My blog is moving: This is the last post here

I have been working really hard for the past month on my new brand, Rustin Michael. I also created a new website and blog. You won't notice many changes with the blog but my website is all new. This blog will remain online but will no longer be updated. Just go over to www.rustinmichael.com to see the new look.


My new blog is located at www.rustinmichael.com/blog. See you there!


Here is a shot of my new logo (thanks to Steve McAdam of Transitional Progress), the new splash page, and two shots of my new business cards.

PHILLIES WIN!!!!

The Phillies finally won the World Series. Gideon was too tired to stay up and watch the game, not like he would remember it at 5 days old. I was only 3 years old when the Phillies won the their first Championship in 1980. There were so many times this year when I wanted to give up hope on the Phillies. It seemed like every time I wore a Phillies shirt they would loose. I noticed the trend and stopped wearing my shirts and they started winning. During the playoffs things were different. The only losses they had were when I didn't wear a Phillies shirt, except for game 2 of the World Series where the umps blew two key calls. The past couple of years have been great to be a Phillies fan. They have been so close and made things interesting. I hope they can keep it up for a few more years and maybe even pick up another Championship. Here is shot with our Canon SD750 of Gideon and I watching the World Series.

Gideon Randall Cerveny - the arrival

Yesterday, 10/24/2008, at 9:42am I became a father. Gideon was born weighing 9lb 1oz and was 22.25 inches long.


The Blessing - a background
It is crazy how much can happen in a year. Last year on the 24th of October I packed up the Honda Element with my dad and drove from MD across the country to move to CA and take a leap of faith. On that same day Victoria was working with the movers to get our house packed so she could soon follow, by plane, a few days later with my mom. Victoria and I would have never guessed that we would have a child 1 year later. Starting a family was something we had hoped and dreamed about for several years but had no luck. We figured we would move to CA and get settled and then look into adoption one day. The exact day we felt settled in CA God started knitting Gideon together so he could be our child.


I am pretty sure this is the way things had to happen. If we had been blessed with a child back in MD I don't think I could have taken this leap to follow the dreams God has for me and my family. Jeremiah 29:11 says "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. That is a verse that Victoria and I have recited to each other so many times over the past year and half as we made our leap. It was our hope and comfort and remains to this day.


Gideon's birth
On Thursday, 10/23/2008, we had what was our last pre-baby midwife appointment. Victoria was already 4 days past her due date and had to make an appointment with the back-up OB for the following Monday to check on Gideon's health. Our Midwife, Mary Lou O'Brien, examined Victoria during her appointment and laughed saying you should be in labor right now. After we left, Mary Lou called her assistant, Elena Vogel, and warned her to be ready for a middle of the night call. After the appointment we headed over to Costco and then home to relax for the rest of the night. Later that night we went for walk around our apartment complex and then headed off to bed.


Around 3:30am Friday 10/24/2008 morning Victoria woke me up jumping out of bed saying her water broke. About 10 minutes later she started contractions. They started at 3-5 minutes apart and got increasingly more intense. After about 30 minutes I called Mary Lou and she headed on over along with her assistant. I also called our friend Lory who hosted our baby shower so she could be present at the birth. By 5:30am everyone was there that needed to be. The labor and delivery went smooth and was at home as planned. During labor I had a hard time holding back the tears as I read Psalm 139, and Lory read other passages, to help Victoria relax. I am so proud of Victoria and how she was determined to labor and deliver completely drug free and naturally and she accomplished that. It is crazy to think that 6 hours after Victoria woke me, we had Gideon.


Here are some images that I took when I had a chance. Make sure you read the end of this post for one last important paragraph.


Moments after Gideon's birth I grabbed my Canon 5D with 24mm 1.4L attached from the nightstand and captured this. You can see in the right part of the frame the blanket just about to cover Gideon up to keep him warm.

Lory took this with my 5D while I spent some time with Victoria and Gideon. It is our first family picture.

Victoria did such an amazing job. I am so proud of her!

