Senior Summers

Wow - I can't believe it's August! Long days of sun make the Senior season go fast but it's not over yet. These days find me still having fun photographing high school senors. I've always enjoyed this age group! From teaching at the high school level to coaching them in Track and Field, I love their perspective on life - the glass is half full.

With that in mind, I head outdoors at this time of year to make portraits that show who these young people really are. In an hour and half, we come away with some "storytelling" images of who they are. Parents express their awe in how natural their senior seems in their portraits and how real they appear.

So what if it's August then! I'll be photographing Seniors into the fall so you need to get in gear and check this off your list, give me a call - 414.550.5340

Lean Into the Corners . . .

The dogs days of summer are here and that means hot day on the bicycle! You know, the kind of day when you have to make your own wind by going faster on the bike. The only problem with that solution for cooling is when you stop, the sweat flows and makes one's clothes "stick," even after you've stopped sweating!

Although it wasn't quite as hot for the Downer Ave. Bike race, these guys were generating lots of heat. This racer was caught on "Collision Corner", for which I have coined the name, due to the high number of accidents each year. I'm always amazed at their muscle memory and ability to keep the bikes so close together and still upright. The concentration and hand-eye-foot coordination must be just right.

But this guy had found a little "pedal room" and was clicking into a higher gear. So I thought of the metaphor found in this image: just lean into the corner and all will be alright!

Stylin' at the Race

Good times happen on the East Side of Milwaukee, the last weekend of every July! It's called the Downer Ave. Bike Race, which is part of the International Cycling Classic. Cyclists compete in this challenging urban race while locals and out-of-towners alike gather to watch them cruise past - pulling wind along with them. Treacherous corners and downhill straight-a-ways make for some dramatic action.

Even if you aren't a fan of bicycling, you've got to walk around and enjoy the people watching. This young man got a close up feel for the wind blowing through, or should I say by, his hair as the cyclists zoomed by.

See you at GALLERY NIGHT/DAY!

Hey everybody! When you get done having fun down on Bradford Beach, head on over to the Third Ward for Gallery Night festivities! Be sure to check out the Light Ideas Gallery in the Marshall Building (corner of Water St. and Buffalo St.) in the Lower Level. (A parking structure is at the corner of Chicago and Water and parking is free on Gallery Night!)

I'm showing 8 spectacular images from Alaska, North Dakota, Wisconsin and Montana! You can preview the show by going to the "outside" portfolio on www.peggymorsch.com Most of these images were made while on solo trips, including a drive to Alaska and back with my two dogs. I'll be at the Gallery from 6 - 10:00 p.m. on Friday, July 27 and 10:00 - 3:00 on Saturday, July 28.

In addition, check out the awesome, framed portraits of kids, dogs, and families that grace the other side of the gallery! It's is been a while since your family has had a portrait, now's the time. The first 5 people to ask me about photograping their family will receive a $100 Gift Card! See you there!

Gallery Night Show

Mark your calendars for Friday, July 27th and Saturday, July 28th because it's the summer Gallery Night in Milwaukee, WI!

This is where I kick off my new business name: PEGGY MORSCH life photography, and show nine (9) finely matted and framed nature images from solo trips since 1998. Can you say Alaska? Some of the images are from there, as well as Montana and Wisconsin. Besides these signed, limited editions, there will be a smaller prints available for purchase as well as some fine note cards. Additionally, I'll have some choice, framed portrait pieces hung as well. People and places - that's what I'm about!

Come early for some "adult beverages" and talk with me about what each of those solo adventures brought in the way of personal insight as well as photographic imagery. The first 5 new people I speak with will leave with a Gift Card valued at $100. Come early!

Check out the images at www.milwaukeestock.com and click on "New Photographers Gallery" on left side. See you there!
Peggy

Sweet Taste

My work recently found me in the historic town of Cape May, NJ for a professional photography workshop. While we were indoors stretching our minds, the sun was shining and finally warming up the earth after a long, cold spring. After class I swooped into the downtown area to see folks swarming around the local fudge and ice cream shop. Ice Cream! There's nothing like your first outdoor ice cream cone when the weather beckons us to shed layers of clothes.

