Photography by Sayward

2011-11-12T19:50:00.001-08:00

~Meisha & Keeran~

A lovely fall day was inviting to this cute couple. I have never taken photos around Perham before so this was a bit of an adventure to me, limited with the natural light, but still enjoyable.

Meisha and Keeran warmed up to the camera quickly and were a fun couple to adventure around with. I am looking forward to enjoying their wedding with them next weekend.

2011-10-09T19:13:00.000-07:00

Jarrett & Elise - wedding at the creamery

Another Ottertail wedding made beautiful with love and photos.

2011-10-02T20:35:00.000-07:00

Beautiful couple, inside and out, finally find themselves on my blog. Like I said I will be changing things up soon, but in the mean time, you get to enjoy a few highlights from the past year.

Then there was the wedding day...

2011-09-24T10:00:00.000-07:00

~the Pollard family~

It is always a pleasure to watch people grow and change. I especially enjoy watching little ones learn their first words, walk their first steps and smile for the camera. These children get better at it every year.

Last Summer~

This Summer~

2011-09-23T17:14:00.000-07:00

~Olive is Beautiful~

Admittedly, I have been slacking hardcore on my updates. But I think I want to try something new. Recently it has felt like a new year to me, new ideas, new people and fresh cold breath of early fall. But first bare with me as I flash forward through some very memorable events and great looking folks.

The Birth~

Three Months~

Nine Months~

Her Big Brother, River~

Sarah is a Senior

2010-09-26T20:33:00.000-07:00

I had great fun photographing Sarah, once she got over her camera shy-ness she was a wonder to photograph.
The sun sadly doesn't last long these days so time was of the essence.
The light ended up being perfectly perfect.

Kyle & Leah

2010-09-21T20:39:00.000-07:00

Wow- is this update long overdue. I guess you can tell that summer came and went by the condition of my blog. I will be posting more pictures very soon...

Leah & Kyle's wedding was one of the most beautiful occasions I have seen to date. Set in the lovely city of Lacrosse Wisconsin. I had a lovely assistant - second shooter helping me. Heidi Kratzke, she let me boss her around a bit. All around, a lovely day.

Savanna & Tony

2010-03-18T20:36:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of photographing Savanna and Tony Snyder's wedding in the Detroit Lakes area on a cold January day. It was a very dark church with uninviting shadows but I made the most of it and the day went very well.

I am experimenting a bit with a watermark - so if you don't like this one just hold on I just might change it.

The bride must help with the makeup

Newborn: Henry

2010-01-20T08:43:00.000-08:00

Good old friends of mine recently had a beautiful baby boy and I was able to take some pictures for them. He was very well behaved but did not want to fall asleep...so our plans didn't work as well as we had hoped. Henry was still beautiful even though he was awake.

Emily & Nathan

2010-01-19T17:42:00.000-08:00

This is an October wedding that I had the pleasure in helping Katie Lewis Photography do, I was very fortunate to have been called in to help. It was slightly difficult for me, I have not done a wedding with someone else's gear before, she had a Nikon 300D. Good thing I started on Nikon, so I know my way around the camera a bit. At times I was slightly limited due to just having a 50mm, but I love the 50.

The hair salon was actually fun to take photos of - a lot of bridesmaids.

I took groom photos while Katie had the bride, it was a cold day so time was of the essence.

The First Snow.

Senior Sophie

2009-11-10T17:39:00.000-08:00

After many years of watching Sophie grow from a little child to a beautiful young adult, finally the day came to take her senior photographs. She is one of the easiest people to photograph, because she is so willing to try things and loves to look pretty! We could take pictures all day long and we have.

Isakson family

2009-11-05T08:10:00.000-08:00

Three months after the birth of their first son, Asher, it was time for me to pull their leg and force this beautiful family to take some pictures. They are all so beautiful and Asher has a natural mohawk... or so they claim. Asher is a happy baby and a pleasure to photograph.

