Wayne Images

We're on PhotoShelter

2010-12-03T06:40:00.001-08:00

Check us out at http://wayneimages.photoshelter.com. It will serve as our new print house, as well as our place to download pictures from client events. We're also working on building up or stock photo collection, so visit often.

A slideshow from our trip to Haiti

2010-11-05T12:18:00.000-07:00

Siblings Gabe and Karman Wright!

2010-10-17T05:15:00.000-07:00

Where Love Dwells: Haiti

2010-09-21T17:14:00.000-07:00

Here are pictures that we displayed during the art show. Some are available for purchase with the proceeds going to the people of Haiti through World Renewal International. WRI supports an orphanage with 27 children and nine churches. If you're interested in buying one just let me know. The framed prints are $500 and the unframed prints are $200. Each photograph is signed and numbered. Printing is limited to 100.

The Words in Red (Sold Out, may be special ordered)

Windows to the Soul (unframed available)

Well Children (both framed and unframed available)

Welan (unframed available)

Untitled (unframed available)

Sunday Worship (both framed and unframed available)

Souri! Smile! (both framed and unframed available)

Rainy Day Market (unframed available)

Praying to Jesus (both framed and unframed available, framed is $50 off)

Prayer Warriors II (Sold Out)

Prayer Warriors I (both framed and unframed available)

Praise II (both framed and unframed available)

Praise I (both framed and unframed available)

Off to School (framed available)

Market day (both framed and unframed available)

Joyous Reunion (Sold Out)

Tap Tap (Sold Out)

The Next Generation (both framed and unframed available)

Forever Friends (unframed available)

Faces of Joy (both framed and unframed available)

Curiosity (unframed available)

Chores (both framed and unframed available)

Child of God (framed available)

Chicken Dinner (unframed available)

Bridging Cultures II (both framed and unframed available)

Bridging Cultures I (both framed and unframed available)

Welcome to Isabella Hurst

2010-09-20T05:39:00.000-07:00

Morgan and Brandon!

2010-06-25T08:31:00.000-07:00

Elise and Stephen!

2010-06-19T08:29:00.000-07:00

Rachel and David!

2010-06-05T08:25:00.000-07:00

Megan and Adam!

2010-06-04T08:21:00.000-07:00

Jacquelyn and Bob!

2010-05-29T08:17:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth and David!

2010-05-08T08:12:00.000-07:00

Beth and Josh!

2010-04-24T07:59:00.000-07:00

Stephanie and Terrance!

2010-04-17T08:08:00.000-07:00

Art Show this Saturday!

2010-04-08T07:59:00.000-07:00

We're gearing up for another showing of Where Love Dwells: Haiti. It's a photographic art show to benefit Haiti. This time it will be at Brandywine Community Church in Greenfield this Saturday, April 10. The church is at the corner of New and Blue roads, 1551 E. New Road to be exact. It runs from 6 to 8 p.m.

From noon to 6 p.m. the day of the show we'll be collecting supplies to send down there. Here's a list of what is needed:

* Metal Roofing 26 guage (2'x12' sheets)
* 1 HP Submersible Pump
* 500' #6/3 service entrance cable wire
* Children's Clothing - summer only, boys & girls, infant - 12 years old
* New Mattress (30 single) (30 single mattress covers)
* New Towels
* Motor Scooter Parts
* Speakers - Keyboard - Mixer
* Cash donation for shipping costs or to buy supplies
Max Wright is heading up the supply drive and can be reached at 317-590-6099 if you have specific questions.

The last time we put together an art show I was crazy busy with all the details, the printing, gathering easels, the music, delivering and picking up the prints from the framers (thank you Gordy's!!!!), etc., etc. Now, I'm more at ease having done most of the work already.

We'll have framed photographs on display from our trip there in October. Those, along with unframed copies will be available for purchase with 100 percent of the proceeds going to Haiti through World Renewal International.

We'll also have blank note cards available featuring pictures from the trip.

We hope to see you there.

Update from Haiti for Sunday 2/21/10 AD

2010-02-21T17:14:00.000-08:00

Feb 21st
Listening to the singing of church members as I awake about 8am... people living in tents... outside the enclosed compound that I slept in … the neighborhood rings of the praises to God for life … quite frankly they seem to be more joyful than I to see a new day, God’s Day. Maybe the toils of travel have taken a little of my joy? I love God as they do, they are singing and I am not? But will soon.

The afternoon has been spent trying to encourage Bin, and help her with the revision of her web site, she needed some tech help, just like so many things in Haiti you take what you can get … me … I’m not as knowledgeable as you would hope for … but the young man who was helping her died in the quake. It was important to her that I gave some guidance … she was up all night trying to see the area’s she need help.

All but one of her transition children have now left Haiti … the earthquake did have a few blessings … expediting those children’s adoption who’s papers were very nearly ready

Bin is preparing the house that once contained children waiting for their adoptions to go thru, into a guest house, that will house those who come to help with disaster relief needs. She received a quote for 12 beds yesterday, and sent out an e-mail today to a medical team wanting to come.
Mosquitoes are bad … can’t write for scratching.

Update from Haiti

2010-02-20T15:15:00.000-08:00

Max Wright is in Port-au-Prince right now, he shares his thoughts

Haiti trip thoughts

Feb 18th
3:30-pm Flight to Fort Lauderdale uneventful, ate dinner, trying to hit the sack early, received a call from my wife, Spirit Airlines called and canceled the morning flight to Haiti … stated that it was due to the earth quake, offer another flight on the 24th, after much conversation, and not making progress went to bed trusting God for the morning travel.

Feb 19th
Checked all the options that were reasonable and about 10:30am found 2 seats on American Airlines book them and headed to turn in rental car to catch the 2:30pm flight.
Upon arrival at the terminal it became apparent that Spirit Airline pilots were on strike, they had apparently lied when they said that the cancellation was due to the earthquake disaster.
As we were getting ready to board the plane, they ask for a moment of silence, stating this was the first commercial flight into Haiti since the quake, the silence was maybe 5 minutes … quite long to be done for show, and I sensed it was a real reverence for what has happened. Arrived PAP at 5:00pm to find for the first time a standard passenger ramp leading directly into a walkway that paralleled the old terminal. Then exited back outside to get on buses to go to a newly constructed building for immigrations and customs. Met my friend had a late dinner, back in Haiti at last.

Feb 20th
As I travel around the city of Port au Prince today … the earthquake devastation is quite unbelievable … but it’s real…. For those whose homes are no more ….it’s a nightmare. For business it is equally devastating, in that many of business can not reopen due to structural damage, so their employee’s are now without work.

Before the quake many saw this city as a disaster area, with over crowing, high crime, crumbling resources, but now it really is.

Entire areas of the city have home after home … nothing but rubble. Any area that has been cleared away or somewhat vacant has is now occupied by a makeshift tents.

Life for some is unbelievably harsh, and everyone is affected.

The resilience of the Haitian people is amazing. 4 weeks after the earthquake, vendors are on the street, food vendors, little lean-to shops selling shoes, jeans, dresses, charcoal, a charge for you cell phone. The inventiveness of the people to make do with what has been drug out of the rubble.

