Photographed another trio the other day pictured below. It was nice to finally have met the person whom had bid on this picture package at the Katelyn Benefit held back in July/Aug timeframe. Katelyn is a three year old little local girl with Luekemia whom needs everyone's support. If you would wish to find out how you can help feel free to contact me and I'll point you in the right direction.

Today I had the opportunity to photograph Marina for her senior photo shoot. She brought along her very helpful sis and of course mom. These girls were full of ideas and so much fun to work with. As you can see Marina has some beautiful eyes and I wanted to make sure to capture those in her photos. Stay tuned for more from this shoot as I'm sure I'll come across more I really like as I process them.

Decided to take a little time for myself and go to Hocking Hills this afternoon before all the fall color was gone. Turned out to be pretty decent trip since hardly anybody else was out but wished I'd had more time. Be sure to check out the galleries for more photos of Hocking Hills area including some first time shots of Rock House.

This shot was actually from yesterday out at Lake Hammertown. This guy decided to go fishing and it really gave some scale to the scene. Beautiful fall colors are definately out in force and dwindling fast.

These guys were a pleasure to work with and probably some of the easiest kids to photograph I've had in a little while. I think mom/aunt put the fear into them before coming or something! Just kidding, but truly they were gentlemen when it came time to get their picture done.

Opportunity to photograph these 4 lovely ladies today in the studio along with grandma and a grandchild. As always Cherokee will make sure it has some adventure to it which made for a fun shoot. This pose was on the fly and little different so I thought I'd go on with it even further and add some more fun.

This is my aunt and her family whom as I'm sure you can guess, wanted some rustic, western style flavor to their shoot. I saw this wagon looking deal on the edge of the woodline and asked if they cared to pose with it when I was told sure but that it is a "manure spreader". I mean I looked and no there wasn't any recent signs of manure in it and as I explained to them us city folk would have no idea what the heck it was so seeing it in a photo would still look good. What do you think?

Just another shot from my Aunt's place. She wanted some of her husband and the horses but this shot really stood out for me just for sake of the shot. I still have some post processing to do on it but like it so far.

Last but not least I want to mention in the every day motion of things I've failed to recognize a couple of things that need addressed. First of which is contact information on the website. Stay tuned for changes to be made in that area. Secondly this blog is meant to be informative as in quick views of photo shoots, photography related info., promotions, and yes even general everyday complaints now and then. If you are offended by something posted then please communicate that. This is not my personal venting station as I have other effective ways for that. I can not however say that something I post on here won't offend someone somewhere somehow and I don't intend to stop trying to communicate just to appease the few. So if in some way you are one of the few then just let me know. I won't promise to jump to everything you want to change about it but I seriously do want to hear your opinion as a reader and/or client. This is just a photo blog and not a forum site so I try to keep drama in my photos not my words.

Ok so I've worked most of today post processing photos mainly from the rodeo event and have posted them to the album as I hope you've noticed. I'm not totally finished and will continue to post some more specifically from Friday night to the album later today. I know it seems like something simple from the outside looking in but trust me this isn't simply downloading photos to computer and then uploading them to the web. Because of the low light and noise produced by using a high ISO setting I'm spending a good bit of time on each photo trying to make use out of each one since I have no clue who will be interested in purchasing. If you participated in the rodeo and do not see a photo of yourself then shoot me an email and give me some info. such as what event, male or female, horse color, what day, etc etc that would help me locate you in my photos. If you do see a photo of you but only one or if you want to know if there is more also shoot me an email and I'll see what I got. Looking back through them I think I was able to capture quite a few decent ones in regard to action shots and "drama". This is one of those events I love the challenge of capturing; all the action, color and people, especially all the good looking cowgirls is something that makes it worthwhile but it would also help to be able to support the habit so buy those photos! One more thing I would like to encourage is feedback! Stop by the "guestbook" page and leave a comment if you like what you see or you have some constructive feedback or a request. Make sure to leave a way to contact you however if you want a reply back though!

