Joel and Moriah – Engagment Shoot #1

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Earlier this week I had the privilege of working with Joel and Moriah to capture some engagement photos. We had great plans of spending a couple of hours shooting in three different outdoor locations, but the weather forced us to change our plans. We began our shoot at a nice outdoor location, it was a little chilly and dark clouds in the sky created a more difficult lighting situation that I had hoped, but none the less I think we were able to capture a few nice images before the rain started to fall

If anyone asks Moriah what really attracted her to Joel, do you think her answer will be “his bulging biceps”?  I am not going to draw any conclusions either way, but the question had to be asked!

At this point there began to be a few rain drops falling and in the distance we could see that it was about to pour.  We decided that we were going to have to reschedule the rest of our outdoor shoot until a later date.  But, since we together I thought we might as well go and see if we could find somewhere with a little bit of shelter and see if we could get a few more shots.  So we headed off into town and found a couple of spots on the streets of downtown Sandpoint where we could hang out under the awnings to stay dry.

Take another look at the above photo, do you see the rain falling?  I was using a slow enough shutter speed that I was able to capture the streaks of rain as they came crashing to the ground,  I think it adds a fun effect to the image.

After a short while the cold started to catch up with us, so we ducked inside of a local store.   Thanks to Coldwater Creek for graciously allowing us to use a couple of locations in their store to shoot some shots!

This image presented a few challenges.  The overhead light was great on Moriah but Joel was in the shadows.  It seemed everywhere that my assistant Shea held the light we would get a reflection in the window.  Finally we found the right spot and I was able to get some nice light to capture this shot.

These are the stairs that ascend to the Coldwater Creek Wine Bar.  At first I tried to light Joel and Moriah directly, but the stairway ended up being this dark void behind them.  So instead, I had Shea go hide out behind the top flight of stairs and direct a flash into the back corner of the stairway to open it up a bit.  I really like how it created a nice contrast of color in the image.  You have the warm tones on Joel and Moriah, then the cool tone of the light from the flash, and then the warm tones again of the upper room.

Our time was coming to an end, but I had to get just one more series of shots.  It was now dark outside and I wanted to capture some of the lights displayed along the sidewalk.

Well, that is all for this time.  I am glad we were able to shift gears and get some fun images when the weather did not agree with our plans and I am looking forward to our re-scheduled shoot!

Kyle & Kelsey – Sports Portraits (Priest River Photographer)

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This afternoon I met with Kyle and Kelsey, cousins from Priest River to shoot some portraits of them.  The sky was dramatic which I really liked, but unfortunately it did not hold on to it’s payload for very long.  We were able to get a few shots and then the wind blew over one of my light stands, right into the dirt of the baseball infield.  As we were cleaning it up the snow began to fall and in the distance it was clear it was only going to get worse.  So, once again this week I have another photo shoot that had to conclude only shortly after it began!  I am looking forward to getting together with these guys again soon to finish up what we started, here is a look at a few of the shots we were able to get before getting snowed out!

Jim Low . . Web Slinger! (Priest River Photographer)

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This afternoon I published a little teaser on my facebook page for today’s blog post, if you did not see it here it is for your viewing pleasure:

That is right, today’s blog post is about Jim Low, Web Slinger.

There is a story involved here and of course stories, to be rightly understood, require context.  If you want to properly interpret the following photos you have to read the story, otherwise you might come up with some very wrong ideas about Jim. . . . . .  trust me, that is not a good thing!

We saw in the first blog post, “The Many Faces of Jim“,  that Jim is a young man with exactly that, many faces, some might even say many different personalities.  We found out in the second blog post about Jim, “The Jim Low Band“, that he has a musical side.  Here is another peek at that side of Mr. Low, caught almost in the act of carving “The Jim Low Band” into the wall of an abandoned building:

He looks so innocent, but we know the truth!