SO today it’s 84 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. What kind of further disaster will come as the rainy season comes, hillsides that have rubble, may wash a way taking, with it tents and people. Creating a muddy mess that not only is hard to deal with, but most probably will cause the spread of disease, as human waste starts running the streets, hill and gullies. Although I did see a few port potties, maybe 6 or 8 places over the city, with a population of hundreds of thousands?

The Haitian people will survive; they are strong willed people that have paid a high price for the incompetence and greed of the leadership of the country. They will survive.

With God’s help they can thrive.

I do question whether the world has the intestinal fortitude to see the thru the rebuilding of Haiti to something much better than it has been in resent years. The American public has no stomach for the hard thing in life, war, poverty, disaster, even when it directly affects us.

As I visited a hotel and shop complex that was completely demolished, there is a spirit of sadness, so many have lost their life. Places I have been before that are no more. The large Caribbean market that has so many of the goodie of life, and charged what I perceived exurbanite price is no more, all the finery and high prices don’t exist now.

Schools with 600 students flatten, rubble, most of students dead.

With all the disaster, life is moving forward, I saw a young man teenager, among one of tent cities, with his MP3 player around his neck, earphones enjoying the music.

Where Love Dwells: Haiti

2010-02-18T12:36:00.001-08:00

A photographic journey with Perry and Jeri Reichanadter to benefit the people of Haiti.
Thursday, March 4, 2010 @ 5 p.m.- 8 p.m. with remarks at 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. Inside The Star Press Building 345 S. High St., Muncie, Indiana.
Meet the photographers and missionaries who visited the country in October 2009. Framed and unframed prints will be available with 100 percent of the proceeds going to Haiti through World Renewal International.
Special thanks to M Magazine an Gordy's Fine Art & Framing.

She said YES!

2010-02-06T07:02:00.000-08:00

Perry had the pleasure of photographing a proposal earlier this week. It was a totally romantic idea by Ronald. He had Perry meet him and his girlfriend along the canal one evening as they went for an after dinner walk. Perry was to pretend like he was just out taking pictures for a class. Then, Perry would ask if he could photograph them, that's when Ronald would pop the question. It went off exactly as planned and Perry said it was great fun. He had a blast working with Ronald!

The situation in Haiti has broken my heart

2010-01-16T08:51:00.000-08:00

Following is the story I wrote for The Star Press following the earthquake. I'm so blessed that they allowed me to publish it.

Surviving in Haiti is a daily struggle on the best of days. Poverty is rampant. Food is limited and clean water is not available for more than half of the population. The streets are littered with trash, sewers are usually open if they exist at all. The land itself is dusty, covering people with a fine layer of grime whenever they travel. Education is a luxury. Those were the best of days.
At 4:53 p.m. Tuesday things got worse. That’s when the 7.0 earthquake struck 10 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince. It’s hard to imagine how they’ll recover. Seeing the pictures and videos coming in from there brings tears to my eyes and an ache to my heart.
I was on my way home from the grocery store when I heard the first report that a massive earthquake had hit the country. Tears stung my eyes and I reached for the phone to call Max Wright, the man who’d lead our team of six with World Renewal International, on a mission trip there in October. He didn’t answer, so I began to pray for the people there.
My mind was racing, wondering if Pastor Luc Joseph and his family, along with the 27 orphans were OK. They’d stolen our hearts. So much so that I’ve said many times since my return that I left my heart in Haiti. I wondered if the neighbors were OK, especially the children we played with under the giant mango tree and at the well. I wondered about Ben, the woman who’d met us at the airport in Port-au-Prince.
“Oh no,” I thought. “She lives in the capital city.”
Max called me back before I got home and told me that he hadn’t been able to reach anyone yet. While that’s unsettling it’s not unnerving. We’re talking about an impoverished country a with delicate infrastructure. He said that he didn’t believe Luc and the children would be affected but was concerned about Ben.
Without cable at home I waited anxiously for the evening news to come on, but it didn’t tell us much. I felt helpless; I wanted to do something. I wanted to go there and help the wounded. I wanted to document what was going on and get the stories back to the states. I didn’t want to sit in my home and wait for someone to tell me the news, but that’s all I could do. My husband and I prayed and sent out prayer requests on Facebook.
After dinner I e-mailed with a young man who contacted me after my Haiti series ran a few weeks ago. The high school junior lives in Miami and hadn’t been able to reach his family in Jacmel. We went back and forth for a little while; he was pretty scared. I felt even more helpless. I prayed some more and went to bed.
Wednesday I left my usual beat, Yorktown, and have been consumed with stories about Haiti.
We’ve heard through many of the news organizations and social networking sites that cell communication is out in much of the nation. Cell phones are the major source of communication there but have only been prevalent there for the past three years. It’s a five-year wait for a landline, and say you want electricity, be prepared to wait one year. Well, that was in the old Haiti anyway.

Don’t panic
Max Wright has gotten word that his friend Ben Barrow who lives in Port-au-Prince is safe. Barrow is an American NGO (non-government worker) who’s been in Haiti for nearly 30 years. She runs a transition house for orphans being adopted from Haiti. In her care they learn some English or French depending on where they’re going, and learn about the modern lifestyle they’ll experience when they leave the impoverished nation.
Max stressed that we don’t need to panic if we haven’t heard from our loved ones.
He hopes to travel there soon to help the people he’s met during his more than 30 visits to Haiti. He’ll either help them rebuild or find new places to live. WRI will also be raising money to benefit those in need.

On her way
Just this past Sunday I met Alexa Tarter, a young woman with a heart for Haiti. She was visiting my church with her friend who invited my husband and me to have breakfast with them following the service. Her home church is The Mercy House, a church plant of the Muncie Alliance Church. Alexa has been to Haiti five times and loves the people there. The young teacher hoped to return there during spring break and again during summer break this year. Since the quake, her plans have changed. She’ll be leaving from Michigan in the next couple of days with a group called Haiti Foundation Against Poverty.
The foundation spoke with Haitian Fraentz Neptune who was in Port-au-Prince yesterday. He said that people thought it was the end of the world, that they thought the earthquake was happening everywhere.
“There’s no education or procedures for earthquake awareness,” Alexa said. “People were reacting like it was a hurricane, going into buildings and some basements.”
Mallery Thurlow who runs the foundation could hear loud screams the whole time she was on the phone with Fraentz. He told her that he’d traveled along the road of Delmas, a major thoroughfare and that everything was flattened. He saw many people crushed and others who were stuck. Since the electricity was out, rescue efforts were held off until morning.
Once Alexa gets there her group will aid in the search and rescue efforts; they’ll also search for the people they support there. They’ll try to set up a plan for bringing more missionaries to Haiti to help with emergency medical shelters.
“I hope that people will consider giving their time to go on a medical mission; a lot of help is needed,” Alexa said.
Alexa and her group will be laden down with donations. Hancock Regional Hospital in Greenfield has esentially opened up their supply closet to the group. Tracey Roberts, McCordsville, went to the hospital and they filled her van with emergent care items. Everything from masks to diapers from steri strips to sponges.
"I can't believe this," Tracey said. "God is so good."
Still planning to go
Gene Pollic, Winchester, has traveled to Japan, Spain, Russia, Germany, the Dominican Republic and Mexico with OMS International over the years. But when he and his wife, Shelba, visited Haiti in 1979 they fell in love with it.
“We just love the people and country,” Gene said.
They’ve been to Haiti nearly 40 times. He told me that a group of about 20 people have had a mission trip planned for Jan. 31 to the area near Jeremie. They were planning to put in an industrial washing machine at the orphanage that serves 120 children with a staff of six. They also support three churches there; one was to get a new roof, another a roof repair and the third is still under construction.
So far the trip is still a go and they’ll head to the orphanage and churches as planned. “But we may be redirected, we just don’t know,” Pollic said.
In the mean time I’ll continue to pray for the safety and recovery of the people of Haiti and those going to help them. How will they ever recover from this? God only knows.

