I am SOOO excited to be doing this installment of ROP! In my pursuit of turning my midwest depression into art, I decided to search for fine art photographers. After TONS of digging I came across Rhondal McKinney who has done a similar project with Illinois landscapes. Fine art, as it relates to photography, is a project or photograph series that is created to fulfill the creative vision of the artist. With that said, see below.

Rhondal McKinney

1. What inspires me about his work?

We’re not talking about the 3 C’s here. I love Rhondal’s work because it evokes a feeling that I’ve long dealt with. It evokes the rolling land depression, the surrounding depression of cornfields and farmland, and the nothingness that is the boonies of Illinois.

2. What inspires me about him?

I don’t know Rhondal personally and I couldn’t find a blog.

3. What is your favorite blog article?

Though I couldn’t find a blog, I wanted to mention that Rhondal has his work displayed in many exhibits including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Chicago Historical Society, the St. Louis Art Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago, and the Illinois State Museum.

4. How did you find Rhondal?

I found Rhondal after doing an exhaustive search for fine art photographers. I can’t believe what comes up when I search fine art photography. I see these wedding photographers calling themselves fine art photographers, yet they have no fine art on their site and their work, well, I hate to pass judgement because it is subjective, but their work just isn’t anything special. It looks like something taken with a point and shoot by Uncle Bob’s cousin. With the definition of fine art as it relates to photography, I can think of very few ways wedding photography could be considered fine art, but again, art is subjective.

5. If you could ever meet Rhondal, what would you want to learn from him?

I would want to learn what inspires him and where he gets inspiration for his work.

Jen Shannon Photography, Fine Art Photography

Movie 7 from Jen Shannon on Vimeo.

Jen Shannon Photography, Chicago Wedding Photographer

Now a little note about my Rock On Photographer installation. I think it is TOTALLY AWESOME that two of the photographers I’ve featured in ROP have started installations of their own about people that inspire them (not necessarily photographers). It just goes to show you that even me, the little person, can inspire the people who inspire me. That’s just wicked awesome!

Phew! Now that that’s done, I introduce you to my ROP #7! I’m really excited about this one! I introduce to you the one and only Becker! Or [b]ecker! Or my ROP [7].

[b]ecker

My little disclaimer: This photo was NOT taken by me. I have no clue who took this photo. I took it from one of his blog posts. You might be wondering why I decided to use this photo. Well, to me, it represents him really well. Funny, ambitious, and he has the look of success in his goggles! lol!

[b]ecker’s Blog

[b]ecker’s Website

Follow [b]ecker on Twitter

Fan [b]ecker on Facebook

[b]ecker is one of the funniest wedding photographers I’ve come across. I’ve been following his blog for about a year and just love it. I joined the [b] school (which I’ll talk about later) last year (I think November) and have been super happy with it. See below for more info. Also, I just realized, [b]ecker is the first male ROP I’ve done. So congrats for being the first [b]ecker!  Maybe you’ll win a ROPy award for that! j/k!

1. What inspires me about his work?

The three C’s. If you follow my ROP series, you know what that is. I also love his ambition. He has clearly taken some huge risks that have paid off in huge ways. More on that to come. His work inspires me because I’ve been able to see how he interacts with his clients (on the [b] school) and through his bubbly personality he’s gotten some amazing portfolio work and that bubbly personality shows in his work. It’s fabulous!

2. What inspires me about him?

As I mentioned above, he seems to be a risk taker, specifically with the [b] school which has been open about a year. He saw a need for a photography community that isn’t snarky, that doesn’t pick on the “newbies” and that doesn’t tolerate the “grumpies” (read Fast Track Photographer to familiarize yourself with the grumpies). He also started a series called 10x10x10 which is a series where he talks about what he’s going to be focusing on in 2010. They’ve been really informative and helpful. One of my favorite videos on the [b] school is the Branding 101 video. It helped me to solidify my branding and give me a focus on how to create the logo I’ve created for myself (which I love!) and all thanks the the [b] school/[b]ecker.

3. What is your favorite blog article?

Definitely his post about Jessica Claire’s wedding (she’ll be one of my ROP’s in the coming weeks). For those of you who don’t know, [b]ecker and Jessica dated for awhile. [b]ecker wasn’t the official photographer for Jessica’s wedding but many of her guests were professional photographers who took some great photos. They are definitely my favorite photos he’s done.

Click here to read the article.

