Rachel and Allyson - August 2010

It seems my photographic style continues to evolve.  At first I would only shoot nature and still life... you could even describe me as being 'afraid' to shoot people.  About two decades ago (yep, just that phrase makes me feel old), my day job provided me with a requirement an opportunity to shoot more photos of people. At first, I didn't like it all that much.  However, the spontaneity of people plus the ever elusive chase of the decisive moment quickly won me over.  I find myself shooting nature and still life much less these days.

And when it comes to people, shooting kids has easily become my favorite.  Their lack of camera shyness combined with their innocence provides the best material one could hope to shoot.  One would think that now I have a son of my own I'd be a one source shooter... not so!  I'd hate to make him suffer as my only subject.  Fortunately, I have a cadre of nieces!  Rachel and Allyson live close and as such are frequent subjects.  Seriously, can you have cuter subjects than these???

I don't imagine Rachel is the biggest fan of the following, but you just can't help but love the expression. 

How she'd prefer to see herself in pixels...

Saving the best for last.  

Tough be a photog with this kind of source material to work with...


mtk...


D

Will Pierce Vomastek

I am happy to announce the end of one of the longest journeys Sarah and I have ever undertaken.  Sarah and I are licensed foster parents.  Last fall, a young boy by the name of Will came to live with us.  We were immediately taken by his amazing heart and sweet soul.  Not long after he moved in we filed the paperwork to adopt him and this past Wednesday, the adoption became final - Will is a permanent member of the family.

The last 10 months have been long when not outright frustrating. While our agency and caseworkers were awesome, interacting with some of the government's red tape takes its toll on you.  The day of the adoption hearing followed that theme.  We get to the courthouse, wander around for 10 minutes only to run into an employee who informed us family court had moved to a new building.  We get to the new building, are directed to a courtroom and sit for 10 minutes or so only to be told we were in the wrong courtroom.  We finally made it to the correct court with two or so minutes to spare before the start of the hearing.  Augh!  The important part is, we made it and it is done!

This is the first time I am able to post a public blog regarding our new son.  Prior to the adoption finalization, he was a ward of the court and certain privacy regulations were in effect.  I've sent out a number of updates, thoughts and musings to our family and close friends - some of which I may republish here at a later date.  It's difficult to capture the range of emotions one experiences during a process such as this.  I think it's safe to say that the journey was the longest and hardest for Will.  The judge allowed him to sit at her chair and bang the gavel...  I don't believe I could come up with a better image to express the cumulation of the moment more than the one below.   

We were blessed to have several members of our family and close friends on hand for the hearing.  Will's been able to bond with his new grandparents - having them there was extra special.  For those of you that would like to watch the hearing, you can find it on youtube....    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tcbWkASO2w 

After the hearing, we headed back to our place for a celebration with extended family and friends.  We had 60+ people over (glad the fire marshal didn't stop by).  You can't pull off a party like that without a lot of help.  Special thanks to my cousin and father-in-law for manning the grill.  

We collected a number of random photos throughout the day.  Here's my dad practicing his gang signs...

My brother Andy and I.  He and his spouse, Holly, flew in from CT for the day.  15 hours of travel for five hours of beer and brats. I just love those guys!  (And yes, most Vomastek men tend to were Hawaiian shirts as often as possible.)

We Vomasteks also have a pretty strong carefree streak running through us.  At the last minute I decided to set up some studio gear in the garage to let people take pictures of themselves.  Andy and Holly were early takers....

Mom and Dad doing whatever it is they do...

My brother Ed and Tam (Ed's the only Vomastek male who can pick out clothes on his own)...

My sister Rebecca and her daughter Sophia....

The whole Vomastek clan minus Cait (WE MISS YOU!)...

From there, the kids and teenagers took over.  The adults returned to the backyard to chat... as such, I really can't be responsible for the images that follow....

Lily, a wonderful young woman we've gotten to know this last summer, staffed the party for us.  On a break, she got into the act as well.  (Thanks, Lily, for all the help!!!)

Sarah and Rebecca, the "Dark Barbies"....

Not sure how to explain this next one so I am not going to try....

And finally, on a more serious note, the new family.

Thanks to all of you for all your love and support these last several months. 


Dan


PS - you can find the complete gallery of silliness at http://lakeshoreclick.com/family/willsadoptionday/

Fun at Work

I am not shooting as many weddings these days as I have in the past.  Now that I have a family of my own and a seemingly never-ending increase in responsibilities in my day job, carving out the 30+ hours to prep, shoot and edit a wedding is a lot of time to give up in a week.  Still, I like to shoot at least one a year - especially with a couple like Amy and Aaron.  Not only was their wedding beautiful and deeply meaningful, they also made having a good time a priority for themselves, family and guests - oh, and the photographer too!

Adding to the joy of working with them were their two angels....  You couldn't ask for a prettier face!

Helping mom out...

Details, details...

