Johnson County Relay for Life – June 24, 2011


What a beautiful night for Relay it was!  

If it involves fighting cancer you can bet I will be there!  Cancer has taken my father, two great friends, and two furry family members from me.  

I hope you enjoy the slide show and that it makes you want to help with the battle against cancer!   Please give what you can! 

After the slide show scroll down and see some of my favorite images from the walk and as always let me know what you think. 

A special thanks to Stubby Webb for all her help on this one!  🙂 

image by Stubby Webb

image by Stubby Webb

image by Stubby Webb

image by Stubby Webb

image by Stubby Webb

As Always have a great day and Stay Positive! 

Carl
Visions Photography – Go beyond the snapshot, YOU deserve something special!
319-286-8483

A Band Called Virago


On June 3, I was photographing the Relay for Life Linn County.  This band came on and I got basically hooked on the music as soon as they started playing, so I started grabbing some shots of them performing! 

Those of you who know me personally, know how much I love live music, and if there is one thing I like better than being a photographer and listening to music, it would be photographing live music!  🙂 

The name of the band is Virago and the music they play is well “awesome” 

The lead singer’s voice is what I think hooked me, she reminds me of Josh Stone in a way.  Anyway here is a few of the shots I got, hope you enjoy!  🙂 

For you photography “gear heads” out there, these were shot with my favorite lens, the Canon 70-200 2.8L IS.  A lens that in order to separate it from me will have to be pried from my cold dead hands!  LoL  😉  

As Always have a great day and Stay Positive! 

Carl
Visions Photography – Go beyond the snapshot, YOU deserve something special!
319-286-8483

Linn County – Relay for Life


If it involves fighting cancer you can bet I will be there!  Cancer has taken my father, two great friends, and two furry family members from me.  

I hope you enjoy the slide show and that it makes you want to help with the battle against cancer!   Please give what you can! 

After the slide show scroll down and see some of my favorite images from the walk and as always let me know what you think. 

I know at first glance this is just a crowd of faces, but look deeper, study the faces!  If you do so, you can see that cancer has touched the lives of each in the crowd.

This one speaks to me also!   To view these luminaries once lit and to see the sheer number of them, it is just incredible to me how many lives have been affected by cancer.   Each one represents a victim or survivor of cancer.  Each day cancer finds more victims! 

  This shirt says it all!

  No One Fights Alone! 

As Always have a great day and Stay Positive! 

Carl Bromberg
Visions Photography – Go beyond the snapshot, YOU deserve something special!
319-286-8483

Light the Night – Iowa City – October 9, 2010


This is the 2nd year now I’ve been involved with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s “Light the Night Walk” at Kinnick Stadium.  It is SO much fun and each year they raise a lot of money for research! 

As I’ve said before Cancer has become personal to me, I’ve lost my father, two great friends, and two dogs to cancer, one of the friends had Leukemia.  So anything I can do to help raise money to find a cure for cancer, I will happily do! 

You can purchase images from the Light the Night walk at my website, www.visionsphotography.net, click on the “View your Online Photos” link toward the bottom of the home page.  ALL proceeds from any sales will be donated back to the Leukemia Lymphoma Society!   So please make a donation and enjoy your photographs!  🙂

Enjoy the slide show (also available for purchase, contact me) and some of my favorite shots from Saturday night!  Drop me a line or leave a comment and let me know what you think!  🙂 

 

As Always have a great day and Stay Positive! 

Carl Bromberg
Visions Photography – Go beyond the snapshot, YOU deserve something special!
319-286-8483
 

Johnson County Relay for Life


Last Friday, June 11th I had the honor of photographing the Johnson County Relay for Life, and was also part of the team “Everyday Heroes”

Fighting cancer has become personal to me, I lost my father to prostate cancer, my daughter in law’s mother and dear friend Mary Read to lung cancer, Mary’s husband and close friend Bob Read to Leukemia, Chief a fuzzy beloved friend and family member to Stomach cancer, and Smokey another fuzzy beloved friend and family member to Bone Cancer.   

I want to see cancer wiped out, defeated! It touches way too many lives and is just a terrible disease, and the cures so far are not much better than the disease! 

One thing I noticed as the survivors spoke was how many of them have faced multiple battles with cancer and how it sometimes affects multiple family members.

