This is Kristina and Glen’s video from their engagement shoot this fall.  I’m really excited to show this to you since it’s something I’m very proud of.  It’s the newest thing in content – a fusion mixture of images and what I call ‘long images’ – short video clips+sound.  It adds another dimension to a slide show that really brings it to life.  Their love and their spunky personalities really shine through on the footage in a way that just isn’t possible with images alone.  I still smile every time I watch this even after hours of editing!  I’m so happy that Kristina and Glen gave me the opportunity to create this memory of their love.

This video was filmed on a chilly October morning at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.  We shot the video clips after we completed the engagement shoot since they were relaxed in front of the camera by that point.  Once we started rolling,  the were great sports and started to play around without a lot of coaching.  Kristina and Glen showed this video on the big screen at their beautiful wedding reception in December, 2009.

All footage was shot with the Canon 5D Mark II.  Lenses used: Canon 24-105 f/4L, Canon 17-40 f/4L, Canon 135mm f/2L.  The sound was captured with the R0de VideoMic.  Editing of the footage was done with Pinnacle Studio 14.

These are our good friends and neighbors Jason and Sue.  I’ve been blessed both with their friendship and with having them grace my studio with their beautiful family on a couple of occasions.

I’m dedicating this one today because Sue is having surgery today for sinus cancer which was diagnosed only a few months after this picture was taken.  Early reports are good – though they had to remove more cheekbone than expected, the cancer didn’t spread to the orbit of her eye.  Therefore – she gets to keep both of ‘em.

She’s had a heck of a fight in 2009 with chemo and radiation – and now surgery.  Throughout all of it, she’s been a model of faith and grace.  Her beauty is something cancer will never take away from her.

Our prayers are with you today and in the future, Sue!

This is Kristina and Glen – and I’ve got the huge honor of being their wedding photographer.  This is a shot from their engagement stills+fusion shoot two weeks ago at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.  I knew it was going to be fun based on our initial meeting – but I had no idea how much fun it was going to be.  We did a couple of hours of still photography in the great Minnesota fall colors – then switched over to video once we had some shots ‘in the bag’.  They were great sports about the whole thing – frolicking in damp leaves in 45 degree weather, playing hide and seek, dancing on bridges, and baring their souls by talking candidly about their feelings for one another.  Their love for each other really shows through!

As a little ‘behind the scenes’ – getting this session off the ground was an exercise in patience with the crazy fall weather we’ve had this year.  It rained 16 out of the first 26 days of October – and it snowed several times as well.  It was pretty – but it really played havoc on any outdoor shooting.  The day we shot this was literally our last chance before the remainder of the leaves hit the ground.

Vital Stats: Canon 5D Mark II w/Canon 135mm f/2L   ISO 400, f/4, 1/100 sec

It’s tough to not have the “cobbler’s kids” syndrome sometimes when you’ve got client sessions, landscape trips, and loads of business setup tasks to do.  It has actually been almost a year since I got William in front of the studio lights – and my wife politely reminded me of this fact.  Last week, William looked especially cute at breakfast and I had my studio gear ready to go for another shoot later that day.  Between myself and our nanny, we were able to coerce him to pose for a few minutes.

Vital Stats: Canon 5D Mark II w/Canon 135mm f/2L  ISO 100, f/13, 1/200 sec.

Here’s a shot from a modeling shoot that I did this morning.  This is Kendall – and she’s three feet of sass.  I did family portraits with her mother, father, and sister last fall – and was very excited to get the chance to take pictures of her again.  She’s a natural – we just put a quarter in her and let her do her thing.  I’ve got quite an editing task ahead of me to get through the remaining pictures of her since there were so many keepers.

Vital Stats: Canon 5D Mark II w/Canon 135mm f/2L  ISO 100, 1/200 sec. f/13

Here’s little Susanna – a cute little girl that came to the T3 Imagery studios last week for a photoshoot with her 3-year-old brother Gus.  Like most 9-month-olds, it’s hard to get her to stay in one spot for long.  Once we gave her the little bouquet of lilies, she just sat transfixed by them – doing all kinds of cute little girl things with the flowers.

Here is another photo of the Klein family that I took during their family portrait session at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.  There story is a great one – after a lot of challenges they now have a beautiful little family that includes little Max.

Shooting 1-year-olds seems to be one of the biggest challenges – they want to do everything but look at the camera.  The solution is simple – Don’t make ‘em pose!  Get them candidly, and you get great shots.

Vital Stats: Canon 5D Mark II w/Canon 135mm f/2L  ISO 800, f/2, 1/5000 sec.

Here is a picture of my friends – the Klein family.  These are their first family photos – and I’m very honored to have been the guy that got to shoot the pictures.  These were taken at one of my favorite spots – the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.  This is a spot right next to the Japanese Gardens.

Vital Stats: Canon 5D Mark II w/Canon 70-200 f/4L + Canon 1.4x II Extender @ 208mm  ISO 800, f/8, 1/50 sec.

Here’s another shot from the Sheard family shoot last fall.  This time, it’s Carter and Watson – or is it Watson and Carter?  Anyway – nothing better than shooting boys being boys and twins being twins!

Vital Stats: Canon 5D Mark II w/Canon 50mm f/1.8II  ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/160 sec.

This is another picture from Elizabeth’s one-year-old “Cake Smash” photo shoot.  She’s got a heck of a sweet tooth – so it really didn’t take much cajoling to get her to dig in.

I love high key shots – perhaps because you work so hard to NOT have white backgrounds when you do nature photography.  It looks so clean and modern – and it’s so easy to do if you are set up correctly.  Be sure and aim a flash head at the background and set it for 2 stops brighter than your key light.  Bam!  Nice white background!

Vital Stats: Canon 5D Mark II w/Canon 24-105 f/4L @ 105mm  ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/200 sec.