I photographed UWM Professor Andrew Petto, who brought Darwin Day to Milwaukee! He will be featured in the Profile section of MKE next week.

I don’t want to ever have to use my blog to broadcast bad news, but in this case, I think it is necessary.

Please be aware of local “business woman” Gracie Valentine.

I did some photography work for her last year, and she has never paid me. I do have a contract. I have gone through the small claims court system and won my case. Guess what? She never bothered to show up, and I still haven’t gotten paid. I have also found out from another photographer in the Milwaukee area, that he was also never paid by Gracie Valentine for work that he completed.

Her website has now gone live, and my photographs are being used without my permission.

Please do not support Gracie by visiting her website: it will only serve to raise her rankings in Google. However, if you would like to contact her, I’ve included her information below:

Gracievalentinedesigns@yahoo.com
414.364.6137

I have spoken with a few lawyers but if anyone has had any experience with this, or has any advice, I would appreciate it. You can email me here or at Jessica@JKaminskiPhoto.com

Thank you.

Last week I was the Art Director for an advertising piece that will be made for the company’s website. The company manufacters something that keeps ceiling fans from wobbling. The concept for the piece is wobbly fan systems throughout the ages (Egyptian, 1880′s, 19’50′s), until an engineer finally has an “a-ha!” moment about how to fix the problem.

More pics to come, but here is the group shot I took:

A Hospital Wedding Story

DWF Finao 2007 Wedding Photo of the Year by Rob Sigler

“Hospital Wedding”

Two summers ago, I received an inquiry to shoot a wedding in Philadelphia. The bride-to-be, KC, said both of her parents were in poor health, so she was unsure about the actual date. A few months passed, and KC called back and explained that her father’s health was quickly deteriorating, and “because they are too sick to travel, we are bringing the wedding to them.” KC, an only child, was insistent that both of her parents were able to attend her wedding. She called again that day and said, “Are you available Tuesday?”

I said sure, and cleared my schedule for the day.

KC quickly put together a small wedding ceremony in her parent’s hometown. It was going to be a nursing home where her father had just been moved. At this point, KC was frazzled, so I was happy to do anything I could to help her out.

On Thursday night, the phone rang. It was KC’s fiancé. He said that KC’s mom (who was recovering from a recent stroke) had just fallen and broken her hip, and the wedding (for a second time) was cancelled. He said they were just going to have a small ceremony in her hospital room as soon as possible. By this point KC was completely devastated. I felt awful for them both. What is supposed to be an incredible experience for this young couple was turning into disaster.

I called him back, and told him I would be more than happy to come to the hospital and shoot the ceremony. He said thank-you, but no thanks. I understood.

Five minutes later, the phone rang again. This time it was KC asking me to come down to the hospital.

So, I packed up my bag, and off I went.

When I got there, the nurses were fashioning bed sheets to create an alter, and KC’s mom was in bed and in obvious pain, yet she was dressed in her attire that she would have worn in Philadelphia. Several hospital staff members gathered around the room of the door to catch a glimpse of what was probably the first wedding ever in this hospital. Their hands were filled with Rice Krispies to throw at the end of the event.

As KC walked into the room with her father, a nurse sang “Ave Maria.” The ceremony was beautiful. There were no ice sculptures, no flowers (except a few from the gift shop), no limos, but the love this family had for each other was more beautiful than any traditional wedding “thing.” There wasn’t a dry eye in the room, including mine.

This experience really made me think about my life, and think about what we do as photographers. It’s so easy to get caught up in gear, flashes, trashing dresses, etc., and lose sight of what we are really doing. I walked out of the hospital knowing that I had just captured an amazing moment for the family that can now live forever.

Here are some pics from a photo essay that I shot for MKE magazine.

Hello All!!

The new issue of Wisconsin Bride Magazine is on newsstands now, and you can check out my latest photographs. I photographed one of my favorite subjects: CAKE!!!

I am also featured in last winters issue as well.