Austin and Traci

Dan Stewart and myself traveled to Bronson, Mich. for the wedding of Austin and Traci. June 25 was also special day because it was my 25th birthday and my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary. My birthday was somewhat overshaddowed, but after 24 others I'm alright with it.

Austin and Traci held their wedding at Traci's family farm just a few miles away from the Indiana border and the reception was held in the backyard of their home near the lake. Austin is a chef and prepared all of the food himself. Four Amish woman helped to finalize the cooking and serve the food. But Austin never fully let them have the duties. Shortly after saying, "I do," Austin was cutting warm meat off the grill to be served to guests.

I wish the best of luck to Austin and Traci as they embark on a journey to learn about organic farming in Puerto Rico.

Memorial Day Wedding

I'm interning with Dan Stewart who is based out of Traverse City, Mich. Dan and I were classmates at Central Michigan University. He is an amazing photographer and an incredible source of inspiration. This is a photo from my take of Nick and Leah's wedding in Holland over Memorial Day Weekend.

Michigan Special Olympics 2010

Brian Atha, 37, of Bay City dances with the current Miss Michigan Nicole Blaszczyk, 23, of Novi. "I'm so in love," said Atha about his opportunity to dance with Miss Michigan.


Mount Pleasant resident Ed McKinin, 37, gives his son Xander, 5, a kiss on the forehead at the Special Olympics Opening Ceremony Thursday. Xander is competing in the youth program for the first time this year.

I attended the opening ceremony for the Special Olympics at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. It is such and uplifting indescribable event. There is so much to learn about kind, patience and love from all of the people in attendance. There are so many stories to be told that it was overwhelming as journalist.

Oldies: Track and Field

I've been organizing photos on my hard drive and I came across a bunch of stuff I never shared. So the next couple of days will be filled with posts from previous work shot earlier in the year.

These photos are from a feature about the Central Michigan University track and field team. Coach Willie Randolph gave me free access to shoot what ever, where ever, and who ever I wanted. I met coach Randolph last summer when I photographed a portrait of him for a feature story. He is a charismatic guy, but he demands excellence in everything; he's someone you just have to meet. Either way I really built a rapport with Willie and full access which allowed me the freedom to just shoot.

Senior thrower Greg Pilling was and All-American last year and is the best athlete I have ever worked with. He had more questions about what I did as photographer than I had about throwing. At one point I was questioning who the journalist was, but his kindness put me at easy and allowed me to create a beautiful image.

Freelance: Aikido

Dr. Scott Vogel teaches Aikido Tuesday night at the Wellness Central Fitness in Mount Pleasant. Aikido is a spiritual discipline and self-defense method that uses grappling, throws, and non-resistance to debilitate opponents.

I would describe Aikido as mix between Tai Chi and Judo. There is a lot of slow fluid movement along with throws and grappling. From watching the practice there is a lot of mental discipline and cognitive thought in every movement.

Something Beautiful

I haven't shot much this week and it's mostly been spent sorting/key wording images taken in the last year. I will post some older stuff that never made it to the blog, but looking back I shot a lot of great material.

Too often I find myself stuck trying to fit a photography mold and comparing my work to others. As I mature I see myself doing this and I'm attempting to change. Every photographer develops their own style whether we recognize it or not. I personally don't fully understand mine and it often times frustrates me.

The point is just sometimes you have to get back to making photos. Once you stop thinking about lines, circles, rules of thirds, exposures and etc... you get back to the basics.

It's about capturing something beautiful.

Graduation

College came and went. While I'm sad it is ending I'm optimistic for the future. Student loans are the only black cloud over my parade. I still don't know what I want to be when I graduate, but I'm content.

Thanks you Ashley Miller for taking picture above of me and acting as our personal photographer during graduation for those of us on the CM Life staff.