Puffer Fish, Polka Dots, Cons and another Krazy Kopsa

Growing up in Gilman, I'm certainly aware of Clan Kopsa.

Lots of red hair... freckles and just general jocularity.

With that being said, young Samantha came as no surprise on Friday afternoon.

A former Gilmanite herself, she now resides in State Center and attends West Marshall high school, but that doesn't mean she doesn't still hang with old friends and classmates (and Stewart Photography 'alums' like Blane, Noel and Miranda). In addition, she's unmistakably all Kopsa.

What does that exactly mean? It's hard to put one's finger on it... but it usually means being a bit crazy, hilarious and always wanting to be out there and different.

So when Sammy busted out the polka dot dress with Converse... and an outfit with two different colored shoes... all was right with the world. I even learned something... her LAST outfit had these porcupine looking characters on the shirt and I was like.... "ok... what the HECK is that?"

To which Sammy retorted.. "Puffer fish of course!"

Wikipedia, please... Evidently, Puffers (also known as Blowfish) are the second most poisonous vertebrate in the world... but I guess if you catch one, they are considered a delicious delicacy in parts of the world. Who knew? Bottom line... probably not an outfit that we recommend on our "what to wear" literature... but in this case.... TOTALLY fitting.

Gettin' dirty with my pal, Brandon

He wasn't messing around when he said he loved getting dirty while running...

Brandon was Friday morning's senior and I knew that he was one of the leaders of the East Marshall boys cross country program. It's a sport that takes extreme dedication that, for the most part, goes on in relative anonymity... despite being one of the state's best programs (Coach Kieth Osborn's fellas are currently ranked 10th in Class 2A).

So, Brandon was mentioning that sometimes after a rainy day, they'll be muddier than all git-out after their training or a meet... and he wondered if we could try to depict that. I was game if he was... so at the very end of the session, he did his very best Pig Pen impression and we captured my favorite images of the day.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that Brandon has been a solid contributor to the Mustang hoops program the past two seasons with his senior campaign right around the corner... and more importantly... he seems to be just one heck of a guy. In two days Brandon gets the honor of taking part of the homecoming court festivities at EM. And while I'm sure he's just glad to be part of the mix, I know this much... he makes me proud to be an alum. Congrats to Mr. Pals and all the candidates... enjoy your week.

Playin' thru the pain... Big Mak!

I'm sure through the years we've had seniors go thru their sessions when they perhaps don't feel the best... maybe under the weather... had a bad day... just got dumped by their girlfriend/boyfriend... forgot their hairbrush... lots of things can threaten to derail a session.

How about a broken bone... sustained DURING the session?

Ok, I wasn't aware of it until I was informed this Sunday afternoon... but Thursday afternoon's session with Makaylee was another first for Stewart Photography.

Big Mak (all 5-foot-1 and one hundred and nothing pounds) showed that toughness can come in small packages. If you scroll down to the image of Kaylee in the water below, that's in our babbling brook that's a couple blocks from the studio in the beautiful western suburbs of Greater Montour Metro. We had had a bunch of rain... and the creek was running high... In addition, Makaylee's spirits and fun-o-meter were running at peak capacity as well... and as she fearlessly entered the water (it was a jump-slash-dive-almost-fall-on-your-face-in-the-suddenly-raging-waters) she stumbled and barely avoided becoming the first in over 2000 seniors to fall in.

While she avoided the full blown splash... it was discovered that when we got back, she was missing some skin on her little pinky toe, it was bleeding and we had a tough time getting it to subside... But never fear... Makaylee was not going to be denied on this day. In fact... we were just barely over half way done with the session.

In hindsight, Kaylee broke that little toe in the creek and made it thru the rest of the session without skipping a beat. Evidently she has a high pain tolerance... or it didn't hurt that badly... or she was just running on adrenaline... Regardless, I'm glad she was able to continue... because this firecracker got some killer images.

Kitzman v4.0

If I'm gonna have to blog on a Sunday morning that just so happens to be the day of my birth... it may as well be for someone that enjoyed last night's Hawkeye 21-10 upset of Penn State as much as i did!

Blane and I were talkin' Hawks during his Thursday session as we both thru out our predictions for the upcoming big game. Blane went with 24-21... I went with 13-10. Neither of us was exactly right... but we both had the WINNER... which is all that either of us cared about anyway! (btw... the check that Blane's mom cut me was a custom Hawkeye check.... excellent!)

Blane is the fourth senior from the Steve and Jennifer Kitzman family that we've photographed since 2002. All East Marshall Mustangs, Alissa ('03), Katie ('05), Tyler ('06) and now the smiling redhead. ;-)

Blane has been unmistakable to me since his freshman year of football as I looked thru the lens at 50-some football guys in the Mustang team shot that we do annually. I line up the group... everyone's trying to look tough... and then there's Blane. Grinning an ornery grin. And I'm thinking to myself.... knowing his no-nonsense father... someone's gonna get whupped when this picture makes it's way home!

Evidently Blane survived... and has been bustin' out that smartalecky smile ever since.

To Steve and Jennifer... thank you for your loyalty... I'm humbled and thankful.

Dewin' it up neighbor Joe style

It was another in what has become a far too often occurrence Thursday morning as Joe passed us a visit. What does that mean exactly? It means that someone that should still be a little boy or gal is, all of a sudden, without warning.... a high school senior.

Certainly, Joe was no stranger to me as he used to live directly across the street from Casa de Stewart v.1.0 back in the early 1990s.

Joe was 5 years old... and honestly... his future senior photographer didn't know his head from his lens glass back then.

Many years have passed, and the little boy that played in the creek behind his house on Drury Lane is now a young adult. The good news is that my wife and I have remained friends with Joe's parents despite the fact that both of us have made a move to a home more accommodating to each of our three children.

We both wondered aloud Thursday afternoon about the topic of daydreaming about if we had never moved... but in the end we all realized that we are all very blessed and fortunate to be where we are.

Regardless... it was awesome to catch up with fireman Tony and MACS teacher and MHS volleyball coach extraordinaire, Terri (Bobcats are 9-3 and state ranked yet again... not surprised). They have never strayed too far away as our daughters are friends from way back and both have spent time overnight at each other's homes... we've picked up and driven to... you get the picture... it takes a village.

Ok... so it's established that our families have a history... so what about Joe?

I was informed upon arrival that Joe was one of those fellas that had to be convinced that senior pictures were indeed necessary. I think it was mentioned that Joe was prepared for the "worst day of his life." When the bar is set THAT LOW... pretty tough to fail a that point, isn't it? ahahahhahahahhah.

In the end... I think, per usual, we passed with flying colors as Joe got to bust out his cool-as-heck black Monte Carlo... and his true love... Mountain Dew. Hey Joe... I used to love her, too... but now... I'm hittin' on her sister... Diet Mountain Dew... She's pretty hot, too. ;-)