There is still time to donate to Relay for Life, please donate $10 or more to help fight this terrible disease and wipe it out for good!   

Click the link and help someone have another birthday! 

https://secure3.convio.net/tacs/site/Donation2?idb=1303875816&df_id=1007669&FR_ID=22933&PROXY_ID=14107286&PROXY_TYPE=20&1007669.donation=form1&JServSessionIdr004=qnz6vejyg1.app310b

A very special thanks to Jaime Moquin for inviting me to become a part of the “Everyday Heroes” team, and to Stubby Webb for her help in taking these photographs!  You’ve got a talent for catching the moment Miss Stubby!  🙂

As always, hope you are having a wonderful day!

Carl
Visions Photography – Go beyond the snapshot, You Deserve Something Special! 
319-286-8483
319-270-7371  cell
carl@visionsphotography.net
www.visionsphotography.net
 
You can also see more of my work at the following sites.
http://www.facebook.com/carl.bromberg
http://www.facebook.com/visionsphotography.cedarrapids.ia
http://www.twitter.com/visionsphoto
http://www.visionsphotography.wordpress.com  Blog

In Loving Memory – Little Chief Timberwolf


Little Chief Timberwolf was his full name, a descendant of Balto, Chief was a therapy dog who helped a LOT of people!  He was a very special dog, companion, friend, teacher, mentor, family member,  who I shared a very special bond with!  He lived a great life for 11 1/2 years, he touched a lot of lives, and was loved by all that met him!   Both my son and myself fell in love with him the first time we met him.  This was so common, he was just one of those dogs that you instantly fall in love with, not because of the beauty he was graced with, and he was beautiful, but for that wonderful  energy he had about him!  

He recently started to lose weight very quickly, we battled but lost the fight on March 25, 2010.  The vets think it was cancer. 

Chief in his lifetime got to do and see so much, more than lots of dogs and even more than some people get to experience.  He was a Therapy Dog who helped a lot and I mean a LOT of people. 

One of my favorite stories about him was a woman who hadn’t spoke in a long time.  Chief was brought in to see her and within 5 minutes she was talking to Chief, the nurse was amazed!  The nurse said the woman hadn’t talked in like 2 years! 

Chief had such a wonderful calming and healing energy to him!  He got to work with cancer patients, elderly in nursing homes, adults and children alike!  He helped many to retrieve their lives by giving them hope and love!  He was just that way!  Always giving what he could give! 

I mentioned he was a mentor and teacher to me.  He taught me a great deal about life, love, caring, giving, patience, and his most recent gift to me during these past few weeks was a lesson on positive energy and it’s power!  Something I have been struggling with, and a precious gift I will never forget and will cherish for the rest of my life!  Because of him I can now feel energy like I never have before!

He LOVED going on walks, looked forward to them everyday!  Once out on the leash he had this little “strut” to him that I called the “Chiefy Strut”, it was just so cute to see!  He was such a happy dog!  LoL even strangers would be attracted to him and ask to pet him when they saw us out and about!  They would always walk away with a big smile on their faces. 

On Thursday morning, March 25, 2010, he was fine, spirited, spunky and eating.  He had actually gained 1 lb back in the last week, may not seem like much but it was progress!  About 1pm he came up to me while I was working on the computer, sat down beside me and I started petting that loving head, and scratching those great ears of his, while looking into those wonderful multi colored eyes, one blue, one brown! 

Well, soon I was on the floor and he was snuggled up to my leg wanting his belly rubbed.  Pretty soon the energy took over in an indescribable way, it was like our energies merged into one very warm, calming, healing, and loving energy orb!  This lasted for about 45 to 50 minutes and once again was just an incredible experience!  I will forever cherish those minutes.  He got up and walked to his room and rested for a while.  He got up suddenly around 2:45 like he was about to get sick which had happened a few times over the last few weeks, but this time he sounded like he was in pain.  He looked at me and told me it was time!  Both his original owners, Pat and Rick, as well as my son and myself were able to be there for him!  I think the vets were a little freaked out that so many came for him.  🙂

I loved him so much, I recently had him tattooed on my back!  He will truly be with me for the rest of my life, he touched my heart and graced my life in a very special way!  He touched a LOT of lives in a special way, he was a healer, mentor, teacher, companion!  I’ve had clients want to get pictures made with him and he was always willing to accept their request.  He truly touched the heart of all that met him!  He will be missed by the MANY that loved him!  He was so loved my many many people!  Such a special, sometimes goofy guy!  🙂  He will live on in my heart and in the images I have taken of him, and in the hearts of all that knew him! 

