I grabbed this quick snap with my iPhone 4 on the way home from the studio back on January 31st. Made me think of the old Deep Purple song “Smoke on the water”.
Now I just need to come up with that picture.

Chuck

She has been very supportive of my being self employed ( even when it ran counter to common sense ), and has been my rock when I needed the support. She has also been a sounding board for new ideas; the good ones, the bad ones and yes, the really ugly ones too.

Early on, she put up with my being gone on the weekends shooting weddings twenty plus weekends out of the year, and also went on “monthly mini roadtrips” with me, when I was shooting for the HomeGuide. She has shared the concept of “job change” several times and helped me to embrace those “changes”, when it scared the hell out of me ( OK , us ).

Throughout all of my character building escapades, she has been there. For better or for worse, that’s what she said, almost 25 years ago.

Over the years, she has also put up with my requests to come sit for me at the studio. So that I may try out some new lighting style or “another” new piece of gear.

The very least that I could do, after all I have put her through, was to put up a great shot of her.

Here it is.

I hope that you approve. I know that I like it ( and she does too )!

Chuck

For those of you that are interested, here is the lighting setup for the shot.

The first two are from the middle of nowhere in Louisiana.


These are from the Cultural Center of the Universe, otherwise known as Langdon, ND. It was about 15 below zero when I shot these, on our last trip up there, in early February.


Not true elements, in either the mystical realm or the periodic chart of elements, but they do have a “basicness” and “simpleness” to them. Both in the materials themselves and the design aspects of the images.

I hope that you enjoy them.

Chuck

I feel especially drawn to the textures and the structure of the older churches in Europe, that you can’t find back here in the states.

Here we are lucky to find a structure thats over 250 years old, and they are usually in pretty rough shape. In Europe, buildings may not even be considered old unless they are at least 500 years old.

It’s sad that we end up tearing down so many of our older buildings, just to make way for “progress”. So many of our newer buildings built in the last 25 years lack “personality” or “character”. Gone are the embellishments and columns, gargoyles and chimneys, popping up out of steeply pitched roof lines.

Who said change was good?

Please don’t get me wrong, there are many beautiful buildings being designed and built today, by some very talented and creative architects.

But will they still be here in 500 or 1000 years from now?

Just my two cents. My apologies to any of you that I might have offended.

And as a side note, both of these images were taken with my Nikon D5000, not a bad little travel camera.

Chuck

I thought that this was funny as hell, the name says it all. Big Ass Fans

The fan was about twenty four feet in diameter and nothing to look at, so you get to look at the control box instead.

Just another quick snap with the iPhone 4.

Enjoy

Chuck

I am referring to the following four images taken on our Christmas Market tour in Germany and France, back in early December.

They all deal with different periods of Kunstgeschichte or more simply put in english – Art History.

Lesson number one.

This is St Paulin’s Church in Trier, Germany. St Paulin’s is a beautiful example of the baroque-rococo style and was completed in 1751. The imagery on the ceiling was done by Christoph Thomas Scheffler in 1743 and features two scenes from the life of Paulinus, a Trier bishop who was exiled in 353.

Lesson number two.

From St Martin’s Cathedral in Mainz, Germany. While the romanesque styled St Martin’s is much older than St Paulin’s, these windows and the painted backdrop for the crucifix are much more recent and what caught my eye ( even more so than St Stephen’s famous blue windows by Marc Chagall ).

Lesson number three.

Shot from our tour bus near the Porta Nigra or Black Gate in Trier, Germany, this fine example of modern street art or “tagging” brightened up an otherwise dreary cement bridge abutment.

Lesson number four.

Depending on where in this timeline you decide to put post modern, this shot could actually come before lesson three.

Anyone care to guess what it is? OK, I’ll tell you.

This is actually the lower portion of the reception desk at the Hotel Krone in Tubingen, Germany. By day – it is frosted white plexiglass, but at night when the room lights are dimmed, it glows from within – as if on fire.

So what was supposed to be a tour of the region’s Christmas markets, became more of a lesson in art history and appreciation. We definitely enjoyed the markets, but there was so much more to see and even more that we missed.

I guess there’s always next time…..Enjoy!

Chuck

One of my favorite “guilty pleasures”, when I am traveling in the south, is stopping at a Waffle House for breakfast. I don’t care if breakfast is included with my room or if I have to travel a little further.

Its worth the effort, kind of like searching out a White Castle for a Slider.

The food isn’t anything to write home about, compared to some places that you could choose to spend your dining dollars at. But hey, that’s OK by me. It is varied and reasonable and they are usually open 24 hours a day.

To me, the Waffle House epitomizes culinary efficiency. The amount of food that they can crank out of twelve feet of grill and prep counter space is just amazing.

The people behind the counter are generally very friendly and do their very best not to step on each other’s toes. I’ve always gotten a genuine “What can I getcha Hon?” and usually some sort of interesting conversation, a tidbit of local information or become part of a friendly banter with several of the staff or other diners.

The Waffle House just south of I-10 on HIghway 51 in Laplace, LA.

SO… the next time you go looking for the golden arches or some other kind of breakfast food stop, look for the Yellow and Black Waffle House sign instead. Don’t be a food snob, be part of the fun.

Oh yeah, they have the wierdest trees down there.

And here you thought I was talking about the Spanish Moss growing all over the trees.

PS: All of these were taken with my iPhone 4G, not quite the quality of my D3, but hey I had it with me ( looking for AT&T coverage ).

Enjoy… Chuck

The professionals know that the winter is the ideal time to trim all of your trees. It is easier to move around among the branches and less shock to the tree itself.

This was shot during a 2008 winter training session with S&S Tree Service at the Braemar golf course in Edina, MN.

It was shot in available light ( the snow made for a great reflector ), with a Nikon D3 and the 200-400 F4 AF VR zoom.

Similar to the first shot, this one taken south of Mankato, MN in the summer of 2009. It was also shot with the D3 and the 70-200 F2.8 AF VR zoom.

If you need your trees trimmed call S&S, if you need great photography like this, call me.

Chuck

Ha Ha. Enjoy, from an old stud ( at least that is what my wife says. Do you think its a reference to my age? )

Chuck

PS: Just one more.

Chuck