Haiti Part 1: Culture Shock

2010-01-11T07:04:00.000-08:00

Journalist Jeri Reichanadter traveled to Haiti with World Renewal International and Brandywine Community Church. Also on the journey were pastors Mark Wright and Paul Galbraith, elder Brad Gray, Max Wright and Jeri's husband, photographer Perry Reichanadter. This story is the first in a four-day series.

HAITI -- Stay close to me, don't give your bags to anyone unless I tell you and don't take any pictures. The instructions given to me by Max Wright ran through my head as I stepped off the plane in Port Au Prince that October day.

Max had been to Haiti 35 times, he was the leader for our six-person mission trip and knew what was best. I needed to listen to him. Dry hot air and jet fuel invaded my senses as I crossed the tarmac to go inside the airport. I wanted to stray from Max and the rest of our party. I wanted to raise my camera and photograph the plane and the people streaming down the steps with the mountain backdrop. I wanted to capture some video of the musicians playing Haitian music just inside the door of the airport. I wanted to look around.

Max had warned us, multiple times, about the voodoo history of Haiti. He'd told us that those who practiced it thought that cameras stole their souls. He warned us that people would get very, very angry if we didn't get their permission first.

"Stay close to Max," I said to myself. There'll be plenty of stories to photograph during our upcoming week, safety first. Wait, be patient.

OK, so I snuck a picture or two while I was waiting in line at customs. They didn't turn out, really; I've never been very good at shooting from the hip.

I realized pretty quickly that I wasn't in America anymore. Someone from the airport had gathered all of our bags from the carousel and put them in a pile for us. They'd recognized our World Renewal International tags. Wow, that's serious service; you don't get that in Indy.

As we neared the door, suddenly people were shouting to us in French, or was it Haitian Creole? Whatever it was, I didn't know what they were saying. But I figured out they wanted to carry our bags for tips. Beyond the parking lot, skinny dark arms stretched out through the fence with hands hoping to be filled with a handout. You don't get that in Indy either.

Our bags were piled into the back of our private tap tap. With only 2 or 3 percent of the population able to drive, the tap tap is the main mode of transportation. It's generally a small, 4-wheel-drive pickup. They travel along a preplanned route and when you're ready to get off you tap on the roof or the side of the vehicle.

In front of our baggage-laden tap tap was a SUV standing by with Mark Wright already in the backseat. Suddenly, someone took my hand and guided me into the backseat next to Mark -- it was our host Pastor Luc Joseph. He doesn't speak much English, so it's easier to communicate with a kind smile and press of the hand. Then my husband, Perry, piled in next to me. Cozy quarters I thought for the 90-mile, five-and-a-half-hour drive to Gonaives.

Suck it up, did you think this was going to be easy? Say a prayer, you'll do fine, you can take pictures out the window along the way, as long as we're moving. Max is riding in the front seat. Wait, where are Brad, Paul and Luc going to ride?

I stare out the front of the dust-covered windshield to see Paul and Luc climb into the back of the pick-up. Brad's in the front seat, they'll eventually take turns riding in the back. The idea of them riding in the back of a pickup truck for five and half hours sent me into a mild panic. No seatbelts, no air bags, no doors! I was glad Paul's mom wasn't there to see her 22-year-old pride and joy bouncing around back there.

You're here to do the Lord's work, He'll keep everyone safe. People have been praying for this trip for weeks and there's probably someone praying right now, maybe even Paul's mother. Chill out. Everything will be fine. Before you know it, you'll be at Luc's home getting to know the 27 orphans the family cares for.

Driving on the streets of Haiti is not like driving in America. There's no lines, no rules, no order. It's a true free-for-all, everyone trying to get to their destination as fast as they can.

Our driver drove with a thumb on the horn posed to beep at anyone or anything that got in his way. Trucks shared the dusty road with groups of uniformed school children, women carrying all kinds of things on their heads, motorbikes, an assortment of loose animals and trash.

Some roads are paved, some are just dirt, others are made with large, flat rocks to help with traction during the rainy season -- giving us the sensation of riding on a giant washboard. We pass by several giant potholes that would easily swallow a Smart Car.

In town, streets are lined with graffiti-covered walls that surrounded the homes, open sewer systems running along the sidewalk and tiny stores bunched in together. In the country, cactus surrounds the homes, the sidewalks and sewers disappeared and the stores were fewer and father between. The one thing both the town and country have in common was the brightly painted shacks with the word BANK emblazoned on it.

"What's with all the banks" I asked Max.

"Those are lotteries," Max said. "Many of the people put their hopes in winning the lottery, not in God."

Every so often we'd come upon a makeshift market. Both sides of the street would be lined with people selling their wares from blankets spread out on the ground, boxes balanced upon their heads and roughly constructed shelters. Sometimes the sellers would spill out into the streets, creating a traffic jam if more than one vehicle tried to pass at a time. Many times the truck would come to a halt and the air would be filled with a cacophony of people shouting, engines puttering, horns blaring. Giant trucks would be squeezed in so close to ours that I thought we'd both lose our side mirrors.

Our truck would eventually be spit out on the other side and take off like a shot reaching the high 70s. On more than one occasion we played chicken with an oncoming vehicle. After that, I stopped looking out the front window.

We eventually turned onto an alley and stopped outside a cinderblock wall with a giant, solid metal gate. It was faded red with an ornamental design on top. Dusty and exhausted, we'd finally made it to Luc and Rosanna's home in Gonaives.

