MEP Intern Photo of the Week - Final Week (#10) | Maris Ehlers Photography

Thanks for joining me for my last "Photo of the Week" entry!

I had two of my very good friends become engaged this spring; when they asked me to do their engagement pictures, I eagerly accepted.

This was a shoot I had been gearing up for all summer, so I found it appropriate that an image from their session be the closing image for my "Photo of the Week" segment.

I could say a million things about these two, and all of them would be positive. However, because you do not know them, anything I would say wouldn't mean anything to you, so, instead:

I am thankful for beautiful friends, like those pictured above.

I am thankful, and grateful, for wonderful teachers (cough*MARIS*cough) who dedicate their time and energy to instill knowledge and fire into young minds.

I am thankful for those such as yourselves, for supporting people such as myself. You are a tool to my learning more than you think you are.

Have a wonderful week, and I'll be seeing you around!

MEP Intern Photo of the Week - Week #9 | Maris Ehlers Photography

Welcome to week 8!


As MEP's intern, I was offered a couple of volunteer opportunities throughout the summer; unfortunately, most I couldn't do because of schedule conflicts, but I made time for this special group.


Let me tell you a little bit about Camp Erin.


Camp Erin was founded in Washington after a 15 year old girl, named Erin, died of cancer. Before she died, she she was worried about leaving her friends and family, and wanted to create a place where they could go and feel better. Hence, Camp Erin was founded.


Through generous donations and support, kids between the ages of 6 and 17 who have lost a significant family member are able to attend Camp Erin (a weekend-long camp) for no charge. It is a community based on grieving and healing; a place where the kids can go and meet others kids who have experienced the same tragedy, and to see that they are not alone. It was a phenomenal experience to be a part of.


Camp Erin is a nation-wide camp; there are 31 (I believe) camps across the country. I was able to be a part of the Twin Cities Camp Erin as their "official" photographer this year. And I had a great time, as did all of the campers.

At the camp, the campers get to do many different activities. Some included swimming, canoeing, rock climbing, hiking, drumming, a luau party, and crafts. The campers, along with the fun stuff, also had designated "sharing circle" time, where the kids were free to talk with adult volunteers about their loss, and to share their feelings. 


The campers also made luminaries, and sent them out onto the lake early Sunday morning, which is what you see in this week's image.


There is so much information about Camp Erin out there; it's easy to Google, but here is a starting point for those interested in learning more.


Have a great week!

MEP Intern Photo of the Week - Week #8 | Maris Ehlers Photography

Maris and I were discussing the plans for one of our weddings in August about a week ago, and she mentioned she thought I had a strength in and an enjoyment of macro shooting: which I do, and it was wonderful to have that interest acknowledged and encouraged.


She had me check out her 100mm macro lens and take on a macro assignment for the weekend.  How could I say "no" when it sounded like so much fun? 


Kind of like Horton, in Dr. Suess' Horton Hears a Who, I love being aware of all the little things that many of us ignore, or don't see because we don't take the time to stop and look. I very much enjoy seeing the little details in everyday life, and capturing them so the whole world can see them as I do, and that's what macro shooting is all about.

So this week in my photo diary, I've tried to post a macro image everyday. Check it out here!

Have a great week!

MEP Intern Photo of the Week - Week #7 | Maris Ehlers Photography

Two words: Sleeping baby.

I've tried my best to shake things up each week, and to not be repetitive with my shooting. Not all landscape, animals, or the same subject matter... 

You know, to keep things interesting.

So, this week I bring you a posed image (there's the "new" I was talking about) of one of the most adorable babies ever (for me, also a new subject matter).

Let me know what you think!

As always, go to CBCP for my entire photo diary!

And please, for my sake, don't melt this week. Try to stay cool.

MEP Intern Photo of the Week - Week #6 | Maris Ehlers Photography

This week, I've taken to experimenting with light a bit.


As a student, I've noticed that many of my classmates like to play with light as a way to romanticize what they're shooting, and to soften their subject.


Some are very good at it - some honestly, are not. And those who are good at it, take complete advantage of it.


I have been in the category of "not so awesome" - because I never practice. So, I've decided to change that. This week I specifically tried to manipulate the light in a way that accentuated the mood I wanted to create.


The mood: Hot, humid, and mystical.


Was I successful? You tell me.

To view my complete photo diary, go here.

Have a great week!

