Civil War Fashion Show

Ball Gown

Day Dress

Mourning dress

We went to Tammy and Danny Krock's house one Sunday and she modeled several of her Civil War dresses that she has handmade. We had a great time and I learned a little bit more about lighting.

Red Barn Part 2

Dan and I stopped back at the Red Barn in September to get some late summer pictures with a different sun. The weeds have grown some and the raccoon family had checked out of their living quarters.

Two Cows

Two cows grazing in a pasture at sunset.

My Mom- Lyn

For one of my projects, I needed to take a portrait of someone using natural light. Why not my mom? She is beautiful!!

Forrest Rittel Class of 2012

On Labor Day Sunday, we went to the park by the Art Center and took Senior pictures. What a beautiful day!!

A Sample

A sample of some wedding pictures I have taken. I do have a portfolio with more pictures.

The Tree

Dan and I were out driving one evening and found some deer. I got out of the car to find the deer and they already took off. As I was walking to the car, I noticed this tree with the No Trespassing sign attached. I like the things you discover after something you thought would be a great picture!

Red Barn

I found this cool red barn south of Stuart. It has character. There is an outbuilding that has some raccoons living in but they are shy. Dan and I were there tonight and a couple birds were giving me a stern talking to about getting too close to them. More pictures later.

My husband

My husband, dressed in his Civil War uniform dressed in ribbons holding the regiment flag.

My (Unofficial) First Client


Dan and I belong to a Civil War Reenactment group, Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW). The first weekend in April was the annual encampment. This year it was in Council Bluffs. We had the National Camp Commander visit us for the meetings and we held an Auxiliary meeting as well. The camps from all over Iowa came together to give reports of the past year's activities, discussed present and future business, and voted in new officers for the next year. The men in uniform belong to the 49th Regiment out of Des Moines. They attend ceremonies, rededication of grave markers, parades, and any other activities that relates to the Civil War. The following are some pictures that I took of the meetings and the different groups of people. 

The SUVCW Dept. of Iowa with Nat'l Commander Schall   

 

The charters for the Auxiliary and the SUVCW



Marilyn Rittel holding a pin and reading the swearing procedures.



The SUVCW Auxiliary



Part of opening ceremonies



Swearing in next year's officers



David Thonpson receiving a certificate of completion of the SUVCW courses from National Commander Schall.

The next big event is on April 12th, 10:00am, at the state capital by the Soldiers and Sailors monument. That is the day Fort Sumter was shot upon by Confederate Soldiers 150 years ago. This event is the kick off for the next four years of activities endorsed by the SUVCW. I will try to attend as many acitivities as possible and take pictures.

Unit 1 Project

After the last two years of helping a friend of mine take pictures at weddings, I have come to the conclusion that I love taking pictures and celebrating events with people by recording that special day!! So I have signed up for an online photography course through NYI school in New York City. I have just completed reading and listening to Unit 1. Then I took pictures for the assignment. The top picture is to show depth of field and all needs to be in focus. The second picture was to be a shallow depth of field with a low aperture number. And the third picture was to show motion by controlling my shutter speed.(That one was kind of tough because I am not that familiar with shutter speed and how it works.) These are my results that I will mail into the school. I am super excited about this course and the prospects of the future!! (Thank you Shana for letting the spark turn into a flame!!)