I Got My Way!

 Wow, am I behind on my blogging!  I've been so busy (which is a good thing) but it means I have lots to update on.  Recently I did photo sessions at Cranewood Farm in St. Charles, home of my horse, Serlait.  I had quite a few takers on my offer for photos, and I was thrilled Marge Croxall signed up.

Marge is the barn liason - she is the main go-between for the boarders to the owner that lives out of state.  She's the foundation of the barn, enforcer of the rules, and is often called upon for advice, whether it be training related, first aid, or life in general.  Marge has a very soft demeanor, but carries an air of gentle authority about her as well.  She's had a long love of dressage and her current partner is her horse, Newman.

Marge & Newman were my first session of the day, and when I arrived, I was disappointed when Marge informed me she didn't want to be in any of the images, she just wanted head shots of Newman.  Apparently, Newman had other ideas.  He wanted to show me just how naughty he could be!  He danced, moved, and generally looked everywhere but where I wanted him to.  Not even the magical crinkling of a plastic bag could gain his attention.  I am never one to give up, but I had a whole day of sessions back to back, and Newman was not cooperating on bit.  I was starting to think I was going to have to offer the "let's try again later" to Marge.

Then Marge stepped in closer, put her hands on him, and viola!  Magical equine tranquilizer.  He obviously has quite a bond with Marge, and when she stepped in closer instead of staying at arm's length (because she didn't want to be in the shots) he started enhancing his calm and standing more quietly.  Little does Marge know that Newman and I planned it - all a ploy to get her into the images!  I think it turned out well.  I got a good sampling of head shots, and I also got what Newman & I wanted - Marge in the images as well.

Here are a few of my favorites, enjoy!

As always, see more of my photography at www.mtsphotography.zenfolio.com and don't forget to add me on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook

Civil War Days at the Naper Settlement

I know I've blogged before about how my love of photography and art has pushed me outside the box of my comforts of home and out into the world, exploring things I normally never would have attended.  Today was another scheduled www.meetup.com outing - the Civil War Days at the Naper Settlement in Naperville, IL - complete with a full battle re-enactment.


I woke up, and so many things were seemingly stacking up to not going. The weather was overcast, cool, and threatening rain. Jeff was working, and I was supposed to go with another photographer friend, who cancelled out on me at the last minute. I seriously considered not going - the thought of going to something new, alone, and not knowing a soul there was really making me anxious to the point that I didn't know if I should go. Then I remembered a quote from Bill Cosby that has always struck a chord with me:
                   "Decide you want it more than you are afraid of it."
and I decided to push my concerns aside, stop the negative thinking, and off I went!


I am so glad I did.  I really appreciated the opportunity to take in the entire setting and not have to carry on small talk or worry if my companion(s) were having a good time.  I was able to walk at my own pace (snail crawl) with camera in hand, soaking in the costumes, atmosphere, and really getting to sample everything this day had to offer, including a wild battle re-enactment that ended with the South beating the North for control of the Fort Payne.  The battle was the best part - lots of live gunfire and real cannon blasts - it was deafening!


Below are some of my favorites from the day!

There are quite a few more awesome shots from the Civil War Days!  Check them out as a slideshow on my website by CLICKING HERE


As always, see more of my photography at www.mtsphotography.zenfolio.com and don't forget to add me on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook

More Fish in the Sea

Most of you know that despite my passion for photography and my growing photography business, I have yet to give up the full-time day job with the steady paycheck.  I've been with my company over 4 years now, and have made some good friends in the process.  One of them is Cesar - he works in our Customer Service department with me.

Cesar has been divorced for a few years now and has decided to take the plunge back into the dating pool.  We share a camaraderie in regard to his method of choice for dating - online personals (for those of you that don't know, that's how Jeff and I found each other).  He's had a profile ad on a dating website called "Fish in the Sea" as well as eHarmony, too.  We've shared many stories about crazy people, weird emails and pictures people send, no-shows to planned dates, and of course, making sure you get the all-important escape call 45 minutes into a date in case you need to make up an excuse to leave.  I'd like to take a quick moment here and thank everyone that helped me with my escape calls during my dating days.

He's been really disappointed in the responses he's been getting and was feeling a little down about it.  He actually is looking for a serious committed relationship, and those weren't the type of people he was getting responses to his ad from.  I had casually offered to take a nice profile picture for him to use on his ad and he jumped at the opportunity to have a "pro" take his picture for him to use online.  I snapped a few quick pictures at lunch one day, and here is what turned out to be not only my favorite image, but Cesar's as well.

He told me the exciting news today - he put the photo up on his ad around 6:30 last night, and by 8pm he had 4 responses!  Not only that, but the next day he got 5 more!  It made me so happy to hear that my image is helping him move forward in the quest to what will hopefully be his future wife.

A professional image will really help drive traffic to your online profile, website, or business!  I can create the perfect image that will reflect you and your genuine personality, using my skills and experience to create just the right look.  Contact me now for special pricing for online personal ad photo sessions!  I even can provide a make-up artist and hair stylist for an additional fee!


As always, see more of my photography at www.mtsphotography.zenfolio.com and don't forget to add me on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook

Prom Season!

Yep, 'tis the season for Prom!  I was so excited when Erin asked me to come take pics for her before prom at her friend Jessica's house.  Something other than horses to take pictures of, hooray!  I've known Erin for many years now, going all the way back to when we all boarded at Tower Hill Stables, then it was Indian Hills.  I remember the days of Erin in pigtail braids riding her little pony LaLa and proclaiming she was never going to grow up so she would never outgrow her pony.

Mother nature did not agree with Erin's proclamation and she has indeed grown up, riding full-size horses now and even has a boyfriend! Time really does fly right by if you don't pay attention.  I had so much fun meeting Stuart, Erin's boyfriend, who eagerly told me that they had been dating for 4 months when I asked.  Jessica and Patrick were so much fun as well - although it took Patrick a little bit to warm up to the idea of pictures, I think by the end, he was enjoying himself.

Both ladies were beautiful in their dresses, and despite the heels and attire, were more then willing to go along with some of my ideas and sit on the porch, as well as head into the backyard to sit on the swingset.  We really lucked out that the weather cooperated and the light sprinkle stopped long enough for us to get pictures done.  Here are a couple of my favorites from the session!

You can see more of their prom pictures in a slideshow by clicking HERE
As always, see more of my photography at www.mtsphotography.zenfolio.com and don't forget to add me on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook