Kameron Bayne Images :: Signature Photography :: Studio News

Or more specifically, “The Rice Eater and the Irresponsible Dog Owners.” Every morning, Patches jumps up and down and eagerly awaits her breakfast as the end of our morning routine (her reward for obeying). But this morning we discovered the dog food container was… empty. At a loss as to what to do for our poor dog – who is still jumping up and down at this point – we made Patches a breakfast of rice and crushed doggie treats. She looks a little sad, but that’s because she’s concentrating very hard at getting all that rice into her hair.

It was a goregous day with perfect spring weather for pictures!  For Brian and Christi’s engagement session, we went to the restaurant where they had their first date. We walked around the old market and ended on top of the First National building to see the sunset… It was a breath-taking experience (literally – I was clinging to the side of the wall)!  Thanks guys for putting that together; it was worth it, we got some great images.  See you soon for the viewing premiere!

For Mother’s Day, we tried to take Mom out to the Olive Garden – but it was an hour and half wait. So we headed over to Camille’s Sidewalk Café instead and couldn’t of asked for a better time together!  I’m so glad we brought the camera along to capture our fun together – although the 20D is starting to show its age (darn that noise!) – the real treat is that Heather shot most of these. She’s keeps denying it, but I think she’s going to be a photographer someday.

Happy Mother’s Day! I’m really grateful for my lovely mother and all she’s done for me throughout my life (as well as the rest of my family!); I’m really proud to be friends with her now as we mature in years.  And just in case you don’t hear it enough, Mom – I love you!

We had our first wedding of the season today! It’s official. Let the craziness begin – of the schedule, that is. At the moment, we can only book 20 weddings a year and we booked all 20, so it’s Omaha wedding photography madness for the next six months. But we also spent the last year integrating a system wide workflow (updating computers, software, paper trails, etc.) to help us stay organized and efficient. If today was any indication as to what the future might hold, I think this will be an exciting and wonderful year with all our brides!

Last Friday, I went back to my home town of Waverly, Nebraska and spent the day with my little sister’s elementary school for the tradition of Pioneer Days. Everyone dressed up like old pioneers and the kids learned about the culture of the times. They made their own candles, threw horse shoes, learned how to knit, and ate pioneer lunches (a cup for water, sandwiches wrapped in wax paper, apples and potatoes – but no bananas or tropical fruit because it wasn’t available). It was cold and rainy but everyone had a good time. And after the old fashioned color treatment, the images really felt like a part of history.

The Heart of America Photographer’s Conference and Expo (HOA) was held Friday, April 11-15 at the Mid America Center in Council Bluffs. HOA is made up of the regional state affiliates of Professional Photographers of America (PPA): Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska. One of the highlights at HOA is the Regional Affiliated Print Competition and Print Exhibition where photographers submit four images from the year of their best work to be critiqued amongst their peers.

I was surprised when Jeff Bauman called and asked if I heard the good news: I won a number of awards including the Les Hassel award (for best non-master print of the show – top right of Tim Wildsmith titled “The Subtleties of Character and Texture”), the Virgil Pitstick award (for the highest score of a first time entrant), a judges’ award (each of the 6 judges choose their favorite print of the entire show), two honorable mention ribbons (below), and a 3rd place trophy from PPN for the third highest combined score as a non-master. I was even more surprised when I saw the size of the actual awards – the largest is two feet tall!

Thank you all who called or emailed to congratulate me! I don’t think there’s any better way to grow as an image maker than to be immersed in a supportive community. It’s an honor, a blessing and a privilege to be in the company of some great photographers here in the Midwest. Most of all, thank you to our clients who supply the artistic inspiration by sharing moments in their lives and allow us to keep doing what we love!