Today we did Jeff and Erin’s engagement shoot in downtown Utica and the surrounding area. The weather was perfect and the sun was shining perfectly through the fall color in the leaves.

I just returned from my fourth annual east coast road trip. This year I spent some time driving through the small towns in southern Vermont and New Hampshire and then spent an evening hanging out with my old friends (read more in the last post). I then went on down through Boston to the tip of Cape Cod. I past through the insane mansions in Newport Rhode Island and then back through southern Massachusetts before heading home. I found myself NOT shooting a lot of scenes because since this was my 4th fall color trip, a lot of the fall color type scenes felt like “been there, done that” so I was looking for different subjects. Heading through Boston, I was unfortunately there during Friday rush hour on the day of a world series game which was very frustrating to the point where I just kept going and didn’t stop. Then on the Cape, the weather was dark, rainy, windy and just all around gloomy. All in all, I was able to get some good pictures, but many of them ended up being taken in very unlikely places which I guess is part of the adventure.

While I was gone on my trip out east this week, I got to visit up with my friends Joel and Rachel Hartter who just moved to New Hampshire a couple weeks ago. Joel is a good friend of mine from back in the day at the University of Michigan….we worked together in the International Studies office as we both had a heart for overseas travel/study. We became really good friends and have stayed in contact over the years. Joel has quit the engineering world to pursue a career in teaching at a University out there. He is also doing a lot of work out in Uganda as part of his research and is in the process of starting a non-profit organization to start libraries in impoverished regions. I’ll post more info about that once it’s available. Joel and Ray just a baby 9 weeks ago and you can see more about them on Joel’s blog:

http://3jandray.blogspot.com/

Here are a few pics I took of baby Jude while visiting with them:

Earlier today, Alvin and Jenny got married at the Inn at St. Johns in Plymouth, MI. They had an absolutely gorgeous day and seemed to enjoy every minute of it. Emerald City Designs did an amazing job transforming the Grand Ballroom into a masterpiece.

This afternoon we did some pics with little Caroline at Rochester Park. Their family stuck it out through the intermittent wind and rain and we got a ton of fun pics!!

This evening we went down to Detroit to shoot some photos of some kids that will be used in a fund raising campaign this coming December.

This afternoon was my class field trip where I take my students to the zoo for the purpose of having some time to practice with the camera.
The last class will be this week where we do some critiquing along with talking about some before/after photoshop techniques. I only took a few photos today, but decided to play around with the ones that I took. Here are some before/afters:

Yesterday was Cheridy’s baby shower. I just wanted to thank Amber, Tracy, and Joan for throwing a great party and for everyone that came and gave us gifts that we’ll surely use once our little dude or dudette arrives!!
Thanks everyone!!

This afternoon, the rain held off just long enough to do senior pics with Andrew. He did a great job mixing the smiles and serious faces!

Today I went with my friend Pete to the Michigan game. It was really cool to be back in the big house again. When I went to school there, I had season tickets every year, but after going to all the games the first yearh, I realized that I was better off selling my tickets and having money for pizza so I hadn’t been to a game since. Hearing the cheers of 100,000+ people is an incredible experience. Pete’s a friend from my mens bible study group and it was nice to have a day to hang out and get to know eachother.

This afternoon we took senior pics for Lindi. We’ve been friends with her family through our church for a long time and we’ve shot photos for her parents, her older sister, and now her. They are a great family!! Their whole family is very photogenic.

This morning I did some headshots for my friends at MackeyKomara. They are my finanical advising firm along with being trusted friends and just all around great people. As of a few days ago, they got some exciting news that John Dankovich was joining their firm. John has over twenty years of financial planning experience. He has a passion for excellence in his field and has spoken extensively on the topics of financial planning, estate planning, wealth transfer, philanthropy, and executive benefits. John presently serves on the board of trustees for the Detroit Science Center. The Dankovich family has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show to discuss how parents can teach their children the meaning of wealth, saving, and hard work.
Joe Mackey, Mike Komara, and their crew were already a strong team, and having John join them will make them even stronger! If you don’t already have someone helping you plan for your future, these guys are fantastic, so give them a call.

Mackey Komara & Dankovich, LLC
691 N. Squirrel Road, Suite 240
Auburn Hills, MI 48326
Phone: (248) 418-5100

John Dankovich: