Fresno Wedding Photographer Craig Kohlruss » Editorial

Rick Norsigian for Backpacker Magazine

Craig — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 15:59:52 +0000

Backpacker Magazine contacted me about doing a portrait of Fresno collector Rick Norsigian. The Fresno Bee had done a few stories on him already about his mysterious collection of glass negatives found at a garage sale that he claims were made by famous nature photographer Ansel Adams. Although there is a pretty good case that the negatives could be Adams,’ no official member of the Ansel Adams library have agreed to give their seal of approval. If they did, of course, they would be worth thousands or even millions. I had yet to meet the man but when I finally did, it was a pleasant experience. He was very gracious and of course gave me his complete side of the story. The above photo of Rick in his home full of various collections and antique finds and holding one of the glass negatives was the one chosen for the magazine.

Fierce Creatures

Craig — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 17:31:30 +0000

I did this conceptual shoot of the Fresno band Fierce Creatures for the Fresno Bee’s entertainment section, “7,” a couple of weeks ago. I was pretty happy with it and got a lot of feedback on it so I thought I’d post it here on my blog. It’s stories like this that keep me wanting to go back and do all the mundane assignments I get each week at the paper. I just love having a new challenge and something that will allow me to really find my creative voice, so to speak. Anyway, I hope Fierce Creatures did well at South by Southwest and I look forward to seeing their careers take off.

Oh yeah, here’s a video I did during that same shoot.

More pictures after the break. Click the link below if you’re on the home page.

David Archuleta performs in Clovis

Craig — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 03:43:18 +0000

American Idol runner-up David Archuleta performs in Clovis, CA

Okay, so this is kind of a cheap attempt to get a little more traffic to my site, but I couldn’t resist. When I tweeted an iPhone photo of the crowd waiting to see David Archuleta at Sierra Vista Mall I got about 10 RT’s in five minutes. So I sent another and then worked up a photo gallery of the American Idol runner-up for the Fresno Bee Photography gallery site. I posted that link on the Bee photo Facebook page and shared it with David Archuleta’s page and Sierra Vista Mall. Of course I also plugged sponsor Y101. So I think I hit all the good search keywords here so I’ll probably get a few hits from fans wanting to see more of the photos. Did I mention I am a wedding photographer in Fresno? And oh yeah, I am also a commercial photographer in Fresno too!

A Day in the Life of San Joaquin city manager Cruz Ramos

Craig — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 20:14:18 +0000

Cruz Ramos sips a cup of coffee at Maria's restaurant before starting her day.

I was selected to spend a day with Cruz Ramos, the city manager for the tiny town of San Joaquin, by the Local Government Commission, a non-profit organization that helps small communities collaborate together with ideas to improve life for their residents. It was a great experience for me to shadow Cruz on her 10-hour day around town and across the valley on what she called “a down day.” I very much appreciate this opportunity from the LGC and my friend John Decker who recommended me for this project.

A remnant of a once flourishing agricultural hub, a vacant creamery stands at the entrance to the tiny Central Valley town of San Joaquin, CA.

Cruz Ramos takes a drive around town as she does each morning checking on the progress of improvements and potential problems.

A kitten wanders in front of a row of stores along Main Street in San Joaquin. A facade program has improved the look of the storefronts.

Cruz checks in with a crew installing new sidewalks - a plan to get people walking around town instead of taking their cars everywhere.

Cruz checks in at a meeting of city managers and administrators from small towns around the Central Valley - many suffering the same problems as San Joaquin.

Cruz listens as city administrators from surrounding towns presents ideas to a variety of problems.

Cruz is called to address the group on some ideas she has.

Never away from her Blackberry, Cruz checks messages during lunch.

A worker finishes up on a sidewalk in San Joaquin. The city is making a strong effort to curb the obesity epidemic by getting people walking again.

San Joaquin residents take advantage of a pleasant fall day to walk and ride bicycles.

Back in the office, Cruz takes care of some business before heading home for the weekend.

A sidewalk in the center of town shows decorative brickwork and lighting. Cruz Ramos, who helped get the project done says it will have a water fountain as well.

Cruz meets with her staff late in the afternoon

Cruz stops in at the VWF where community members are volunteering to serve a Thanksgiving dinner for needy families.

Cruz addresses the families and thanks some special people who came together to make it happen.

Cruz is all smiles after a successful day and a remarkable job as city manager, helping to make her community more livable for its residents.

Inspiration Awards

Craig — Wed, 13 May 2009 03:30:09 +0000

Riverdale High School in tiny little Riverdale, a farm town in south Fresno County, made big news today when it was named the College Board Inspiration Award winner – one of only three in the nation. Schools chosen for this award show a high percentage of college-bound students. Riverdale accepted a $25,000 check and trophy during a special assembly. Among the dignitaries were College Board Vice President Peter Negroni who made visits to a couple of classrooms after the assembly. I got this as a freelance assignment for the College board via Redux Plus, a New York photography agency.