October 2006 – Otis & James Photography

Andrew Wayne…& His Faithful Sidekick, Ringo.

This summer, Andy & I went on a cross-country road trip, ala Thelma & Louise. Except we didn’t drive the car off of the cliff at the end. Our destination was Kentucky. Along the way we had many fine adventures, but there is one that sticks out in my head.

On the second, or third day of the trip, as we were getting ready to leave Chicago (where we experienced the Sears Tower, Michigan Avenue, and Pizza Due in one action packed evening – the only thing that we could have added would have been a Chicago Style Coney at a Cubs game), I began to make the customary reservations the morning of our stay. You see, I don’t subsribe to that whole, ‘planning your trip beforehand’ philosophy that so many seem to subscribe to. It’s called ‘Commando Vacationing’, and it’s the only way to do it.

Dru! She Loves Us So Much, She Came Back For More…On Her Birthday!

Yes, you are correct. That is the longest title for a post on the blog. Ever. And, it’s kind of herky-jerky (is that a term…judges?), but that’s OK. It’s my blog, and I’ll herk if I want to.

But that’s not why we’re here. We’re here to talk about this lovely young lady that goes by the name of Dru, and her superfantastical picto-graphs! But before we do this, I’m going to tell you a true story. One that happened just a few short hours ago.

Me, and my lovely assistant Ben were sitting in the front office, when one of the gentlemen that works in another office in the building came in and commented that we had just worked with his grandkind, Dru.

And then I was all like, ‘Yeah, it was great!”, and then he went on to say how proud he was of him. And then I was all thinking in my head, “Him??? What???” So after our friend left, I turned to Ben and asked if Dru was a boy or a girl, and Ben informed me that he was a boy.

I did not know what to think. I stared at the photographs. My world was thrown for a loop. How could this be? How could I have been so wrong? After many gut-wrenching hours, in which I questioned just about everything that I’ve known to be true in my life, I finally asked Jamie to come up to my office and go over this with me.

I then pulled up the photographs, and asked Jamie, “Is Dru a boy?”

“No. What are you thinking. She’s a girl.” Mass confusion. What kind of an alternate universe was I living in?

“Then why does our building friend, and Benjamin…why do they say she’s a boy??!!”, I queried.

“Matt…there was a boy this morning that we took pictures of named Drew. He is the Grandson of our building friend. What you are looking at is Dru. She is a girl. How could you even think that she was a boy?”

Universe normal again. Problem solved. All is well. Dru is still as beautiful as ever, and – even though I came closer than you know to putting up a post that was titled “Dru! He Loves Us So Much, He Came Back For More…On His Birthday!”, I didn’t, and that’s all that matters.

Well, that and the fact that we had a wonderful time working with Dru and her lovely asssistant (Mom), but we always do – and we’d like to thank them for giving us a little bit of their time!

Well, I think this post has reached epic lenght proportions, and it’s time for us to all take a looksie at the sample snaps – Enjoy!

Kylee!

Is there any better way to spend an afternoon than with the lovely and talented Kylee? Seriously, like, how awesome is it to hang with someone as friendly as Kylee, strolling through the hazy crazy downtown, and then back to the FunCenter for some sweetsweetstudiosnaps!

But, it is not just the hazy crazy downtown, or the sweetness of the FunCenter that makes it so good, but instead it is the awesomeosity of Kylee herself that made our time together one that was filled with sunshine, rainbows, and butterscotch…wait, that’s a Dairy Queen commercial…but you get my point.

We had a wonderful time working with Kylee (if you want to call it work, I’ll just call it stone cold chillin’), and we would like to express in these simple words our thanks to her for giving a little bit of time to the FunCenter (that’s us, by the way.)

So, without any further delay, I give you Kylee – Enjoy!

Jenna!

Our Thursday morning past continued with a visit from the one and only, the lovely and talented, Jenna! She did not come down here to sell us Girl Scout cookies, or to just hang out and see how it is that a FunCenter works (I’ll let you in on a secret…Tab Energy…just ask Ben.)

No no no no no no. She came down here for some supersweetseniorsnaps, and as a harbinger of all things truthful and factual, or at least what I deem to be the truth and what I deem to be the facts, I am here to report to you that get some supersweetseniorsnaps is exactly what she did!

Jenna, along with the Ladies of James had a wonderful time working together, and the results are…well, I don’t know how to phrase this any other way than to say that the results were fantasticallywonderful!

Now, we take a little bit of our time to throw mad props (remember, that means ‘much appreciation’) to our friend Jenna, and to all of you that are out there in the land of blog – Enjoy!

A Conversation With Preston

Telephone Conversation, Recorded Sometime Last Week, at the FunCenter:

o&j: Hello, Otis & James…where dreams become reality, or reality becomes dreams, depending on your perspective, this is Otis – how may I direct your call?

P: Otis, My Man! It Preston!

o&j: Yo P – tell me the bacon is shaking, my man!

P: Sizzling, brotha, sizzling!

o&j: To what do I owe this great honor of speaking with the one and only Preston?

P: Man, it’s like this. I need some portaits taken…the fam really really wants some new ones, and I figure it’s the least I can do for them.

o&j: Weren’t you just in here, like, a few months ago or something like that?

