Being a photographer is always exciting and glamorous. Ok that was a lie and it’s not true. But it’s almost always fun. Photographers get excited about the images as they are created. What drives us to continue peering through our lenses is the thought that we might capture something fresh – as if no human eyes had ever seen it that way. We possess a child-like belief in the magic of the photograph. Like a great hunter, we capture our visions, and back to our darkrooms and light tables, we perfect and immortalize that nanosecond of time.

This spring, I volunteered to do group pictures at my son’s pre-school; Paddington Station in Denver, Colorado (great school). Then, the next week, I did pictures for a new lingerie book for Pampered Passions Boutique of Engelwood Colorado. Talk about diverse subjects,,,,,,,,,

Preschoolers are pretty wild. Hey, I’ve done plenty of child portraits, family pictures,and action shots of kids, but I’d never attempted group shots of such small people. They are energetic with the attention duration of an MTV video. One kind teacher gave me a bell to ring (thanks Leslie). It helped a lot. But no sooner than their eyes were corralled, some mischievous pre-kindergardener would tickle, pass gas, giggle or squeak. My lens was seeing the tops or the backs of heads. One boy in particular was having nothing to do with me or the picture project. When I climbed down from my ladder I realized the distraction. A ladybug had landed on his arm and now all the other kids were equally engrossed the that boy’s arm. We did most the shots in two days. One was a typical spring day with ladybugs and the smell of blossoms. The second day was a typical Colorado spring day – six inches of snow. The pictures aren’t bad. My secret was to shoot lots and then make a composite of the best faces (ty CS3). The first and the 14th viewer who can find my son in one of the pictures will receive a free photography session.

The next week I was the photographer for a fun lingerie shoot at the Jing restaurant in Greenwood Village Colorado. Definitely a different kind of wild. The shoot at the Jing was coordinated by betsy Martin of Decibel Communications. We had to start at 5:00a.m. since the Jing is open for lunch. Though groggy that morning we all mustered our creative expertise for a solid new look. The team was Betsy, Bre Otola and Sally Walker of Beauty Box Minerals, Kennith Ivan of Scarlet Salon and of course the beautiful model Adiamond. Lawrence Yee, the proprietor of the Jing was most gracious. The menu and preparation at the Jing is exquisite. We took over the dining area for the morning shoot and did raise a few eyebrows that afternoon as we worked in the bar and even the restrooms.
Let me know how you like (or not) theses two efforts.