Haiti Part 2: Reality Strikes

2010-01-11T07:02:00.000-08:00

HAITI -- Luc and Rosanna Joseph have worked hard to make our stay here comfortable. The area they live in would be comparable to Yorktown by Haitian standards. But it's still incredibly impoverished and lacks basic resources I've taken for granted.
Clean water for example. None of the homes have running water, but there's a Unicef well located in their neighborhood, about a quarter mile from the Joseph home. It serves the small community of about 100 people. Children gather around the well and wait their turn to slide their five-gallon bucket under the spigot and take charge of the long handle to pump. Most will balance the full buckets on their heads for the journey back home.
The water is fine for cleaning, cooking and bathing. But we Americans can't drink it. We spend the week nursing bottled water, Coca-Cola from glass bottles and fresh-squeezed juices. For us, visiting the well is fun. We get to play with the neighbor children and take pictures of them. But I can't imagine having to make this trek multiple times a day, every day to sustain life.
Flushing toilets are a great invention and a luxury you won't find in this neighborhood. The Joseph family is one of few in the area that has an outhouse. I preferred visiting it more in the daytime than at night when the flip-phone-sized cockroaches would come out and watch you from their perch on the wall. We showered under the stars using a bucket of water and a bowl.
The family had been waiting for electricity for a year. On day two of our visit there they finally got it. When they turned on the light in the middle of the day the 27 children and family started shouting "Praise Jesus," and they broke out into a song that I couldn't understand. It was very exciting.
The electrical connection still isn't strong enough to support an electric stove, though, so Rosanna, Luc's wife, will continue to cook using charcoal.
Charcoal is a necessity for the Haitians but it also creates huge problems. People harvest small trees in the mountains and don't bother to replant them, so when it rains, the water just washes down the mountain destroying everything in its path. They use some kind of burning method to turn the small trees into charcoal. Then they sell the charcoal to families who use it for cooking. Polluting the air twice, both community-wide and personally inside each home.
Providing meals is an all-day affair for Rosanna. One day we woke up to find a huge breakfast on the table. After breakfast Rosanna took a tap tap to the market to buy more food. Returning three hours later she prepared lunch, then immediately started on preparing dinner. She didn't sit down to eat with us until the dinner meal was served. Then after dinner, she and one of the girls squeezed oranges and another citrus fruit for two hours. The language barrier prevented me from learning what the other fruit was; it was a little larger than an orange and it was green. The fresh juice the next morning was delicious.
The Joseph family is very blessed; they have money for food and transportation. You don't see the tell-tale signs of malnourishment. They don't have red hair or distended bellies like some of their neighbors.
During the week neighbor children would appear at the Joseph home and sit with us on the porch. Some would quietly enter the house barefoot and leave wearing flip-flops. Before leaving for our trip our young friend Nikki Casler had a flip-flop drive to benefit the 27 orphans. She scored 42 pairs. That small act affected the lives of an entire community a world away.

Haiti Part 3: Beyond the Paved Road

2010-01-11T07:01:00.000-08:00

HAITI -- Way up in the mountains, where the road runs out and beyond the Unicef wells are the churches planted by World Renewal International. They have nine in Haiti.

Following a big breakfast Max told us to bring our snacks because we wouldn't be having lunch. The guys piled into the back of the tap tap while I had the luxury of sitting in the front seat.

We were off on our 35-mile journey to visit a couple of the mountain churches. Going through small towns, we dodged more people, animals and vehicles than on our first trip. The targets thinned as we climbed higher and higher into the mountains. The roads worsened. When we came upon our first bridgeless river, I wondered if we'd reached our destination. After all, we'd been traveling quite awhile. Maybe there was a church hidden behind the cactus or the thin trees. No such luck, the driver just pointed the truck toward the water and drove right through. He'd do this four more times before we reached our final destination. That wasn't the worrisome part.

I got the most rattled when twice we tried to get up a mountain and the truck wouldn't move. The guys had to bale out of the bed and push the truck up the hill. We'd reach a level spot and wait for them to walk up and get back in.

The road began to narrow, then we crossed a giant pasture, the only place in Haiti I saw an expanse of grass. On the other side we followed another narrow road that got smaller and smaller, became a bike path, then a footpath.

Some three hours after we began our journey we baled out of the truck and made our way down a smaller path to find our first church. No steeple here to mark its place in the community. The large structure is made of corrugated steel and woven grass. A few long, plank benches are in the back of the church and a table sat as at the front as an alter. Our pastors and elders surrounded the Haitian pastor and his family, placing gentle hands on their heads and shoulders and prayed for them.

Brad Gray handed out suckers to everyone he sees. They gave him blank looks, they don't know what to do with them. He took the paper off one and stuck it in his mouth. Smiles spread across their faces as they followed his lead.

Our visit was short, we piled back into the tap tap and head to another church. Nearly an hour later we parked the truck and crossed a river on foot. We walked up a small hill and found another church. This one is made out of grass, the benches inside are made of small trees. The pastor's home is made out of mud and the children inside have runny noses and red hair.

We rest, pray for the pastor and pass out more suckers.

I understand now why other missionary organizations don't make it this far into the mountains. It's nearly impossible to get up here. There's no clean water, electricity isn't even a possibility, the ground is dry, life is hard.

Haiti Part 4: How it changed me

2010-01-11T07:00:00.000-08:00

HAITI -- Many people told me that going on a mission trip would change me. Truthfully I kind of dismissed that notion. After all, I'm a journalist, I've seen a lot of things in my 19 years on the job. Great sadness, great joy, poverty, destruction, spirituality, you name it, I've probably photographed it. And, my faithfulness has been pretty strong since I decided to rely on Jesus and not myself several years ago. I couldn't imagine how much changing I'd experience.

Well, they were right. Haiti did change me. It showed me how truly blessed I am, how blessed we all are. Unemployment in Haiti is at 80 percent and they don't have stop-gap systems like welfare to meet people's needs. No homeless shelters, no food stamps, no government assistance. Imagine, no jobs, no welfare, no clean water, no food.

My mom couldn't understand why I wanted to go to Haiti when people in America need help right here. Honestly I didn't quite know myself until after I was there a few days. Now I know, the Bible commands us to love one another. It doesn't say just love Americans. It says "one another."

I saw poverty in Haiti like I've never imagined. I saw men, women and children pat their tummies with both hands as we drove past signaling that they were hungry. I saw babies with runny noses and red-hair, the tale tell sign of malnutrition. I saw people walk miles for clean water. They'd fill their 5-gallon buckets to the brim and carry them home balanced on their heads.

And my faith was made stronger while traveling up and down the mountains in the tiny tap tap. I watched one day as the driver turned the truck off and coasted downhill to preserve gas. His gauge hovered near E for more than an hour. If we'd run out of gas I have no idea what we would have done. God, you brought us here, I have faith you'll bring us safely home.

It wasn't all bad though.

I also saw much happiness in the children of the orphanage. They greeted us with a hand shake and a kiss on the cheek every time we saw them. Together we played games, hiked up a mountain and took many pictures, like we'd been a part of their family forever. During their regular Sunday evening worship time, they sang praise songs and did dances for Jesus, it was amazing to witness.

I saw happiness at the churches we visited, especially the one we visited on Sunday for a service. The joy in the people's faces while they listened to the message, sang worship songs and prayed was parallel to the joy I'd seen back at my home church.

I also saw wide smiles every time I took someone's picture, then turned the camera around to show it to them. Most times they'd stand back and motion to me to take another one, then grab for the camera to see the back again.

I discovered that a kind wave and smile is a universal language.

I've always said that I've experienced so much because of my job as a journalist. I've done some pretty cool things and met amazing people along the way. I've always loved community journalism. But God made the whole world, not just Indiana. He made Haiti, too. The plants are different, the climate is different, but the people are still made in his own images.

Brittany and Tony's Wedding and photo session

2009-12-19T07:56:00.000-08:00

I don't even know where to begin with Brittany and Tony. We spent several days with them so we got to know them better than any other couple we've photographed. They are an amazing couple. I don't know how else to put it.

