Tractors, spiders, and puppies...

Lissa wanted to take her senior photos at her grandmother's farm because it was a special place for her growing up. And what a special place it turned out to be! Her grandfather was kind enough to allow us to roam wherever we wanted and we found some amazing locations. However, with all of the amazing locations, farms come with their fair share of pests. We found a giant wolf spider in the barn (creepy!) and Lissa's poor mother spent most of the shoot trying to distract a puppy who wanted nothing more than to climb all over Lissa's white shirt. Pests aside, it was a beautiful day with a beautiful location and a beautiful model!

Baseball and vineyards....

Gabe is a baseball player so our natural starting point for his senior shoot was the baseball field at Patterson High. Gabe can be a little shy but luckily I had him in class a few years ago so I had some inside information on how to make him laugh. We talked about Remi Gaillard (a frenchman who has a series of goofy youtube videos) and Gabe showed endless patience while I kept making him pose and smile. He laughed at a few of my ideas (crouching down in a vineyard? standing in a pile of weeds?) but he was willing to cooperate and we had a great time.

Round 2....

Josh had his first photo shoot with me when he was a junior and had just completed his truck. Now it's senior photo time. This time we went out to the heifer facility on a local dairy and walked around, stopping and shooting as we went. We found some great locations, but alas, we ran out of sunlight. Looks like Josh will be getting ready for round 3 soon!

Almost Goodbye...

The end of the school year is a bittersweet time for teachers who have seniors. It is amazing to see them come to the end of their high school years full of ambition and promise, but it is also sad. Faces I've seen roaming the halls for the past four years will head their separate ways and walk out of PHS. High school changes from reality to memory as students move on with their lives, and teachers are left to drag the next bunch through to graduation.

Mickey is a beautiful girl who I was lucky enough to have in class for 2 years in a row. When she asked me to take some senior pictures for her, I was thrilled because I knew her beautiful smile and sunny disposition would make for a very enjoyable afternoon. She ventured out to the dairy for some outdoor shots on a very windy day and even brought along a boyfriend willing to miss the football draft to be supportive (what a keeper!). Photos taken 4/28/2011.

A shiny new old truck....

One of my students spent a lot of time restoring a classic Chevy pickup. After spending a few days breaking it in and getting it dirty, he decided it was time to clean it up again and snap some photos. He was the first teenage boy I photographed and really pointed out the differences in the sexes. While girls are happy to smile and pose, Josh looked at me like I was crazy 85% of the time. However, I like to think that some of my craziness was worth it because we had a fun session with some great results. He was still a junior at the time so we decided it would serve as practice for his senior shoot. His mom saw our practice photos and vowed to make him wear a nicer shirt for his senior shoot! Photos taken 4/11/11.

My First Experience as a PREP Mentor...

PHS seniors must all make it through the PREP experience before they can cross the stage, collect their diplomas, and skip happily into the sunset. The project requires students to do some job shadowing or learn a new skill. One of my senior yearbook students decided she would like to learn how to take better pictures and wanted me as her mentor. Since she is an amazing girl and a tiny bundle of fun, I immediately agreed, and we began working together to improve her photography skills. After some instruction on the more advanced features of the camera, she was eager to get some actual practice. She brought along her stunningly beautiful best friend for a photo shoot. While helping Desiree perfect her skills, I took some time to snap a few of my own shots. Here is my favorite:

My Favorite Models...

In January I received a visit from my favorite models. My cousin's children are absolutely beautiful. While the oldest garnered much of the attention on our first shoot, today's focus was all on the little guy. We spent some time snapping a few shots and then enjoyed a visit to the cows (you can imagine which was more enjoyable for the kids). Photos taken 1/29/11.