8.30.2012

paige out of the history books

High school senior
We were thumbing through some of our past images and came upon this one: Paige Clouse, photographed in front of The Pageant in St. Louis. Just had to share.

8.27.2012

it's a celebration

Banquet and celebration photo
Congratulations to every member of the Scholastic Book Fairs Central Zone for a great 2011-12 sales season. Click on the photo to access the image album (password protected).

8.10.2012

dear mother nature: thanks for the rain and lightning

So, I got a text the other night--just as I was nodding off at the computer. I hate when that happens--nodding off and texts that wake me up. But not this time.

Bro-in-law: (9:18 p.m.) U see this lightning?
Me: Yeah--I've been sitting on the driveway enjoying it (Note: this was an outright lie. I had seen it flash a few times from my office window while working on other photos but didn't think much of it. Especially since I could barely keep my eyes open.)
Bro-in-law: U should get some pictures. It's awesome.
Me: I've been contemplating going to find a place to shoot that would be interesting (Note: this was the truth, but only after receiving his first text)
Bro-in-law: Esp those slow shutter speed shots
(9:32 p.m.) Went to the garage to see what all the fuss was about. Nice. But it didn't last long.
Me: (9:40 p.m.) Dang rain. I missed my chance. :(
Bro-in-law: That sux
...
(9:45 p.m.) The wheels in my head start spinning. There's no going to sleep now... "Now that I'm awake, maybe I should go get something to eat and just see what this storm is going to do," I thought to myself after sitting in the garage, texting and watching the rain fall.
(9:55 p.m.) Late dinner at Bread Co., watching the rain pour through the open door of a vacant building. "This oughta' make for a cool shot," I thought, and took a few pictures while the floor of the car got drenched.
(9:57 p.m.) Dang. Sixteen shots, and not a single one turned out worth a darn. Dejected, I put the car in drive and went home.
(10:10 p.m.) Uploaded to Lightroom my failed images, just in case there was one worth saving. Nope. 
(11:15 p.m.) Rain started to let up again. "Maybe I'll try again?" And then the internal struggle began. I barely had slept the night before. It was already late, and there was a good chance the rain would start again before I could get anywhere high up and worth photographing. But, what if? So I put on my Sanuks, grabbed the tri-pod and camera bag, and took off for Town and Country. My philosophy when shooting scenery is this: if you look at something twice, it's probably worth making a photograph of. Even if it seems inconvenient. Same theory had to apply here. "Stop trying to talk yourself out of it, Ben. Just go."
(11:40 p.m.) In the car, I head for the St. Louis Temple. "But what if the lightning is coming from the south? You won't have access to the north side of the temple."
(11:41 p.m.) Decided to keep driving anyway.
(12:01 a.m.) First test shots of the St. Louis Temple. Thankfully, no rain yet.
(12:02 a.m.) Eureka! Lightning off to the west. Perfect. Adjusted my settings to properly expose for the bright white of the building and the dark of night. Missed a few good strikes. But then...

(12:06, 12:07, 12:10, 12:15 a.m.) These:
St. Louis Temple during lightning stormSt. Louis Temple during lightning storm
St. Louis Temple lightning storm
St. Louis Temple lightning storm (12:28 a.m.) Couldn't have asked for a better night. Packed up and went home. Again.
(1:06 a.m.) Climbed into bed. Turned off the phone. No more late-night texts.

8.04.2012

underwater

Father and son photo
Having lots of fun with the whole family in town. Yup, our trip to the Zoo was hot, but the exhibits were great -- especially the new underwater sea lion exhibit
Tech specs: f/4, 17mm, 1/100 sec., ISO 100.
 
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