My PINK Saturday

My Saturday began at 4:30am with a pick through my pink hair, a pair of pink Strawberry Shortcake knee-high socks, pink capris, pink earrings, nose ring, pink mascara, pink eye shadow, and a purple team shirt.  PINK overkill?  Nah.  Just the perfect look for a perfect day at an amazing event.Saturday, September 14th marked my 3rd year photographing the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. I shoot for all of the survivors, their family and friends; but most importantly to  honor my Mom, a 13 year breast cancer survivor.  I take great pride in what I do and I love that I have the ability to share it with so many people.

Each year, I am joined by other local photographers that are awesome enough to donate their time and talent to covering this HUGE event.  This year, I had the privilege of working with these 4 amazing individuals: Sarah R. of Sarah Anne Photography, Samantha G. of SJG Photography, Lisa H. of Hezlep Photography, and Adam G. of Gabbard Photography.

L-R: Angie, my camera and human wrangler, Lindsey (me,) Sarah, Samantha, Lisa, and Adam.

Not only did I have a great shooting team to work with, but I was fortunate to have my Grandma K. graciously manning my booth space for a 3rd year.

And if that wasn’t enough, my favorite henna artist, Jill Jaiswall hung out at my booth too; offering up some free henna to race participants.Prior to all the running and walking, people congregated around the GABP for some breakfast at the Komen Kafe, takeaways throughout the sponsor expo, and a Jazzercize warm-up on the main stage.This year’s event consisted of a 10K run (8am,) a 5K run/walk (9am,) and a 2K family fun walk (9:30am.)THIS is the 5K crowd and THESE images do not do this crowd justice.
(And the purple shirt with the cutest kid in the world on his shoulders… those are my boys.)Did I mention that I love making new friends?The route took participants across and along the Ohio River, via two bridges and along the Newport Levy.All culminating at my absolute favorite shooting spot… the finish line.And if I could post all 700+ images from that spot on this blog, I would. (But, for those that do want to check out ALL of those finish line shots, I offer up this link.) The smiles, tears, hugs and high-fives were never-ending.  And I do not lie, my human wrangler, Angie has to drag me, kicking and screaming from the finish line every year to make the next deadline in the stadium.

So, what happens inside the Great American Ball Park, you ask?  First, the kids take to the field (well, the brown dirt part around the field) for the Annual Kids Fun Run!And then, every year Komen gets a group shot of all of the survivors in a creative way.  For the 2nd year in a row, this magic was created in the stands (baseball is apparently still happening.)  And along with the group photo, survivors and guests are entertained by performers and speakers. The speakers are amazing. The performances are amazing. The crowd is amazing. The survivors are amazing.  And the entire day (though it is over before noon) is beyond amazing and I cannot wait for next year.

And if you were at the race and would like to find yourself in the crowd OR if you would just like to see all the fun that was missed, please visit my website for the complete collection of images from the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 2013.

I will end this post with a series of photographer action shots. ❤ Lindsey

Race for the Cure 2012

Last Saturday was the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Cincinnati, Ohio.  The event is both the largest and the most inspiring event for me to photograph.  This year I teamed up with another 5 photographers, 4 of which are fellow FILM Project photographers.My shooting crew (left to right): Adam Gabbard, Gabbard Photography; Lindsey Driscoll (me,) Eclectically for You Photography; Pamela Stevens, Stevens Photography; Sarah Richardson, Sarah Anne Photography; Amanda Davidson, Amanda Davidson Photography; and Samantha Gunning, SJG Photography

Our morning started around 7am down at the Great American Ballpark and we spidered out from there.

The mainstage provided check presentations as well as the National Anthem, sung by Eben Franckewitz (American Idol.)  Frank Marzullo, from Fox19 acted as MC, along with Jeff and Fritsch from Q102.

8am began the first ever Race for the Cure 10K!  And 9am led the way for the 5K (survivor/family walk.)  Leading the walk, as they’d done many times in the past, were the girls in Pink from Fox19, Sheila Gray, Tricia Mackey, Stephanie Woods, and Katy Morgan.  Once the crowd passed by (which, by the way went down several blocks and wrapped around the corner) we hopped off of the scissor lift and headed straight for the finish line.   This is by far my favorite location to shoot.  The high fives, the tears, the success! Words cannot describe the emotions underneath the big, pink inflatable finish line.  Runners, walkers and survivors were greeted by Jay Kruz with Rewind 94.9, cheerleaders, and bunches of cheering spectators.  Survivors were given medals as they crossed their finish line.

