Today marks year 8 of remission from Leukemia and Lymphoma and Catie is larger than life.  Here she was last night for an impromptu photo shoot.  Every year we celebrate this day because it’s the last day that she took chemotherapy.  Her first actual remission date (no evidence of cancer) was actually April 29th, 2002.  I thought I would include an email that we sent to Catie’s mailing list on that first remission date.

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April 29th, 2002

Catherine is in remission!!!!!  Her bone marrow showed no evidence of cancer.  This means that the chemotherapy is working.  She will continue to go through treatment for the next two years to make sure we get all of it.

I am sorry to keep this short, but Catherine’s temperature is 101.0, and this means a mandatory trip to the emergency room.  So off we go.

Keep her in your prayers,

Ed Maurer

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Location: Tina’s Country House

Engagement Session Photo Walk

CANCELED DUE TO WEATHER

Update: Looks like the weather today is not going to cooperate for the photo walk and I regret to cancel today.  I’ll discuss an alternate date with the models and let you know.  I’m looking for early May.

I’m excited to share with you my next photo walk that has been in the works for some time now. It’s an engagement session photo walk complete with a real couple (seen above) engaged to be married couple serving as models. We’ll be taking them through a typical engagement session in the scenic Sylvan Lake area. Bring your camera and your questions and we’ll have fun walking, talking, and capturing images with these two. We’ll discuss how I typically perform an engagement session along with tips and techniques to get the most out of your portrait session.

The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is a charity that has helped fight blood born cancers.  As many of you know my daughter is a survivor of Leukemia and Lymphoma and so the cost of this session will be a suggested donation of $20 to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

When: Sunday April 15th from 5:00pm till 7:00pm
Where: Sylvan Lake Community Center Park
2456 Pontiac Drive
Sylvan Lake, Michigan

Cost: Suggested Donation of $20 to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society using the following link.  When giving your donation please add your Display name and a comment in the Message section with the words “PHOTO WALK” so that I know who is registered.  This is the fundraising page for my wife who is competing in a half iron man in honor of our daughter.

http://pages.teamintraining.org/mi/grtri12/jmaurerut3#My-Fundraising-Page

Sometimes in the hustle and bustle of it all we forget to slow down and just breathe. Take it all in. Relax. Live.

There’s a sense of euphoria that I feel after taking that breath. As the air fills my body with a fresh oxygen supply it somehow makes me feel more alert and aware of how amazing it is to be alive. It’s at those moments that I’m aware of the wonderful things that have happened to me and how fortunate I am to be able to live, to laugh, to love, to breathe.  So tomorrow morning at 9am, go ahead and take a deep breath with me.

It began with an early arrival and a great workout at Crossfit Las Vegas to get the week started off right.  I didn’t realize at the time that I would need this workout to help push me through the adrenaline filled week to come.

The education began with two full days of wedding photography and posing instruction from the world class photographer Bambi Cantrell.  In these two days I learned so much more than I ever thought possible and will be bringing it to everything I shoot from now on.  I met some great people in the class and some top notch photographers that I look up to and will continue to keep in contact with.

Then my brother Thom drove in from LA to see me and spend some quality time together since we rarely get to see each other.  He’s been busy directing films and being all LA’ish so it was great to spend an evening in Vegas with him. We had an amazing time.

And then my friends came in town to join me for several days of awesome.  Some friends I see regularly, some that I’ve never met but I consider my friends now, and others I have not seen in a couple years.  I’ve never laughed so hard and had so much fun as I did with these amazing people.  We did everything from go to classes together, have deep moving discussions, walk the tradeshow together, have lunch on the lawn,  party, have laugh out loud dinners, dance, stayed out very very late, and partied like rockstars.  The experiences that I had will stay with me forever.  They say that laughter is the best medicine, and I laughed a lot.  Throughout it all, something amazing happened to me.  Something serendipitous, something life changing, and something wonderful.

I began to push away the stresses of every day life and just be me.

