Frog on your head

A young girl from the Institute for the Deaf performs at a recent event.

Jazz singer

Elizabeth performs at a local bar, that's her father in the background who plays the guitar.

Her smile lights up the room

Winter's blanket

Molly's Hope Chest

Here's a hope chest I recently made for Molly. It's made from Bubinga, Walnut, long leaf Pine.

Rainbow swing

Volunteer of the Year

Celebration

Flag Man

I love his expression and the way he's holding the American flag after taking it down in front of a building.

Maya

Reflection

Love of art

I could tell from this woman's expression how much she and her friend loved art at a recent Art Museum opening.

chess board

Here's my lastest woodworking project. I made the chess board for friend in Omaha from Tiger Maple and Magore veener with a Walnut frame that included a small inlay of maple and walnut.

snowy seat

Valentine

Valentine day portrait of a young couple in love.

Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis

Last weekend I toured the Cathedral in St. Louis, it has the most amazing mosaics which were started in 1912 and completed in 1988. Over 41 million pieces of glass created by over 20 different artists.

Lincoln Birthday

In memory of Lincoln's 200th birthday, the Lincoln Memorial in Washington is one of the most beautiful monuments in DC.

Madonna

A statue of Madonna at the Sisters of St. Joseph mother house from 1840's. I love the setting with the stain glass, I added a strobe on the left side to improve the lighting on the statue.

inauguration traffic jam

I have never seen so many people than in Washington for the inauguration. Even the interstate was used to transport people into the capital grounds. Although we didn't get into the inauguration it was an unbelievable experience. Look for the arrow in the aerial to see where we were.

Ice Crystals

When shooting an event I noticed these beautiful ice crystals on a window. They didn't show up against a light colored background but really pop when I put a black background behind the window.

Christmas reaction

Christmas is such as great time of year. I love Molly's reaction to Katie opening her gift Christmas morning. Priceless.

Colorado

Jim on top of Arapahoe Pass near Eldora Colorado looks out at the 14,000 foot Rocky Mountain Peaks to the west. What a spectacular view of almost 180 degrees.

Halloween

Here's the pumpkin I carved for Halloween. I like the eye lashes which I used a drill to make the cuts.

Oldest Burr Oak tree in State

This Burr Oak tree, just off the Katy Trail near Columbia, is over 300 years old and it all started from a small acorn.

Bosnia woman

I shot pictures at a center for victims of the Bosnian war. I could tell from this woman's eyes that life has not been easy for her.

Maple leaves

I love fall and in particular red maple trees because of their terrific color.

Portrait of Nun

Balancing flash fill with the background blue sky so that it looks natural can be tricky. Sometimes I think the light from a softbox works best and other times I like a harder more direct light.

Photos of my woodworking

Several people ask me to post some woodworking projects I have made. At first I hesitated since this is a photo blog, but I did shoot the photos of the items. Woodworking is a craft much like photography. It takes time to perfect your skills, it takes patience, a sense of color, design, harmony, etc. Anyway I made a vaniety for a new bathroom from Cherry. The book stand I made last year for a client in Columbia who gave it as a gift to his wife. It's made from walnut, the top is a walnut burl and the center post I used a process called bent wood lamination. I made the inlay using contrasting wood. The fish handles were for kitchen cabinets I made for my brother-in-laws' cabin on a lake in Ely, MN. The different colors are all natural from different wood species.

Colorado @ KU

The French photographer Cartier-Bresson published a book titled 'The Decisive Moment' in 1952. It's a photographic principle where all the elements of a photograph come together in a split second. And it's critical in sports photography.

Emotion of high school sports

I played football in high school growing up in Kansas City and when I was there last weekend I thought it would be fun to shoot a high school game. The thing that struck me was the emotion of the players. Here Blue Valley North players were so excited about beating Bishop Miege that they rocked their bus after the game.

St. Louis Arch

St. Louis Arch photos shot at sunset in downtown St.Louis. The Arch was constructed in 1965, is 630 feet high and made of stainless steel. It represents the 'gateway to the west' and is a thing of beauty. The other thing of beauty is Katie.

Kujenga

Shooting in a dark meeting room with boring backgrounds her face just lit up the room at an African American Catholic Youth Leadership Conference. I added strobe light to the room but did it so the lighting looks natural.

Spaghetti kid

Aiden loves spaghetti but only if he can eat it one piece at a time. I wanted to capture his wonderful expression during dinner.

Belle

'Belle' is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and Cocker mix she looks like 'Lady' in 'Lady and the Tramp'.

School Principal

Sister Gail is principal of an elementary school in St. Louis and is at the center of everything in the school. For the portrait I setup a strobe with a grid spot to light just her face with a slow shutter to capture the blur of students around her.

Homesick

Jeanne homesick while riding a train in Europe

Wedding dancer

I shot this photo at a recent wedding. I used a slow shutter speed with the flash set to fire on the second curtain while I rotated the camera during the exposure.

Kiwi fruit

Kiwi is a beautiful fruit