Connie and Ash Prom Sneak Peek.

The Irwin family purchased a package from me almost a year ago and we had been trying to arrange a date to shoot for quite some time, so when Connie approached me about shooting these images I assumed they were going to be family portraits, or just headshots for Connie herself. When Connie and Ash arrived at Bellvue park I was taken by surprise that they wanted prom photos, but I was ecstatic because it's something I don't get to do often, and something that can be really fun to shoot! 

I enjoyed shooting it, I hope you guys enjoy looking at the final product, and I hope to hear any and all feedback! 

Allan Brunke.

Wirta Family Sneak Peek!

I have been photographing The entire Wirta clan for about a year now. Brea and Adam have been amazing to work with on every session we've done, and they are always a blast to shoot with. Today we shot the family around Hiawatha park which is always a favourite location of mine mostly because I don't get to step into nature as much as one probably should. 

Today's shoot went specifically well because Jeff and I were completely in sync and barely had to communicate to know what the other was thinking. I made Jeff do the posing today because I wanted to try and work with someone else posing and picking frames. I was blown away by how fast and perfectly each of our sets went, everyone involved was just on point. 

Even though today required me to scale a waterfall and to get knee deep in a muddy river, it was worth it for this shot, I am so happy with it and I hope that you all enjoy it as well. 

All the best, 

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The Smell of Sawdust and a Lost childhood.

Ever since I have been really young, my fathers workshop has been a place that I was told not to go into. I was always told that I was going to hurt myself, and that I would be in a lot of trouble if I went wandering inside of it. Much like any child, I listened... until my father left for work, or went outside to fix something. I rarely ever touched anything, but I always had a fascination with all of the tools, and the machinery, never quite understanding what it all did. 

My teenage years, I didn't take much interest in the tools or the machinery, I actually didn't take much interest in the shop at all except for a few 'Budweiser Girls' calendars that were hanging on the walls. I never took an interest in making and creating things with my hands, and it is something that I regret to this day because it never allowed me to bond with my father. I never took the steps I needed to take to learn from him and be interested in his life. 

Now that I am a bit older, I have taken council from the most important people in my life, and I have realized that I need to be more involved in my fathers life, because all of us are only here for a short period of time, and I don't want to have our last memories together being a three minute conversation at Christmas asking how his dog is. I have realized that I need to make more of an effort to be a more involved, more understanding person with everyone in my life, but mostly with my father. 

I've spent the last two weekends taking the time to spend with him and trying to be more active in his family. This weekend I decided to step back into his shop for the first time in many years, and being the shutter addict that I am, I had to take some photographs because photos tell your eyes, what I can't say with words. 

His shop can be messy, and dirty, and sometimes have cigarettes and blood on the floor, but my father has made some of the most amazing pieces of woodworking I have ever seen, and it completely blows me away how a man who I always feared and who I always saw as rough and rugged, can craft and perfect such beautiful and delicate pieces of work. I have such a grand respect for my father now, that I wish I would have had when I was younger. 

Behind the rough hands and gruff voice, there is a beautiful heart and soul, and I never realized that until I moved away and tried to find myself. 

Until next time,

Allan.

My obsession with the abstract.

Hello there Everyone!

Welcome to my blog, where I will be posting about new projects, gear that I want to acquire, upcoming projects, finished images, personal interests and a handful of other things. 

Since I began my journey as a photographer, I have always had an interesting obsession with abstract artwork and photography. I think it is a fantastic measure of self expression, and I also don't understand it at all, and I think that's why I have become so entrenched in wanting to learn about it more and more. Some of the minds I have come across throughout my journey so far are able to seemingly pull a beautiful abstract piece out of thin air as if it were something that was painted inside of their skulls. I on the other hand, have much difficulty being able to understand what makes a good abstract photograph. 

I have been to many an art exhibit that has had abstract images/paintings, and a lot of it is mesmerizing, but in a completely bewildering way. I find myself wondering if a lot of it is just random, un coordinated bullshit that people pass off as a deep and moving piece, or whether the artist had some grand scheme all along and picked every stroke, or in my sense, completely controlled the frame, aperture, shutter and composition. I for one have gotten every abstract image I've done from simply winging it and hoping that something interesting would come of it.

I believe that it's not the images themselves that I am enthralled with, but the meaning behind the images. I have been studying the thought process behind abstract imagery for a while and I am still puzzled as to whether there is some deep, soulful meaning behind certain brush strokes, certain composition choices. Does the deep blue mixed with the diffused orange mean two completely different things if they are on different coloured backdrops? Do the long elegant lines represent a calming? I am not sure I will ever understand 'Abstract Art,' but I am going to attempt to keep trying and try to have a deeper understanding of just what it all means. 

I am going to try and do these blog posts once a week, but I'm terrible with scheduling time to do little things like this, so I don't think there will be a specific day of the week that I post. Mostly just when I'm feeling inspired or perplexed.