and was fun to photograph.
What was most interesting was her wish to be photographed in her Homecoming dress. What a transformation. From her battle wear on the mat to her homecoming wear that will be worn on the dance floor.
I am looking forward to our next photo session, when we have a little more time.
Kids portraits10.09.10
Sometimes you just need to follow the action. I got some really cute looks from these two.
Had a chance to take a few images of them hugging. It was swift and quick.
This image may be my favorite of the entire shoot.
New Look10.07.10
I have been wanting a change for two years now. I finally got the look and feel I had been looking for. I will give all the info on this quest as soon as all the pieces are in place. But I love what I have been seeing so far!