What do Canon, Shootsac, Sandisk and Pocket Wizards All Have in Common? They are all in photographer Maris Ehlers' bag! | Maris Ehlers Photography

A week or so ago, I was assigned the job of photographing the gear Maris uses to share on the MEP blog, and let me tell you... she's packing some heat!


I was surprised that Maris was willing to share with everyone the gear that she uses, as many photographers would hoard that to themselves.  Once again, however, she proves that while gear is important, it's not what makes the photographer.  


About half way through this assignment, I realized that she probably had another goal in mind, and that was to get me to research and learn about each of the pieces of equipment that she uses and WHY she uses it.  Tricky, tricky! 


Let's start with the camera body.  A Canon, of course! 

Maris has a Canon 5D Mark II. It is an amazing camera.  It has so many different features, including a full frame sensor, HD video, in-camera editing, over 20 mega pixels, and much much more. 


Not shown is Maris' backup camera body, a Canon 40D. You never know when you may have an equipment malfunction, and her 40D is ready to go just in case.  


Next on our list is a crazy handy device called an ExpoDisc. She has two a neutral and warm (she prefers the neutral one, I've found). She uses these to calibrate the white balance in different scenes throughout a shoot. Tricky to learn to use, but once you do you will really notice a difference in the color tone of your images.    

Speaking of lighting, flashes are a necessary item to have. You can see these are pretty beat up, but they still work great.  Maris uses them both as on camera and off camera flash, with a variety of diffusers and modifiers (a different post, perhaps?), and they work great when she's on the go.  Obviously for studio work these are not the flash sources she uses. 

I should note that Maris has two of these as well.  The second one gets used a lot by her second shooters, and of course also exists to be a back up if needed.  


Next is the lens lineup. 


1.  Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM
2.  Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro Lens
3.  Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L USM
4.  Canon EF 85mm f/1.2 L USM
5.  Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 L USM Lens



She also has an 85 mm f1.8 and two other wide angle lenses (not shown here).  

Maris' 50mm f/1.2 and 85mm f/1.2 are her favorites for portraits, and she never leaves home without them.  

These two lens' both create great, crisp focus on your subject, and generate beautiful blur in the background. Ideal for head shots.


One of my favorites is her 100mm Macro lens.

This lens produce stunning close-up images. Maris uses this lens mainly for ring shots at weddings, and other small subjects with a lot of detail.

Maris' "Mega Lens" as I call it, is her 70-200mm lens.

This lens shines at it's 2.8 aperture, and while it doesn't create the same effect as the 50mm or 85mm lens, it can zoom in and out, unlike those lens, and allows for a lot of flexibility. It also creates great bokeh! 

The final lens in our lineup is Maris' least used lens. 

This lens is 16-35mm, which in the photography world, is considered a "wide-angle" lens. It's used, mainly, for landscapes and in the event one would like to capture a very large, wide area. Mostly at weddings.

Here's the gear all together (with a few extras, such as a diffuser, some light meters, pocket wizards, and a monopod):

It may not seem like a lot, but when you stop to think that Maris' gear no longer fits in a bag, but requires a suitcase, (two actually, the other used for lighting and accessories) it's a tad mind blowing. It took me a few weeks to understand what each lens does, and what each of their names were.

So, how in the world does Maris carry all of these lenses around during a shoot?  She doesn't.  One of her favorite pieces of equipment is her Shootsac.  She has two of them as well, and we each wear one and they are stuffed with lenses, business cards, cell phones, car keys and extra batteries and disks.  

There are six pockets for holding lens', and Maris has a cute cover that makes it uniquely hers.  Upon getting to know her, she definitely is a lime green and white polka dot kind of girl!  

Lastly, Maris has about 10 or so Sandisk Extreme IV and Pro Series  compact flash cards.  She won't use anything else! 

Feel free to post any questions about Maris' gear here.  I'll do my best to answer them, or track her down so she can.  

Thanks for reading! 

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MEP Intern Photo of the Week - Week #5 | Maris Ehlers Photography

Week five is rolling along here at MEP.

This week's photo of the week is particularly close to my heart.

Three men being goofballs - maybe even pea-brained goofballs - are close to my heart? You bet. Let me explain.

Every summer around the fourth of July, my Dad's side of the family goes camping up north on an island near Park Rapids. It's just about the only time of year we all see each other; hence the closeness to my heart. Every year it's something...swimming all the way around the island, bean bag toss tourneys, double skiing, etc. 