(I don’t normally prefer to show off my backside, but…) I’d like you to meet Josie.  I photographed her last year as she danced in the flash mob.  I met her again this year.  She’s been through it, going through it again and still always with a smile on her face.Photos by: SJG Photography

Immediately following the race, came the Kids for the Cure race inside of the GABP.  The finale is the Celebration of Hope Survivor Ceremony.  Awards are handed out to some of the race finishers, as well as some of the amazing teams and individuals that raised an outstanding amount of money for the cure.  Our MCs for the event were Frank Marzullo with Fox 19, Brian (a fellow Kings alumni and photographer) and Laura from Q102.  Eben also returned to sing “What a Wonderful World” during the balloon release.And for my finale, I climbed onto a knuckle truck (I’m getting pretty good at knowing my lifts) and grabbed some shots of the amazing sea of pink, smiling and waving at me from the stands.  Again, no words…And now you’re thinking, “Seriously, 6 photographers; 19 thousand attendees and that’s all the images you’ve got to post?!”  I have tons, literally TONS of images to go through.  I am working as fast as I can and will have EVERY SINGLE IMAGE posted as soon as possible on my website.  Please check back for new additions: www.eclecticallyforyou.com/Events/Race-for-the-Cure

A special shout-out, hugs and kisses to my mother.  A 12 year breast cancer survivor!  Looking amazing in pink.  Photo by: Amanda Davidson Photography (ground-level)

Big hugs and thank you’s to my family and friends for being there.  And to my bestie, Angie for carrying the clipboard for the day. 😉

Survivor Portrait Sessions
I am hosting my 2nd annual day of mini-sessions (family portraits) for breast cancer survivors and their friends/family on October 20th at the Heritage Village, inside Sharon Woods.  For more information, please click this link or visit my website, under the “EfyP Events” tab.

Race for the Cure is Coming

This gallery contains 3 photos.

Two weeks from today is the annual Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Cincinnati.  This will be my second year photographing the event and I am beside myself with excitement.  My mother is a 10 year+ breast cancer … Continue reading →

For the Dads.

This gallery contains 3 photos.

I wished all of the Mommies a Happy Mother’s Day in May, so of course I wasn’t about to neglect all of the Daddies out there! First, Happy Father’s Day to my husband, father to our 4 year old son:Happy … Continue reading →

My Weekend at the Asian Food Fest

This gallery contains 30 photos.

The weekend of May 19th (and 20th) was a rather chaotic stretch for me.  My Saturday started with the annual Walk for Angelman Syndrome down at Theodore Berry Friendship Park. I have a personal connection to the cause, so I … Continue reading →

March for Babies, Clermont County

Saturday morning started with a BANG!  Literally.  A big boom of thunder beat my alarm clock by about 1 minute.  5:59am.  I was due over at Miami Meadows Park by 7am to help photograph the Clermont County March for Babies event.  What a beautiful day for a walk.

Fortunately, after the storm wore itself out, the skies stayed dry through the actual event; though it was pretty darn cold.  Even with the dreary weather, walk participants and supporters showed up in droves.

I photographed alongside a local sports photographer that has some personal ties to the cause.  Upon meeting him face-to-face, I realized that this was not my first time meeting him.

From the Summer of ’98 to the Summer of ’99, I worked as a front desk/lab tech at a Motophoto franchise.  I was the only employee, working very closely with someone that turned out to be one of my all-time favorite bosses.  And being a small, family-owned shop, we had many loyal and frequent customers.  One of them being David Miller, of Photos by David Miller.  I remember certain people, and he was a memorable one.  He shot mainly sports/team photos that we processed for him.  With his non-sports photos, he preferred black & white photographs with a sepia tone to them.  Being that this was during the film-era (hah!) you had to create those hues in camera, with film and with processing; not in [enter digital processing program here.]  He wanted a certain look and my boss accomplished that look for him.  I tried.  I wasn’t as successful.

