Efrain and Veronica

It was a small civil marriage service in a small office. Two witnesses,one son, the officiator, and a photographer.

One was widowed, I do not know about the other. Maybe they both were. It does not matter. They had known each other for some time. He enticed her to come from Mexico to marry him and become a citizen. This was not one of "those" marriages of convenience. She was hesitant. He was encouraging.

Now Efrain and Veronica are one before God, man, and the state. She is here legally. Already she has a job. It does not pay much, but it is a beginning. She can work on her English and take the necessary steps toward full citizenship. I wish them well.

Anabel

Anabel came to this country from Mexico more than ten years ago. She is an American citizen now.

Yesterday, we attended the funeral of Aunt Jayne in Snowflake. It finally allowed me to see the LDS Temple there. I had been drooling over images included in various wedding posts. My slobber was not unjustified. This is a singularly beautiful location and building. Great hilltop vistas, if you are a landscape painter. Autumn foliages, for those of us who seldom see it. Great atmosphere and setting for potential newlyweds. I look forward to the first opportunity to shoot a wedding there. Of course, you will have to pay for gas for the trip.

My philosophy.

The picture I am attaching is a shot of one of my grandsons. It really has nothing to do with my interest in wedding and event photography. It is simply documentary.

A fine young man.

Jacob is one of the boys who is being homeschooled in Mesa. I get to tutor him when he hits some of the confusing areas.

He is an intelligent and independent young man who will, no doubt, be successful in the future. He was kind enough to allow me to perform a pseudo-senior shoot. After all, he is only a freshman. Thankfully, he was patient.

Brothers at Play.

I do not get too many opportunities to shoot my grandson Adam. He is in kindergarten. Yesterday I stopped by to visit because I did not need to babysit. The two brothers played quietly on the window shelf while I entertained Janie. I was pleased with this image.

Making myself grow with the camera.

We had a model shoot in Phoenix yesterday. The models were not the typical type that one encounters in such circumstances. That was okay because these guys turned out just fine.

This young lady was one of older options and was being posed by Dan Coogan in this spot.

I grabbed a shot while he was setting up his equipment.

Guys like me participate in the shoots for different reasons and needs. Poses are important. So are so many other elements that show up in a picture that will be viewed and often criticized by another individual. Dan made a comment about "stealing" his pose, but Dan is so many light years ahead of me in his skills that such a boast is inconsequential. I was focused on getting a satisfactory exposure. (Shooting always seemed so much easier when we were using film.) I try to develop too many aspects of exposure at one time.

When all was said and done, I hoped to be satisfied with a handful of decent shots. After all, I took more than 100. It turned out that my ratio was higher than expected. Most still took too long in Lightroom editing. Even then, I saw other things to be worried about besides exposure.

Since I like the feeling I get whenever I tackle and overcome challenges, I reckon there will be more opportunities for me to experience those "Way to go!" and those "Were you shooting with both eyes closed?" moments.

Proud to be an American

They played Lee Greenburg's "Proud to be an American" when a whole bunch of people were sworn in as new citizens today. Among these was Sergio, whom I met because he was studying for the citizenship exam. He was handed over to me for the final fine tuning. When he took the test in early September, he passed. Today he took the oath that gave him new freedoms. I am proud of Sergio and his willingness to support the country that strengthens and empowers him.