Eight is enough ...

Since Karen tagged me to play along in this silly "duck, duck, goose" game of blogger tag, here's eight things you probably didn't know about me, with pictures(!) ...


- I love maps and driving, though I'm not especially mechanically inclined. I change my own oil, though.


- My three favorite states: Michigan (above), Florida, Maine. Yes, I've driven in all of them.

- I like primary colors, Macintosh computers and soda, not pop and not diet.

- I've been a Big Brother since 2003.


- My favorite sport is baseball, though i don't particularly have a favorite team. I did go to a Royals game this week. They won.

- I'm addicted to wireless internet. There's nothing wrong with that, right?


- I love my dog!

- I believe everyone has a story to tell (in pictures, of course).

My turn to tag: Matt Stamey, G.J. McCarthy and Jill Chittum ... you're it!

Blog Tag!

I was tagged by my friend, Jessica Delvecchio.

The rules of the game are simple - if you get tagged, you have to list 8 facts about yourself that people might otherwise not know. Generally, we like to keep our blog professional — related to events we photograph — but I thought this might be a fun break in the routine.

1. My most firm belief is that matched socks are overrated. I simply adore the web site Little Miss Matched. It's a rare occasion that my socks are matching...

2. I was born in Seattle, but haven't been to the hometown since I was about 15 years old.

3. I don't eat fish inland. This blossomed from the above item. I always thought I hated fish, but once I visited Seattle, I realized I like fish (especially fresh salmon caught in a stream, then tossed on the grill). Fish here in Kansas is shipped on ice into the midwest and I just don't like the flavor after it's been packed on ice. Fish should be experienced fresh, a la the open markets on the coast.

4. I don't own a TV. Strange, I know, but I never have. Not through college and not beyond. What do I do for entertainment? I DO watch movies, but I can just pop a DVD into my laptop and there you have it!

5. I am petrified of deep water, even though I am a lifeguard. I can't explain it, but when I was on swim team as a teen, I would fly ... er swim ... over the deepest part of the pool. I think in the back of my mind I was afraid of getting sucked into the drain. And lakes? I just try to avoid swimming in them ... who knows how deep they are?

6. I loathe shopping ... especially for shoes and dress pants. I have size 10 to 11 AA feet and finding shoes I like that fit them is a nightmare, as is finding 33 inch inseam pants. This is why I do a lot of shopping in the men's department ... more shoes my size and I can shop for jeans by the inseam ... and did I mention men's jeans are WAY more comfy?

7. My deepest desire is to gain a rudimentary ability to speak Italian so I can spend the winter months living it up in Italy, drinking wine ... in vino veritas!

8. Chocolate doesn't make me swoon. Most women will go mushy in the knees over chocolate, but not me. I'm a salt fiend. The way to my heart? SALTY french fries!

9. ***BONUS ITEM*** In 2002, I had the opportunity to become a bone marrow donor. I joined the registry in 1999 and three years later was notified that I was a possible match. After a host of tests, it was determined I was the best match for a woman about my mother's age with a form of lukemia. I underwent surgery in Kansas City and she received my marrow. She had an additional 10 months to spend with her loved ones before her life was ultimately claimed by the disease.

Now it's my turn to tag!

Photo friends:
Mike Shepherd (Heartland Photography )
Tyff Wendling (T&J Studio )
Nicole Coleman (Nicoleman Photography )

Personal friends:
Erin

Deacon Nick's Ordination

Saturday I had the honor of traveling to Goodland to document Nick's ordination as a Deacon. I love documenting monumental days in peoples lives, as was the case for Nick's ordination into the permenent Deaconate.

Now that he's a Deacon, he is allowed to help with Mass. When I came to the above picture during editing, I was stopped cold in my tracks. The slight close of Deacon Nick's eyes speaks volumes to me about how long I suspect he's been waiting to assist at Mass and how much I suspect he's looking forward to life as a priest.


I know this is a little similar to the first photo, but Deacon Nick's little sideways glance is simply irresistable! Sort of "oh, so that's how it's done ... thanks for clearing that up, Bishop Coakley!"