Amy and Aaron had a large wedding party.  The ladies were beautiful and the guys weren't slackers by any means.  Indeed, one of jokes circulating among the guests - in order to make the wedding party, you had to look good!

Checking out the guys....

While I'm not Catholic, I love a Catholic weddings.  The service is rich in meaning, and their father's homily was a perfect fit for A & A.  Should have captured the audio.

One of the angels watching over everything....

Shooting a large wedding party is a challenge, but these folks made it easy.

What you can't see in these pics is how bright it was on the water.  It was hard not to squint.  I'd bet Aaron had his eyes closed during this one.

More fun...

Bride, maid of honor and the flowers ... all beautiful.

Outtakes...

More outtakes....

As I said, this couple understands fun!

Amy, Aaron - thanks for a wonderful experience.  God bless you and your family on your new life together.

D

Click Here for the Expanded Gallery

portfolios updated!

Friends:


Sorry the blog has been so quiet.  I've been engaged in other activities that have consumed the bulk of my writing energy - which I will be adding to this blog this summer.  In the meantime, I have managed to update my two main online portfolios:


http://lakeshoreclick.com/portfolio/outdoor.htm 


and 


http://lakeshoreclick.com/portfolio/people.htm


Enjoy, and if you live in West Michigan, I hope you got out and enjoyed the day!


ciao,


d

A portfolio, revamped!

Friends:


I've slowly been updating my online portfolio.  I've completed the people side of images...  http://lakeshoreclick.com/portfolio/people.htm for those of you interested.


d

wallpapers are updated

Well, it's only been two years since the last refresh, but I have finally updated the wallpaper downloads on lakeshoreclick.com.  If you're looking for a change of scenery on computer, check it out at http://lakeshoreclick.com/Wallpapers/.  I dropped the 4x3 format, and am only producing widescreen versions now.  Nothing personal to those of you with standard-screen devices - I just don't like the format, and have decided that I am indeed vain enough to think my images should not be artificially crammed into that format.  

the dominican republic wedding

Sarah and I took our holiday vacation somewhat earlier (and farther) this year, to travel to the Dominican Republic for a wedding.  Other than the day of the wedding, we spent 8 days and 7 nights doing absolutely nothing besides sun, food, reading, cigars and of course rum.  ;)


There's a rather large gallery posted, mostly for family and friends, on my main site.  The link is provided above - just click on the title of this post. 


A special note to Natalie & Dave...  Thank you so very much for sharing your wedding with us.  May all your days be as special!


D

Congratulations Ken!

lakeshoreclick.com would like to take this moment to congratulate Kenneth Bollinger (dan's father in law) on winning this year's Farm Bureau Michigan Agricultural Technology Teacher of the Year award.  Ken has been teaching students for over 40 years now, making this award more than due!  


Congratulations, Ken!  We are all so very proud of you!

from the lakeshoreclick.com staff.... both of us!

linnea

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!  Sarah and I are more thankful than ever (more to come on that topic shortly).  I have been shooting a lot these last few months, most of which has been  for personal use.  I did, however, have the honor of shooting the senior pictures for Linnea.  She was great in front of the lens!  I wish all of my photo sessions were as successful as hers!

A small sampling of her pics can be found via the following link. 


http://lakeshoreclick.com/linnea/


Gobble, gobble!


D

nieces

I just love my nieces and their friends.  I'd say they rock, but I am not sure that 'rock' is a cool phrase anymore.  They are all willing subjects... I oft tire of taking pics of them before they tire of being subjects. Adults, we could all learn from that - for what it's worth.  


My sister's daughter is a challenging subject.  She's simply beautiful, but she's also a director... she's convinced that she, only only she, knows what poses work for her.  So, I roll with it.  Can't complain about the results.




My sister's neighbor has a very beautiful child. I love my gear, but all this kid needed was some fill flash and BOOM, great pic.

Off to my brother's house.  His daughters are older, but still just as innocent in front of the lens.  I just love my family. 

So cute!



Best part, all I have to say is "do something funny" and this appears instantly.  It's like they been holding it in forever!



My God-daughter.  Lucky guy I am.





The requisite outtake...

Celebrate the kids in your life - their the best of who we are...

d

the other side of the lens

Sarah and I are in the process of adopting. We're on the wait list and have had some near misses, but still waiting. Waiting for a child to call your own is a pretty surreal experience. I can't quite explain what it's like. Sarah, on the other hand, has no problem (nor inhibition) describing how she feels... "It's like I've been 9 months pregnant for 2 years."

Regardless, we can tell you this - being on hold has made our favorite phone call also our least favorite. We've gotten the "we've had a baby" call three times this year, twice from some of our dearest friends. We are SO happy for them, and are grateful and blessed to share in their joy. Still it makes the longing we have for a child weigh even heavier on our own souls.

At least I am getting some good practice with baby pics. Below are some shots from the most recent arrival. I am really happy with the pics, but I also look very forward to the day I can experience the arrival of a child from the other side of the lens.

d