4. How did you find [b]ecker?

I believe my friend Monica told me about him (she was my ROP #3). She’s been a member of the [b] school for a long time.

5. If you could ever meet [b]ecker, what would you want to learn from him?

I hate to admit this, but I had the chance to meet [b]ecker when I was in Colorado visiting Monica last April but it just so happened I was spending the day with my in laws who live in Evergreen (a little over an hour outside of Denver). It was a 2 hour drive from Monica’s to my in law’s house and then we spent the day going to Denver, doing some shopping, etc. And by the time we got back to their house I would have had to make the drive to Denver again in rush hour traffic, which just wasn’t happening, not to mention the 2 hour drive back to Monica’s I was going to have to make that same night. So I opted to spend more time with my in laws and have dinner with them (a nice home cooked meal I might add). Sorry [b]… I know, I know.. You see how it is… lol! But Monica had a great time meeting him! It’s hard to pinpoint one thing that I’d like to learn from [b]ecker but I think ultimately I’d like to learn more about networking.

So to [b]ecker, thanks for being such a huge inspiration to me and so many other people! You have found tons of ways to be innovative and spread “photographer love” to other people! Thanks for not being a grumpy! Rock on!

Moving on… Today I bring you a fresh look at the wedding industry.

Agnes Lopez

My little disclaimer: This photo was NOT taken by me. I have no clue who took this photo. I took it from her “about me” page.

Agnes’s Blog

Agnes’s Website

Follow Agnes on Twitter

Fan Agnes on Facebook

It must have been by chance that I stumbled across Agnes. To be honest, I have no clue how I found her, but I did and I’m glad. I’ve been following her blog for about 6 months or so and I can’t rave enough about her work.

1. What inspires me about her work?

The three F’s. Fashion, fashion, and FASHION! I love seeing what she does to combine her background and love for fashion into her wedding photography. Not only does it involve my love for my three C’s tendency but the work she produces from every shoot looks like something you see in a magazine. I love those kind of photos!

2. What inspires me about her?

This is another one where I have to be honest and say I don’t really know much about her. I know she has a background in fashion and journalism and she’s been in a lot of magazines but I don’t know much about her personally. I just found her on Twitter and Facebook (I usually just follow blogs) so hopefully I’ll get to see more about her as an artist.

3. What is your favorite blog article?

My favorite article would have to be one she did recently about the inspiration to shoot reality. It was a fashion shoot where several vendors got together to create this beautiful master piece. It was an idea that Style Me Pretty approached them about doing and I think it turned out amazing.

Click here to read the article.

4. How did you find Agnes?

I have no clue. I probably was looking for higher end shooters in Jacksonville to assure myself that I could make the same money down there as I could here in Chicago. I’m still not so sure if I’ll be able to, but that might have been where I found her. I don’t know though…

5. If you could ever meet Agnes, what would you want to learn from her?

I think I’d love to learn to see fashion from her perspective, see how she works with her models, her brides, etc. It would be awesome.

So to Agnes, thank you for being one of my fashion inspirations! I hope to some day meet you when my husband and I move back to FL! I’m not sure if you’re part of Pictage or if you go to the PUG meetings, but if so, I hope to see you there! Happy 2010! Rock on!

Sarah Rhoads

My little disclaimer: This photo was NOT taken by me. Jeff Newsom took it. It came directly from her blog’s “about me” page.

Sarah’s Blog

Sarah’s Website

Follow Sarah on Twitter

Fan Sarah on Facebook

This rock on photographer installation is a little different. I’ve not been following Sarah for very long. I heard about her a few months ago from Monica Starr Brown (my installment 3 ROP). The first thing I thought when I saw her work was “this chick is different!” So many times you see a lot of very successful photographers who have signature styles but they contain a lot of the same elements. If you’ve been following my ROP installations since week 1 then you’ve probably heard of my 3 C’s. Crisp, clean, and clear. Sarah’s fall under a completely different category. Keep reading for more.

1. What inspires me about her work?

I love Sarah’s work because it’s a different approach to photography than a lot of the blogs that I follow. She also has that “signature style” that I am such a big fan of. I love the way she’s able to create clean images without a lot of the same elements that many other photographers have. Her style is desaturated, clean, and crisp. She has an awesome way of making an image feel really warm or really cold. Her work takes me back to my days at Columbia College Chicago. So many times I was super frustrated in my photo classes with people just taking pictures of crap and the instructor calling it a master piece. There were a few great photographers that would create work similar to Sarah’s that I admired. You know, the photos of an emo kid just standing there awkwardly, run down places, etc. She would have fit in so great at Columbia! hahaha!