Little Chief Timberwolf, September 13, 1998 to March 25, 2010! 

In loving memory, you will be missed!  Thank you for gracing my life with your presence and for all the lives you touched and brought joy to!  RIP my friend!  I’ll see you again at Rainbow Bridge, until then enjoy playing with your former pack members, Shasta, Bear, Shadow, Tasha and Smokey!  

Thank you to my son Joseph and his wife Jenny for bringing Chief into my life, he was a true gift, and a great friend!

These are some of my favorite images of him!  🙂  Ahhhh the good times!  Balto himself would have been proud of you! 

Puppy Chief….Yes he had big ears, but he grew into them nicely!  🙂

His former pack.  Chief is on the right in the picture above.  Notice that everyone is on the same foot!  Now that is a pack! 

Chief is in the middle, LoL always next to the human!  🙂 

Another shot of his former pack.

The next couple shots are people Chief helped as a Therapy Dog!  🙂

The above picture was just taken 1st of Feb. 2010.  Just 8 weeks ago. 

I was out front shoveling snow when I noticed Chief through the fence.  He almost looks mean in this, but he was super gentle and the best trained dog I have ever owned.  🙂

He truly loved the snow!  No surprise being a Siberian!  🙂

A shot taken last fall of Chief and his buddy Smokey!  Both gone but never forgotten.  They became really good buds and in Smokey’s last days  Chief was right beside him the whole time! 

Chief, Me, Smokey and Mia.  Chiefs latest pack!  This photo was taken by Greg Frieden.

Chief and myself!  🙂  Thank you Chief for all the gifts you gave me!  Photo by Greg Frieden

————————————————————————————————————————————————-

    

 

The time comes. 
A Siberian Husky lifts up its head. 
There is an untested adventure beyond. 
Time to go. 

Across the Rainbow Bridge is a place for all dogs. 
A river runs wide and shallow with tennis balls that fly with their own wings; 
That is the place for a Labrador or a Golden to await its master’s arrival. 
The Siberian is not content here. Northward is its trail. 

There are soft pastures for Aussies and Border Collies, with sheep and geese to pen. 
Agility equipment grows like trees amid Frisbees and fly ball. 
But the North continues its sure wild call, 
And the Siberian’s journey continues. 

Now the air is colder. Now the moon is always full. 
Now the light is silver and it breaks and shimmers on fields of bright snow. 
Now there are no roads, no walls, no pens, just endless space to run. 
; This is where Siberians gather, North of the Rainbow Bridge. 

They wait in this beautiful place, happy, but not complete. 
Suddenly, a howl begins, as one dog senses someone coming, someone very special. 
All the Siberians raise their heads and join in the ancient chorus. 
They dance like moonbeams and sing like winter winds. 

There are red ones like dawn streaks, black ones splattered with many colours 
And silver ones like the first strange hour before light. 
They line up as if in harness and run together, 
In a scintillating, many-coloured streak. 

The leader of the team guides the others past the fields and river, 
With racing feet and racing heart. 
They rush to greet the new arrival at the Rainbow Bridge 
Where the leader is rejoined with its beloved person, never to be parted again. 

The glory of the reunion is celebrated by all the Siberians dwelling beyond the Bridge, 
A glimmering, multi-coloured team leaping and whirling with joy.; The light from that scene is
what we see on magical evenings in the northern most parts of this Earth: 
The Aurora Borealis, the Northern Lights beyond the Rainbow Bridge. 

