shot free

Micrography...my new endeavor

2012-01-26T14:25:00.000-08:00

A graduate student here at EIU contacted me about taking some photos of his research. Initially we wanted to just get some macro shots of these droplets which he studies.

The macro shots worked okay, but inside of these droplets there are some cells moving around that he studies and does sciencey stuff with. After asking around, we found that the Biology department has a microscope with a camera adapter that we could use. AWESOME!!!

Since seeing this post on the Atlantic inFocus blog I have been very interested in making images like this and as a test I was able to get a photo of this fruit fly at 90x.

Luckily for me there are lots of students and faculty that are wanting pictures of their research and my boss has decided to let me run with it for a bit. I am very excited about the possibilities and new opportunities this will open for me.

We came up with this time-lapse of the cell movement in one of the droplets that we hope to share with other students and scientists across the country who are doing similar research. It really reminds me of something celestial when viewed at this magnification and at such a fast speed.

Flock of crows

2011-12-21T11:49:00.000-08:00

I'm no expert, but I've never seen crows gather in these numbers before. My hope is to find them in a large group when I'm more prepared with some longer glass and see what I can get. It's kind of creepy, but I like it.

Here's to daylight saving time

2011-11-28T14:18:00.000-08:00

I can't stand the fact that it gets dark so early these days, but at least it makes for some decent sunsets for the drive home...when I leave on time.

Planes, trains and automobiles

2011-11-08T12:26:00.000-08:00

In the course of a few days I flew in a powered parachute to get some aerial photos (more on those later), visited a train museum with the family and got my Jeep out of the shop. Hectic, but fun.

Hussey Wedding | Charleston, IL

2011-11-04T19:59:00.000-07:00

It was so nice having two weddings that were local. In fact, both receptions were at the WalkWay which is blocks from my home. A huge perk after a long day shooting.

Nicole and Ben were a delightful couple and excellent sports. This wedding was back in July and they had no problems keeping up with my ideas and changing locations despite the sweltering weather. I sweat so much in fact that I had to stop home from a quick rinse and change of clothes. Yeah I work that hard for my clients.

The stained glass was out for cleaning at St. Charles Borromeo Church so we had a unique opportunity to make photos in there with much more light then there usually is.

The D.J. had a strobe light at the reception which I had to force myself to stop messing with.

Two weddings in a row with hand stands at the receptions. I love it.

Richter Wedding | Windsor, IL

2011-11-04T18:09:00.000-07:00

I'm a bit behind on sharing my photography on the old blog, but hope to catch up in the next few weeks. Wedding season has been wonderful and all of my clients have been great. Lindsey and Ben were no exception and were a blast to hang out with and photograph for the day.

And this is why I stay late at wedding receptions...

High Art | Doudna Fine Arts Center, Charleston, IL

2011-09-15T12:22:00.000-07:00

A while back I was asked by UMAC here at Eastern Illinois University to grab a few photos of the High Art performers which was a real treat to watch and shoot. Access was great and I was even allowed to shoot from 'the grid' for a little bit which was thrilling to say the least.

Initially I was just supposed to photograph them prepping for the show, but that was a lot of standing around and adjusting the lighting.

So, I arranged to go back later at night to shoot the dress rehearsal which was really cool to see. Being an artistic kind of performance, I thought I would give myself a little latitude in playing with the light and getting the weird kind of shots that I tend to be drawn to.

More shots...

Schissel Wedding | Edwardsville, IL

2011-09-14T11:05:00.000-07:00

Wedding season has been busier than ever which has meant a lot of travel and weekends away, but it's good to be busy. This wedding was the result of a referral from another Edwardsville wedding last year. Proof that hard work and making relationships can pay off.

I keep repeating this, but Hope and Todd were a great couple to work for. Really fun and laid back and just a great couple to get to know and be around for the day.

Super-stud photo phriend, Colin McAuliffe joined me on the job since he was in the area and bored. I take any chance I can get to hang with Colin so it was great to have him along for the day. Colin, if you're reading this, I still need your address so I can send you some of that film.

Jeñatë Wedding - Indiana

2011-07-29T20:27:00.000-07:00

Two words can sum Jen and Nate's Indiana wedding. Tank Baller. They are both really cool people and I knew their wedding would be a cool mix of tradition and their own uber-fun personalities.

I was teamed up with EIU Rugby legend Molli Klutter for the shooting on the day which was great since I didn't have to be running back and forth so much. Besides, two sets of eyes are better than one.

So I got to hang out with the ladies before the ceremony which was officiated by my man, Padre JT (aka Father John Titus), who also proceeded over mine and Jill's wedding. A really cool guy.

I think they might be in love...

So anyway, it was a great day with really acomodating people at a beautiful Church in a cool area near a lake. That was all amazing, but the reception was a total blast. Rather than going the more traditional route of renting out a reception hall, Jen and Nate decided to host the reception on her family's farm in this great big tent. Although it rained for a little bit early on, that didn't hamper anybody's spirits and the rain actually cooled it down some which was nice. It was just really cool seeing two people doing something their way, keeping it simple, and everyone involved having a great time.

There were too many neat and fun details to mention. Let's just say I was kind of in photo heaven.

And there were a few cute kids too.

I thought this sequence of images was pretty funny and kind of summed up just how much fun everyone had...well not everyone had quite as much fun as Mario.

Yeah there was seriously some crowd surfing going on at the reception. What else could I ask for?

bugs and flowers

2011-07-20T13:28:00.001-07:00

I've been swamped lately with work (both at EIU and with my photography biz) and haven't really had much of a chance to shoot anything for fun.

Anyway, here are a few photos of some bugs and flowers that I've recently took just for the hell of it. No assignment, client or agenda.

Location:4th St,Charleston,United States

Getting high on the job

2011-07-14T18:33:00.000-07:00

Baller designer and EIU social media queen Christy Kilgore with theUniversity Marketing and Communications department wanted an aerial photo of the Gothic Revival administrative building, Old Main, here on campus and I was the lucky one who she asked to take it. I had a phone number saved for a powered parachute company in the area and thought that would be the best way to get the shot since they can fly at a lower altitude and slow speed.

Larry Annis is a great pilot with over a decade of experience and he had just as much fun as I did flying over campus and around Coles County. At only $70/hour it's totally worth it and something I'll definitely keep in mind down the road.

What might seem banal from the ground can be beautiful from above and getting that unique perspective is really exciting to me. Although I'm no George Steimetz, I think I was able to get some interesting photos and hope that there is another flight in my near future.

Being July there is a good deal of haze to deal with from the humidity, but it gave a sort of mystical feel to the background. Another trip in fall would probably be a good idea for the crisper air and purdy colors on the trees.