2. What inspires me about her?

Honestly since I haven’t been following her for very long I don’t really know much about her personally. One thing that we have in common that I can relate to is that our husband’s are part of our business. Sarah’s husband, Chris, is her second shooter. They seem to have a photographic chemistry and they just know how to work well with each other. I love couples who can work together and who do it well.  I also like to think she stole my dream a little for living in Seattle and getting to live out her dreams! I had this goal when I was 11 that I wanted to move to Seattle and be in a grunge band. That was it. That was all I wanted to do! hahahaha!

3. What is your favorite blog article?

My favorite blog article was from November 19, 2009 which was a self portrait. One of the things she points out that I learned in my early art history classes was that many of the best artists in history created self portraits. This has inspired me to start thinking of how I can do self portraits so in 20 years I remember what I looked like when I was 25. I NEVER have my picture taken. That’s something I’ll be working on in 2010.

Click here to read the article.

4. How did you find Jasmine?

Monica Starr Brown told me about Sarah. Monica was my Rock On Photographer for Week 3. You can check out that entry here.

5. If you could ever meet Sarah, what would you want to learn from her?

I’d love to learn what inspires her, where she finds inspiration, and how she found her style.

So to Sarah, thank you for being one of my newer inspirations! I can’t wait to see where the future takes you! Happy 2010! Rock on!

Lastly, I was recently selected to be in the running for an amazing award of Photographer of the Year for Photobiz. If selected I would win one year of hosting and a 12,000 photo allotment for my website, plus the recognition of course! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE GO VOTE AND TELL YOUR FRIENDS! To vote, visit the below website and vote for me. I was the November photographer of the month. You can only vote once.

http://bit.ly/869o2D

I’ll leave you with one of my favorite photos of our trip to Colorado. More to come on that, probably tomorrow.

Jen Shannon Photography, Chicago Wedding Photographer

Jasmine Star aka J*

My little disclaimer: This photo was NOT taken by me. I have no clue who took it. It came directly from her blog’s “about me” page.

Jasmine’s Blog

Jasmine’s Website

Follow Jasmine on Twitter

Fan Jasmine on Facebook

I’ll begin this one the same way I’ve begun them all so far. Jasmine star is one of my favorite photographers! I’ve been following her blog for about a year and just love seeing how her work has transformed. One of the things I love about Jasmine’s approach to the world is that she puts herself out there. Everyone who has followed Jasmine, even for a short time, knows her husband is JD, her dog is Polo, they live in California, she loves her parents, etc. She allows herself to be vulnerable to the world, and while people may shoot to bring her down, it rolls off like water on a duck’s feathers and she keeps on rockin’ it out! There will always be critics. If you learn to have thick skin early on, you’ll succeed.

1. What inspires me about her work?

Jasmine’s work makes me feel like I just stepped out of the shower smelling like a bar of Irish Spring soap. It’s fresh, it’s clean, and is always good. Jasmine also has a signature style that I can usually always spot. I think it’s in the way she sharpens her images, but I can always tell it is hers. I love that her pictures tell a story. They also capture and make you feel the emotion of the moment that she took the photo.

2. What inspires me about her?

Jasmine has come a long way in the couple of years she has been a photographer. She is kind of the exception to the rule of “overnight success.” The difference is that she worked really hard to get where she is and she hit the industry with a fearless attitude and took it by storm. It wasn’t necessarily who she knew or someone else handing it to her, it was her hard work and dedication that has brought her to where she is.  I don’t care what anyone else says about her shooting to success because of someone else, it was because of HER people! My favorite quote is, “You are where you are because you either worked hard enough to get yourself there or you lacked the ambition to make yourself what you wanted to become.” I admire her fearless attitude and her commitment to her passion. I also love her faith in God and love for Jesus.

3. What is your favorite blog article?

My favorite article was from May of 2009. It was for Alicia and Steven’s wedding. I’m not sure if it was the subtle pops of color or the composition but I really loved the way she captured their special day. The photos fit my rule of 3 C’s… Crisp. Clean, and Clear. I also love the emotion you can feel in the photos from the day. My favorite photo is of Alicia, it’s black and white, and she’s positioning her bird cage veil. I LOVE bird cage veils.

Click here to read the article.

