Now that things are settling down a bit I’m hoping to update my site and catch up on all those little tasks that always seem to slip to the bottom of my todo list!

With any luck a little more consistency with this blog will be part of the plan.

More soon.

As a  sponsor of the event I had the opportunity to photograph the proceedings and I thought I would share a selection of photos here.

So enjoy and give some internet applause to these models and the great staff at Luther Midelfort who helped them accomplish their goals.

You can also view the photos and order prints Here

The snow on the ground might suggest otherwise, but spring is here and that means senior photo season will soon be upon us. Our spring mailer will soon be going out to next year’s seniors, but I wanted to get word out as soon as possible about our new graduation photo packages.

Unequalled Value

Our new packages have been created to offer high quality custom portraiture to fit a wide range of budgets. Whether you’re looking for a simple studio session with one or two outfits or a lengthy multi-location shoot with several outfits and backgrounds, we can give you what you want for a price lower than you might expect. By combining many of the most popular print sizes we can offer a significant discount from our a la carte print prices.

Even better value if you act soon

To get the season off to an even better start we are offering a 10% discount for any package that is booked before June 1st.  Book now to beat the summer and fall rush and save some money too!

With spring coming and more people getting out and about I thought it would be a good time to take a look at  our studio hours.

The most important thing I want people to know is that studio and location shoots are always available by appointment.  Most weekdays I still try to be at the studio between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. but I often find myself out on assignment during those times. As the weather warms up and the sun hangs around later I anticipate that I will be shooting even more on location and in the evenings.

So if you’re looking to book a meeting or a session or you just want more information it’s important to remember that even when the studio doors are locked, the business is still open!  Just call 715-838-9962 and if I can’t answer right away I’ll call you back as soon as possible.

I always find pricing to be a difficult endeavor.  In all honesty I wish I could offer my services for free to anyone who wants them. Unfortunately the people who send me bills would not be happy with that plan!

My goal has always been to try to offer exceptional photography at prices that are affordable for as many people as possible. With the overall economy still struggling, I realize that things like professional photography are a luxury that many people feel they can’t afford.

With that in mind I have created a few new entry level packages that hopefully will allow more people the opportunity to receive photographs of the highest quality without breaking the bank.

As the answers were found and solutions put in place, the program started moving towards the resumption of shuttle flights.  One of the greatest rewards of being a journalist is access to peoples lives and events that you might not otherwise experience.  Like many kids born in the 60′s I wanted to be an astronaut when I was young.  I had the halloween costume and everything. So getting an up close view of the goings on at the Kennedy Space Center was quite a thrill.

Return to the Launch Pad

As the time drew near for the launch of the shuttle Discovery the newspaper made extensive plans to cover the event.  To most of the other photographers this was just an amplified version of what they had done for previous launches, but it was all new to me.

Mike Brown was the paper’s lead space photographer and his expertise in setting up remote cameras meant that the best shots would probably be his.  But the problem with the remote cameras at the time was the delay before the film could be retrieved and processed. We developed a plan for our photographers to be at various locations both on and off the KSC compound for the launch and my position was to be at the press/VIP site.  This site is the closest spot a civilian can be during a launch.

My job was to photograph the launch with a long telephoto lens and simultaneously capture the reaction of the people gathered to watch the launch.  To accomplish the latter I used a remote camera facing back at the crowd so I could concentrate on the shuttle itself.

I felt the Earth Move

Words don’t do justice when trying to describe the power of a rocket headed to space. I’ve been told that compared to the Saturn V rockets of the Apollo program the engines on the shuttle were puny.  I can’t imagine. When the countdown hit zero I could see the rocket engines fire. It was several seconds before I hear the roar of the engines.  Then I felt the earth move.  The ground shook and I could feel the  rattle in my chest. Ever so slowly the shuttle began to lift off. I shot several frames of the liftoff then followed the ascent.  Remember this was back in the days of film where you had 36 frames until you had to reload.  I needed to pace myself.

We All Held Our Breath

Although the launched seemed to be going off without incident, we all held our breath until the critical moment when the solid rocket boosters separated from the shuttle and the huge fuel tank.  It was the boosters that brought down the Challenger, and though a thousand other things could threaten the Discovery the boosters still seemed like the key.

Journalists Don’t Cheer (except this time)

Journalists are trained to be a dispassionate lot.  As a journalist you are the person who gathers the facts and assembles them for the reader to digest and decipher.  Outward exuberance would undermine the sense of impartiality that is important to a journalists credibility.  Because of this you won’t see journalists doing a lot of cheering at events.  That’s why I was surprised to find myself and hundreds of other writers, photographers and various media types whooping and cheering after the boosters safely separated from the shuttle.

An Epic Experience

I’ve had many wonderful experiences during my career as a photographer and I continue to have them all the time.  The sense of joy and happiness at a wedding still leaves me with a smile on my face after a long day of work.  The thrill of capturing an elusive moment during a portrait session still gets me jazzed. But it’s hard to imagine I’ll ever have another experience so completely transcendent as photographing that first shuttle launch.  I shot several other launches and landings and even travelled to California to document the construction of the shuttle Endeavor which replaced the Challenger. But none of that came close to the excitement of that first post-Challenger launch.

The End of the Road

Sadly the shuttle program is coming to an end and there is no clear vision for what if anything will replace it.  Unfortunately with the budget f0r space exploration a low priority, it may be a long time before we see anything approaching the scope of the space program in the 60s, 70s and 80s. And even if we do make a renewed effort to send humans into space will it ever capture the imagination the way it did?  I sure hope so, and maybe I’ll be lucky enough to photograph it.