Winter Jam 2009

You might recall back in Oct/November when I got the chance to join the band BarlowGirl on tour for a few days, and photograph some shows??  I happened back onto their website a few weeks ago, and saw that they were coming to Iowa, so I contacted them to see if I could come a photograph again.   So, Saturday night, we headed off to Des Moines for WinterJam, a tour of 7+ bands.  They gave Jodi and I backstage passes so we could photograph on stage during their show, and, to make things even more exciting, the girls surprised us by bringing their cousin Sarah Barlow along!  

Francesca Battistelli

NewSong

BarlowGirl

This is the shot I'm most proud of.  On the last note of their last song, Lauren throws her drumsticks.  On the previous two shows I've photographed, I've missed it, but the third time's the charm, I guess! 

The Afters

tobyMac

Lights, Camera....Action!

Well, not quite.  

Last Monday, as we were on our way home from PA we stopped in Decatur Illinois to help Jodi's sister with a video production she is doing.  She is making some videos (I can't say too much at this point) and needed the help of our children! :)  In Jodi's family, there are 16 neices/nephews and ALL of them were there for the shoot in a small room with expensive equipment.  Needless to say, we prayed for patience before we started! :)

By this time some of the enthusiasm had left the building. :)

Our 2 yr old working the xylophone...

And for those of you who are wondering how Stella is looking by now, here you go.  3 months old, loving life.... hating sleeping.

I'm pretty sure the makers of the Bumbo weren't thinking this is how kids would sit in them, but this is her default position no matter how we start her in it!

More Misc....

This is pathetic.

I know.

You come to a photo blog to view photos.  And now, 2 posts in a row... no pictures.

Bear with me.  Monday's post will put us back on track with images, and they will be awesome. How am I so sure, you might ask?  Well because any time Jodi, puts her face to the back of the camera, awesome happens!  And it's going to be 10˚ tomorrow for the engagement shoot, so that should be fun in itself. :)  And then, we're going to Des Moines to WinterJam, to do some more live music photography! 

So, having said that.... I'll see you Monday!  Have a great weekend.

Misc...

First of all, we are finally home, after spending a few weeks with my parents in Pennsylvania.  You can read over the past few posts for some idea of what all happened while we were there, but one thing that was pretty major was being able to watch my brother Greg be installed as a pastor.  Both of my brothers are pastors now, and it's awesome to watch God at work in their lives as they pursue the call on their lives, and encourage and lead others to do the same.  I'm super proud as an older brother!! 

•••

Secondly, I just finished watching part of the inaugaration ceremony of Barack Obama.  Congrats to the new President and First Family!  Jodi and I lean towards the conservative right, so we obviously would rather someone more closely aligned with what we believe taking the oath, but it is what it is, and I'm excited about the future.  Now we need to see some results, not just hype. :)

Thank You to the Bush Family for serving our country so well the past 8 years.  You led consistently and stuck to your beliefs no matter what popular opinion was.  There is a reason that Obama is keeping some of your staff around. :)

•••

We're still unpacking our computers, so if you're waiting to hear from us for any reason, we're getting back in gear as soon as we can.  We have a huge stack of mail, and lots of email to get through, so we appreciate your patience. :)  

See you soon...

Snapshots of a Vacation

I am sore.

I have not done any sort of really strenuous exercise since probably October, and yesterday I went skiing. I love skiing, and it's one of the activities my family did together every year when I was growing up. We would leave PA and drive north to Vermont, where skiing is king. Skiing is obviously a seasonal sport, so the folks in Vermont had to come up with another business during the summer. So you would see hilarious signs on home businesses like "Jan's Snowmobile Tours and Hair Care", or "Nelson's Lawn Care and Ski Sharpening". Funny stuff.

Anyway, we stayed in PA to ski yesterday. It was about 15˚, which is warm if you're in the midwest right now, but the conditions were perfect. I'm mostly sore, because I was skiing over a rail in the snowboard park and fell off. So, get ready Chiropractor. Dr. Wilbanks, we'll see you soon! :)

Here's a couple of snapshots of the last couple weeks here at my parent's....

The Gehman Family Rock Band w/ my 2 brothers and my dad.

Jackson paying attention to the intricate details of his gingerbread house...

Our 10 week old, Stella and her wild hair...

A few from skiing...

Dad took this shot of me carving up some moguls..

Someone please explain this sign to me. I guess you would have to be an expert to SKI UPHILL!!!

My brothers on the way home...

My beautiful wife sporting her brand new hair cut! Come on now, leave some comments to tell her how hot she looks!

Jessie + Jon :: Forever

I'm finally getting around to posting the last wedding we did in 2008!  What a wedding to end the year on!  Jessie + Jon are amazing people to begin with, but their wedding at Parkview Church was so beautiful... from the huge snowflakes that drifted ever so gently from the sky, to their leaving the reception to a soapy cloud of bubbles... it was awesome.  

 Gotta love the little cowboys!  

As most of you know, or can guess, the weather plays a huge factor in whether or not we take outdoor photos on the wedding day.  Well, this particular Saturday, it was snowing like crazy... I think we ended up with 5 or 6 inches in as many hours.  Anyway, we had to find somewhere else to take pictures in the church, and what could be cooler than a ball pit??  There was an all-out ball-throwing war between Jon and the little cowboys right before these pictures...

The reception was at the Coralville Marriott, and it was time to step outside into the blizzard for a few shots.  I just couldn't help but think it looks like Narnia!  

Jon and some of this brothers are pro, or semi-pro baseball players, so it was fitting that they give these baseballs as their guest favors!  Then, Jessie + Jon spend some time autographing the baseballs for their guests.  I love it when couples look for ways to add personal touches to the wedding...

Jessie's brother played the music for the first dance/parents dances...