Can you take me back to a place called Oregon Street?
Well, I had this huge cardboard box that I have been moving from place to place since since the very early 1990s. I knew it had some of my childhood stuff in it including some 1000s of sports cards(baseball, basketball, football, Brazilian soccer). I have been putting off rummaging through this box for years because I knew it would take some work going through the cards and determine their value and what future they should have with me.
Finally, my procrastination ended and I unsealed the box and took a look inside. As I thought there was quite a few sports cards in it but also several other items that I did not expect. These items take me back to a time where a small and skinny young boy spent his time focusing on school, wrestling, electronic hand held and homemade baseball games, and card collecting in his childhood home on Oregon St. in Racine, Wisconsin.
Here are some of the examples of items that I found:
- A Muhammad Ali autograph scribbled into a Allen-Bradley notepad that I received after briefly shadow-boxing with the champ in O’Hare airport as we waited for our delayed flight to take off to London on my first trip to Europe in 1977.
- A 1969 Chicago Cubs spring training (Scottsdale, Arizona) official press- radio roster book that was given to me by my junior high vice principal Al Widner who knew I was really into baseball at that time.
- My 1979-80 Junior high year book from Mitchell Junior High.
- Some of my player sheets for the baseball game I made using player statistics and dice roll probabilities.
- Who’s Who in Baseball books.
- Some sketch books that included my drawings of KISS band members faces.
- 1978 junior high team wrestling picture with a few programs from the wrestling meets.
- The Milwaukee Journal Times from March 30, 1981 that contained the headline “President Wounded: Reagan undergoes surgery; listed in good condition”
- Not to mention all my cards.
- The list goes on.
So my mind was back in Wisconsin. This was a place that I had not lived since 1981. This year is a milestone where I have now lived in south twice as long the Midwest. Thank god my mother, sister and brother still live there and I have these things to remind me of my roots. Things I can pass on to my children to help them understand their father childhood and their family history a little better.
The time between Christmas day and New years 2009 was spent in these old stomping grounds with my mother in Racine, Wisconsin. This is the first time in many years that my family has spent the holidays with her. Usually, it is other times of the year, that we head to cheese land. My wife came up with the idea of this trip for the holidays. Here is brief video of our recent trip. This time sharing my roots with my precious children.
If you do not see embedded video below, click here for the blog video.
I want to ride my Bicycle. I want to ride my Bike….
Everyone goes through various firsts in their lives. Sophie is no different. We have been trying to teach her how to ride a bike for quite some time now. This weekend grandma Carole finally was able to trigger success in Sophie. I had been telling to “keep going” which in my mind meant “pedal Sophie pedal!.” Well, it apparently had not been clear to Sophie. Carol urged her to "pedal Sophie pedal!” and off she went. It was like a light switch!
Early on she started with her helmet as she gained confidence.
Her confidence grew quickly as our circle became a circular race track. She is steady as a rock and fast too! Speed racer eat your heart out!!! I thought when I learned I was wobbly for a week. Maybe I just do not remember what happened almost 40 years ago. Great job Sophie!
Jackie took Sophie to a local park to ride around a lake! Sophie has been suggesting this all day!!!
See ya soon!
Selling Lip Gloss in a Blue World
“Psssttt…Hey you c’m here… would you like to buy some of my special $50.00 lip gloss ? “ said the little girl in the blue world.
“I really do not need any lip gloss.” said the busy working executive who models blue jean jackets on the side. From the look on her face, you can tell she does her own make-up also.
“With this economy, what makes you think that you can get $50.00 for that lip gloss anyway? I think you are crazy! “ she said.
“I will use my sweet innocence and special selling smile!” said the little girl.
“If that one does not work, I will use this variation!”
7 going on 15
The followers of this blog probably know by now that this is my oldest daughter Sophie. You may not know that Sophia has a great big heart for the people around her. She is always looking for something sweet and special to do for someone. The “Think World Peace” shirt above definitely fits her personality. She worries about the world and our planet’s future. The above image matures her past her seven years. If may be an early premonition of what a teenage Sophia may look like.
Yesterday, since we had snow falling in Raleigh, we played around in the studio a bit. Sophie had dressed for the day in the outfit in the image. I just provided my “Rasta” cap to top off the outfit.
Welcome to Shady town
Recently, I continue to play around with controlling and manipulating ambient and flash/strobe light sources to achieve different looks in my images.