Special thanks to UMAC for sending me up (especially for paying for it) and to Larry Annis for being such a cool pilot.

More shots...

Engagement session: Jennifer and Matt (plus Keely) - Lincoln Log Cabin

2011-06-29T18:18:00.000-07:00

I got to satisfy my strange obsession with grasses during an engagement session with Jennifer and Matt out at the Lincoln Log Cabin in Lerna, Illinois. Jennifer and Matt were great about everything and I really appreciate their willingness to put up with scratchy legs from walking through the tall grass for a few shots. They even trusted me with the ring for a few minutes in the prairie!

Along for the shoot was Jennifer's adorable daughter Keely who had fun picking flowers and running around.

I'm really looking forward to their wedding at Fox Ridge State Park, one of my other favorite local spots.

Engagement session: Kim and Colin - Fox Ridge State Park

2011-06-28T18:05:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of hanging out with Colin and Kim for an engagement session at Fox Ridge state park. They are a really fun and adventurous couple that were down for pretty much anything I could think of at the park including, but not limited to hiking trails, climbing into trees, rowing in a boat and walking through forest vegetation. I really hope neither of them got poison ivy. Their wedding should be a fun one.

All in the Family: Morgan and Shawn - Louisville, Kentucky

2011-06-21T18:05:00.000-07:00

I had the honor and pleasure of shooting Jill's cousin's wedding in Kentucky and it was a lovely weekend away. I've only met Morgan and Shawn a few times and I'm glad we got to spend a lot of time together and get to know each other better over the weekend.

As Morgan pointed out, being with the couple on this hectic and important day elevates my relationship with thm to a new level in hyperspeed. There is a lot of trust that goes into letting a person photograph you during intimate moments and I am grateful that people keep letting me into their lives.

Everything started out pretty standard with preparations in the morning. Morgan and Shawn were really laid back as I anticipated and it was kind of relaxing hanging out.

With an outdoor ceremony planned at the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary things got a little pensive as some storm clouds rolled in.

Rain looked like it was a sure thing, but everyone decided to go forward with the ceremony. I thought the clouds coming in on the garden-court looked amazing in the photos and although it did end up raining, the ceremony was still beautiful and memorable.

After a few group photos outside, it was on to dinner in the rooms at the seminary that reminded me more of a palace.

Every detail was immaculate and the photos seemed to give a painterly feel because of classic decore and yellow light mixed with window light.

Then it was back to the Kavanaugh House that Morgan's parents, Uncle Dan and Aunt Kay, own which was some family and friends hanging out in the back yard listening to music. A long weekend, but a great time.

Family photo shoot on campus

2011-06-07T05:47:00.000-07:00

Pat Beaulieu from worked asked me to take some family photos for her and so we took a few on campus despite the cicada infestation here in Charleston, Illinois. There are so many cool places on campus that I could have shot with them all day, but once the heat of the day started to become unbearable my subjects decided to call it. Still a fun couple hours though.

Some of the family members had different tastes in photos. Some wanted that vintage feel and others wanted sepia or black and white so it was nice to provide a little variety for them.

BRING ME PETER PAN!

2011-06-06T18:30:00.000-07:00

After photographing the EIU Dancers for workmate/dance coach Antoine Thomas he was asked to shoot some photos of the dancers from the DanceLife Center in their performance of Peter Pan. This brought back some serious nostalgia for me since I was an extra in a Peter Pan production that my sister was in when we were kids for which my Dad built an awesome ship out of cardboard that was a pretty big hit from what I remember.

Anyway, this gig is a little different than usual. Rather than an upfront cost, my commission is coming in the form of print sales, hence the watermarks. So, we'll see how that goes.

The performance was on the same stage as the EIU Dancers; I was surprised and impressed with how professional the whole production came together especially for there being such a range of expertise and age groups.

I also did some lit photos of everyone in the troupe.

The trip down memory lane didn't end with me filling in as an extra, but also sparked some memories of going to see 'Hook' with my Papa Charlie at the theater. I can remember running around the parking lot trying to fly after the movie.

rain, rain, go away...just long enough for a wedding

2011-06-06T17:41:00.000-07:00

My second wedding of the year was in nearby Altamont at the Ballard Nature Center. Outdoor weddings are always great, but the weather did not seem to want to cooperate on this day. With a steady rain all day, the wedding party was a little stressed out early on in the morning because they really wanted to have the ceremony outdoors.

But then the skies parted for a few hours and everyone was happy.

The groom and his crew were all wearing these great full brim hats that I was kind of obsessed with photographing throughout the day. The hats and suits just kind of gave that cool timeless feel and I had fun with that.

So anyway, since the rain was pretty steady all morning they were going to plan b which was in the basement of the nature center, but once things cleared up (about forty minutes before the ceremony) they got the chairs set up out side and had a wonderful wedding out on a dock.

After a little bar hoping in Effingham, it was back to the reception hall when it started to rain again. They couldn't have scripted it any better and got so lucky with the weather.

Ashley and Justin were a super fun couple to hang out with and their bridal party kept me in stitches all day with endless movie quotes. Here's to them and to a wedding season which should prove to be full of more adventures.

IHSA Boys finals

2011-06-02T14:37:00.000-07:00

Stopeed in for a few photos of the IHSA Boys State Track and Field finals, but the rain kind of put a hamper on things. I did enjoy shooting pole vault in the Fieldhouse though and liked the look of the industrial kind of ceiling and the big, repetitive lights that kind of formed a runway.

Continuing the tradition

2011-05-23T14:41:00.000-07:00

I think I've shot the IHSA State Track and Field competition for the past five years and was asked to head up there this year just to grab a few photos to show what's going on here on campus. Shooting for the paper (or several papers) is a completely different experience having to deal with deadlines and tracking down the right athletes.

This was basically just eye candy and the state track meet has plenty of it. Brightly colored uniforms, layers, lines and the bright blue EIU track make it a fun event to shoot, but trying to concentrate can be difficult with so much going on. Anyway, this weekend was the girls and next weekend the boys. I've got a few things in mind so we'll see how it goes.

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The old compose and wait technique

2011-05-06T08:43:00.000-07:00

On my way to the coffee stand at the university union I saw a photo that I wanted to get. So after snagging a snack, I grabbed my camera and waited for two scenes to happen. The first was of this Pepsi delivery truck. Nothing special, but it was just something I saw and wanted to get. So basically you compose a scene the way you want and then wait for something to happen in the frame. It's something that I've been trying to do more ever since I listened to Sam Abell talk about it at Geekfest. In this case I was able to take a high angle of the truck and just had to wait for the delivery guy to complete the frame.

While I was up there, I also noticed some cool lines and layers going on with this walkway and waited until someone walked through it. I would have preferred the Pepsi guy with a cart full of colorful bottles, but he went the other way.

