How fitting to photograph Caitlyn Thompson, Miss Heart of the Lakes 2011, in October.  October is officially Breast Cancer awareness month which compliments Caitlyn’s platform, “A Ribbon of Hope: Breast Cancer Prevention and Awareness.”

In 2010 Caitlyn participated in her first pageant and landed the position of first runner-up!  Caitlyn is tenacious; she kept competing and this last summer won the title of Miss Heart of the Lakes (HOTL).  The Miss HOTL organization is officially part of the Miss Minnesota/Miss America scholarship program, the world’s largest provider of scholarship assistance for young women.

The opportunity for scholarship is initially what piqued Caitlyn’s interest in participating in pageants.  I asked her to share more about her journey to the crown:

“I was looking online one night for scholarship opportunities and came across pageants.  When I read the description about The Miss America Organization, its qualities and attributes, I knew I wanted to participate.

The Miss America Organization is made up of young women dedicated to scholastic achievement and community service. Community service has always been a passion of mine, something my mom instilled in me since childhood.  As a college student I kept volunteerism a regular part of my life.  Pageants aren’t just about the women underneath the crown, they are a microphone for important platforms and the Children’s Miracle Network – Miss America’s official charity.  I hope to instill my passion for service onto others and spread the word about this amazing organization.”

I asked Caitlyn to  share a bit about her duties as Miss HOTL 2011 and what she hopes to accomplish this year:

“My duties are to represent the members of the Perham and surrounding lake area community throughout my year of service.  During this year I will volunteer and be a representative for their community, while also sharing my personal platform with them through education and service.  I do not call it a reign as some may call it, but rather I like to focus on it as a year of service to the Perham area and the state of Minnesota.” (continue reading…)

Some girls grow up dreaming of wearing a princess dress, or a wedding gown; Kjersti Olson-Duncan always pictured herself wearing a bunad – a traditional Norwegian costume.

Being a proud Norwegian myself, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to photograph Kjersti and her masterpiece on-location at the Longfellow Garden in Minneapolis.

During our session on the last gorgeous Saturday in October, Kjersti shared with me how having a dress such as this was a lifelong dream of hers and all that went into making this dream a reality.

In 2007, Kjersti and her husband took a very special trip with her parents for their 50th wedding anniversary.  By ship, they traveled up and down the full coast of Norway.  While at a husfliden in Bodo, Kjersti’s non-Scandinavian husband encouraged her to buy a bunad kit with the statement: “It’s your dream!” Specifically, her bunad is from the Norland region.  It can be either blue (for fishermen) or green (for farmers).  She chose that specific dress because it’s from the region where her grandma’s father was born.

That next year she embroidered the woolen pieces that make up the dress and purse, as well as the linen collar and cuffs which are on the blouse.  Sue Sutherland, from Bunad Butikken in Ely, MN, sewed the final product.

To make this story even sweeter, Sue completed the job the week prior to the King and Queen of Norway’s recent visit to the states.  The first time Kjersti wore her bunad was at a reception in their honor.

What an inspiring story and wonderful session; I think I may need to get myself a bunad!

My job is cool.  I get to hang out  with (and photograph) funny people like Justin Caesar; he made me laugh – a lot – during his headshot session.  Justin’s been doing stand-up comedy for nine years now, so I’m not surprised that he made our time together so entertaining.

Justin’s first play was in the 3rd grade. But it wasn’t until 7th grade, when he beat out older kids for the lead role in the school play, and was winning awards in Speech that he thought, “Hey, I could do this as an activity.”  Now it’s a career!

Being a comedian means Justin writes his own sketches.  He describes the writing process as “laborious and painful,” but enjoys the end result.  His biggest challenge is to keep material fresh.  ”I’ve told the same jokes so many times, that it can be difficult to find that same excitement as when I first wrote the joke. Same with acting. Either doing a lot of takes for film, or rehearsals for stage. No one ever tells you how repetitive this business is.”

Justin’s words of wisdom for those just starting out:  ”Get used to not getting the part. Keep your chops up even if you’re not working. Acting and stand-up are like any other activity; you’re not as good if you’re not practicing all the time.”

Good advise from a funny guy!

It’s always wonderful to hear from a client and so when Emily Robert’s mom, Dolly, e-mailed me and said, “You’ve captured the heart and soul of Emily,” well – that made my day.

Emily wanted her high school senior portraits on-location and asked me to drive to her home in Coon Rapids.  We visited her favorite stomping ground -the park near her house with a fabulous bridge to photograph on.  Nearby was a train track; this worked well for Emily’s “rocker” look.

Our hour flew by; when I went back to the studio to edit Emily’s session there were SO many beautiful, playful images.

Senior portraits are always fun to photograph because seniors take me into their world.  This allows me to capture images that are personal and unique to that individual.  I look forward to my next senior session adventure.

Lexi Johnson, only 15, has her eyes set on the Big Apple. “I want to act on Broadway some day,” she told me during our headshot session.   With this young woman’s acting chops (which were notable during our time together), I’m sure she will.

Lexi loves the stage and does a lot of theater, but she also wants to work more in front of the camera and in print, so she opted for a two-hour headshot session so we could capture both a Commercial/Lifestyle look and a Legit (theatrical) look.

We both decided that YELLOW is her color – at least it looked fantastic on her in the photos.   Her hair and makeup, done by Jen Rotty , was fabulous as well and added that finishing touch.

Lexi’s been acting for about four years now.  She enjoys the opportunity to ‘step into another person’s shoes; to get to know how they think and the way they go about their daily life.’  With dreams of Broadway on the horizon, Lexi wants to major in Musical Theater.

Auditioning can be daunting, so Lexi does her best to maintain a positive attitude.  If she doesn’t get an audition, she believes it’s because there’s something better just around the corner.

Her best advise to herself and other young actors – “Never get discouraged, and always keep a positive attitude! Most importantly never give up on your dreams!”

Thanks, Lexi, it was such a treat to photograph you!

Kammren Tyler was fabulous to have as my first session back from maternity leave.   Her lovely smile, gorgeous skin and FANTASTIC naturally curly hair were such great features to work with.

Looking to break into the commercial/fashion world, Kammren wanted to create a range of looks, so she purchased my 3-hr. headshot package.  We went from full-on beauty lighting to straight natural light during our time together.   Never having been in front of the camera before, Kammren did a great job with posing, and her smile was always spot on!

Kammren’s neighbor, Rita, a local actress who I’ve had the pleasure of also photographing, encouraged Kammren to submit her headshots to local talent agencies.  Kammren’s dream would be to do print work for top magazines such as Glamour or Bazaar, but she’s also interested in on-camera work.  Her dream commercial to act in would be for “Swiffer.”  An avid music lover, Kammren hopes she can also get some work in the music video industry.

I asked Kammren what makes her most excited when thinking about this opportunity.  She shared, “I think there is a freedom to modeling, you get to wear what you like, and get paid to have fun. The latest fashions may not always be in, but the mixing and matching of clothing gets me the most excited about getting into the field.”

I can’t wait to see what lies ahead for Kammren and wish her all the best!