I've got a lot of photos to go through but this set was one of my favorite series over the weekend and wanted to post something so folks from the rodeo will know where the album will be once I get the other photos uploaded. A couple of notes for folks interested in purchasing photos from the rodeo. 1st, if ordering a size above 11x14 contact me first so I can make sure your photo will enlarge without further post processing. Shooting in low light conditions such as this arena causes a lot of digital "noise" in a photo thus some of the soft focus looks you'll see in some of the photos. 2nd if you see only one photo or want to know if I have more of a certain person contact me before ordering as I don't plan to post every single photo I've taken (two days worth, approx. 400 photos) especially if you're a barrel racer as I take these photo's in succession pretty fast which adds up to a lot of photos. I've posted the ones I think look the best photographically speaking which means I have several more not posted usually. Bullriders, bronc riders and various random shots not so much an issue as I'll be posting most of the ones that came out decent. Lastly, if you have any questions whatsoever, call, email me or stop in. And oh yeah I can do a lot of different specialized work such as posters, BW, digital work, etc so if you have a project in mind let me know.
PS now for the photos......... this bull doesn't believe in quitting, throws the rider and goes after anyone standing around including this guy who's thrown well up in the air!

EDIT - Rearranged album and it threw the photos off this page. See album for this series!

Starting a business from scratch with only the money in your pocket is an endeavor most see as a risk not many are willing to take. I've tried to do just that and the risk of failure is ever present and constant in my mind. Because of that I'm constantly checking stats and figures of which helps me gauge exposure to the public. Finding a way to ratio exposure to profit is something I've not yet mastered in any form as I've always had some amount of "hits" to my website but I try to look at it as one more person looking is one more potential client in the future. Why am I saying all this for? Simply because I'm amazed at the amount of "hits" this website has received since studio opening. In July I had 884 page loads or 81 visitors. So far this month I've had 20116 page loads or 1598 visitors and the month is not over! Last month (Sept) I had 1436 visitors so as you can see the rate is going up each month. Now in the big picture of the World Wide Web this is a small drop in the bucket I'm sure but I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to visit especially those who have purchased photos and/or commented on the site. Every little bit helps and adds up as you can see. In order for any business to succeed it needs customers who like the product and are willing to pay for the product. Ask any small business who has been at the mercy of your WalMarts and other large chain stores. It's especially true in small towns and sometimes people have to make a conscience choice of what they want in their community and to support these businesses and organizations by purchasing their products. I never intended nor am I ignorant to think that I can actually compete with chain store products in the long run and count on people such as yourself that want a better quality product with personal customer attention. So I hope that I continue to gain exposure and I pray that people want what I can offer so I can be around to provide the services this area deserves! Again, thank you for your support so far and ask that you spread the word and bring in more clients.

Now off to other things. Took this shot the other day just because I wanted to experiment a little and was bored. It's a glass of?? If you guessed water you are correct. Camera angle and lighting produced the yin and yang effect, not photoshop. It's still not the shot I was after as I think it can be refined a great deal but I didn't have a glass suitable at the time. This is why I love digital and how I think it can be one of the greatest teachers you can have if you USE it. Never cost me a thing to experiment and see instantly my results. Go out and take photos folks, you'd be amazed at what you can capture.

Rodeo at Henderson's Arena this weekend starting tonight at 8PM! I know it's not a full fledged big time rodeo as you'd see on ESPN but it's one you can participate in easily and close to home. It's also ran by Diamond J rodeo productions out of Oakhill who I'm sure would love to have you out to help them find more of these events would be worth the time and effort they make to produce these. Again it's one of those things if you'd like to see more of, to see it grow, to see this community grow then you should support it. Hope to see you there!

