My niece is better than your niece

Christmas time is closing in, and you all know what that means. No, I am not referring to Christmas trees, eggnog, and stocking stuffers. I of course am referring to the classic tradition of dressing up children in strange yet cute Christmas themed outfits and taking pictures that will be their source of embarrassment for many years to come. For those of you who don't know this is my niece, Baby Kate, and I am her personal paparazzi. She is the cutest baby in the world. This is not up for debate, it is a fact and I can prove it with empirical scientific data and formulae. Here are a few of my favorites from our family session!

Maternity Time

I am starting to catch up on my blog posts now that I have fully accepted that winter is here to stay. I was hoping that it was just a short phase and I started to hibernate early. But it will be spring soon though, right? Please? Anywho...

I was happy to take a few maternity pictures for one of "awesomest" cousins, Marissa, last month. It was early November so it wasn't exactly easy to take pictures outdoors and not have them look "dreary" and "depressing", but I think we pulled it off. If there is one positive thing to be said of taking pictures outdoors during November, it is the fact that you can do so without having to deal with tons of giant, man-eating bugs. I hope you enjoy them.

Toledo 54, Colorado 38

Forrest Gump: "Now you wouldn't believe me if I told you, but I could run like the wind blows. From that day on, if I was ever going somewhere, I was running!"

This quote from famed movie Forrest Gump probably sums up what Aaron Opelt will one day be telling his grandchildren when he recounts his triumphant victory over Colorado to achieve a record-setting number of points in the University of Toledo Glass Bowl. Last year, the then Junior quarterback was discouraged from ever trying to run the ball anywhere outside of his protective "bubble". This year on the other hand, UT's new football coach Tim Beckman gave Opelt permission to run the ball when he needed to, thus opening the door to Opelt leading his team to victory by helping score six touchdowns, two of which he ran in himself. But Opelt wasn't the only one on the field that night, and he didn't single handedly upset Colorado by himself. Both the Rockets offense AND defense "clicked" at the same time on Friday, and allowed them to dominate Colorado and keep a stadium full of hopeful fans excited about the new season. Below you can check out a few more of my pictures from the game, but since I started this blog post with a quote it is only fitting that I end it properly with a quote.

Aaron Opelt: "I didn't know I could still run like that. I got out in the open field and it shocked me a little bit."


Aaron Opelt runs for a 61 yard touchdown (1) , and later in the game he runs past defenders to eventually dive into the endzone for his second touchdown (2).

Kenny Stafford makes a run for it while teammate Adonis Thomas tries to pull off a Colorado defender.


Colorado's #78 has probably seeing better days after being dragged down by #42, Archie Donald.


Colorado fumbles the ball. As the ball bounces in the air in slow motion, yakkety sax begins to play in the background as people realize that despite all the diving and faceplanting, there is actually still a ball in play. UT recovers the fumble and that leads to the Beckman celebration!


The entire game wasn't all bad news though for Colorado, as they did manage to put up over 30 points on the board.


#22 DuJuane Collins led the game is rushing yards with 160 yards over the course of 20 carries (1), while coach Tim Beckman showed his more passionate side as he argued with one of the referees over a questionable call (2)

Wildwood

Boy, this summer sure has been a mild one. The other day I ventured out to Wildwood Metropark to enjoy the wonderful weather and hopefully snap off a few interesting pictures. There weren't too many jaw-dropping picture opportunities though, but following this post are a few eye-catching ones from the day. I suggest that you all get out there atleast once this summer while it is still comfortable, as next year the weather might not be so forgiving (due to the predicted return of El Nino). Enjoy!

North Carolina Vacay

I have finally got back from our weeklong vacation in North Carolina. Well, actually I got back last weekend, but it's hard to process all of my images while trying to catch up on the "real life" that I put on hold for a week. Each year my family rents a luxurious beach house on Topsail Island through Treasure Realty. A week of doing nothing but swimming, beaching (I just made it a verb) and enjoying ourselves is always good for the soul. Nothing is quite as nice as waking up to the fresh sea air and having no responsibilities except trying to figure out which drink to start the day with and trying to figure out a way to keep the sand out of your "private areas". So ofcourse instead laying out on the beach all day, my idea of relaxing is annoying and intimidating everyone by always being in their face with my camera. But hey, it's my vacation and I should be able to spend it however I please! One of my favorite things about Topsail Beach is that it's right next to Camp Lejeune, a Marine Corps Base. All day long they roam the beach on their Helicopters and even the rare Osprey.Here are a few of my favorite shots from the week. You can check out more following this link to the North Carolina 2009 Gallery

Little Katie's Baptism

This weekend I attended my little niece Katie's Baptism at our local Little Flower Church. Ofcourse since I am the budding "Uncle Bob" photographer for the family, I was asked to come along as the official photographer. Someone compared my job for the day to that of the "cousin with a truck" who is always asked to come help on moving day. But atleast the "cousin with the truck" and I have something in common, and that is we usually get a free lunch out of the deal. So I obviously won't complain about it! Ofcourse, the photography itself is reward enough for the job (most of the time), as kids tend to be the Holy Grail for photography. Here are a few shots from the baptism, along with the after-party.

Summer Time Refreshment

Summertime has officially arrived everybody. I know, without me some of you would still think it was spring or even winter, but lucky for you guys I am here to officially announce the beginning of summer. According to the calender it is still spring, but the calender is absolutely incorrect. Summertime officially starts the first time you open a frosty cold beverage and it's taste is so refreshing that it's like nothing you've ever tasted before. Cold drinks in the summer are way better than any other time, and that's a scientific fact.

Now since I have no particularly interesting summer pics yet, I decide to do an impromptu commercial photoshoot in the living room of my apartment. Now if you've ever done an impromptu photoshoot in your apartment then you have felt my pain, because it is not an easy thing. When "the boss" gets home and finds you using her nice end table as photo prop, things tend to get a bit crazy. But it was worth it! Here is a shot of my very last Woodchuck. Now if you've never had a Woodchuck, then I suggest you try one, especially if you like cider! It has undergone some pretty extensive photoshop, and if you hover over it you can see the original image. The best part of photographing beverages is that you can drink them when you get to the editing stage!

Woodchuck Retouch

Weekend at the Lake

I was lucky enough to spend the weekend with the family. Memorial Day weekend at the lake is always a great weekend, and the weather was absolutely perfect. I could not stop myself from taking pictures all day, and I thought I would share a few of my favorites. The first one was created in the "kitchen studio" at our small lake cottage. The "kitchen studio" is actually just a 5 foot by 5 foot kitchen, and I had to lay on the ground with my back against the fridge just to squeeze in the shot. You would be surprised by what you can accomplish with a white sheet and a bath towel! The rest of the shots are just part of the laketime fun. Enjoy.