A Busy Weekend!

We had a wonderful Christmas time last week, with lots of food, family and good times!  For those of you who aren't aware, I'm from Pennsylvania, and my entire family still lives there.  Therefore, we make several treks to and from PA each year in an effort to keep our kids familiar with their grandparents and extended family.  Besides that, my family is pretty close and I enjoy spending time with them, especially over the holidays.

So, on Christmas morning in Iowa, we awoke early, and opened our Christmas presents as a family, and that afternoon we headed for grandma's house in PA with Jodi feeling very nauseous and weak.  We drove thru the night and arrived in PA about 8am Friday morning, and went to bed! Jodi awoke feeling much better, and Friday night, we were off to our first family Christmas of the trip.  After taking my first bite of amazing smoked ham and gourmet potatoes, my stomach began to churn.  I tried to survive the evening by taking walks outside to get fresh air, popping Tums like nobody's business, and drinking water.  Finally, I succumbed to a nap on the couch while the family played games, and I made it home okay.  

***Gross Side Note:  I absolutely hate puking.... with a passion... and I avoid it at all costs.  While it may make one feel much better, it is so nasty that I actually prefer feeling sick to throwing up. Anyone else??***  

So I went to bed, and could not sleep.  I was supposed to help shoot a wedding on Saturday for my friend I've never met Andrew Bryant, so I got my cameras ready, confident that I would feel better in the morning. As I was packing, I was checking for directions online, with Jodi watching a movie on a different laptop, and my dad reading Drudge Report on a third computer when suddenly a slow rumble started underneath us and became very loud and frightening for a grand total of about 3 seconds.  I was sure the furnace exploded and was waiting for a fireball to shoot thru the floor boards at any moment.  Dad thought a car ran into our house and he bolted out the front door to see what happened.  Jodi took out her headphones and said "what was that?!"  We looked around and nothing was out of place, and no car had hit the house, so we introduced the idea that it may have been an earthquake.  After 10 minutes and a quick Google search, our notion was confirmed by the US Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program as a 3.4 Magnitude earthquake centered about 4 miles from where we sat. 

Saturday morning came early, and I was still not feeling very well, so Jodi went to second-shoot the wedding instead of me.  That night, I was feeling much better and we all played some Scattergories at which I kicked serious rear-end.  I'm actually pretty smart, despite my dashing good looks and fantastic personality.  ;)

Sunday morning, my brother Greg and his wife were commissioned by their church to serve as pastors at another church and it was awesome to be part of very special moment in their lives. Right after church, we had a bunch of people over for lunch, including my grandparents.  As we were sitting around after lunch, talking and watching football, a fire engine screamed past, led by an ambulance and fire police.  We are a nosey family, and I own a large camera.  Put two and two together and Dad, Greg, Grandpa, Jackson and I were piled into my brothers car in about 30 seconds to follow the sirens and the billowing smoke we could see over the top of the trees.  About a 1/2 mile from our house, we came upon this scene:

We were about 200 yds from the barn and not even close to the action, when the fire police yelled at us and kicked us out the field, citing the "wind direction" as the reason we were to move, much to our amusement.  Look at the pictures and it's clear which way the wind was blowing... not towards us! Anyway. :)  After we returned home with our stories and our images, the TV News vans roared past.  Mom suggested that we send our photos to the papers and tv stations since the fire was out by the time they would have arrived on the scene.  We immediately contacted them, and arranged to send our images to them.  That night on the 11:00 news, the story came up and so did 3 of my images!  The newsanchor said "These images were taken by Rodney Gehman".  I did a Tiger Woods fist pump, and my parents embraced in a moment of pride for their son's astounding accomplishments.  Haha!  Then today, my images were in two newspapers.  While it's really not a huge deal... it was pretty sweet. 

So that's how the last 4 days have gone for us!  Sickness... Earthquake... Commissioning... Fire... Name on TV/newspapers... Introducing my mother to Starbucks... Craziness!  

•••

We didn't forget about the Christmas Contests (although some of you obviously did!) and will be announcing winners later this week, along with another spotlight story.  I'm trying to get our main computer set up here, and so far it's being difficult, similar to the support guy I called today.  I will not be using the word "helpful" to describe him.  

