More Flood Updates

Sorry no time to Photoshop images!!

Valley City Flood '09 North Dakota

This was a street next to the Hospital.

These poor people - I hear that they'll lose their house to the river. They are fighting - we are praying.

Flood '09

Covering all the Manholes on my street! Makes me nervous - gulp.

Road closed signs are EVERYWHERE!!!!

Dykes are built on both ends of every bridge in town.

Foot Bridge at VCSU surrunded by Sandbag Dykes and covered by water.

Valley City Flood

Flooding has begun here in Valley City, North Dakota. These are Pics with out any Photoshop - I just wanted to get them out.

National Guard is out in Force.Market Place Foods surrounded by a Brand New Dyke! As is Mercy Hospital. Oh Mercy!

I Lost my HAT

My hat. It's gone. I am so-o-o bummed out. Being a guy with a smooth head - no hair on top at all - I NEED a hat. In the summer I need one to protect me from Melanoma. In fall and winter months - it keeps my melon warm... and that feels so good.

Winter in the upper mid-west can be a painful experience. It is exponentially so when you are missing the natural insulation that God provided for our heads. Mine is gone - like my hat.

About 15 years ago, -I still had a fairly full head of hair at the time - I was at a department store closing sale, with my beautiful wife Kristi and her mother. Everything was being totally clearanced out. You could even buy their mirrors off the walls, which my mother-in-law did.

I was walking around, wandering actually. When I saw this really cool hat. No one was wearing hats like this , other than old men. I really wanted that hat. I showed it to Kristi and her mom.

Kristi thought it was okay - but no big deal. Her mom said "it's a Pendleton, that is a very good brand"... She knows quality.

Being very, very generous - like you would not believe - she took the hat and threw it into her cart, and bought it for me.

I tried wearing it on occasion - but it was too tight. It hurt. I often wished that my head were smaller, but I was blessed with thick hair and a big head.
I would take it out occasionaly for photo shoots, but it usually just sat in the coat closet. We longed to be together.

One day I realized that my hair was not as thick as it once was, and needed to come off. In doing so I discovered a couple of things. Bald guys need hats, and my hat size had shrunk. My Pendelton hat became a part of me, for eight years. This winter I never left home with out it. I even wore it in the house on very cold nights while working on my computer.

Unfortunately I lost it in Fargo, ND. It was a very, very cold day. I wore it into one grocery store. I had it on when I pumped gas. Thank God.


However, when I was about to put it on to load a bunch of groceries at the next store - it was gone. My head was so-o-o cold, that I felt like it was going to implode.

I've since searched everywhere for it - but have had no luck.

My head is cold - I miss my Pendleton. They don't seem to make that style any longer. I've been checking out eBay - to no avail.

In honor of the Pendleton hat I loved - I give you a memorial shoot - taken in the Lincoln Memorial, in Washington, DC. Fortunately I did this shoot about 2 months before I lost my hat. It was to be a tradition where ever we travel, and I happen to find just the right light.

Global Warming? HA!

I gotta tell you if you are a big Global warming fan - you have not been in my front yard lately. We have piles of snow up to 7 feet high and 9 foot long icicles. The temperature plummeted to 24 below F - with a wind chill of 45 below. That is just painfully cold. Warm it is not.

Check out these untouched (not photoshopped at all) pics. This is why we are seriously considering relocating to North Carolina!!!! The sooner the better.

We saw a FOX

A couple of days ago, we had the pleasure of seeing my brother from Helsinki, Finland, for a few hours. We were on on our way back from Chicago, and he was on his way home from Canada. It was a joyous reunion at our relatives home in Minneapolis.

While there, my beautiful wife, Kristi looked out their kitchen window and pointed out a fox passing through their back yard! Wow! We were all so surprised. We watched as it ran towards a neighbors retaining wall and then suddenly pounced into their front yard. Our host Mike suggested that I might be able to catch a view of the fox if I went out their front door. He figured that it may be crossing the street.

Even better. It was eating the critter that it had just killed when it pounced. I approached slowly. I pointed my trusty Canon DSLR, feeling pretty stealthy. Then I took a shot and my flash went off - oops it was still on from some indoor shooting. The fox lifted his(or her) head and made full eye contact with me.