Evan and Mindy kick off my wedding season

2011-05-04T17:19:00.000-07:00

My first of many weddings this season was very mellow and went very smooth thanks to an incredibly cool and relaxed couple. I got into the small town of Flora a few hours early to scout some locations and I had a pretty tasty catfish lunch at Grandma's kitchen which is as cozy as it sounds.

Evan and Mindy decided to get married at the historic and recently renovated train depot in town which was an amazing venue.

Evan is a volunteer firefighter so the getaway vehicle was this killer antique fire engine which I rode on garbage man style hanging off the side. Little did I know that I was in for a ride around town when I thought we were just going a few blocks away. Still a fun ride nonetheless.

A great way to kick off the wedding season.

Smiles, high fives and hugs

2011-05-02T13:19:00.000-07:00

I was asked to head out and get a few photos of the Special Olympics held at O'Brien Stadium here at EIU. This was probably the fourth or fifth time I've shot the event and it's always fun making photos of the athletes having a genuinely great time competing.

The Newest Grabiec

2011-05-01T14:30:00.000-07:00

Jill is pregnant again and I got to go to the doctor's office with her today on what was her second appointment. They were able to measure and give us an estimated due date of November 15th.

The weirdest thing is, that about a month before Jill and I even knew she was pregnant, Hunter told Jill that she had a baby in her stomach. Pretty smart kid. He wants a brother or sister so I guess his wishful thinking (or psychic powers) worked.

Papa Charlie's Italian voodoo said that we were going to be having twin girls, but the doctor only saw one fetus in there, but I'll be sure to keep everyone posted with updates throughout.

Blood, sweat and gears takes third in SIEA

2011-04-30T09:37:00.000-07:00

Last summer I photographed Brandon Stuckey as he built his demolition derby machine and then as he destroyed it at the Cumberland County fair. He was a great guy to hang out with who is obviously loved and respected by the demo derby community which is a group of people who really enjoy what they do and have some great stories of their own.

Anyway, the project won third place in the Southern Illinois Editorial Association for Best Photo Essay.

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Headshots

2011-04-28T09:49:00.000-07:00

I was asked to shoot some actor head shots for a friend of a friend which isn't something that I normally do, but thought it might be fun. When I told the wife about it, she was thinking something along the lines of Ethan Tremblay in 'Due Date', but I was thinking more along the lines of Liz O. Baylen or Damon Winters who do some really inspiring celebrity portraiture.

Not having access to strobes I had to rely on natural light mostly so we headed to the Doudna Fine Arts Center here on EIU's campus which has windows, sky lights and mirrors everywhere which makes for some interesting light.

Here's a few favorites.

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Ugly egg eating fish

2011-04-25T07:57:00.000-07:00

I talked about this before, but I have a few angelfish in the aquarium at my house that keep laying eggs, but before they get a change to hatch, the eggs keep on getting eaten.

I thought these ugly plecostomus only ate algae, but after doing some research I found that they were probably the ones who have been eating the angelfish eggs. So, I bagged them up and brought them to the pet store. Hopefully I'll have a tank full of baby angelfish in a few weeks.

all work and no personal shooting

2011-04-21T14:06:00.000-07:00

Work around the house and just work in general has taken over most of my free time so although I have some things I want to do with photography, it's been put on the back burner this week. Once I get through the mile long to-do list I hope to get back at it.

Coreypalooza

2011-04-18T12:57:00.000-07:00

The family and I made the trip up north to Chicago/Oak Forest this weekend to celebrate my brother Corey's birthday. On Friday my Dad and I went golfing which was a pretty good time even though the weather was so bad that the guy at the club house laughed at us for even considering going out in the 40 mph winds and freezing rain. It cleared up by the time we got to the fifth hole and it was nice to spend some time with the Old Man.

Corey planned out a pretty cool day downtown for us which started at the Art Institute of Chicago. It just so happened that I had a camera at a small repair shop up that way that was ready to be picked up. My Canon EOS 5D got wet on a boat trip almost a year ago and I didn't have the money to get it fixed until now.

Anyway, Canon wouldn't fix the piece so I had to go to a third party repair place and the only one I found that looked reputable in Illinois was Mid-State Camera Services. They were very fast in their work and did all the work for a fair price. Since everything was so messed up, it's basically like a new camera on the inside and Mid-State even gave me a three month warranty. I love shooting with the original 5D, probably because it's the first camera I've owned and the one that I did a good deal of learning on.

Word to the wise though, if your camera does get wet, send it in right away and a repair technician can rinse the parts in some kind of chemical that will prevent corrosion and save you the money that you may have to pay in parts. Mid-State told me this after I picked up my camera. If only I called them last year when this all happened in the first place.

So after picking up the camera, we headed to lunch at Russian Tea Time and then to the Art Institute to take in some culture.

Corey took us to this hot new restaurant in Logan Square called Longman & Eagle which was fanfriggintastic. It's a sort of modern take on traditional American cuisine with a gourmet twist. Since they don't take reservations and there was six of us who wanted to sit together, we had to wait two hours for the table, but the whiskey bar made that wait pretty enjoyable.

For appetizers we had fried buffalo frog legs with whipped blue cheese, venisine patte wrapped in bacon with mustard seed relish and giardinare, and bone marrow. Yeah bone marrow. Never had it before, but it was deliciously rich and flavorful.

The main course was where it was at though. My skirt steak with a spare rib raviolli was excellent and luckily for us, everyone shared tastes of their dishes. The chicken was very tender and moist and perfectly seasoned, but the best was the pork belly. Another dish I've never had, but something I've been wanting to try ever since I worked at a meat packing plant the dealt a lot with pork bellies to produce bacon. I don't want to know how much fat was in the one bite I had, but that would be in the running for my last meal if I ever end up on death row. So good.

This is Katy trying the pork belly. Eating it just makes you want to smile.

Sunday we celebrated Easter early so that ~~my Mom~~ the Easter Bunny could give Hunter an Easter basket and do an egg hunt.

Then we had some family over for an early dinner and that was that. I've been missing my family lately and it was great to spend time with everyone this weekend.

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New Renewable Energy center

2011-04-08T10:00:00.000-07:00

I got the chance to go on a quick last minute tour of the Renewable Energy Center that they are building here on the EIU campus and it was pretty cool to see what they have been up to over there.

The plant isn't up and running yet and there wasn't anybody in there other than our gracious, but photo shy guide Ryan Siegel so most of the photos are just of the massive and state of the art machinery. Pretty cool stuff.

We are looking at doing a before and after feature on the center's website where we compare photos of the current steam plant with this new one. Sorry Amir, but this wasn't my idea and I swear we didn't steal it from you...on purpose.