So long for now...

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend!

I hope you all are enjoying your Thanksgiving weekend, whether it's filled with family, football, friends, and/or food.  Remember to take a few minutes and thank God for the blessings you have in your life.  If you can't think of anything right offhand, start with thanking Him for life... health... sound mind... you get the idea. :)  Among many other things, Jodi and I are so grateful for all of you who read this blog and support our lives, either as our friends/family and peers, or as clients and blog-stalkers who push us to keep on being creative and feed us encouragement.  Keep it coming!! :)

••••

During an ice storm in San Antonio, TX, 2 years ago, Jodi and I shared a cab ride to the airport with the Eifferts, a photographer couple that we had always looked up to in the early stages of our business (and still do).  They were from Omaha, and we only saw them when Heidi was scooping up awards at our local association meetings. :)  Fast forward 2 years, and now Troy and Heidi live a few miles down the road from us, joining the list of great local photographers we are blessed to call our friends!  So, we wanted to give them a shot at making us look good, and capturing the energy of our kids and the spirit of our family.  They did a great job!  Click here to go to Troy and Heidi's blog and see a few more images from our session....

I have had this feather pillow ever since I was like ten.  The time had come to part ways with it, because the feathers had turned into dust.  So, as Troy and Heidi walked into our house that day, it hit me... hey, lets destroy the pillow for the pictures! It was pretty nasty, actually, but the kids had fun, and 7 of 10 doctors say it's healthy for families to sneeze together. :) There were feathers everywhere... In fact, just this past Sunday (I swear this is true), 4 wks+ after the shoot, I found two feathers (from the pillow) on the sweater I was wearing to church. :)   

We would like to introduce.....

Well, it's been an eventful day!  

First of all, if you took the baby polls (two posts ago) and you chose "Monday" and "Girl" you win a new car, courtesy of Nissan of Iowa City!  Actually... second thought scratch that.  

Monday evening, at 7:17, we welcomed Stella Milan into our family!  She was 7lb 8oz and healthy as can be!! Praise God!  And, I have to tell you... the third time around it's still just as amazing as the first child.  Just to imagine that two people can create another life is way over my head, and then to think that in that tiny little package is a personality and a soul that will live forever. Crazy.  

Jodi was amazing again.  For those of you who like the gory details, you'll have to ask her for those... she loves to tell the story. :)  But it was quick and easy and everyone is doing quite well. Jackson and Alana came up to the hospital with Grandpa and Grandma Miller so they both got to hold her and love on Stella a bit.  Grandpa and Grandma Gehman are on their way as we speak! (Grandpa is driving the equipment rig for Barlowgirl on their concert tour)

So, a big "THANK YOU" to all of you who have been praying for us, and thinking about us this weekend.  We're so honored and blessed to be surrounded by amazing friends, family, and clients---you've all been so patient and understanding, and we can't thank you enough.

Normally, in hospital rooms, you get an "awesome" view of the pebble rooftops and A/C vents.  Here was our view today!  It was great!

Isn't Jodi gorgeous!?

For the first time in public... Stella Milan!

•••

I just wanted to give an extra shout-out to all of the good people who work in hospitals.  As photographers, we understand how it feels to learn to treat every wedding like it's your only one.  I mean, every wedding is the biggest day of two people's lives, and we can't treat it like it's "just another wedding".  And for all of our nurses/docs today, (except one), we never felt like we were "just another client".  That makes the whole process soooo much easier.  So, hat's off to those of you who give sponge baths, and IVs and help people to the bathroom every day and actually enjoy it.  Thanks for caring.

NEIPP

Happy Tuesday!! 

We were guest speakers at the North Eastern Iowa Pro Photographers meeting in Mt Vernon yesterday, and Jodi did a wonderful job of communicating our story and what we're all about. We basically talked about how we approach weddings and seniors, and the business behind it all.  Thank you to our friends Mindy and Jamie at Ovation for the invite!  It was fun meeting all of you who were there, and we look forward to seeing you again sometime!

•••

I've got some images for you tomorrow from Stephanie and Derc's wedding this past Saturday in Marion!  