She loves photography and it was a priority for her on her wedding day. So, down to Orlando we traveled, what a great assignment for us! We left for Florida when it was just 17 degrees in Indiana, but really, that wasn't the best part of the trip. The best part was witnessing the amazing love they have for each other and getting to know them.

The icing on the cake was when they joined us in St. Pete for an additional photo session. Here's a peak at some pictures from the wedding day and the St. Pete trip. I'll post more in the days ahead.

Their bridal party was one of the best we've ever photographed, they were fun and willing to do anything the bride and groom asked. It's easy to see why each of them was chosen.

Jeff and Gina's family

2009-11-16T09:24:00.001-08:00

Our friends Jeff and Gina asked us to photograph their family. It was our pleasure! Okay, it was Perry's pleasure but I would have loved to have been there!

Family portraits

2009-11-16T08:33:00.001-08:00

One of our brides asked us to take pictures of her sister's family. Perry did this shoot solo and I'm so bummed. Look at how cute their baby is! What a precious gift from God!!!

Michelle and Tim's Wedding

2009-11-07T09:36:00.000-08:00

Their wedding was so sweet and loving. We loved being able to capture their love and happiness on their big day. Here's some of our favorites.

Alison and Mike Wedding

2009-11-07T09:32:00.001-08:00

Alison and Mike had an amazing wedding at the Scottish Rite Cathedral in Indy. We were honored to be there on their special day. Here's some of our favorite shots.

Katie and Blake's wedding

2009-10-16T10:59:00.001-07:00

We had a blast with Katie and Blake and I think it shows. When they decided to see each other before the wedding that gave us tons of time to make beautiful photographs!

Cassie and David Wedding

2009-10-07T15:55:00.001-07:00

What an awesome time we had photographing Cassie and David's wedding. They're an amazing and fun couple and their wedding was soooo sweet.

The Caslers

2009-09-13T18:10:00.000-07:00

So, we planned to photograph our dear friends the Caslers the other day. But it rained, but have no fear. We just moved the photo shoot inside. I miss them being just down the drive from us!!! Their goldfish made an appearance on our blog last year.

Ericka and Collin's Wedding

2009-09-13T18:00:00.000-07:00

Perry did this wedding solo. He said it was great fun and it sure shows in his pictures. Ericka and Collin were up for anything. ;-)

Sarah and Brian's wedding

2009-08-22T16:22:00.000-07:00

Sarah and Brian's wedding was beautiful, romantic and classic. They were married in the church she grew up in and their reception was at Union Station. Here's some of my favorites of this fantastic couple! --Jeri

We've been nominated again!!!!

2009-08-06T13:21:00.000-07:00

We're pretty excited, for the third year in a row we've been nominated for the Best Photographer in Indianapolis.

If you have a moment, go to this link to vote for us!

Sorry, you'll have to copy and paste the link.

http://wrtv.cityvoter.com/wayne-images/biz/54109

Laura and Jon-Erik's Wedding Day

2009-08-06T13:20:00.001-07:00

Wow, what an amazing wedding! Laura and Jon-Erik's love for each other was so transparent. It was an honor to witness their love overflowing on this special day. Here's a sneak peak at some of the pictures. We wish you both many blessings through the years! --Jeri and Perry

Check out the way she's looking at him during the ceremony!

Dad helping his daughter off of the horse-drawn carriage. Can you believe the horse had his feet painted the same color as Laura's shoes?!?!

The morning round of golf was a bit on the wet side.

You know what they say, if you want to know how a man will treat you see how he treats his mother. I think Laura's in good hands.

Congrats Ashlee and Aaron!

2009-08-04T18:00:00.000-07:00

Perry photographed their wedding earlier this year and guess what! They're having a baby!!! We're so happy for you both! -Jeri and Perry

Little League

2009-07-02T08:49:00.001-07:00

Take me out to the ballgame! We had great fun photographing softball and baseball last week. These are some of the ones I shot. I'll post some of Perry's this evening. -jr

Whitney and Cory's Wedding

2009-06-23T20:23:00.001-07:00

What a beautiful and sweet wedding! Perry and I were totally blessed to photograph their big day and witness their love for each other. Their family and friends were great to work with! They were married at Avon Gardens which is an amazing venue.

Yummy

2009-06-15T18:39:00.000-07:00

We LOVE to meet and photograph people, in fact, that's what we do most of the time. So, photographing food is a special treat for us. Here's a taste of some of Perry's work for magazines. He's also been hired to do some shooting for restaurants. Man, now I'm hungry! -- Jeri

A different kind of water skier

2009-06-15T08:19:00.000-07:00

Recently I had the opportunity to photograph participants at the Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana Sports Program's annual water ski clinic at Morse Reservoir for The Star. It was a great day on the water! --Jeri

Boating with our friend Mike

2009-06-14T18:30:00.000-07:00

We spent a little time with our friend Mike out on the water last evening. Here he is catching some air.

I don't know what it is about crashing pictures but both Mike and Perry love them! So, here's one for them.

Getting ready to wake into the sunset.

9.24.08

Rockin' the Wake

2009-06-14T17:26:00.000-07:00

We spent a little time on the lake after work today. I really needed the stress relief. Chad had fun too!

8.27.08

Laura and Jon-Erik's engagement session

2009-06-09T16:52:00.001-07:00

Perry and I had a lot of fun with Laura and Jon-Erik Monday. Here's some of our favorites from the day. They're a super fun couple and we can't wait until their wedding!

Hannah and Andrew's Wedding

2009-06-08T09:48:00.001-07:00

We had a wonderful time photographing Hannah and Andrew's wedding Saturday. They are a true blessing to their family and friends. It's not every day we get to watch a father marry his daughter, it was a very touching ceremony and fun reception! You know how usually when the deejay invites everyone onto the dance floor and no one goes out? That was not the case, the floor was filled immediately! You guys are awesome!

Ashlee and Aaron's Wedding

2009-06-01T07:37:00.000-07:00

Perry did this one solo. He said it was beautiful and fun. If you know Perry at all, you know he's a man of few words. Here's a few of his favorites....

A Whirlwind Weekend

2009-05-30T13:45:00.000-07:00

First, our son graduated from high school, goodie gumdrops!!!

Then we had a party, our family came, both sides. It was awesome. I only took a few pictures though. Here's my dear grand niece and grand nephew. This is Jazz and her little brother Evan.

Then we went boating with our dear friends Jenny and Dex. This is Dex.

Cassie and David's engagement

2009-05-26T11:23:00.001-07:00

We had a blast at Falls Park in Pendleton with Cassie and David! Oh, yeah, and Rascal too! They are a really fun couple and I'm excited to finally meet them. Here's sneak peak at some of the pictures. I can't wait until their wedding! --Jeri

Samantha's Bat Mitzvah

2009-05-06T09:25:00.001-07:00

Perry had a wonderful time covering Samantha's big day. Here's a sneak peak at some of the pictures.

Jeri wins a couple of awards

2009-04-26T13:19:00.000-07:00

Wow, I'm so excited. I just won two first place awards in the February 2009 monthly clip contest for the Indiana News Photographers Association. It was for a little package I did on a couple of kindergardeners getting to be king and queen for the day. My day job is such a blessing! I get to meet really cool people, experience really neat things and sometimes I win a prize.