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Finally something from the old Speed Graphic

2011-04-07T09:46:00.000-07:00

Now that I'm not working the second shift I have the opportunity to take a photo class at Lake Land Community College that I've been wanting to get into for a while. The class is Intro to Journalistic Photography and although I have a degree in Photojournalism, there are some things that I wanted to learn.

It's more of an intro to film photography class and I wanted the opportunity to get into a real darkroom. I've got a collection of old cameras and have wanted to get them going, but have been struggling on my own; learning from books and working in the ghetto darkroom I put together in my garage.

Although I'm still a newb with this whole thing and I know I'm doing a lot wrong, it's nice to get some results. The main camera I'm working with is an old Speed Graphic that Jill's grandfather used to use in the 50s and 60s. It takes 3.25 x 4.25 sheet film and there's a 120 back that I've been using. All these photos were developed as contact prints from the sheet film. My next step is to see if I can get an old enlarger working so that I can make some enlargements from these sheets. I also have to figure out how to avoid getting mineral deposits on these contact prints. Maybe they need to dry longer or I need to use distilled water when rinsing. I'll keep experimenting until I fing a good solution.

Working with sheet film is more difficult than roll film, but I've found so far that I like the quality and tonal range of the larger format more than 35 mm. The difficulty comes in working with a format that is not used by many people. So I have to tray process the film and I am not quite sure how I will go about enlarging the negatives, but the challenge is part of what I've enjoyed so far about this whole process.

Hopefully once I get the basics figured out, I will be able to start to work on getting some nicer photos than these. Reading 'The Print' and 'The Negative' by Ansel Adams has been a huge help since he tray processed sheet film too. Yosemite here I come.

EIU Dancers Can Bust a Move

2011-03-09T12:30:00.000-08:00

The EIU Dancers director Antoine Thomas works with me in the CATS department and asked me to photograph the squad during a dress rehearsal for some promotional materials. Dance is something that I enjoy photographing so I said yes. The movement, expression, control, pageantry and just the art of it make it something that is interesting to photograph.

As a side note, the lighting was fanfriggintastic. Although it was challenging to shoot in and I know nothing about stage lighting I could really tell that the person in charge of it really knew what he was doing. There was a lot of color changes and moving lights and you could tell that he really took advantage of the facilities at the Doudna Recital Hall.

Not to take away from the dancers though since that's what the show was all about. They were excellent and I was impressed with how professional this production was. The dance seemed complex and the performance was tight. Granted I was there to work and wasn't watching like a normal person would I could still appreciate their level of the expertise.

Although the color was vibrant and awesome to shoot, there were a few photos that I thought looked better in black and white.

Just a few more favorites...

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Let's go Blackhawks

2011-03-03T06:53:00.000-08:00

Amir took me to a Blackhawks game last week which was pretty good timing since that just so happened to be the week of my birthday. I've never been to a Blackhawks game before so it was really fun for me and a good game to be at. It was a rough start, but four unanswered goals from the Hawks made it a blast to watch. Thanks Amir.

Catwalk track and field

2011-03-01T10:40:00.000-08:00

Shooting in the EIU Lantz Field house has always been a challenge. It's darker than a high school gym and the color of the dim lights is terrible. With advances in cameras though it's become a little more bearable. Going from shooting with a Canon 10D for the Daily Eastern News to using my 5D Mark ii is a huge advantage, but I like to think it has something to do with skill. (the 1D Mark iii did okay, but still goes soft for no reason on occasion which drives me crazy)

The whole reason for me shooting this invitational was access to the catwalk in the rafters of the field house. I hadn't shot from there before and thought it would be a cool perspective to get. Eric Hiltner got a great shot of the weight throw a few years ago for the EIU Warbler and ever since then I've been wanting to check out that angle. Special shout out to EIU Track Legend and stud web developer Nate Atkinson for hooking up the access.

Here are a few more favorites...

More shots here....

Pre-birthday weekend in the CHI

2011-02-24T12:21:00.000-08:00

My brother, a few friends, and I had a pretty good time this weekend hanging out down town and hitting up a few spots in the city.

The reason we were down there was for a Dismemberment Plan concert (which kicked ass), but we decided to make a day of it and as a result ate the best sandwiches ever at a place called XOCO.

If you're ever even close to that place I highly recommend it. The walk there was a bitch since we didn't know where we were going, but it was so worth the wait. The torta style sandwiches were so good in fact that we kept going on about them for hours after, and here I am drooling over it five days later. Anyway, that sandwich really got the day off to a good start.

Aside from that, we also made a visit to the Chicago Cultural Center to check out the Finding Vivian Maier: Chicago Street Photographer exhibit which was cool. It's a very interesting story in case you care to check it out.

After the exhibit we spent some time at Millenium park and then hit up Miller's Pub.

Then we had to move a car so it was back to the Metra.

Once the car was moved, we made a stop at the most eclectic and all around zany gift shop I've ever been to called Uncle Fun based on a recommendation by CATS designer, videographer, artist and all around good guy Mike Babcock. I got this cool little battery powered 16mm film player that I've been having fun with.

Before heading to a journalism get together at Seven-Ten Longue we stopped at Schubas for a drink and some eats.

I didn't have any credentials for the concert so it was just listening enjoyment for me. After waiting what seemed like an eternity for a ride I got to briefly meet Travis Morris, the lead singer of the Dismemberment Plan. The band was spot on which was great especially considering they haven't been together since the last time I saw them play 8 years ago.

A little bar hoping and I finally got back home at a little after 4 a.m. Not bad for a family man.

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Student Union

2011-02-18T14:31:00.000-08:00

My office is putting together a video for the Student Union here on campus and they needed some photos to go along with it so I walked next door when I had some spare time and looked around at some of the locations we needed.

Although this was rushed, I got a few that I like. Definately saw some things I haven't looked at before and will soon return to.

Photos featured on US News & World Report

2011-02-09T16:24:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Christy Kilgore for submitting a few of my photos to this EIU feature on the US News & World Report colleges section. Kind of cool to have them up there.

lonely/frozen chair

2011-02-08T12:38:00.000-08:00

nate from my office and i have this on-going photo joke about making a book of 'lonely' chairs that we find around.

tour of the castle

2011-02-07T14:34:00.000-08:00

one of the cool parts of taking photos are the places that it takes you. back in december we took a tour of the upper level/abandoned rooms of old main. these are really cool rooms, but they are not handicap accessible so they can't be used. i wouldn't mind having an office with a view like this...or any view at all...or above ground even.

plus there's this creepy hatch that leads back down.

the underwater saga was totally worth it

2011-02-07T14:11:00.000-08:00

For the past few years i've been trying to get access to underwater viewing windows in the pool here at eiu. Privacy concerns have put policy in place that makes it difficult to access the windows, but with some help I was finally able to get down there to get this interesting view of this swim season's last meet.