See you then!

The Big News!

A day in the life of Rodney and Jodi Gehman:

First of all, when the weather gets really nice, we take Mondays off and use it as most of you use your Saturdays.... yard work, cleaning cars, gardening, going for bike rides.. those sorts of things.  So yesterday, Jackson and I finished the mulching around our house, and watched (almost literally) the stuff growing in the garden.  It's amazing how fast a plant grows with some gentle rain followed by sunshine. :)  

Our little green beans are pushing through looking for daylight....

Secondly, we did end up going for that bike ride in Kalona last night, but it came to an abrupt end when it started raining.  The problem was that Jackson was the only one actually riding a bike, the rest of us were running from tree to tree for cover.  I'm sure it looked funny. 

•••

So, anyway, here is the moment you'll all been waiting for... the big announcement from the Gehman Photography camp!  We are really excited about it, and can't wait, because almost everyone who's ever been there has to agree that it's an amazing experience.  I mean, when you think about it... yeah, it's pretty awesome! Some of you are already aware of this, but for the rest of you this should be exciting... click here for the biggest news from GP in over 2 years.... 

•••

An Update:

Hello from Haiti!

We're just now getting out to Pas Bwa Dom where we're staying for the week with Leon and Joy, Jodi's aunt and uncle. Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us the last couple of days.  We had 2 pieces of important luggage lost somewhere between Chicago and Haiti.  We (Leon and I) went to the airport for all 3 incoming flights on Sunday, and our stuff was nowhere to be found, not to mention the airlines could not even track or locate it.  So we prayed again and on Monday morning, we went back to the airport for the first incoming flight to give it one last chance before driving the 6 hours to our home for the week.  Leon and I walked into baggage claim just as my two boxes came around the carousel!!  We didn't even have to slow down, we just grabbed them and walked out!  It was amazing!

So now, we're back on schedule, albeit a day behind the original plans.  We are firm believers that there is a plan for everything, and sometimes that plan doesn't match up with what we would have chosen.  But it always works for the best somehow.

Anyway, we haven't officially started shooting yet, although I've filled a few GB with pictures already. :)  I'll get some pictures on here a little later in the week.  Stay tuned!!

God bless..

rg

Haiti: Here we come

It's almost time to start packing the bags (we always wait till the last minute to pack... too much going on before we leave for a trip) and I figured I'd leave you for the week with some information on Haiti that I rounded up this morning according to 2005 compared to the US.  Some interesting stuff...

a)  Gross National Income per capita:  $450  (US: $43740)

b)  Life expectancy at birth:  52 yrs  (US:  78yrs)

c)  Percent of population using adequate sanitation facilities:  30% (US:  100%)

d) Orphans age 0-17:  490,000  (US:  n/a)

e)  Skilled attendant present during childbirth:  24%     (US: 99%)

f)  Percent of population below $1 per day:  54%  (US:  n/a)

g) % of Photographers en route to take pictures...  what?!

•••

In other news, last night, I hit a 3 pointer with 5 seconds left to advance our 3rd seed church basketball team to the second round of the tournament. We were down by one, and I was looking to pass inside for the high percentage jumper, but the ball came back to me for an open 3, and I took it.  It was ugly, but it went in. Later that night, we beat the #2 seed to advance to the semi-finals.  Now I will miss the game tonight and the championship on Monday, so.. GO TEAM!! Eh, it's not as big of a deal as it sounds, trust me. :)

Texas Roadhouse

A few months ago we ran a contest on our blog... actually, it was for Fathers Day now that I think about it... okay, more than a few months, but anyway, we ran a contest on our blog and the prize was $50 to Texas Roadhouse.  The deal was, that people were supposed to send us pictures of a dad.  It could be their dad, or them with their dad, or a husband who is a dad.. something like that.  Well, we got only 2 entries (only our friends read the blog back then)  so we decided to all go together instead of giving them the prize money. Finally, on Saturday we were able to all get together and make it work.  Here's the whole lot of us, and the photo was taken by a very nice lady on a smoke break.