Anna and Kurt

2009-09-23T14:36:00.000-07:00

I recently went to a wedding of someone close to my heart; Anna Joy (Kratzke) Hall. I didn't want to photograph it, because sometimes I just like to attend weddings, especially if it is a good friend. But while there I realized I have photographed some many milestones in her life, well a lot of them anyhow after 11 years, I couldn't skip capturing her wedding, no matter how hard I tried.

Here are some of my most treasured photos of the day.

The bathroom had amazing light and the walls were pretty neat as well.

I know when I am out-numbered.

Theo

2009-09-09T14:44:00.000-07:00

Theo is a senior at Detroit Lakes high school, funny kid. His sister came with during the shoot, it was fun running around DL. I have not taken photos in Detroit Lakes before so the sites were a bit challenging.

Carri & Brett

2009-09-01T18:37:00.000-07:00

It seems I have ventured away from journalism a bit and more toward portrait photography. I still do both, but have to make some money somehow right? And well I must admit I just really love beautiful pictures of beautiful people. So the next few posts are just going to be that.

Amy & Dana

2009-06-25T06:29:00.001-07:00

As the bride and groom were gorgeous on their wedding day, the weather was not. Amy and Dana are the most laid back couple though, so it didn't faze them much. Their wedding was a little different, the bride arrived "on time" but the dress was arrived almost an hour after her and by then it was pouring rain. The wedding must go on.... and it did outside in a small about 15 x 30 foot tent. Small reception afterward... smooshed inside a house. But they were beautiful...

Prom

2009-05-16T12:03:00.000-07:00

Sophie and Maria, best friends for life. Went to prom, and happened to find a few guys to tote around with them.

Miss Perham

2009-04-24T15:10:00.000-07:00

These are some old ones that deserve to be looked at. I was a stage hand for this so I didn't get too many photos. Miss Minnesota, Miss Heart of the Lakes, Miss Perham and something else.

Fargo Flood continues...

2009-03-25T20:14:00.000-07:00

Wednesday March 25th.

I didn't take much for photos today. I did some filling at "Sandbag Central" It was cold with garage doors open. It is amazing to see so many people working together so seamlessly. Many college kids, this city could not make it if it wasn't for the colleges canceling classes.

Seven inches of snow joined us in total today! The river is at 36.98 inches right now. With a crest of 41 by Saturday! Today feels more somber as the snow joins the water.

Deserted, frozen sandbags left on 9th Street North in Moorhead.

This is the stop sign on Tuesday at 4:00 at the Moorhead Center Mall.
The picture below is of Wednesday at about 12:30 in the afternoon.

I must say I am impressed with people. My friend Jarrett, in the National Guard, has been working 13 hour days. My roommate is a Fargo Policewoman working 12 hour days over-night! Amazing people doing amazing things! shout out.... Among all the other people who just dedicate their time to save these cities and people's homes.

Flood photos

2009-03-24T22:12:00.000-07:00

Tuesday March 24th, 2009.... the flood fight continues.

This is near downtown Moorhead. The house next to here, had yet to do any sandbagging.

Woodlawn park.

Downtown Fargo starts to sandbag.

The earth dike that closed 2nd Street.

South Fargo, near 35th Street.

Police escort convoys of sandbags.

Moorhead Center Mall view from the top. Little adventure with my friend and fellow photographer, Penny.

This is 1st Ave. Moorhead, closed on both sides of the bridge.

One last effort before nightfall. Moorhead, Riverview.

Elizabeth

2009-02-18T21:39:00.000-08:00

These are pictures of Elizabeth. I went around one beautiful and cold day in January to take some last minute senior shots for her. Her sister came along and another sister joined later. It was fun and she was a great subject. You could tell she had done a lot of smiling growing up.

The necklace she is wearing is special to their family, so we had to make sure it made it into a 'headshot'. We had to be creative in where to take the photos since it wasn't really the nicest or most beautiful outside.