He struck a couple of poses - just like a professional model. I felt like a wildlife photographer. I moved in closer. He stayed put.

The light post made me feel like I was in Narnia. I was just getting ready to make some polite conversation with this guy - like King Peter did - after all the fox was on their side. I moved a step closer and he bent down to grab his kill. He ran off as fast as could be. Either he was not a talking fox - or he was selfish and wanted his little bunny all to himself.

Bye Bye little fox.

Looking at this last image - I now understand why Big Foot is always hard to recognize in photos.

Last Minute Wedding Shoot

I had a blast shooting on this very very VERY cold, cold, -c-c-c-c-old winter day. North Dakota in December is painfully chilled. Randy & Lisa were such good sports, their parents were so cool and their Sibs were great. It was a pleasure to hang out with them and develop friendships.

Lisa's mom Donna told me of so many people who are singing my praises for doing this gig. I was actually a last minute stand in. The groom's aunt was supposed to be shooting the entire event. Fortunately for me - not so much for her - she got snowed in at home and could not make the trip. I just happened to have the weekend free. Had it been the previous weekend I'da been in Pensylvania, or the following would have found me in Chicago. It worked out for me and the happy couple. They were thrilled and speechless that I was willing to jump in with just 18 hours notice. We had never met before the shoot began. It worked out smashingly and we ALL fell in love.

Thanks Randy & Lisa, and Donna, Steve & Julie, Pastor and Mrs. Knight, and to everyone else who made this a cold and snowy event to remember. I was warmed by y'all! Hope to see you all in North Carolina.

See more at http://www.gjerme.com/

Jewlery Photography

I was contacted this week by a jewelry company about shooting 500 pieces for their business.

They will be using them for both their catalog and for their web-site. It has been years since I shot Jewels, the last time being when I was employed by mail order giant Fingerhut. That was a great place to work - it was a phenomenal learning ground. We shot every thing from Vacuums to entire room sets, and built the sets -with the help of the official set builders.

Well this company needed some samples of jewelry. So this is what I sent them. My difficulty is that I was approached through a site where I bid on freelance gigs, and you do not know what the companies style is or what exactly they are looking for... or who they are.
I hope they like what they see -'cause I have no idea what their photography usually looks like.

I personally like the pearls and this last shot - they just have a little more emotion to them.

It has been a Month of Technology Disasters

Well Last time that I Blogged I had just gotten my Dell Laptop. I purchased it online from an eBay Vendor CSR Technologies. I got the computer for a great price, and I was quite excited to have two computers finally. It was great whilst it lasted.

Then after about 3 weeks my laptop gave up the ghost. I was so-o-o upset. I called a neighbor who is in the Tech biz. He came over, checked it all out. That took a good part of a Saturday afternoon. His conclusion - either a corrupted file or the hard drive was shot. He suggested getting the disk to Re-load my operating system that way I'd know one way or the other.

The following Monday, I called my Warranty provider... I figured that I had purchased that Guarantee for peace of mind, so why not use it. The best part was that I could do it online, no need to deal with those ridiculous phone menus - "Please press 1 for English, press 2 for Spanish, press 3 for a person on the same continent as you, press 4..." well you know exactly what I mean.

I had never had to use any warranty protection before, so I was glad to have the chance to make up for all those other wasted purchases of peace of mind. I logged on to the Square Trade site. Filled out all the information and got the message - Claim Denied. WHAT!? I'd only purchased the warranty 3 weeks ago. There musta been a mistake. I tried again - the system blocked my attempt to try again. Well, I could always call their customer support line and use the awesome phone menu.

I went through all the options, pressed a dozen numbers, listened to umpteen messages and then got put on hold. Fortunately I was able to spend some time listening to some soothing music over the phone while I waited.

Finally I got to speak to a very friendly sounding dude, who promptly told me that there was NO MISTAKE! I had purchased a used computer, those warranties don't kick in 'til after 60 days had passed. Oh, thanks for the update. I told him that no one had told me that when they so eagerly sold me the "Peace of Mind". Actually, he told me, it is stated in the agreement where you clicked the I Accept button at the time of purchase.