This first image below was taken with the ambient(background) a little underexposed(darker) than the flash unit that is exposing Sophie’s face from the upper right hand side of the frame. Notice the background has a shelf and some pictures that would make a Green Bay Packer fan proud. I included this image in this series to show the room that I was working in for these images.
If I was using a regular point-and-shoot camera, I would not typically have hardly any control of the image exposure and the light would be flat(coming straight from the camera axis). The image may be acceptable but it would not the have the dimensional look afforded by the off-camera flash unit.
Not everyone is a Packer fan like Sophie and me. So I decided to remove the Packer influence from the image by making the background black. I adjusted my camera settings so that when I took a “flash-less” shot in the same environment the image became black. The same ambient light in the first photograph is still present in the room, but my new camera settings make it where this light has no effect on my image. In essence, I killed the ambient(room) light. Now, it is just a matter of lighting my subject(beautiful Sophie) with flash unit and keeping as much of its light from hitting the back wall. If the light hits the back wall, it will show up in the image.
Here are a couple of the final results after a little work in Photoshop.
Till next time!
That ain’t funny
There are definitely some good and bad things about being the children of a photographer. If they like modeling, they pretty much can have unlimited photo shoots. All they have to do is ask. Sometimes. however, they simply do not have a choice. 
They become the “askee” not the “asker.”
I am constantly looking for ways to improve the creative and technical aspects of my photography. Last night before dinner was no exception. I snuck out back of the house and set up a couple of flash units(Canon speedlites) on some light stands near our playground/playhouse. Yes, I could have used the early evening natural light for these shots but using flash units allows me more creative flexibility and control. I have potentially three light sources to play with instead of just one.
One flash unit which was gelled with FULL CTO was placed on a light stand instead the playhouse. It was positioned to serve two purposes: a background light and warm hair light. The light pointed at an angle to to reflect off an inside wall for the background light and also through the window for warm hair light.. Outside of the playhouse another flash unit with an shoot-through umbrella was placed on a light stand for the key light. I chose to use a 60 inch umbrella to provide a large soft light for the faces that would be soon look through this playhouse window. I triggered these units using the new Pocketwizard wireless radio mini TT1 transmitter(on camera) and Flex TT5 receivers with the flash units in manual mode.
So now all I need are some faces. Wonder where I can find a couple of children to model for me? Hmmm… Sophie! Savannah! I need to borrow you for a brief princess shoot! I thought to myself what little girl would turn down a princess photo shoot. I knew I could get them to at least a few minutes. That about all the time I had before we were called in the house for dinner.
First up, two girls rimmed in warm light and framed by the playhouse window looking off into the direction of the key light.
A new and different angle. The look on Savannah’s face is just like her. You can really see the effect of the CTO(yellow) gel on the flash unit inside the playhouse.
Now, a solo shot of daddy’s “original” model. If you look closely , you can see a little bit of the blue slide and ground texture in the left of the frame. I chose to reduce/cut-out the ambient light from the scene and rely primarily on my flash units for a more creative look. In reality, I could have done these shots with the ambient early 5 PM evening light. I did not entirely cut out the ambient light with my camera exposure settings.
Now, this one is what prompted the title of this post. It appears Savannah is telling her older sister a joke that she does not want to hear. I title this image “That ain’t funny!”
Till next time, take care!!!
Christmas Surprise at Carole’s
This past Christmas holiday, we were fortunate enough to spend time with both Jackie’s and my side of the family. We spent Christmas eve and day with Jackie’s mom in Winston-Salem, NC. We headed to Wisconsin the day after Christmas to spend a week in Wisconsin with my mom.
Christmas morning had the usual present opening excitement. The kids were anxiously waiting to see what gifts they would receive. This Christmas we all had a surprise Christmas gift. Uncle Mike decided to propose to his girl friend Cheryl Ann by giving her a Christmas present of a wedding ring. This caught everyone off guard.
With the ring in hand, Mike was on one knee asking Cheryl Ann to marry him.
I would say that this picture tells you her answer.
A new glow.
Big sister congratulated Mike!
Future Mother-in-laws exchanged their congratulatory hugs with their future in-laws.
Here are a couple of shots of Autumn (Cheryl Ann’s daughter) with her own version of a glow.
The entire gallery for the Christmas at Carole’s is located here.