I began to really laugh.

I began to really smile.

I began to see things from my heart.

I began to love.

I began to live.

I began.

Here are a few of my favorite images from the trip. Most were taken with an iPhone camera because my point and shoot decided to stop working :-/.  The best camera is the one you have with you, so I made it work.

Here’s me and my brother Thom (Love him!)  We kinda look alike, don’t we?

Me and my roommate Derek.  Best roommate eva!!!!!

Me and the ladies (notice Derek in the Mirror) before our night of laughter and dancing.

I shared a nice lunch on the lawn with Miranda where we soaked it all in.

Standing under this palm tree in the morning was a nice moment of reflection and tranquility.

We owned the night

And we danced, boy did we dance. Best night of the entire trip.

More photography friends

Miranda won big on the slots so she took us to Paris for dinner and much laughter happened.  

The Michigan crew. My friends.

I believe in love.

This song makes me smile and think about the wedding day. I smile during the vows that a couple makes to each other. It’s at that moment I believe that they will do whatever it takes to be there for each other. It’s at those moments that I look over at the father and mother of the groom and see their smiles as they hold hands. It’s at that moment that I have hope for unconditional love.

You know it when you see it. It’s the father and mother of the bride holding hands. The mother of the bride wrapping her arms around her husband as they dance during their daughter’s wedding. It’s the groom when he sees his bride for the first time in her wedding gown. No matter what life throws them, they love each other truely and unconditionally, and their ability to work through tough times and good times together shines at these moments. It’s beautiful. The laughter, the tears, the smiles. Pure joy and love is what it’s all about.

Then I read this book and it was like a light bulb went off and things started to make sense.  I quickly realized that Julie’s primary love languages are 1. acts of service and 2. quality time.  Spending time with her and keeping up my end of the chores around the house was what she wanted to feel loved.  I wish I had read this book a long time ago (even before we were married.)  It’s changed my perspective on love and life and I hope that everyone (even unmarried people) have the chance to read this book.  I love my wife and now know how to show her.

Here’s a photo of Megan and Adrian, one of those couples that I knew were in love from the moment I met them and it showed during their engagement session. I cannot wait for their wedding later this year.

I’m a father to three beautiful children Charlie, Jacob, and Catherine and they are my world.  Here they are on a recent vacation to New York.  This was supposed to be a serious photo, but there’s always one of them that is laughing.  I love them.

I’m married to the most amazingly talented woman Julie.  She’s an amazing mother, a crossfit gymnastics instructor, a helper to those in need, and a friend to many.  My world lights up when she enters the room, and she’s my best friend.

I love photographing weddings.  I was hooked after my first one.  At the end of the wedding my feet hurt and I was exhausted, and I said to myself “I have got to do this again.”  I love the laughter, the smiles, the tears, the first dance, Daddy Daughter dance, the groom when he sees his bride for the first time, the father of the bride when he sees her in the dress for the first time,   the flowers, the dancing, and everything in between.

Here’s a video of me doing what I love to do.

If you’re interested in getting to know me better, you can find me on twitter, facebook, my blog, and a few other places.  Here they are if you’re interested in having a conversation.

Twitter, where I share things from time to time about life, laughter, love, and things that make me happy http://twitter.com/edwardjohnphoto

My most recent work is usually published on the Facebook page. http://www.facebook.com/EdwardJohnPhotography

I’ve had a flickr account for quite some time and you can see photos from me going back a few years. http://www.flickr.com/photos/edwardjohnphotography/

Lately I’ve been posting things that inspire me on Pinterest. If you havn’t become a member of Pinterest yet I highly recommend it. Although be prepared to lose a lot of time in your schedule. http://pinterest.com/edward_maurer/
I have a daily photo blog that I’ve been updating not exactly daily but it is the place where I experiment and constantly improve my photography. http://edsphotography.blogspot.com/

Special thank you to the fabulous Miranda Hopkins for capturing these photos for me.