Hopin' she's found what she's lookin for...

I've seen it lots of times...

The random facebook add of someone I don't know... To which I figure... eh... probably a potential senior... so I accept.

Only in this case... it's like November of this last year... and I see the "add-ee" is a current senior. Surely she hasn't waited THIS long for senior pictures, right?

Then comes the instant message.

"I want you to do my senior pictures."

Ok... I'd be glad to do that for you Maci... do you know what you want?

"Well... I'm not sure... but I know THIS much... they've just gotta be... like... BAM... you know? The just gotta be what I want."

I knew just what she wanted...

She wanted them to ROCK.

Lucky for Maci, we specialize in making senior images rock. :)

Come to find out, her Papa Mark wanted to kinda have a say in what we did... and after a couple months of back and forth and himming and hawing around through the winter... it was time that we could wait no longer. GMG's high school yearbook was upon us... so it was go time.

Feeling the need to make SURE that we got Team Mark and Maci EXACTLY what they were hoping for... I made a special trip out to their home before the session to see a place that was very near and dear to them.

What I walked into was a photographer's playground complete with a sweet pool table... old rustic wood walls everywhere with a feeling of nostalgia that was part old west saloon... part roaring 1920s... part Sturgis... and a car collection that would make the Good Guys blush.

Sure the outdoor stuff left little to be desired this time of year... but it mattered little because on the next day... we were gonna kill it inside with a place that was special to the Wilts duo.

So I returned the next afternoon knowing fully what to expect... but even after several "pre-planning" chats with my subject, I had yet to even MEET her!

In walked Maci and I knew I had much bigger problems on my hands than to make this girl look good. She showed me her clothing selections and, to her surprise, the old guy doing her pictures actually KNEW what Miss Me jeans were... as well as "jeggings."

Chalk one up for a child of the 80s. ;)

Fittingly... Dad then cranked up 95 KGGO on the stereo... (Mark has one HECK of a vinyl collection out there, too... AND a functioning turntable still... I may have to visit sometime and just hang out) ;) I think that place has a million stories inside it... and I actually got a few from Mark on both days... It's so cool hearing about the history that goes into making places special to people.

I was impressed with Maci's knowledge of the GGO playlist as I moved around the old work shed/hideaway-party place, trying to not sell the place short... because I could tell how much it meant to them. I bet we shot there for three hours before I felt we had exhausted every nook and cranny.


After polishing off the shed... I got to meet Mama Teresa, who I offered my hand to as a greeting... but that was simply not gonna do... so a hug it was! Who am I to argue? We then made a brief stop in Marshalltown and entertained ideas of doing some urban images... but it was simply too dreary for Maci's taste... so it was off to the studio to finish the day.

I still wanted to bang out several ideas for our girl from another generation that seemingly has been time-warped into the 21st century.

Her looks work in any era, however... so I just kept on goin'... making sure that we covered everything she wanted...

We may have saved her most personal image to the end, however. I hadn't quite figured it all out... but probably not unlike a lot of teens... she had issues burning inside that she chose to depict with a tattoo on the back of her neck.

Simple and to the point... when she lifted her hair... there it was....

"Strength."

A Hawkeye Fan and a fearless attitude... Maci busted out the black-n-gold sports bra and I took it from there to create an image of female power, persistence and pride in her ability to do things her way.

I'm confident that by the end of the day, Maci and I had undoubtedly pushed Papa Mark past his threshold of tolerance for pictures. But in the end... he knew this.... while it took some time to finally get there... his baby girl got exactly what she wanted on this day.

As they left... I offered her my hand as a sign of gratitude as she stood by the door... And just like a few hours before... a handshake wasn't gonna be enough.

I didn't need her to tell me her session was everything she ever wanted.... Her smile and hug did.

#winning.

A female Hunter...

It's a good thing that Mama Jill led with, "I need senior pictures for my DAUGHTER," or I, like most, would have probably assumed we were gonna be photographing a boy.

That being said, I'm sure I wasn't the first that ever game Jill the, "Hunter... for a girl... that's unique!"

And so, while she admits she gets that a lot, we got the awkward cliches out of the way and our task was at hand...

Come up with some fab in the drab.

I'll often warn seniors that, for whatever reason, end up being photographed in the "off season" that there's a reason that most get their sessions done from June 'til the end of October. And that reason?

It's much prettier outside.

Undaunted, we found a few spots in the mud and muck of late winter in Central Iowa. All it took was a little toughness. (it was COLD and WINDY)

But when a girl's uniform says "WARRIOR" on the front of it, you know she's gotta be willing to suck it up a bit and deal with the elements.

So off we went to get her a taste of the outdoors (despite mom's insistence that 'all indoor would be perfectly okay.') :)

And while we had to be careful to "time the wind" just right , it was worth it, because we got some cool stuff.

In addition, I learned a little more about something that had been a bit of a mystery to me up until this time... The Meskwaki Settlement High School.

Sure I'd driven past there several times... and had saw articles in the paper about their athletic teams... but having a current 3-sport athlete and a school employee shed further light on the topic. Never one to not ask 1,000,000 questions, I got a better feel for the ins-and-outs of the school system.

Little did I know that my education would be more of a first hand experience just a couple of days later, however! I was surprised to find out that my daughter, on the Saturday that followed Hunter's session, would be competing in district speech contest at.... you guessed it.... Meskwaki Settlement School.

Folks, if you haven't seen this facility... be prepared to be impressed.

First of all... that building that you can see directly adjacent to Highway 30 is NOT the school building... Who knew? I sure didn't.

So when we drove back in there aways on the frontage road, this gem that has been built finally came into view.

Upon walking into a gorgeous commons area I saw both Jill and Hunter working along with many other Meskwaki students and staff to put on a first class event. I was aware that their gymnasium must have been impressive as well from before because a Class 1A school wouldn't be hosting Class 2A Regional Finals unless it was a big enough venue. And folks from West Marshall and Grundy Center among others will attest to what a fine building to have postseason events in the past couple of seasons.

All that being said, I finally got to see it myself, and I wasn't disappointed. Like everything else in the facility... it was big... and first rate. With many of their classes hovering in the low teens to single digits, this had to be built with an eye on the future, but regardless, I give a big 'hats off' to the entire Meskwaki community.

Full disclosure, Hunter probably waited much longer for her book and blog than most would during what is traditionally my slow season. She just so happen to coordinate her session with my time to overhaul my computer with a new hard drive and overall tuneup.

I would assumed that many of you have been through this type of activity... and let's just say that after a myriad of installs, un-installs, re-installs and reboots... I think all my software if finally back up to snuff and all the printer drivers are back where they need to be.

Whew!

Thanks for your patience!