Rats Nest, a Balloon, and a Nannah
When I was kid, my mother and grandmother used to call our uncombed morning hair a “rat’s nest.” This morning, we sitting at the breakfast table all with our own version of a rat’s nest. Savannah’s hair was particularly “nesty” this morning. Even with her hair in that state, she still makes a nice subject for the camera. Nothing like balloons and some smiles to perk up a breakfast sitting.
The Excitement of Receiving
Do you think she likes Uncle Dave’s Christmas gift? Give me your thoughts.
Examining the Peak
Last week, I was in Colorado Springs, Colorado. I experienced the various moods of Pike’s Peak. During the week, I saw what some snow and some different light can do the peak. Here are some of the shots.
This is my view one snowy morning from the Hotel.
Couple of more looks after a snow.
The fiery look of a morning sunrise
Man, this is beautiful country!
Heart Painted Rockin’ Angel
Growing up I was a child of the 70s. As an early teenager, I became quite a KISS fanatic. Pictures of the fabulous foursome covered my room. We were also known to head down to the local Baskin & Robbins to get their empty ice cream tubs to make a drums for our hard rock air guitar shows in our basement.
My kids like the band as much as I do. They constantly are singing Rock and Roll All Nite and Beth and want to watch daddy’s KISS DVDs especially the Kiss Phantom of the Park movie. They both want to be Gene Simmons for Halloween.
Only one issue now, my lovely wife can not stand KISS. Apparently, she was tormented by her older brother and his neighbor friends dressed as KISS when she was little. So the girls and I have to enjoy KISS outside of ear shot of Jackie much like I did as a kid with my parents.
Here is the face painting that Jackie does allow. This is Sophie who was painted at a recent IBM family appreciation event in RTP, NC. Just before bed, Sophie came into my studio and said mommy is making me take the makeup off and she wanted a picture with a real camera. The earlier camera phone shots were not enough.
There still is a Gene Simmons like aura about these even with the hearts. Go Sophie!!
Wrightsville Creatures
Here are few creatures we saw since the rain kept us from playing on the beach. We said the word “snakes” and Sophia was all into it. So Dad, Sophie and I went to the Cape Fear Serpentarium in Wilmington, NC.
Here are a few shots of some reptiles.
We were greeted at the entrance by two very loud and boisterous parrots. Here is one of them. I noticed that they were not close to any of the reptiles and resided outside the indoor reptile park. That is probably a good thing.
Some may wonder why no snake pictures. Well.. they will be soon soon! I wanted to get a few pictures out there well the iron is hot.
As I mentioned in my previous posts Breakfast at Grandpa’s and Station One Pool, I will be adding more images from our Wrightsville Beach visit here. This gallery will have the full size versions of all the blog images and more.
Have a great day!!
Breakfast at Grandpa’s: Wrightsville Beach, NC
Ok, for the followers of the “Then and Now” section of this blog, my father was the photographer who took the lion share of the “then” pictures. He did it the old fashioned way using film and a darkroom. Man things are easier now for all of us digital photographers. I am still trying to get him to take DSLR digital photography back up again. Fingers crossed.
Anyway, the following series is called “breakfast at grandpa’s.” We visited grandpa’s this past weekend. he still wakes up before everyone and makes sure we have our breakfast. One of his many talents. Well here are some candid shots of grandpa and his NC grandbabies. They sure are cute. I guess I am biased.
A kiss for the oldest. 
Cutting up with the girls. 
The stare off. 
Kisses for Grandpa. 
Sophie’s way of telling me that the session is over.
The full gallery can be found here. Keep checking the gallery. I am sure it will grow.
Station One Pool: Wrightsville Beach, NC
We had an awesome time this past weekend in Wrightsville Beach, NC visiting my father at Station One. It rained most of the weekend but we got a little sun so the girls could hit the pool.
Playing with some shells that they found in the playground sand next to the pool.
Savannah giving the camera some love as she heads into the pool.
Sophie is always on the go! Pool time is no different.
Savannah is looking through the playground rails as she watches Sophie do the monkey bars below.
The daddy’s favorite super models hanging at the pool.
Savannah has recently come out of her shell around the camera. Here are few of her pool session.
Full sized Gallery is located here. More images will be added in the next few days.
Bed Dancing
Well, it was about bed time the other night and you know kids will be kids. They successfully talked mom into turning on her iPod boom box. Next thing you know, they were dancing on the bed to great disco hits like Dream On(Live), Here are a couple of shots from the dance session.