I love these people.

I figured that my next option was to call the company that I bought the laptop from - CRS Technologies. I did this and they put me through to a very helpful man named Paul who spent as much time as I needed trying to determine the problem. His diagnosis: likely a corrupted file.
He said that he would quickly send me a set of disks to re-install operating system. Thank you Paul - that was very nice of you. He also stated that if that didn't work, that he would do what it took to make my computer work. WOW! Customer Services lives!!

Eight days later - I was still waiting for my disks. I figured that Paul had either forgotten to mail them or was giving me the brush off. I shot him off a quick email - he responded stating that he'd get a new set in the mail - sending them Priority this time. He also said that he was surprised that the disks hadn't gotten to me yet - he had sent them.

The next day I got my disks - two sets on the same day. One took 9 days because it was sent by Media, the other less than 24 hours because it was sent by Priority.

After that long wait, I spent a whole day loading the operating system - it failed three times. So I gave up at 3:00 am, and went to bed. First, I shot off an email to CRS Technology, explained the entire scenario.

Paul responded and told me that a new hard drive was on its way to me. I received it yesterday, installed it and believe it or not, it worked. Thanks again Paul! I was very happy with the results and would recommend that anyone looking for a good Laptop or four - should definitely bid on them at CRS Technologies site. They sell great products and give customer service a good name.

Technology - Love it but...

So I have been slightly lax in my Blog postings as of late. Why you ask? Great question. It's about technology. I love it, but I am also so-o-o very dependant upon it that when there is a glitch, I'm kinda like stuck.

My computer crashed sometime with-in the last week and a half. Ouch that hurts! It just went black and never came back. I exhausted my entire personal computer knowledge base, which consists of pressing buttons, turning off the surge protector and unplugging it while slowly counting to 25 (which equals almost a minute). I did this about 30 or 40 times, a few of my kids gave it a try - but to no avail - still no start.

The first thing that I did was to call the wise guy who custom built this box for me. I called - the phone just rang... no answering machine. I called, and called, and called. It rang, and rang, and rang, My wife asked why it is that there are so many business in this town who have no answering machine... especially a very busy tech type dude. I mean he has ear rings, tattoos and other post mod trappings - why not a little box to leave a message in.

I drove to his cool little shop on Main St. The door was locked - which was understandable since it was lunch time. I also remembered that he did have a contract with a local hospital which took up a couple of days a week. The last time I was at his shop I had seen his hours and a cell phone number listed on a sign. I couldn't see them on the doors or windows. Maybe it was on his big sign above his building.

Since it is extremely cold, I got into my snazzy passanger van and drove accross the street so I could write down his cell number. After parking so that I could get a clear view of his building and sign, I noticed somthing strange. His sign that was there a few days ago was now GONE!!!! I didn't throw a fit.. cause I'm a grown up with kids. I drove to his lot and got out, empty building.

I drove around downtown to see if I could spot his new location. I asked a few local business owners - they had no idea where he vanished to Chanber of Commerce - no help either. Hmph!?

I then thought about googleing to locate another local Computer genius. That didn't work with out a computer. So I did something that I rarely ever do. I cracked open the yellow pages and searched. I called every computer guy in the book and found that most did NOT have answering machines. 2 did and only one returned my call - he was at least twice the price of another guy that I found and liked right off the bat.

I liked him because he answered his phone and talked to me. He asked me questions. He didn't jump to conclusions - so I took it to him. Jesse @ 701-320-2952. Jesse called me back at 7:30 pm and said that it would be almost as cheap to buy a new one as it would be to replace all the inferior parts that my former guru used when he built the old one. Gr-r-r.

So as I am awaiting the arrival of my new laptop - I am using the computer that is allocated for family/personal use. I will not load any photos on this unit - thus you have no images to accompany this posting. Fortunately Jesse was able to recover most of my data. I'll not be starting from scratch when I get the new one up and running.

Technology - can't live with out it... can't shoot it.

