Well, maybe it's time for a real and permanent change.

Not everyone uses social media and not everyone spends a huge amount of time online. So, in an effort to reach more people, I will certainly try to keep this updated on a more regular basis. 

Until then, just a small handful of what I've been up to since last fall.

The last one has text that speaks to Tyler.

Prior to the competition I was able to get her in the studio to take a few photos to celebrate this accomplishment.

Greta Anderson strikes a pose in the studio wearing her smooth style dress. Greta Anderson striking a pose in the studio wearing her smooth dance style dress. Greta Anderson wearing her rhythm dance dress. Greta striking her best cha cha pose in the studio. Greta taking another latin pose during her photo shoot. Greta channels her best Bruno Mars impersonation. Greta loves showing of how the dress moves while dancing the cha cha.

Finally the weekend of the competition arrived and we were off to a very early start.

The newcomers dancing with a professional instructor usually go first so it meant a very early morning for Greta starting with hair and make up in the wee hours of the morning. Saturday was for rhythm dances (cha cha, rumba, swing, etc.) and she absolutely rocked it.

Snow Ball 2016 Newcomer Bronze: Cha ChaSaturday morning of Snow Ball 2016. Newcomer Bronze rhythm. Greta Anderson (right) dancing with Gordon Bratt (left) of Mill City Ballroom during the cha cha. Saturday of Snow Ball 2016: Newcomer Bronze - SwingGreta Anderson (right) strikes a pose with Gordon Bratt (left) while dancing the swing during the first heat of the Saturday portion of the Snow Ball 2015 Dancesport Competition. Snow Ball 2016: Saturday Newcomer Bronze - RumbaGreta Anders (right) prepares to begin the rumba with her partner and teacher, Gordon Bratt (left). Snow Ball 2016: Saturday Newcomer BronzeGreta Anderson (right) wraps up one of her dances with Gordon Bratt (left) during the morning heats of the Snow Ball 2016 Danceport Competition. Snow Ball 2016: Saturday Newcomer BronzeGreta Anderson (right) concentrating while performing the swing with her partner and teacher, Gordon Bratt (left). Waiting for the results. (Left to right) Gene Bersten and Amy Chan of Dance With Us America; and Greta Anderson and Gordon Bratt of Mill City Ballroom.

Greta placed in first or second for all of her dances and ultimately took home third place in the Newcomer Bronze division!

Snow Ball 2016: Newcomer Bronze Rhythm 3rd PlaceGreta Anderson taking a cue from Olympic medalists after placing 3rd in the Newcomer Bronze Rhythm division of the Snow Ball 2016 Dancesport Competition. Greta and GordonGreta Anderson (left) poses with her teacher and partner, Gordon Bratt (right) after placing 3rd in the Newcomer Bronze Rhythm division of the Snow Ball 2016 Dancesport Competition.

Sunday was for smooth (waltz, fox trot, tango, Viennese waltz) and once again, Greta was in tip-top form.

American TangoGreta Anderson (left) with Gordon Bratt (right) during the Sunday portion of Snow Ball 2016. American Tango: FanGreta Anderson (left) swirls into a pose with Gordon Bratt (left) during the Sunday portion of the Snow Ball 2016 Dancesport Competition. All Smiles for Fox TrotGreta Anderson (right) is all smiles while dancing the fox trot during the Sunday heats of the Newcomer Bronze Smooth division.

All that hard work paid off and once again, Greta placed in either first or second for all of her dances and ultimately took home second place in the Newcomer Bronze Smooth division.

Second Place Newcomer Bronze SmoothGreta Anderson after wining second place in the Newcomer Bronze Smooth division of the Snow Ball 2016 Dancesport Competition.

Congratulations, Greta! You worked hard for this achievement! Also a big congratulations to all the other finalists at the competition! Time to start preparing for this year's Twin Cities Open and hope to see some familiar faces there!

Additional highlights from the competition.

Snow Ball 2016 Newcomer Bronze RhythmAmy Chan (left) dancing with Gene Bersten (right) of Dance With Us America. Snow Ball 2016 Sunday: Open SilverGene Gersten (left) dances with Shannon Yee (right) during the Open Silver division of the Snow Ball 2016 Dancesport Competition. Snow Ball 2016 - ProfessionalsSarah Ford (left) strikes an elegant pose with Nick Haklin (right). Both from the Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Buffalo Grove, IL. Snow Ball 2016 - Professional International LatinTatyana Lutsenko (left) and Dymytrii Goncharov (right) during the Open Professional International Latin heat of the Snow Ball 2016 Dancesport Competition. Snow Ball 2016 SaturdayDarren Franco (left) dances with Kim Herrig during one of the Saturday heats of the Snow Ball 2016 Dancesport Competition.

Photos from the official photographer can be found here courtesy of Ryan Kenner Photography.

Special thanks to Sarah Fuller of Fuller Life Photography for allowing me to use her studio space.

If you would like to learn ballroom dance, I highly recommend the following two studios and visit USA Dance - Minnesota for more information.

Mill City Ballroom
Dance With Us America

Happy New Year!

With each new year there comes the customary retrospective and in my case, considering how long it's been since I updated the blog, it's going to be a bit on the lengthy side so strap in for a longer than usual post.

