In The News — Minneapolis Wedding, Event and Portrait Photography by Austin Images

editorial retractions…

October 17, 2007 By Susan Leave a Comment

jimbo’s birthday is actually tomorrow, the 18th.

dick cheney and barak obama are 8th cousins.
(that’s just weird)

hobie never ate any of his toys…check this out!
we got a new dryer yesterday (yay!) and when we
went to pull the old one out….look what we found!!

hobie and katie thought it was Christmas!
i think that we are fortunate that this never
started a fire. crazy cats! just like teenagers…
hide, lose or destroy the old stuff in the hopes that
we’ll replace it with new stuff!

hey, anyone interested in the outcome of blog action day?
click here. you can sign up to participate next year by
simply submitting your e-mail address.
someone from the university of minnesota was quoted. cool.
alright, i’ll admit it..i’ve had some time on
my hands. at times, we all do. it’s what you
do with that time that separates us. i’m clearly
in a class by myself. first there was bed jump
and now i bring you halloween fun and
granny panties by victoria secret!

on a serious note…
a good friend of mine is going down to abbott today
to meet with a surgeon to talk back surgery.
her name is nancy. she and her husband, larry, are photographers
and there is no good time for back surgery…for anyone, really.
but she’s in a ton of pain and this is an absolute necessity
for her. i ask that you take a moment now and pray that she
is comforted by what the surgeon has to recommend. and that
the surgery is a complete success! she’s been battling this
for quite awhile. the surgery is slated for friday the 19th.
thank you for your prayers. meals may be provided & welcomed
as well. feel free to contact me.

saw the sun for a minute this morning…more clouds moving in
and more rain! the southeast is turning into a desert and
we are covered with constant rainfall…should hit 60 tho’.

lens arrives today! my bright spot!

Filed Under: Involvements Tagged With: hobie and katie, In The News, prayer requests

top jobs…

October 8, 2007 By Susan Leave a Comment

i saw this article yesterday and i thought
i’d pass it on in case you are thinking about
a job change….here are the 12 jobs and why
they are indestructible. interesting.

well, now that i know some of my income is safe…
i was at a lecture last night that from
the looks of the attendance, many people missed!
too bad. bruce dorn and his wife maura dutra, who
own iDC photography, spoke about their
lives as photographers now and how it has
changed over the last 6 years as the influx of
people coming into the photography market with
digital cameras, calling themselves photographers.

how do you set yourself apart? do you study other
people’s works? do you create your own works and
push yourself? i feel as though i am a blend, really.

bruce and maura are both incredibly established,
accomplished, award winning artists that held my
attention for 4, nearly straight, hours.
these are real people with real talent and again,
like most of the folks i run into in this industry,
are willing to share their experiences, ideas and
equipment designs with other professionals.

the lighting techniques that bruce shared were such
that i could begin to implement them right away with
little or no investment. i did order, from him, a
muslin reflector that i should have in a day or two.
it just bounces a softer, a tad warmer light. i’m
going to love that thing! i’ll shoot some samples
when it arrives.

bruce’s wife, maura dutra, is a corell painter expert!
MAN! this is crazy, fun stuff. i could really get
into that! i am an artist at heart and could really
see taking an image and transforming it into a work
of art…literally! however, gary already thinks i spend
too much time at my computer!

i’ve got to go and prepare 5~8×10′s for print competition
critique (tonight’s tcppa event). next month i will
prepare the images in 16×20 form for the actual competition.

thanks for sitting with me last night, david jones
& bjorn miesner. i’ll take good notes at the liz banfield
PUG meeting on tuesday evening.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: education, In The News, o.p. (other photographers)

Colin Powell Youth Leadership Center

October 5, 2007 By Susan 2 Comments

Meet President & CEO of the
Urban Ventures Leadership Foundation, Art Erickson

well, the big evening was a huge success!
this was truly a night to remember!
the grand opening of the colin powell youth
leadership center and cristo rey~jesuit high school.
i worked it like a wedding…getting ready,
details, ceremony, reception, formals.
after the local media had some time with
General Powell, i stepped in and soon
after rode the elevator down with he, his wife
and staff…pretty cool. sorry, really cool!

we hung out in a holding area and then on
to greet some students currently enrolled there
then we popped outside and I jockeyed for
position amongst the media and guests for
the ribbon cutting (which was actually a
puzzle assembly). many folks that i’m certain
you’ll recognize were in attendance like
minneapolis mayor, r.t. rybak

minnesota governor, tim pawlenty

general powell’s wife, alma, spoke on behalf of
“america’s promise”

a vip reception was in place on the 3rd floor where
jacquie called a play on how she was going to go and
introduce herself to colin powell and i was to quick
get a photo! nice covert ops, huh!? so stealth!

