Conklin Wedding

Conklin wedding - favorite pic

On Dec. 10 I shot a good friend's of mine's wedding. It was great. Everyone was so nice and helpful and we all had a blast. Preparations were at the Drury Inn in Fenton. The wedding was at the Eureka Most Sacred Heart Church. Reception followed at Andre's West, which is a great place to have a wedding. The staff served up a great meal, provided excellent service and had a great stocked bar. This is a favorite of mine. Check back soon for more of the images.

Ha Ha Tonka State Park

Spent the evening shooting at Ha Ha Tonka State Park. It was a nice evening but with a lot of people. Hadn't been there since I was a little kid so I was excited regardless to see the ruins of the castle. Great views as well. Enjoy!

Grand Falls - Joplin

While working on an assignment in Joplin for Rural Missouri I stopped for a sunrise at Grand Falls. Along Shoal Creek, on the southwest end of the town you can find Grand Falls. Great spot to shoot, mainly because it is easy to get to with being only off the road.

I also am unvailing my new logo. Let me know what you think of it. A new website is still in the works. Hope to launch it before Christmas.

Enjoy!

World's Largest Small Appliance Museum

While in Joplin this past weekend working on a story I stopped in to the World's Largest Small Appliance Museum in Diamond, Missouri. Unbelievable amount of toasters this guy has. He also has hundreds of old coffee makers and other appliances, all in dang near mint condition. If you are ever in the area check it out. It is in the back of JR's Western Store.

Pratte Wedding - 10.23.10

Another wedding! The ceremony was at a church in St. Charles followed by the reception at DKlondike Park's conference center near Augusta. We also took photos at Creve Ceour Park. Klondike Park was really great, especially with the viewpoint on top of the cliff over the Missouri River. Great choice for a fall wedding with the color at it's peak.

Wertheimer Wedding

The wedding of Matt Wertheimer and Tracie Sisak. Ceremony at St. Francis Xavier on the Saint Louis University's campus in Midtown St. Louis. We took group photos at Busch Stadium and Tower Grove Park. The reception - which had amazing lighting - was at the Moolah Banquet Hall off of Fee Fee Road. The whole wedding party was great and had a fabulous time. Enjoy!

Aerial Basket School

For Rural Missouri I get to do some awesome stories and travel around the state. I also have to shoot photos for the Electric Cooperatives. Last week I had to snap a few shots of an Aerial Basket Training School. Got to go up in a bucket truck and shoot some stuff from a bird's eye view. Had some great light, clouds, blue sky and fall colors. I figured I would share some of the other things I do at my job. Enjoy!

First HDR with CS5

Just got CS5 and started playing around with the new tools. A huge update is the HDR editing. Photoshop CS5 makes it so much simpler for the user to edit/tone an HDR image. Was looking into Photomatix or other third party plug-ins for HDR editing, but I think this will work for the time being. If you have CS5 look into the updates they just released.

Hugh Dunn via the Missouri Photo Workshop

My story for the Missouri Photo Workshop.62
For forty years Hugh Dunn was the head high school football coach and the constant center of attention in Macon. Nearly 20 years after retiring, the 88-year-old World War II veteran is still a major figurehead in the community.

Even without a left hand and eye, the man known simply as “Coach”, attends almost every home Macon sports game, mows the playing fields and with the help of his wife are involved with many organizations supporting the town.



Hugh Dunn mows the Macon High School football field in preparation for a double header of middle school games the following evening. In 1971, the field was named after the illustrious coach in the middle of his four-decade tenure as head coach. Hugh says, humbly, “I still don’t know why they decided to name it after me. I thought they only name fields after dead guys and people who won titles.”



Hugh talks with friends at the Maple City Restaurant. No matter where Hugh goes in town, some former player or friend stops to greet and share a laugh with him.

Hugh’s left eye was injured during a childhood accident where he was hit in the eye with a small rock. Surgery attempted to treat the bruise the rock caused, but an infection lead to removal of the eye.



Hugh and Peg share a laugh with members from their church at the Apple Basket Café in downtown Macon. The ladies were excited to hear that Peg had been doing better after a medical incident that left her hospitalized.



Hugh and his wife of over 60 years Peg, leave their home to walk to the high school to watch two softball and middle school football games. Since the Dunn’s home is across the street from the school, the couple hardly ever misses a home sporting event.

When local craftsman Ward Harrington built the new field goal posts for the school’s field, he felt Coach deserved a piece of the game also.



Players from the Macon Middle School football team head back to the locker room before the start of a game alongside Hugh and Peg Dunn.


Hugh laughs with some of his former players and co-workers at the school’s maintenance shed. Although Hugh mows most of the grounds, he still credits the beauty of the campus to them.



During a middle school football game, Hugh chats with Dick Hilgendorf in the press box above the stadium’s grandstands. Besides being a longtime coach, Hugh was an All American at Missouri Valley College; announcers and statisticians always appreciate his knowledge and color commentary of the game in the box.



Hugh helps Peg up the bleachers before the start of a junior varsity softball game at Macon High School. Besides missing his left eye, Hugh also is without his left hand, but still goes out of his way to assist his wife.

Hugh lost the hand During World War II Hugh lost the hand when he was aiding to a wounded friend in a trench and a German mortar exploded in front of them. Hugh received the Silver Star award and two Purple Hearts for his heroics.



Amidst several sports trophies and awards, tiger memorabilia and Macon regalia, Hugh and Peg discuss a baseball game on T.V. The couple spends most evenings catching up on the daily sports scores and following their favorite teams.


One of Hugh’s trophies sits in front of photos of the couple.

Hugh and Peg met while in college at Missouri Valley after he returned from service overseas in the U.S. Army during World War II. They are the storybook couple. Hugh was the standout football star and she was the homecoming queen.



Hugh applies antibacterial drops into Peg’s eyes. Ironically, Peg also has been dealing with an eye infection from surgery. He is in constant watch over her, making sure she takes her medicine to control her high blood sugar and care for her eye as to not end up without it like Hugh.

“A coach is only as strong as their assistant,” says Hugh. “Without her, I wouldn’t be much. She humbles me.”

Hugh Dunn

Eighty-five year old Hugh Dunn heads to the work shed of the Macon High School football field for some paint. The World War II veteran still paints the field and mows the lawn the morning of game days. Dunn coached the Macon Tigers for over 40 years after serving in the war and as a national MVP defensive back in college.
Dunn is helped by one of his former players to paint the lines on the field

Tools of the Trade.Hugh struggles a bit with missing some of his left arm and eye but gets along pretty amazingly for an 85 year old man. The Missouri Sports of Hall inductee only lives a few steps from the high school. Dunn is a major figurehead in the small northern Missouri town, and can be found at almost any Macon sports game.
Painting the line.

Scenes around Guatemala

Photos from my five days in Guatemala. A multimedia project will be soon to follow. A few of my favorite photos first though. (A slideshow is below)