Art through my eyes

We've recently had a muse in our studio and she has made me contemplate what is considered art these days. Is it a painting of a vast landscape? A finely chiseled sculpture donated to a university? Or only the abstract? Art is everywhere. It moves you when you see it, it makes you feel something unexpected and it continues to impress upon you long after it's gone. I see beauty in the simplest of things; how the morning light catches the icicles on my son's basketball hoop; the many aging barns on the backroads to Byron, IL; the beauty in a strong woman's form; a photo that captures an emotion only God knew was there.

I think tattoos are art.

Most importantly the connections we make while creating these images and combining these unique designs and ideas brings art to a higher level.

One person's smile is another's gas?

I often find I have to remind myself when photographing small infants, that they can't smile yet, and they aren't able to hold themselves in a pose. In portrait photography I get accustomed to creating a rapport with the subject so they will trust me in guiding them to a pleasing position and image. Unable to see themselves, subjects rely on the photographer to instruct them to an emotion provoking pose so the image will make a connection to the viewer. Infants of course, do not need guidance to a pleasing pose, they captivate and make emotional links to viewers naturally.

Infants remind me to look for the subject's natural way to connect with the viewer. If I wait for eye contact, good posture, and a big smile in an infant I will miss many powerful and lovely moments. Worse yet, the moment I will end up catching will look forced and most-likely caused by a need to belch. Instead, a drool soaked chin and a face buried in a teddy bear are the beautiful moments for the subject.

Pregnancy Portraits

I'm not really sure what has been in the water lately, but nearly every 25-35 year-old woman I know has gotten pregnant within the last year. This has afforded me the opportunity to do some pregnancy portraits some examples shown here. I particularly enjoyed the chance to capture a special kind of beauty only seen during this lovely stage of life.