Flapjackin' Pauley

Paul's reputation preceded his arrival Monday morning as I had been privy to his comedic "act" every time I visit East Marshall for football, wrestling or track pictures.

Never one to do just the "regular" poses even for memory mate images... I figured that Pauley would have some wild idea for me for his senior session.

I was not disappointed.

Oh... we did some regular images.... stuff that mom would be not ashamed to hang on the wall for the next 50 years.

And then... I get this quote.

"I brought along a skillet and I want to have an image where I'm flippin' flapjacks or something."

HAHAHAHA.

This guy has made me double over with laughter more than any client in 15 years... and hopefully the "skillet" image below does the same for all of you. It's priceless. (or if you ask his mom... maybe "worthless") :-)

Kudos to Emily and Co.

Emily capped our week of seniors with a session that included her family (little boys and sitting still don't mix... just sayin'). It was great to see Katie (EM Class of '03) and her two little vinegar filled fellas (hey Logan and Jordan!) along with Mama Kris and her man, Jon as well.

Jon's company, Marshallnet has had a integral part in our studio's evolution during the past decade. The early 2000's saw our transition from film to digital. Of course, running a digital studio is not possible without computers. Not just ANY computers..... but MONSTER computers with multiple hard drives, portable hard drives, RAM, hyper threading... you name it. And as most of you know.... it's not IF you'll have problems....... it's WHEN! Special thanks to Marshallnet for not only servicing my original computer.... but also putting in another at home so at the very least... I can be SEEN by my family while retouching hours on end. :-)

Emily was an easy-goin' gal that would be the first to admit that she wasn't looking forward to her session..... but in the end... I think she was glad that we put her through the "torture."

Aman? Amen!

It was a weird moment Thursday afternoon when Shelby walked in with her mom. I knew Shelby from all of our East Marshall connections. I also knew Mama Chris and her brothers from way back in her day as a SEMCO Cougar. The odd thing to me was that I didn't make the connection that Shelby belongs to Chris! Hang around long enough and suddenly darkness turns to light! :-)

October always ends up being a particularly draining month (days shorter, clients needing in before the weather turns, the 18 hour days grinding on for a 6 straight month)... but Shelby was a bright light in my week.

This gal was equally adept at lighting up the lens with her smile and then piercing it with an intense serious look, too. Her mom insists that that ability stems from all of her honing her "look" with friends and their goofing around with their own camera. I call it the "end of the arm" phenomenon where gals take their point and shoot camera and hold it as far away as they can from their bodies and take pictures of themselves a billion times and then plaster them all over Facebook. So funny. Regardless.... all of that "practice" paid off in an AWESOME session. We were in the zone!

Another dose of reality

For those of you that really know me, I have a tendency to complain.

*Man, am I tired. I can't believe I am THIS far behind! Why is my business so seasonal? Will my kids ever listen the FIRST time? Why did coach Ferentz play Christensen in the second half? Will the Cubs EVER get the World Series? How come we don't have more seniors on the schedule?*

Complain, complain, complain.

In walks Zach, his dad and his aunt and I realize I need to give my head a shake.

As I author this at 5:23 a.m. after yet another 4 a.m. wake up I am thankful and humbled, for you see... as bad as things may seem sometimes, I think we all need perspective occasionally.

Zach lost his mother this past year to a battle with cancer.

So... while this space is normally reserved for fun, witty banter about our experiences here at our little studio...... I ask all of you today..... give your loved ones a hug.

THAT's what truly important. Not the Cubs... the QB situation at Iowa..... my schedule.

To Zach, Dean and Diana: Thank you for blessing me with your business. I won't pretend to know what you've gone through. I will say that you're in my thoughts and prayers. It's my hope that I brought a sliver of joy to you this week.

BFF's? No problem.

Kelsey paid us a visit Wednesday and her best friend Lindsey was in not too long ago. And while Kels surely chose us because of what we are capable of doing, we're not naive enough to realize that she want something "really cool and different!" :-)

So, a roadie it was to capture some fall foliage and to prove as we have many times before that best friends can trust us to bang out awesome stuff that you've come to expect from us, yet keep you from having the exact same image that your buddy does.

Kels told me that she pulled a 5 a.m. alarm to get ready for the session which gave me the idea that perhaps she was a "high maintenance" gal....... but once she got here........ it was like Superman in and out of the phone booth between outfits! That was impressive... (take note fellas!) :-)

Finally, thanks to my "assistant" Karen for all the help on our crisp sunny morning! Oh and... take note of the side-tie on the blue outfit with the jeans.... We struggled with how that should be tied... in the front? what kind of bow? loose? big? small? Finally, being the big dumb sloth that I am, I suggested a tie on the side..... winner, winner, chicken dinner! Blind squirrel finding a nut, indeed!

A bad break made good

So, I get the panicky call last week.

"My son broke his wrist, now what?"

If it woulda been July... we just bump it back 6 weeks.... let the cast come off, and bingo... we're good to go.

Mid-October? We don't have that luxury.

For you see, we're a few weeks, if not days away from a hard freeze or two.... some cold windy and/or rainy days and unfortunately... outdoor starts to look.... well... meager at best.

So... off Kyle and I went to try to mask his cast the best we could, and I think we were triumphant for the most part. The one exception where it was OK to let it show was with the 4-wheeler.... (which was the culprit that got us in this spot to begin with).

Kyle would be the first to admit he wasn't looking forward to the process as in his words... "isn't one picture good enough?" I think I left him with a better impression of our industry as a whole. :-)