Early in my career, I was able to accumulate numerous awards both locally and nationally. Through the Professional Photographers of America I earned a Masters of Photography and Craftsman Degree in a very short amount of time. Having taught other professional photographers in several states around the country helped others achieve their portrait making goals. All this time I was running a business and competing in various competitions. Thirty years ago I made a decision to not compete any longer so I could concentrate all my efforts into serving the needs of my clients better. The satisfaction from a happy client far outweighs the accolades my peers. … [Read more...]
Memorial Day
It's a day to remember our military men and women who died for the benefit of our freedom during the many wars in our nation's short history. The meaning of Memorial Day has changed for me throughout the years. As a kid and even into my teens, Memorial Day was just another day off of school and a chance to kick off summer at a picnic or a get together with family and friends. Today I am aware of what this day is all about: a day set aside each year to reflect on the incredible price paid for the freedoms we enjoy. Memorial Day should be a day of reflection but also be a joyous day. The people who died, did so for a cause. That cause was so that the rest of us could live and enjoy our lives and our freedom to the fullest extent. To do otherwise would make their sacrifices less important. I created this art piece as a reminder that our freedom was not free, and will always feel gratitude for those who died and will still die so that I can live as I choose. "Thank You. We won't … [Read more...]
Exploring New Possibilities
The Kid In The Candy Store Doing something new is usually fun. Doing something new that you're passionate about is ever more fun. Doing only one thing in your life can be like going to work at a job. And honestly, I haven't had a job since graduating from college. Those who know me, understand that I'll often go out by myself just to photograph. Sometimes it's heading to the city at sunrise on a Sunday morning. Others times it's shooting pictures of nature, animals and now even still lifes or antique cars. On a whim in January of this year, I juried for the botanic Garden Art Fair coming up this weekend. It's hard to get into, so I was surprised when accepted. Yes, now the pressure was on to get a body of work together that I could sell. The theme of this show is of course: Botanicals. The last few months of putting this together has been amazingly fun and grueling at the same time. The world has so many subjects awaiting to be photographed and it really is like "being in a … [Read more...]
“Who Wants A Portrait of Me?”
The Answer May Surprise You? I wish I had a dollar for each time I heard "Who wants a portrait of me?" when suggesting a portrait of a parent with their kids, alone or with their spouse. Several years ago after just a bit of coaxing, I photographed my parents, George and Audrey Buschauer in my studio. It was a delightful experience being able to finally tell them what to do:) Actually we all enjoyed it very much. Except dad din't like the part when the makeup artist asked him to sit down in the chair. You see dad's always been the rugged type. The thought of a makeup artist applying makeup to his face didn't sit well, but didn't complain. Well that was fun to watch. Under normal circumstances I don't have makeup artists put makeup on the men, but in this case the opportunity for a good chuckle was too much to resist. In our family there are five children. I'm the second oldest. I always told my parents they should have stopped at two. But growing up Catholic... well no need … [Read more...]
This Memorial Day…
We Can't Forget! Each Memorial Day and Veterans Day is more poignant to me as I get older. The world seems more complex and dangerous than ever before. Can you say you have a friend that would give the ultimate gift to you in a life and death situation.. someone that would willingly lay down his life for you? I can say maybe one or two possibly.Yet our soldiers do just that every day all day... when we're working, playing and even sleeping. We thank you with all our hearts for the sacrifices you make day in and day out on our behalf. Those of you who have died for me and my family and those who are willing, we won't ever forget you!The young man is my nephew Nick now serving in Korea. The older gentleman will remain anonymous as he remembers his fellow soldiers who never came home. … [Read more...]
About Improvising
When you have to figure out a way to make it work.Our group of six just returned after five intensive days in Haiti. While it's good to be back, part of me wishes I could stay to do more. Resources are few and needs are many.On our last night Melissa, one of the volunteers, asked me if I could shoot a portrait of her and Owens, a local boy who she has known and gotten close to over the years of her serving there. Honestly I didn't know if I should do the portrait for one reason: there was no light! It was dark already and the few electric lights available were barely enough to just get around in the dark. Using a flash on camera would have given terrible results in this situation. Wanting to to help Melissa I had one option; to use the small battery LED lantern I had purchased at Walmart for $8 the previous week. As I got thinking; for its size, it did put out a considerable amount of light and it was color balanced to daylight. It was surely worth a try. With Nicky as my assistant … [Read more...]
Leaving for Haiti
It's almost 2:00 a.m. All showered and ready to go. My flight leaves at 6:00 a.m. With the news about the backups at TSA figured on getting there three hours ahead of time. I will be back on Sunday night. During my trip I hope that I can use my gift of photography to serve the people by documenting their needs, hopes for some better life, and of course see how they can influence some others in the US to help. It will be fun making some portraits of the villagers and sending them back there. From what I understand most of these people don't have any photographs of themselves or their families. Well, I should be on my way. Take care till next time. … [Read more...]
Are You Attractive Enough For A Professional Portrait?
What do you think? Of course this is a silly question. But what's not so silly is this is that time and time again parents tell me they don't want to be in a portrait because of the way they look. "I need to lose 20 lbs. before I'd be in a photo" is a more typical response than you might think. Many people would give a lot now to have professional portraits of their parents, but it's too late. Maybe when they had the opportunity they turned it down, not feeling like they were attractive enough. So why should you as a parent be photographed? If not for yourself, how about for the kids and all the ones that love you. It's really that simple! I hope this short little blog gets you thinking about your next portrait. Hope to see you soon. … [Read more...]
Goodbye Awards
As we go through life, a lot of things change. Not just our physical looks, but our attitudes about life and what is important. When I got started in this business, I belonged to several professional organizations. These organizations set certain standards; and one of them was to create our best work and compete with other photographers both locally and nationally. This was really fun for me because I would consistently win or score very well in competitions. Winning consistently was a big part of my receiving my Masters and Craftsmen Degrees from the PPA Professional Photographers of America at such an early age in terms of years of membership. The photograph above represents the last portion of awards that were deposited to the dumpster this week. I do this not out of disrespect for the accomplishments, but as a reminder that this part of my life is behind me. All in all, I think it's good to be in the throws of competition. It makes us sharper, better skilled and brings … [Read more...]
Photo Enhancements: A Game Changer
When we consider retouching on a photograph, I see it differently that most clients and even other photographers. It's one of the things that separates me from the rest, good or bad. I was in conversation with another photographer from a different state recently. Looking on her website I noticed that her portraits looked a bit unfinished. Yes, the zits were gone, but other than that I could not see any sort of extra retouching or enhancements. She told me she goes for the "natural look," which I can respect. There's nothing wrong with that, it's just her style. And quite frankly, she does quite well with it. My own style dictates that post production in a portrait is just as important as the capture of the image. It's also part of the creativity that makes what I do a lot of fun, and makes me unique. While the photo on the left is lovely on it's own, the photo on the right is my interpretation of this girl. It was "my take on it." Other photographers may have left it at its … [Read more...]