The Greatest Christmas Ever!

Hi Everyone,

We just returned from a great trip back to Minnesota and North Dakota for an early Christmas with Jessi's side of the family. Notice I didn't say Jessi's family. After over 15 years as an "In-Law", I consider them as much my family as anyone's. Our boys haven't spend any time in the snow since we moved to Arizona 8 years ago. You can tell by this first picture that Kaeden was taking it all in on our first morning when we awoke to a picturesque snowfall.



We were fortunate enough to be able to find this beautiful log cabin-themed restaurant that let us set up a family photo. I employed the bartender to hold the flash for us while we snapped five quick pictures. You can see how little Braiden is looking that direction. He must have thought the bartender was taking the picture because he is looking at him in EVERY picture. I thought that was very funny.
My wonderful parents (in-laws) live on a beautiful lake in western Minnesota and the lake froze over very smooth this year. We were fortunate to get out there and pull the kids around on a sled with the ATV one day. Even Grandma loves to get out there and enjoy the excitement.


This image shows a crack in the ice and you can see that its at least 10 inches thick. I have never been on a frozen lake like that before and I'll tell you that it is a nervous feeling when you feel the ice crack and hear the sound radiate through the lake.


This image shows Jordan and Kaeden trying to look through the ice into the lake. They couldn't really see anything but the real point of sharing this image is comparing it to the image after it. Not only did we get to experience a winter that we have been away from for 8 years but we experienced the third largest snowfall in a 24 hour period on record. You can see how much snow is on the lake when we woke up after the storm. I can tell you that it was simply beautiful.




The following pictures are from our trip to a Christmas tree farm. This was the day before the storm hit. It was very cold but we still had a great time. We were blessed with the most beautiful frost on the trees, a photographers dream.








Finally, I provide you with my two favorite pictures from the trip. This first one is of my nephews after opening a gift that they had no idea of what it was about. They tore open the wrapping paper with feverish excitement and then stood back and looked at it with... well, these expressions. It was priceless. I seriously giggle out loud every time I look at the picture.


This shot was of Dane after he came in from an extended below zero degree snow session. He had frozen eyelashes and I just wanted to capture it and was pleasantly surprised by the beautiful light coming through the frost covered door window.



Merry Christmas everyone!!

He has a name

The newly acquired kitten has been named Panda. He is a constant source of emotions. He is very playful and extremely lovable. Panda has no fear. He plays with the dogs that have heads bigger than he is and lately he has discovered a new playmate...

Friday Night at the Waterfall

I had a fun session on Friday evening with B. She wanted to get some shots that captured her playful personality and we nailed it. I revisited this killer waterfall on the corner of a very busy intersection in Peoria but the beauty is that its below street level so you avoid the "rubba-neckas". Check out a couple results from our session.

What Have I Done

Jessi and I are proud of how tender-hearted our boys are. They truly care about people and have extra special places in their hearts for animals of all kinds. This can have negative effects. For the third time this year, yeah I said third, the boys have brought home a new kitten. It was very easy for me to say "absolutely not" the first two times. This one is a little more difficult. Check this one out.



When will we learn that there is such a thing as TOO MANY pets.

Bryana and Evan

I had my first solo wedding shoot a couple of weeks ago. I was a little nervous but not as much as I expected. We were freaked out when the sprinklers came on in the park shortly after we started shooting. After playing a little "Frogger" trying to dodge the sprinkers we got out of there without a wet bride. I even had to use my brand new reflector as a shield. We returned after the ceremony and got some spectacular shots.

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Gotta love the sun flare.




They were married on an island so I had to go with a marine themed ring shot. The rings are sitting on one of the dock timbers.

My Second Wedding

Thanks to "Capture This!" by Brooke, I was able to shoot second once again to try to overcome my fear of being the sole photographer and potentially ruining someones wedding memories. I do love to shoot weddings. I just love being surrounded by all of the excitement and happiness. As a photographer it is a very great atmosphere to be in. Nathan and Amanda were really nice people and they and their families really had a fun day. The wedding was held on the rooftop of the hotel and was nearly rained out. Fortunately it passed and we only had to deal with a little wind.

Here are a few of my favorites from the day.

And I'm off...

I've wanted to start a blog through Blogger for some time now. So here I go. This should be fun. Lets start with an introduction.

This is me.


I grew up between North Dakota and Arizona. I received my degree in Commercial Art in 1989 and have been working as a production designer all these years. Yeah... I'm getting old. I'm an Apple freak! Macintosh, iPods, iPhone you name it, I love it. My family and I have been back in Arizona since 2001.

Speaking of family, this is my beautiful wife. We been with each other for nearly 20 years.


We have three great boys.

The High School Graduate/Rocker.


The High School Freshmen/Rocker in Training.



The Sixth Grader/Tough Guy.



Ok so that was my quirkie first post. I hope to be able to start out with a new post at least once a week sharing images and experiences from my personal life as well as my experiences cutting my teeth as a professional photographer. I hope to see you back.

Check out www.banningphotography.com