except these images are a little different. because i think these kids want to be doing exactly what they’re doing — making mom happy, hanging with the ‘sibs and smiling big all at the very same time for this crazy guy who makes funny noises, teases them nonstop and gives mom exactly what she was hoping for. this is what we call making magic and we’re so lucky to do it each and every day. {by jen}

–michael

this time, the shoot was a continuation of their “live united” campaign, but with kids looking like real kids, being themselves and “living united”. we had 11 kids from 2 to 12 at our studio for a fun-filled afternoon. unfortunately, i cannot show you any of the images just yet — well, except for one, it’s one of my three daughters. they had a blast posing in front of the camera. especially our littlest one, evie. she actually listened to me and followed all my directions. i guess i should carry my camera with me at all times to keep her listening.

first up is ava. she has worked with us several times before and comes to this shoot via jet set. today she was on fire! we could not get her to stop laughing and making all sorts of noise. she was so cute.

the next little one is mason. like ava, he’s with jet set and he was having a ball. he actually started to look for and smile at rei, who took the behind-the-scenes shots, when I wasn’t photographing him. total pro. the toy mason is holding is a vibrating teether. when you chomp on the little grape it starts to vibrate. for a split second, mason would look shocked but then smiled and then laughed. he had us all cracking up.

one of the things about commercial work is that you sometimes have to create something that is not really there. for the next shot, we had to add a kitchen feel without shooting in a kitchen. i think it worked out and, with mason in the shot, we can’t go wrong!

here is the shot the other direction:

when it’s a wrap, i always get a high-five from my models, even when they are only 7 months old. doesn’t always work, but mason tried and, like he does with everything, had fun doing it, too!

Kelly Hansen, Foreigner Lead Vocalist

the first album i ever bought was FOREIGNER 4. i still remember standing there in kaufhof (german department store) in ’81 and hemming and hawing, because it was so expensive. i probably still have the album somewhere in storage and wish i had dug it out to be autographed. we even snuck into FOREIGNER concerts a couple of times. they were big in germany and came through several times. mick jones is, unfortunately, the only original band member left, but they still sounded great and kelly hansen rocked.

Mick Jones, Lead Guitartist

Mick Jones

the following two images go together. i was photographing the band from the front of the stage, when kelly started to motion to me with his hand. i had no idea what he wanted. was he upset that i was photographing or did he want me to jump on stage like courtney cox in springsteen’s video?

turns out that he wanted my camera to take a picture of me. this shot is courtesy of kelly hansen

i am the guy in the middle with the very big smile (jen is next to me). not sure why i have my sunglasses on or why i am giving you all a thumbs up. i think i was just happy that he didn’t toss my camera into a corner. thanks, guys, for making a dream come true: michael spengler, concert photographer for FOREIGNER

but this change i’m about to tell you about… this change i can handle:

studio m / michael spengler photography is splittin’ up! not to worry, it’s not that kind of change. we are now two entities under one roof: studio m la jolla and michael spengler photography and i’ll tell you why.

michael is living his dream. he works with people he loves and creates images we love. he’s living in his new hometown (munich is his first), raising three fabulous girls and capturing incredible moments in the lives of this great community. studio m lolla, where michael has the brilliant opportunity to photograph incredible kids and high school seniors, has been growing since the day we purchased mike barth’s studio in 2002. it’s everything we wanted and now so much more. it allows michael to focus on what he does best, babies, kids and teens, and gives the community what they love best, his work.

then, slowly, over the years, a different kind of client has come a callin’. some saw michael’s portraits of local kids and teens, others heard about him through the grapevine, and these clients owned companies and needed advertising and catalog images and they wanted what michael was offering his private clients on a much larger scale. and so our one studio cell, if you will, has split into two and we’re hoping for identical successes. michael spengler photography is our new home for the commercial photography michael has been doing over the last year for companies such as infantino, discovery toys, la jolla beach and tennis club and several other national and international companies. it won’t take him away from the community, but it will certainly take his work to a much larger audience, and for that, we couldn’t be more thrilled.

so, if you happen to notice a new studio m logo around town or hear that studio m is splitting up, don’t worry: change is – sometimes – very, very good.

My favorite combination so far is John S for the lens and Ina’s 69 for film. Here are some samples.

My little Evie….

At the playground the other day…

yes…I didn’t know that I put my pinkies up when I am taking an iPhone picture. Need to work on that.

The next two sets are from a recent trip to San Francisco. The first set is from a Starbucks on Market at 6:08am on a Saturday. The second is from the hotel, an alley restaurant and two are from the Carousel at Mascone Center.