Reese's 7th BDay

She is soooo funny. A little eggs to go with that ham?

Iceman 2008

After 6 months of training, riding my bike every weekend, and eating healthy I"ve come to a realization that I am an inferior athlete. John McArthur beat me in this years Iceman by 1 minute. He has earned bragging rights for yet another year and I have been humbled by how big his heart really is. He trained, I will never deny him that. He was out there with me every weekend. But, he just had more deep, deep inside himself to edge me out.
Congratulations Mr. Pot Roast on an awesome performance. You have inspired me to wait until 3 months before the race to train, and drink a lot of beer until October.

Waiting for my "Tramp Stamp!"

A night at Dream Halloween. A great fundraiser for Children affected by AIDS. A great night for all the kids in attendance.

Water alt...Symmetry

Since I forgot to post last weeks assignment on fotoskool, I thought I would post it here. It is an outtake from this weeks assignment "water," but it also has a symmetry to it. So there ya go!

Postseason excitement

Well it's October. A time for baseball fans to latch onto a team and follow them into the World Series. I've been an Indians fan my whole life and will continue to be, I used to go to Municipal Stadium with my friends and at most 100 other people when they were terrible (usually to get a free grill or cooler.) Keep in mind that when it was opened it was the largest stadium for professional sports in the country, 89,000 seats.
My beloved Indians are not in the post season but my second favorite team is...The lovable Cubbies. I am a man who knows heartache. John Elway's "The Drive," Ernest Byner's fumble, Michael Jordan's "The Shot," The Tribe losing the World Series in 1995 and again in the 11th inning of game 7 in 1997. I witnessed Steve Bartman catch the foul ball(who, by the way, didn't lose that game!) and the Bears loss in the 2006 Super Bowl. With that said, let's enjoy the possitive moment that they just might do it this year...If we have nothing else, we always have hope.

Palos Meltdown Finish

Maria took this at the bottom of the finish line of the local mountain bike race. I think she did a really nice job so I wanted to post it. I didn't post to show off a picture of me, but I wanted to show off her great photo skills...Nice Job Maria...Thanks!

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Last Day Of Summer...First Day Of School!!!!!

After a lovely Labor Day Weekend, we decided to go on a family bike ride to cap off the weekend before heading into the first day of school. Well the nice bike ride became tragic quite fast. After a slew of wreckless teenagers came head on towards Maria she had to stop abruptly. Reese couldn't react fast enough, hit Maria's back tire, lost control, and the x-rays show history.

Now, as everyone knows, I adore my daughter, and you may all think I am just putting her on a pedestal, but, what a trooper she is. She cried from the crash, (it was very sudden and frightening) but not about her arm. She said it hurt a little bit but she didn't complain. Maria and I knew it was broken once we got up off the ground ( it had a peculiar bend to it.) We walked back to the car and Reese just walked quietly holding her arm. Man, she is one brave kid! She is so proud about the break, she is wearing it like a badge of honor.

The first day of school brought many questions from the other kids, especially the ones who had just been with her over the weekend. She has pretty much rehearsed the story to tell over and over again, and she never, ever deviates from the original. It's quite funny to hear her tell it. It's a terrible shame it happened, but she is really taking it in stride.

Beloved Alternates

I would be in big trouble if I didn't include Maria as an option for this weeks assignment. That said, I went with the photos I felt were simply more interesting. Certainly there are many people who mean a ton to me, but staying within the parameters of the assignment I needed shots from this week, hint, hint Pammijs! And I was on vacation with my girls.

Dune Jumpers

Some kids were walking across this fallen tree up on the dunes in South Haven, Michigan. Once they got their balance they would launch themselves off the tree. I thought it was just so cool I ran up the dune and took some pics. Pretty amazing.

How Do I Love Thee...Let Me Count The Ways

If you know me, you know why!!

The Alternative Shot for Color Theory

Back up shot. It was a tough decision but we worked harder on the bike then the fruit cups.

SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY, WE'RE TURNING THIS INTO A GIANT MUUUD PIT!

John McArthur and I signed up for the 2008 Muddy Buddy in Gilberts, IL. We ran the race today and had an absolute ball and are now hooked. Another event we will continue to do as long as they will have us. We went out in the first wave this morning at 7:31 am. We finished in 59 min 27 sec. 21st place in our category. I am very impressed at the heart McArthur showed. I passed him while he was jogging (I was on the bike) and he shouted to me "I'm dyin' here." He pushed through that leg got on the bike passed me and while he was waiting for me at the finish line, I could hear him cheering me on from 300 yards away. He pushed me through the difficult finish and we finished in respectable time. He is a great teammate and an even better friend. Another day I'll never forget.
Later in the morning I went through the mini muddy buddy with Reese. We did a little obstacle course and then crawled through the mud pit. She was a bit apprehensive at first. We talked her into going and she had a blast. She lost a shoe in the pit. One lost soldier out of many that were lost today.

You Are Certainly In Better Shape then This Guy

Red Mel

A little collaberation on this weeks assignment by Mel and me

Another season of soccer

Self Portrait Outtakes

I wanted to get a little racy with my portrait, but was advised against it. So with a great Fathers Day with Maria and Reese after a brunch at North Pond I looked for all kinds of ways to shoot myself. These are the 2 I liked the best.

Bejing Here We Come For the Gold

Chairs which didn't make the cut

This was a great assignment this week. It helped to be somewhere where chairs are everywhere. These are the poor, poor, misfits whom didn't get the call up to the big league.
I liked them nonetheless so maybe someone will see them and make them feel better.

Another Great Sunrise On the Farm

Got up early again this morning and walked around to see another great sun up.
Golfed yesterday even though it was a bit chilly, I got sunburned. Oh well, at least I'm not cleaning up after the horses here.

Sunrise at Walden Inn

Maria and I are on a getaway for our 10th wedding anniversary. I got up early to get some coffee and saw the sun rising by the stables.
Just a quick snap to commemorate the occasion. No polarizing filters, no manipulation, just nature.

Happy Mothers Day Mom and Maria

Anne Marie McMullen February 23 1928 to August 17 2005.
I miss you Mom!!

Alternative to this weeks assignment

I had a hard time choosing the picture for this weeks assignment. Reese is such a trooper by helping me out. Little did I know she had a fever of 102 but never complained and had so much fun doing this with me. She had no problem posing for these. I didn't really have to give her any direction, she understood the concept and just started acting.

I've been told no personality is also a personality

We sat down for a portrait that we could assemble for mothers day. This is what happens when you bribe your kid with chocolate milk to get her to sit for a picture!

Crime Scene Dudes

Some friends came into the studio for a magazine cover and ad they wanted shot. I agreed to help them out and this was the result. We had an awesome make up artist who created the black eye and bloody knuckles in like 5 minutes. I thought it was really cool and wanted to share.

Tipped Stool with shoeball

I wanted to get this out as a proud papa.  Reese came
to work with me last Monday because of a teachers day.
I was prepping for a shoot the next day so I had some
lights set up and a camera on set.  I left the studio
to answer a conference call and when I came back to
the studio this was on the computer screen.  She
didn't tell me she took it, she just left it there for
me to see.  There were others, composition changes
added and deleted props, but I think she felt this was
the one so she was most proud of and featured it on
the screen.

Just wanted to share my pride and joys artwork.  In my
humble opinion, I think its pretty good for anyone,
much less a 6 year old.

Busy Day on the Beach, I mean Studio