Girls Ball/Dance

My four girls, Abigail, Solveig, Gwenna & Bryn decided to have a ball for the whole family last evening. It has been to-o-o-o-o cold to even consider going outside. We're talking deadly and painful cold.

We homeschool all of our kids - at least the ones from 2 (Bryn just started pre-school) to 13. Because of this they often have fairly free afternoons. This gave them time... They planned and rehearsed, made and delivered invitations for the 3 boys and Kristi and Myself.

The time was scheduled for 6:30 sharp (it actually started at 6:48). I was told by Gwenna (4 years) that I would need to wear Handsomer clothes in the evening.

It was to be a formal affair. And it was grand!

Abigail directed and choreographed the event - she even gave Bryn some areal spinning.

There was twirling and spinning and jumping. Solveig (6 years) was very graceful and fluid - as if she had years of training.

Arms were lifted in the air - and other fancy moves by Bryn (2 years).

They were truly dazzling.

Gwenna is always a real showboat, and a great preformer. Like her father she likes to be the center of attention, and is a bit of a goofballl.

I was very excited to try some new lens attachments and experiment with them.

We had a beautiful blazing fire, built by the boys. It was very much needed by all, on the coldest night in years.

Kristi baked a Banana Chiffon cake. Needless to say it was a hit both at the party and later for a bed time treat.
Thank you ladies for the FUN evening. You made this long cold winter a little bit warmer.

Finally My NEW Web Site - click here

Well, after months of planning and thinking and deliberation - I have finally launched my Website. All good things come to those who wait.

I am very excited at the results. Often things look good in our minds but not so much in reality. This outcome is the opposite. I'm thrilled. Really!

If you check it out, you'll see more images of the Bride in Red, and many other images of many other people. You'll hear some funky music, which you can shut off if it drives you crazy. I love photography sites with music. My sister-in-law, Mary on the other hand hates them.

Thank God we are all different. I may post more images of Ashley in her RED wedding gown - if I get enough requests. What a cool Christmas wedding!

Check it out Baby!

Martha Stewart Knows Her Stuff

Why would a man, especially one who looks like I do in my profile photo, write about Martha Stewart? Why would I read a book entitled "The Martha Rules"?!

Why indeed? The number one reason is the sub-title:
"10 ESSENTIALS FOR ACHIEVING SUCCESS AS YOU START, OR MANAGE A BUSINESS".

It drew me in. As a photographer, I am both an artist and a business owner. Anyone who runs a business MUST constantly be improving, and building on their knowledge base.

I make it a habit to read, research and study. I strive to hone, both my photography skills and my understanding of business and what it takes to be the best. Success demands that we never rest on our past accomplishments.

Martha is an authority on being the best... her book convinced me! she really understands not only home- making, but the entrepreneurial spirit and offering above-average service.

This book is what I am about as a wedding photographer. It is about quality, passion, big ideas, taking risks; not chances and... "Make it Beautiful".

That's what it is all about, especially in the art of the wedding photography business. We make it beautiful. We take an already lovely bride, and through composition, lighting, unique angles, correct focus, capturing just the right mood & emotion - we make her even more Beautiful!

In all that I do as a Wedding Photographer - my goal is Beauty. Make it beautiful and offer quality finished products that are not available to the average person.

I have read this book and was so inspired by it, that I'll definitely read it through a few times in this New Year!

What to look for in a Wedding Photographer

Wedding Photography - it's about the passion, it's about the emotion, it's about that special look, it's the way you touch, the way you laugh together,it's about you and only you.

No two couples have the exact same relationship - there are unique and intimate qualities that no one else will ever posess.

A good wedding photographer is able to capture some posed moments that record what you look like - but not who you really are. A truly GREAT wedding photographer is able to see beyond the surface - to transcend the standard trite poses and capture your relationship as it is.

It's about you - a newly formed couple - what makes you unique - what makes you smile, laugh, dance, sing and play? This is what a GREAT wedding photographer is able to intuitively discover and record for you - your families - your friends - your bridal party - your children.

The real, intimate, passionate, love- filled you.

Don't settle for good: expect GREAT!

Your wedding - it's your story - be very particular about who's telling it!