4. How did you find Jasmine?

To be honest it’s been so long ago I can’t really remember but I believe Monica Starr Brown told me about Jasmine. Monica was my Rock On Photographer for Week 3. You can check out that entry here.

5. If you could ever meet Jasmine, what would you want to learn from her?

I’d love to see how she interacts with her clients. How she goes from being contacted to the end of the weddings that she shoots. When she receives an inquiry how does she respond? What does her conversation or email consist of? How does she approach the engagement session? Stuff like that.

So to Jasmine, you are a huge inspiration to so many people! I love that you stay true to yourself and that you put yourself out there for other people to get to know! Rock on!!

So anyway, I was so excited to meet Jules. It was kind of like meeting a celebrity, in a way, because she’s someone who’s work I’ve looked up to and who’s blog I’ve followed for, it seems like, eternity! It was great to sit around and pick her brain and really get to know her on a personal level. Colby and I had such a great time. One of my favorite parts of the night was when we all pulled out our iPhones (except I think Cristina had a Blackberry) and started going through our apps together. It was like an iPhone party! I should also mention that Abby is the QUEEN with working with Twitter. I’m not sure if I’ve created a new word here because I’ve never heard anyone say this before, she has a ton of Twisdom… Thats right! I said it! Twisdom! That means she has a ton of Twitter wisdom! LOL!

So to wrap up the night we went across the street from Weber and I had to take some pictures of Jules for my blog. I knew I would be doing a follow up once I found out she was coming to town. I will say… I was SUPER JEALOUS that Abby had her beautiful D700 there. I was quite embarrassed to pull out my D80. For those of you who don’t know but read my Photobiz interview, in my Photobiz interview I said I shot with a D700…. I swear it wasn’t a lie. At the time I wrote and submitted the interview I was going to be buying a D700 that very week but it just so happened that same week we had a flood on the second floor of the house (you can read about it here and read the follow up here) and that money ended up being used on our home owners insurance deductible and new carpet in the rooms unaffected by it so we didn’t have two different kinds of carpet on the second floor. So yeah… I still have two D80′s, which sucks, because it doesn’t handle high ISO very well. Even at 400 ISO the grain is terrible. You’ll see in these photos below which were taken at 320 ISO. One day that beautiful D700 will be mine!

To Jules, Abby, and Cristina: It was SOOO wonderful getting to meet you all tonight! It was super fabulous talking photography and getting to know each other! Jules, I hope you come back next month! Let us know! We’d all love to get together again sometime! Abby, thank you SOOOOOOO much for generously paying for all of our dinners! That was very sweet and kind of you!

We will have a group picture at some point (we decided to have Colby use Abby’s camera to take the group shot) but for now here are the pictures of Jules. If you EVER get a chance to meet Jules, definitely do what you can to do so. She’s an amazing photographer and such a sweet person. Not only that but she is willing to share her wealth of information with you!

Poor Jules was freezing! She’s a true California girl!

Jen Shannon Photography, Chicago Wedding Photographer

Monica Starr Brown

My little disclaimer: This photo was taken by Scarlett Lillian during Monica’s “Spend a day with” session. This photo is from her Facebook page.

Monica’s Blog

Monica’s Website

Follow Monica on Twitter

Fan Monica on Facebook

I’ve had the privilege of knowing Monica personally for most of my life. Her little sister, Megan, is my best friend of 20 years. While Monica and I seemed like ages apart back in grade school we’ve learned we have a ton in common as adults. I took a trip out to spend a week with Monica last April and that seemed like the turning point of my photography career. Monica is very unique and has a distinct style. She was able to help me perfect my style and inspire me to continue building on it. I could write a ton about her here but there isn’t enough space on WordPress for that!

I will say this though. Monica is the kick in the butt I needed to pursue my dreams. I remember it like it was yesterday. I was unhappy with business school and really wanted to go into an art major. I was over at her parent’s house hanging out with Megan when Monica came and said, “Come look at what I’m doing!” So I walked into their other sister’s old room (Mandy) and she started showing me all the stuff she had worked on for her portfolio and some design work she was doing on the computer. I said, “What are you going to school for that you get to do all of this stuff that is so fun that I only get to do in my spare time???” She then explained to me about graphic design and such. By then I had already gotten into photography and realized Monica was also really into it. I thought for all of a minute about changing my major and said, “Yup! I’m going to do that!” I haven’t looked back since I changed my mind. Monica also wrote my recommendation letter to get into Columbia College Chicago. Anyway, I’m super thankful to have Monica in my life.

