Two guys in hats

I love everything about this image, the people, the clothing, the hats and their expressions. All these elements were completely up to the two guys in this shot, and the elements are perfect.

First year teacher

I was shooting photos for the Alaine Locke charter school on West Jackson Blvd, on Chicago's West Side, when I met this young man, a recent college graduate. He is working for free for a year to get his teaching certificate at an affiliated school. After spending a day at this school I came to believe that the future for these kids is hopeful because of the work done by teachers like him in this school.

Darlene and her cars

Darlene is a no nonsense business woman. She has run her Chevy dealership since her husband died in 1984. In 2006 she was voted Car Dealer of the Year in Wisconsin. Having said that I picked this photo because I thought she looked great in a red Wisconsin sweatshirt with a bunch of shinny new cars and the American Flag blowing in the wind.

Jim and his tuba

Last summer I saw a photo of Jim and his tuba. After seeing the image I knew that I needed to make a shot of Jim and his instrument in my studio. Jim played this tuba in high school.
When he graduated he found he could part with it, so he talked the band instructor into selling the tuba to him.

Kicking Groom

I always shoot a portrait of the groom alone on my background. Often the shots are simple photos of the groom smiling with his hands in his pockets, unless the groom has another idea.
I don't know when the groom got the idea to kick his foot up. I guess this was a last minute inspiration, but as it turned out this shot is one of the most noticed shots I have on my portrait studio wall.

Girl standing in the pines

Hattie is a senior in high school studying theater. I did not talk to her much before the shoot, because I was loosing daylight. I simply told her to stand comfortably and look into the lens, and this is the shot she gave me before the light disappeared.

Elegant older woman

Often at weddings I look at young faces and think about
what will be. When I looked at the face of this elegant older woman,
I wondered what has been.

Tom at The Roxbury Tavern

Tom is the owner of the Roxbury Tavern in Roxbury Wisconsin. The town of Roxbury has 3 bars and a German restaurant and nothing else. He bought the Tavern, which was pretty much a biker bar and decided to change how the bar was run. His new rules were no swearing, no TV or a pool table, no sissy beers like Bud lite and no bad food served. Now people come from miles around to eat great food and have good conversation with Tom and his friends.

Boy with sailor hat and family

I have always loved this photo of the boy with the sailor hat; to me it perfectly captures the absolute beauty of youth. I also liked the photo of him with his relatives. After looking at both photos, it hit me where the great energy of this boy came from. He inherited his great energy and lovely face from his family. What a gift he received.

Bill in his repair shop

I met Bill for the first time in his electric motor repair shop. He has been fixing motors in his shop for decades and knows where everything is, even though he is blind. Bill is an extremely charming fellow who told me many details of his life, including stories of girlfriends and wives past and present.