the blog of john pischke photography

Live Music – Shane Martin Band

John Pischke — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 22:39:55 +0000

Shane Martin typically plays solo, but he does in fact play with a band and they are actually really good. I had the chance to shoot the band at Toby Keith’s “I Love This Bar & Grill” in St. Louis Park, which is a great venue for music. The weather was nice enough to get a few groups shots outside before the show. I like the fact that the stage is set up a little higher to give me a better chance for unobstructed photos. Shane’s band closed for national artist Josh Thompson, so the place was packed and most of the crowd stuck around to hear Shane and the boys play – and were rewarded for it!

Portraits – Harley

John Pischke — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 22:27:31 +0000

Harley is a local singer, songwriter, actor and model. About the only thing he can’t do is take portraits, so I guess that’s where I come in. I enjoy getting the chance to bust out the studio lights and take some headshots and semi-formal portraits. As much as I like natural light photography, having complete control over the lighting is a good thing sometimes.

Portraits – Shane

John Pischke — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 20:08:41 +0000

After a few days of rainy weather in Nashville, I finally had a nice day to take some photos downtown with Shane Martin. Downtown Nashville was a great place to walk around with a camera – interesting buildings and textures to play with. Fresh off of his performance at the Texaco Country Showdown at the historic Ryman Auditorium, Shane was excited to get some updated photos and also to see where the national exposure of the Showdown will take him. My guess: pretty far! Shane plays live solo and full-band shows all around the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and a few other interesting venues across the state. Check him out sometime and support your local musicians: www.shanemartin.com

What Help-Portrait is all about

John Pischke — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:51:23 +0000

In late November/early December, I posted about the upcoming Help-Portrait event on this blog and also on Facebook. If you supported the event in any way, here’s what your support, time and money meant to the teens we helped that day in December. This video by Ken Jones captured the day and the reason why Help-Portrait exists perfectly . . . please watch:

HelpPortrait 2011 Minneapolis Help Squad from Ken Jones on Vimeo.

Senior Portraits – Ruti

John Pischke — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 00:41:01 +0000

So, do you think December is too cold to take senior portraits outside in Minnesota? Not for Ruti! She toughed it out in the bone-chilling winds of downtown St. Paul today and did a great job. I kept going through the photos trying to find one where she looked cold and couldn’t find one. There was a point when I had trouble feeling my fingers – yeah, it was that cold. Way to rock it, Ruti.

It’s Help-Portrait Time

John Pischke — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 04:23:06 +0000

This year’s Help-Portrait event is coming up. Please watch the video:

We could really use your donation – any amount will help. On Saturday, December 10th we will be blessing over 250 teens in two locations this year and we need donations to cover print costs, frames, water and other supplies needed to pull off this great event. This is the link to donate to the Minneapolis event:

https://help-portrait.donortools.com/my/funds/43802-Help-Portrait-Minneapolis-Minnesota

Thank you!

World Wide What?

John Pischke — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 00:26:52 +0000

World Wide Photo Walk, that’s what. 28,000 photographers of all skill levels meeting up in over 1100 small groups all over the world with one purpose: walk around and take pictures. But it’s more than that. It’s meeting new people with similar interests (photo geeks), learning something new, and making connections. The walk I participated in this year was in Chaska and wasn’t the typical photo walk. We had two models to shoot, which gave many people a chance to learn a few new things about lighting, posing and interacting with models. Here’s a few of my shots of Rob:

Senior Portraits – Paige

John Pischke — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 02:12:58 +0000

Had a great session with Paige on Wednesday afternoon. We shot in and around Stillwater and had great weather for photos. Not sure how I get so lucky to have such photogenic clients, but I’m not complaining. Yes, that’s a shotgun Paige is holding . . . she hunts and shoots in competitions. Now here’s a girl that can pull off a gun in one photo and a prom dress in the next. Very cool.

North Shore Weekend

John Pischke — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 03:03:58 +0000

Enjoyed a great weekend along the North Shore in Minnesota. Fall colors were probably about a week away from their peak, but the views and colors were still amazing. Took the tram at Lutsen to Moose Mountain and hiked up Oberg Mountain to enjoy the overlooks at both places. Spent a few hours after dark at Iona Beach to shoot the stars on a clear Saturday night. The star trail photo below was an exposure of nearly an hour. I’m still amazed at how many more stars you can see and how clearly the milky way, also pictured below, stands out when you get a few hours away from a metropolitan area. Enjoy the photos and drive up there soon to enjoy the views first-hand!

Macro Photos

John Pischke — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 01:11:52 +0000

These were taken at the Munsinger and Clemens Gardens in St. Cloud, where a small group from the LWCC photography club had a photo walk this morning. I recently bought a macro lens and wanted to give it a trial run, so this was a great opportunity. We had a perfectly overcast morning, which created soft, even lighting. I decided not to bring a tripod (which I found out was banned in the gardens anyway), but I was still pleased with the detail of the photos even while shooting handheld.