Photographing swim meets from above water if fine and I enjoy the texture of the water, but that's the same view that everyone at the meet got to see so showing it in a different way is kind of cool. Watching the swimmers from underwater you get a real sense of what powerful athletes they are. Although it's impressive watching them swim from above, they look like friggin' dolphins from below.

Although it was a struggle getting the access, it was worth it in the end. Special shout outs to Dave Crockett with Facilities Planning and Management, Athletic Director Mark Bonnstetter, Web Guru Nate Atkinson, and my boss John Henderson for helping make this happen.

More shots...

Haas family portrait

2011-02-06T14:36:00.000-08:00

a while back, the Haas family came over and we had a family photo shoot. the kids weren't really cooperative, but we managed to get a few photos done and we enjoyed the company.

after setting up lights and spending time trying to get the kids to cooperate, this simple quite moment (above) as the Haas family left was my favorite photo from the whole shoot.

this photos is just a lighting test, but i kind of like it.

the eyelashes of a camel

2011-02-05T16:50:00.000-08:00

hunter has the longest eye lashes. he must be part camel. (camels have long eyelashes in case you were wondering)

ice skating on the library quad

2011-02-04T14:00:00.000-08:00

after getting a tip from Christy Kilgore, i headed outside to make some photos of a student ice skating on the library quad. the quad is the typical grass kind, but because of the icy weather that central illinois got, the quad was frozen just enough for this guy to get his skate on.

this reminded me a great deal of this archival photo i've seen of the university so i tried to go for that classic look in some of the photos. maybe an older camera would have helped to accomplish this, but i'm still glad i got to photograph this unique activity.

the student in the photos is Peter Fagan. he was a pretty interesting guy and certainly didn't mind the attention that the ladies on their way to and from class were giving him. we talked about photography for a little while and when he saw me take a low angle and shoot through some icicles he said, 'yeah. all artistic and shit.' that gave me a pretty good laugh.

i tried to cover every angle i could think of since this isn't something that happens all that often. climbing up on the frozen steps of the Doudna Fine Arts Center, I nearly broke my neck, but i had to explore all the options.

my favorite angle though was pretty direct and used the booth library as a background. i thought this would add to the archival/historic feel. the union is a pretty good background too with it's more modern rectangular design.

out on the panther trail

2011-02-03T12:38:00.000-08:00

classes at eiu were canceled because of icy winter weather so nate atkinson (in the above photo) and i decided to go out for a quick photo safari. i really like the way the snow and ice reflect the light back up and have been on the hunt for a nice tree to photograph out in the country covered in ice.
anyway, nate lent me his macro lens which i've been having fun with the last few weeks. i've really got to get one to add to my arsenal.

Everybody Street

2011-02-03T08:48:00.001-08:00

I've been drawn to street photography lately. The gritty feel of it and the intimate interactions that can take place in the fraction of a second really kind of fascinates me.
They are really just snapshots, but they say much more. My favorites are timeless frozen moments that can have an impact on any generation. They illustrate the human element in a very raw way and in many ways are the epitome of what I love about photography.

snow day

2011-02-03T01:53:00.000-08:00

frozen leaf

2011-02-02T12:36:00.000-08:00

angelfish spawning

2011-02-01T08:09:00.000-08:00

as a hobby i've kept an aquarium of some kind for the better part of 15 years. right now i have an amazon river/planted kind of aquarium set up with angelfish, tetras and a hodgepodge of other tropical fish.

a few days ago two of my veil tailed blue blushing angelfish started to spawn.

it's kind of cool to watch nature unfold right in my living room. basically what happens is, the pair find a suitable surface to spawn on (in this case a leaf), clean it and then get it on. the female lays the eggs and the male follows behind to fertilize them.

being the first time that this pair has spawned, there's not telling whether or not the eggs will make it or not. to help their chances, i've separated the pair and the eggs from the rest of the tank with a screen. it'll be fun to watch the progress.

this male albino bristlenose plecostomus is also watching over some eggs in the aquarium. he will guard the eggs and fan them with fresh water all the way up until they hatch and rarely even leaves to eat.

Hunter in the kitchen

2011-01-31T14:33:00.000-08:00

screen shot

2011-01-30T14:32:00.000-08:00

hiltner polaroid

2011-01-29T14:31:00.000-08:00

leaving soldier field

2011-01-28T14:30:00.000-08:00

sean payton's number is retired

2011-01-26T05:34:00.000-08:00

dusting off the blog...again

2011-01-25T16:28:00.000-08:00

the last few months i've abandoned the blog, but that doesn't mean i haven't been taking photos. i'll post some of my favorites over the next few weeks to try and get back in the swing of things.

smoke funnel

2011-01-24T13:57:00.000-08:00

After work and while on my way to meet with a wedding client in Effingham I could see a back funnel cloud of smoke coming from a fire in the distance. I had to fight that news paper urge that kind of turned into an instinct to chase the sirens and follow the smoke to make some photographs on the scene.
Instead I made a few snaps from the side of the road and headed off onto the high way.

It was around 4º F and the fire was hot, like really hot, on account of the barrels of racing fuel that were in the pole barn that was burning (JG/T-C) and I imagine that's what caused the smoke to cause this killer funnel shape in the sky. Probably not the best thing for the ozone, but it did look pretty bitchin'.

Here's the jg/t-c story on the fire

the new gig

2010-09-10T14:48:00.000-07:00

two weeks ago i was hired on at eastern illinois university to work as an online specialist in the center for academic technology services (cats). i'm still working part time at the journal gazette, but this is now my full time gig and it's going very well.
basically what i do is help manage eastern's content management system and help create new sites for departments within the university along with an awesome team.
aside from the great hours, amazing benefits, better pay and top of the line equipment this job is great because of how happy our clients already are with the department.

i've wanted to work at a university for a while now because i dig the vibe. the campus if beautiful and full of interesting and vibrant people who love to learn new things. i get to take two classes a semester for free which i can't wait to take advantage of. although i'm in a cubicle in the basement of an old gymnasium, it's still a pretty sweet setup.

i'll also be shooting photos for them more once i figure out how to do my job so i'll still be posting here and hope to start doing so more now that i might have something that resembles a life.

shooting with the BRICK

2010-08-11T19:36:00.000-07:00

after a visit to effingham to see jill's grandparent's i tend to come home with some camera gear. jill's grandfather vick was a photographer back in the day and has tons of cool stuff that he's happy to hand over to me if i think i can use it.

after our last visit i came home with an argus rangefinder. after doing some research i've found that this beast is affectionately referred to as the brick for it's solid construction, shape and weight. i ran a few rolls of old film through it and was surprised at how well some of the photos turned out.

a few months ago i took this beast out to a wedding and got a few decent photos from that. depending on what the couple likes, i might bust this thing out at some other weddings here and there.

lemonade assignements

2010-07-22T15:52:00.000-07:00

With my focus mostly on managing the Journal Gazette/Times-Courier website, I don't get much assignment work. When I do they usually aren't the most exciting assignments, but I try to make the best of them. You know, taking lemons and making lemonade.

