Democratic Caucus of Nebraska
February 9, 2008 | Filed Under Community, Daily Life | Leave a Comment
Heather and I voted today! And my-oh-my was it an experience! Although it felt a little like a high school pep rally, overall it was a positive and exciting event. Out of approximately 1,500 people, 1,100 were for Barack Obama, 350 were for Hillary Clinton and 35 were undecided. When it was time to “realign,” all but one (and several Clinton supporters) pledged for Obama. In the pictures above, you can see a former Clinton supporter peel off his sticker in exchange for an Obama one as he is welcomed with cheers and applause.
On a personal note, I like Obama because he talks about issues in a way that encourages dialogue and discussion as opposed to the traditional way of polarizing debate. Debate stops the conversation in the middle and eliminates the possibility for genuine understanding because the goal is to prove you’re right and the other guy is wrong. Such positioning stops us from truly listening to one another and keeps us in a gridlock of distrust. Dialogue, on the other hand, can actually unify us despite passionate disagreements, and it allows the freedom for discovery, renewed perspective, learning, growth, and dare I say - hope.
And I think hope is what the future needs most.
Caedmon’s Call & Derek Webb
February 9, 2008 | Filed Under Community, Daily Life | Leave a Comment
Last night, Heather and I saw Caedmon’s Call and Derek Webb live in concert (Lincoln, NE). We had a great time; we enjoyed the performance, we were inspired by the music, and we were challenged by the lyrical content. We even bought matching T-shirts!I have to tell you, I’m always amazed how art can connect complete strangers by speaking to our own inward and private realities. Somehow, an artist who is honest and vulnerable offers hope and gives us permission to do the same. Or at least their artwork provides us with another point of view - a new perspective that might change the way we think of ourselves and view the world around us.
For me, the most challenging aspect of the evening (besides Webb’s pointed political opinions - often told with sarcasm and humor) was information about the Dalit Freedom Network, an organization to support the Untouchables of the Indian caste system. These people are among the poorest of the poor in the world. “If even a Dalit’s shadow falls on an upper caste person, that person is polluted according to caste rules. The Dalit Freedom Network partners with the Dalits in their quest for religious freedom, social justice, and human rights by mobilizing human, information, and financial resources (www.dalitnetwork.org).” As the band shared stories about their trip to India and the relationships they’ve built with these beautiful people, it reminded me there’s something much bigger out there in life I don’t want to miss out on!
…and it ends.
January 6, 2008 | Filed Under Daily Life, Studio News | Leave a Comment
Wow.
It’s Here!
January 6, 2008 | Filed Under Daily Life | Leave a Comment
Today’s the Bridal Show (10 am - 5 pm)!
Back from Hawaii
November 24, 2007 | Filed Under Daily Life | Leave a Comment
We went to Hawaii, well Oahu to be specific. I can’t think of anywhere where I’d rather be, especially since it started snowing here today in Omaha. We had a grand time visiting. There are simply endless possibilities for beautiful images. Kameron and I drove around the island, visited Waikiki, ate pineapple, relaxed, and found remote beaches where could play and explore (always with our camera in hand.) In fact, on our last day we drove to the north shore (where the waves were rumored to be huge) - and I sat down to get some pictures of surfers. While I was sitting in the sand a tiny puppy bounced over and bit my toe. An unsuspecting welcome, but a very cute one none the less.
-Heather
PPN 2007 Fall Conference
September 18, 2007 | Filed Under Daily Life, Studio News | Leave a Comment
The PPN, or Professional Photographers of Nebraska, is an affiliate organization of PPA (Professional Photographers of America), this weekend was the fall conference in Grand Island, NE. I drove out with Will and we stopped to take some pictures along the way…
The actual conference was a blast too! I met some great local photographers like Keith and Holly Howe of Photographic Images in NorthPlatte, Jeff Bauman of Bauman Photography in Lincoln, Bob and Angie Alberts of Fowler Photography in Ogallala, Jessica Galaska, Shane and Erin Melenbacker of Melenbacker Photography from Kearney, Ron Deyo of Deyo’s Photography, and more. A special thanks goes out to J. Michael McBride for introducing me to such a friendly, welcoming and inspiring group of people - thank you! I also met a great bunch of vendors from Unique Photographic Equipment, Miller’s Professional Imaging, ACI (American Color Imaging), and Burrell Colour Imaging. But the best part of the conference was Bryan Welsh of MIT Studio in Oregon and Mike Fulton of TriCoast Photography in Texas.Bryan was a deep thinker and amazing communicator - I gained so much from listening to him describe the process of creativity, from conception to formation to an end product that’s treasured by our clients. Sometime later, I’ll have to devote a post to fleshing out his ideas because they really moved me. Mike was a typical guy’s guy - a little rough around the edges, but yet extremely relationally astute and just plain fun to be around. He had a system for on-location, studio-quality lighting that just blew me away - suddenly the doors that limit the possibilities of the still image have been opened. Thank you Mike and Bryan!
Lake Manawa
September 3, 2007 | Filed Under Daily Life | Leave a Comment
This weekend we got together with friends in our community at Lake Manawa playground. I got a chance to steal Kameron’s camera and capture a few pictures. My favorite was this first one of Esther, a beautiful girl with a charming personality. Kameron caught her playing football, and with her dad as well. I enjoyed playing with Esther, and learning about the camera!
Heather
Studio Setup
August 7, 2007 | Filed Under Daily Life, Studio News | Leave a Comment
Will and I had a lot of fun setting up the studio. Tomorrow we will be doing some lighting tests and by Friday we should be up and running! (Which is really good considering our first OMAHA in STUDIO photo SHOOT is Friday!)
Lunch with Andrey
August 3, 2007 | Filed Under Daily Life, Random Thoughts | Leave a Comment
Yesterday, Will and I had lunch with Andrey Mikityuk of Corrie and Andrey Photography. And we had a great time talking about the craft of photography, what makes a photographer unique among his or her peers, and how the business of photography doesn’t suffer with the rise of “competition.” Why? Because the business of photography isn’t based on “widgets” like Wal-Mart, Best Buy or the like. When a company sells a product that is basically the same as their competitors, the only thing the buyer can do is shop around until the best price is found. Unfortunately, shopping for a photographer isn’t that easy. Each photographer is one-of-a-kind. Even with those of equal technical skill, we could never duplicate how another photographers sees the world. It’s the photographer’s vision that sets him or her apart from the rest of us. And that’s what makes photographers like Andrey a true artist.Thanks for the engaging discussion Andrey!