Bring on The Bacon...

I had been looking forward to this one for some time.

And I'll be the first to admit, it was for purely selfish reasons.

Bottom line... this girl has been making a habit of making me look good, in more ways than one.

Let me explain.

I've already shared this story with Madie Bacon and her mother, Jill... so I'm sure all I'm gonna do here is make them roll their eyes and perhaps embarrass them a bit, but it's worth sharing with the rest of you.

Miss Bacon is a senior at South Tama County High School.  I've been bumping into her at her team sports pictures for years... really dating all the way back to youth basketball (and even back to our old Tiny Tots contest back in 1999 and 2000 when she was just a little Trojan turd), but more so lately as a member of girls track, volleyball and of course, her favorite... basketball.

I've also had the opportunity to watch this slick lefty play on a few occasions over the years, and I haven't been shy in letting anyone who will listen or cares how good of a player I think she is.

One such example came last season when her Lady Trojans were in an elimination game on the road at nearby rival East Marshall in LeGrand.

At the beginning of the game, I told a huge audience around me (well, okay... it was one person... my wife... and she listens to me because she has to) to keep an eye on number twenty-five.   She's the real deal.

As it turned out, No. 25 and the favored Trojans were struggling mightily that night, and in fact, led by a single point going into the fourth quarter with most of the momentum tilting toward the host Mustangs.

That's when Madie decided to take matters into her own hands.

A three pointer from the corner... then a conventional three point play after a drive to the basket for the hoop-n-harm followed by another dagger trifecta from long range... and suddenly the precarious one point lead was double digits in the matter of 90 seconds or so.

Good night... drive home safely.

For a know-it-all like me... it was particularly satisfying to have Miss Bacon make me look really smart on this night... even if it was just to an audience of one.   But, it's not just the Stewart's that have been seeing their favorite teams have fits in trying to defend this girl for years... the opposing players and coaches know it, too.

What maybe they DIDN'T know, however... is that Madie has mad game off of the floor, too.   And a couple of weeks ago for her senior session, it was my job to chronicle her style off of the hardwood as well as on it.

And with the avalanche of classmates that have been coming to see me this summer from STC, including some of her very best friends (and even her boyfriend, too) I knew I was gonna hafta dig even deeper to come up with something different for Madie... and as self-proclaimed President of the Madeline Bacon Hoops Fan Club, I wasn't about to let her down.

Once, maybe twice a year I'll make a trip over to State Center to take advantage of it's neat old main street.   Hats off to that community for keeping it so nice... Add in our blonde long-range bomber to that setting... we had something special going on.

So, once again, as you look through the images below, you'll see that Madie did her part in making this loud mouth schmuck look good, and all she had to do was just show up and do her thing.

But just like on the court where she counts on her teammates for success, I have to tip my proverbial cap to her mom, Jill for dishing out assist after assist on the session day.  Whether it was hair or clothing advice or holding the reflector like a pro, Mama Jill was on point all day long.   And why wouldn't she be?   Jill told me that this is her one and only baby, and it was clear to me that she wanted to soak up every part of this day right along side of her pride and joy.   It's a year of big events... full of lasts.... the last volleyball game... the last quiz... the last prom... the last three pointer in an STC uniform.

Whew.

Even though the last exposure from your baby girl's session has long since been captured, I hope you both enjoyed every last minute of it.   I know I did.

Thanks for making me look good, Team Bacon.  :)

Five years... and a double-whammy...

The date was July 6, 2010.

A tall blonde senior girl from Green Mountain-Garwin paid us a visit for her senior session.  

A quiet and polite young lady with nothing more on her list of demands than the desire to look great in her pictures.

But there WAS a wild card that day with Laura Goettsch's senior images.

Make that TWO wild cards.

One named Amy.

The other named Emily.

Laura's ornerier than ornery twin sisters had yet to begin seventh grade at that point, but they certainly had a healthy supply of middle school giggles on board.

And as these things typically go... I try to stay focused on the task at hand.   Do the best job I can for my senior that day... and then laugh a little when the senior mom -- Carla in this case, tells me they'll be back in a few years.

In a familiar refrain... those few years... actually FIVE... went by faster than a bad night's sleep.   Translation?   Way. Too. Fast.   Because a couple Thursdays ago... the first of those ornery twins was back.   This time for HER senior session.

In similar fashion to her older sis, Amy traveled light and had very few demands, but once again... It was my task to make her look and feel the best she's ever been and mix in some more laughs along the way for the Gladbrook Hometown Foods employee.