A Date Late

So sorry that I missed my traditional Monday post.  We had a morning appointment that took a while longer than we hoped, and then, the coolest part of the day, was that we were invited to a local high school world history class to talk about our trip to Ghana, Africa last year.  So I put together a last minute video for the kids... not sure about my music selection on the second song, I was running out of time and it was the first cool song I came to, so if the words seem to contradict the video.... sorry.

Here you go.

Also, we're leaving for a week in Haiti this weekend. So keep us in your prayers next week, if you think about it. I most likely won't be posting, but who knows.

See you tomorrow.

Lindsay + Brian

We have been spending quite a bit of time on wedding albums the past 2 months and we're finally caught up, or at least very close. :)  We're also spending quite a bit of time shoveling snow.  Some of the big things coming up this next month for us are Sarah and Jeremy's wedding next Saturday, and later in March, we're taking a week-long trip to Haiti!  We were so blessed by our time in Africa last year, that we have made a commitment that we would try to do some sort of missions trip every year.  We plan to include our children, once they are old enough to understand what we're doing and actually remember the trip, but for now it's just Jodi and I.  My brother and his wife will be joining us this year.  

Here's another wedding from a few years ago for your enjoyment! :) Sorry it's little pictures this time.

Man down...

My apologies for not posting this week... I came home to a dead Power Mac.  So, it's off to the doctor tomorrow for a checkup.  The computer, that is. 

We had a most wonderful enjoyable learning experience at the Portrait Life studio the past week. Jeff and Julia are top-notch all the way through.  From personalized folders, to the soothing water wall, they made us feel welcome and at home. Thanks guys!

We weren't able to attend our State convention this week because of being out of town, but we sent some competition stuff anyways. And because a couple of you asked, Jodi got 1st place with one of our guest book albums, and I got two 1st place's with our wedding and senior marketing pieces.  We also got 6 honorable mentions, but that's like kissing your sister... doesn't do much for you.  Maybe we'll have to skip that convention every year, because we seem to do better when we're not there. :)

Freedom + The Woods'.

We have been attending a conference this week with a ministry called Door of Hope and it has been a long, but very good week for us.  The basic idea of the conference is realizing that we belong to God, instead of the other way around.  I realize that a lot of you reading this may not be interested in spiritual things, and that's okay. For us, it has been life-changing and brings freedom in many ways that we didn't even know we could be free.  Shoot me an email if you want to know more.

Anyway, suffice it to say... sorry I haven't updated in a while.:)  I'll have some pictures on here this weekend from an engagement session Jodi did last Saturday.

We are sooooo stoked for next week!  About 13 months ago, we went to Imaging USA in San Antonio, and ran into one of the USA's greatest photography duo's... Jeffrey and Julia Woods.  Jodi heard them speak along time ago when they were just starting the business, but now they have risen to setting new standards for photography and marketing strategies.  Next week we will be traveling to their studio in Peoria IL for workshop with Jeff & Julia!  It gets better...  they've asked Jodi and me to be their models for the workshop!!  Ask me if I'm excited?! 

Have a great weekend, and I'll get you some pretty people to look at tonight or tomorrow. :)

Wedding News!

We just wanted to drop by to let you know some exciting news for us.  We are booked full for weddings in 2008!  We've had to put a lid on how many weddings we accept each year, and we've reached it already!  In the past year, we've noticed that our customer service has had to take a back seat because we were so busy with other things, and that is not how we want to operate.  So... many, many apologies to anyone who has experienced inconvenient service with us.  It's all part of growing pains, and we're still learning as we go! *the first step is to admit there's a problem....:)*  We've set pretty high standards for this year, and here's to hoping we can meet those!

If we've already sent you wedding information for a 2008 wedding, and you haven't booked yet... you're still okay to do so.  But we won't be accepting any new weddings for 2008, effective today!  

Thank you all for making our lives so much fun!  We're looking forward to each and every wedding in the coming year and are excited to see new places, and hang out with amazing people!  

much love, and God bless...

rodney&jodi

Summer's Coming!

I know we're all bundled up and freezing whenever we venture outside nowadays, so we mainly hole up indoors drinking hot chocolate and coffee.  Well, we've started to get visions of warm weather around GP!  We were contacted by the Cedar Rapids / Iowa City Wedding Guide for an advertisement, and we obliged.  Our theme is "Summer Weddings".  Now, I'm anxious for short sleeves and mowing the grass and golf....and of course, weddings! 

