cheekwood in the springtime ...

I've done sessions at Cheekwood in the past, but last Saturday was my first spring Cheekwood experience. It did not disappoint – spring has most definitely sprung in Middle Tennessee.

Mark and his children, Taijana and Taren, were excited to get for the session – as was I, because aligning schedules had been quite a challenge. Both children are very active in sports, and that means most weekends are spent shuttling between soccer fields and basketball courts. Honestly, I'm not sure how most parents do it. Trotter wears me out, and he's just a dog. :)

Taren was really, really excited to be in front of a lens. Without question, he is the most camera-friendly young man I've had the honor of photographing. Need a pose? No problem! In fact, don't need a pose but want to see one anyway? Taren's the man!



Taijana is a freshman this year and is a pretty accomplished basketball player. I wonder if Pat Summitt reads this blog? If she does – and I'm not saying she does, but maybe – I hope she remembers this post, and calls me when "Tay" is on her Final Four team in a few years. After all, I like press passes for sporting events. :)



We had a fun afternoon by all accounts, and I think Mark and the kids are thrilled with their photos. And we ended the session with my patented "Make Everyone Jump Off A Wall" maneuver ... it never fails to entertain!

pretty ribbons, pretty bow ties of blue ...

I'm sorry to paraphrase Willie Nelson like that, but it's one of my favorite Willie songs and most likely was written not too far from where I currently sit, typing this up ... and it's not too far from being the perfect way to describe McClain, Guy and Bennett -- the three stars of a family photo shoot that was one of the most enjoyable I've ever done.

Tresha and Jay were kind enough to choose Rinkes Photography to capture their family, and we chose one of those delicate Sunday afternoons that seem to give up its sunlight with a smile; when the sun was out, it was toasty warm, but when the sun went behind a cloud or a tree, you realized it really was getting close to winter. But no matter -- everyone was up for the experience.





Guy (top) and Bennett were perfect gentlemen, and looked fantastic in their matching bow ties (which Tresha told me were quite a challenge to find). The whole family looked good, actually -- moms (and it's always moms) ask me for clothing advice all the time, and I always say the same thing: Dress your kids as you normally would, in complementary colors or patterns ... Mothers have good eyes for fashion, and photographers have good eyes for photos. And I can barely dress myself sometimes, so moms -- keep on doing what you do. :)

fall comes to westhaven

Scott and Laura have a gorgeous family, and when they approached me for a photo shoot in November, I was excited. I mean, look at these kids!



How could I say no?

We picked a bright, sunny afternoon and visited several spots in Westhaven: the park and path along Pearl Street, the Residents' Club, and the park/fire pit on Wire Grass. Amina and I don't have children -- Trotter manages to keep us pretty busy all by himself -- but I walked away from this one with a renewed appreciation for the jobs that parents have to do ... managing to keep four kids (1) in cooperative moods and (2) relatively free of grass stains and other blemishes?

However Scott and Laura did it, they obviously had practiced it long before. One thing that didn't change, though -- getting all four kids to smile at the same time, and looking in the same direction. Laura was able to do impressions of the kids, right behind my shoulder, to achieve the laughter ...



I wasn't sure about that shot as I pressed the button, but looking at it later, I liked it quite a lot. But this one -- this one I knew was gold as it was happening:



We had a wonderful time with the family, and I think they were quite pleased with the results.

with dutch in front ...

with dutch in front ..., originally uploaded by pr9000.

This is from a shoot I did last year in Minnesota, not too far from my house and right around the end of September. By that point, the leaves were already starting to change, and, as any Minnesotan will tell you, the end of September means you've got one month left of "decent" weather before the cold moves in ...

It was obvious that the boys loved their sister, and she was just as enamored of them as well.

Parents usually ask me "How should I dress my children?" To that, I have two stock answers:

(1) You can dress them far better than I ever could, and
(2) Solid colors, on the whole, tend to go over better than patterns.