She was having fun eating that ice cream cone. Her eyes sparkled as she that sweet taste of sugar and cream melted in her mouth. I asked to make a few photos of her and she obliged. Then suddenly her child came out and she stuck her tongue out at me. It was a playful motion. One that said I dare you to take my photo now. Truth is, I missed it. But this one still captured the warm evening and a love affair with a cone in Cape May.

A Summer Sail

While it's snowing today, the day before Easter, when Spring should be blooming and birds singing, I needed to go back and work on some "warmer looking" images to get myself in a springtime mood. Here's one!

Last summer we took our nephew out on the Dennis Sullivan schooner for an excursion on Lake Michigan. It's a replica of the type of schooners that used to sail Lake Michigan regularly, ferrying freight from port to port in the 1800's.

The weather was drizzling, warm and the ride, thankfully smooth when sailing inside the breakwater. The sails caught a bit of a summer breeze and the passengers enjoyed the view. I think this image tells the story of the evening sail quite well. Quiet, skies somewhat foreboding and the canvas sails from yesteryear.

Catch a ride on the Dennis S. Sullivan at Discovery World in Milwaukee, WI.

Down with the old. . .

Time demands change and nothing could be truer in the field of construction. In my neighborhood, it's the construction of Columbia-St. Mary's new hospital and the destruction of an old medical office building that once housed the St. Mary's Nursing School.

I'd watched this building be prepared for demolition - windows gone, doorways boarded up and nothing but early morning sunlight pouring through openings that had long been closed up. But it was the brick by brick process of the tearing down that caught my eye.

I watched the human-directed robot make brick and stone collaspe like legos. It took less than 5 minutes to take down a column of brick and mortar and I reflected on the number of muscles and minutes it would have taken to put it all up.

When he and the robot neared the large stone that formed the front, main entrance, I felt a twinge of sadness. Here it took but a single pneumatic shove to loosen this heavy stone from its moors and see it tumble down to its demise. When he tried the cornice piece at the top of the arch, it held. Perhaps it was pure stuborness on the stone's part - it wasn't ready to go just yet. In what seemed like a show of respect, he moved away from emblematic piece of stonework and found a weaker point to work on. Another day.

A New View

Have you ever seen some of the old photographs of cities? Seen the old cars, old clothing styles on people as they crossed the street, and the older buildings created by craftsmen? When I recently went to the top of a new parking garage in Milwaukee, I had that kind of dejavu.

As I framed up the image, just wanting to capture the light, late snowfall coming down on a popular East Side intersection, I thought of the old images I'd seen of Milwaukee in the early 1900's. Some photographer saw it fit to record day to day activities as they unfolded on the street.
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And there I was, doing the same thing! Documenting the same pedestrian happenings. The billboards, the tailights of the cars, and the snow falling, But there was something different about my image. Something that separated it from those images made long ago - it was color. When the truck moved into the intersection I was snapped back to the present, still documenting, but showing a different perspective to an image that was unavailable years ago.

For the Love of Dogs

Dog show in town - gotta take the camera and GO! Lots of canines looking their very best while owners/handlers are desperately trying to get them groomed to perfection in time for their "romp around the ring."

No question about it - I like dogs. With an English Pointer (field) and a Coonhound mix tucked in at home, I set out to record some of the behind the scenes action and check out some of my favorite breeds. I'm comforted by the fact that closeness, devotion, loyalty and concern is given freely across the borders of species and I usually seek that out when working with canines and their owners. There was lots of that action to catch. Owners kissing their dogs in the ring, standing next to them with a comforting hand on their head or a puppy, too young for the action, curled up on its owner's lap.

She didn't know I was watching; didn't care that my eye had spotted her "lovin up" the dog that laid on the grooming table, enduring yet another "fluff and buff" before the show. That honest smile and gentle acceptance by the dog says it all. Who cares about "Best in Show" when the lead up into the ring is where it's at!

Mysterious Dancers

Walking my dogs each day has opened my eyes to the changes that occur in my little micro environment called Lake Park. Each season brings out slight nuances that appear due to time of day, light changes and of course, weather.

It was early January when unusual warmth came to Milwaukee and melted some of the snow. The melted moisture made its way into the atmosphere as ground fog and like magic, Lake Park became this ethereal, mystical landscape.

I took the dogs home and went back to the "dancers" I'd walked by moments ago. They they were, frozen in position while the ground fog moved around them. Keeping my "what if" philosophy going, I made images from different angles and positions. This one gave me that settled feeling of knowing that I had on film what I had in my heart.

