Embellishments-Wedding Dress Shoot.

 A quick frame from a wedding dress shoot for Embellishments Bridal and Gift in Ashland, Wisconsin. Thanks to Karen for the use of a beautiful dress for this shoot. I think we managed to keep it pretty clean, all things considered. Those that read this blog regularly will remember the model; I shot Tatiana's senior portraits early this fall. She did a great job on this shoot too. It's apparently becoming tradition that I ask Tatiana to do ridiculous things for photos. "Here stand in these mosquito infested woods and try to look happy while they suck out almost every drop of blood you have." "Okay, try to keep the train up while you walk out on the ice towards these pilings and, oh yeah, try to look warm." Bizarre as it may be, she guts it out and the photos seem to turn out pretty darn good. Watch for this and some other new images to start popping up in a few places around the area. More to come.

Winter.

For anyone out there who hasn't been paying attention, it is now winter. Got that reminder from Mother Nature this morning when I got stuck in the ditch. Not in a car though, just walking.

I saw this frosty spool of barbed wire on a fence post by the side of the road this morning and stopped to take a photo. Stepped off the road to get closer and discovered that the ditch was full of snow. And I'm talking full here, waist deep. Do you know hard it is to walk in waist-deep snow? Really hard. I couldn't lift my leg high enough to get above the snow and make a new post hole to keep walking and I could turn around enough to go back up the other side. I was stuck down there for about 5 minutes thrashing and wallowing around. A guy driving past actually stopped his car to ask if I needed help. I wish someone had been filming me, it must have been hilarious. Got a nice photo out of it though. I really like the hint of pink in the sky. I'm glad I stopped.

I'm also glad I got the last kayaking photos of the year out of the way a couple weeks ago. The last shoot was for a national magazine (can't show it here until it runs in print, but check back for that later this winter). I eeked it in right before the real ice. It's a photo of Gail Green, owner of Living Adventure Inc., a really great guiding service just outside of Bayfield. Ended up floating in a dry suit in the lake before the sun came up to get a photo right around dawn, great images though. Can't wait to see them in print. I hope they run it big (insert crossed fingers here).

Next up, flying to Naples, Florida, for two days at the end of this week. Portraits and an interview for another magazine article. Never been to Florida before. Always an adventure. Stay tuned.

Winter.

 

Yep. It's definitley winter. Today is the first day in about a week that the mercury climbed out of the single digits. The snow has been beautiful and I've still been getting out to make a few photos. This kind of cold makes everything a little harder, but I think that's what I love about winter. I like the challenge. Even little accmplishments in the winter seem to have more weight. Everything feels a little more like an adventure (see above). Here are a few of my recent wintery favorites:

 

Okay, try not to look cold. Ready...Go.

Had my last Senior Portait session of 2009 this past weekend. Stephanie and her mother, Penny, drove up from Drummond for a shoot on Sunday afternoon. It was a clear, beautiful day here in Ashalnd. It was also about 8 degrees. That, if you're not aware, is cold. Real winter weather makes photo shoots a lot harder. Things freeze up, parts break in the cold, fingers get too cold to push the shutter button. Winter shoots are hard on the camera, they're hard on the lights, they run batteries dead in no time flat, but, most of all, winter shoots are hard on the subject. Stephanie was a trooper. 

Now, keep in mind, I was wearing long underwear and about 42 layers of polyethelene and fleece for this shoot. Stephanie on the other hand was wearing a long sleeve shirt and jeans. Afterall who wants to look like they're on an arctic expedition in their yearbook photo (Okay, okay. I would have loved to look like I was on an arctic expedition in my yearbook, but I've always been a little ...abnormal, shall we say.). She would sit in her car while we got a shot set up and then hustle out, peel off her winter coat, and try to look warm for a few minutes while I snapped away. Then back to the car to warm up for a little bit. Not a perfect system, but we got some pretty cool photos. After about an hour and half outside, we went inside for a couple studio portraits. Here are a few of my favorites: