NEWS

AFR Club Event – Join us at Cantigny Park

Hello Club Members!

Join us for our first get-together at Cantigny Park in Wheaton. In honor of afrphotography’s second anniversary and Al’s 81st birthday, we’ll spend some time remembering him, and his love of photography (Cantigny was a favorite) before heading out to shoot around the amazing gardens and grounds. Bring your camera or phone and enjoy a day of nature photography with other club members.

It’s Friday, July 29th, 2022 from 10am to 2pm.

We’ll meet at 10 am at the Visitor Center before heading out on the grounds. We’ll then gather back together at noon for refreshments.

We’d love it if after you would share 1 or 2 of your best images from the day with us so we can post them on afrphotography.com. You can email them to Jenn@briano.com

The $5 car parking fee will be paid by us. Just mention you are there for the AFR Club Event at the gate.

Can’t wait to see you!

Jen

His Legacy Lives On

Today would have been Dad’s 80th birthday.

For the longest time, whenever I asked him how he was – he’d never say fine or okay – he’d always say “Oh, I’m alive.” And we’d chuckle and I’d say that’s a good thing. And he’d agree with a smile.

He never put too many demands on life, but he did have one GIANT goal – he wanted to live to be 100. He didn’t know what he’d do when he got to the magical milestone but he sure wanted to find out what it would be like. He told all his doctors and friends and family long before he got so sick that he was going to make it to his centennial birthday, and nothing could or would stop him, not even Alzheimer’s. And dang it, with his stubborn spirit, we all thought he would make it.

He’s been gone a year and a half and it feels like a lifetime has passed, especially with the pandemic. But what I go back to for solace when I’m missing him is his incredible photos and the many happy memories I have of him sharing stories about his trips. In preparation for today, I started looking through the THOUSANDS of photos we’ve collected on a hard drive. I maybe got through a third of them and what I found often took my breath away. Such gorgeous, yet simple moments captured by his camera lens. In honor of his birthday and the one year anniversary of this website, we’ll be posting new photos for your viewing pleasure over the next few days. And please sign up for the AFR Club for the latest on free downloads and upcoming special events!

Thanks for your love and support of Dad’s legacy.

Vicki & Jen

Spring Awakening

Springtime through Dad’s camera lens. I’m not sure he had a favorite season to shoot, (he was out in all kinds of weather all year long) but if I had to guess, it would be Spring with all the bright colors and new life popping up everywhere. He didn’t have to go far to get some pretty spectacular images.

On the Hunt

“I think your father’s favorite story about me was my ability to locate
animals for him to photograph. We went to the Morton Arboretum a few
times. One time there was a patch of milkweed flowers in bloom, so we
went to take pictures of insects. While we were there, a red-tailed hawk
flew in and landed on small tree about 15-feet away from us. I pointed
out the hawk to your father. He was in joy as he clicked away with his
camera. Alvin teased me that I had a mouse in my pocket to attract the
hawk. I told him he was the mouse and would feed the hawk for a week!

The hawk flew to another nearby tree and Alvin thought we were done. I
said, ‘Get after him.’

We followed and photographed that hawk until we ended
up quite far away from the car … and the hawk finally flew too far to
chase after. After we got back in the car and turned on the AC and
cooled off, we headed for another spot. This time we were after frogs
and dragonflies.”

— Arnold Koenig, Dad’s long-time photography buddy

Remembering Dad

Dad’s been gone a year today. All at once the pain feels fresh – the heartache hits when I’m caught off guard – but it’s also hardened. I can talk about him without sorrow settling over my mind.

What’s helped with all the grief and hurting is the fact that we have his photo legacy to remind us of his talent, tenacity, and tender heart. I am constantly in awe of him as we keep finding new images on thumb drives and SD cards hidden in boxes and drawers. Part of me of course wishes that we’d done more with his work when he was here to enjoy it. But I know he sees what we’re up to and is tickled with all the attention.

The anniversary drew me back to the eulogy I wrote for him and I’d like to share a bit of it to remind me of the good times and all the laughter.

“If you know my dad, you know he appreciated an attractive lady. And when my dad saw said ladies, he would say “Hubba Hubba!”

So of course, this backfired on him pretty spectacularly when I was about four and we were on vacation in Florida. We were riding in my dad’s convertible down A-1-A in Miami, right along the busy beachfront, when a beautiful woman in a teeny bikini decided to cross the street, bringing traffic to a screeching halt. So that seemed like the absolute perfect time for me to stand up in the backseat, point, and yell at the top of my lungs, “There’s a Hubba Hubba Daddy!”

The woman turned and stared at me, along with everyone else on the beach, as my dad slunk slowly down in his seat, face bright red, hiding behind the steering wheel. I believe my mom sat next to him with a big satisfied smirk on her face while I was waving Hi to the lady. We never let him live that one down”

Autumn Aspirations

Dad was always on the move in the fall, not wanting to miss out on the ever-changing colors of the trees.

