Oklahoma Sunset

And here it is. This is the sunset I had mentioned in the previous post. It was so spectacular that we pulled over on the side of the road to take the shot. 

Beth had just gotten her camera and was just as excited to get out and take these. The white balance setting really brought out the contours of the clouds. There were rain streaks, and the wind was picking up. It looked like we were going to really be in for something. We got out of there before it hit, but about 10 minutes later the wind picked up the dust and blew it around so strong that you couldn't see more than 100 feet. It never rained hard, but we had golf ball size rain drops. it was all done in less than 5 minutes. 

Old Truck

Here we are back in Oklahoma for Josh's wedding. We had just finished up the rehearsal and we were all waiting around while the pastor was finishing up with the happy couple. with camera in hand I decided to wanted around the church grounds for a shot. This truck screamed "Take a picture of me". So I did. I have always envied other peoples photos of old trucks and tractors and the like, so I figured this was my chance. Very little editing was done to this pic. i did a bit of cloning to remove some distracting features, but I didn't mess with the color. I was using my camera with the white balance set to flash. I forgot to change it, but discovered that the flash setting is good for pulling out the definition in the clouds. 

    On our way to the rehearsal dinner, the clouds lifted on the horizon to allow the sunset to peek underneath the cloud deck. It was a spectacular sunset, but that's for another story. 

Epcot 2005

We took our first large family vacation in February of 2005. Not only was it my first time at Disney World, but my first time flying. It was an exciting trip. Each theme park seems to have a centerpiece that makes for great photo opportunities. To get this shot at the big Epcot ball, I had to lay flat on my back. At one point some lady actually stepped over me, but as you can see it made for a nice shot. 

   I actually thought I had lost this picture. I was new to saving and organizing digital files on the computer and for a few weeks I thought it was gone. I did find it and I'm now in control of my files.

AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The whole family went to Bengstons Pumpkin Farm back in 2005 to check out all the seasonal festivities. Everyone wanted to go through the haunted barn, except for me of course but I went anyway. Neither my dad or mom like them either, but they went in. With a vague understanding of how haunted houses work, I kind of felt my way around and avoided most of the traps set for me. I had just passed a floor sensor made to set off the surprise and knowing my mom was right behind me, I waited for her  to be scared. Apparently I took the shot at the perfect moment. She hates this picture, but I feel a calling to share it with everyone I can.

Sunset at 30,000 feet

We were coming home from the Caribbean in 2007. As the plane approached the Midwest it encountered a weather system with thunderstorms. It was really cool how the plane flew around the storms, banking left and right. The sun was getting low in the sky and through the cloud tops the sight was spectacular. I dug out "The Beast" from under the seat in front of me, (Not a lot of room there.) and shot this through the window. (duh!)

I am amazed at how different this looks in the sky. You just can't see the cloud contours from the ground like you can from up there.

Josh and Kim 2008

Josh and Kim got married in March of 2008 near Oklahoma City. It was a beautiful day and the Melissa's whole family was together for the event. This was the happy couple heading out to there "limo". Kim's old Toyota Avalon. I took about 12 pictures or so as they headed out to the car, and it was a good thing I did. There was this picture where I really liked the way Kim looked as she is looking for protection from the bubbles, but the look on Josh's face was not all that good. I found this "Josh Head" in another picture from about 2 seconds earlier. With a little copy and pasting I was able to create a really nice portrait of the couple. I probably put more post production work into this photo than any other photo I've done. About 5 hours worth. The seam where I pasted is nearly invisible. Go ahead and try to find it.

Greg Maddux -2005

In 2005 Suzie Martinson gave Dan a gift. She said he could take a Friend to a Cubs game on her expense. He took me. Yea. He got tickets in the front row right at the cubs bullpen. We called all the baseball fans we knew, just to rub it in. I believe Chris Pullman asked for help pulling the knife out of his back. The Cubs lost that night, but it's just exciting being there. This pic was taken as Greg Maddux was warming up before the game. He was less than 20 feet from my seat. it was cool to see a future hall-of-famer and 300+ game winner in action that close to me. 

Abby - 2005

We invited the whole family over for our 10th anniversary in may of 2005. We had a big tent over the driveway with tables and chairs, balloons, centerpieces, and tablecloths. (Someone actually stopped and asked when our garage sale started.)