I always start with (1) because, well, I'm a man, and as a man I can safely say that my knowledge of "what matches what" disappeared when Garanimals stopped making adult clothing. As for (2), solid colors are always nice. In the photo above, the boys were wearing white shirts and dark jeans, and Dutch's dress was black and white. The color shots we took emphasized Nature's awesome backdrop, and the kids still looked fantastic.

So moms (and it's always moms): keep on doing what you do. Your kids will look great no matter what.

pure energy ...

The session with Matthew, Joey and Aaron was a lot of fun for one reason: Three brothers. Any time you get three boys together, there's a bit more energy in the air. I told their dad I wanted to get them in a natural state. "Tackling each other," he quickly replied, "would be about right." Because I value most mothers' opinions about grass stains, I left that alternative unexplored.



The leaves have left most trees by this point, which means that any interaction with them comes from the grab-a-big-handful-and-throw-'em-up-in-the-air option. And I get the impression that that's a little more fun than, you know, just looking at them on the trees.




As a photographer, I've got a unique view — I get to watch families interact and (hopefully) I can get that "perfect shot" by letting them behave normally around each other ... "No posing" is a rule of mine, and so far it's worked well.

With this family, it was obvious very quickly that they love and care for each other. It was my pleasure to work with them.

happy halloween!

Ian and Naomi were eager to get Halloween started, and who can blame them? The prospect of getting free candy ... from people you don't know ... all night long ... even I was getting excited for them. Luckily I don't need a costume to get candy – I can buy it at Target like a big boy now! – but these two were ready.



Ian was full of life, and was excited to show us around his house. We had to be quiet, because his sister was asleep when we arrived. It took her a few minutes to wake up. I can't blame her, as I usually require an hour of TV, two cups of coffee and total silence in the morning. But once Naomi came around, she, too, was a lot of fun.



Look at those eyes! They just melt your heart, don't they? I doubt her daddy will be able to say no to her in a few years.



Naomi and his father headed to the park – Dad had just gotten home from work – while Amina and I trailed behind, watching the happiness in James' steps as they walked down the street. This shot captures the mood that day, too, as October was out in full force in Minneapolis.

And this shot ... I think it's one of those magic ones that take my breath away when I first saw it. Amina put Naomi on the floor, the sun was streaming in about an hour before it left for the day, and the blocks? Well, let's just say Naomi is a pretty smart little girl. :)

too cute for their own good

I was blessed to do a session in "the city" (Minneapolis) last week with Lilly, Charlotte and their parents, on a blustery October day that had the weather man unpacking his wind chill chart ...

Lilly and Charlotte are incredibly sweet girls; I think we managed to capture that blend of cute and sassy that makes them so adorable. Sophie is very smart and was a joy to work with. And those cheeks on Lilly!









The girls get their good looks naturally.



Before the session was over, mom and dad issued a challenge: the family's dogs had never really "cooperated" during photo shoots ... would we be willing to try to get the dogs in an all-family picture? Because our dog, Trotter, is pretty much our furry son, we totally understood. They (the dogs) did cooperate for a few seconds, which was all we needed.

But ... here's my favorite of all the shots with the dogs, mainly because of the joy on Lilly's face. It's obvious that everyone loves puppies!

knock knock!

Parker: Who's there?

Logan: Bananahead.

Parker: Bananahead who?

Logan: Bananahead Sawyer!



For Logan and Parker, this was the funniest. joke. ever. We laughed and laughed and laughed about it – which made the session go all that much better. And it's amazing how little children can get endless amusement out of a simple joke. In fact, the two stayed on the Adirondack chair for what seemed like an hour, milking giggles from "bananahead Parker" ...



It was fun to see two brothers who were such good friends. We didn't have any problems getting them to pose for us, and it seemed like Sawyer's arm was around his brother all the time. I ended a long day of sessions with these two, and it made for a perfect ending.

software fills in when mother nature won't

Brad and Cari asked me to come to Chicago last week to capture their family, and of course I was happy to oblige ... Lee had been my first boss in Chicago many years ago, and we've stayed in touch (especially when he decided to convert to Macintosh). When he found out I was going to be in town, we quickly coordinated calendars.

