I love being a Kansas City Event Photographer.

The biggest event of late was the grand opening of The Kauffman Center For Performing Arts.

This 13 shot  panoramic to the left is the structure I speak of… Kansas City’s newest skyline plaything.

I was lucky enough to cover the indoor gala dinner as well as some of the outdoor projection that went onto the actual structure from across the street using 4- 30,000k projectors.

In layman’s terms… that’s really bright.

It was a fantastic event & a part of Kansas City history.

Of course it is always fun to cover any event I do. I love my job & have a passion for Event Photography.

I think telling a story with pictures is still the best medium to do it in.

Black tie affairs… amazing bartenders playing with fire & 100 proof liquor… entertainment from all angles…

Oh- and the shot of BB King in the recording studio..? It’s not an event but believe me, being in the room alone with the man & having full access to shoot what I wanted- was an event for me. And on film, at that. F-I-L-M.. For Idiots Like Me.. no- Fine Increments of Light Management.  Yes.. That’s it.

Please enjoy these Kauffman images & the few other event views- and BB King- all taken with Nikon cameras & lenses. Canon’s are for shooting old ships. Nikons are for shooting everything else.

Look all the way to the last event photo- “The End” You think that wasn’t a winning moment for me?

Remember to have a professional photographer at your next event… and you might even consider using me- Mr. Passion for Events. I love me a good event..& I can help out in the coat check room.

See you in the buffet line…

But if you’d like a peek at several things I do, feel free to choose anything you see on the front page. This post is about Event Photography.

I- am a Kansas City Event Photographer, among many other genres of photography.

I am an experienced & very passionate event photographer & truly love what I do. Please- if you’re looking at having an event documented, look no further. I am the guy you’ve been looking for… Even if you weren’t looking for an event photographer, I am still your guy because now you have an event photographer… you look like the hero when the party starts & you’ve hired me to show up to take very fun, professional, campy & unique images for your event.

Events can be almost anything if I take enough creative license.. & I do.  Every day is an event, if you know what I mean. I document what I can.

And I can say that if you call on me to cover your event, wedding, portrait session, aerial photography needs, food or fun, personal photos… it will be documented in the best way possible.

The Kauffman Center For Performing Arts will be open soon… Talk about some event possibilities. I love this building & I hope to do some work inside of it. I’m sharing these photos here as well. Watching it go up has been- an event. Therefore, I include these images amongst this sprinkle of event shots.  So there…

There are some shots from the Wild About Harry event that was a lot of fun to be on. Phil Donahue is a wonderful speaker & you could listen to him talk about anything & be pleased with it.

Nothing says event like a county fair. Below are some catches from this year’s Wyandotte County Fair…event.

Sure, the shot titled “Boots-a-Walkin isn’t a traditional event shot…but they were on a mission to the cotton candy stand – where a spinning sugar event was taking place.

See..? Artistic license at work.

And the final frame in this series is a 1990 photo of Nancy Kerrigan, lacing up prior to an event & before her world was rocked with a ball bat.

Please give me a call or drop me an email through my site. Follow me on twitter & see what I post at a moments notice…

Help keep me out of the rush hour traffic by hiring me for your event.

Enjoy the Event Photography & I’d love to see you at yours…

Since we had to wait till it got dark enough to see the screen, I took advantage of the vanishing daylight & stage light mix to create these images.

The ladies are from the band,  “The Screaming Orphans” straight from Ireland- and were quite entertaining and very seasoned musicians, I might add. Very fun music & who doesn’t like 4 ladies on stage playing & singing their hearts out?

Next, there are a few shots of the Canadian band, Pogey…also a talented bunch of guys.

But the last night of the Irish Fest belonged to local Kansas City Band, The Elders.

As a Kansas City Photographer, I get to run into old band mates like Steve Phillips & Joe Miquelon, who I used to play with in a few other projects in my Kansas City drummer days… back when drumming 6 nights a week & a pizza delivery gig would make ends meet.