The part of being a photojournalist I love the most is capturing slight moments that few people see. I show up early and stay late, which is where I found this moment. While I was packing up my equipment, Bishop Coakley took a few minutes after the ordination to visit with Deacon Nick's mom.


After the ordination, there was a recepction, where I grabbed this moment. It seemed so sweet, so primal, yet tender at the same time.


I'm closing with Deacon Nick's mom (far right) and her sisters. The three of them were such a scream during the reception. They are so expressive and were fun to sit back and watch.

Please ***Click Here*** to see the slideshow from the day.

Heartland photo for fundraiser

Our amazing graphic designer, Amy, contacted me Monday to see if she could use some of our pregnancy and newborn photos for a T-shirt design for the Pregnancy Care Center.

She's working on the design for their annual fundraiser, the Walk for Life, and wanted to use photos from Oliver's newborn session on the shirt.



I chatted with Mommy Amanda, who is uber excited about this, as are both Mike and I.

The registration deadline is Monday, so if you're interested, please click here to register.

Hope to see you there!

Robin & Chris' Engagement — part 1

A few weeks ago, I got up early to meet Robin and Chris to take advantage of one of Robin's quick trips through town. She lives in Salina and Chris lives in Wichita, where they will be married shortly after Christmas.

We hit the playground in College Hill Park early, and I was excited to see a merry go round. Those two didn't need much encouragement to jump right on and have some fun. I was trying to re-create a photo I made while working in Topeka. In that photo, I happened upon a 5-year-old boy hanging on to a merry-go-round with big grin on his face. I've always loved that photo and think of it as whimsical and fun. Needless to say, once we got off of the merry-go-round, we were all more than a little dizzy.



Chris wanted to go to Old Town, too, which is a wildly popular portrait location in Wichita. We had the empty streets to ourselves, so Robin and Chris clowned around, which was a laugh!

I'll be doing the rest of their engagement session at K-State Salina where the two met as they worked to obtain their bachelors in aviation (they are both pilots). No promises, but I believe the next session will involve Powercats on airplanes at the K-State Salina campus.

Slideshows now available on DVD!

Many of our clients have been asking about getting their slideshows on DVD. Karen and I have been working hard to get that feature set up and are pleased to announce that we are now able to offer DVD slideshows! The DVDs are delivered in a sleek black case and contains a featured image on the inside cover.


The DVD itself is stamped with the Heartland logo. To order a copy of your show, simply click on the button on the bottom right corner of your slideshow. It looks like a little DVD, of course, and when you mouse over it it should say "purchase show on DVD." There are still a couple of more slideshows that need to be re-produced to include the DVD feature. If we haven't gotten to yours yet, we will soon.

Ann & Ernie's Engagement Slideshow

I "cross-processed" this photo in Photoshop and am intreagued by the results. When you shoot film, you shoot the "negative" and process it as a "positive." I've never tried it on film, but having the option to do it digitally was great fun.

Ann & Ernie's engagement slideshow is up and running! Click here to see the show. Make sure you have your sound turned up.

Wired Zoos

A couple of weeks ago I traveled to Garden City to meet and photograph Ryan Schaffer. Ryan is the Distance Learning Coordinator for the Lee Richardson Zoo and conducts free educational programs via the Internet to classrooms all around the country from a small studio at the zoo. The photographs, which were shot for USA Today, ran in today's edition. Click here to read the story.


On the day that I met him, he spoke about animal adaptations to middle schoolers in New Hampshire. A pair of television monitors in the studio allowed Ryan to see the students and to see their view of him.


Ryan explained that part of a bearded dragon's adaptation include its tail, which helps to balance the animal as it runs on its hind legs, often as it attempts to escape a predator.


I'm not sure if this poor hedgehog was more scared of the glowing light from an overhead projector or from me sticking a camera in its face.


A map of the country in Ryan's studio is marked with pins indicating communities to which he's broadcast a show. While there is a large cluster of pins in the state of Kansas, he has reached students from Alaska to New England.