The plan: get some nice family shots in the fall splendor that is Chicago in late October.

The reality: the trees hadn't really turned yet -- it was as green as July for a hundred miles.

What to do in that situation? You lean on the fine products made by Adobe, and tone down the leaves that forgot what month it was.



Cari must have known I am a Beatles fan, because the four of them looked extra sharp in black turtlenecks and jeans ... it looked like "Meet the Beatles" in many of the shots. People ask me all the time about how to dress, and my answer is always the same: A family's style and personality comes out in how it dresses, so just be yourselves and everything will turn out fine.

Paul (left) was feeling a bit under the weather during the session, but you'd never know it from the results. He and John both were right on the entire time, and I really appreciated their spirit and energy.



I always ask families to make some sort of goofy face for me -- it lightens up the mood and reminds us all why we're doing this (to have fun) ... The boys did not disappoint.



I smell a holiday card cover!

fall colors with hailey and ryan

Fall is my favorite time of year — football is in full swing, evenings turn crisp ... and the leaves come out in full force! I grew up in eastern Ohio, in the foothills of the Appalachians, and October is the most gorgeous time of year. Hailey and my mom share a birthday, so I packed up the convertible and did the Great American Road Trip to capture the events.

Ryan is eight months old and already more than 20 pounds. One thing we learned — keep his belly full and he's all smiles. Of course, being allowed to play in the leaves and grass didn't hurt either.



Hailey's third birthday was a few days away. She's old enough now to understand parties with pizza and birthday cake. All you had to do was think about cake and you'd hear about her party.

My sister put Hailey into her birthday dress. Naturally, Hailey wanted to play on the slide a thousand times ... once she got that out of her system, she showed us her Steelers touchdown celebration. And naturally, the Steelers lost later that week.

Ryan is such an agreeable subject. Most eight month old babies are. I did get a few shots of him eating grass; we were a bit too slow to stop him ... as I said, Ryan needs to eat. A little fiber now and then is a good thing, I suppose.



And of course, I couldn't resist this wonderful shot of Hailey and her mom. It seems like yesterday that I was pulling her hair and generally making her life miserable. What else is a big brother for, after all?

But now, watching her with her family, I get an amazing feeling of pride and love. As I pressed the shutter, you might have noticed that I had something in both of my eyes at the same time. :)

sunday afternoon, in the park -- i think it was the 23rd of september ...

Minneapolis has been flirting with autumn for a few days now, and the family wanted to get a little of Mother Nature's color in their shots. There's a very nice path leading down to a stream, so we headed there first.



The boys were rather good models -- patient, willing to try unusual requests from the photographer -- and of course Little Melanie was the star of the show. It's obvious that her brothers adore her ...




As the fickle September sun made forest shots next to impossible, we moved back to the park for some family candids. It was a great combination -- cloudless sky, crisp autumn breeze, and incredibly good looking subjects!

hailey and ryan

, originally uploaded by pr9000.

sleepy, originally uploaded by pr9000.

My first, and my favorite, child to photograph was my niece, Hailey. She'll be three in October, and of course her uncle and aunt will be home to eat some cake with her ...

She has a little brother, Ryan, who was born on Valentine's Day. His mom did a great job -- she had Hailey on our mom's birthday, and had Ryan on a holiday that nobody ever forgets. Uncle Paul won't ever miss a birthday card for these two.

We were home for Easter this year, and captured brother and sister sitting on a window seat. Hailey was very loving with her brother, who just slept a lot (as babies are wont to do). Hailey was eating some of mom's awesome nut roll cookies, and we really couldn't convince her to give them up. So there were some crumbs to Photoshop when I got back to my office.

Here's a shot I took of Hailey when she was no more than four months old -- her mom brought her on her first airplane ride, up to Minneapolis. We posed her all over the place, because at four months she was just very obedient Play Doh ... she could be placed anywhere, dressed any way, and she just sat there and took it in stride.

I'm sure her mom wishes that was an option now. :)

hailey, originally uploaded by pr9000.