Goodbye Grandpa

 

My grandfather is being laid to rest  in Price Albert, SK. That is in Canada. He passed away last week and today is the funeral service. I realize this is not the typical entry I make on this blog, however, I feel completed to share with as many people as I can what a great man my grandpa was. I know everyone says the same about their grandfather, and it is true. Our grandparents come from a different time. They have been tempered by hardship, wars, and pandemics. From those trials they have developed such a strong character and quite strength that all we can do is hope that a small portion of those traits will pass on to us. My grandfather epitomizes the Greatest Generation.

My grandpa is Elmer Neil Bragg, (1926-2010), and he is survived by his wife of over 60 years, Mildred Bragg. He has 5 children and many grandkids and great grandkids. He grew up in the farming communities of the upper peninsula in Michigan. Until only a few years ago he still went back every year in order to hunt with his siblings and friends. He joined the army towards the end of WW2 and he was on plan to be in the first group of troops in the planned invasions of Japan. I often wonder what would have happened if that had taken place. Would he have survived? Would I even be here? Instead the war ended and he was based in Japan for a short period of time. Then the Korean War started. This one he did take part in. He was trained as an airborne trooper and he saw combat, that much I do know. When I was about 7 years old, and like all boys, very interested in playing war and being an army guy, I asked my grandpa a naive & ignorant question – “did you kill anybody?” I will never forget his response. Or I guess I should say lack of response, but only in a verbal sense. He stared at me with eyes that were sad. And up till that point I only knew a grandpa who was always happy, smiling, and ready with a joke or a hug. But these eyes where different. He continued to stare at me with those sad eyes. And I think there was a little fear, not of what he had seen, but that I may be called to experience such things that he had seen or done. I never got a direct answer to my question, and I didn’t want one. After looking away for a moment, he looked at me again and those familiar eyes had returned. I never brought up the subject again.

After the war, Elmer attended school and became an ordained minister. Although he had congregations, he true calling was to build churches. Which he did, everywhere! Canada, the US, and even Okinawa, Japan. And he did that one when he was in his late seventies! He could do everything from drawing up the plans to putting the lock on the front door at completion. Framing, electrical, plumbing, sheetrock, roofing, no problem!

He battled cancer and won about 8 years ago. The doctors gave him about a year to live due to the spread through his body. Well that didn’t sit well with Elmer. So through his faith, prayer, and nutritional adjustments to his diet, he beat the cancer. On his visit to the doctor, the x-ray showed a complete regression of the cancers. The doctors stated they had never seen anything like it before. I guess God wasn’t done with grandpa just yet!

There a many stories about my grandpa. Some sad, some funny, but all inspirational. That is why I will often ask myself when I am challenged, or tried, or frustrated…"what would my grandfather do?"  My list of role models is short, but grandpa is at the top. I know my work ethic and desire to complete a task properly comes directly from Elmer. And I never litter. One of the few times I ever saw my grandfather angry was when I dropped a piece of trash on the ground and walked away. The details as to what happened next are not important. I never litter, period. And neither do my kids. That is the key to this message. My grandfather did not exist in a vacuum. He has had an impact on countless thousands of people. Not only the individuals he encountered directly, but even more breathtaking about this thought is all the people indirectly influenced by him. And his influence is positive and encouraging.

I have had conflicted emotions this past week. I am saddened he is gone, which I guess is for selfish reasons. I am also….pleased? Joyful? Yeah.. I think joyful is a better word. He is no longer in pain. He is with his Savior, whom he served so faithfully and diligently. And he earned all that God is blessing him with.

Goodbye grandpa. You can take a break now and rest.    

Chris

The 1st Clark County wedding expo. It's in the books!

  

Last weekend was the first wedding expo held at the Clark County Event Center. Patti was able to get a space so we spent part of Friday setting up and then we worked the show on Saturday & Sunday. Whew! It sure seemed like a good idea when I mentioned to Patti about six months ago..."we should have a booth in this show if we can get in". Don't get me wrong - I think it turned out to be a great show. If you didn't know any better you would think this show has been going on for years. The folks who produced and managed the event were fantastic! And the number of brides that attended was a real positive as well. It's just that.... it takes a lot more work than you would expect to put together a nice display and have the right amount of handouts to give people as you talk with them. Patti & I had the opportunity to talk with many brides about their upcoming weddings so we have a great end of 2010 and 2011 shaping up.

