All the kolors of Karl...

Ok seriously, how adorable is that first image?

Sometimes I wonder how I get paid for this. ;)

Karlie and I go back a few years... we've photographed her as part of our duties at Main Street Dance Academy for the last several years and I even did a family portrait of her extended clan at the family business at Grandview Heights Nursing Home in Marshalltown once.

There was a cute-as-a-button sophomore girl in that family group that December morning back in 2008. And while I thought to myself that it would be a good "get" to eventually land Karlie for senior pictures in a couple years... I wasn't planning on it.

I told Karl and Mama Tammy last Wednesday afternoon that I figured that I'd never get to do senior pictures of the girl with the perfect smile. (incidently... Karlie makes me sick with those teeth... figured that her orthodontist did one heck of a job... but i found out last week... NO ortho for that grin! WHAT THE HECK?!? not even fair, Miss Koonce!) Anyway, the REASON I figured I wasn't gonna get to take Karlie's senior images was that older sis had them done elsewhere. It stood to reason then, that I'd strike out with daughter No. 2 as well... so you can imagine my excitement when Karl contacted me on facebook this spring!

#WINNING#

Karlie certainly didn't disappoint on her session. She's every bit as fun and vibrant as her images show here... and if THAT weren't enough... she also won me over with her choice of football teams!

Certainly influenced heavily by Papa Craig, young Karlie wanted to do something for her dad who loves all things black-n-yellow...

Just like her photographer... :)

A student at BCLUW, which shares colors with the Iowa Hawkeyes and Pittsburgh Steelers, there is little doubt what colors are donned at Kasa de Koonce Friday through Sunday on fall weekends! So when Karlie showed up with her little yellow dress... the wheels were set in motion. Quite clearly everyone needs a B.A. football image in a dress with complete with kickin' shades and all your favorite team's logos in the background! :)

Are you sure you couldn't take a "rain check" and wait for one of my boys to get old enough to date, Karl? Too good to be true! :) LOL.

So Karlie, Tammy and I had a ball running around the hillsides getting images that would make Julie Andrews and The Sound of Music proud... and we were requested to get a trademark middle of the road image done despite the temperature of the pavement west of Montour reaching surface of the sun levels... (not gonna lie... had to put a towel down before I got my low angle shot... dang!)

I was told in the middle of the session, however, that we were missing someone from the original plan. BFF, Lizzie was SUPPOSED to come to the session to jump into a few images for fun... but evidently had to work. Much to my chagrin, I was informed that despite her best friend being amazing and fun and beautiful... she was going elsewhere for HER senior session in the fall.

Again... not gonna lie... at THAT time, I was relieved that Lizzie wasn't there, then. One can't help but feel a little bit of competitive disappointment, and perhaps a sense of being judged by someone else's client being there watching every move you make... examining things...

All that being said, in a day full of epic winning... it didn't end there, however... as just 24 hours later... someone's BFF had a change of heart and was now on OUR books.

SWEET! Charlie Sheen ain't got NOTHING on me.

Just another bonus that was the result of another insane session in a week chocked full of 'em...

But Karlie wasn't done.

We saved the BEST for last.

I was told the night before her session via facebook that Miss Koonce is an avid artist... so she wanted to do something with paint. We had had a similar request a year ago, and unlike others who make a habit of complimenting our studio with the old axiom, "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,"... i didn't want to just crank out the same thing as a year ago.

Karl had the idea of painting her name on the background, which we did... but I had other ideas. :)

Madre Tammy was forced into action to complete my master plan... and getting back to the first image you see here on the blog... SOMEONE had to put the handprints on Karlie... and who better than the woman who changed her dumpy drawers back in the day?

So with two palms full of purple and green paint, the stage was set... and one pair of white short shorts were about to be ruined.

I was giggling to myself as Tammy got down on her knees and readied herself for the "application"... and never being one to miss out on an opportunity... I got the candid that you see at the very end here.

*click*

Tammy turned around... "you didn't just take a picture of that, did you?"

