Saturday, November 22, 2008

Slacker?!?!?

I know that it has been a very long time since I have posted but I'm on boss 4 for this year and have been very busy. I'm trying to get a web site built and up for the photography thing. I have it started and would love input on what everyone thinks. I'm going to be posting a price list and that type of stuff later today (still working on it).
This is one of my favorite shots from this fall and now the most important thing for this post the link: http://ryanbaxterphotography.ifp3.com/

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Finally...



I'm sure that Jennifer is extremely happy with today's event. I was able to purchase the camera I have been talking about non-stop for months driving her nuts, I'm sure. I ordered it online so now I just have to wait for it to get here. I will update everyone once I get......I sense another model hunt coming soon.

Monday, September 8, 2008

"Tripp" the light fantastic



I had the honor of getting to be the "official" photographer for Richard Lee Carlson III (AKA Tripp) the son of Erin and Rick Carlson.
Erin works with Jennifer and saw my pictures and the request for models. She said that she had a real fresh face. I told her that I would love to take pictures of a newborn and the plan was hatched. No pun intended.

Shortly after she had the baby, she would call me and we would work out a time for the photo shoot. That day ended up being this past Sunday and it was a blast. I'm not going to post the pictures here. I will have them on my FlickR page as normal, but I want them to be the ones that are introducing Tripp to the world. Thanks to Erin and Rick for allowing me this opportunity and being so gracious.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

We live in a dangerous world

"We live in a dangerous world. And we need a president who understands the lessons of Sept. 11, 2001: that to protect America, we must stay on the offence, stop attacks before they happen, and not wait to be hit again. The man we need is John McCain."

Former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson

This statement is so far from the truth that the truth can't see the light of day. We were attacked on 9/11 and we had every right as a nation to seek out and destroy the enemy that attacked us. Wait!! We didn't do that. We went to a nation that did not attack us and started a war that we are still in. Now, the Republicans are saying that "we must stay on the offence". Do you think we might piss off more people with this tactic? The republicans have become experts at fear mongering. We have to wake up and smell the damm coffee. We are in trouble and if we don't we will be in a much worse place in 4 years.

Sunday, August 31, 2008

Loss

I'm not sure if I have the ability to put into words the loss that I feel with the passing of my Grandma. Betty Jo Davis was the matriarch of the family. Her and my Grandpa were the example of how a couple should be. Their marriage of 61 years is the stuff of legends, now in days. They were described by their pastor as being 1 person almost, "WaltandBetty". The more I think about that the more I believe it is true. They were best friends and could finish each others thoughts without even blinking. I hope and pray that me and Jennifer are like them in every way possible. When I received the call from Melanie on Tuesday morning, I went into a daze and I think that I'm starting to come out of it. I have been beating myself up all week because I was to have my kids call and talk to her and I kept letting it slip my mind. I kept saying we would do it tomorrow, now I will never have the chance. Why the hell didn't I just have them call. Why didn't I call and have my chance to say good bye. I attempted to be the strong one for my Mom and Aunt on the flight to Florida. I think I put on a good front, I know that I will never know for sure. I did a fair job until Wednesday morning when my Grandpa gave me a hug and said that she sure loved you and then the quote "Up Mamaw, pretty outside". I was trying to be strong in front of him and not start crying and until that point I had not really cried. We left the house shortly after that to go to the mortuary to see her remains. Now that was really hard. She had decided that she wished to be cremated long before Tuesday morning came. The mortuary did what they had been asked to do which was making it so those of us that could get there could see her before the cremation. The hard part was since she was not going to be buried she did not have a casket. The viewing was in a cardboard box. My mom and the Aunts did not handle this well. I lost it there and had to sit down. I was wishing my wife was there, she could have helped me hold it together. I know that I'm rambling, sorry. Wednesday we had preparation for the memorial to keep us busy. We also had the expected arrival of Melanie and my Cousin Candy who were driving in and Todd, Kristen and Isiah who were flying. Mel and Candy arrived at 2 AM on the Thursday and we all went to bed to get ready the memorial. The memorial was at 3 PM on Thursday. The memorial just proved how much she was loved and the impact that she had on the people around her. I spent the time looking around the church and seeing the reaction of the people she touched was a powerful sight for me. During the service I looked over at Grandpa and I saw this look of peace on his face and I had to wonder to myself during this how he could be at peace, then I thought back to how much they loved each other and realized that was only part of it. She was, as their minister of 9 plus years said, a child of god and she was in heaven. I'm not overly religious but this day I have to say that I believe. The rest of the time was just reflection with family and comforting Grandpa as much as possible. The women spent time helping by getting Grandma things out of the condo so that Grandpa wouldn't have to. We all know that he is going to want it back someday but today is not the day. We have sat aside things that he will want back over time. Friday seemed to fly by, we went to the beach for breakfast as a family, went to spend time with Grandpa, dinner with family, then a sunset at the beach, packed for the trip back, and then off to bed. Saturday morning, we went and said our goodbyes before getting on the roadback to Indianapolis. The drive back was pretty uneventful. Now the hard part is fact that we have to do the memorial again in a week or so. I love you, Grandma.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Grandma "Betty Jo Davis"