So anyway, jump 13 years forward, and here we are working side by side.  I love those Small World moments.  And I really love it when I realize that my memory does still work on occasion!

From what I observed, the walk was a total success!  And again, even from under the hoodies and behind the shivers, there were smiles all around.

My Spring visit to the Ronald McDonald House

For those of you that are unfamiliar with the Ronald McDonald House and the services that they provide, PLEASE visit their website and read up.  What an A-M-A-Z-I-N-G organization.  The RMH is a nationwide organization (and trust me, I do not do them justice with my brief description) that provides a “home-away-from-home” for families currently seeking treatment at a neighboring children’s hospital facility.  These families travel from all over the world to receive therapies and procedures for their children.  RMH provides them with a place to stay, food for their bellies and a community environment shared with other families in similar circumstances. Crazy-Amazing organization.

My first visit to the Ronald McDonald House (with camera in hand) was during last year’s holiday season.  Santa Claus stopped in to collect the kids’ wish lists and toy requests. He brought along some presents and a pair of dancing Christmas trees.  Each child took turns sitting on Santa’s lap and smiling for my camera.  It was a blast!

This trip (last Thursday) was to provide mini Spring/Easter-themed portrait sessions to any residing families that were interested.

So let me start by describing just how packed my mini-mini van was.  It was PACKED.  I had studio lighting, backdrop stands and backdrops (the folding kind and the rolled-in-the-tube kind.)  I had props like crazy.  It was Easter themed, so I HAD to have over-sized eggs and a basket.  I had my beanbag chair, just in case I had any new babies.  I had stools, blankets, faux fur rugs, flowers, my brand new, really cute baby flower cart, etc.  If it fit, it was in my car.  And if it didn’t fit, well I tried.

I borrowed a concierge cart to haul my studio goodies from the parking lot to the determined set-up area inside the Ronald McDonald House.  It worked wonderfully.  Although, if anyone was watching, I’m sure they got a great show.  There is a 45 degree (that’s a total guess) decline (to)/ incline (from) my car to the front door. The empty cart trip down to my car was a somewhat terrifying journey, with the cart trying to go much faster than my legs care to go.  The loaded trip up just reminded me how crazy it is that I can completely master photographing/chasing a two year old for hours on end, but somehow cannot handle a brief hike up a very small mountain for two minutes.

After I caught my breath and unloaded the cart, I spent a few minutes determining which equipment I was actually going to be using.  After all, these were mini-sessions, meaning that they would last about twenty minutes each, with about 5 minutes in between.  In a full studio set-up, you would generally use 2-3 lights.  With my available (ambient, very vibrant natural sun) lighting, I opted for a single, simple soft box.  The big purple bag could’ve stayed in the car after all.

I then decided that I really should just keep it simple and stick with one backdrop.  After all, a 20 minute, prop-loaded session really doesn’t need a bunch of background changes to make beautiful images in the end.  And, these are kids that I’m photographing; kids that probably don’t need/want to be moved over and over for different backdrops. So BLUE vinyl backdrop it is! (BUSTED: I did actually use my white muslin for a few shots of a larger group (3) of kids.)

I will say that while I didn’t use my beanbag chair, my flower cart, or ANY of my blankets,  I did make use of all of my other props at least once. (Could’ve left about 50% of my prop stash in the car.) The bunny ears were an absolute hit, as were the eggs.  Babies REALLY like to bang eggs together.  I even got to use my newborn, hand-crocheted bunny outfit. 

These families have been through a lot, but for 20 minutes those kids pulled out their “cheeses” and put on the smiles and the funny faces (and the bunny ears.)  I think they kinda had fun and maybe even enjoyed the experience. 😉

It was pointed out to me that so many of these families haven’t had any recent portraits taken; all of the hospital visits, treatments, and long journeys from home just don’t allow the freedom to do so.  And so I will make sure to come back every few months to offer up my services for these amazing families and this incredible organization.

Next time, I will probably pack a little lighter.

The Lucas Family

This gallery contains 2 photos.

I have been photographing the Lucas Family for a few years now.  I believe my very first session with them was before their youngest was even born. (See below) This past weekend, he celebrated his third birthday.  I love watching … Continue reading →