Some of the "demands" if I may use the term loosely would come the following week when Amy would return for some images with younger-by-one-minute sister, Emily.   In addition we made some moving images that included Papa Mark, who this time around, got to take part in the senior picture process (other than the obvious part that most of us dads are responsible for  --  cutting the check), which was very cool.

I tell ya what... after two sessions in a week's time, Mark Goettsch is now certified in reflector holding, light scrimming with an umbrella held together with a stick and yes... even some grey card wrangling.   Stay tuned for Emily's blog when I get around to her... Daddy's image with his twin baby girls will choke up even the toughest of men.   You've been warned.

Maybe it's because I just had to let my only daughter out of the nest in the past month, but that one was a throat grabber, and you'll hafta wait for it.  :)

Sorry to be such a tease, without further adieu, here's Goettsch Twin Girl v1.0 

Gettin' Jacked...

It took me a few minutes to put my finger on it... but once I did, it all came together.

When Heather Stumberg called and booked her son's senior images a couple of months ago, I thought to myself, "why do i KNOW that name?"

I thought about it... racked my brain some more... and for the life of me, I just couldn't figure it out.

I was told that Heather's son wanted a killer basketball collage... and other than that, the rest was up to me.

As it turned out, Jack's original session had to be postponed due to a basketball camp, and the rescheduled date forced mom to the sidelines and Papa Mike was called up to the big leagues to fill in for the day.... and thus... upon meeting and hearing Mike's name... the pieces of the puzzle started to fall together.

For those of you that don't know, the author of this blog is a 1994 graduate of Central College in Pella.   Which means that I started my freshman year in 1990.  One spring prior in 1989, one of the most decorated football players in the Division III school's storied history graduated and went on to earn a roster spot with the NFL's Seattle Seahawks and for a brief time played along side of Hall of Famer Steve Largent.   Jack's Pop was the Iowa Conference player of the year from the noseguard position.   And just an FYI on these MVP award-type things... they most often go to the stat-grabbers... the quarterbacks... the running backs... occasionally an eye-popping receiver.   But a nose-guard?   I never saw Mike play... but the sports reporter in me knows that Stumberg Sr. must've been one heck of a disruptive force to impress the IAAC coaches enough to award him the MVP that season.   Furthermore... one doesn't find Division III players making NFL rosters very often... if ever.   Bottom line?   Jack's Dad was the man back in the day... and once I figured out who it was that was actually in my studio... I recalled seeing Mike Stumberg's picture on the wall at Grundy Center High School in his Central uniform... appropriately honoring one of the school's all time best.

I tried my best not to get all giddy and such with Jack there probably having heard it all before a thousand times... But the old Dutchman in me couldn't help but be impressed.   My interest was piqued even further when Jack informed me that his dad is now a Big Ten Conference football official who jets off to places like The Big House, Happy Valley, The Horse Shoe and Memorial Stadium in Lincoln depending on his weekend assignment.

Maybe it's just me going all fan-boy and being a psycho sports fan and a Central grad and all... but how cool is that?

As it turned out, it was probably a good thing that Mike had a ton of work to do that morning of Jack's session, because he hammered away at work related stuff on his laptop and cellphone out in our lobby at Stewart Photography... thus saving himself from what undoubtedly would have been a barrage of fan boy questions from his son's photographer.

Don't kid yourself, however.   Just because the Grundy Center/Central College legend dodged the bullet... it didn't mean that the sports talk was snuffed out.

No, not at all.

It's rare occasion that at the end of senior session that I feel like a 17 or 18 year old kid can stand toe-to-toe with me on a wide-ranging discussion on sports, but I have to tip my cap to young Mr. Stumberg.   Dude knows his stuff.   So whether it was area hoops, Hawkeye football... NFL,  NBA... MLB... NCAA... none of it mattered.   This session quickly turned from taking pictures to an impromptu episode of ESPN Sports Reporters.

So while he might of only ended up in Montour because his girlfriend from Conrad suggested he look our way... in the end... it felt like I was dealing with a couple of guys that I had known forever.    Jack is a 17-points-per-game 6-foot-3 silky shooting point guard with Division I dreams.   If not for having the state champions with two insanely good guards in his league, Jack would most certainly be first team all-conference instead of second... but make no mistake... dude can ball with the best of them... and I look for a big senior year outta him.