You go girls!!!
Then and Now: Hugs
Then:
Recently, my mother mentioned that my photographs reminded me of the times when we were little. She wished that she could visit that time when she could pick us up and give us all hugs like the old days. I call this picture “Hugs.” “Hugs” are something that have been important in our family for many years.
Now:
The hugging tradition has been passed down. Here are a few pictures taken by my wife Jackie for the proof. These are a few years old now.
A first beer? old photo trivia
Welcome to old photo trivia! I could tell history behind this image, but that could give away the answer. Here is picture of a young lad enjoying one of his first sips of beer with a relative. Please comment on my blog with the name of this young lad and his relative as well as any other history you may have on this image or people.
Once we get some responses to this one, I will provide what I know about this photo. Let’s have some fun with this one.
Update Aug 24, 2009
My mother provided the following comments regarding this image on my facebook page:
Phyllis Darge(mother):
“Where in the world did you get that photo?! As you know, it is a picture of Grandpa Nick and David(my older brother) – giving him his first drink of beer. David was the only grandchild he knew because he died at the age of 44 because of alcoholism – before Steve was born. He married Plesha Picks when I was 11 years old.”
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The Power Of The Strut
At the very end of the second part of the Weishoff Family shoot on Sunday morning, we were heading back home to finish getting ready for my wife’s birthday party. If you look closely, we can see the Ennismore street sign in the top right hand corner. This means we are almost home. This corner is a known location for some entrepreneur’s lemonade stands and bake sales.
My oldest daughter and photo assistant/model Sophia led the charge up the hill back home. It was mom’s birthday and we needed to help with the party finishing touches. Sophie’s brisk and purposeful pace reflects this past weekend in the Jackle household. If she has some goal in her mind, she will figure out a way to achieve it. At the time this shot was taken, the goal was getting home to help mom on her birthday. Nothing was going to stop her from achieving her goal not even her slow dad, uncle, aunt and cousins.
Last night, we went to her school for the annual teacher meet and greet session. Jackie and Sophia had gathered all the school supplies and put them in a bag for Sophie to carry. They may not have been needed yesterday, but Sophia would be ready just in case. As soon as Sophie met her teacher and found her desk, she was hard at work organizing her pencils, pens, erasers, binders, and papers. She was the only child in the class that we saw organizing and prepping for the start of school next week. It was obvious that she was excited about returning to school next Tuesday and was ready to do some work.
I think the above image represents my daughter’s confidence, independence, heart, focus and will. These are some of the many qualities that make proud to be her father.
A Nanna, A Miller, A Marty, and A Mirror
Over this past weekend, we got invaded by a family of Cheese heads. One of the heads of the household is a Lego-maniac and heck-of-father named Marty Weishoff. He is also known to drink a few beers at parties like this one for Jackie’s 29th(that is my story and I am sticking to it) birthday yesterday.
Unlike my brother, he is both entertainment and maintenance for the children. The following series of images are from the party when uncle Marty was entertaining his niece Nanna armed only with a Miller high Life and mirror. The mirror is off camera to the left.
Call these teasers. I just could not resist these. Synchronized facial expressions!! I am going through the images from party over the next few days and will post more shortly! So stay tuned! 
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Cleaning Windows
When I hear the expression “Cleaning windows”, I can not help but recall a song by one of the greatest songwriters in recent history named Van Morrison. In this case, it is a little different. I came home Monday night from work. I heard earlier through the family grapevine that another Lemonade sale was performed by Sophie and Savannah. Recently, Sophia spent all her earned money on a Lego set. This Lego set is currently in the hands of UPS and in transit to us in the next few days. With all her money spent, Sophia had the lemonade and bake sale also. Jackie mentioned that the Windows needed cleaning. She only had to say this once to Sophie. This quickly turned into turned into another financial opportunity for Sophia. She is always looking for ways to work around the house to make a quick buck.
Here is Sophie at work.
She is making her dad proud by using Windex which is made S.C. Johnson in my original hometown. I like the reflections in these images as it adds some depth and pizzazz to both of them.
A closer look at her efforts.
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Swimming Lessons for Nanna
Savannah took her first swimming lessons at a local Raleigh pool. We still need to work with her but she is gradually becoming more confident in the water. Here are shots from her first of five lessons.
