So, in closing.....

I set out posting this blog as a way to keep myself accountable to the goal of becoming a professional photographer. I had a lot of fun writing and showing where I was at with photography. Since the wedding season began for us, I have had hardly any time to post (maybe having a newborn and a construction job had a little to do with it as well).
I want to share one last post to thank the people who have watched my progress, and to show a little of my recent work.
Perhaps my most remarkable achievement this year was learning how Alicia works some of her magic. Her biggest concern with me shooting and editing under her name was that I might not be able to meet with her standard of work. I will never be able to match her artist's eye, but I am happy to report that I am beginning to understand what she is going for when it comes to composition, focus point, expression and post processing. We look at thousands of photos each week, some ours, the majority the work of others. And we realized that we like much the same kinds of work. Which is good news when you are trying for two photographers shooting under one brand.
I have also realized another very important truth: I only enjoy taking photos which have deep meaning to somebody. Life is too short for me to create and look at insignificant images much, so I will stick with what brings me satisfaction. There is a creative high I get from photographing people that is based in the ever present thought that I am helping them and theirs to remember in a soulful, artistic and emotional way, what the moment was like, who the person was and still is.
I have a long way to go now, but I no longer have any problem picturing myself as a professional photographer. And I look forward to being one for a long time.

All the best!

Jeremy

p.s.

Be watching Alicia's blog for the first senior shoot I have done in about fourteen years!

Allen Wrench vs. Patio Door

My oldest son has been letting his temper get the best of him quite regularly as of late. While trying to show his displeasure with the teasing of son number two, he threw a 5/16 allen wrench at the sliding GLASS patio door behind which #2 was standing. Have you ever heard the crunch of safety glass as it's integrity initially fails, followed by the sort of popping sound that occurs as spiderwebs grow and refine throughout the pane?

I spoke with number one son about how glad I was that he had made that mistake. The consequences are so much less now than they will be in a few years when such recklessness could lead to limbs or even lives lost, and he will remember this mistake and it's consequences for the rest of his life. We all make mistakes, and the best we can hope for is to learn from them and not repeat them.

Cars

Here it is wedding season. I have been really busy wrapping up my last major construction job of the summer so that I can be more involved with watching our kids and photography.

Over the last couple of months, I have been involved in a project with Tom Brake of The Good Car Company. He has some great classic cars for sale down at the Korner Shop Showroom. I took some pictures of cars for him and they are now on his website. My favorite car so far is this Corvette. I'm not much of a car fan, but I like this one.

Family Changes

A couple of months ago, my wife's parents rented a house at the Deep Bay Center in Lakeside. All of the family that was in town got together for an overnight stay. It was a good time, but somewhat sad as well, because it was the weekend before Alicia's older brother went to Basic Training.

The steps down to the lake are really steep, but once we reached the shore, the skipping rocks were perfect. It was good to focus on simply spending time with family.

The house we stayed in was lovely. There were plenty of beds, and the view from the lake-facing windows was as good as it gets.

We played Pounce (Nerts to all you uneducated) until quite late. Nobody wanted to stop.

In the morning, we had breakfast together. The weather was in turns rainy and sunny, and we did a little more exploring, but sometimes we just sat and looked out the window.

Soon after our trip to the lake, some of us got together again to roast hot dogs and hang out together. It was hard for all of us to think about Matt leaving, but it was especially difficult for his wife Jessica. I took a few pictures of the two of them together that evening.

Matt graduates this weekend as a Sailor. We are all very proud of him, and we know he will do well at whatever he puts his hand to. He starts school for his specialty soon and his wife and children will be joining him in not too long. We are going to miss having them close by. Our children have grown up with their children, and we hope that we will get to all see each other as often as possible, but it won't be often enough. It is time for Matt and his family to enter a new chapter in their life together, and we hope all the best for them.

Our New Son

This is our new son.

We don't know what to call him yet.

He was born on May 21st at 12:47 in the morning.

He was a big boy and was worn out after the birth experience.

Our midwife's assistant took a couple of pictures for us after he was born.

He was born in this room.

He tipped the scales at 9 pounds and 11 ounces. The next day he was down to 9lbs 4oz.

He had lots of bruising on his face.

Our midwife, Melissa Brake, was amazing. She and Pam Wright have delivered all three of our boys, and Melissa did a wonderful job.

Our "little" guy's head measured in at 14 1/2 inches.

He is 21 inches long.

He passed every test on his first big exam.

Sometimes he is awake, but he sleeps most of the time. I didn't get much of a chance to just look at him for a day or so. Lately I get to hold him a lot more when everyone but him is trying to sleep around here.

We still don't know what to call him, but that doesn't matter much. He is who he is, and

he always will be.

To see more pictures of our new guy, check out Lindsey Jane's blog