Going Places

Seeking out destinations different from my own has become a way to "juice up" my creative energies and allow my eye to see a different palette of light, culture, faces and customs. It challenges my structured existence of everyday life in my familiar territory. So like a wolf, I like to stretch my legs and seek out new ground to explore. This time it was tiny corners in England and Wales.

My eyes soaked in the way the mountains looked in both rain and bright sunlight that rises from a more southern angle this time of year. Wales has green hills, as many sheep as rocks and people who enjoy the outdoors regardless of weather! When I hit the paths of Snowdonia National Park, I knew I was going places! Three-sixty degree views! When's the last time you've been able to see that!

Carrying my camera and lenses to 3000 ft was all worth the while to let my eyes drink in the views of mountains, lakes and of course, the trail that I just dragged my butt up and over. Enjoy this "bit of Wales!"

An Honest Day's Work

My father once said, "There's two ways to make a living - with your brains or your brawn." It was his attempt to talk to me about college and what college could do for me. Been there, done that!

I've had an opportunity to photograph and work around people that make their living with their hands. Technical, skilled tradesmen and women and thank God they are here! This summer they've given me a new roof, new front porch, fixed my plumbing and put in new doors. These are smart, friendly, skilled people that go to work without wearing a beeper and rarely have to take work home with them. They love seeing the accomplishments of their work and take pride in it.

So here's to the skilled trades, vocational schools, apprenticeships and one of my roofers. Thank you for an honest day's work!

Summer Days

August days of summer are here! While things are crazy busy around here with senior photos, families and kids, I've had some time to have fun in my home town in western NY. I was back home for a class reunion and made some time to photograph some young friends who reminded me what being a kid was all about.

Growing up in a rural area, we'd race around town on our bikes, play in the woods, make pick-up baseball games, build forts and do it all without adult supervision. FREEdom with a capital "F." But some of my best memories have to do with water. Going to the lake to swim, slalom ski and just hang out with friends in the sun. It seemed like summer was forever then.

So when I saw this image I had made of my two young friends, I was taken back in time. A time of no responsibilities, a little sun and lots of water! Remember how you'd stay in the water so long that your skin would start to pucker? Summer. . .

Willie's Brother

Alaska! I got my "soul" tank filled again in Wrangell-St. Elias Nat. Park last month. Never heard of it, you say? Many folks haven't. It's a supersized park at 13.2 million acres, filled with the world's largest staircasing glacier and mountains that aren't even named yet. I love it there! Not a bad view in the place and there's lot of nice folks like Larry to visit with.

I've got an older B&W image of Larry that hangs framed in my studio gallery. Everyone asks, "Is that Willie Nelson?" "No," I answer, "but he sure sings like him!" I recently told that joke to Larry when I saw him and he laughed with his eyes all squinted up real tight. Larry's been a buddy of mine since 1999 and every year I try to make a portrait of him. He doesn't like it one bit. An old horse bronc cowboy in Montana and a pipefitter up in Prudhoe Bay during the heydays of Alaskan oil, Larry doesn't have much time for picture makers. He's busy running trap lines in the winter and tending to his home and equipment in the summer.

But get Larry laughing and the camera can come out. I hope you can see his gentleness and a taker of whatever life rolls his way. See you next winter Larry!

Shooting from the Hip

This past week found me riding my bicycle across Wisconsin and loving every minute of it! Well, maybe not some of the ominous hills we climbed, including Grand Dad's Bluff in LaCrosse! Three hundred and sixty of us completed the Northwoods Tour which took us through Neceedah Nat. Wildlife Refuge, the Crane Foundation, past Aldo Leopold's shack and through the North Kettle Moraine Unit.

We visited a book store made out of a silo, feed grass to horses and bought lemonade from Amish children. Of course the camera was slung around my upper torso and was always ready to capture a moment. As most pros will tell you, it's important to know how to operate your camera with your eyes closed so that you can quickly change settings and recompose without having to think about or look at your camera. This proved to be true on this trip many times but I add in riding a bike at the same time!

While cruising (or huffing and puffing up the hills) past the Amish farms in Central WI, I saw a young girl mowing her lawn up ahead. I readied the camera settings while riding my bike (don't try this at home!) so that I could photograph her while riding and she'd never see the little camera. As I was getting closer, I spotted 3 little girls sitting on the front porch - barefoot. I quickly changed the zoom, held the camera level and made the image as I rode by.