This is the lovely Mika and her "good side" as she puts it. She was a fun shoot and while she was very critical of herself I hope she'll share her photos with the ones who matter to her. I know the watermark is a little distracting which leads me to another story altogether and nothing to do with Mika.
It became apparent recently that my photos were being hijacked, pirated, outright stolen for lack of another word by someone whom I had photographed recently. How do I know this you might ask? Besides stat tracker and such on the web I had a reliable eye witness to the fact whom was asked to produce copies of the copies they had stolen off the web! Funny thing of it is they were refused because of copyright protection laws plus they had just been complaining to me about the very person they asked to help them out which I thought was really odd of them. This plus a couple of other things have lead me to watermark in a way to keep this from happening. It's a shame you have to do this anywhere as I'm not begging you to come here to have the photos taken. I provide a service as do many other photographers of which we all do the best we are capable of or at least should be and if my photographs are good enough to steal they should be good enough to purchase. I was also hit up recently for a "donation" to a "church softball team" which from what I've gathered so far was a scam. I am slowly learning what not to do in regard to the business side of things. The old adage of "In God we trust all other must sign" will apply to all future transactions. And while I'm on my soapbox I realize there are good people as well as the bad but the good folks need to stand together to discourage this type of activity in our community. I might be a new business and needing all the clients I can get but I'd rather go under than provide services for those who only want to take advantage of people. Feel free to negotiate prices, feel free to go somewhere else, feel free to tell me how you feel or think of my product or prices but don't steal from me as I've worked for everything I've ever received in life and don't take it lightly when you do.

Was booked to shoot an 18th b-day party/costume party over the weekend at the City Memorial building. Had a good time capturing all the wonderful costumes and decorations. It was great to see people having fun without the need for alcohol and such. Entertainment was provided by Chris Chase of LazerJam which included good music, games and fun for all. The smoke machine, lighting and strobes do play havoc with the camera so take a look in album and see what is possible at your next party as I'd be more than happy to provide photography services.

Not much going on next couple of days so I hope to be able to work on a couple of creative projects and get caught up on the business side of things as well as take some photos of the fall colors fast approaching.

My next shoot was the soon to be Mr and Mrs Fletcher. This is one from their engagement shoot I've managed to process before posting this blog. The lovely couple plan to wed December 1st at the Lighthouse Church on SR 32. Stay tuned for more pics of this event.

And last but surely not least, Coco and her family! Generations of a great family, they were a pleasure to work with.

Had the chance to view some sweet rides today at manpower park. Also had opportunity to speak with Chris, the owner of the Lamborghini pictured below of which I hope to get the opportunity to photograph more of with a model or two in exchange for some photographic work he wants done. Always looking for opportunities such as these to gain more portfolio material and what better props than these to photograph models with?! So anyone else interested in getting some awesome photos of their rides look me up. I'm willing to negotiate exchange of services so cost will be minimal for all parties involved. With fall right around corner time is crucial to get some beautiful professional photos!

Congrats to all the homecoming attendee's, especially Kevin and his daughter whom was crowned queen!

Have not had time to write as of late but that can be a good thing. I've been busy getting clients taken care of and performing the dreaded business end of things to include paperwork and financial ends.
Lot of children shoots as of late and came up with this verision of Cassidy having fun. I mean afterall a visit to get your photos taken should not be classified to the dentist realm of things.

Then it's been off to the high school football games, at least locally. Business has been slow on this end at least in sales. Lot of viewers but not many buyers and I'm looking for feedback on this issue so speak up! I see a lot of parent's using point and shoot cameras at these games and knowing the capability and limitations of those cameras I can't help but think wouldn't it be easier to sit back enjoy the game and then get your photos here?! I know I'm biased in that regard but seriously if the quality here is less than what you're getting currently on your own let me know. Wellston has been purchasing as of late and thus the visits to the Rocket's home games. Wellston unfortunately lost this bout but were eventually able to score. Oh and the Meigs' band was in my opinion the biggest scorer as they have an awesome program and won the most applause by both team's parents for their performance! Way to go band!