Emily & Joey: I love U.(sd)

Emily and Joey are getting married on the other side of the state, but asked me to do their engagement session. I enjoyed spending a warm June morning with them!

Emily and Joey met as members of USD's marching band. They cherish each other, are fond of their time at the University of South Dakota and selected the campus as the location for their session.

USD is a gorgeous campus. Old Main provides a stunning backdrop.

Emily and Joey spent time studying music and performing in Slagle Hall. The building was not open, though the structure is a fine setting.

Danforth Chapel

Flower Fountain at the Shrine to Music Museum

We concluded our session at the United Church of Christ. I sit in church admiring the windows in the space. I've wanted to use them for a photo shoot and seized the opportunity. Thank you to the church for allowing me access.

I wish Emily and Joey a happy journey together.

I invite you to my website and facebook page to view my current projects.

Waiting Through All of Time & Space: Mason's Newborn Session

Every baby is eagerly awaited and Mason is certainly no different. Lots of people were anxious to meet this little man.





Mason's mom is a Doctor Who fan. Together, Sarah and Joe have their wedding vows tattooed in Gallifreyan. That's the language used by Time Lords. I was pretty certain that they'd be okay with a few Doctor Who inspired portraits.

I enjoyed David Tennant and Matt Smith. Matt Smith's interpretation of the doctor inspired me for Mason's shoot. I'm not sure which Doctor Sarah prefers.

So, with that in mind... What else would I do but celebrate the fact that Babies, Bow Ties and Fez Hats are cool. I made the hat, bow tie and sweater pants.





Mason's session was also done in his home. We were able to take breaks for food and change of clothes.

Max was a great subject too! He and Mason will be great friends.



A friend of the family made a diaper cover and handcuffs for Mason as a nod to dad's career as a police officer. It's wonderful to have a reminder of these special gifts.



Mason, welcome to the world! :-) I know that you'll have great adventures.

Welcome Trinity: Newborn Session

Trinity was such a good little lady during her newborn session!

Would you believe I was set up in her parents' dining room? When I say that I bring the studio to you, I'm not kidding.

Trinity's big brothers wanted to help me set up.

I was eager for this session, first to hang out with Trinity. Second, my husband and I made the bed that we used!! I wanted to make a wrought iron style infant bed. We used old wire hangers. My husband welded them together according to some doodles that I had made. Then we painted the frame black. It was a fun project, though my husband says that it'd be best to buy new wire the next time around. It would be easier, it's true. I also had a lot of fun sewing the bedding that went with the bed.

I arrived around 9 a.m. and began set up. I was done packing my car around 1pm. Now, some of that time was spent gabbing. LeAnn (Trinity's mom) has been one of my best friends since sometime in middle school.

It does take some time for a home session, though. I try to bring a few backdrops and work with what parents have on hand for their child as well.

Trinity, you are beautiful. Welcome to your family!

Welcome Trinity: Birth Day Session

LeAnn and I have been friends for a LONG time. We'd pass notes to each other in school, had many overnight stays and spent HOURS on the phone. I got to see her and her family regularly in their first four or so years. Her oldest children were the subjects of many photographs as I learned photography once upon a time. Then they moved across the state and I didn't get to see them as often, nor did I get a chance to photograph her boys very often. Aleesha and Jamie were the flower girls in my wedding.

Finally, a year ago, LeAnn and her family moved back to this side of the state, to Vermillion even!!! I was thrilled. Then, they learned that they were adding to the family!! I was excited for them. And, I was eager to offer my photography services. My skills have evolved since their oldest was little. To be honest, I'd never had the opportunity to try birth photography. If there was anyone I could ask to try this genre out, it was LeAnn.

I was out of town the day that she was scheduled to be induced. I thought that Trinity would have arrived by the time I got to town. But, I was able to join the family for awhile and await her arrival.

Communication is important with any client, best friend or otherwise. We agreed that if LeAnn and Chet wanted me out of the way, that's fine. I photographed a few waiting images. My plan was to be discreet and stay by momma's head. It worked out great. But, when a cesarean delivery was needed, I waited outside with the maternal grandma. It was still amazing to see Chet walk out with Trinity in his arms.

Trinity has a wonderful family surrounding her. She was the tie breaker with two older sisters and two brothers to show her the ropes.

Mom did wonderfully!!! She was a rockstar!

I'm so glad that we've been a part of each other's lives for better than 20 years. I'm thrilled that your kids like me. I think that they're a great bunch too.

Welcome to the family, Trinity. I look forward to watching you grow up too.

Photos by Bub

My son is nearly three and is very keen on the things that he sees my husband and I doing. When he watches daddy work, he wants a tool of any sort of his own. He loves fiddling with pliers, hammers... anything he can get his hands on. He wants to have a job of his own.

He also watches me at work and has taken an interest in my cameras. He loves the act of just pushing the button. We typically just try to get his fingers away from the front of the lens.

And so, there are many images of whatever happens to be in front of the camera at the moment he actually gets the shutter button pressed.







So, I try to help him out and get down on his level. I attempt to put myself in front of the lens.



Then... With some luck... I was able to coach him. I asked him to raise the camera, so that he could see me on the preview screen. And, he got some really nice images!



There, you've got it buddy!!







I know that he just likes the act of holding the camera up and pushing the button, like mommy does. But, I'm a very proud momma that he got a few fun images. :D It will be fun to search out scenes and subjects to photograph together as he grows up!

Wedding Video

Recently, I've been offering still photography packages for weddings almost exclusively.  This season, however, I was asked to film two weddings.  I have worked in television for over thirteen years now, so that wasn't an issue.  I love documenting events of any nature.

I also wanted to explore capturing video in conjunction with still photography.  So, I offered the option to two early season weddings.



The second wedding is available to view on request.

This approach isn't without its challenges, of course. My primary concern involved focusing on still photography. I set up two mostly stationary video cameras. My camera in the back of the church was in a location where I could adjust the shot as I photographed aspects of the wedding. I don't like to move around a lot during the ceremony, so this approach works really well. I added still images to the video to fill in the film and display all details from the celebration.

This spring, I filmed another wedding. My primary responsibility, again, was the still photography including portraits and candid images. This church was larger. I placed my main camera in the balcony, a space that I knew I may not have easy access to during the ceremony.

The bride's brother in law often documents family events. I asked if he might be shooting video that day and willing to share his footage with me. I could easily include extra video angles with that approach.



I loved seeing the wedding documented from a guest's perspective!!

I'm working on editing a wonderful celebration surrounding Ashley & Damon in Iowa. I filmed their wedding in its entirety and got to focus solely on that role.



More clips from Mr. & Mrs. Berkland's day will be added soon.

I look forward to filming more events in the future. Please follow my channel at www.youtube.com/sieversmavideo

I've set up a few playlists featuring my work and am always adding more material.

www.sieversmaphotography.com

Photo a Day: 365 images

I've successfully shot an image every day so far in 2014. I wanted to limit the instances where I relied on my cell phone. In the end, the best camera is whatever you have on hand.

As the second half of the year progresses, I would like to plan my shots better. I have a bad habit of remembering at 8 o'clock at night that I have yet to create an image. 

I've made some nice images and some lackluster ones too. All said, I enjoy looking through the collection and remembering that day. 

If you would like to look at the first six months of images , please visit my flickr gallery!  

https://flickr.com/photos/50010367@N06/sets/72157639453460643

In the next six months I hope to do more night photography and light painting. I've not been doing much of it lately and I love it!

I did make a photo for my mom's birthday earlier in the year.