It was a chilly morning at Depot Town and Riverside Park in Ypsilanti, MI where I met with this young woman for a senior and portrait session. Between her cap and gown plus a borrowed leather jacket she survived the brisk temperature until the sun finally warmed us.
She was a natural in front of the camera making this another fun session!
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This is the 10th year of a pilgrimage to Oval Beach in Saugatuck, Michigan to visit the site where my late wife’s ashes are spread.
As those of you who follow these posts know, September 13 is our anniversary and I’ve been going there yearly to visit and photograph the sunset.
This year I managed to capture a few good sunset photos and also took some portrait shots of some of the local residents and visitors to this charming lakeside city. Interestingly, I was recognized by a few people on the beach and also got to re-connect with and take photographs of some fellow photographers… people I see all too rarely.
One takeaway is the dune erosion has carried the area where her ashes were originally spread far towards the lake itself… time and people move on.
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I’ve visited this family at their property in the country to photograph them together as well as two previous senior sessions and again to photograph this young woman, the last of the “kids” to graduate high school.
It’s a major turning point for the parents as the previous two, a son and another daughter, just left to begin their college educations.
As you can see here, they’re a musical family and, again, I got to photograph a senior with a favorite instrument.
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This client came into the studio for a head shot session and shared the fact that his company wanted not only standard shots but some of him acting “silly” as they had a fun side to their website.
I was interesting as he really didn’t know how to approach the task so we just joked around and winged it.
All in all a fun session in more ways than one.
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Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP) is a very rare genetic connective tissue disorder characterized by the abnormal development of bone in areas of the body where bone is not normally present.
This session was to photograph a woman who is being honored as a supporter of the organization formed to support people who are affected by this condition and to educate and advocate for research and potential treatment. Currently, there is no cure for FOP.
Here is a link to the IFOPA Website: https://www.ifopa.org/ which will open in a separate window.
I’ve known this woman for many years as well as someone in my extended family who was diagnosed with FOP as a child so it was a distinct pleasure to photograph her.
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The image above is one of a number of header photos from my website’s home page.
Early on when I started this iteration of my photography business I set up a website consisting of photos I had taken of friends and family. As time went on these were for the most part replaced with actual images from customers, all with permission.
I liked the navigation but was very disappointed with the way the vertical and horizontal images displayed so went looking for a different template… found one but now the navigation was terrible, resulting in a reduced rate at which visitors stayed on the site. You probably know the three line “hamburger” menu.. awful…
FINALLY I have been able to combine a better navigation with tabs and the ability to display vertical and horizontal photos side by side.
Due to narrow phone screens the old navigation remains, although improved. On tablets?? Don’t know as I don’t have one.. maybe viewers here can tell me.
This is a rare blog post with no photos but by clicking on this link you will be able to navigate the portfolio options to see not only some wonderful people but also be taken to my Metal Print Sales site.
Unplanned is sometimes best, particularly in these two settings.
I had a head shot session during which this young woman helped my subject with his clothing choices and hair options.
When we were finished I got her in front of the camera with no preparations as to hair or makeup and her natural charm just shines through.
Later I was, again with no real plan, photographing some flowers in my newly set up outdoor portrait space when a welcome visitor made use of the blooms on the Russian Sage. Three quick handheld shots and the moment was gone.
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I’ve photographed end of year photos of a family in the area for two seasons and last week I met with this young woman, their daughter, for her senior photos at a location locally I had not previously used.
It’s the site of the former Peninsular Paper plant in Ypsilanti by the Peninsular Paper Dam, constructed in 1867 to provide power for paper manufacturing.
A vote was passed to remove the dam but there is also a movement to repair and retain it. It’s a really neat location with some great memories for my subject and I found the day to be very rewarding.. I love to be by any water and she was a natural in front of the camera with the background sound of the water rushing over the dam being a great bonus… plus the deer checking us out.
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I received a call from a father wanting photos of his daughter and for some reason I pictured her in my mind as a teen.