Mary Lou giving Gideon his first check-up.

Gideon getting weighed.

Gideon is so cute.

I love these next two.

A little Dom Perignon to celebrate.

What I am thankful for
There are so many people that made this home birth experience so wonderful. Here is a short list.

1. Sherry Rumsey of Birthing Baby for encouraging us to give birth at home. It is something that Victoria always wanted to do but I know Sherry helped make it happen. Sherry is a midwife-in-training, doula, and was our Bradley Method class instructor. We highly recommend Sherry and her services.
2. Mary Lou O'Brien for being so amazing and wonderful as our midwife. We highly recommend Mary Lou and her 20 years of experience. I know we will be using her again.
3. Elena Vogel assisted Mary Lou with the birth. She was the first one to arrive that morning. Victoria and I are so thankful for her and all her knowledge and help.
4. Lory Ishii for everything she did to help. Lory made the most wonderful breakfast. I wish I would have gotten some pictures but I was a little preoccupied with spending time with Gideon and Victoria. Lory also ran out to pick up a few things once Mary Lou and Elena left. Lory even came back later that night to bring us dinner. We are also thankful for Lory's husband George and how he allowed his wife to come and serve us. George and Lory also prayed for us when we woke them at 4:00 in the morning. We are so thankful.
5. Everyone that called and sent messages on email and Facebook congratulating us. We are so thankful for all the blessings. We are also thankful for everyone offering to help in any way they can.


Life is beautiful and I think times like a birth or marriage bring out some of the best in human nature. We are thankful and full of joy!

New Portrait Section

With the new addition to our family I plan to add professional newborn and children’s photography to my business. Since this is a new extension of my business, I want to offer any of my blog readers in the Los Angeles / Orange County area the chance to be some of my first clients.


Anyone that sets up a session with me between now and the end of the year will receive:
1. A free weekday sitting/session fee (a $250 value)
2. Images from the session hosted online for purchasing and viewing with no minimum purchase required.
3. 50% off all prints for the first 30 days after going online
4. 2 for 1 prints for the first 30 days (ex: if you order 1 5x7 you will receive a second of that same image for free)


You can check out the new portrait section of my website at rmcphoto.com. Below are a couple of screen captures of my new site. If your browser does not match these images when you go to my new webpage, you may need to clear your cache.

If anyone is interested in taking advantage of this offer or has questions please contact me at info @ rmcphoto.com or call 410-652-8223 to set up an appointment.

Free to Succeed

Last night I went to see David Jay present at the LAX Sheraton for his Free to Succeed tour. Jasmine Star joined DJ as a guest presenter. Jasmine Star has only been photographing weddings for two years but her trajectory in the industry is something that has everyone in awe. The best part about her story is, Jasmine has achieved all this success by just being herself. I can see why she has no trouble booking brides with her personality. I am so excited to see what the future holds for Jasmine.

It was also good to see David Jay again. I am amazed by how he has been the brain behind several pieces of software for photographers all while shooting weddings. His newest creation Show-it Sites is groundbreaking. It allows you to quickly and easily build custom flash websites. Show-it Sites is built on Adobe Air and I am sure the executives at Adobe are very impressed with what DJ and his team have dreamed up. They must be, since they sponsored part of the tour.


I took away several valuable pieces on information that will help me better develop my brand. I also got to hang out with Becker, Jack Rantana, Christopher Wren, Brian Khang, and several other wedding photographers in the OC/LA region. I had a blast and hope to see some of my friends again soon. I have to give a big shout out to Becker for treating several of us to a late dinner at In-n-Out after the workshop.

My First Earthquake

WOW!! I just experienced my first earthquake. It was pretty crazy. All of the sudden I felt this slight movement. I thought it was a big truck going by but the shaking got bigger and kept going. I could hear the wine glasses rattling downstairs. Nothing fell off shelves or broke. Check out the link for details about the earthquake. It was a 5.4 about 35 miles from where I live.