Look for the following ad in a month or two when the Guide hits the streets!  

The Year in Review

2007 was a breakout year for Gehman Photography.  The year was filled with highlights and lowlights, accomplishments and growing pains.  At the close of another year, we take a moment to look back and remember the good stuff, and learn from the not-so-good.  

January:

-- The GP blog receives its first comment.  There is much rejoicing!  There is someone reading the blog! 

February:

-- We won our very first First Place award at our Iowa Convention.  

--Jodi and I hosted our first Photoshop Class, teaching the basics of retouching and enhancements.  We would seriously consider teaching another class if there is enough interest.  Email me if you are interested.  I would teach PS CS3 and the class would be open to non-local photographers only.

March:

-- We had the opportunity to travel to Ghana, Africa.  We want to go back someday... it will always be in our hearts and minds.  There are some memories and faces that are etched in our mind forever, and hopefully our lives are different because of them.

 

April:

-- We had the pleasure of going to Kansas for a wedding and staying at a friends ranch.   It's cool how each part of the country has it's own beauty, even though there are vast differences.

--Our main computer hard drive crashes.  All our images are backed up, so nothing is lost!  One of the first of many opportunities to praise God in hardships this year.  It just goes to show that even the best computers are not perfect, and if you are a photog reading this.... there is nothing so urgent as to keep you from backing up your images. 

May:

-- Jodi gets stung in the eye by a bee or something during outdoor wedding pictures.

June:

-- In the weather category, Patrick and Erika take the prize for the hottest wedding of the year.

--  GP launches it's brand new website!  Thank you BluDomain!

July:

--  I traveled to Denver, CO, with my church youth group for a week of working with the homeless.  Another event in my life that will not soon be forgotten.  I'll never forget Curt, who told me that he is homeless but he takes the money from his part-time job and buys food for other homeless people.  

--  Both Jodi and I were honored to be in my brother's wedding in July.  We got to experience a photographer from the other side of the lens. :)  Actually, it was fun to be part of the wedding experience without having to work!

--Jodi and I were driving separate to a wedding one Saturday, and on my way there, my car's engine decided to overheat.  Well, I was going past my friends automotive shop, so I swung by for some coolant.  He informed me that if I moved my car off the spot, I would not make it more than a few miles due to a serious leak.  He had a loaner car ready to go and I made the wedding on time. :) 

August:

-- High School Senior season started for GP, breaking ground for my favorite blog feature called "A Bit About Me" where seniors told you about themselves.  

--Nicole becomes our nanny and Jodi and I begin our slow journey towards catching up.

September:

-- In an effort to play to our strengths, GP adds a Family and Children's photographer, Hannah, and a media manager, Brandon.

-- Our main computer does not respond one morning.  We take it in for repairs and are informed that $15oo should cover what they thought was wrong.  After further review, they discovered that nothing, in fact, was wrong with the computer and it responded fine to every test they ran.  We leave the computer store with a bill for $60, thank the dear Lord.

October:

-- We traveled to Chicago for a wedding, and Jodi tries her first Starbucks.

-- We discover that the Wii is a great form of exercise.

November:

-- We shoot our last wedding for the year bringing the total to 29.

-- We book our first destination wedding for next year!  Mexico, here we come!

-- GP answers all of your questions in "A Bit About Us".

December:

-- We enhance our business skills at the SuccessWare meetings in VA.

--  I had a photograph place 4th in a contest with the ultra-famous Jesh de Rox.  Thank you all for voting!  Now you know which one was mine. :)  Sorry.. I wanted to be fair.

-- Winter sets in.

--  Jodi's brother is married!

--  GP gives away an iPodtouch

-- Jodi and I start our weight training routine.

-- I figure out that to make a diamond like this "◊" you hold the shift+alt+v combination, and that to make the Apple logo , you hold shift+alt+k.