My loving and perfect Grandma passed away Tuesday morning in Bradenton, FL. She has gone to be with the Lord and is truly in a better place.

She has been fighting cancer for the past two years and according to her accounts never had a bad day. She was a rock and never wanted us to know that she was hurting. The family knew that she was in pain and we are glad that she is no longer suffering.

I was a 2 yr old little boy when I made a quote that has stayed with me for my entire life. I was so excited about being at my Grandparents house I couldn't wait for them to get out of bed. I ran in to the room and jumped up on top of my Grandma and said "Up Mamaw, pretty outside!" I have heard this story on almost every visit I have had with my Grandparents since I was 2 and I used to think I would never live that down.

Now all I can think is that I wish I could say it just one more time to her, so now I'm going to have to do it in this forum. Up Mamaw, pretty outside! Enjoy your time with God!

Love Ryan

Thursday, August 14, 2008

First Photo Shoot

I owe a huge thanks to Tammy Moon and her lovely family. I was looking for a challenge but it turned out to a great time. Emily,MacKenzie,Katelynn, and Tristan were absolutely perfect and great models. I would be honored to shot them again anytime. I had a blast and it made me feel like I was a "real" photographer. Here are some of the picture so you can see how I did.




Thursday, August 7, 2008

EXPLORE!!!!

Everest has been surmounted, the moon landed has happened, man has conquered flight and all of the pale in comparison. OK, I might be overstating it. None the less, I have finally got a picture on FlickR on Explore.

Explore? Yeah, it basically means that one of my pictures was 1 of the 500 most interesting photos uploaded on a particular day. Now, when you think about the fact that this picture was among the millions uploaded each day and then it was selected it makes it feel like a real honor to be selected. I was not the most interesting of the day I ranked in at #474 out of 500. When I saw it, I got cold chills.

I want to thank Lana's friend (Sorry, I don't know her name) for being honest and telling me that I was getting predictable and stale with my shots and Lana for being her voice. I have been pushing much harder since that day and I will continue to do so thank you both.

So the picture that got selected was taken at the Night Glow at the Indiana State Fair, which is an annual event in which they line up the hot air balloons that are going to race the next day and give opportunity for the public to get up close and personal with them. All the balloons are tethered to the ground so that you can get up close for some great shots. They do this at dusk so you get to see the balloons light up or glow. I was with a Photography group that I met though FlickR. They are great group of people and I look forward to more events in the future with them.

The here is a link to the FlickR page to see more of these pictures.

Sunday, August 3, 2008

long, long, looooooong weekend

Well, where to start...

