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First up, Do you SoFoBoMo?

I won an award in a contest over at the website SoFoBoMo.org. Of course, since the only competition was myself, I had some say in the matter.

SoFoBoMo is short for Solo Photo Book Month. The contest is to shoot, edit and publish a book of 35 photos in 31 days. Since I was able to do this, I am recognized as a “Finisher ‘09″.

The book tells the story, in photographs, about spending 24 magical hours touring the countryside when the cherry trees blossom near Traverse City, Michigan.

You can download the book, titled “Cherryside” and all 35 images from this link: SoFoBoMo.org

Enjoy!

Lastly, An inspiring and unfortunately true story

Through personal connections I’ve had the privilege of following a story about a family, David and Amy Wenzel, who recently learned their life will never be the same – David has a brain tumor. Even typing those words strikes fear into my heart. So actually going through such a trial is a stretch of comprehension for me.

David and Amy both have begun writing about the experience online. Both are very talented people and possess the ability to communicate at high levels. Both are leaning on their faith in a loving God to guide them in this experience. Nobody knows where all this will lead, and even though they are not superheroes with supernatural strength, their reaction to events so far has been inspiring.

Take the time to read through their posts, I doubt you’ll regret it.

David Wenzel’s Blog
Amy Wenzel’s Blog

Be Inspired!

The job? Capture a portrait for the back credits area of a new music CD. The hope? Get a shot that could be used for the cover. How? Solve problems.

I was able to talk with DF Michael beforehand to plan a few shots that would work for the back credit area. During our conversation, I learned how important it was for Michael to prominently feature his guitar, a treasured gift hand crafted by his brother in Italy. The problem would be getting the guitar close to Michael’s face while still looking natural.

So first we worked on getting these planned shots:

Then I asked Michael if we could try an idea I’d been thinking about. read more »

Every year I hope for maybe two nice weather days so I can do more planning and get a larger variety of shots. Per usual, in her maternal wisdom, mother nature only gave me one, again. This year was very windy so rather than spend time in the orchard focusing on blossoms, I roamed Old Mission instead. To see more from this year’s trip, click on the image below.

(Click image to see Blossoms 2009 gallery)

Ed.

Coaching is better

A friend of mine, Alan Adyniec, introduced me to the idea of using the coaching model to organize people and their efforts instead of other more traditional styles of management.  I have to admit, it sounds like more fun than your garden variety “beatings will continue until morale improves” type of management – maybe more like going for a walk with a friend?

If you’re in a position or know someone in a position where this type of model could help produce better business results, Alan is holding a half-day seminar where he’s teaching the essentials for Coaching Employee Performance.  The seminar is on Wednesday, June 4th. Click the link to register.

If you take the plunge, be sure to mention that you found him here. Alan is offering a free one-on-one follow up session to readers of this post to help you develop a coaching process within your work area. Oh, and be sure to register soon. The early-bird special expires this Friday.

How is this related to photography you might ask? The photos are a result of my portrait session with Alan!

Alan Adyniec, Coach2Engage.com

Enjoy! Ed.

Antiques are, without exception, man-made.  However, only part of their value can be created by man.  The rest is up to time and the elements.  Even a restored or “mint condtion” item derives it’s value from the fact that mother nature had her way with all the others that didn’t make it as far.

I just returned from Traverse City where the fruit trees are blossoming and the dandelions are showing off. I’ve started sorting through the images and I will share them soon. Until then, here is  an antique found along the way…