P: Yeah, yeah…but – I’ll tell you something, man – I’m growing. Like, it’s crazy. Seriously, at this pace, by the time I’m ten I’m gonna be about fifteen feet tall. Some mornings, I wake up, look at myself in the mirror, and I don’t even recognize who I’m looking at…it’s crazy, brah. Crazy.

o&j: Is this normal, dude?

P: Yeah. I checked with my parents, they said it was normal, but I don’t know what to think. All I know is that they need to get some photographs the way I look now, before I grow out of these clothes.

o&j: P, my man, you just say the word and we’ll get you in, my brotha.

P: Thanks, o…I’ll check with Ma & Pa, and we’ll get back with you.

o&j: Later brah.
P: Peace.

Enjoy!

Vince & Laura!

I can’t wait for their wedding.

Seriously.

I can’t.

I wish it could be next summer now.

Seriously.

Look at these two.

Wowza’s.

Holy.

Gorgeous.

[but]

I will have to wait.

But I will have these sweetsamplesnaps to temper my impatience.

Vince…and Laura…you guys rock. Straight up. Holla at ya. MuchLove.

Enjoy!

Carter…The Man/Myth/Legend…Take Your Pick

As for me, I’m voting for all three. And I’m gonna vote three times. In three states. That’s how good he was, and is. I know the legal implications of my statement…I know that it is frowned upon to vote in multiple elections, but that’s the risk that I am willing to take for Carter. Yes, yes, I’m sure you’re sitting there in your comfortable bloggerite homes, on your comfortable bloggerite chairs, after you’ve had your nutritious bloggerite meal, and are waiting to retire to your comfortable bloggerite nite of slumber, you are sitting there and you are wondering why it is that I would be willing to risk so much for this person…why Carter? Why, Otis, Why?

Well, the answer is simple. Because he is that rocking. Totally and completely rocking. He took us on an odyssey of the mind and spirit (we left the body behind, not enough room in the car) during our time together. We had become jaded…we had thought that we had seen and done it all. We thought that there was nothing more to do or say. We thought that this was the time that we would just say ‘Good Day’, and go through the motions one more time. But no. Carter would have none of that.

I could take up a little more of your prescious bloggerite time, but why? Why should I sit here in my comfortable Kingly chair and bore you with my tired words, when photo-graphs so alive are waiting for you just a few more keystrokes away? So I won’t. I’m just gonna express MuchLove to Carter for the goods, and to all of you out there in the land of blog – Enjoy!

Shucks, Man…It’s Lauren!

Why do the birds sing…why do the cars honk…why does the sun always shine on us…why are our Seniors so awesome?? These are the questions that we keep coming back to time and again, and I’m not sure that I’m ever any closer to getting an answer, as some questions are best left ultimately pondered, and never truly answered.

It is again, during our time with the totallywonderful Lauren that we pondered these questions…well…perhaps not all of the questions, more like we just pondered the ‘why are our Seniors so awesome’ question. Because, it would be, like, a total waste of Lauren’s time to wonder about cars and their horn usage during her shoot, I mean, it’s a good question, but there is a time and a place for everything, now, isn’t there.

Well, I don’t even know where to go from there, other than to say that we had a wonderful time working with this lovely and talented Senior, and we wish that the session could have lasted forever, but we haven’t worked out the price for that option yet. So, muchlove to Lauren for being so awesome to work with, and to all of you all of you all of you all out there in the land of blog – Enjoy!

Tiara!

Tuesday evening…yes, I think it’s a perfect time to welcome a SweetSenior by the name of Tiara to the FunCenter…yes, Tuesday evening is the best time for this…but wait…on second thought, any evening, or for that matter, any day would be the best time to welcome this totallyawesomesenior to the FunCenter, because as the adjective that I just used stated, she was totally and completely awesome…so it is without doubt that I can say that no matter what day she decided to grace the FunCenter with her prescence, it would be the perfect day…do you get what I’m trying to say…can you understand what it is that I am trying to convey via the information SuperHighway…what I’m telling you is this: Tiara rocked it up, totally righteous style when she came to town and showed us just what it means to be a SuperAwesomeSenior…wow.

Much Love to Tiara for taking time out from her life for a little time down at the FunCenter – reports came in from one and all that the time was great, and we couldn’t have asked for a better person to work with! So, I need you all to now sit back, relax, and prepare ye to see what it is that I’ve been rambling on for so long about – Enjoy!

Tom & Pam!

Our Monday Monday past came to a lovely conclusion with a visit from new friends of Otis & James, none other than Tom & Pam!

I know that all of you, my faithful bloggerites, are smart…smaht people. I know this because you are a bloggerite, and by default that makes you smahhht. So, I will not test your patience in taking you through all sorts of twists and turns, playing with your digital emotions and what not, just to wind up at a place in which we find out that the reason that this wonderful couple came down to the FunCenter was for some SuperSweetEngagementPics, and we had a fantastical time working with this lovely (I need to find another adjective…I know…but lovely is just so perfectly lovely) couple!

Instead, I will just tell you that we had a great time during our SweetSession, and we can’t wait until the main event (and for those of you that don’t pay attention, that means their wedding), which will be here before we know it!

Well, the hour is late, and you really must be getting to the part when I say goodbye and let you look at the pics (or else face a rebellion from the Bloggerites, and I would rather be the benevolent King than the one that is rebelled against), and call it a day. So, it’s Tom & Pam – Enjoy!