Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Love of all types

Love of life, Love of others, Love lost, Loving again and Love of home.

Like any week there are ups and downs. Not in how I shot, but just in meeting subjects or clients past and presence.

The up, I was able to re-unite with Israel Idonije of the Chicago Bears at a fundraiser between his group, the Israel Idonije Foundation and the Jack & Jill of America.

Zoriada and Israel

Two great groups that help support under privileged kids in the Chicago area. If you think all professional athletes have chips on their shoulders, then you haven’t met  Idonije, he’ll  will win you over. His easy smile and friendly demeanor makes you feel like you’ve known each other for years. I shot photo after photo of him greeting strangers like old acquaintances. Working with a subject who is so nice and who is doing so much good, really makes it hard to submit an invoice in the end… obviously, if I didn’t, wouldn’t be in business for very much longer!

During the event I ran into Zoriada Sambolin, NBC morning anchor, who was the nights emcee and auctioneer,  and I had an ah-ha moment, it was a sad one. Last Fall I’d photographed NBC sports broadcaster Daryl Hawks at another charity event in Lincolnshire. Unfortunately, Hawks, 38, had just passed away unexpectedly while in Atlanta covering a Chicago Bulls vs. Atlanta Hawks game. But I knew I had a nice picture of him and his family. By nice I mean a smiley photo, even though it was a quick grab in a hotel lobby. I wanted to get a copy to his wife and family, and knew this would be a great way to make this happen. I got word from Zoriada that his wife loved the pictures, a good feeling that comes out of a bad situation.

Daryl Hawks & Family

After working three straight weekends, I took last weekend off to attend a family wedding in Omaha, while I don’t shoot weddings as part of my business plan, I do enjoy shooting a few pics for friends and family for their big day. When I say family, I mean extended family. There are friendships between families that just pass the test of time and this was for a granddaughter of this friendship.

Katie and Josh

Katie and Josh as Mr. and Mrs Bjorkman!

The young couple was getting married at the same church the bride’s grandparents exchanged vows in 54 years ago and it’s was a beautiful service. The weather cleared just in time for the afternoon nuptials and there was pretty nice light in the church. Luckily you can really turn up the ISO settings on the Canon EOS 5DMKII and allow for even more nice photos without having to resort to flash photography. Congrats Katie and Josh, hope you’re having a great honeymoon!  I also go to see my 93 year-old grandma who while suffering from dementia has a great smile on her face, especially when she’s got her 90 year-old boyfriend Peter by her side.

Grandma and her boyfriend!

Oh, and if you’re finding yourself in Omaha in the near future and love photojournalism, check out the Pulitzer exhibit at The Durham Museum, great presentation in a beautiful venue. Aside from the obligatory stop at Runza, I took my wife Tracy to one of my favorite places, it’s been renovated and is now a nice mix of retro and modern, but to go to B&G Tasty Foods

was great, they put MaidRite to shame! So, aside from the crazy lady who fidgeted and reclined her way into Tracy’s lap on the 4-hour weather delayed flight home, it was a great trip.

The Venerable B&G

This week has quickly rebounded with a fast Tribune shoot of Coupon Super Woman Jill Cataldo.

Supercouponer Jill Cataldo

The room we were in presented huge challenges to shooting… too many chairs, too many people, no room to move, poor lighting and projections onto a brown wall. It’s always fun to see someone with such passion for a topic, definitely going to need to learn more from her website!

Until next time…. Shaun