However my greatest fear was that by the time the rain subsided the colorful fall leaves would be gone – torn down from the trees by the very rain that usually helps turn them into vibrant color displays.  If the rapidly growing expanse of fallen leaves in my backyard were any sign I was going to miss the opportunity to capture the brilliance of this year’s Autumn colors.

So you can imagine how thrilled I was when we finally were blessed with a few days of clear skies and slightly warmer temperatures.  As soon as I realized there would be a window of photographic opportunity I quickly scoured the Internet for fall color reports only to learn that most places known for their fall colors were past their prime or had lost the very leaves I was seeking.  It became very clear that driving to a scenic location in search for large expanses of Autumn colors wasn’t going to work this year.  I need a new plan.  One that would provide the colors I was craving but with another photography worthy visual so I could combine them without worrying about not having robust enough trees for my shots.

It was then that I remembered two of St. Louis’ oldest and most scenic cemeteries – Calvary and Bellefontaine.  I did some additional online scouting to find out that the colors were still holding fairly well and when combined with the amazing tombstones and personal mausoleums I would have more than enough opportunities for some great photographs.  So with a new game plan in hand I headed out for a Saturday morning shoot with my trusted photography companion – Jared.

I think we spent 3 full hours in the cemeteries taking shot after shot of amazing color and grave sites.  While there we saw the Busch family mausoleum, the Lemp tomb, Clark (of Lewis & Clark) and many other historical celebrities.  Those cemeteries are truly amazing.  Not only for taking some interesting photos but also to see the history of who was who in St. Louis over the last 200+ years.  If you ever find yourself looking for something different to do on a Saturday afternoon I highly recommend you drive through them both and enjoy the trip through history.

As for Jared and I we had a great time and fully intend to go back when we get our first snow this winter.

We didn’t have a lot of time for the shoot so we headed to a few locations near my home.  Over the next 45 minutes we took numerous photos in different poses and outfits.  This was a true guerilla style shoot in that we had no assistant, no make-up artist and no privacy for Steve’s outfit change.  Luckily we were able to pull it off without any complications and without police intervention.

Below are some of the selects from the shoot.  I hope you enjoy them and make sure to visit Steve’s new radio program’s website at Behind The Music to learn more about his great new show.

We arrived at the brewery and quickly found a parking spot and heading to the main gate.  It was open and it appeared that no one was around.  (For those of you unfamiliar with Lemp it is an old brewery that hasn’t been in operation in decades.  However the building does get used for various projects including some steel work, etc.  But for the most part it is abandoned.)  Our intent was to walk around the inside of the complex to get some shots of internal buildings and architecture which you cannot access from outside the compounds walls.  Unfortunately we found ourselves staring into a giant NO TRESPASSING SIGN that was pretty intimidating.  We discussed ignoring it only to quickly encounter several cars pulling through the gate “reporting to work” whose occupants quickly convinced us through their stares that we should not enter without permission.

Deciding to live to fight another day we quickly resigned ourselves to being stuck outside of the walls of the brewery.  This was clearly not what we had planned and I found myself quickly upset that what I had intended to spend my morning shooting was no longer an option.  But fortunately the weather and coffee were stronger than my disappointment and we decided to see what we could shoot around the brewery and over the walls.  We spent the next 90 minutes walking around the entire complex shooting whatever caught our eyes.  While we didn’t necessarily get shots we were looking for we did have a great time just being out in the mix and enjoying our passion.

What I took away most from this shoot was that sometimes you just have to adapt.  You never know when you will be faced with a situation like mine or perhaps worse – rain on a wedding shoot perhaps?  No matter what gets thrown at your way you have to learn to adapt and take advantage of the unexpected.  Because you never know when something least expected will turn out to be the best shot of your life.

In hindsight not taking the time is always the wrong decision and I decided that I needed to change my behavior. The key to changing my own behavior came from reading a blog post on Chase Jarvis’ website one day about how he uses his iPhone to take numerous photos everyday of things he comes across in in travels. I thought hey, I can do that since I carry my own iPhone around everyday. So I started taking photos whenever something caught my eye. Whether it was a cloud formation, pennies in a fountain or the ways the lines of a building intersected with those of a window. It wasn’t easy at first to slow down and look at things differently but I can tell you it has made all the difference in my photography.

I now have an appreciation for shapes and colors more than ever and I find it easier to get the right shot with less effort than before. This doesn’t mean I’m perfect. In fact I’m far from it but I do have the confidence to push myself everytime I head out the door in search of my next photo. I encourage you to force yourself to document the things around you and take the time when you normally wouldn’t. It can make all the difference in your photography as well as how you see the world around you.

If your interested here’s a link to some of my iPhone photos.

Good luck!

This is the power of photos.  They allows us to capture memories in the moment and preserve them for future generations to enjoy.  And in this case we’ve all enjoyed looking back at how things were different yet some how, through the generations, remain the same.

I headed down to the Central West End neighborhood in St. Louis and spent about 1.5 hours shooting the couple in various poses and setups.  Although the light was intense due to scheduling issues, we were able to get some good shots in that captured the couple’s real relationship.  From there we headed to the World’s Fair Pavillion in Forest Park where the couple will actually hold their wedding reception at the end of the month.  At that location we were able to get a few good locale setups as well as additional romantic style shots.

All in all it was an excellent 3 hours spent outside on a beautiful day.  Reem and Howie were wonderful to work with and truly showed how much they are in love.

And of course, after all was said and done, the happy couple have an amazing collection of finished photos from their efforts.  I’m sure they will cherish the photos for years to come.