This year they really stepped it up. Took the "intense" dial, if you would, and cranked it up. My dad and two of my cousins decided that they would try to complete a pyramid of skiers. Now, granted, we're a family that's grown up skiing; I've been skiing since I was about seven, and my Dad is a trick skier. But I was still nervous.

But they did it. Lucas was all the way up standing on shoulders. In only 5 tries. And, once they were up, they stayed up for a lap all the way around the lake for a pass-by of the crowd that gathered to watch. Show offs.

For a look-see at my entire photo diary, go here.

For more information on our beautiful campground, go here.

Have a great week!

MEP Intern Photo of the Week - Week #4 | Maris Ehlers Photography

Welcome to week four!


I had quite the busy week; I went to Texas for a wedding Friday through Sunday, and spent the day in downtown Stillwater yesterday. So, needless to say, I had plenty of images to chose from for this week, but the Stillwater liftbridge won out.

Not much of a story behind this one; I'm just a sucker for blue skies and text. 

And a peculiar thing to know just in case you ever visit this bridge: it connects Minnesota to Wisconsin...but once you get to the Wisconsin side, the sidewalk disappears and you're left with a skinny dirt trail that leads to no where. Consider yourself warned :-)

As always, you can visit my complete photo diary here.

Have a great week!

Gorgeous Photo Cover Wedding Albums | Maris Ehlers Photography

Here is a sneak peek of a recent wedding album by MEP.  This couple upgraded to a stunning 11 x 14 hard cover book.  It's huge and it's gorgeous! 

With a special binding that has the pages lying flat, it's easy to browse through, and sturdy enough to last a lifetime.  It seriously looks like a gorgeous hard cover coffee table book from a book store! 

Maris custom designs each page, so that it tells the perfect story of a wedding day. 

You can see Mindy and Mike's wedding images here. 

I can't wait until the next batch comes in.  We just ordered two more this week. 

Courtney

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MEP Intern Photo of the Week - Week #3 | Maris Ehlers Photography

This weekend, I had the pleasure of photographing a wedding of some close friends. It was beautiful; everything was perfectly planned out and executed, and the love they have for each other made me misty eyed multiple times during the day.  Which made it difficult to focus here and there!


My favorite shot of the day?  This one. Her gown was breathtaking, and fit perfectly into their vintage theme. As did the typewriter guest book. (So fun!)

Maris has taught me so much even just within the past month of working with her, and it is really starting to show in my images. Especially with this event. 


To see more shots from this wedding. 


Please visit my complete Photo Diary on Facebook.  


As always, I'd love to hear any questions, comments, or critiques!


Have a fantastic week!

MEP Intern Photo of the Week - Week #2 | Maris Ehlers Photography

Good morning!

This is Courtney, back again with week two of my photo of the week postings.

Although I am fascinated with people I see everyday, I’m not what one would call a “street photographer.” I’m usually too nervous to ask people out in public if I can take their picture, but this week, I snuck one in.

Culture, trends, and the social aspects of human nature are so interesting to me. When I’m out and about, I always catch myself thinking, where are they going? Why? I wonder what is causing them to be here at this place at the same time as me. Who do they love? What’s causing them pain? I’m also not one to normally ask questions that I don’t have answers to, but for some reason, in these kind of instances I do, and that draws me to want to document them, photograph them.

Well, in any case, in Buffalo this week (which began this previous Sunday the 12th) is their city celebration: “Buffalo Days.” Every year, they kick that off with a Fly-In and pancake breakfast at the city’s municipal airport. This year featured decent weather, a classic car show, and fed pancakes to over 1,000 people.

When there is 1,000 people in one location, it’s nearly impossible to not find and see interesting people. This older gentleman was one of my favorites from the day.

The Secret's In the Boots

This man may be having difficulty with the camera he’s fiddling with, but he’s no joker when it comes to his boots. Why did he buy them? Where did he find them? Are they his “out on the town” boots? One article of clothing has my mind jumping all over.

I love that it’s such a bold statement for a man that could’ve easily blended into the background at this event. He rocked them :)


To see my complete Daily Photo Diary, go to:


https://www.facebook.com/CapturedByCourtneyPhotography

MEP Intern Photo of the Week - Week #1 | Maris Ehlers Photography

Hi all! I am pleased to meet you.