Yet another personality of Jim is the one that I came to know him by.  I have spend the last few months photographing many of the North Idaho basketball games, including those of the Priest River Spartans.  While capturing a Priest River game there was one thing I could always count on, if Jim was there I would always see “The Jim Low Point”.  It just was not the same if Jim was not there to point his finger in my direction during a game, something kind of like this:

So what about this other personality of Jim?  What is this Web Slinger thing I began the post with?  You did not know it but Jim is also your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!  Oh but wait, before the proof of this claim I must continue the story.  Just as the Spider-Man you have grown to know and love has an alter ego, that of Peter Parker, so too Jim Low is the alter ego of Priest River’s own Spidey!  Here is an example of the fairly reserved, slightly dorky, Jim Low that we all know and love. Yes, I know he is not really reserved and slightly dorky, but work with me here, after all this is fiction!

Ahhh, now isn’t that cute!  You look at Jim here and you know that this guy could never be North Idaho’s famed crime fighter, he has cheeks that you just want to reach out and pinch, gently of course because you don’t want to hurt him!  Oh, but there is so much more to Jim!  Inside of this mild mannered high school student there is a stoic and brave superhero, courageously defending the poor and helpless and standing up for Truth, Justice and the American Way!  (Oh no, I think I just stole Superman’s line, oh well on with the photograph)

Pretty intimidating isn’t he?  Who would have known Jim was this cool!

You might have thought that the “Jim Low Point” was only for basketball games, but sure enough there is so much more to that index finger, it is actually the part of Jim’s body that is responsible for those famed Spidey senses!  You thought all those points were just a pose for his photo, but all along he was using it as a disguise to employ his super hero senses to find out if any one was in trouble and in need of help.  Wow, ingenious if you ask me, almost as brilliant as Clark Kent’s glasses!

Not only is Jim a fearless warrior, there is a softer side to this champion.  He has a warm and compassionate side too, one that reaches out to those in need.  Always willing to lend a hand to the helpless and downtrodden!

And now, the evidence that you have been waiting for.  The photographic proof that Jim Low is indeed “The Amazing Spider-Man”, here he is caught red . . . .  I mean web-handed!

Well folks, that is today’s story.  But that does not mean that there are not more photos to view.  Here are a couple more that I simply did not take the time to work into the story line:

The Jim Low Band (Priest River Photographer)

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Here is the second installment of photos from my session with Jim. Did you know that Jim is a musician? No, he does not actually play little kid’s instruments like in the last blog post ! Here are a couple of photos with Jim’s prop of choice, his recording microphone.

Now,  how about a future album cover?

And of course we need a few promo shots of the band’s front man . . . .

That’s enough for tonight, tomorrow I will work on editing and publishing Jim’s favorite shots of the day for the grand finale!

The Many Faces of Jim (Priest River Photographer)

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Today Jim and I set out to do some testing of some new lighting equipment that I had not yet tried in the field.  We set out to get our testing done quickly and then just have some fun playing around.  Well, we ended up with some really cool images that I can hardly wait to share, but for tonight I am going to share some of the goofy ones.   Here are the many faces of Jim, starting with his band!

Now with a little more psychedelic flair added to it.

Good thing Jim had plenty of friends to hang out with while he waits for the bus.

“Oh Jim”, calls out mom

“Yes mommy dearest”, replies  Jim

“Time to take out the garbage.”

“Now worries ma, Jim, Jim, Jim, Jim and Jim already took care of it!”

This last one makes me think of the classic song, “Stop in the name of Jim”.

Aaron Castle’s Training Secret (Newport Washington Photographer)

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At the recent Bonners Ferry Invitational track meet Newport Thrower Aaron Castle dominated the Shot Put and Discus.  As I was there I overheard more than one person proclaim “he must be on steroids”.  I know that this is not the case, rather it must be dedication to mastering his technique, hard work in the weight room and some good genetics that contribute to Castle’s success.

However, I was a little bit interested to find out if there was more to the story, to see if there was anything else that could be learned about what makes him such a dominant force in the throws.  I decided that it was time to do some investigating, so packing my longest telephoto lens I spied on a recent practice session and yes indeed I found out the secret to his success and I have photographic evidence to prove my findings.  What is this secret you ask?  Here is is, Aaron Castle actually practices by shot putting the moon!  Yes, I know it is hard to believe but we all know that photos don’t lie.  Here is, the evidence to prove my claim:

Have a great and happy April 1st!