There was lots of food and people, it was a great day. I was just starting to get into digital photography and image editing but already had a good feel for what I like. Abby here was coloring in the driveway with the chalk we bought. she looked up just as I snapped the shot. that was the moment I fell in love with the "candid shot".  I did a little tweaking with Photosuite image editor and ended up with this. 

Joey wrote a book in school called "Attack of the Killer Cockroaches". 

Apparently giant cockroaches from outer space invade New York City. He needed a cover for his book and there you have it.

Jim Cmolik's Back Yard, McCrearey County, Kentucky

One of the biggest ministries that Hills and Hollers preforms is to Rattlesnake Ridge. Now this isn't Rattlesnake itself, but on the far ridge is the road that you take to get to it. About where I'm standing here is where Jim Cmolik has a chair. He likes to sit there to pray for the folks at Rattlesnake. What a great way to spend time in God's presence, surrounded by his creation.

Broken car , Indiana - 2008

So we're at Uncle Bob's family picnic in Crown Point and my father-in-law decides he wants to open up his camper for the summer. He says it's only 5 minutes away and he recruits me, Ben and Derek to help.  45 minuets later we show up at the campground and take care of business. On the way back we hit a pothole. Not just any pothole, but one that was so big that it knocked out the fillings that I don't even have yet. Minutes later we smell something burning and hear a strange rubbing sound. It turns out he broke the mount that holds the rear tire and axle to the body of the car. Oops. We waited on the side of I-65 near Rensealear for an hour or so. This was taken looking away from the highway (obviously) while lying on my back. Photoshopped to remove color saturation.

355 - 2008

In September Dan Martinson commissioned me to put together a slideshow to the song "God of this City". I took a day and drove around the suburban area that OBCC ministers to snapping photos along the way. The song states that God is not only the God of the universe and all of creation, but also the God if Lombard, Downers Grove, and I-355. It's easy to lose sight of the fact that God knows us on a personal level when we start thinking about how big He really is. This was taken standing on 71st st. looking south at 75th. As you can see, they weren't getting very far.

Blue Sunset - Bolingbrook, IL 2008

I've got a thing for sunsets. During the summer in 2008, we had thunderstorms passing for a few days in a row. This was during a break in the storms and Joey's baseball team was able to get the game in that night. The clouds were awesome that evening. I love how the clouds in the background resemble the shape of the tree line in the foreground. The storms that followed that evening were great.

I was asked to take pictures for the church website one Sunday morning, so I did. I got there early to shoot the worship team during their pre-service rehearsal. I didn't want to interrupt the worship service any more than I was going to. This gave me a chance to get up on stage and shoot the team. I thought this would be a good shot of Dan Martinson. Instead of the usual shot from the front, I thought to back light him. This gave me nice shadows, but also a few nice lens flares. I am also a Photoshop junkie, so I increased the contrast with bringing out the darkness in the photo and amplifying the highlights. It's not one of Dan's favorites, but I don't care. I like it.

My Leafy Wife - 2007

I had spent the entire morning raking leaves that day and ended up with a huge pile in the backyard. I love taking pictures of Melissa so I asked her to doll herself up so that I could take a nice outdoor portrait of her in the leaves. I set up my stepladder over the pile and get the camera ready. She looked great when she came out. I asked her to lie down in the leaves. She thought I was nuts. Almost right away her eyes started watering and her nose started running. This was about the tenth picture I took. By this time her eyes were burning. (must have been the pollen or something) I had her close her eyes and told her to open them at the count of 3. She's a real trooper. Suffering for the sake of my art. She quickly went inside to wash out her eyes.

Trash, Nassau, Bahammas - 2008

We were walking around in Nassau in the Bahamas and we passed this garbage lying on the ground. Melissa was already fed up with me slowing down the hike with my "looking for the shot". I actually went back to take this, got the shot and then saw the rest of the family waiting for me at the street corner. I love black and white photography. Taking out the color forces me to look at the subject and not be influenced by the colors. This picture tells a story. The headline is sad and pulls emotions out of the viewer.

Little Italy, New York City - 1992

In 1992 I went on a missions trip to Philadelphia with the youth group from church. (Oak Brook Community Church) We took a day trip up to Manhattan and walked around the city for hours on end. We ended the day with dinner at an Italian restaurant in the Little Italy section of the city. The colors on this street were amazing and incredibly vibrant, so I said to myself  "this would make a beautiful color photo, I've got to capture this." As you can see, I forgot that I had black and white film in the camera. It did however turn out to be one of my favorite shots. No color, but so much going on in the scene.