August

With the end of summer comes the Great Minnesota Get-Together, otherwise known as the Minnesota State Fair! This year I ended up going more days to one fair than I have previously. In fact, the total number of days spent at the fair ended up being more than the number of State Fairs I’ve ever been to! Old friends were in town for several of them and I was very fortunate to be able to spend some time with them. A couple of them even posed for pictures after a long day at the fairgrounds.

September

I was asked by a friend to take his headshots for professional and personal use. We met in the backyard of my apartment building and made use of the surrounding foliage to create some interesting bokeh but that came with a price: color spill. Green grass and leaves are surprisingly reflective materials, particularly in harsh sunlight and with strobes. Scrims and the Omega Reflector to the rescue!

A photographer friend reached out to me for some help in advising on a few photo sessions for a charity group that began with a very good friend of hers. The group focuses on raising awareness on Desmoid tumors and raises funds for research with the annual Desmoid Dash 5K. It was very special to witness this event and learn more about this disease. More information on Desmoid tumors can be found here.

October

Once again the annual Scott Kelby Worldwide Photowalk came upon us and this year it was an early morning trek through Minnehaha Falls led by Mel Peifer. It was good to see some familiar faces as well as make some new connections.

November

For something a little different than what I normally do, I volunteered to take photos of the red carpet at this year’s Rumble On The Runway Fashion Awards. Not being a terribly fashion conscious person I had no idea what to expect other than be surrounded by quite possibly the highest concentration of beautiful and well-dressed people in Minneapolis. 

December

To close this year out with a bang, I had a triple header: corporate headshots in the morning followed by two portrait sessions in the evening with three different people. Taking headshots reminds me about the power of human interaction and figuring out the most ideal way of communicating with various people. Finding common ground is always a great place to start, especially if it gets your subject laughing!

My soon-to-be sister-in-law and her good friend are always a hoot to shoot with as they always manage to bring some fantastic costumes. Never a dull moment with singers and theater people! Stay tuned for a more detailed post about how that went.

This last set is particularly special to me. Greta is my fiancée’s cousin and she’s quite the introvert and always has been. It’s been a bit tough for her in terms of finding her place and being comfortable in her own skin and in the last year or so, things have really started to go her way particularly in the last six months. She started taking ballroom dance lessons after sitting on the fence for quite a while and she’s taken to it like nothing else. She’s been the happiest anyone has ever seen her and she even participated in her first competition earlier this month. She’s completely hooked and will be competing in the Snow Ball Dancesport Competition in January. A year ago she would give me these death stares anytime I would even sort of point my camera at her. Now she perfectly comfortable with it and, well, I’ll let the pictures do the talking and can't wait to see her perform at Snow Ball!

I’m really glad she’s found something that makes her so incredibly happy. Just goes to show that there’s something for everyone in this world so if you haven’t found it yet, get your butt out there and go look for it!

Enjoy a few more highlights from the year.

Happy New Year and bring on 2016!

Let's kick things off with little Phoebe. I first met her when she was around a year old and it's been amazing to watch her grow in and just how much her personality has started to shine through!

Next up we have Petra. Always fashion conscious, she really wanted to bring out her inner spy in the style of film noir. 

And finally, we have Pippa. This high school senior has dreams of becoming an archaeologist and enjoys writing and coffee, lots of coffee! She also has very fond memories of Como Park, where we took the first few of her photos (nothing like moving quickly through a greenhouse on a hot summer day). We ended her session with a trip to Spyhouse Coffee for some refreshment and nice change of scenery.

These are three awesome and completely inseparable sisters, each with their own unique personalities with an unbreakable bond with each other!

Ceremony and Reception: Johnson Family Farm

Bride's Dresses: Fairview Terraces

Bridesmaids Dresses: Azazie

Hair: ManeFrame Salon & Boutique

Makeup: Auntie Jen

Rings: Metals Jewelry

Officiant: John Zdrazil

Caterer: Eugen Wittemann, Hans House Restaurant

Tent: HPS Rental

Band: Bluewater Kings Band

Videographer: Joel Morehouse

Second Photographer: Jessica Rue

On May 3rd I had the pleasure of photographing the annual Tea Dance hosted by USA Dance - Minnesota Chapter #2011 at the Lafayette Club. 

Plenty of dancing and two fantastic dance performances. 

One of the highlights of the day for me was meeting this fabulous lady. I found out she is 93-years-young and that it was her first dance event since having a terrible fall a few months ago. I certainly hope I'll still be dancing when I get to be that age!

I had an absolute blast photographing the day and watching all the fantastic dancers we have in our community. Many thanks to Bonnie Burton and USA Dance for allowing me this opportunity and to the fine people at the Lafayette Club for hosting the event. See you all next year!

With that said, my needs as a photographer have grown and I needed a more robust and inclusive solution. 

I won't bore you with all the technical reasons for the move/upgrade but the bottom line is that my new platform allows me to make my entire site a one-stop-shop. Event clients will be able to purchase prints and digital downloads directly from my site, ordering can be completed without any extra steps, and the management tools give me more time to focus on my photography. 

The only downside is that my previous blog entries were not able to be ported over so the content there is no longer accessible for the time being. I may try to retrieve them and create an archive but we'll see.

For now, enjoy the new site and I look forward to the future!