When it was show time, I took my camera position at the stage & was set to be another good night of hand held camera work for this Kansas City videographer.

The winds were gusting 30-40mph that night & only 45 minutes into the show, the producer pulled the plug on the “video to screen” portion of things, as the screen was about to set sail on it’s own power & would have injured someone had it lifted off…which it was very close to doing.

From the looks of the beautiful sky & the Western Auto building against the Kansas City Downtown Skyline, you’d never know it was blowing like a small hurricane down there.

So- I put down the video camera..helped get the screen down & out of danger.. & picked up my Nikon D90 & started shooting photographs of the band.

Having stage access was such a plus as you’ll see here in the following images.

The Elders rocked…the crowd was great & I came away with some fine photos of the whole thing.

I love being able to bounce from being a Kansas City Videographer to being a Kansas City Photographer, all in the same evening.

Please enjoy these images & see the passion in the musician’s faces.

My trusty Nikon D90 & 18-200 VR lens combo came through for me again.

Nikon- in front of every good eye.

If you or someone you know is in need of good, creative images- send them my way.

I’m here to help…

This, to me, is what it must have been like when they built Union Station in the early 1900′s. The excitement of something grand & new that the city will enjoy for years to come. Union Station opened in 1911…and this performing arts center will open in 2011.

As a Kansas City Photographer, I am very interested in the history of nearly everything. This new facility is no different. This is a piece of Kansas City history & I like to document it as often as I can, whenever I am in that part of town. I only wish I could get some interior shots.

Since I document construction work at times, I was drawn to this like a moth to the flame. JE Dunn is building this little gem & they do, in my opinion, just amazing work.

The images start in April of 2009 & end up with a nice little night shot just last week on July 23rd, 2010.

There is this rather large fence that keeps me from getting the actual angle I want but as any good Kansas City photographer would do-

I Make the best of what is presented to me.

Please enjoy the images & the angles I chose to tell the story.

Bright blue days that led to some beautiful contrast with rusted steel & blue sky. Black & white images to give a timeless feel to them.

Steel, cranes, colorful rust & a rocket ready for take off…

There is plenty to shoot in this town…

And this Kansas City photographer loves getting out to shoot it.

The shots from the air give a great perspective. I love when I get to wear my Kansas City aerial photographer hat.

Enjoy these & I’ll see you in the balcony.

Taken with a Nikon D90 / 18-200 VR & 70-200 VRII lenses.

Diggin’ the Nikon…

This week I was once again, a Kansas City Aerial Photographer as I hung out a Cessna 172 in the summer heat to get some shots for a client & then some…

You’ll see here a Limestone farmhouse dating back to the mid-late 1800′s.

Imagine the summer storms that this place has been through. History in a bean field.

There are a nice couple of views of the new performing arts center that’s taking shape on the skyline. It reminds you of Australia a bit…with a different accent.

The new Christopher Bond Bridge is coming along nicely as you’ll take note. The guy in that small crane at the tip top has a great view…except his never changes.

A pristine Kansas farm with a striking set of red out buildings was begging to be shot. This farm looks like magazine or move material. If I could only find it on the ground now.

As a Kansas City Aerial Photographer- you shoot anything that looks interesting along the way. It’s not like you can just go back later that day.

Then, another even closer view, looking into the performing arts center… where I hope to get a few jobs as the Kansas City Event Photographer that I like to be, once it is open.

Lastly- a couple of “faces” looking back at you.

One almost has a monkey peek-a-boo look (to my underdeveloped brain, anyway) and the other- which is a construction site for a church- has what appears to be a giant robot head smiling at the plane.

I love shooting from the aerial vantage point because you see things completely different than the ground or even roof top level…and you can see so much in a small window of time.

Aerials are great tools for construction management…real estate agents…police investigations…property owners, etc. I really enjoy the aerial photography jobs & look forward to my next sortie.