She looks like the part here. That is a good start. A Face a father(and mom) can love.
Early on in the lesson she had that Savannah swagger that we all know and love.
A little boogey-board action Savannah style with a little help from the instructor.
The Savannah Plunge
We had to have a grand finale to this blog post. Here is the beginning of the “plunge.”
Mid-air and no turning back! Wetness is about to engulf her!
Ya! Engulfed by wetness!
Safe and sound! The instructor seems happy and encouraging! Not sure about Savannah at this stage. A little overwhelmed perhaps. You probably would be too if someone besides your mom was catching you and let you go under. Oops! I forgot my goggles!
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It’s a Miller Cat Fight!
In this corner weighting in at less than 20 lbs from parts unknown, we have the K-Kitty! In this corner, finalist in a recent game face competition and still my daughter, Savannah “I have no fear” Jackle.
“Ok! You are definitely cute and all, but this 12 pack of High Life is coming with me!” said K-Kitty.
“Listen here! You striped little critter. I am taking this back for my daddy! This is his favorite beer!” said Savannah.
It looks to be a Kitty-Kid standoff as each of the contestants are engaged in a stare-off !
Sometime later after the bout, we tried to interview one of the contestants and this is the look we got. What do you think this look means? Please comment below with your thoughts.
It’s Miller Time! Have a great weekend and see you soon!
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Put On Your Game Face!
Tonight, I was perusing the wedding photographic society forum. A comment was made to another forum participant that he needed to add an avatar to his profile so people could associate a face with a forum post at our bi-monthly meetings. This is something that I have not done yet either.
So I grabbed one of my favorite models and photography assistants named Sophie Jackle. She was so thrilled that I was going to actually allow her to touch my camera. This is something that she is typically not allowed to do. One would think that this because of my concern that she may accidentally damage my gear. Actually, I may also be afraid that she would show me up with better and more creative photography.
Anyway, I sent up my 580EX flash unit with a 28 inch umbrella soft box as a key light. I sent my 430 EX II with a grid spot for a rim light. The intention here was to make a simple casual head shot for the forum. I put my 50mm F1.8 lens on my camera and installed it on my tripod. Nothing fancy. Just trying to take a simple head shot for the forum. The tripod would help make it easier for Sophie and me less nervous.
H
ere is the headshot we ended up with for the forum. I merely demonstrating what a game face was to my daughter Sophie using a souvenir I bought at one of my trips to Lambeau Field. Here is the shot she took. See I told you I should have some concern about her showing me up. Great job Sophie!!! 
Remember in previous posts, I mentioned that we had to keep things even in our house between our two daughters. This works between fathers and daughters also. Here are a few examples of Sophie’s game face.
So next thing we knew, we heard footsteps. Apparently, our game face growls sparked this sweet and innocent little girl’s curiosity.
She is so cute and innocent. I had to share another one also.
Remember that keep it even stuff. Well, here are some shots of Savannah’s game faces.
For good measure, one rather loud one without the helmet. Apparently, she wanted to make sure you knew who was giving you the game face !!
Now we had to pull out another one of my helmets for this “brown helmet” game face variation.
Finally and last but not least, a game face duet with a little Gene Simmons mixed in for good measure.
Did I tell you that both of my girls are requesting to dress up as Gene Simmons for Halloween this year? Well, of course I had nothing to do with that request. Do not believe my wife Jackie if she tells you otherwise. Do you see my Mr. Simmons figurine perched on the shelf proudly watching Sophia doing her Gene Simmons imitation?
Till next time. See ya soon!!
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Carole’s beauty shop and breakfast grill
On the way back from the camping trip, we spent the night at my mother-in-law Carole’s home. The plan was to drop off Sophia for a few days with her grandma while she was still out of school. As tradition as Carole’s house, we woke to a very nice breakfast meal. It was no different this time. Carole prepared a dish called “SOS” which according to Carole has some sort of military origin. Since this is a family-rated blog, I will suffice to say we had hamburger milk gravy over biscuits.
Anyway, after breakfast and three days of camping, it was bath time for the girls. It was quite obvious from looking at the bath tub that Carole used it for other purposes than taking baths. So to work off my full belly, I decided to scour out the bath tub so my little darlings can get cleaned up. Each turn in the tub was followed up by beauty session at Carole’s beauty shop.
Here are few shots from the styling session.
Both kids were happy as a lark … Then the bill came…..