Friday, I took the day off so that we could get ready to go and get the kids from West Virginia. They had been there for the last 4 weeks visiting there Dad (I'm step-dad, in case I haven't mention that before). Friday, was planned to be just a leisurely drive to West Virginia and then we would spend a night. The drive out there was great. We stopped on the way to pick up sign's for my wife new business, Parti Gras Face Painting. She worked out a deal with a local Kinko's and they made the 3x5 banner for free. She was so excited. I'm proud of her, I would like things to be moving a little faster but I am very proud or her. Before we know it we were pulling into the hotel in Fairmont, WV. We checked in and got ready to get some dinner. We went to a great little diner in the same parking lot of the hotel. The food was good and it had a great 50's vibe. We really must be getting old we were back at the hotel and in bed by 10 PM (could also be that Fairmont is a really small town).

Saturday, the day started off good. We got up and had breakfast at the same diner and then got on the road. We call the kids and let them know that we were 2 hours away and to start saying their "Goodbyes" so that we could get back on road once we got there. The drive to the Davis,WV through the mountains was like photographic torture. Now, I know that sounds rough, but we had a time frame and I couldn't stop at every thing I wanted to photograph. I was like a kid going, look, look, look, did you see that. I know that I was getting annoying. Jennifer put up with a smile and I love her for it. We got there to pick up the kids and guess what? They were not ready. I wasn't surprised but I had to keep it to myself. After an hour of getting them ready we decided that we would go to the falls in a the near-by national park. OK, I was OK with this because I could take pictures. I thought after the hour there we would be on the road, but I was wrong. We had to go see another member of their family to say another "goodbye". We finally got on the road around a 1:45 PM and
this is not a good time if you want to be home on Saturday. See, if I didn't have to be at work on Sunday morning, we would have simply gotten a hotel and finished the drive on Sunday. The drive home was further complicated by the fact that my lovely step-daughter was taking it a little rough that her dad was staying in West Virginia. She was very talkative at first but became very quiet. About the time we decided that we were going to get a lunch she was crying uncontrollably. The crying didn't stop the rest of the day. This made for a very difficult drive home. I felt horrible for her but there was nothing that I could do to make her feel better. My step-son is a different story. He is the ruler of his world and all you have to do is ask him and he will tell you it is true. He has to disagree with everything that I say and fight me every chance he gets. I did everything I could just to avoid conflict with him. So despite all of the challenges, we did finally make it home at 1:30 AM.

Lucky, I'm the manager and I have enough flexiblity in my schedule, so that I could go in and do what needed to be done and then leave at noon.

I know that not much photography in this post but I just needed to get this rambling off my chest. Thanks for listening.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

By Popular Demand (Jennifer told me to, =) )

Here are some pictures from the Fireworks and the Jungbauer Picnic.





To see the rest of the images, remember to click the links in the post below.


Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Sorry late, but Happy 4th Anyway

This years 4th was a bit up and down because of the fact that the kids were to leave for West Virgina with their Dad or at least that was the plan at the start of the day. We got and prepare for the day, the Jungbauer Picnic is a tradition that we have come to enjoy. This is our second year being invited and we have really been looking forward to the "Steaks". Wow, let me tell you, JJ (The senior Jungbauer), can cook steaks like there is no tomorrow. Besides the steaks there are all kinds of food and drinks, swimming, talking, and don't let me forget "pudding wrestling". I had never heard of it either but it is a big deal at the picnic (At least for JJ), seem to be kinda a lukewarm reaction from the crowd. Olivia was able to join us for the day but Julius spent the day with his Dad by choice. She maybe was out of the pool for 30 minutes the whole time we were there (4 hours).

Jennifer and Lana, got to practice for there new adventure. Business. They are the owner and operators of Parti Gras Face Painting. They instantly became a hit of the party and got a lot of practice. Lana's husband (David) and I are in supporting roles for the business. David's got the web page being built and I'm doing the photography.