As a Kansas City Photographer, I take pride in using Nikon camera equipment. These were all taken with a D90 & the 18-200 VR lens combo at or above 2100′

Next time you see a blue & white Cessna flying in a circle…wave or lift your shirt. Ya never know…

Bryan & Monica are the wonderful hosts & owners & the food rocks. They are featuring local artists & I was asked to hang my “By The Curb” photographs until they find one. OK…I guess I am one.  That is my photo, “Grandma’s off her Rocker” on the wall. Of course..there are more than just that one. I just wanted to show a little of the Nica’s look. As a Kansas City photographer, I do things like that.

They are going to promote a show for me & I just know the line will stretch out the door..or maybe it’ll just stretch out in my mind.  I will keep you posted.

All shot with the Nikon D200 or D90, the photos seem to pop off the cool colored walls at Nica’s. No beige allowed here in this corner of OP.

Then, on my way home from an errand after hanging my work, I was cruising midtown once again for new spring cleaning victims when standing in a shaft of beautiful golden hour light was a beautiful specimen of the wily 1/2 mannequin. Usually they only come out at night…after the sales. But this was a great find. I went home & hoisted a beer in celebration. The family… thought I was crazy. But that’s what a good Kansas City photographer will do… drive the family crazy.

Sexy to really lonely guys & functional for a dressmaker, I wondered which of the two tossed it out.

Thanks for looking today. If you see a piece by the roadside, keep me in mind & give me a shout. I’ll run out with my trusty Nikon & click away at it.

Nikon..in front of every good eye.

I’m stoked! I had a meeting today with the owner & executive chef at Nica’s in Overland Park at 143rd & Metcalf. His name is Bryan Merker & he & his wife have an eclectic little bistro & coffee/tea hut. Very nice people there. They are doing revolving artists & I have been asked to show my “By The Curb” photos. I just today, took all of my pieces out of Figlio’s on the Plaza where they withstood a year & a half showing. Nice exposure…one sale. But I am happy to be showing in Overland Park. I will post the show date as soon as I know… stay tuned.

And I think these 2 combo prints will be included…

I love it if I revisit a spot where I once took a photograph of a “by the curb” piece & there sits another item in the same place.

Here are 2 such examples.

The vertical print was taken last Jan, 2009. I had been in midtown & noticed the sofa & the grass that was almost the same color & the stained window shades above…& shot it right from the car as I pulled to where the best frame was. The radio is on… the weather says, “A chance for snow.”

Well, this time the weather folks were correct. I had to go into midtown again & I remembered the shot from the day before. I went back & sure enough, there it was.. and a blanket had been added. I pulled up to try & recall, from memory, the framing- & I got damn close. These images are not cropped. They are full frame. One day apart.

The title of this print (available in 12×36) is “Sun & Snow”

The horizontal print (also a 12×36) is titled “Safe Place To Sit”

At least that’s the running title at the moment.

The story is fresh. Just today, I was visiting a friend in midtown & on the way home passed by 41st & State Line- where I had shot the green recliner on the left in 2007.  The photograph on the right was taken today & though they are not in the exact identical spot & distance from the hydrant- they were close enough to tell a story. Photographed 3 years apart…same location.

The green recliner image from 2007 was shot with a Nikon D200 & 18-200mm VR lens. The remaining photos were shot with the D90 & same lens. Thanks for looking. A 12×36 framed print looks smashing on any wall, by the way.

As a Kansas City photographer I freelance many situations. I like that I can wear a photographer hat and a videographer hat. One for each eye.

I was working with Harvest Productions documenting the event on HD video as well as some photos for them. As always, I had my D90 with me & the 18-200mm VR lens.

The light was very low & the colors very blue.. Most of these were shot at ASA 1600-2500. All were in available light.  The VR did its job very well.