Obviously, there is much more than we could ever put on this website that we experienced this year, like when our 3 yr old learned to ride a bike without training wheels, or when our dog mysteriously disappeared, or how I had geese and squirrels looking in my office window, or all of the special people that we were able to meet this year.  We look forward to making some changes in 2008, and seeing new cities, new countries, and new faces.

God bless in the New Year!

VOTE!

Okay, this was too exciting to not pass along.  I entered a contest a few days ago on a very famous photographers blog, and I am pleased to announce that I was nominated into the top ten!!!  However, this is a "people's choice" contest from here on out, so you need to go vote on your favorite image.  There are three categories to the contest:  My image is in the 3rd set...a contest on post-processing.  Now, I want to win and I really want to tell you which image is mine, so that I can ensure that you're helping me win, but in the name of democracy and fairness... I cannot.  All I can say is that my image is in the 3rd set.  So if you want to see some kickin' awesome pictures from photogs all around the globe, click here.

Christmas Contest Launched

This is a reminder.  The contest ends tonight!

CHRISTMASCONTEST

We're in the middle of a new contest that will require you to take a picture of your Christmas Tree and email it to us. You and/or a special someone must be in the picture as well. The winner, selected by the Gehman Photography staff, receives a $50 gift card to Target just in time for the holidays! Contest ends at midnight CT.

Entries may be emailed to contests@gehmanphotography.com.

The Mobile Office

This weekend finds Jodi and I in Fredericksburg, Virginia for a business meeting.  We have long been using a financial software program called SuccessWare which has been amazing in terms of keeping track of all things business.  So we're in VA this weekend to learn more about the program, and how to manage business, and all that good stuff.  We definitely would recommend SuccessWare to any of you photographers who need a good accounting program that is designed specifically for our line of work.  Back a few weeks ago when you all asked us what part's of photography do we like the most and least, we would have to add accounting as what we like the least. :)  But, part of growing pains is that we have to improve on all areas of our work, and this is step one.  

I love the art in a sunset.  The colors and design are amazing every time.

My office for the next few days. 

I was working today while Jodi was in class, and the fire alarm in the hotel went off.  Let me just say that you would never sleep through that racket, which is good, I guess.  So I grabbed the laptop, iPod, camera and hard drives as fast as I could disconnect them and ran out the door only to find the hotel staff standing around and telling us all it was a false alarm.  As I was thanking God, the door slammed shut behind me and I realized that I was holding all my gear....minus the room key.  But the nice room service lady opened it for me, while laughing under her breath.  Hey, if there's a real fire, who cares about the key?  

Jennifer + Tracy's Wedding

This was our last wedding for the season, and it was in Des Moines, Iowa, about 2 hours from our house. We felt like we've gotten to know Jen and Tracy this summer, just from seeing them at other weddings! The only downer of the day was the awesome VA hospital that wouldn't let us photograph with their buildings.











NOTES: Jodi has been really sick this past week, and still is, so we're a little slow in answering the phone and responding to emails, and (as you noticed) blogging. Please bear with us as this has put things on hold this week. Many apologies for any inconvenience. Her birthday is on Thursday, so here's to praying she's better by then!

PPIowa: Updated

Every year, for the past one year (I'm hilarious) we've been going to Professional Photographers of Iowa's Fall Event held in Des Moines for a nice relaxing weekend of photography stuff. It's about learning from the Masters, and entering competitions and judging other people's work....not that our opinion matters. For Jodi and I, it's more of a get-away from the office. It's fun to meet with other photographers from Iowa and learn from each other what works and doesn't work...what companies are good for outsourcing and so on and so forth. They do the same thing in the winter/spring on a larger scale (with more serious competition) that we've gone to for several years, as well.

This fall there is a portfolio competition, so we've chosen to enter, and I'll show you what we're taking. Please take no offense if your collection wasn't selected. These were chosen for a variety of reasons....





**UPDATE**

Hey everyone...we're back, and unfortunately we didn't place with any of the prints we took. Oh well, live and learn, try again in February! We had a great weekend anyway!

Upcoming posts include (in no particular order):

1) Caroline - Tuesday
2) Jill
3) Lindsay and Greg's Wedding
4) Jodi and I answering your interview questions. It should be fun! We'll have some photos too.