Now photographing this way doesn't always produce the best or sharp images. However, when I saw this one, I considered my "shooting from the hip" style successful! It's better to try and fail than not try at all!

Clothing CAN make the girl!

When she arrived for her portrait session, my Brazilian "neighbor, " Priscilla, had a top on that showed her bare arms. For an outdoor session, maybe you could get away with it but for an indoor session, it just didn't work. I tried different angles - low, high - tried positioning her differently, but whatever I did I couldn't keep my eye from finding the lighter colored skin of her arms.

Valerie, from France, where people just KNOW how to dress stylishly, loaned her the black top she had been wearing. What a difference a top can make! The neckline extended to the shoulders and suddenly there was a balance to the face before me. Dark hair, eyes and top with just enough neck and shoulder line to highlight the eyes. For my style, It's always about the eyes!

So with a little help from the "haute culture" French woman, a portrait was made. Thanks Valerie!

The World Comes Knocking

It was somewhere in the middle of our conversation that it dawned on me that I should ask to photograph them. Two young women from other continents had come to make my neighborhood theirs for a while. While we spoke, I could see their countries of origin in their features. With almond eyes, dark hair, and olive skin, Priscilla bore a smile that said all was right with the world. Visiting from Brazil, she had met Valerie, another traveler of the world at Alliance France'. Valerie's freckles, reddish hair and eyes that were as gentle as a breeze, spoke of the fresh, clean look of Europe. She absolutely bubbled when we talked. So when I asked to make portraits of them, they agreed. I was energized!

How lucky to have the world come knocking on my studio door that day! While shooting, we laughed, shared travel stories and I listened to them speak of home and their families that they would soon be reunited with. Young, traveling the world, learning the ways of Americans - how lucky they were to experience us, and we them! This is one of my favorite images of Valerie. Tomorrow, Priscilla.

Photoshop Magic

Wow - time's been flying away! Work is happening on the front porch (you'll have to wait until it's all done to see pictures!) and I've just returned from a brain-frying 4 days of learning more photoshop skills. It seems like the more I learn, the more there is to learn! There's just so much that one needs to know to produce great images so it's off to WI PPA school I went. I was lucky to learn from Jim Buivid (Jim Buivid PhotoDesign - Grafton) who's a wizard at Photoshop! He's been doing this for a long time and it shows in his work. Gotta tell you, it'll take me a while to master all that he showed us.

So why Photoshop, you might ask? What ever happend to a great old fashion photograph - kind like Ansel Adams. What some people don't know about Ansel's work is that he manipulated his image in the darkroom for hours until he achieved the print that he envisioned when he made the original image. Today, we don't have to breathe in chemicals to do it. We just spend time on the computer. (Some of us spend a whole lot more time than others!)

So I took one of the images that I "thought" I was "done" with and applied some digital art techniques that Jim taught us. Here's the result. It's true, you can teach an old dog new tricks as long as you can get results like this!

A Peek Towards the Future

When a photographic portrait is done right, it can reveal a tremendous amount of information about the person. Our faces tend to read like road maps; some ridden hard and put up wet and others radiating an acceptance of the path well taken. We love those images of people with deep cavernous wrinkles (as long as they're not our own) or the photographs where the eyes are an opening to the mysteries within - the seat of the soul. Steve McCurry's image of the young woman on the National Geographic magazine comes to mind.

I LOVE to photograph faces and yes, it's what lie in the eyes that gets my energy going! I'm always in awe of how much someone can let me in when I'm standing behind a camera and a lens! But I'm starting to notice that there's a new "style" that's creeping into my work. Forget the eyes, look at that Body Language! I'm reminded of a saying that hangs in my office: Remember the difference between looking and seeing." I'm seeing more in the language of the body and am having fun with it.

So with that I offer you this recent photo of an 18 month old girl. As she strode confidently over the bridge with her parents car keys held firmly in her hand, I had a peek into her future. Her body language spoke volumes to me about the time to come in her life. Soon, much sooner than her parents expect, she'll be heading out with the keys in her hand to confidently drive away with friends. Only this time she'll turn her head over her shoulder, smile broadly, wave those keys and say, "See you later!"