My first time with a model

In march, the photography group i belong to in Flicker had a meet up, where we would learn and practice with models. the models were gathered by an ad in Craigslist and would work for the CD of their pictures. But the ace up my sleeve was the fact that i 'hired' and brought my own personal models: Erin and Bradie.

I got there about 15 minutes late and walked into a room full of strangers. But luckily i was met with smiling faces. We dove into the learning discussion. then we started talking about posing and positioning. Then i started taking photos of my super models. I played with the lights a lot to get them just right. And then bang! the awesome pics started. I started with Erin by a window and then moved to a back drop. I moved my models in and around and played with their position.

During my playing with the girls, i realized that the corded method of triggering my flashes sucked with my Canon brand items. They were not made to do such 'tricks'. Then after some frustration, i went to plan 'B': i used the wireless built in flash system in my flashes. This worked soooooo much better. to i set it up this way. i am totally eyeballing some pocket wizards or gadget infinity triggers.

Then the girls, took a quick break. I was then struck by a great bolt of luck. Kendrick walked in the door looking for a photographer. I quickly swept him up and in came the nervousness. While we talked, i learned how much of a nice guy Kendrick was and how fun he is to work with. I put a color filter on the flash to match his clothing and off we went. i tried to incorporate his flair into the pics by using poses that i saw him use while preparing. we had tons of fun. I moved him and tried cool stuff with his accessories. He seemed to like it also, because he complemented me on how i work and my style. we exchanged info and i told him that i would show him the pics after i loaded it onto my computer before i left.

Then we all gathered for our group pic - which took waaaaaay too long. Then i put the pics on my laptop and showed Kendrick. He was ecstatic. he loved them. He was excited because he normally doesn't like pics of himself but this time he liked all of them.

It was a great experience and i will attend the next meeting. I am glad i ran into Kendrick and i will track him down next time i need a model.

for my pics click here.

Ice Skating in the bitter cold

It was a day in the depths of winter, winds are blowing hard, temperature is well below freezing and it was a great day for ice skating. Jeff, Erin and I met with Brad and Mari at the Steinbrink ice rink in Forest Park. We went inside got our skate passes and our skates. During this time of lacing up we shared some important facts:
-Brad used to be a figure skater
-i haven't skated a day in my life
-Erin used to roller speed skate
-Jeff plays ice hockey and has some some very cool skates
-Mari and Brad go skating a couple times a year

Now given these facts, which one is not like the others?

After we were all ready to go, we went outside only to wait for the Zamboni to clear the ice. Then it was go time. A flood of people filled the ice and skated right past me while i held onto the post that was one side of the entrance. I shuffled, squirmed, slipped and slided but seemed not to go any where, then BOOM i fell. I wasn't hurt but it was sad that i fell like 10 feet into my trip around the rink. But i learned from that fall and didn't fall completely again, though i had some close calls. Along my way around i watched as everyone in my group kept passing me. So after one lap for me i was done. I was motivated by the fact that i brought my camera and wanted to take some pictures.

I waddled my way back inside, changed into my shoes and got my camera. I took pictures as the guys were frolicking, Erin was experimenting with the hockey stop and Brad and Mari were holding hands. Then the rest of the group was done. We were all hungry and wanted to go and get food together. Four of us wanted Bread co but Brad did not, enter the pain and agony. We waited for Brad to decide what he wanted so we could find a place that only unconvinced everyone else. So we all agreed on steak and shake. We ate and them parted ways. It was a fun afternoon.

Check these pics out.
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Christmas '07

After last year's five trips on Christmas, Erin & I vowed never to do that again so we could enjoy our holiday. This year we started off at my dad's house for a small gathering that included Greg and Grandma. We opened our respective gifts and conversed for a while. In the discussion i found out that the DVDs that i normally got dad, he never uses, or even opens. They were the DVDs of the movies he would glue himself (and I) to watching them when ever they were on TV when i was little. So i figured he would like to watch the full uncut version. Not so much. So i was able to counter his attack of my 'bad' gifts showing him that i asked for nothing long sleeved and he gave me long sleeved shirts. So needless to say, we had fun reminiscing about Christmas past.

Then it was off to Erin's parents house. We got there about 12:45 for a 1:00-ish immediate family gift opening. But we had to wait until 3:00 for Rachel to arrive from her festivities with James' family. We did a quick cleaning for the rest of the family to show. Once they were there we talked and snacked. Then we passed out the gifts and opened them. Jan gave Dot and Joe a digital picture frame with old pictures of years past. we spent a good while watching the slide show on the TV. Then we served dinner. It was fabulous. the boys started playing dominoes and i joined in. The first game i played was a great game. I may not have won, but it was so much fun watching Jacob drawing 20 dominoes to get a play. After some games of dominoes, it was off to guitar hero. We played that for a while. i stopped to say good byes to the people as they left and then started the whirl wind of activity. Barb left to take her brother back to Florissant while Erin, James, Rachel, Mr Peters and I completely cleaned the house leaving little to nothing for Barb to do when she got back. Then we visited with Barb for a bit longer and we head home and we were ready because it was 1:00 in the morning. It was a wonderful Christmas.

To see pics click here.
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Grandma's 85th Birthday Party

It just seemed like last year that we celebrated grandma's 75th birthday. I guess time slips by before you knew it was there. The whole Heidemann clan gathered at a nice restaurant in old town Florissant called Hendels. Unfortunately Erin was in Honduras at the time. She came in later that night so i drove the suburban so i could pick her up from the airport directly from the restaurant.

The night started at grandma's before dinner to catch up with the out of towners. Then Greg and I drove in the suburban to Florissant. Once we got to Hendels, we noticed we were in the enclosed porch. It definitely wasn't cold. The heater were radiant heaters that were ceiling mounted. I think they had the heat up a little to much because it felt like i was getting sun burn every time i stood up. We had drinks and talked for a bit while we waited for everyone to arrive.

Time to eat! The menu was filled with excellent choices for dinner but i decided on the fillet - it was an excellent decision. We all crammed into the long table as we waited for the food and waited and waited. I was the unlucky soul who got the food last and it was wrong so i had to wait longer. But once it was there, it was great. After we were done eating, the waiting staff brought out the cake. After i got some snap shots of it, we cut it and served it. Greg was trying to eat my cake so i proceeded to bring my plate of cake to his mouth, but he tried to block it and the cake soared out of my hand and onto his sleeve, icing down. I had a good chuckle at the icing incident.

I checked the time shortly after and i realized i had to go and pick up Erin from the airport. I said my good byes and made a relatively quick exit. I dropped off Greg at his car and proceeded to the airport.

Click here for pics.
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