Tonight was the Urban Hope graduation in Green Bay at the Radisson Inn. For those who don’t know, (1) Urban Hope Entrepreneur Center is a program, founded by Reggie White of the Green Bay Packers, to provide leadership and the tools necessary to give people the skills to open their own businesses. And (2) my wife Melanie took the 12 week program to give our business the jump start it needed to seriously get off the ground.

The graduation reception, dinner and ceremony was awesome! Sara White gave the keynote address and we shared a ton of laughs tonight. This program gives so much to upcoming businesses and in turn, allows people to give back to the community. I came to the realization tonight that I want so much more with my business than any other paycheck-wielding job could ever offer me. I’ve been handed certain gifts in my life that I treasure dearly, and I want to make my photo life the highlight of my career happiness.

As always, I urge my family, friends and peers to take those scary, yet well-planned risks…. much the same as I have at this point in my life. Grab ahold of your dreams and follow them through. Nothing comes easy and I know I have a long road ahead of me. But someday the pay off will be well worth my hard work. It’s NEVER too late to make a change in your life.

Oh, our business plan won one of 12 awards out of 200+businesses! Werd.

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It’s strange to look at these wonderful post-production workspaces of various photographers. I mean, just look at Mike Colon‘s ridiculous editing room. Really, I don’t need all that hype and flare. I just need my trusty Mac, a level table, and some refreshments on hand. It’s simple.

Sure, most of my peers tell me it’s time for a computer upgrade. But I can’t bring myself to learn all those fancy new Photoshop programs. Frankly, I don’t have time for it.

I have once again revamped my current workspace and got me a new computer set-up. Have a look for yourself.

My space is currently set-up in the garage. Who needs a desk when I have a folding tv dinner table and a lawn chair. The location though functions well for the family. And I know, my Mac is pretty boss. Here’s a run-down on what it’s loaded with:

HARDWARE:
8MHz
1 MB of RAM
512 K or ROM
40 MB Hard drive
9″ inch built-in monitor
1-Bit screen resolution (512×342)
Mouse with cord

SOFTWARE:
OS 6.0.7
Wheel of Fortune
Photoshop 1.07
Tetris

I thought ya’ll’d enjoy this! I did a product shoot yesterday for Pete Skaer of Tangled Root Furniture, and saw this MacIntosh Classic sitting in his garage. We got to talking about Mac’s, and I could not resist, but to ask him about his plans with it.

No kidding. I bring it home, find a power cord from an old HP, and NO SH$T… it FIRES UP! After all, it’s a Mac!

Even though it’s no competition for my MacBook Pro, it was so cool to play around with the thing, which includes the very first version of Photopshop. It really puts the potential of the future technology into perspective.

Here are a few of the product shots of Pete’s work. Truly gifted dude! He hand fabricates all his tables and furniture from dead tree roots. I spent a couple hours with him, in which he showed me how he makes this stuff. His work is flawless. and yes, I’m hitting him up for a new piece for my house.

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And lastly, a few shots from a shoot I did with my beautiful wife Melanie for Mother’s Day with our girls, Tobin and Zoee. Not much cooperation from Tobin. She’s 3…..

Melanie is the foundation in my life.

Peace!
~dave

CURRENT SPINS: Demon Hunter, Anberlin, Becoming The Archetype

I’m a very very happy dude, in a nerdy sorta way. I got me something new…

As reluctant as I am to learn new software, Adobe’s Photoshop CS3 has brought my image post-production to a new level and is saving me some incredible time. More time to spend with my family and away from my computer. CS3 is amazing! It runs so fast on my MacBook Pro. Ahh yes, life is good.

I got out last night to shoot some photos for my assistant Matt and his friends Josh and Madeline. Matt leaves for England in August, and wanted some photos to bring along. What a nerdy, yet cool group of people!

~dave

May 4th was my first wedding of the “true” wedding season for the year. Although I walked away from the wedding feeling a tad “rusty”, I had an amazing time with Mike and Claire! I originally met Mike when I shot promos for his band, Sunday Flood a few years back. Very talented musicians, having created a big name for themselves in the Fox Valley. Claire approached me last August about shooting their wedding. I couldn’t pass it up..!

This wedding was by far one of the more emotionally charged events I’ve shot in some time. Granted all weddings tend to give a tug to the ‘ol heartstrings, this one was very special. Mike and Claire are made for each other, as they both have their feet firmly plant in their respective arts. Claire is a graphic designer. The wedding programs were incredibly cool, which got me to thinking.. I need a killer website with a killer design. Hmmm…

Awesome time last Friday guys, thank you so much! Below are a few photos from their day!

And of course, we made time for some new Sunday Flood promos!

Sunday Flood, past and present.

You can view more photos HERE!

Enjoy,
~dave

As promised, below are a few excerpts from the promotional shoot I did for Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa about three weeks ago. Many thanks go out to Mary Kay, Tasha, Twyla, and Angie for showing us an amazing time! Matt made this whole trip way too fun. Without Matt, I would have never thought that science could make for such an inspirational photography subject.

No, we didn’t hit any Frat parties… This was all business, and none-the-less, a very grueling and shooting intensive two days!

This photo below is going for publication as the cover photo for the Loras College Magazine.

And we got Professor Dave in the “studio”! Yeah, we had us some fun…!

The Crew…Â Twyla, Angie, Tasha, Mary Kay, me and Matt.

After two days with Matt, this is what you get!

PEACE!
~dave

Yeah, I know… I’ve heard all the comments from my peeps and homies the last few weeks, “When you gonna update your blog?” Well, I’ve finally found a moment in my crazy life to toss up some new photos! Things have been ridiculously busy for me lately. Between shooting engagement photos, editing the Loras College shoot, and rocking an amazing wedding this past weekend.. I’ve finally updated this thing. I’ll be posting some Loras photos tonight. And I gotta say, I was at one of the most emotional weddings of my life this past weekend. Mike and Claire. So cool! More on them soon…

In the meantime, here are some photos from two recent shoots. (I love the fact that I tend to book these high energy couples, whom love me for my style. So many people seem to drift to me for how I shoot, and not how they think a photograph should look on Grandma’s coffee table. It restores so much faith in my work…)

Katie and Chris. Katie found my promo flyer at Appleton Cigar a while back. She booked the shoot as a present for Chris’ birthday. She was very reluctant for Chris to see the photos before his birthday, which hasn’t happened yet. Hopefully he doesn’t check my blog that often.. The shoot was a blast!

Ok, on to Alec and Iryna. Awesome couple! Alec told me he never knew that a photo shoot could be so fun. And it was true. We laughed and shared so much with each other.

Current Listens: Anberlin, Cryptopsy, The Almost

~dave