some of the students were there serving up
citykid java coffee and they were hilarious!
bryant would not let me have his t-shirt!
so i gave him a business card and told him to
contact me when he had one available! thanks bryant!

now it was time to head into the gymnasium.
this 4-full court gym had been transformed
from basketball to ballroom. it was done so
elegantly and love filled, complete with a
giant, colorful stage with larger than life images
(compliments of white house custom colour! my lab!)
but even more impressively…shot by my very good
friend, jacquie boyer, who is also a board
member for urban ventures.

after everyone was seated we were all treated
to one of the most amazing singing voices i’ve
ever had the privilege of being in the presence of.
wintley phipps has this james earl jones voice and
when he sings you can see angels!

he was born in trinidad & tobago and is an ordained,
7th day adventist minister. he spoke of a young (26 or so)
woman that came up to him after a concert where he
was performing and she said that she felt compelled
to come and introduce herself and that he looked like
someone she could talk to…they spoke and prayed
together about her direction in life and where God was
to lead her…that young woman? was oprah winfrey.

colin powell took the stage again and spoke
of the spark that is in these kids eyes and how it
is our responsibility to make sure it stays there!

i am most certain that this is not the last event
that i will cover for urban ventures.
thank you jenifer siegle of urban ventures and
thank you jacquie, my friend. i am so proud of you!

God bless this organization and all who come in contact
with it…this can begin to change the world.

(oh, and lastly a shout out to prom catering out of oakdale, mn.
they served 1300 people hot salmon & filet mignon!
an amazing job!)

Filed Under: Involvements Tagged With: cool opportunities, In The News

happy birthday, gary!

October 1, 2007 By Susan 2 Comments

today is gary’s birthday and he is going
to be doing what he loves….golf.
the rain has ended, the skies are clearing
and it is going to be 70…happy birthday
alright, what a gift!
he’s playing in an annual tourney to raise
money for the hard working folks at carver’s
fire & rescue (largely volunteer).
i’ll see him tonight, dinner tomorrow and
perhaps another night at a hotel~i have
2 more to use up by the end of the year.
and the gift of a clean house is coming!

say, did any of you take this survey yet?
i just received it this morning. click here
and fill it out. no one is looking over your
shoulder…just answer as honestly as you can.
i was surprised to find hilary dead last.
i mean, i wasn’t really, but when you really
get into the meat of the survey…it might
surprise you who rises to the top.
pretty cool, just takes a few minutes.

okay, i wasn’t going to do this but now i am.
the other day i met kiki & owen at a park
near their home and brought along my camera.
i got some sweet shots of some of their
friends and, without names, i want to post
them here for them to see…

and a couple more of owen…

i love my new 1.4 lens! can you tell?

i’m thinking about throwing an outdoor portrait
party this fall…portraits at a discount for
groups. interested? e-mail me.

sorry…one more thing….paris

Filed Under: Out and About Tagged With: birthdays, equipment, In The News

this just in….

September 21, 2007 By Susan Leave a Comment

Crawford, Texas — A tragic flood this morning destroyed the
personal library of President George W. Bush. The flood began in
the presidential bathroom where both books were kept. Both his
books have been lost. A Presidential spokesman said the President
was devastated, as he had almost finished coloring the second one.
The White House tried to call FEMA, but there was no answer.
(okay, so i stole this off my sister’s blog…pretty funny!)

i’m excited to announce that i will be taking over my pug blog
giving jason & stacey thon a much needed break from even
thinking about keeping that current!
i’m going to start that soon so keep a close eye on this
one for more updates!

i talked to karen fernow, executive director of the
MOMF last night at length regarding the future of my
involvement and i’m ecstatic to report that this young
organization is thriving and dependent upon all that i
can provide and i will continue to offer up all the support
that i can throughout it’s growth as a non~profit foundation!
it gives me great joy and fulfillment!
i selfishly suggested that karen, becky and i
meet up at campielo’s for dinner tonight so that we can discuss
upcoming events and needs of the foundation.
i’m hoping that i can talk my sister, anne into taking
over the position of “grant manager”…are you up for it??

megan (bella) is flying in this morning from chicago
for the wedding that we are shooting tomorrow.
we’re gonna hook up this afternoon and go over our
game~plan.

minneapolis and it’s surrounding suburbs experienced
some wicked storms late afternoon and early evening
yesterday. all is well in eden prairie altho’ it was
the focus for quite awhile. portland at 494 was under
water again….um, yea, SHOCKER!!!!

supposed to be a fabulous weekend.