This is a straight journalism contest, what you see is what you get. We don't do any PhotoShopping to the images except for cropping and basic toning. You can make them B&W if you want to, which I did.

1st Place in Feature Judges comments: Nice sense of space with a nice moment. Bravo.

1st Place Multiple Judges comments: Well-rounded images that cover every element of this daily story. Lots of great moments and variety of perspective.

Hannah and Andrew's engagement

2009-03-08T18:12:00.000-07:00

We were so excited to to do Hannah and Andrew's engagement!!! One reason is that I personally have learned loads of Biblical truths from Hannah's dad and have truly been inspired by Hannah's mom. Another reason we're excited is it marks the beginning of the wedding season for us. Here's a few of our early favorites. They were awesome to work with!

Thanks!!!!

I love this picture, they look so cute here!

Yup, just a random car.

At the reception site.

At the church where they'll get married.

Congrats!

2009-03-05T08:16:00.000-08:00

Amanda and Jeff are expecting! We had tons of fun with this couple and are very excited to hear that they're expecting a baby in June! We were so blessed to photograph their big day, here's some of my favorites!

Congrats!

2009-02-28T06:55:00.000-08:00

We found out recently that one of our brides is going to have a baby. Congrats goes out to Kelli and Kevin! We photographed their wedding in 2006. We are so excited for the two of them. I've been able to keep track of them easily because I work with Kelli's dad, Max and she is still the apple of his eye. Here's some pictures from their big day.

Dancing with daddy.

Hello everybody!

2009-02-05T14:52:00.000-08:00

It's been so long since I posted something I barely remember how. Perry and I haven't been shooting many weddings recently, it's kind of our down time. We limit our weddings to only two bookings a month and the winter months are often light anyway. We are looking forward to our upcoming weddings this summer, we've signed some fantastic brides!

I've been busy at my day job and love it. I feel very blessed to still have a job with all the cuts in the newspaper business. Perry's been busy with his magazine work and has recently been doing some photography for a remodeling firm in Carmel.

I wanted to share a couple of pictures with you that I've taken this week.

First, the fun stuff. This is Bert, I met him at a business assignment today. I went to a place were they make online videos for people and he's their resident pet. I wish I had a resident pet at my office. When I was leaving he was all about sniffing my legs, he had figured out that we have three dogs at home. I put my camera down to his level and snapped this picture, yes, upside-down. I thought it was fun that way so that's how I left it.

On to more serious stuff. I photographed that 31-car accident Tuesday. I've been in this business for 19 years and have never seen anything like it. There were cars, trucks, semis, rescue workers and rescue vehicles everywhere. Later I was looking at an aerial picture and saw even more cars. I was very blessed, the Lord shielded my eyes from blood or seriously injured people. I also produced a short video for our website from the scene. I hope that our coverage somehow saves lives in the future. I have footage of a police officer cautioning people to leave stopping distance between them and the car in front of them and to slow down on icy roads. If it saves one life, it's all worth it.

Take care, stay warm, stay safe and pet a dog if you get the chance.

Prayer Request

2008-12-25T06:23:00.000-08:00

We found out yesterday that Debbie and her daughter Lucia Borgmann, the lovely ladies in the picture below, were involved in an accident Monday. Lucia is fine but Debbie is in the ICU with multiple fractures and as of yesterday, in a coma. Please pray for the whole family, and of course, especially Debbie.

Thanks and Merry Christmas,

Jeri and Perry

Stephanie and Dan's Wedding

2008-11-26T09:58:00.001-08:00

Their's was the last wedding for Wayne Images for the season and what a wonderful finale it was! So romantic, sweet and fun! We were so blessed to spend their wedding day with them. It was a day filled with first for us.

The mother/daughter dance was so touching.

Can't say that we've photographed a Mt. Dew toast before.

They were trying to get the room number out of the groom, little did they know that the photographer's knew it. I guess, from seeing this picture, it's a good thing they didn't know. ;-)

This picture is how we knew the room number, we'd already been up to the honeymoon suite to get some formals.

YMCA, always a crowd-pleaser.

Can't say that we've seen the groom craw to his bride before. This was awesome!

Happy Veteran's Day

2008-11-12T19:25:00.001-08:00

My day job at The Indianapolis Star gives me great opportunities to meet amazing people and experience touching moments. The last few days have been no exception. Here are some especially memorable moments from the last couple of days.

God bless our vets.

Here an Indiana war hero who lost his legs in Iraq makes his way to the stage with the local mayor at his side.

The mother and father of a Hero invited me into their world for a few hours. When their son was killed in Iraq they turned his room into a "hero's room" which they showed to me. They also allowed me to go with them to his graveside and along to a celebration where their son's name was unveiled on a memorial at the courthouse square.

Following the ceremony a Vietnam Veteran hugged the father.

Julia's Senior Pictures

2008-10-29T18:33:00.000-07:00

We were blessed to have had the opportunity to do Julia's senior pictures for our dear friend Deb. She's so beautiful, here's a few of our favorites!

Our neighbors, the Borgmanns

2008-10-23T06:04:00.001-07:00

Perry's made this portrait of our friends and neighbors the Borgmanns this week.

Another senior picture of Chad

2008-10-23T06:01:00.000-07:00

I know, it's another post of Chad and yet another senior picture. But when we found this road with Alison and Mike, we just had to make a picture of Chad there!

Alison and Mike Engagement

2008-10-23T05:51:00.001-07:00

Alison and Mike were so fun to photograph! I can't wait to do their wedding next fall. Here's a sneak peak from their engagement session.

When we were all finished with the fun pictures we left the park and did the "traditional newspaper" picture, on our way there we found this awesome spot in the road.

Dayna and Nick's big day

2008-10-15T10:22:00.001-07:00

I first met Dayna and Nick at their engagement session and I knew I was going to enjoy documenting their wedding day! Dayna and I have very similar personalities and so do Nick and Perry. We had a great time with them to say the least! We wish them many blessings! Here's a sneak peak at some of our favorite pictures of the day. --Jeri

Christi and Dan

2008-09-27T15:03:00.000-07:00

Dan and Christi are police officers from Arizona, although we will be offering destination weddings next summer, we only had to travel to Carmel for their special day.

They were soooo fun to work with! Their love for each other just radiated off of them. And hanging out with their close-knit family for a couple of days was icing on the cake.

Here's a sneak peak. --Jeri

A very romantic first dance.

An accidental icing incident. It was not planned at all and they were both cracking up!

The flower girls saved the petals for the kiss.

Chad is fine!

2008-09-18T15:37:00.001-07:00

Thank you to everyone who prayed for him. All of his tests came back negative. God is good, but of course we knew that!

;-)

A prayer request

2008-09-16T18:27:00.003-07:00

Chad is going in for a CT Scan tomorrow at 11 a.m. Please keep him in your prayers. Thanks!

Wedding: Lindsay and Evan

2008-09-09T08:54:00.000-07:00

Photographing Lindsay and Evan's wedding was such a blessing for us. They are a fun, laid-back, couple with wonderful family and friends. Here's a sneak peak after a very quick edit. --Jeri

The first dance as husband and wife. I love the way she was holding him!

