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…

Wait- this reminds me of the Johnny Cash song, “Jackson.”

Sing it with me!

We got married in a fever

Hotter than a pepper sprout

We been talkin’ ’bout- Jackson

etc. etc.

****************************

So- it’s hot out & I thought it’d be nice to post some photos of people wearing really hot clothes. The heat index is 109 today.

Now boil up some hot tea & give that chili a stir & have a look at a few favorite moments from some weddings I have covered.

As a Kansas City Photographer, I cover a lot of areas and one of the “harder than you think” areas would have to be weddings. There are several things going on at any given moment & you can only point the lens at one “moment” at a time.  The trick is to get the right moment, often times walking backward or stepping over a ring bearer that stopped in mid aisle.

Here are some moments that I like from a small collection of weddings where I lived the role of a Kansas City wedding photographer.

Summer, winter, Wiccan, whatever… it is always interesting & fun to cover a wedding.

I like to think that I capture the shots that will make the couple drag out the wedding photos more than once. A good wedding photographer will do that. I tend to be an editorial style photographer & I treat a wedding like a story.. a story that has to be told in photographs. I think that a still photo is much more fun to look at than a wedding video… and I even shoot video.

With video, you really almost have to edit it together to tell the story. I believe that stills are like looking at a book. You can take your time looking. Get lost in the memory of it, etc.

As you stroll through these, you might think of a caption on some.. & laugh out loud at others. If so, then I have done my job.

If you know of someone looking for a wedding photographer with a visual sense of humor & loves wedding cake, please pass them to me for a look.  I’ll bring my own tupperware…

Taken with Nikon D200 &/or D90 cameras with Nikkor lenses. Nikon- takes a good picture

Is that what you’re asking yourself?  Sounds like something you’d get on TV for $19.95 if you didn’t know any better.

I asked myself that the first time I had heard the word.

As a Kansas City Photographer I have to be on the lookout for new & fun things to make life’s subjects look interesting…different..

When I have on my Kansas City Aerial Photographer hat, I shoot with primarily a Nikon 70-200mm VRII lens… and, oddly enough- from the air.

When I am the Kansas City Event Photographer, I use a wide range zoom, such as my Nikon 18-200 VR lens.

And for interiors in architecture photography, I tend to use a super wide, Sigma EX 10-20mm zoom.

For nudes…I will shoot with whatever is handy- or many times,  just resort to internal memory only. Being a typical man, I tell people I have 8 gigs when it’s really just 6. (This joke is for sale. Please send your dollars now. No- really. If you all send just one, I might be able to get that Yugo I have my eye on.)

But when I want to be a Kansas City Creative Photographer- I don’t just shoot away, click-click-auto-this-&-auto-that & then do the fancy photo manipulation & post production wizardry that you have to do on a bad photo to make it look like “something.” No, my friends. These are- “see-focus-check exposure-composition-click.”

When I want a unique look & feel for my images, I turn to my Lensbaby.

It is a very cool little lens that “bends” & “distorts” the photo around as you move the actual lens element & you have to be spot on with focus & exposure…no “auto” anything with this little camera creature.

It is not for everyone. Photographers either love it- or leave it alone. I happen to love the little bugger.

You are actually doing “selective focus” with this lens. If you will note in these photos, you will see an area “in focus” & then the rest just kind of goes Sa-wwoooosshhh -out of focus.

Many may think that the photo is out of focus in general. I try to select an area of interest & draw the observer there. Depending on what depth of field I want, determines how large an area is in focus & I admit, it works better on some things than others.

I bought my first one years ago & they have since improved. They now have several kinds of Lensbabies however, these were all taken with the original Lensbaby.

It takes the “every day” & bends it up a bit. A blue berry looks like…well, I’m not sure. Possibly the Death Star on a mushroom trip.

It isolates a quick candid of Buck O’Neil & draws you right to his wonderful face- and note the ladies in the background still oogling at the man. RIP, Buck. The city misses you.

But-

A classic microphone… an El Camino… Ladies undies…  A heart sprinkle on a cupcake…  A sax man… Phlox… A  Liquid Drummer & a tiny Punkin’ in a Halloween scene.  All bent a bit to make you look twice- or thrice.

**Only 103 days, 0 hours & 45 minutes to Halloween at this posting.**

And the Pony Express Stables look as if they were photographed just before they opened the gate for the first delivery. The first internet.   Not Dial Up- but Giddy Up.  (This joke is also currently for sale.)

Every good Kansas City photographer should have a few tricks in the camera bag & the Lensbaby is one of mine.

Enjoy these unique views & subjects. I enjoyed capturing them & bringing them to you-

There is a Lensbaby tab in my gallery. These photos & others reside there.