Whether it was a special trip to the Anderson Japanese Gardens in Rockford, IL or at a local forest preserve, he made a point of capturing the gorgeous palette of fiery reds, oranges, and yellows.

His obsession with the vibrant leaves started early. In the thousands of slides he took in the ’70s and ’80s, there were hundreds of autumn images.

You could tell he was working on his framing and trying to find the perfect light. As his skills improved, he ventured outside of Illinois, testing his talent around the country.

He went on fall colors tours in New England, Colorado, Indiana, and around Lake Superior, up into Canada.

Thank You!

Wow! We are overwhelmed with the love and support for the website! Thank you so much for your kind words about our dad. We’re thrilled that you are AWED by our dad’s images and his amazing eye. This is just a taste so far of what he’s done. We’ve got so many more photos and stories to share, including a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to photograph polar bears in the Canadian tundra. Be sure to sign up for the AFR Club for updates and exclusives.

About Al’s Daughters – Vicki & Jen

Jen and I came into the world on the same day four years apart, both of us 5 days late. Our Mom thought it was so rare that she contacted the Guinness Book of World Records. But it turns out to get into the book, she would have had to be born on our birthday, along with her mom, down the line. So, Jen and I found other ways to stand out.

I’ve been a writer since I was in elementary school. I remember winning a best story contest in 3rd grade and having dreams of writing books for a living. However, that plan changed when I learned about journalism. It really piqued my interest because I loved current events and learning about new things. I went on to study broadcasting at Grand Valley State in Michigan and got my master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University. My TV news career took me all around the Midwest as a newswriter, producer and executive producer – all mostly morning news programs. During that time, I met my husband Kevin, had two children, Jules and Calder, and roped Dad into being part of some of my broadcasts. He was always such a ham, looking for a laugh.

In between news gigs, I did co-author a book about political scandals of the new millennium – Lyin’, Cheatin’ Bastards. And now I’m ghostwriting a book for a Chicago TV personality. But the biggest honor of my career has been writing about our dad for this website, telling stories about his amazing life as a nature photographer and sharing our memories of his passion for pictures.

That passion was passed on to Jen as she watched Dad’s every move behind a camera, learning and growing in her own love of photography. While Dad was mostly self-taught, Jen pursued a degree to be sure she had the foundations and skills to excel. And excel she did, with all types of photography – portraits, weddings, landscapes, nature. She soon had a gorgeous style all her own that she has honed over the years. She and Dad took trips all over the Midwest together, shooting images of eagles, Sandhill Cranes, wildflowers, orchids, waterfalls, and airplanes. They rode in tundra buggies in Churchill, Manitoba to photograph polar bears, and drove high into the mountains in Glacier National Park, looking for grizzlies.

She and Dad had a language all their own when it came to photography – they were like two peas in a pod. And it paid off, as Dad’s dementia worsened over the last couple of years. She was able to understand what he wanted to do and help make it happen. She joined his camera clubs so he could still attend and now is even a vice president of one! She has curated the photos on the site, patiently going through just a few hundred to get us started. There are still thousands, including slides that we’re just now getting transferred. Who knows what surprises we’ll find? We hope you’ll join us in this amazing adventure.

NatParks_22-24_CPI_1_Alvin_Riesbeck_Balanced_Rock__1__sm

Al’s Famous Question

“Our photography group was driving back from Canyonlands National Park to Moab, UT during a furious blizzard at night. We could not even see as far as the front edge of the vehicle’s hood through the snow. Our treacherous terrain included driving over the “Knife’s Edge,” which is a place where the cliffs fall away from the road on both sides about one foot off the edge of the road. Alvin (who was deathly afraid of heights) then asked the now famous question for our group – “Where are we? I want to know where we are” – multiple times, only to receive the now famous answer, “Alvin, I know where we are, but you don’t want to know“.

The following morning, as we drove the same road back up to Canyonlands in the sunshine, it was then explained to Alvin where we had been, and he said “You were right Mark, I didn’t want to know where we were.”

— Mark Rasmussen

Stand-Up Friend

“My favorite story about your dad is when he was the score caller at our camera club’s competition. When we have our monthly photography competitions, we invite three photographers from other area clubs to act as judges. Each judge is given a scoring device and they score an image 1 thru 9. 9 being the best. The machine shows the individual scores and a total score from all three judges combined.

The score caller calls out the combined score. Now sometimes a judge will make an obvious mistake and the judge or another will call “rescore.” One of my images was being judged and the judges gave it 15. Alvin yelled out “rescore” and the judges promptly rescored it at 15 again. Even though I received a low score I was still pleased your dad stuck up for me.”

— Arnold Koenig, Dad’s long-time photography buddy