You need fresh breath a the alter!

Perry has shot many bouquet catchers over the years, this has to be my favorite!

The happy couple.

Dancing.

Weekend fun

2008-09-03T07:53:00.001-07:00

We had a great Labor Day weekend and hope you did too. We took the opportunity to reconnect with some friends. It was awesome having coffee with Chris at the Gathering Grounds in Greenfield, they have awesome coffee!!! Then Sunday church was amazing. Mark Tabb gave a message on prayer. Our family was surrounded with guests which makes is extra special. I had my mom to my left and Jenny from IUPUI and her mom and dad to my right. Breakfast after church topped off the morning. Then we picked up the Grabers' new puppy Mia for the day, she is too cute for words. The Wakelands came over for dinner and a movie, what a great Sunday! Monday Perry and I were just lazy, did a little shopping, stopped at Deb's house and saw her family, watched another movie. Man, I want more, do-nothing-three-day weekends!

Mia is a Bloodhounds/Lab mix.

Our boxer, Buddy with Mia. She didn't know what to think of the pup. They did manage to play a little later in the day.

Check out my day job blog!!!

2008-08-30T11:37:00.000-07:00

I am so excited, I have been published!!! Okay, so I've been published pretty regularly since 1990 when I took my first newspaper job. And, I've been self-published since I started this blog. But, now, I've had a blog published at www.indystar.com. Currently, as I write this my blog is promoted on our home page in a prime spot! It's not likely to stay their long as they change that strip fairly regularly.

Anyway, if you want to see what I wrote there please visit it at: http://blogs.indystar.com/photos

I also have a gallery of images on our multimedia/gallery page.

Here's a sneak peak of what you'll find.

Have a safe and awesome Labor Day weekend!

Partying with my family and friend while working my day job

2008-08-22T10:58:00.000-07:00

My day job gives me the opportunity to experience all kinds of things in life. One of the cool things is shooting the occasional concert. I really think it's cool because you get great access and you get to go free. Of course, you only get to hear the first three songs, then you have to go back and send your pictures in for the next day's edition. The downside is that sometimes I wish I were enjoying the show with my family. Saturday night I got to do both.

It was the first night for high school football, we had four high school teams playing in our brand new stadium, which is super cool, those guys got to take the turf before the Colts even played on it! To say the least, it was BIG news night and we wouldn't have much extra space in the paper. So, they didn't want pictures for the next day. Plus, it was a Christian show, sometimes we cover faith-based shows but not too often. My paper went with an online photo gallery that I turned in after the concert. I was photo editing on the ride home while Perry drove and Chad slept.

My old college buddy, Kurt, emailed me and asked if we had planned to go to the show. He works at a newspaper too. So, we made plans to buy lawn tickets so we could enjoy the show after we shot our three songs. We talked in the "pit" before one of the bands came out about how we couldn't have seen ourselves excited to shoot a show like this way back when we were in college. Boy how times change, people change, and life just keeps getting better and better.

Kurt photographs Mac Powell, lead singer of Third Day.

I had to have a picture of all of us. From left is: Perry (who is holding the camera up), me, Kurt, and our son Chad (who is pushing the shutter release).

This is us attempting a funny shot. Look at the couple above my head, they look like they're having fun watching us. ;-)

This is my favorite picture from the show. It's Third Day, you can see Mac real small on the left while the guitarists rock the house.

Third Day.

We had never heard of this guy before. It's Robert Randolph of Robert Randolph and the Family Band. Man, his band rocked the house! During his set we saw the guys from Third Day and Switchfoot standing in the wings watching him perform. You never see the headliners in the wings watching!!! If you get a chance to see them, do it.

Jars of Clay.

Stephanie and Dan's engagement photographs

2008-08-20T16:15:00.000-07:00

Perry captured some beautiful pictures of this couple. It was hard to narrow them down, here's my five favorites. --Jeri

Katie and Steven

2008-08-18T15:08:00.001-07:00

Katie and Steven's wedding was awesome! It's sooo obvious how much their family and friends love them. They are a wonderful couple and we are so blessed to have been a part of their big day. They were so fun to work with! Here's a few early edits.

Workin' at the Car Wash

2008-08-11T17:02:00.001-07:00

Well, not really, more like washing the car in the driveway. When Chad decided to wash his new car I decided to make some pictures from inside. I've always wanted to cover a car wash from inside a car but never have. Maybe I will this fall, now that I have some practice. It's just the thought of asking a total stranger if I can get in his/her car with them as it gets washed.

We're back online at Wayne Images

2008-08-11T16:55:00.000-07:00

You can email us at perry@wayneimages.com.

BEWARE OF FREESERVERS.COM

2008-08-11T07:09:00.000-07:00

If you're thinking of using freeservers.com to register your domain name or host your website, think again. They have some how let our domain name go to an Australian company and when I called customer service they told me I had to contact Australia!!! So now, I'm not getting any emails and our website is down. Don't register with them!!!

If you need to contact us please email me at jeri.reichanadter@indystar.com

OUR EMAIL AND MAIN SITE IS DOWN

2008-08-10T14:58:00.001-07:00

If you email us and it bounces back it's because our server is down and our IT provider isn't open on the weekends. Grrrrr. Give us a call on the phone if you need to reach us.

Jeri

Babysitting

2008-08-07T17:29:00.000-07:00

Our dear friends went out of town and we fed their cats and fish for them. I had to take a picture of this beautiful fish.

I met a police dog

2008-08-06T17:17:00.000-07:00

This is Ellie the Bloodhound. She's a police dog and she'd lick you to death before she'd ever bite you. I'm working on a special project for work called Tool of the Trade. It's a photo essay featuring the tools people use in their work and Ellie is one of them. This isn't the picture we'll use for the paper. It doesn't show the gun, taser, etc., but, it's my favorite one from the shoot.

Chad's Senior Portraits part III

2008-08-02T20:10:00.001-07:00

We had fun doing another senior portrait session with Chad today. I wonder if all photographer's kids get photographed this much.

Perry made this one under the bridge that goes over our driveway.

Chad is in the tree in our backyard.

Standing on a fence post.

Perry got this one before Chad jumped.

This is what it looked like to me.

Chad wanted his head in the clouds. Hmmmm.

Like father like son. My boys down in the creek.

Ringo was barking while Chad was up in the tree so of course Perry and I both had to take a picture of him. I think each one really speaks to our style, or lack there of. And, since we are trained as photojournalists, we like to enter contests, even if it's just with each other. So, which picture do you like the best? This one is number 1.

This one is number 2.

Chillin' with my friend Jenny

2008-07-28T15:44:00.001-07:00

I'm on vacation and what a blessing today was. I had the opportunity to hang out with my friend Jenny. She's interested in photography and wanted me to teach her some of the nuts and bolts about it. She's has a naturally good eye. Here are some of the pictures we made today.

These things are ugly, ugly, ugly, but they look cool in silhouette.

Three grasshoppers on lettuce. Can you see them all?

She was soooo happy to be outside she ran and ran and ran and ran!

She has a very cute tail.

I must really like tails.