 

————————————————————————————————————————————————-

As always, hope you are having a great day!  And stay positive!  🙂
Carl
Visions Photography – Go Beyond the Snapshot, YOU deserve something special!
319-286-8483
319-270-7371  cell
carl@visionsphotography.net
www.visionsphotography.net
 
You can also see more of my work at the following sites.
http://www.facebook.com/carl.bromberg
http://www.facebook.com/visionsphotography.cedarrapids.ia
http://www.twitter.com/visionsphoto
http://www.visionsphotography.wordpress.com  Blog

Just a good story! Maybe 2! :)


I first want to thank Miriam for forwarding me this story and her support on Sunday.  As soon as I read this, I had to post it here!  🙂  Also a special thanks to Stubby who helped me through a dark time also on Sunday.   And a BIG thank you to Pat and Rick, Chief’s former owners who came by to see him, once again on Sunday!  One more special thank you to my neighbor Stephanie who brought Gator out to see Chief on Saturday.  Chief has been eating ever since these events, please keep that energy coming for both of us!  🙂  More on Chief after the story. 

Those that know me are aware of the special bond I have with my dogs Chief and Mia, and a recent passed “Fuzzy Buddy” named Smokey Dawg who gave me 13 wonderful years…….others may just think I’m nuts, but they don’t realize how much love you can find with a dog or any pet.  It’s just so pure and unconditional!   But it’s not just the love, if your eyes and mind are open enough you can learn a LOT about life from them.  They live in the moment, they don’t worry about what will happen next, or what happened yesterday or even 10 minutes ago. 

Here’s the story……

————————————————————————————————————————————————-

This really is a great story!  Lucky Dog…. Anyone who has pets will really like this. You’ll like it even if you don’t and you may even decide you need one!

Mary and her husband Jim had a dog named Lucky. Lucky was a real character. Whenever Mary and Jim had company come for a weekend visit they would warn their friends to not leave their luggage open because Lucky would help himself to whatever struck his fancy. Inevitably, someone would forget and something would come up missing. Mary or Jim would go to Lucky’s toy box in the basement and there the treasure would be, amid all of Lucky’s other favorite toys. Lucky always stashed his finds in his toy box and he was very particular that his toys stay in the box.

It happened that Mary found out she had breast cancer. Something told her she was going to die of this disease….in fact; she was just sure it was fatal. She scheduled the double mastectomy, fear riding her shoulders. The night before she was to go to the hospital she cuddled with Lucky.  A thought struck her…what would happen to Lucky? Although the three-year-old dog liked Jim, he was Mary’s dog through and through. If I die, Lucky will be abandoned, Mary thought. He won’t understand that I didn’t want to leave him! The thought made her sadder than thinking of her own death.

The double mastectomy was harder on Mary than her doctors had anticipated and Mary was hospitalized for over two weeks. Jim took Lucky for his evening walk faithfully, but the little dog just drooped, whining and miserable. Finally the day came for Mary to leave the hospital. When she arrived home, Mary was so exhausted she couldn’t even make it up the steps to her bedroom. Jim made his wife comfortable on the couch and left her to nap.. Lucky stood watching Mary but he didn’t come to her when she called. It made Mary sad but sleep soon overcame her and she dozed.

When Mary woke for a second she couldn’t understand what was wrong. She couldn’t move her head and her body felt heavy and hot. But panic soon gave way to laughter when Mary realized the problem. She was covered, literally blanketed, with every treasure Lucky owned! While she had slept, the sorrowing dog had made trip after trip to the basement bringing his beloved mistress all his favorite things in life. He had covered her with his love. Mary forgot about dying. Instead she and Lucky began living again, walking further and further together every day. It’s been 12 years now, and Mary is still cancer-free.

Lucky, he still steals treasures and stashes them in his toy box but Mary remains his greatest treasure.

Remember……live every day to the fullest. Each minute is a blessing from God. And never forget….the people who make a difference in our lives are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones that care for us.

Live simply.. Love seriously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God. A small request All you are asked to do is keep this circulating, even if it is only to one more person, in memory of anyone you know that has been struck down by cancer or is still fighting their battle.

————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Well that’s the story, now for mine. 

I’ve personally lost a father, the other grandparents to my grandchildren, Bob and Mary Read, and my beloved Smokey Dawg, all to cancer.   If you would like to help fight cancer, please see my current special, just click on the Specials page to the right!  🙂 

Chief hasn’t been feeling good lately, he stopped eating and has lost a lot of weight in a short time.  He’s 11, yes but he is very strong in spirit, he is a Siberian Husky and just beautiful in both appearance and spirit.  He is a retired therapy dog, and has helped a lot, and I mean a LOT of people overcome their illnesses!  He has helped me see things in a different light and during these last couple weeks has tought me a tremendous amount about positive energy and love! 