Can you guess where this location was? It was their idea. I would have never thought of it.

Elizabeth had some quirkiness to her, I like that. She wanted to be holding this book in a pic.

These are a group of my favorite pictures. I just love all the books and the color. It was at the Moorhead library. Lots of great light coming in and she likes books, what could be better?

All the sisters were together at the end of the shoot. It is obvious that they are a close family.

Babies are from heaven.

2009-01-31T14:38:00.000-08:00

This was some random baby fun. A few of my friends and I were hanging out at a coffee shop when Destiny decided to scoot around on the table. I saw this as an opportunity and had to open the blinds to get some natural light.

Destiny is so adorable and I think she is starting to like the camera at 14 months!

She is talking on the phone here.... "hello..."

She loves cellphones. I think most children do.

This is my absolute favorite of the day. She is looking at her mommy, Carri Ann and she is patting her mommy's coffee drink.

Winter

2008-12-31T11:51:00.001-08:00

Well its time to add some more. I am not sure if I have many followers but I should try and keep the ones I have eh? It is cold outside.

Otterdazzle Parade.

Portraits and whatnot.

2008-11-25T17:33:00.000-08:00

It seems having a job makes me a little sluggish on the blog front. I have not been getting out and about to take many photos lately except of the random baby or birthday. But I decided I would post some of my not seen yet oldies but goodies (within the last year or so). Hope you enjoy viewing them as much as I enjoyed taking them!

My friends Jonathan and Heidi... a fun day of photos.

Just had to add this one, I couldn't resist. Jonathan thought he should bring a prop. It was Heidi's first time holding a gun, he likes to hunt, she likes animals.

Carri Ann, Destiny and Brett Pollard make one cute and happy family. Destiny is normally very happy, this was right before bed time!

This is Destiny's dancer pose. Her mother is a dancer and this photo is too cute! Young protege.

Documentary Photography, the bad medicine kind

2008-09-06T14:02:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of participating in a documentary photography project of Bad Medicine Lake in August through Minnesota State University Moorhead. For one week fifteen photographers were partnered with one another and given different sections of the lake. The outcome will be published into a book this fall for all to see. I am really excited about it. It was a great opportunity and another chance to hang out with Wayne before I say adios. This was a nice way to finish off my summer long vacation from having a real job and feel like I was actually contributing something to the world. Plus meeting up with old friends and making new ones never gets boring.

My photography partner (Erin) and I were assigned a southern portion of the lake, including Veronen's resort, High Pines and a few other cabins. We were the blessed ones to have the only resort to photograph; lots of activity and super friendly people.

I must say it was funny living with a bunch of photographers for a week. Think about it. It wasn't bad, just an interesting thought... "are we all a type of leader?" I think we have to be leaders in the photography field, how else will we get the great photos?

We stayed in two bigger-type of cabins at Hoot Owl resort (not on bad medicine). After our days of photographing we had time to kick back most nights and go swimming, paddle boating and play cards.

Here are some photos from the documentary.

This was one of my favorite photos. I actually spoke up to try and get it into the book and well it pays off to speak up. The photo was taken during one of the only nights that Erin and I actually went out to the resort, but it ended up being the most beneficial. The lighting was amazing and so much activity was going on. I was a bit crabby this day however, it ended up being the longest day of photographing and it all started by my car having a flat tire.

This is a fun picture. I like it, but it didn't make the cut. It would have been better if there had actually been a boat coming or going.

I like this picture, solitude and freedom. I don't know whose flip flops these were but they seemed just perfectly placed next to the tree and I happened upon them.

This was a cool moment. Donna (pictured) and Judith were making food for the pot luck that they have every Monday at their resort. They make their mother's (one of the original owners of the resort) bread from a special recipe. I thought it was important.

The beach. Everyone was at the beach all afternoon almost every afternoon, even the owners. This one did make it into the book. It more represents the fun times at the beach at a resort... was that obvious?

