Trip to Nebraska

Took a trip home to Nebraska this last week. Needed to get home to see my grandma who wasn't able to make our wedding in LaJolla, CA.

Used the time to also meet up with some old friends and shoot some portraits of their kids and families, here's a little sampling of the nice kids who patiently smiled for me and their folks!

More soon. Shaun

Welcome Rivers!

On Wednesday, it was kinda of a cool grey Chicago day. Aside from having to rush up to Lake Forest and photograph a park for the Chicago Tribune, I also had the privilege to photography 4 week old Rivers and his older sister Keegan. While Keegan wasn't feeling overly photo friendly, she paused long enough to pose with her new little brother. Rivers was a bit sleepy, and probably a touch hungary, but we made some nice images. Thanks Knight family and I can't wait to shoot more of Keegan real soon!

Owen Take two

As I continue to figure out small children and photography... a few things to share

- if baby looks grumpy, step back... he can only projectile vomit about 8 inches

- Big cameras are imposing

- I'm not nearly as funny to a 9 month-old as I am to a 9 year-old

- patience, it's more than a virtue

- It's easier to shoot an NFL football game than it is children

OK, more on this as it develops, now need to go chase a Tribune request.

Air Guitar - Nordic Thunder

A few weeks ago, I spent a long evening shooting at Metro in Chicago after hearing that they would be hosting a Regional competition of the US Air Guitar Championships.

There would be 18 contenders and my plan was to go in and shoot portraits of the contestants

with some action shots to go along with it if I could.

I arrived early to set-up my lighting equipment, but in the end wasn't allowed in until the venue opened to the public. Despite some friendly help from the staff at Metro, I didn't really get a great place to shoot, it was just way too tight and allowed me to only shoot with a one-light set-up. I ended up shooting using my Alien Bee 800 with a 22'' beauty dish with the grid spot in it and it was all powered by the Paul C Buff Vanguard battery (basically a car battery with an inverter attached.) It worked great, but I lost a little only using one light and having a small space, as I had to shoot tighter than I wanted.

So here is Justin Howard aka Nordic Thunder, a three-time champion of Chicago Region.

Distracted Driving

There is a lot of talk in the media about distracted driving. Cell phones, maps, in-car entertainment, GPS, texting. You rarely hear anything about Nail Polish.

I was asked to go shoot at the courthouse in Waukegan on Wednesday to cover a case involving a distracted driver who allegedly hit and killed a motorcyclist at a stop light as she had been distracted by painting her nails. The charge was reckless homicide. I was looking for reaction from the family of victim and if possible the defendants family.

Court is always difficult. More so here in Illinois since we aren't allowed into the courtrooms to shoot as I have been able to in Florida and Kansas, so you have to keep an eye on the doors and keep in contact with the reporter inside the courthouse.

Anyway, this is from day one. The photo didn't run in the paper due to lack of space and I don't believe it ever made it online. To read more about the story follow the link.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/northnorthwest/ct-met-nail-polish-trial-0507-20100506,0,7086850.story

This photo is copyright the Chicago Tribune and Shaun Sartin Photography.

Working with Nigel

Wednesday presented an interesting opportunity. I was headed out to my old stomping grounds of McHenry County. I really don't like going out there for some obvious reasons, but I had two families to photograph. I decided I would take my newly adopted dog Nigel with me (link to his blog www.nigelchronicles.blogspot.com) . He's very mellow, almost a sedated dog 70% of the time and I knew I didn't want to leave him alone all day. So I grabbed some extra food and water and brought him along. I knew one family was dog friendly and was hoping the other one was too, but a nice cool day I knew I could leave him in the car with the windows down. Well, as the picture proves, even a girl who doesn't like dogs, ends up liking Nigel. He's a wonderful ambassador for Labradors and dogs alike. If you're interested in adopting a labrador, check out www.midwestlabrescue.org or search for Labrador and Rescue and your home area and see what you can find.

First Visit

This last week I had a chance to visit New York City with my wife Tracy. We had been invited out by Tracy's childhood friend Andrea and her husband Haynes. We spent two days hanging out with them before heading into the city by ourselves. It was a very rainy few days, somewhat limiting the photography opportunities as we did the tourist thing. Overall, I came out loving New York City, amazing architecture, like Chicago on steroids and even better restaurants available to all levels of incomes. So here are a few pics from our little trip, nothing too crazy.