1. What inspires me about her work?

Monica has exactly what I said Jules Bianchi had last week… A signature style. I can look at a photo and know right away that it is Monica’s. She’s able to capture the emotions of each person she photographs in a way that you feel it too. From a piercing stare to a laughing child, you feel the emotion.

2. What inspires me about her?

Monica and I frequently chat over the internet about just about everything. I think what inspires me the most about Monica is that she is always coming up with innovative ways to be unique. She listens to her clients and what they want and she’s able to come up with things completely unique that reflect her style but is exactly what her client wants. She also has a design background which sets her apart from so many other photographers because of her ability to design her own album layouts, book layouts, cards, etc. I think being unique is a blessing and a curse because on one hand you’re setting the trend but on the other hand you have copy cats that steal your ideas. Some say it’s the greatest form of flattery which I would venture to say is true.

3. What is your favorite blog article?

One of my favorites was more recently. She took a trip to Aspen and was able to capture the beauty of the fall colors in what seemed like the winter time (because it was so cold). I have a special place in my heart for landscape photography because the beautiful Florida sunset landscapes is what got me into photography, not to mention that fall is my favorite time of year. I’m attracted to vibrant , crisp, clear, and clean colors and photographs.

Click here to read the article.

4. How did you find Monica?

Let’s see… Her parents were building a house that was a larger version of our house at the same time ours was being built in a neighborhood where at the time there were only 8 houses… It wasn’t hard to find other families in the neighborhood! LOL! Anyway, seriously though, I’ve known Monica for forever and it wasn’t until we were grown up that we realized we had so much in common.

5. If you could ever meet Monica, what would you want to learn from her?

That’s another tough one. I have met Monica and I have learned soooooo much from her!

So to Monica, you’re work is awesome and amazing. I’m so glad I’ve had the opportunity to learn from you and know you! It’s a shame other people won’t have the opportunity to get to know you because you’re an awesome person! You’re work is a huge inspiration to me and I know other people feel the same way. Keep knocking it out of the park! Rock on!!

Jules Bianchi

My little disclaimer: This photograph is not my photograph. I don’t know who took it but it was taken directly from Jules’ Facebook Page.

Jules Bianchi’s Blog

Jules Bianchi’s Website

Follow Jules on Twitter

Fan Jules on Facebook

Jules Bianchi is another one of my favorite photographers. I should warn you that I’ll probably be starting every blog post like this, “So and So is another one of my favorite photographers.” Mainly because it is true. I have so many favorites. Jules is a well seasoned professional in the wedding photographer industry. She also does lifestyle and pet photography and I’m sure tons of other work that we never get to see, but with over 10 years of experience you can bet she’s a wealth of knowledge.

1. What inspires me about her work?

Jules has what most of us would call a “signature look” to her photographs. I can usually always look at a photo and know that it is hers. Similar to Jamie’s, I love the clean, crisp, bright, and clear aspects of her photographs.

2. What inspires me about her?

She’s been in this business a long time. She knows what works, what doesn’t, how to inspire clients, and how to inspire other photographers. I love the way she puts her personality into her blog so you get a sense of who she is. She seems bubbly and bright which is a positive when you’re looking for a photographer.

3. What is your favorite blog article?

I don’t think I really have a favorite though I think this was one of my favorite weddings. I love the way she was able to capture the “cute couple” factor of this couple. The colors are bright and vibrant.

Click here to read the post.

This other one took me some time to find and dig out but I found it! This wedding has stuck out to me the most. There’s a photo, the 25th one down, that has always stuck in my head from this post. I love how Jules is almost like a fly on the wall spying on “the happy couple” as they enjoy their newly married moments with each other.

Click here to read the post.

4. How did you find Jules?

I found Jules through a friend of mine, Monica Starr Brown, who recommended that I go to Kevin Kubota’s Bootcamp workshop. She had met and listened to Jules speak there. Since then I’ve been a follower. I love her work.

5. If you could ever meet Jules, what would you want to learn from her?

I’d like to learn to have her confidence. I suppose that comes with the experience she has. I’d love to see how she interacts with her clients and  I’d love to meet Olive (her dog)! She also has a great book you should purchase called Olive Goes to Hollywood that is super cute!

So to Jules, keep being an inspiration to all of us! Your work is amazing and your years and talent in the industry shows through your work. Rock on!!