I recently had a lemon of an assignment having to do with the city of Mattoon seeking bids to mow a section of grass east of Illinois Route 16. Not the most exciting assignment, but I decided to make the most of it by really concentrating on a small area, composing my frames and looking for layers where I could find them. Rather than treating this as a crappy assignment that I had to do and getting the minimum, I had fun with it.

Here's the story.

Believe it or not, I could have photographed from this ditch for hours. A storm from was rolling in from the East which gave me some very dynamic clouds to work into the background and I actually enjoyed shooting through and with the tall grass and wildflowers. The subject matter was weak and the only sense of people I could get was from passing cars, but it was an interesting challenge nonetheless.

I kept reminding myself of a recent National Geographic feature called 'One Cubic Foot of Life' that I saw where the photographer took a square foot cube, placed it into an ecosystem and shot everything he could find that passed through that space. An interesting challenge with amazing results.

Since I was limited to a small area, I took this same line of thought and made the most that I could out of it. In the end I made way more photographs of a grassy ditch than anyone ever should, but I did get a pretty sweet desk top back ground out of it.

More shots...

a princess playing badminton

2010-06-07T21:17:00.000-07:00

i snagged a freelance gig this year to shoot the ihsa girls badminton tournament which is hosted at eastern illinois university. i've shot the tourney before so i knew what to expect and went into it somewhat confident.

in the past i was free to roam around and photograph whatever i wanted, but this time i had a list of several schools that i was expected to get. this is helps me to concentrate and what i need, but stifles some creativity. i can't wander off like a child chasing a butterfly when i see some nice light or a cool background.

my list included one of my favorite subjects from last year. an andrew high school athlete, which is close to where my parents live, by the name princess clemente not only has an awesome name, but is also a pretty good badminton player. she's really physical on the court so i was glad i got to photograph her again. i couldn't help but make a similar frame from last year. here's the one from last year that i was thinking about when i made the photo above this paragraph.

the best part about shooting badminton on the rec center gym at eiu is that there is a track that oversees the entire court. not only can you cover several matches from above, but i love the way things look from above. the lines on the badminton court are a favorite for me.

More shots HERE...

being inside a fire is so cool

2010-06-02T18:55:00.001-07:00

a reporter here at the jg-tc thought that some firefighter tower training would make for a good video. from the way he described it, the charleston fire department would be conducting some rappelling training and that i would be able to participate. sounded like a pretty cool and quick assignment.

upon arriving at the fire training center i was handed a fire jacket, trousers, boots, a helmet, an air tank and air mask. this was not rappelling training, but instead fire behavior/hose advancement/breathing through an air mask training. the one thing the reporter did get right was that i was indeed invited to fully participate.

photo by Matt MacDonald

breathing clear air in a smoke and flame filled room is as cool as it sounds and i was pretty stoked to learn a few things about what firefighters do. just like everyone else, i've always appreciated and respected what firefighters do for a living and participating in this training night made me understand it a little bit more. when the newspaper industry collapses i might just fall back on fighting fires for a living.

my camera performed excellent under the conditions. shooting in a fire filled house trailer often at 12800 iso, i am pretty happy with the results. i shot mostly video, but couldn't help but snag a few stills. (in case you're wondering the video above was shot on my 5D mark ii, but scaled down and compressed to run on the web. it is very capable of capturing much better looking video.)

an annoying side note: the air tanks that firefighters use have a nuisance alarm that goes off after 45 seconds of inactivity. so when i was able to get nice and still to get a smooth shot, the nuisance alarm on my air tank went off until i punched it. it's a good feature to have on air tanks and probably saves lives, but i was hating it.

don't worry camera nerds, i was very careful with my camera. when i brought it into the fiery trailer i left my hands bare to feel for extreme heat and didn't let too much smoke get near my baby . i was able to hand the camera over to the fire chief when i thought it was getting to be too much for her to handle and he brought it into the fresh air.

this was an awesome experience and i am so glad penny and jeff were able to hold down the night desk so i could do this.

wwii veteran returns home after 66 years

2010-06-01T02:00:00.000-07:00

i was honored to be let into the lives of a family who was finally able to conduct a funeral for a world war ii veteran whose remains were returned after he perished in a b-25 crash in corsica, italy.

it understandably doesn't happen often that you get a family who understands the media and what it's purpose is during a time of tragedy and grief. being delicate and respectful i was allowed to photograph and film the funeral of mike elliott who was recovered by a really cool military organization called JPAC.

the JPAC - Joint Prisoners of War, Missing in Action Accounting Command's main duty is to 'to achieve the fullest possible accounting of all Americans missing as a result of the nation's past conflicts'. so they in a sense work as a forensics specialists/archeologists/chemists in their work recovering veterans who were never found. if i was in the military i would defiantly want to be a part of this.

the process was really quite amazing and involved travel and research for the initial recovery and even dna testing to ensure relation. cool stuff.

anyway, the elliott's were really amazing and appreciative in our coverage because they fell that not enough people know about jpac and their hope was that through coverage of their experience, other people who might be in their situation can find peace.

check out some more of the coverage here.

What I've been up to lately

2010-05-31T18:39:00.000-07:00

The main reason why I've been away from the blog is because of a re-deisgn that I lead at the jg-tc.com. I'm pretty happy with the way things turned out and am glad that the we are able to more easily do a lot of cool things with new media (mainly video and photo slide shows right now)

With that I've kept busy being the one to fill most of those extra spots online and have even got to go on some pretty interesting assignments. I've shot a few videos, photo galleries and worked MOST of the kinks out of the shiny new site.