Filed Under: Involvements Tagged With: In The News, my pug group

35W bridge aftermath…

September 7, 2007 By Susan Leave a Comment

a good friend of mine (and photographer),
jason stenvold, recently took up the
offer when they opened up an adjacent
bridge to head down and see first hand
what has become of the 35W bridge since
it’s collapse nearly a month ago.
to view some really outstanding images
click here. so much has been done yet there
is so much left to do. it’s nothing like
the towers of new york, but this is
“our” ground zero.
nice job jason, thanks for the pix!

met zach at the wayzata country club
yesterday afternoon to shoot his senior
portraits. it was hot and windy
(not a good day to photograph a girl as
the hair would have been OUT OF CONTROL!)

so handsome, wouldn’t you agree?

off to meet nicki and anne in excelsior
then on to meet up with cory barton
to go over the cool changes i want to
make to my web site! yay!

gotta run!!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: In The News, o.p. (other photographers), senior portraits

president & laura bush visit minnesota…

August 4, 2007 By Susan Leave a Comment

well, aren’t we special!
laura arrived to look at our
collapsed bridge and george dubya
is flying around in a helicopter
as i type to see first hand the
devastation of the wreckage.
i still can’t get over it. it’s so
weird. i keep watching the video
of the collapse and it’s just
so, i don’t know….deliberate
looking, yet there are cars on
the bridge and my God, the bus
full of children…how does something
like this actually happen?
so much more to come on that
subject…it’s been reported that
it could take as much as a year
to come to some sort of conclusion
as to what actually happened.

another airport hilton visit yesterday
for a minnesota miracle. i met little
miss madelyn, age 4 (left). she brought
along her very, very best friend for
the weekend. they were so funny! and silly!

they were very excited to go swimming~!

grandma and dad and the two girls will spend
the weekend and enjoy lots of fun compliments
of the “minnesota miracle”…a division
of the “miracles of mitch” and partnered
by the airport hilton…”the hotel with a heart”!

picked up some cabernet on the way home and
sat out front with gary by the fire pit (no fire)
and slowly we started a gathering at our home.
first we were joined by all the neighbors dogs…

then some neighbors…trisha, then
ron & cindy. it was a perfect night to
sit outside! due to all the dry weather
there is a shortage of bugs!! (one nice thing
about no rain!).

FINALLY some relief in the way of rain.
woke up this morning to the sound of rain
hitting the bedroom window! hooray!
gary brought the cats into me on the bed
and headed off to paynesville to play golf
with his buddies. this is an annual event
at the koronis golf club there and they all
stay at tom & mary hendrickson’s lake home
(you really can’t call this place a cabin!).

got a late start today but it was nice to
lay in bed and listen to both the rain and
the cats purring next to me!

Filed Under: Involvements Tagged With: In The News

more bridge collapse images…

August 3, 2007 By Susan Leave a Comment

and no, i did not shoot these but
they are amazing images and worth sharing.

to date i do not know of anyone,
personally, that was involved in
the bridge collapse…and for that
i thank God!

well, on to the starkey event…
i picked up where raphael left off
(after the lunch break) and photographed
the first hour of dr. charles berlin’s
lecture on diagnosing the need for
cochlear implants…(umm, yea…WAY over
my head! pretty interesting tho’, i found
myself listening and trying to make sense
of some of the information!)

the student then broke off into other class
rooms and got into specific areas of interest.

then they all resumed in the large
auditorium for the closing and scholarship
awards. mr. bill austin arrive to hand those
awards out to some very deserving students!

everyone then had the opportunity to
change into jeans and head over to the
bowling alley for food, cocktails and
of course…bowling!!

this was a VERY energetic group!
i had a blast and so did they.
rapheal called and said they were running
the bowling photos during the breaks
today and that they were a big hit!

thanks raphael for calling on me to
help you out yesterday!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: cool opportunities, In The News, starkey

35w bridge collapses over mississippi…

August 2, 2007 By Susan Leave a Comment

incredible video account of bridge
collapsing..click here

gary called me right after it happened.
i was attending the NACE outing on lake
minnetonka…we were just getting ready
to board the boat for a buz around the
lake when he called.

i grabbed the mic and made an announcement.
it was quite surreal. “what?”, everyone
said…and i repeated the information that
i was given…not many televisions around
so we couldn’t get a glimpse of any of it.
we all decided that we would continue on
with the event.