Oh yes I did, Tammy. Yes I did. :)

Out of nowhere... immortality...

I just wanted a chance...

And I got it.

Just a few weeks ago back on June 1, Chantel Eicher was living out a dream. She did something very few even have the opportunity to take a sniff of...

Winning a state title.

Oh she had been there before... fifth the previous year at state golf... the girl is no slouch. But to win it all?

Whoa.

I had the opportunity to photograph another state champion East Marshall individual a year ago as wrestler Ryan Valline used a late charge to grab the brass ring when no one expected it... and for Chantel, who had NEVER carded a score in the 70s up until that point... to come out and toss a 77 on the board on the final day of state at Otter Creek in Ankeny to earn her the immortal status as state medalist?

Folks... that's just clutch.

I told her that night on facebook that no matter what happens from this day forward... she now has something that no one can take away from her. She'll always have a comma after her name.

A comma?

Chantel Eicher, State Champion.

Seriously, how cool is that?

As a former competitor, it gives me goosebumps just to type it... and make no mistake... I'm green with envy. If it hadn't REALLY sunk in that night... I wanted to make SURE she knew the gravity of what she had accomplished by giving her a shout out that night on facebook... just like I had done with Valline a few months earlier.

Not surprisingly, she was gracious and thankful for the kind words, and then my attention, unbeknownst to her, turned a different direction.

To hoping.

Hoping?

That's right... that Chantel would come to me for senior pictures!

I've known Miss Eicher for a few years now because.... (follow me here).... my office helper's-brother dates Chantel.

I met her a prom a couple years back as I asked boyfriend (and Stewart Photography alum) Nic Wacha if THIS was his girlfriend standing next to him? He nodded yes... and while I didn't know about her golfing prowess back then... I did have two eyes and realized that my man Nic deserved a high-five... so he got one. ;)

Not only can she golf... but she can stop traffic... some people get all the luck!

So we fast forward then to the post-championship lull after June 1st.

I've mentioned before that I'm never been one to put myself out there with high pressure questions like... "hey... where ya goin for senior pictures?!?!?" Just isn't my style... and truth be known... I just can't handle the rejection. So, while Chantel and I had a "connection" of sorts... I wasn't sure what her plans were. And honestly... When we got to late July and nothing had happened on our front, I figured she was one that got away.

And THAT's when trusty assistant Kristin stepped in.

Evidently putting the studio's best foot forward behind the scenes, K-Dub (as I like to call her) did some arm twisting... and told me about it.

Even so, it wasn't a done deal.

When I was told of all this... I just said to Kristin... "K-Dub... she's a STATE champ... that DESERVES to be recognized and it needs to be done well." Of course, Kristin agreed... but it wasn't my employee that needed convinced... It was Team Eicher.

Somewhere along the line, that got done... and at the last minute we squeezed Chantel into what is always one of the busiest weeks of the year.

Her awesome sister, Dawn, came along for the session and was a tremendous help as we trotted all over Marshalltown. We made our second appearance at the Legion Golf Course in less than a month and after Club Pro John Schrempf saw a sweat-soaked Bryan Stewart laying prone in a sandy bunker getting repeatedly sprayed with sand by our newly crowned state champion, he shook his head and laughed...

"Man... you'll do almost ANYTHING for a buck."

Perhaps... but the reality is this. On a regular basis, I have a full spectrum of athletes coming to me... anywhere from the elite to the end-of-the-benchers.... and they ALL wanna look like state champions... if only for a day.

Chantel actually IS one... and they can never take that away from you, girl. I wanted the chance to give her accomplishment the justice that it deserved in images... and I think we did that. Thanks for the opportunity.

Congrats, champ... enjoy it... and now all you have to do is go get another one next year. :)

Sweat... wet... Perhaps the most insane session yet...

If you're always giving 100 percent... how do you give more?

You dig deeper.

And if you're already pushed so far that you're standing at the ledge, what's next?

You jump.