This was a fun night picture. Taken on the long photographing day, such a beautiful night. It was a sauna night for the resort and a mosquito night for me. The guests among others would run and jump in Bad Medicine after sweating in the sauna.

Hoot Owl - Behind the Scenes
These are some behind the scenes photos of our stay at Hoot Owl and just hanging out with the photo gang. How can you be a journalist without photographing the stay as well as the actual project?

This is the view from the loft area in the morning. Yes one of the young ladies did actually sleep on the couch or recliner each night.

Up in the loft there were four beds with a partition in the middle. It felt a lot like summer camp, seven or so girls sharing one small bathroom, kitchen and living space.

This was our classroom. We would meet out here at around 6pm for a debrief every night. It is probably the best classroom I have ever had, not bad eh?

Ahh yes Chris Hueber, he was pretty much our technician for the week. This was during a very fatal paper jam. I think he didn't like the camera but I couldn't help it, its in my nature to try and capture disasters.

Random mushroom.

My lily. I went into the water for this lovely lily, no wadding, full on drench to the neck.

One of the infamous days, Tuesday to be exact, of looking at contact sheets before dinner. We had a lovely meal of chili that night.

Decision day arrives. The photos were laid out for all to see, ones on the right were in book order and on the left, the rejects. This was in the upstairs of the resort lodge, very good location but hot.

Wayne goes through the book image by image as the students/photographers look on in expectation.

A night of free fun! On Wednesday night we were invited over to Curt and Pam's for Bison burgers, hot tub and water tubing. It was fun to just hang out with the gang and relax a little earlier in the day than normal. We had all worked so hard earlier in the week that the majority of our photographing was done, for the most part. These are three great friends, Chris, Chris and Penny.

Hope you enjoyed the photos, I could go on forever but I will save that for another day and another project.

The Gathering - 2008

2008-09-06T13:40:00.001-07:00

Originally posted 8/13/08

Well it seems the Gathering has ended in Ottertail, MN, a ten day festival of a love revolution. I feel changed and hope others do as well. Now the challenge is to keep the change real and fresh! Anyhow here are some pics from my thousands that I have taken.

This is the local potter; Candice Doll, working her wheel of worship with Micheal looking on.

This is Stacey, dancing with her angel wings.

Beth works on her big scale Jesus painting.... when will it be finished... To be continued.

Joseph from Washington, creating his black butterfly artwork with just his fingers, I was impressed.

Nicole was one of the cutest clowns I have ever seen! Joseph and Naomi (with Charlie) are behind her.

Nanette from Washington, participating in the potatoe sack races on Sunday afternoon.

This is some of the Firestarters dancers performing to Rise Today, while the band sings it live behind them.

Pete preaching during a morning session.

This is one of my favorite pics from the week. This is Keith, an amazing artist from Florida. I was watching him work on this piece and saw what i wanted before it happened, but it ended up better then i had imagined with him whipping his brow.

Kratzke - Isakson Wedding

2008-09-06T13:36:00.000-07:00

Originally posted 7/29/08

This was a wedding of a longtime friend, Julia Kratzke and her husband Bob Isakson. They got married at a rustic location, on a windy day with the sun coming and going, rain was eminent. This particular wedding had some stressers along with it. One - the bride and groom had never kissed before their wedding day, a really cool fact, but the pressure was there to capture their first kiss on film (digital). Its a moment no one can re-create.

It started to rain a bit during the ceremony which was outside, but it didn't seem to bother anyone as it was a hot night. The rain seemed to have been stopped by God, as the pastor read scripture refering to the rain being gone and the sun shining. The sun broke through the clouds, the wedding guests were awed. . .

She described herself as being a bit shocked, because he was her first kiss, it was a really neat moment to see (and capture). She was the most joyful and excited bride I have seen yet.

The reception was very short with deserts and no dance, but it was nice to have a shorter wedding, especially since it started at 7pm.