I know you all enjoy reading posts from Maris, but you'll have to put up with me (Courtney) every Tuesday morning for my weekly blog post. Hopefully you won't mind. As this is my first post as MEP's intern, I'd like to introduce myself.

As I said, I'm Courtney. I just finished my second year at Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM), and I am majoring in Studio Art with an emphasis in Photography with a business minor. I met Maris through her photo contests believe it or not, and began going on shoots with her as an assistant last summer. She - luckily - put up with me, and now for this summer I have graduated to intern...which is still the same as assistant just with a fancy title ;-) 

As part of my internship, Maris has suggested I do a weekly blog, and I loved the idea! I had started a "photo diary" last summer, in hopes of reminding me to get out my camera every day, and it was a ton of fun, and so I've continued it this summer. That is what I'll blog about each week.

For each blog post, I'll pick one image from the previous week to show and tell you about.

However, if you'd like to see all images for the current week and from previous weeks, feel free to view my page, and photo diary here:    www.facebook.com/CapturedByCourtneyPhotography 

PLEASE feel free to leave comments, suggestions, critiques, questions, anything! This is meant as a learning experience for me, so please, have at it! Feedback is always welcomed!

-------------------------------------------

This week, I'm going to share two of my favorite images from this summer so far. Both have the same theme: Baby animals!

The first image puts a smile on my face every time I look at it.

Lady, the special fawn that touched my heart.

This image is one of my personal favorites. I graduated high school with a friend whose family raises deer. She got ahold of me a couple weeks ago saying the babies were here, and naturally, I jumped on over. They had about 15 fawns at that point, and were bottle feeding all of them. To give you a sense of how small they are, Laura's hand is on Lady's back. It was precious, and very humbling to have an animal you normally see in the wild crawl in your lap to cuddle and give kisses.

The second image also has a unique story.

Baby Robin waiting for food.

I learned the hard way last summer that in order to get an image every day that I am happy with, my camera has to be with me at ALL times. This was no exception. 

My family goes camping every year for vacation, and we're currently looking for a new camper. My dad came home one day, said he'd found a potential one worth looking at, and asked if I wanted to come along to look at it. As I had nothing else I had to do, I joined him, and - thankfully - grabbed my camera at the last minute. We got there, and I was walking around looking at all the neat stuff this guy had, when I noticed an odd mound of weeds on this bird bath. Curious, I went to look at it, and as I got closer, I realized it was a nest, with not only three little babies looking at me, but the mom was sitting on the nest too! I got within three feet of this nest before the mama flew off while the babies sat there unfazed. So, I ran to the truck and grabbed my camera, and this was one of the shots I got. 

When I pointed it out to the guy, he told me something even more amazing. The mama had built her nest on a tire of the camper. When the family went to use it the weekend before, they had no choice but to move the nest, and chose to place it above the bird bath, hoping the mama wouldn't abandon it. Miraculously, she did no such thing, and in turn, that gave me the chance to see her babies up close. 

I loved how a normal animal, such as a bird, could have such a beautiful story. Nurturing runs deep, and I am pleased I was able to capture that.

Summer Intern at MEP Joins the MEP Blog - Day 1 | Maris Ehlers Photography

MEP is excited to have the addition of Courtney Johnson to our team this summer.  Courtney just completed her sophomore year at MSU (majoring in... drumroll please... photography!).  Anyway, she is doing an internship for credit with us, and we couldn't be happier!  We got to know Courtney last year first through some amazing entries into our photo contests, which led to a "Hey, can I tag along on a shoot or two", which then led to more collaboration and now an internship. 


Courtney is going to be sharing some things with you over the summer that she is learning.  I hope you will all take a moment of your time and encourage her along the way.  


She is going to rock it!  




Summer Photo Journal Number 1


Stick with me while I geek out, okay? Promise? Ok good.

I got a new journal today. BRAND new. I went to Target, and probably was there for 30 minutes just looking at their half-aisle of journals. I would pick one up, reject it, pick up another, then look at the one I just put down. It was silly. I finally picked this one, and I get giddy every time I look at it, or think about writing in it. A collection of thoughts, questions, and life in one little book. It's so stimulating! I've been wanting to get one for a while, and then Maris suggested getting one for our internship. A place to keep notes, summaries, and a place to write down what I learn. What a smart lady, huh? ;)

In a nutshell, I suppose I'm most excited to see what comes of it. There's so much potential in this little book of paper and lines. So simple, yet personal. AHH it going to be wonderful :)