Not so much :-)
This time I was able to photographer a younger girl in the studio and also a few taken in my outdoor shooting space.
Another fun session!
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Requests seem to arrive in cycles. These two delightful people came in on separate days for business photo updates.
Are you using older photos? If so please don’t hesitate to connect!
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On July 4th I photographed this sweet guy in my newly developed outdoor shooting space.
His owner, a woman I’ve known since she was a teenager growing up with my daughter, was told his ear would have to be removed due to a tumor at the base.
Yesterday the news was better and we now hope his ear can be saved.
He is a total goofball and was it was fun to have a dog in the yard again even for a short visit.
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The sessions I photographed last week were not for sharing publicly.
I decided instead to randomly select some photos from the thousands stored on my drives so I did the equivalent of throwing a dart at the wall and here are some I came up with. I know there are many others I’d love to share but I held to the random first 22 and of the 2.06 terabytes worth of photos I have stored (that’s a little over 2 million megabytes) these were surprisingly fun to see again.
Some were from paid sessions, some quite recent for my metal print sales , one from a brochure back in the 60s, some are friends or acquaintances and some just from being in the right place at the right time.
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For those of you who recognize this graduate the photo above is how he appeared in my blog of 9-22-22 as a senior.
He recently came into my studio for his cap and gown photos having graduated and is moving forward.
Clicking on the composites below will display them full size.
For those not familiar with this medium it allows photos to take on life-like depth and dimension not seen on paper prints. Images are printed on high-quality aluminum using an innovative dye sublimation process for an impressive display that stands the test of time.
The result is an image that has an almost 3D effect in that the colors are deeper and much more intense than paper prints. Easily cleaned and available with a number of mounting options the metal print is an amazing addition to any decor, residential or commercial.
Whether you are an interior designer or an individual, a parent or spouse or partner looking for unique wall displays or gifts of fine art or family sessions or portraits… metal prints are a dramatic addition to your home or office
Here are two web links:
https://ssphotometalprint.com/
https://ssphotographic.client-gallery.com/gallery/metal-print-collection
A small assortment of images are shown in the composites below. Clicking on the composites will display them full size.
Samples are available to view at my studio location and I will gladly assist in ordering so if you’d like to see some in person please don’t hesitate to connect.
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With the onset of consistently good weather the summer senior session is literally heating up.
I have some favorite Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti photo locations and this young man and I met at Ypsilanti’s Depot Town and Riverside Park on a nice sunny day. Great day and another fun session.
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Two different takes on portraiture in this post.
This gentleman came in for a session for a portfolio showing different moods and outfits. We switched up the lighting setup part way through to allow for some more dramatic photos.
My next visitor was here for a series of headshots for her next business step. She’s bright and has a great personality so not only was it a fun session but she should do well in her chosen career.
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We’ve been blessed with a run of good weather and I met this dad and his sons in a local park for a family session. The day was beautiful and the location is one of my favorites so a successful and enjoyable morning well spent.
We seem to be in for more of these days so anyone looking at this post who hasn’t had family photos taken lately please don’t hesitate to connect.
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Confirmation ceremonies are a very big part of a young person’s journey while growing up and this girl was no exception.
One week before the actual day of her confirmation she came in with her family to be photographed in her dress. Some of the session was quite calm and some more playful.. a good day.
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I’ve been busy in the studio again with a portrait session for the young woman pictured here as well as a business head shot session for the man featured below.
The beginning of the year started out slowly and it’s gratifying to see more visitors coming in.
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It was a nice morning at the University of Michigan Law Quad as I met this grad and her parents to document her achievement.
In my head I visualized where and how I would photographer her… So much for control of the environment as I naively thought we’d have plenty of choices. This was graduation day and the Quad was jammed with students, parents and loads of other photographers… some professional and some friends and relatives of the graduates.
It turned out to be an interesting challenge and opened me up to some options I had not used before. We photographed in the Quad, an open space down the street and made a long walk to the other end of central campus to finish at her school building.
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