Another great side effect from the show was getting a chance to talk with the vendors who shared our aisle at the show - our "neighbors" if you will. We met Vickie Nabors with Gala Gowns, located here in Vancouver (360.750.6700). She is a real sweetheart with a vast assortment of prom, party and wedding gowns. Both new and gently used. A great way to look fantastical and save a little money when prom season gets here. I know Patti is going to be giving her a call when it comes time for our daughter's prom! 
Directly across from our booth was Curtis, owner of Weddings & Wines Limousine service. What a class act! I really enjoyed the short conversations we were able to have in between the groups of brides that came through our area. Curtis had his son, Brad, come in and promote his business as well. Brad is the proprietor of Brad's Carpet Cleaning. I am officially starting the Brad fan club and I will be the president of said club. This kid (he's 21. Yes, I am embracing my "mature" age) is a GO GETTER! He has so much enthusiasm for his business. I don't think he realizes we are in the middle of a great recession here. You talk to either Brad or Curtis for more than two minutes and you are charged and ready to take on the world. And if you get both at the same time...WHOA - lookout! Curtis, you and your wife have a lot to be proud of in Brad. He sincerely honors your family name. 

The last vendor on our "street" was a real treat for both Patti & I. When we first arrived to the event center, we were only focused on finding our space and getting started with setup. This was the first time we had setup this particular booth display so I only had a theoretical layout on paper...and that always works out ....right? Oh, and two days before the show we found out our space was going from 10x10 to 10x20! Oh joy...i think.

So after about twenty minutes of unpacking and setting up, I started to look around my new surroundings. And who shall I see setting up across the way from us?? Windsor Weddings at the Academy. The same academy chapel where Patti & I got married 18 years ago! We made our introductions to Vicki Greenleaf and shared our personal connection to the chapel.The Academy chapel is also the venue of one of our featured galleries on our wedding website. It worked out great for Vicki to give potential clients an idea of all the unique areas a bride could have pictures taken within and outside the chapel. 

Let me say right here, Vicki has been in the wedding biz for a little while in these parts and she is connected! There was a steady stream of industry bigs talking with her. If you have a wedding question - Vicki is all the Google you will need. Sharing Vicki's booth was Corey, owner of Duo con Brio. This is a group that plays classical music for wedding, corporate events and just about anything that would be well served by having a classy bunch of pros playing instruments that I can't even pronounce. He had a DVD on site and that sounded great! I can only imagine how wonderful they sound in person! 

All and all we had a great experience at the show. We had the opportunity to share our passion for capturing weddings with numerous brides and we got to meet these great vendors. If you ever find yourself in need of any of their services - please keep these folks in mind. I know I am going too!

Chris

Kayla and Brody' Wedding PLUS Kayla's Bridal Shoot

Chris and I had a blast with Kayla on the day of her Bridal shoot. She is the oldest of 6 girls. Her mom and two oldest sisters came along for the shoot. Kayla was such a hoot to photograph. She was so excited to get her gown on and start taking pictures. She said that she was exstatatic about wearing her gown for more than just once. She was going to get her monies worth!! I agree Kayla, I wish I would have had a bridal shoot when I got married to Chris, I guess it's not too late, I could go and put on my gown and walk down to the studio and have Chris take some pictures of me (only thing...I don't think it will fit, 4 kids later) ha ha.

Shana, Kaylas mom was such a great mother of the bride. She wanted to make sure that kayla had a beautiful wedding, she was super excited for Kayla, she was truly going out of her way to make sure that indeed Kayla had the dream wedding that she had dreamed of since she was a little girl. Ahhhh.

Half way thru the shoot the sisters told us that they liked INSYNC, you know the boy band, well funny thing, we had it, It helps when you have a teenage daughter who listened to them several years ago. They were all bust'n a move. We got some great shots of Kayla at her Bridal shoot, oh ya... and then there are the wedding pictures......