And when one of your very best friends brings their last baby to you for senior pictures after you've both watched them grow up in the community we call home... how does one possibly find a way to make images that do that friendship justice?

You reinvent the wheel.

I don't think anyone will argue that I make great sacrifices in time, commitment and dedication to all my clients. Which then puts me in a tough spot then when someone very special to me is standing on deck. Sure they don't expect to be treated any differently than any of my other clients. They KNOW I'm gonna do all I can for them.

So where does the pressure to go past 100 percent come from then?

From within.

To sit here and say that I hadn't circled the date on the calendar where Miss Abigail Nuese was scheduled would be a flat out lie... and anyone that knows me is aware that I'll just tell ya how it is... so this blog won't be any different.

The session had to better than our daily-dose-of-crazy-good... and I told my good friend and mother-of-our-subject, Tracy, that from the beginning of this senior season I was pressuring MYSELF to make images that I felt were worthy of this young lady.

I was reassured that they had no worries, but the perfectionist in me wanted more.

So when the session rolled around a week and a half ago... it was time to roll up our sleeves and take a country girl into the city.

The Capitol City.

I had never photographed a senior session there, and despite perhaps the hottest couple of days in a summer that's seen more than it's fair share of sizzle, Tracy, Abby and sister Amanda were off to Des Moines to master the metro.

There are so many little stories about this session that I could author here. From laying flat on my stomach in the middle of 7th street in downtown Des Moines, to trespassing in a water fountain at West Glen to trying to spell out "Abby" with LED lights at 12:30 a.m. behind the Target store by Jordan Creek... the session was an adventure to be sure.

Overboard? No doubt about that. But that's what you do for friends.

Truth is, I owed the girl.

What the public sees is a brash, ultra competitive ball player that, on occasion, lets her emotions get the best of her. We've all been there. And anyone who's been to an East Marshall basketball game and heard the unmistakable high pitched "Come ON!!!" from Abby's mom come reigning down from the top row of the bleachers... or have seen mild mannered former EM head coach Bob Berggren trying to keep his longtime assistant (also known as Abby's dad) from getting more technical fouls in one game than he collected in a 35+ year CAREER... you're not surprised as to where she gets it from.

That being said. Anyone that's taken the time to actually get to know the girl, knows she's someone very different off the court, than on.

What you DON'T see... is a girl that never hesitates to step up and take nursery duty at our little church in Ferguson when the scheduled worker couldn't fill the spot.

What you DON'T see... is a girl that without being prompted a couple years back... saw I was without help while trying to photograph the EM track team... and was struggling to juggle the shooting and the paperwork and questions from the "really-cool-and-different-all-for-a-$5 button" crowd all by myself... and stepped in to help despite not really knowing what to do. She just did it... because it was the right thing to do.

What you DON'T see is a girl that is actually very humble, and is probably extremely embarrassed by everything I'm writing here.

But that's ok... and here's why.

We all learned a very difficult lesson last week.

Life is short.

Near the end of Abby's Amazing Adventure... she was in changing clothes, and, not surprisingly... I was checking my Blackberry.

The girls came back out...

"Guys... I can't be for sure... but I think something very bad has happened to Mason Stephens."

In a community this small, we all know each other... probably better than we should, really. So when a tragedy like what happened to Team Stephens hits like it did that Monday morning, each and every one of us felt like we had just taken a kick to the stomach.

Suddenly senior pictures, and workload, and everything else that seemed to be more important than anything else in the world... was no longer relevant.

We tried to maintain our focus, but it wasn't the same. Both the Nueses and the Stewarts, just like the Stephens family, have three wonderful children. I cannot fathom the idea of waking up tomorrow with one of the three gone.

What we learned was, to be more kind to one another... live every day that God gives you as if it may be your last, and never hesitate to tell someone that you love them.

All the extra effort is my gift to you, my friends. I adore you guys for being there for me... Always having my back... and most of all... for being my friend... in good times and in bad.

<3 Bryan