Over the next few days I'll write about some of the semi-cool assignments I've been on.

my favorite thing to do

2010-05-05T17:00:00.000-07:00

Me and Hunter playing at the park from Jay Grabiec on Vimeo.

since jill is in class a few days a week, hunter and i get a lot of time to hang out together. i try to bring him to the park twice a week since the weather has been nice.

drive down to sauget, illinois

2010-05-04T15:07:00.000-07:00

this weekend i went to a NOFX concert in sauget, illinois near east st. louis. it was a great evening for a drive and i had fun with my favorite point and shoot.

just a quick photo from golfing this weekend

2010-05-03T20:38:00.001-07:00

my good friend justin came in town this weekend and we decided to get in a quick round of golf before the rain on saturday.

the one dollar camera

2010-04-27T20:25:00.001-07:00

so after visiting my brother and hearing him mention some interest in shooting photos i've been pretty excited about setting him up with something he would like. starting off something simple would be best and i sure did find a simple camera for him for a buck at catholic charities.

it's a ninoka that from what i have found on the interWeb was given out as a promotion. it's a fixed focus, fixed shutter speed (1/125 i think) with four different aperture settings. this simple little camera has been fun to test out with some very expired film i found here at work.

next i think i'll keep my eye out for a cheap rangefinder.

the kind of weird thing about finding this camera for my brother is that this weekend at a photo conference in st. louis one of the speakers, david eulitt, talked about shooting for yourself and just for fun. his idea of fun is shooting with a little toy camera kind of like this one. it's liberating and relaxing to not have to think about all the crazy technical stuff that is almost always going through my mind and just push the button.

shooting for myself is something that i really have to start doing more of. i keep telling myself that i am going to bring out that speed graphic and work on my skills with that thing, but after hearing david talk i think i'm going to actually do it.

here are a few of my favorites with the ninolta:

JROTC outtakes

2010-04-26T17:37:00.000-07:00

catfish are pretty cool looking

2010-04-09T14:43:00.000-07:00

i took a hike down a trail at douglas-hart nature preserve here in mattoon to grab some photos for my next photo page. i stopped off at the little pond and shot some of the friendly catfish. they sort of traveled in a pack and came right up to the surface.

i'll definitely be going back to shoot them again.

pretty flowers

2010-04-08T13:59:00.000-07:00

as a back up photo page last week i shot some pretty pictures of flowers mostly with that old G7 i keep talking about. i probably won't ever publish them, but some of them will be in a print sale at eiu's celebration festival that eric, colin and i will be hosting later this month.
stop by and check out our booth.

having some fun with the point and shoot

2010-04-07T20:42:00.000-07:00

i've been having a little bit of fun shooting with jill's g7. it's got a great macro lens and shoots halfway decent video. it's like they say, 'the best camera is the one that you have with you'

after a rain storm this afternoon my yard was covered with earth worms.
here's a video of one shooting back into its hole. the sad thing is i could have shot these little guys for hours. it kind of made me wish i did stuff like this for a living.

camera busted

2010-04-06T16:17:00.000-07:00

on an assignment for the jg the shutter on my 5D finally gave out. it's been my work horse for over two years and has served me well. i shipped it off today to see what the damage will be on fixing it up. hopefully it will just need a new shutter and a tune up on the electrical components.

after shooting a fire in the rain about a year and a half ago the light meter stopped working. that wasn't the end of the world since i was still able to shoot by guessing on my exposures and shooting in full manual.

at a mock school bus fire demonstration though, the camera really gave up on me. it looks like the shutter is done, but i really don't know. luckily i got a usable frame before the trouble started.

so, for the last week i've been shooting with the canon G7 that i bought for jill. it's a nice little camera. along with that, i've been dusting off some of the old film cameras i've got laying around. we'll see how that turns out.

good news is, this has finally forced me to pick up a new camera body. after b&h is done with their passover observances tonight, i am going to place the order for a 5D mark ii! i was really debating between the 7D and the 5D, but after doing some research i made my decision.

it's almost like it's christmas. except instead of getting a gift i'm buying it for myself and going into debt for it. can't wait to shoot some video though.

easter weekend

2010-04-05T20:25:00.000-07:00

the family and i made the trip up to oak forest this weekend to celebrate easter. we kind of make a big deal out of easter and jill really loved it.

on saturday we went to the gigantic mall in woodfield. i ended up buying a hoody at a thrift store, but it was still a fun trip.

plus we ate at rainforest cafe which was awesome. i love looking at the fish.

more shots from the weekend.

Crop fire fake out

2010-04-03T19:05:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I was sent out to try an shoot some video of a corn field fire. By the time I got out there it was put out and would have been interesting to photograph. It was a good day for a ride nonetheless.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

a little bit of luck

2010-03-31T14:42:00.000-07:00

lately i've been wanting to introduce myself to one of the people who have a sign in front of their house that says, 'Fresh Eggs for Sale' and see what their deal was. i did just that after finding such a sign in charleston just off of route 16 and i'm so glad i did because what an awesome place little bit farm in charleston, illinois is.

combine a plethora of farm animals with an adorable six-year-old girl farm hand dressed from head to toe in pink and all i have to do is just point the camera in the right direction.

did i mention there were mini-donkeys? it's places like this that i miss when i don't take chances. i really have to get in the habit of being more spontaneous. (is that a contradiction?)

i could have spent years documenting a cool place like this, but instead had two days before i had to fill a photo page so i really worked the scene and am pretty happy with what i came out with.

the brief story i wrote on little bit farm kind of explains everything so here it is:
Charleston farm has a little bit of everything
Story and photos by Jay Grabiec
A Chicago suburb transplant, Kathie Lawrence started Little Bit Farm in 1988 following a life-long dream of living on and operating a working farm.
After graduating with a masters in biology from Eastern Illinois University, Lawrence considered pursuing a career in the veterinary field, but instead opted to start her own farm after a cattle rancher retired and sold the 16 acres located on a valley off of West Polk Street in Charleston.
The farm gets its name from having a “little bit of this and a little bit of that,” Lawrence says. Currently the farm is home to Haflinger horses, hair sheep, chickens, guinea, donkeys, honey bees, dogs and cats.
With help from her 6-year-old neighbor, Grace Kenney, Lawrence, who works during the day for the Charleston Water Department, is able to manage the farm and sells the eggs harvested from the chickens and also sells the occasional sheep. This is the second year Lawrence has kept a beehive and she hopes to do well with more than doubling her bee population.
The eggs are available for sale and are located in a cooler on West Polk Street with a large sign that says, “Fresh Eggs”. The farm-fresh eggs have a different and more rich taste than the normal store-bought variety. You can’t get eggs much fresher than this since Lawrence and Kenney pick the eggs daily, she said. Since there isn’t an expiration date on the eggs, you can place them into a bowl of water. Fresh eggs will sink to the bottom while expired eggs float.
You can visit Little Bit Farm on the Web at www.littlebitfarm.net.

i've always wanted to own some land and have a few animals on it so kathie and i seemed to get a long pretty well. we're both from the city and both have a strange desire to live on a farm.

here are a few more (a shit load) of the photos that i took in the two days that i got to hang out at the farm.

jeff really nailed the page layout too. he always impresses me with his killer design skills especially when i don't give him much time to work.