Close-up of Dex.

My friend Jenny. Work it girl, work it!

Jenny took this picture of the budding flower. She has an amazing garden!

Jenny found this spider web in the garden.

I love this picture that she took of the worm. It's kind of like a "Where's Waldo" picture.

Alex and Kim's wedding

2008-07-05T06:39:00.000-07:00

Their wedding was amazing. They are so much in love and it really shows. What a beautiful family. Thank you so much for letting us witness your day! Here's some of my favorites. -Jeri

Bzzzz

2008-07-03T07:30:00.000-07:00

Fun with a macro.

Congratulations Yingying!

2008-06-27T06:29:00.000-07:00

We wish you both all the best!!!

Did I mention I have a cool job?

2008-06-25T11:59:00.000-07:00

Yes, I was actually getting paid to take my shoes off and walk along the beach today.

Shen and Yiwei's Wedding

2008-06-21T06:35:00.000-07:00

It was such a blessing to photograph Shen and Yiwei's wedding! I really loved learning about the Chinese culture. The day started out early with a traditional tea ceremony at the bride's home. The groom came over and had to answer a series of questions to get access to the bride, then he served tea to her parents and pledged to take care of her. Then it was off to the chapel for a traditional Christian, western ceremony. Then at the reception there was another tea ceremony, this time honoring the groom's parents. Shen and Yiwei were wonderful to work with and so were their friends and family. Here's my five favorites after a quick edit. --Jeri

During one of the toasts.

This is the love passage in a Chinese/American parallel Bible. Next to the 4 it reads Love is patient, love is kind. It's 1 Corinthians 13.

They are so fun to work with! I think Maid of Honor Yan thought we were crazy when we asked Yiwei to stand next to Shen on the couch.

One of the prayers at the wedding.

The tea ceremony at the reception included a series of bows to the groom's parents.

Beautiful Flowers

2008-06-18T11:32:00.000-07:00

I found these flowers on assignment today.

Storm Victim Donations

2008-06-14T17:51:00.001-07:00

Boy, our friends, family and co-workers really stepped up this week to help others. We received many physical donations and $285 in cash that we were able to spend on more items like food, soap, water, diapers, the list goes on and on. We are so blessed to be surrounded by such giving people. I'm sure the storm victims will be glad to get the donations.

This is such a cool job!

2008-06-12T13:20:00.000-07:00

I have the coolest day job in the world. I'm a photojournalist and get to meet really great people and sometimes I get to experience some pretty wild things. Today I had an assignment to photograph a man and his 1954 Jaguar XK120 race car. But, that wasn't the cool part. We decided we should take the car to the town square for the picture so I hoped in the little two-seater, convertible and off we went. But that wasn't the cool part. After the picture on the square he took me for a joy ride that made glad I was right with God, boy that was fun! But that wasn't the cool part. The really cool part was talking to him about my dad. Years and years ago my dad worked for this man and it was great to hear kind words and stories about my dad. Man, I wish my dad were still alive, I know he'd love to see Fritz' little racer! That's Fritz messing around in his shop before our photo shoot.

Help for Storm Victims

2008-06-10T14:15:00.000-07:00

Our family is taking donations to help Indiana storm victims. We're collecting canned goods, toilet tissue, trash bags, shampoo, toothpaste, bottled water, etc. If you'd like to donate please contact us, we'll be collecting until Friday at noon. -Jeri

Chad's Senior Portraits part II

2008-06-10T14:10:00.001-07:00

We had a little better luck inside. Here's a few more.

Chad's Senior Pictures

2008-06-10T12:15:00.000-07:00

Today we started senior pictures, after several minutes of set up, hauling multiple items to a field, redirecting the sun with a reflector, many tears from both Chad and Perry, we got ONE photograph. We'll try for more when the sun gets lower in the sky. -Jeri

Chris and Ashley's wedding

2008-06-07T15:11:00.000-07:00

Perry was on his own for Chris and Ashley's wedding. He came home and told me that they were a lot of fun to work with! He really had a great time with them, and their wedding party! We wish them all the luck in the world. Here's my favorite five from his take. --Jeri

Flying over storm victims

2008-06-04T17:46:00.000-07:00

Storms ripped through Indiana again last night. Today I had the opportunity to fly over one of the areas hit by a tornado. I was able to see the actual path of the storm from the air. It was unbelievable. You'll see in one of the pictures that a home looks like toothpicks. It broke my heart to see these worlds turned upside-down.

That's me photographing one of the scenes. I was able to bring an intern up with me who took this picture.

Bill's family

2008-05-29T12:53:00.000-07:00

I saw my friend Bill and his family on a trail recently so I snapped a quick picture.

Courtney's graduation

2008-05-24T13:06:00.000-07:00

My best friend's baby graduated today. That's her on the left, Janice, I'm in the middle and her baby, Courtney, on the right. I'm so blessed to have Janice, we've been friends since we were like five or six. It was like going to a family reunion.

She's so funny! I love this face, she'll kill me for posting it.

Here's Janice, Courtney and Courtney's ex-step-mom. I don't know how to spell her name and I know I'll butcher it so I'm not even going to try. She came down from Alaska to watch her graduate.

Dolly, one of Janice's sisters shows off her blue teeth. It was great fun seeing her after all these years. I bet it's been 25 years or more.

These next two pictures show how important pictures are. First Trudy, Janice's mom, and then her aunt Erma, look at old pictures. Look at their faces. They wanted copies and threatened to keep the ones they were holding.

Courtney.

Silly String fight at the ceremony.

Janice watching her baby graduate.

Janice and Trudy look for a picture of her dad's twin brother in the school. He graduated from the same school as Courtney.

Trudy and Erma sit for a portrait. They're beautiful!

Andrea and Shawn's Wedding

2008-05-17T16:27:00.000-07:00

We were honored to get photograph this very sweet couple. We wish them all the best! Here’s my five favorites. - Jeri

Shen and Yiwei's Engagement Photographs

2008-04-20T16:39:00.000-07:00

We had a lot of fun with Shen and Yiwei in downtown Indy. We can’t wait to photograph their wedding! - Jeri

Chris and Jean's Wedding

2008-04-19T16:43:00.000-07:00

This wedding was extra fun because they’re personal friends. We wish you both all the best! - Jeri

Kirsten and Daryl's Photo Booth by Chad

2008-04-12T16:53:00.000-07:00

Chad is totally following in his dad’s footsteps. We took him with us to Kirsten and Daryl’s wedding and he step up a photo booth. Here’s my five favorites. –Jeri

Kirsten and Daryl's Wedding

2008-04-12T16:48:00.000-07:00

From their foot-washing ceremony, to the wedding vows, this couple kept Christ first and foremost on their big day. Perry, Chad and I were all blessed to witness their wonderful day! Here’s my five favorites. –Jeri

Spring Break

2008-04-07T14:37:00.000-07:00

Perry and I spent Spring Break 2008 in Florida. Man, I miss the ocean!

Amanda and Jeff's Wedding

2008-03-28T14:49:00.000-07:00

We had a lot of fun with this fabulous couple! The green umbrella was awesome and I loved the polka dots! Here's my five favorites. -Jeri