This year’s Moonlight Ramble was a blast.  That was the first time I’ve ever ridden with thousands of people at the same time.  It is a unique experience to be sure. This years route started right in front of city hall and went to forest park, looped around the park, and returned back to downtown.  Right at 14 miles.  Unfortunately I put my front wheel on backwards or else I’d have some more stats for you   I wish I had taken more pictures of all the cool bikes.  Riding with that many people and taking pictures at the same time probably would have been a bad combination.  We had pirates, a flamingo, old school bikes with the huge wheel little wheel (can’t think of the name) and lots of tandem bikes.  I thought it was really cool to see all the kids there for a ride that started at midnight. I plan on taking Sam and Novalie as soon as they’re old enough.

This picture below was taken about 45 minutes before we actually started.  A ton more people shows up during that time but you can get the idea of how many people were there and that picture was taken right in the middle facing the start.  There were just as many people behind us.

I got to ride with my friend Dan and his sister (the one taking the picture).  We get together for events like this to keep appearances but we’re actually arch enemies in our own quests to take over the world through wedding photography.

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In my own cycling exercise I’ve done pretty well at keeping my goal of 50 miles per week.  Cycling is really the only thing I can do for over an hour without sheer boredom.

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This weekend is the gateway cup which consists of four different criterium races thoughout the city.  We’re planning on going to Sunday’s race in the Hill and then to the pasta dinner afterwards.  If you can find me at the race I’ll give you a half off portrait session coupon.

Before David Bazan was David Bazan he was Pedro the Lion and then Headphones. His music is known for for being slow, melodic and usually controversial. For a long time he was called “sneaky jesus” because he never played the usual christian venues other than cornerstone, but a lot of his music was obviously influenced by his faith. It seems that his album is still influenced by his faith but more specifically his lack thereof perhaps. In this article Bazan professes:

“I’m not sure if you know this, but my relationship with Christ has changed pretty dramatically in the last few years.”

and

“The last 30 years of it have been hijacked; the boomer evangelicals, they were seduced in the most embarrassing and scandalous way into a social, political, and economical posture that is the antithesis of Jesus’s teaching.”

Now, I’m sure there are a lot of christians out there who are going to cry heretic and never listen. Unfortunately in today’s American church you’re looked down upon for having doubts or struggles because you’re appearing weak. Such animosity comes from people’s own insecurity. This kind of honesty should be a breath of fresh air in a genre of music where that doesn’t exist.

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My daughter loves to dance. In case you’ve never seen some of her moves, here ya go. I’m convinced she’s working on creating an entirely new style of dancing.

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Retro Post Photoshop Tuturial in 10 steps:

It’s been a long time since I’ve done one of these types of tutorials, I just haven’t had the time, but I used to eat them up. You may not even really like or need what it’s creating but I’ll always pick up a few new skills a long the way. This one caught my eye and I’d thought I’d share.

What makes your photography different? – This is by far the most important question and will give you an idea of how secure they are in their own work. It will also give you a chance to learn their style outside of the cliche terms that most photographers use. If they really fumble around for an answer it probably means they’re still new or they really don’t know and that’s not good.

Can you describe your favorite/least favorite kind of clients? No right answer here, but if they describe the complete opposite of you for what they like than it may not be the best fit.

What do/don’t you like about weddings? Now, everyone out there can talk about how they love weddings, but if your really looking for a photographer who loves taking getting ready pictures and that’s what they don’t like doing that’s not where their best work will be.

What other photographers in the area are you friends with? You want a photographer who’s at least somewhat active in the local industry. There’s a very small chance your photographer could have a life threatening emergency and one of their friends will be shooting your wedding.

Why did you choose that image? (When looking through their portfolio) You’re looking for something very specific. Modern wedding photography is about telling a story. The more they can tell you the story behind the image the better. Do this for several images. Do it for ones you like and especially ones you don’t like.

Lastly, I would avoid any photographer that speaks poorly of other photographers.  It is very unprofessional and speaks to their own insecurities.

http://www.twitter.com/stephenseward

I’m planning on running a few specials this year through twitter so stay tuned!

Have a great week everyone.

It starts at only $30 for the first child and $15 per additional child.

I will post the flyer in another post, but for now, if you’d like to set up a time, please call Lily at 314-330-1287.

– Post From My iPhone

Neko Case – Sept 24th

Of Montreal – October 24th

click here for video

I stumped upon this wedding video by Ed David when it was posted in a photography group I regular. I love how he is able to capture the atmosphere in a way that looks as if you were really there. And more importantly the strength of the video is it’s own content, not any sort of special effects or add ons. Enjoy!