People like Shannon and Colleen Graham tell their tales through photographs.
Instead of adjectives, the Grahams use lines and light to capture the story behind the pictures.
The couple recently opened S&C Graham Foto Design on Main Street after operating a photography and design studio out of their home for several years.
The building offers a perfect opportunity for the Grahams to do their work and showcase fellow artists' work in the front windows and intimate waiting area.
"We are photographers first, but we are also art lovers," Shannon said. "So we are artists for artists. Being a studio owner gives us the opportunity to showcase their work."
It is their passion for the work that kept them motivated, even through lean weeks and months. During college they perfected their skills shooting weddings and senior pictures. Now they focus their attention on commercial work and fine art, though the occasional high-end East Coast wedding sometimes makes its way onto their calendar.
Their work in photography has led them to explore other artistic talents in both Web and graphic design. They use those skills to create Web pages and television spots for clients across the country.
Though their studio is located on Main Street, many of their clients hail from both coasts. After attending Hawkeye Community College the duo moved to New England to hone their skills with photographers there. They worked continuously and eventually had enough of a client base to branch out on their own.
But, the tug of returning to Shannon's hometown never quite subsided. Finally, they consulted their clients about the possibility of a move and received the blessing of every one.
"They didn't mind. It's still easy for our clients to send us to California or the East Coast from here. And they get a cheaper rate because our cost of living is lower," Shannon said. They do keep a home in Maine to use when shooting in New England.
Today, they continue to shoot and design for those companies while building a Cedar Valley and Iowa clientele.
Their work isn't limited to the United States. Recent assignments have taken them to Mexico to document the tequila industry and more recently to Canada to shoot a whiskey distillery.
When they are at home, Shannon said, they spend most all their waking hours in the Main Street studio. There is nowhere else they would rather be.
The Grahams have been shooting for as long as they can remember. Shannon credits his passion to his father, who wouldn't let him use a gun while hunting at age 13 but instead gave him a camera to capture the trips on film.
"Since then, photography has been my life," he said. "When I am not shooting, I am talking about it. When we are on vacation, it's not really a vacation. We are constantly shooting."
Colleen said her passion comes from a desire to turn the mundane into "something immaculate."
If it weren't for the need to pay the bills, Shannon said, he would focus on fine art --- like the motion study he just completed using dancers from Kinetic Energy on Main Street --- or editorial photographs --- like those he took of the boat builders on the East Coast or the Irish community in south Boston.
Colleen, however, would focus her attention on architectural studies and conceptual digital image creations. She has a degree in digital photography.
http://www.wcfcourier.com/articles/2007/03/11/business/local/41b7abeef5f316bd8625729a0058589d.txt