After the fun of the Jungbauer Picnic we headed home to meet up with the Kid's Dad so that they could leave for West Virgina or so we thought. As the time got later and later, I was getting anxious because I wanted to make it downtown for the fireworks. Jennifer tried to get me to go without her but I didn't want to go if she couldn't. Finally we heard from the Kid's Dad and he decided that he would come on Saturday to get them, so we hurried and went downtown to watch the fireworks. We found a small park off of Michigan St on the near east side that had a great view of the fireworks. I was just able to get the tripod set up when the show started so we barely made it but we did have fun.

I know that I don't have any photo's posted on here from the events but if you click the links it will take you to my FlickR and that is where the pictures are stored this time.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Ughhhhhhh! Uck

I have been sick the past 2 days and had to be at work both. I so just wanted to be somewhere and I mean anywhere else. Made me think about my vacation from earlier this year so I thought I would post a few of the calming picture before going to bed tonight to try to get better for the 4th.


Tuesday, July 1, 2008

I won!!!

I won,I won,I won,I won,I won!!!!!


Can you tell I'm excited? I entered a contest that was ran by Clarian Health called "Photos for health". The basics of the contest was to submit photos that are calm and relaxing to add in the healing process. I entered close to 30 pictures all kinds of different things and i would check in from time to time but to be honest I thought that I was getting my butt kicked. I guess this is what I get for thinking. Here is the email that I got last night at 10:49 PM:

Dear Ryan Baxter,

Congratulations! Your photo has been selected to be displayed at Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center. Your participation in Photos for Health will help to create a healing and welcoming environment for patients, families, health care professionals, and the community Clarian Health serves. Thank you for taking the time to submit your photography, it will be appreciated for many years to come.

You are invited to a preview tour of Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center. Many of the photos will be displayed in non-public areas of the IU Simon Cancer Center. This is your opportunity to go behind the scenes and view your framed photography. We will also have a special gift for you.

When: Saturday, July 26, 2008 Where: Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center 535 Barnhill Drive Indianapolis, IN 46202

We are interested in learning more about your experience with Photos for Health. When you RSVP, please let us know if you are interested in sharing your story with us.

Thank you again for your beautiful submissions!

Sincerely,
The Photos for Health Team
A division of Jacqueline Buckingham Anderson LLC

I saw the email when I woke up today and woke up my wife to let her know and i have been walking around like I was in a dream all day. By the way here is the winning photo:




Monday, June 30, 2008

Wannamaker Car Show




Ok, here we go. The first installment of my blog or as my wife puts it time to be a blogger. Saturday, I went to the Wannamaker Street fair and Car show. It was a chance to take picture just for fun. The photography group that I'm a part of had a get together at the Car show. It was more of a say "Hi" type event...meaning that we met said "Hi" then went our separate ways. I really have been uninspired as of late and was hoping that this photo op would be a proverbial kick in the a$$ I needed.


Well, it worked. I just didn't get to shoot as much as I wanted. Damm, rain. It really wasn't that bad but I was having a case of camera envy. I guess it is the photographers equivilent to Penis envy. I have a Sony H9 and I feel like it limits what I can do. Walking around the Car show all I saw was people with true DSLR's and there is just so much more that can be done with those.


I have wrote and rewrote this 4 times......wow, I'm really not a writer, so here are some of the pictures I took.










Friday, June 27, 2008

Ladies and Gentleman...

Start your engines. Well, here goes nothing. I think I will preference this blog with the fact that I am not a writer by any sense of the word. I have wanted to write this blog for a while now but it took this long to get up the nerve.

This is going to trace what I'm doing when it comes to photography or my life in general. Photography is to be the main focus but i can't say that I'm never going to put my life on here.

A little over a year ago I was downtown in Indianapolis with my lovely wife while she got her hair done. I was a little bored and went out to the car. I do not know why but we had a little 5.0 megapixel camera in the car. Something clicked and I decided that I was going to kill some time by taking pictures around the city.




These are some of the pictures I took that day or as I call it....the bite from the photography bug!

I have linked these picture to my fickr page and there you will find all that I have been doing with photography up to this point and in the future as well. Please tell me if I should just stop blogging now or keep going.

Ryan Baxter Photography