Kayla and Brody were maried at the Portland Morman Tabernacle. What a Beautiful Church!! The grounds were spectacular!

Kayla and Brody were  the cutest couple there, as there were 4 other weddings going on that day there. I was so impressed with how Brody was so attentive to his newly wife, Kayla. I wish them much happiness and many babies!!

Finally, no mosquitoes! (or at least very few) – Kylie’s senior shoot

Kylie is the latest senior to come to PBP for her senior pictures and when I found out she was looking for some river/woodsy shots, I thought “oh no, here come the devil bugs”. Thankfully, there was hardly any at Lewisville park, which made this shoot very enjoyable. And it didn’t hurt that on the warmest day (89degrees) we were down by, (and at times IN,) the water. Kylie was a great girl to work with. Patti asked her a few questions before we started about some shot ideas. Things like “I may have you lay down in the forest grass”, and “how do you feel about sitting in a chair in the middle  of the river”, and “will you lay down in the water, in your pretty dress?”. And Kylie responded “Sure, I’m up for anything”. That can be a dangerous response to give Patti & I because we can get pretty creative and adventures. And we will hold you to that response….just kidding. We’ll give… a little :)

Kylie was true to her word, as you can see in these images. Kylie is a gorgeous young lady so it was pretty easy to create such beautiful pictures. She was also very patient as Patti & I worked out our angles and lighting due to all the shadows cast by the large evergreen trees in the park. One of our favorite techniques to use in lighting is having the natural sunlight act as a background/hairlight and fill in the subject with flash. When the sun is at the downside of its arc and we have water to reflect as well, we can really get some dynamic light going. The close up landscape and full length portrait images of Kylie in her black dress on the river bank shows this type of lighting. When it works, it really adds dimension to a photo. Oh, and when your subject is as pretty as Kylie, well… then it is just perfect. 

Thanks to Kylie for being such a great sport and letting us share in your senior year activities! Thank you also to Heidi (mom) and Judy (grandmother) for spending your time with us. It was a lot of fun talking with you! You have a great kid in this one!

Chris   

 

Creation Fest 2010

So starts the daily journal of the Crosspointe youth trip to Creation Fest 2010 in Enumclaw, WA.We arrived on Wednesday afternoon, along with about 6500 (total guess) of our closest friends. At least we hope we can all be friends, considering we are in very close proximity in a large cow field. I doooo love camping! 

Matt K., Christina K., Patti, me, Austin B., Madi B., Matt B.,Chris B., Matt C., Ryan C., Kaitlyn M., Jennifer H., Alena H., Zach H., Melody S., Sarah D., Haley W., Kelsey F. (hence forth called WE) began to setup camp right when we arrived.

David Crowder Band was to go on at 8PM and WE wanted to be there. I have to say I was very impressed with the youth. Matt K. told the kids they had to setup the tents their were assigned to sleep in on their own. And without instructions. They got it done! And no one cried. Christina & Patti set about getting the "kitchen" area established and dinner prepared in the middle of this crucible of mayhem. And they got it done as well. A capital start to our adventure! 

After supper, it was off to the main stage for David Crowder. It was a great show, all be it a little to short a set in my opinion. I really enjoy his style and could of had a little more.

After a brief stage reset, Switchfoot was up to finish off the first night. I tried to get to the area where the youth were watching the shows. I text back and forth with Austin and got to within 65 feet, but that was it. He and the others were about 20 feet from the stage and it was packed! i was able to get some shots of the band and then i bailed out of there. I guess i really am getting older. What does that t-shirt say, "if it's to loud your to old"? Yep, that's me. I made my way to the back of the crowd where Patti & Christina were on a blanket enjoying the show. It was here that we got to witness the highlight of the night. This little boy in the red t-shirt was bust'in a move! And I don't just mean "oh look. how cute. he is trying to dance" type moves...this kid had it going on! He was doing robot, a little Michael Jackson influence, back flips and cartwheels. I think i saw some Riverdance foot work. It was awesome. and he did this for about 45 minuets...non stop! After the show ended we all headed back to camp for a blissful nights rest and dreams of the fun to come in the following days. stay tuned......