Fun shoot with the national Board of Directors for an organization called Women in Financial Services…. What a wonderful group of women, and the day was laughter and smiles and terrific images.

While negativity fills the loud, ongoing media cycle (how sad that folks listen and accept…), in the real world there are good people, kind gestures, sweet moments and loving interactions occurring all around us.

I choose to put 100% of my attention on the now, on the here…. To give someone a smile, and to feel a smile on my face or pause in my cadence because of something I’ve noticed, is the real world, in my view.

I think that from the moment you commit to a career in the arts, you’re forever changed. Writers, painters, musicians, photographers, sculptors, and others. There’s a change that occurs in the back-and-forth between being alone (creating/honing/perfecting) and stepping forward into the community/audience/session. There’s a greater sense of awareness (the senses are sharpened) for artists. And that heightened awareness can be a double-edge sword. What we may wish to have not known can now not be heard/seen/felt. What we yearn to experience, on the other hand, can be reached (though only for a visit) from time to time….

I can’t imagine a world without photography. It’s joyful in a world that would benefit from joyful….

Doing my small part, one session at a time….

Galas, weddings, corporate meetings, sporting events…. Large gatherings of people are always so much fun to photograph. There’s an energy and aliveness that’s unmistakable, and tapping in to that is a joyful experience.

I love wandering through those gatherings of people, and finding moments that help tell a visual story of the occasion.

I listen to a lot of interviews, and love hearing people’s stories. I’ve always loved listening — words, music, ambient and incidental. There’s immeasurable information to learn and appreciate, and we gain so much (and give back so much) from purposefully, quietly, listening.

I love telling a story, too. Though my stories are primarily visual and are told through photographs. I still believe that every thoughtful picture does tell a story.

Storyteller. Listener. Observer. Participant. The oar goes in and the oar comes back out. We move forward, changed and at a new place.

Studio photography is so personal, intimate, private. I love the bond that forms between two people for an hour. The client wants to look her/his best. I want a photograph that perfectly expresses the client. Two souls facing opposite directions but rowing in tandem.

A loving, celebratory mother/son portrait at the end of the son’s senior picture session recently.

I love seeing the simple joys of life expressed in people’s faces. I also love that I get to give those moments back to people through lovely images.

What a treat to photograph Rhiannon Giddens for the Buskirk-Chumley Theater. I vividly remember the first time I heard her voice (listening to WXPN in Philadelphia, years ago, as she headed The Carolina Chocolate Drops), and was floored by its impact. At that time, I had no idea she was also the instrumentalist…..

Her career, her music, and her convictions are awe-inspiring.

Talent. Determination. Openness. Intelligence. And a MacArthur Fellowship in tow. A remarkable woman, doing remarkable work…..

Seasons are so interesting in portrait photography.

There are reasons to prefer each individual season, and I fully understand why someone may choose any of the four for their portraits.

Given the right person/outfit/setting/expression, there’s a raw, gorgeous magic to a stark winter scene, that said.

Only two weeks in to 2020 and it’s already clear it’ll be one of the most extraordinary years of my life. There are roughly 100 balls in the air, and I’m optimistic that as they fall I’ll catch at least 90 of them! So many options/plans/considerations for the business, our lives and our possible future paths….. I deeply love living an adventure-filled life, and am always giddy with the possibilities that lie ahead.

My photography calendar is filling up quickly through May graduation season, and then a one-week deep breath before weddings nearly every weekend May through October.

Siobhan and I decided in 2019 that we’d remain in Bloomington all summer for 2020, rather than taking the three months off for long road trips (as we’ve done for several years). Being in Bloomington for an extra 90 days this year, in turn, has further catapulted our 2020 bookings (nothing like a June, July or August sunrise/sunset photo shoot!). We’ll travel for a month next December/January again, but are so excited to be hunkered down in this awesome town for the upcoming 11 months in the meantime!

We’ve grown our business into the highest-rated, top-option photography business in Bloomington and are exceedingly thankful to our clients, and proud of our hard work. We’ve been blessed to work with amazing people, businesses, teams and schools. We value every new contact, and love being a spoke in the wonderful, unique Bloomington ethos.

So, 2020 will mark our seventh year in business, and seventh of year-over-year growth. Dreams do come true (though there’s a lot of work involved to make sure they do). Here’s to a fascinating, inspiring, meaningful upcoming 365 days to each of you…..