Kylie Elizabeth Marie Baird's Memorial

I have never photographed a wake/memorial service for anyone except myself when I've lost my grandparents. I know it seems weird, but for those that have lost someone dear, memories are all we have. As a creator and capturer of memories it only seems appropriate to share and bring to my friends a document to last beyond her life and into the memories of those still here.
I have to say that funerals are often beautiful and this particular day was really a beautiful celebration of a life lived well. Tragically Kylie's friends, family, husband and son lost her inexplicably early and we will all be poorer because of it simply for the fact that this woman was just beginning to know who she was both spiritually and physically.

I had the pleasure of meeting Jake and Kylie a couple years ago at church, then I really got close to them as our church did Life's Healing Choices and then through a home group. Early into home group was when we learned they were expecting and shortly there-after she said that she wanted me to do her maternity pictures. I've never done a maternity & newborn session and so I was curious what it would be like. Naturally, Kylie and Jake are a very photogenic couple so they really made it so much easier because they've got chemistry, she's gorgeous and I know them all well. So as you know, I did the maternity session and they came out so perfectly. Then I got to do Judah's newborn photos. Again, the boy has got the best of them both, I can't wait to do his next photo session. From doing these sessions I got to be with them intimately for more time then the average and so when I learned of her passing, what really was so suffocating to me was that it was only a couple months ago when I took these brilliant, glowing, captivating and just simply gorgeous photos of this woman and somehow, someway, she's taken from us.

My condolences to my friend Jake, her father, Butch and the rest of the Schilling's and Baird's. I'm so grateful for the kind words you've all shared about the photos I've taken of her. I pray that the Lord will bless and keep you that his goodness will shine upon you in the times it feels dark and heavy and that he'll give you peace to weather this time of immediate knowledge of loss. I hope these photos bring you a little comfort and remind you that hundreds of people love her still...

Post on January 17 2011

In my class, for those that know, I'm now teaching an Intro to Photography with Ivy Tech in Franklin. This is the blog post I do and I'll put up some of these over time if I'm feeling excited, geeked or just want to share with my friends what I'm doing and accomplishing in this class.

So where do I begin? Week one is under my belt and the joy and mystery of undertaking a new job/experience and in the case of IVY Tech, a new endeavor. Since I think only my class participants, perhaps the division peeps will look at this, I'm not sure what else to put on here, those that aren't in my class should know that I'm giving the class the opportunity to do a Pic Of The Day, it's not for anything more than a little fun and this weeks POTD challenge was very simple, put your camera in P mode and we'll look at the photos and vote for Wednesday's POTD. My POTD entry is across the street from our campus. Literally just a quick drive by photo.

In addition to the POTD, I'll try to add on fun teachery type things that may help illustrate an idea I covered in class. For example, the photo with the ivy tech computer screen in the foreground demonstrates an image with a fair amount of Noise. I compared Noise to what in film terminology? Anyone, anyone?

Naturally, I didn't take 2 of the 3 photos in here. Many thanks to Samantha and Andrea :)

Tara and Doug's engagement slideshow

At the end of 2009 I shot a wedding, at the end of 2010 I shot an engagement session. I'm curious to see what job I've got to finish 2011!

I had a great time with Tara and Doug, who actually won my engagement session at a silent auction to help raise money for St. Mary's Parish downtown. These two are getting married in Austin in November and I'm keeping my fingers crossed they won't find a better Diehl, I mean deal down there and will want to have me as their personal photographer for a couple days.

Doug lives in the Block building downtown and since I'm "new" to Indy, as in I didn't live here when the Block was a department store, I've had no real reason to visit it. Well, as you will discover in watching, some of the interior shots are from the top floors of the building. Ideally we would've been on the roof, but New Years Eve didn't get us in touch with the appropriate people so we settled for some inside and then, as God so graciously provided, we had a 60 degree evening to shoot in, so it was "just right", as Goldilocks would've said to work outside.

Inside the Block is really fascinating. As I was initially shooting, I got a sense of a sort of mobius/Escher-like feeling. You know how Escher was able to convey in his drawing that there was never an end or a beginning, much like the mobius strip... If you're in the right place the angles and lighting were just right to give it a feeling of constant flow. We did some pictures on the retired escalators there and then headed over to the Capitol and finished up around Monument Circle, stopping in at the Columbia Club to crash a couple weddings which hadn't yet started and then end the shoot at dusk on the Monument.

Thanks Tara and Doug for your support of St. Mary's and me! I had a ball and a blessed New Year to all my friends, family and future clients!