Our Christmas Card | 2010

Merry Christmas | Cards and Recap of Year 2010

Only a few more days until Christmas! For the most part, my clients have sent out their 2010 Christmas Cards. I have been waiting to post these, just in case! I have to admit that half of my 50 are in the mail, on their way to mostly my family members in Utah, Ohio, Arizona, Missouri, and Georgia. Wish we could all be together for the Holidays, but I know that once you see the smiling faces of my children you will feel the love!

We had the trip of a lifetime over the summer, trekking cross-country to visit my paternal family in Central Eastern Utah. We have taken the trip two years prior, but we added a new addition since then and had one less helper, my cousin Chelsea. Every other summer we either go to Ohio or Utah. Really don't know how I am going to fit Ohio into wedding season this summer, but we do plan on going to Florida for a week with my younger college age siblings. Anyway, we usually try to incorporate our travels into our Christmas Card each year. We were able to see as much of Yellowstone as we could with three kids under the age of six. They were good and we had a blast. Stopping in Jackson Hole is always a highlight for me with the Tetons off in the distance. Wyoming was the place we took our first family vacation out of state when I was growing up, which really was only 7 years ago. For those of you who have never been to Utah, you are missing out. My wife planed our trip beautifully, however, we never planned for our bike rack to give us as many problems as it did. We did not make it to Rushmore this year because of it, but I must say Devil's Tower was quite memorable with the 100+ degree heat and my wife and I trying to ratchet our bike rack without causing a scene. Katie, my wife, you are incredible and I would travel across the universe with you as my co-pilot. Actually, she drives and I man the GPS, she isn't really a fan of him nor maps in general. We compliment each other wonderfully because I can't drive without falling asleep unless I am traveling well beyond the speed limit for the adrenaline rush. During mountain travel my wife sleeps and I drive. Nothing like driving in the mountains without guard rails and realizing that there are hundred foot drops on each side of you.

Of course I took my camera; I won't get into how many images I lost with the crash of 2010, don't worry no client images were lost. I do recommend Carbonite Online Backup and numerous external hard drive. I just might need to get another one just for 2011. 30mb per images is a lot when you take thousands of images in a day! This was a pretty big year for Anakin starting kindergarten and getting to ride to school with his grandfather and riding the bus home. Rivalee is growing into herself and truly is our little princess, attitude to spare. Jasper, well Jaspy as well call him, is currently cutting teeth and I don't have a whole lot of positive things to say about him, other than he love his daddy. It is pretty cute when he climbs into my office chair and proceeds to slam him 'bam-bam' fists down on my keyboard. Need less to say, my computer is on lock down with the kids around.

Katie and I are still going to school at Concordia Saint Paul finishing up our Bachelor's degrees. I did get my Associates this past spring from the University of Wisconsin-Marathon County, which marked the half-way point in my educational journey. I am not looking forward to the 100+ page synthesis project I have to write over the next 15 months.

That being said, I look forward to another eventful year full of amazing clients, beautiful weddings, and smiling faces. I have been so blessed this year, I can only imagine what next year will bring. I officially only have a month until Wedding Season starts, February-October this year. From my family to yours,

Merry Christmas + God Bless,


James, Katie, Anakin, Rivalee, & Jasper

PS: Christmas Card to follow - These are just a few I have been working on for my loving friends!

Macy's Final Edits + Prentice Senior 2011

Prentice Senior Photographer

Winter Wonderland

Much of what I been working on lately has been has been under wraps until Christmas is over! Here are a few mini-session shoot previews I have been working on. I plan on having a few full posts after the Holidays and my clients friends and family have received their amazing Christmas cards.

Christmas Card Designer

Long time!

So, I must apologize for not having gotten a post up sooner! This is actually one of the busiest times of year with orders and Christmas cards etc. Due to the nature of my shoots, I haven't been able to give a preview, but I am able to share just a few as an exclusive sneak peak. I must admit that shooting in cold has led me to use my studio more this winter. I hope to have many more studio portraits through these cold months. After Christmas, I will share some of the not so cozy sessions that took place in the snowy elements.

I am pleased to announce that a few of my photographs are hanging up at a local coffee shop, which I happen to adore. If you are a fan of my work and would like to see some of them in print, stop on by Uncommon Ground and treat yourself to any number of their delectable goodies, which include coffee, pastry, soup, pasta, & sandwiches. It is a favorite place of mine and I am sure that Sarah would appreciate the patronage. Tell them you came especially to see my work - you will notice that a few of my landscapes and themed prints are for sale!

On another positive note, I will have the great opportunity of photographing local Wisconsin landscapes and buildings, which will eventually appear on Wooded Postcards created by Blue Collar Creations. I will share more about these ongoing commercial shoots as I get them completed. If you have any suggestions of places I should go or ideas, I would love to hear your suggestions. If you have an amazing field, lake, barn, horses, cows, etc. please contact me!

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I know that my family and I have been truly blessed this year.

These little ones are just a few of the beautiful faces I have had the pleasure of capturing this year! Thank you & stay posted!

Family History Project: What Happens to Your Photos?

McElprang Family History Ancestors & Descendants of Elven & Beulah by BY: JAMES G. STOKES |

I often don't make personal posts, but this one I think pertains to what I do for a living. Photography is my first passion, but family history runs a very close second. For me, they are connected in so many ways. I would hope that someday one of my grandchildren would rediscover images from my life, either in albums, hard drives or computers, and preserve my memory with something very similar to this. By then I am sure that technology will come leaps and bounds.

This book took me nearly a year to put together and over 8 years finding all the information. I have been doing family research since I was a freshman in high school. I am very fortunate to have so many members of my family who contributed to the making of this book. Much to my regret, I am unable to make changes to this book. My computer crashed and lost the file for the book, but I still have all the information, which is most important to me. I learned a valuable lesson however, that life is fleeting and it is what we do with our time that truly matters. We can spend our whole lives trying to capture every moment, and miss what matters most, the people we love. Everything that we create in this life will fade, but the relationships we procure will last forever.

I would like to thank my family for allowing me to create this book. I hope that someday they value the stories in this book as much as I do. To know where we are going, we must know where we have been. This is only a small portion of what is yet to come over the next few years. I still have Stokes-Alger, Joss-Drews, Starks-Staege-Welle-Callahan, Shotliff-Culler-Reiter, Lutz-Wokenhauer family books to create!

Christmas Card Season

Megan + Mike {Rosholt Wedding}

A quaint church in the Iola countryside served as the location for these nuptials and though it may have been raining for a good portion of the day, it did not prevent these two and their wedding attendants from having a great time. An emotional day, with heartfelt speeches made by friends and family and an intimate ceremony. It was my pleasure to be a fly on the wall for most of their day and I enjoyed getting to celebrate with their large Polish families, many from my home town of Amherst. Maryland Ballroom held the reception, which consisted of a live polka band, great food, and lively guests. There are just a few images captured from their day. Enjoy!

View More Here!

Rosholt Wedding

Portage County Wedding Photographer

Carolyn {Favorites}

November tends to be the busiest time of year for editing and orders. I have been getting a few finishing touches done on several of my events. These are just a few!