The wedding section has been added to, as well. Please- look around. Tell a friend. Tell a co-worker. Make me busy.

Nikon

Lensbaby

Peacebaby

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…

Well, since I played in a Kansas City Cover Band with one of them years ago (stranger in center) I think he remembered some road cash I owed him & we settled up over some beer & great music.

This is the Red Bridge Road Band & they were just a toss away at Llywelyn’s Pub in old Stanley last night.

Since it was a fine, U.K. foggy mist sort of an evening & daylight was chugging toward California, I chose an Orbis ring flash for lighting the group photo & why not? I love that look on certain shots. For this band it has that 70′s Saturday Night Live promo feel…to my little brain anyway.

Great crowd & the band’s song list is very diverse. If you get a chance, seek them out.

For the technical crowd, I shot all of these live shots with my Nikon D90 at an astounding 2500 asa/iso & my trusty 18-200 VR lens in available LED/tungsten mix lighting. If you’re gonna be a Kansas City Photographer & keep that editorial style edge, you really want to shoot with the best.  Nikon- you may call me any time. I’m ready for that endorsement…

If you carry a nice little camera with you with a decent zoom lens- it doesn’t have to be an SLR- you can capture so much of the world that many pass by. I love my Nikon D90 & it loves to shoot although several of these photos are my D200 when it was the top dog of the Nikon pile.

I think a unique perspective on many subjects is “from behind.”

Children are adorable from behind… an old tattered automobile is interesting from behind… Many, many things are fun- and if not, interesting- to see from behind & Kansas City has no shortage of fun & interesting.

One has to be at the right place at the right time as well as be behind the subject they would normally want to be in front of. These shots usually just ‘appear’ & you decide to get it or you don’t. Sometimes it is there for a good long look like the back of the old Studebaker shown here… Other times, it happens right there in front of you, only there for the time it takes to check the tire pressure or write down the evening’s specials on a sidewalk board.

I have to mention the dog in the truck… The dog is not “dropped in”- or in other words, taken from another photo & dropped in the window of the truck. Someone pointed out once that, “The dog appears more sharp & much darker than the driver’s head.” True… it is. The center window is open so there is no glass to have to look through. Glass can look hazy & dirty as well as have a greenish or blue tint to it. That’s what we have going on here. That’s my story & I’m sticking to it.

As I was perusing through some old photos I saw a couple that caught my eye once again & they were from this perspective. Then I found another, & so on.

So, since I am a bit behind on posting- I will offer this series for your entertainment & viewing pleasure.

Mouse over the photos for catchy titles & wonder why Hallmark has not picked me up yet.

Sit back… pour a drink or a cup-o-joe & enjoy these views- From Behind.

Remember.. I’m not just doing this for fun. Still taking summer & fall weddings & event bookings. I will cover them like no other… but watch your behind.

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.

This is a fun little series that I was lucky enough to see unfold in front of me. I am such a frustrated editorial photographer. I love when a moment like this just happens.

As a Kansas City photographer, I am always delighted to see the every day move along it’s road and go unnoticed by the masses while I am always looking to preserve a little slice of it.

While visiting with friends this week at Yummy’s Choice on 39th street, I caught a glimpse through a screened window of these green pointy things waving in the air. Then I saw this young lady getting into her- “Go stand on the corner dressed like Liberty & wave in the tax customers”- outfit. I grabbed my Nikon D90 & racked the 18-200 VR all the way out & hoped that I had the white balance set close to 6,200k.

I did.. and I manually focused through the screen as it would mess with the auto focus otherwise- and fired off these frames. And then, she was gone… but not forgotten, thanks to my decision to put down the ducky & pick up the camera.

Thanks for stopping & taking the time, to look at an American icon from behind. Visit the gallery & see what I do.

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.

This week I came across several that I like & here are 3 that jumped out at me.

The first 2 photographs were shot in San Diego with my Fuji S2 Pro body, back in January, 2004. The S2Pro is still in my bag. It has a Lensbaby 3G that lives on it full time.

The red street car ticket window is obvious but very worthy of documenting. I’m sure that it has been photographed hundreds of times. I like the slight overcast lighting here instead of what could have been full sun.

The classic seaside restaurant makes for a nice postcard feel. “Dear folks, Having a fun time here. This is the Rusty Anchor Restaurant & mom, you’d love the Hush-Puppies! Bye for now, Love- Son”

The final photo, also shot with the S2 Pro, is in Eureka Springs, Arkansas – Oct, 2005. This was actually a model posing for a photographer that was off to my left. I took advantage of the mysterious view & popped this off while she gave the other shooter the winning photo. But this version still works for me.

Thanks for stopping by. Visit the gallery & pass me along…

Thanks much