2010-03-30T12:34:00.000-07:00

this story ran saturday and you can read it here. coach spoo is a pretty impressive guy with 50 years under his belt as a coach. FIFTY YEARS! that's twice as long as i've been on the planet. for this assignment i was aware that coach spoo's coaching style was that of an observer. he tends to let his assistant coaches do their thing so we got to chat for quite a while as i took a few photos. it was a pretty good assignment.

the slide show above has a few extra photos that didn't run since they didn't have anything to do with spoo directly.

Buckle up

2010-03-29T09:56:00.000-07:00

If you are in coles county buckle up because the motorcycle cops are on a blitz.
This guy was on the corner of my block writing someone up and followed me into my driveway.
I guess I'll start wearing my seat belt. Thanks for the $55 lesson officer.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

under my voodoo

2010-03-26T18:35:00.000-07:00

i was sent out to shoot a sketch comedy group from eastern. they're pretty funny and it's events like this that make me hate the hours i work. at least i got to watch part of the performance and had the best seat in the house.

this is why i played baseball

2010-03-24T14:18:00.000-07:00

i was sent out to shoot for a feature section on eiu head football coach bob spoo. he's more of an observer on the field, letting his assistant coaches do their thing so we got to hang out for a while.

after the work out, coach told me that the athletes have these competitions and it's something different every week. i saw some large chains in the back of a golf cart and decided that i had to stick around to see what the deal was.

it was a relay race where the players strapped two chains around their chests, did ten push-ups, ran to a dumbbell, lifted it ten times, then back to the chains before tagging in the next in the race.

talk about intensity. i had to get a shot of the chain/push-up exercise, but the only good place was from right in front of where the athlete would soon be charging forward. as i was lying on my stomach and the athlete reached #6 of 10 push-ups, i realized that i might not want to be lying in front of a man who can do 10 push-ups with 30 pounds of chains strapped around his body. so after 6 i rolled off to the side and moved on.

more photos from the practice after the story runs.

called out to a fire, again.

2010-03-23T19:15:00.000-07:00

a fire in charleston (which is ten minutes away) came across the scanner that sounded pretty serious. it was a wonderful day to be out for a drive so despite me assuming that the department would have it out by the time i got there, i made the trip.

seeing smoke from 12 miles away near the hospital i called up amir who is the photo editor at the den to let him know that someone should probably head out that way. we arrived on the scene at about the same time and started shooting.

it was kind of funny watching amir run around like mad. after the action cooled of i asked him, 'you don't shoot fires all that often huh?' i guess i'm kind of a seasoned, bitter, old veteran when it comes to house fires since it seems i'm always the one called out to them.

on this story the reporter thought he'd share his byline with me since i gathered a little information that he ended up using. i think that was pretty cool of him. thanks rob.

the guys who lived in this place were college students and had a surprisingly good attitude about what happened to them. they probably lost everything due to smoke damage but wanted me to make sure and mention in my cut line that, 'the party friday night is cancelled'

oh yeah, as an aside, i was nearly decapitated by a rogue fire house. true story. the fire fighter pictured in a few of my photos in the slide show above (especially #6 with the thumbs up) did not have a handle on the fire hose when the water was turned on so it flailed around the air scaring the living shit out of me.

free stuff and art

2010-03-22T18:45:00.000-07:00

i'm on a list serv through the a photo a day blog, apad. it is filled with some great talent and provides me with inspiration everyday.
a photographer recently posted on the list that he is giving away Polaroids from a project he has been working on to hone his 4x5 skills.
since i'm also working on honing similar skills (well at least i hope to get the speed graphic out more once the weather turns) i found it interesting and thought i'd check it out.
click here to see the project or on the screen grab below to go to his web site.

crossing guard

2010-03-18T15:20:00.000-07:00

in God we trust (shot with jill's old G7)

2010-03-18T01:00:00.000-07:00

unsuccessful dig

2010-03-17T01:00:00.000-07:00

middle school volleyball regionals 3

2010-03-16T01:00:00.001-07:00

middle school volleyball regionals 2

2010-03-15T01:00:00.000-07:00

middle school volleyball regionals 1

2010-03-14T01:00:00.002-08:00

orange krush zoro

2010-03-13T01:00:00.000-08:00

playing the farm show

2010-03-12T01:00:00.000-08:00

my favorite tractor portrait 3

2010-03-11T01:00:00.001-08:00

my favorite tractor portrait 2

2010-03-11T01:00:00.000-08:00

my favorite tractor portrait 1

2010-03-10T01:00:00.000-08:00

making portraits of tractors

2010-03-09T15:55:00.000-08:00

every week i get to fill a photo page with usually whatever i want. it's pretty awesome, but sometimes (more than just sometimes lately) i wait until the last minute and have to fill the page with an event. there isn't anything wrong with that, but it's been getting pretty boring for me.

this week wasn't any different so i fell back on the annual farm show here in mattoon. as i was shooting i was drawn in by the grills on some of the antique tractors. they were looking at me. so i got the idea to do a sort of portrait series of all the tractors in the show.

after throwing the idea past ace designer, jeff ruble, i went back and shot some more. if you could have only heard the crazy shit that was going through my head as i stared at these antique tractors through my viewfinder looking for their faces.

in addition to the photos of the tractors i threw together a slide show of photos i took that actually had real people in them so that my editors don't think i have completely lost it.

this concept was in part inspired by one of my favorite recent ad campaigns by american express.

austin, mike and aunt kathy

2010-03-09T01:00:00.000-08:00

remember that one time i got married?

2010-03-08T16:44:00.000-08:00

today marks my two year anniversary with the love of my life, jill.

photoGangstars dannywilliams and stephen haas shot the wedding and handed me a big ol' stack of discs. (editing is the hardest part of shooting weddings as far as i'm concerned)

being kind of busy over the last two years, i haven't really touched the photos other than a quick edit. i know i'm a jerk. trust me i've been hearing it from jill for a looooonnngggg time.

anyway, i thought it would be sweet to go through and finally edit them and hand that over to jill as part of her anniversary present. we plan on making a book and hope it will be good practice for wedding clients who might want photo books made.

with out further ado, i present mr. and mrs. jay grabiec...only two years too late. here's to spending the rest of my life with the most amazing woman i've ever met.
(the watermarks should go away. it takes a few days sometimes.)

uncle mike and mike jr.

2010-03-08T01:00:00.000-08:00

eiu basketball outtake

2010-03-07T01:00:00.000-08:00

badlands, SD

2010-03-06T01:00:00.000-08:00

through the ticket booth window

2010-03-05T01:00:00.001-08:00

a tour of the train depot

2010-03-05T01:00:00.000-08:00

happy birthday sister

2010-03-04T01:00:00.000-08:00

EIU makes it to the OVC final four

2010-03-03T01:00:00.000-08:00