I'm looking forward to the engagement session I'm doing tonight for Mike and Lindsey. They must be hearty souls because we're doing it outside, as planned, despite a temperature that will be about 95 by the time this comes around.
I'll post some pictures tomorrow.

Curt (photocurt.com)
(765) 437-8048

FAMILY MATTERS

Photographers don't provide the most essential service in the world, but their service often captures the most essential moments in life. An example was today's portrait session I did for the Briscoes at the Kokomo Country Club.

The occasion was the 80th birthday celebration of Jim Briscoe, which was attended by everyone in the family, including the surprise appearance by grandson Ryan - all the way from seminary school.
Deepening the importance is the fact that Jim is dealing with some health issues. We never really know when the last get-together will be - high school, college, a family barbeque... - but we all know that the combination of age and health challenges can narrow our opportunities. I'm so grateful that Jan Briscoe saw big picture and allowed me to take the family picture.
Whatever tomorrow brings, the Briscoes will have today forever.

NEW HORIZONS

I just came to agreement to photograph the South Bend campus of Purdue University next May. It came as a result of photographing the Kokomo campus of Purdue, and people like Kaleigh, a 2012 graduate.

T.C.G.

I'm getting ready to stroll through The Children's Garden - a great Montessori school in Kokomo. It's spring picture day.

TAKE TWO AND HIT TO RIGHT

That phrase is often used for baseball players as an approach that combines open-mindedness, patience and resourcefulness: look at some pitches to get a feel for what the pitcher can do, wait for one that you like, and don't try to do something that doesn't fit the situation.
I used the same approach last week during a high school senior session, which I scheduled for mid-day - a tough time to get good outdoor pictures. I was working with a great kid, Josh Maurer of Western High School, who plays drums for the school band. I knew a picture in my studio of the set-up wouldn't work well, so I suggested we do it outside. I assumed there'd be some shady spot to keep the harsh light off of Josh's face, but at 3 p.m. on a very bright day, I found nothing - on the road, that is.
Parallel to the road, though, was a set of railroad tracks. The trees were close enough and hovered low enough to give me a few clusters of the shade I needed. (I had seen my two strikes from the pitcher.)
My vision was to do this on a road to show the independent almost defiant attitude that is so typical of young people. After all, how much more independent and sure of yourself can you seem than being seated at a drum set (a musician marching - or pounding - to the beat of a different drum) while almost challenging cars to come your way? Well, a train is bigger than a car and less likely - and able - to veer off. So, not limiting my thought process to what I had planned in advance allowed me to make the best of the situation. (I didn't try to pull the ball; I took it where the ball was pitched.)

So, I was able to get this for Josh - an image I really like.

QUICK ON THE DRAW

I've expressed thanks lately for all those people who've come to me for their high school senior sessions late in the going. But, while in one respect they might be giving me new business, they're giving me something else at least as important: trust.
They trust that if I do a session less than a month before they host an open house, they'll be able to see, order and get back their pictures fast. That's where the real work starts.
A photo session allows me to use two tools to make people look good: my eye and my camera. I need one more thing to complete the process: my computer. Looking at a person in conversation is one thing; looking at them in a picture is entirely another. That's when there's no two-way interaction. All you do is stare. The longer you stare, the more flaws you find. The most attractive, and the youngest, people have them.
So, after the 90 or so minutes I spend with the client, I spend another two or 2½ hours perfecting the work. When you realize I have several projects to work on at a time, you understand that it's easy to fall behind. I suppose that's why I'm writing this blog after 9 p.m.
Anyway, the point is, because I know they need the work turned around quickly, I make sure I don't disappoint them. I handled a senior session on Saturday whose images were on-line this morning - about 80 of them. Most were tinkered with in some way: cropped, retouched, background changed. I'd hate to post something and think I didn't do everything I could to impress them and the other people who'll see those pictures.
I hope I get the chance to impress you, or someone you know in the near future.

THE SUDDENNESS OF SPRING

Just when I thought the 2012 school year was pretty much over, I've received phone calls from several people wanting their senior pictures done. I'm incredibly grateful for how fortune is showering down on me this spring. I also got a call last week for a portrait session from a family that got shut out at a chain studio. Fifteen minutes later, the people were here and we were shooting. It went really well.
Each moment something is happening somewhere. That episode, that occurrence can be carried out without our knowledge. It can also be aimed right at us. Thus, the last minute business.
Ironically, I hope it comes to a very, very temporary halt because I leave in less than two days for a business trip to Connecticut. Fortunately, my family lives there, so I'll also have even more fun than I do on a photo session, especially because I'll have access to the world's greatest pizza, bagels and linzer tarts.
Thank you for reading.