the good news is that i won all the big
raffle items while out on the boat.
2 separated overnight stays, one at the
bloomington sheraton and the other at
the airport hilton in bloomington.
oh, and a yummy starbuck’s gift card!’
thanks NACE! i guess i’ll see you next month!
here’s some shots from last night…

our lovely entertainment by joy divine

chrissy peterson whipped up some
gorgeous arrangements for the event at bayview

joy with jennifer christenson, catering
sales manager at mystic lake casino.
jennifer is whom i have been in contact
with over joining NACE.

this is the group of folks from
the depot in minneapolis.

some ladies from midway party rental

left is janice from the embassy suites
airport hotel and right is barbara from
the st. paul hotel

and let’s not forget about the food!

thanks to everyone at NACE for
welcoming me into the group. i had
a great time and i will be sure to make
good use of all of my winnings!

see you all very soon.

off to Starkey Labs today.

oh, here’s a shot of “j” and her new do…

(just got an e-mail from all the folks
down in playa del carmen praying that
we are all okay!
thanks brenda and the gang at ajua!)

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: cool opportunities, In The News, makeovers

starkey gala vip party…

June 22, 2007 By Susan Leave a Comment

wow.
what a night.
i am exhausted.
this was the most incredible gathering
i have ever experienced!
people kept coming up and saying ~
“this is your job?” and i got to say
“yep! sucks to be me!”

now, i was required to turn in my cards
so i currently have no images to share but
the day started at 4:30. i met cheryl
at the “griffin gallery” in bloomington.
if they had just told me that it’s in the
old “camelot” building that would have
been good. go see it! seriously!

so we get there 30 minutes early to get
the lay of the land and meet the folks
that own the gallery (bill & deborah mack),
this was a showing of jane seymore’s artwork
(bill mack’s work is on the other side of the
gallery and i encourage everyone to go
and see his work. it’s just awesome!)
including handbags and silk scarves as well
as acrylics, oils pastels and watercolors…
she’s really an amazing artist…who knew!?
her husband, james keech was there as well.
this was an event set up for the opening of
the gallery and something for the starkey guests
to attend. all of jane’s artwork was for sale.
art started at $795..too rich for my blood but
i did manage to get a hand bag with one of
her paintings on it. it’s lovely and i’ll
pick it up today (why would i bring money, right?)
she signed it for me and i had my photo taken
with her at the gallery holding my bag. fun!

moving on….
the austin home on bryant lake. wow!
no expense spared for this little shin~dig.
i’m just guessing, but it had to be hovering
around the million mark. incredible! at least
15 foot tall topiary giraffe, 9 foot elephant
topiary (created by ricardo edelstein), tiki torch lined drive and african
drums and dancers beckoned the guests as the
limos dropped them off. offerings of
sparkling water, champagne & wasabe shots (yum,
i had one!) and bloody mary’s were made available
by like 12 servers. (i could go on and on about
the greeting of guests!)
i stood near the elephants and offered photos
of each of the guests with the topiaries and
handed them cards that were printed with info
on how to view the images later for purchase.
yes, i did feel a little like a cruise ship
photographer for a bit, but everyone LOVED it!!
EVERYONE wanted a photo! great fun!

inside, a Picasso museum, a plethora of artifacts
from around the world, signed one of a kind pieces
and even sir elton john’s red baby grand piano!
i can’t even…um…hardly remember all of the
incredible details and signed sports memorabilia
contained in this gorgeous home.

i met norm crosby (also loves m&m’s!)
leslie nielsen (had my photo taken with him.
mikey rooney (sweet!), c.everett koop (wonderful!)
lou ferrigno (i think he still works out!)

tonight there will be nearly triple the number of
guests. many who were at last night’s affair.
this morning there is a golf outing up at rush creek
and a sporting clay as well. i’d have loved
to hit either of those..especially the sporting
clay! but today i relax, recharge (literally)
and wait for the big party tonight at the new
starkey training facility off crosstown.
3 bands…it’s gonna be huge!

i’m going to go put my feet up now!

side note….today, hobie and katie get their
summer cuts! i’ll post images tomorrow.
this is a new spot..”clean as a whisker”
in st. louis park recommended by my vet!

tomorrow i photograph a good friend’s wedding
in parker, south dakota. i’ll hit the road
early with gary (my handsome assistant!)

p.s. got my chocolate brown sample album
like a week early from pictage! WOW!!!

Filed Under: Involvements, Out and About Tagged With: cool opportunities, In The News