I was getting frustrated at my computer the other day and Chief sensed this and came up to me, nudged me as if to say take a break.  He did this despite his weak state, and I was like wow!  Ok buddy let’s go for a short walk!  Everything was better! 

Just this past weekend, I was feeling really sad about my buddy Chief and his weakness from not wanting to eat.  My energy seemed to be totally drained.  Mia came up to me and just layed down in front of me as if to say everything will be ok.  When I went inside, she went over to Chief and nudged him as if to tell him everything was going to be ok!  He then ate a little bit. 

The next day Stephanie next door brought Gator out to the fence and let Chief sniff, see and “talk” to her.  LoL Chief and Gator have a bond with each other also.  🙂  Really cute to see!  Chief came inside and ate!  🙂

Chief’s original owners Pat and Rick came by for a visit Sunday night, Chief knew they were there before they could get up the steps, he was already standing at the door and waiting for them….loving energy in its purest form!  After they left he ate, then two hours later ate again, and he has been eating ever since!  I’m really hoping this is a trend toward recovery! 

The vets think he may have the C word, and this may be true, but I don’t “feel” that is the case.  I just don’t get that energy from him.  What I do get is confusion, and uneasiness and a sense of missing Smokey, who he was really close with. 

The final chapter hasn’t been written yet, but hopefully with a lot of  love and positive energy, Chief will be back up and taking long walks soon!  I can “see” him becoming a Therapy Dog once again!  I think Mia can become a Therapy Dog also, she is such a loving and caring spirit herself!  For now, I’m just thrilled Chief seems to be eating again! 

No matter what happens, Chief has given me some precious lessons about life, and a whole lot of love!   For now I’m taking in each precious moment of our time together and my time with Mia!   Also going to work harder at being in the moment with my Son, his Wife, and those two precious grandchildren of mine.  And all the wonderful friends and clients that have touched my life!   I’ve learned a lot of lessons from a lot of unexpected sources these last few weeks including one from my son, Joseph!  Thank you! 

Chief

Mia

Smokey

As always, hope you are having a great day!
Carl
Visions Photography – Go Beyond the Snapshot, YOU deserve something special!
319-286-8483
319-270-7371  cell
carl@visionsphotography.net
www.visionsphotography.net
 
You can also see more of my work at the following sites.
http://www.facebook.com/carl.bromberg
http://www.facebook.com/visionsphotography.cedarrapids.ia
http://www.twitter.com/visionsphoto
http://www.visionsphotography.wordpress.com  Blog

UI Dance Marathon


Last Friday, Feb 5, 2010 I had the privilege of photographing some of the children and their families that were participating in the University of Iowa Dance Marathon.  http://www.uiowa.edu/~dancemar/  I was so inspired by these children and their strength in fighting this terrible disease!  The thing that impressed me most was how special the shoot was for the kids and their families.  The fact that in the midst of dealing with such a disease, the willingness to open themselves up to being photographed is a testament to their resilience and the importance of these pictures in documenting their “spirit and strength” which was just incredible to witness!

Dance Marathon is a student run philanthropy dedicated to supporting oncology patients being treated at University of Iowa Children’s Hospital. It is a year-round organization that culminates with a 24 hour-long BIG Event in February. To date, Dance Marathon has raised over $8.6 million dollars for children being treated in Iowa City, 1,058,568.16 was raised for the children this year alone!

The photography for the children and families is coordinated by another great organization called “Flashes of Hope”.  http://www.flashesofhope.org/  They coordinate between the events, photographers, and all involved and provide these images to the families, all free of charge. 

I hope you enjoy the pictures and get a little inspired yourself from the smiles on the faces and their strength and spirit!  I’m honored to have been a part of it!  A special thanks to Jaime Moquin and Stubby Webb for helping out, you definately made my job much easier, and more importantly helped create some memories for both the children and the families!  THANK YOU Jaime and Stubby!!!

Carl
Visions Photography
319-286-8483
319-270-7371  cell
carl@visionsphotography.net
www.visionsphotography.net
 
You can also see more of my work at the following sites.
http://www.facebook.com/carl.bromberg
http://www.facebook.com/visionsphotography.cedarrapids.ia
http://www.twitter.com/visionsphoto
http://www.visionsphotography.wordpress.com  Blog