The southpaw from down south

While I never experienced it myself, I can't imagine it would ever be easy.

No matter what age.

When dad's duty calls in the form or a new job opportunity... sometimes it involves a big change.

A new town... a new school... new friends.  

Starting over.

And when your father is asked to lead a school as it's principal, sometimes it can happen more than once.

So when you're from the Show Me State... and totally comfortable being a die-hard Missouri Tiger... a member of Cardinal Nation and also a fan of what was the Greatest Show on Turf with the St. Louis Rams, moving to Iowa probably wasn't  high on the list of things to do or want for young Colson Frakes, back in the day.

But moving time it was... not once (Blemond-Klemme) but twice... (South Tama County) for Team Frakes.   The latter of the two moves came when Colson was entering seventh grade... and he's been a Trojan ever since.   And while being the Principal's kid no doubt has had its challenges, he seems to have flourished in Tama County's Twin Cities.

A lefty ace on the baseball team... a safety/wideout on what will be a state contender in Class 2A football starting next month... a young man with a finance plan at UNI or Iowa next fall  (and did I mention a cute-as-a-button girlfriend from the school that has adored him for about a year now?).   Life is pretty good for Mr. Colson... and it was my job to chronicle that Friday morning.

Sure, we battled some intense heat (Mama Tami and Colson got to see photographer flat out drenched in sweat), but a little Missouri-like heat wasn't gonna slow down this Hawkeye State operation.   Oh no.

A trip around Tama ended at the football and baseball fields where Colson's passion lies.   Number 7 on the diamond, and number 8 on the gridiron... the trio of mother/son/photographer were all over the facilities trying to beat the heat before the 100-degree heat indices kicked in.   While they hadn't quite reached that point when we finished at 11 a.m.-ish... it was close... and the sweat soaking through my khaki shorts will vouch for that.

Nevertheless... it was another "challenge accepted" to capture killer images for one of South Tama's very best.   We've already had an amazing slate of seniors from STC thus far... and there's several more coming.   Pair that with a major announcement that will drop in the next week or so, I've been feeling really blue lately... Columbia Blue that is.   For those of you that are fans of our photography in Trojan country... you're about to see a lot more of it very soon.   Stay tuned. :)

I did my best to make sure I didn't wear down Colson too much on this day, because I knew he was getting the start on the mound just a few hours later as his Trojans took the field against Vinton-Shellsburg over in Benton.   My man and his teammates left it all out on the field, but it wasn't quite enough on this night as the Vikings rallied in the final two frames.   Like any pitcher worth his salt, Colson didn't want to be taken down for a reliever late in the contest even with the oppressive heat and his pitch count rising.  

That's the type of determination that will serve him well whether it's inside the chalked lines along Harding Street, or playing for Coach Hoskey's talented Trojans this fall.  The kid has shown his ability to adapt and succeed over and over in his young life thus far... and I have no doubt that will continue through his senior year and as he moves on to college next year.

Thanks for choosing Stewart Photography, Team Frakes!

 

The Last of the Sizzlin' Sevens...

Everyone knows I'm a sucker for a good sports story.

And while there were several options for a lead after Monday's senior session... I'm going with one that includes a little family history... and a fitting dash of weather.

Dee and Allen Burt's fourth of four boys finally got his shot at this senior picture thing on Monday.   And with forecasts calling for heat indices into the 110's, we had one goal and one goal only early on...

Get the outdoor portion of the session done ASAP.

So, while we were talking sports right out of the gate (don't worry Hawkeye fans... I made sure to razz the notorious Cyclone Burts about The Mayor turning his back on Ames, Iowa!) we put off the actual sports images until the end of the session. 

To make sure things were different than the last installment of The Brothers Burt (Michael, GMG Class of 2011), we took a roadie into town to urban things up for this farm boy.   No worries... we eventually worked in a grain bin as a tip of the proverbial cap to Jacob's ag roots, but being a younger brother myself... I knew Jake would appreciate the extra effort to make sure his images were different than his siblings.

So after a couple hours of trying to ensure young Mr. Burt didn't sweat right through his shirt tops, our mission was accomplished... 10 a.m.... and while it was already nearly 90 degrees... it wasn't triple digits yet... and we were ready to get our chill on inside for the rest of the day.

As Burt tradition would have it... a full suit was required to keep it classy before we got to the part that Jacob really came for.... the sports.

Jake's Wolverines are in the midst of a post-season baseball run that for the first time in his career includes a district win.   GMG has put together a solid third place Iowa Star Conference finish and the day after his session, the silver, black and blue polished off AGWSR in their post-season opener.

The long-time Wolverine catcher (and sometimes hurler), decided to have me highlight baseball in his sports collage... but it was something about football that I found particularly cool.

I usually will ask guys WHY they are the number that they are.   Sometimes they'll tell me... "that's the number they gave me when I was a freshman."   Or maybe, "I dunno... I've just always been that number."   Or, "It's my lucky number.".... Or maybe someone famous that they idolize wore it.   There's always a reason, it seems.

But this one... I thought was noteworthy.

All four of Allen and Dee's boys have wore the number 7 at Green Mountain-Garwin High School.   And while I coulda chosen to talk about the fact that Jacob will eventually earn five varsity letters in baseball... or that he'll be the starting quarterback this fall... or that he's the strongest kid on the team with an impressive bench of 285 pounds... I think the neatest story on the day was about a family tradition.  