As a warm up to the hardwood, the Spartan senior is going to try the gridiron for the first time in high school.  It can't be easy to follow in the footsteps of a local legend, but I have no doubt that Jack will help out the Grundy boys this fall... and when the winter rolls around, I predict results that mimic the front of his jersey...  

Lots of 3's.

Along came Nat...

It goes by so fast.

I know it's no news flash.   And as a parent who's seen one graduate and marry within a matter of a couple of months and has another on deck to graduate again this year, I know this just like most of you.

You blink... and BAM... a decade or more zips on by.

I'm willing to bet you can put Doug and Trish Stadler in my camp of parents that agree with my assertion above.   Just a decade ago their house was full of three crazy girls... running seemingly every night to some activity... practice, game, concert, parent teacher conference.   On many nights or weekends it was probably a divide-and-conquer approach where one parent took one of the girls to this... while the other took another to that.   And on some occasions (and I speak from the three kid family experience), someone ELSE had to take your third child to THEIR activity.   

My Dad told me about the parenting game a long time ago that you weren't a "pro" until you had your second... and I found out from experience that you are expected to join the Hall of Fame of the National Parents League whether you're capable or not once you get out numbered and add the third child to the mix.

Team Stadler has had a busy last decade or so, raising three girls... and fortunately, I've been there to capture alot of it for them.

It began back in 2006 when I was asked to photograph the South Tama County high school prom for the first time.   Even then as a seasoned photographer, I still had anxiousness and apprehension walking into a new endeavor in a new facility... but my God send that weekend?   

None other than Doug and Trish's oldest, Jessica.

"Hi, I'm Jess!  I'm the junior class president... let me know if you need any help."

And help she did.   Jessica and I put our heads together that weekend and came up with a killer background for the prom and a friendship was born.  A couple of months later, we photographed her senior images... and then followed up with sister Brittany's three years later.   Just a year after that... all THREE of the Stadler ladies paid me a visit with the idea of surprising their folks with some pictures of their children for an anniversary gift and at that point, the youngest, Miss Natalie, was still just an awkward middle schooler.

Five years and about 10 inches of growth later, Nat is a powerful member of Coach Amy Dolash's Trojan volleyball squad, and as you can see from her images, there's absolutely nothing awkward about her.

So, Natalie and Team Stadler and I go way back.   I've been fortunate enough to photograph Natalie a few times in the interim between anniversary present and senior session... mainly for her ventures into STC athletics... so we've stayed in touch and nearly every time I've bumped into Nat either for team pictures... or maybe even out at a South Tama game (or a North Iowa Cedar League West contest that her boyfriend's Gladbrook-Reinbeck Rebels were part of) I could always guess it was Natalie greeting me from afar without even seeing her.

Why?

Somewhere along the line, and I'm not sure where, Natalie began to just call me "Stewart."   Nothing necessarily wrong with that, I guess... it is my last name after all.  Most people call me "Bryan" or "BStew."   And for some reason, I think I'm in trouble or being summoned to do something when I hear "Hey, Stewart!"   Perhaps it's because, by my recollection, the only other person that refers to me that way is my beloved wife.   And it usually goes something like... "you got that garbage taken out yet, Stewart?"  ... or  "when are you going to mow the lawn, Stewart?"    Clearly, Natalie's greeting isn't in the same type of context, but nevertheless... If I hear that salutation... I KNOW I'm gonna turn around and see that Natalie smile I've become so familiar with over the years.

I guess maybe I shoulda stopped calling her Nat... and just dropped "Stadler" on her?   :)

Regardless, her session was a flashback for sure for me, as most that know the Stadlers know that their oldest and youngest daughters could pass for twins... so, even though it's been nearly a decade since I photographed Jess's senior images... I couldn't help but look through the lens a few times a couple weeks ago and see Jess all over again.   Fortunately for me... Jess made a repeat appearance for her kid sister's session, and between Mama Trish, Jess and I... we had Natalie coached up to be an amazing model for the day.

It was a wonderful day, indeed, and while she's had an excruciating couple of weeks waiting while we struggled through the late summer surge of seniors trying to squeeze in before school starts next week, I think she'll find her images worth the wait.   The good news for me is that I'm not done seeing Miss Natalie.   Monday we'll do STC volleyball... and in a few weeks... Homecoming... tennis team pics will be followed closely by prom and graduation.   

Plenty more opportunities for me to be called by my last name.  :)

Thanks, Stadler.... err... Natalie.