As you will notice, I enjoy shooting the desserts…

The MCC Chorale also performed & while shooting a photo of them milling around outside the ballroom, a young lady playfully struck a pose that became the focus of the scene.

Then, on stage is Henry Bloch with all of the Bloch Scholars that were honoring him that night.

The final photo is of Greg Turcotte at the sound knobs for Harvest.

I only got to look at all that wonderful food. I had a bowl of Corn Pops when I got home & I don’t have a photo of that… next time.

I was in Las Vegas recently on a live camera concert job & was able to grab a few interesting photographs to share with all of the image appreciators out there.

All photos posted on this page are taken with a Nikon D200 & Nikon 18-200VR lens at various ISO settings, all in available light. *see next to last image for a unique grab of someone’s flash*

We start off with a photograph from the Fairmont Street area of old Las Vegas of a photogenic martini glass & gitchy Vegas sign.

After a little manipulation, this turned out to be an interesting fine art image.

Then follow on through some classic Las Vegas signage from the past.

I gave the images of these signs a “1960′s” Kodachrome look & feel to match the era of these classic old pieces of art.

Blue Angel Motel… Holiday Motel… Fun City Motel…If those walls could talk- think of the screenplays that could have been.

I didn’t have a ton of time to go out & shoot fun stuff so these photos were all crammed in a 2 hour window the day I left for KC.

Then, there are three photographs that are street photography style, all at Mandalay Bay.

The first photograph is a shot of a lady in a black dress that happened so fast that the slow shutter speed coupled with the motion of her, the camera & myself, trying to get the composition before she walked behind that pillar…made for an arty outcome. I love the mysterious feel that is felt in my image, “Mystery Lady of Las Vegas.”  1/15th sec at f5.6  ISO 1000.

Two of the final three shots are centered around a pair of breasts displayed as art… and really- who can argue?  Don’t scroll down just yet. They’re not Real breasts -they are marble, not unlike some of the Vegas dancer’s…

I sat & watched as most people just breezed past the breasts. But then there were also several people that wanted their photo taken with them.

I love to get shots of people taking photographs themselves & the final “breast” photo was a great one to wait patiently 20 minutes for.  I have 5 or 6 shots of these girls posing in available light (at an ISO of 1250 for you techies) but this happened to be a nice catch when my slow shutter was open at the same time that their flash went off, resulting in a nicely lit image of two young attractive women playing joyfully with a set of breasts which just goes to show how important they really are to society…  I’m just sayin’.

And, what the heck.. -and you thought I had saved the breast for last.

I managed to get a few shots off from my camera position at one of the shows I was running camera on.  The last photo is of comedian, Bill Engvall, as he had the audience in tears at this & several other points. This man is a true pro. He had food poisoning that night but went on & clicked for an hour show with 2 trash cans just off both sides of the stage at the ready. He said after the show that he didn’t think he was gonna make it.

I hope you enjoyed this posting of “What Brian Did Not Too Long Ago.”

Tell your friends. Pass me along. Visit my gallery. Be kind to animals. Eat your vegetables. Don’t fear the reaper. I would like a job at a creative outlet. It is almost senior portrait time. Remember the Alamo. Also, remember Budget, Hertz & National. And most important- What happened in Vegas, stayed behind the camera.

I had the extreme pleasure of sitting in with friends Monique Danielle & Rick Bacus at Jazz located at 39th & State Line in KC. I brought a Cajon- also called a beat box in Cajun music- & just had an absolute blast.

If you get the chance to hear Monique sing, you will come away thinking you just left a top of the line club in New York.

Rick Bacus is KC’s Eric Clapton- or that’s what I like to call him. We have played together over the years in several projects & he too, is an amazing musician.  I was just the guy beating on the box…

Photography is such the documenting tool… I love taking pictures of musicians & seeing the pure bliss involved. I was in heaven while playing with these two super musicians this eve & while I’m not in a photo here- trust me that I was makin’ great faces in the groove…