Four x 7 = 1.   As in one awesome family.

Thanks for your support over the years Team Burt.   I know it's against your religion to support a Hawkeye like you have... and I don't take that lightly.  :)

As good as advertised...

I had a pretty good idea of how this one was gonna go.

And I wasn't disappointed.

Social media these days can give a good indicator as to what kind of client you're dealing with, before you actually meet the individual.

Good and bad.

Add in some encounters at high school activities... and the fact that your own kids go to school with the person... I felt like I almost KNEW this one before she walked in the door.

Sometimes upon further inspection things can be far different than they seem.

And then there's Jaymi Lee Mason.

Her beautiful soul shines from the inside out on instagram, facebook and twitter almost daily.   Always smiling and unashamed in showing her beliefs and faith, I've always found her to stand out as a shining light in a internet world more often filled with drama and diatribes.   I can't count the amount of times that in the midst of an average to below average day... I'd come across yet another Jaymi selfie on a news feed... mouth wide open... smiling bigger than life... doing her part in bringing a little joy to the world.

So I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't at least a little excited to see this senior arrive last week for her senior session.  I had already "forced" her to take one of her infamous tonsil bearing selfies with me at volleyball team pictures and at prom last year at East Marshall.   And I greeted her and her entourage with a selfie stick image just as they walked in the door last week.

Jaymi didn't seem surprised either... maybe she thought she had me figured out, too?

So despite our preconceived notions, it was time to get down to "work" with Miss Mason and her Army of Emma's.  (there were two... Emma Kielman and Emma Lang)   Between the three of them and I... it was quite the afternoon.

Most of the first half of the session was filled with music.   As in instruments.

Jaymi had her acoustic and electric guitar.... a ukelele and a violin for good measure.   This is a talented young lady who no doubt uses music as an outlet to express herself... and to worship... which is way awesome.

It came as no surprise to me that she is planning on at this point attending Ozark Christian College in Joplin, Missouri upon graduation.   Getting involved in some sort of ministry seemed inevitable.  Friends of this gal are aware that she's spent a large portion of the last few years constantly traveling on mission trips all over the world spreading the good news... lending a hand... helping those less fortunate than she.   I can't say enough good things about that.   Well... I could... but that would embarrass her... and she and I both know that it's not about her... so I will digress.  :)

Near the end of the session, we did take a timeout to indulge a bit into her not-so-secret vice.    Ice Cream.

Chocolate to be exact.

She had asked in advance if we could do something with the ice cream idea.   Being one to take ideas an run with them... I told her to bring waffle cones and a spirit of sharing with her photographer, and she had a DEAL!

The result?   The totally adorable four faces of Jaymi taking delight in her dessert... and as promised... I was able to partake as well.  SCORE!  :)

Jaymi's original session was booked a couple weeks back in early June... and not surprisingly, it rained like cats-n-dogs that day... forcing us to reschedule back a couple weeks.

I told her it would be worth the wait.   It was on my end... I hope she feels the same.

Thanks for choosing Stewart Photography, Jaymi!

Ohhh... Megan-O!

I was told that this was gonna be way different, but in reality... it wasn't.

Mama Dawn told me that daughter No. 2 was more of a "girly-girl" and that it was just gonna be a way different deal than it was with daughter No. 1 four years ago.

The fact is, the sessions were more similar than Team Oelschlager would be willing to admit.

The cast of characters included the aforementioned mother of the senior... and Cyclone Aunt Deb was back again... add in spunky friend Hailey... and the stage was set for a fun day once again.

Sure, Sister Megan maybe liked to play dress up a little more than her older sis... and she had a crazy obsession with make-up... but once you got past that... it was all fun... all the time with Squad O.... just like last time.

In between all the spaghetti straps and headbands was an notable energy and excitement that I couldn't help but do my very best to get on their level.  You can bet that I took my opportunity to razz Deb about Fred Hoiberg leaving Iowa State... but other than that, it was all Meg-O energy, all the time.

We mixed in a little King of Pop hat toss... an epic road trip... a trashing of the dress... a "sweaty" cheerleader/hoopster... and don't forget an inebriated guy on a bike asking us incoherent questions at 9 a.m.    Make no mistake... this session had it all.

And if that wasn't enough... Dawn's left sandal nearly drowned in the Montour creek and if not for a lucky break... it would've most certainly been gone forever.

Megan was busy submerging her little white dress in the creek while her mother sat on the bridge above us, and then I heard it.

*splash*

Dawn's sandal slipped off of her dangling left foot and into the water abyss below and it began to flow down stream.

I figured it was a goner.

Fortunately, it got caught up on some debris and then it was a race between Meg and Hales to rescue the wayward foot ware.

Hailey won the "race" and triumphantly held the shoe over her head while her sopping wet senior friend scolded her from under the bridge.

Never a dull moment with those two... I found that out, real quickly.   The spent the majority of the session dancing like there was no one watching.... the only thing was... there WERE people watching... but they didn't care.  

Frankly... I didn't either... I only wish that Bruce and Dawn Oelschalger had more kids to bring to me so we could do over and over again.

Hope everyone had a great Independence Day!  

God Bless America!