MINNESOTA LOVE!

THE RETURN TO THE NORTH STAR STATE

For the past couple of years I had set my sights upon returning back to Minnesota.  I had posted about it numerous times and last year, it actually happened. When I say return, that’s because when I was an Active Duty Marine, I was stationed in Minneapolis for almost 4 years.  

You see, living there was a bit magical.  I grew up listening to Prince, and Morris Day & The Time albums with my older brother, so being able to see places that they were at in the movie, “Purple Rain” made me feel like a giddy kid again.  While I was there I also had the opportunity to spend some time with the Minnesota Vikings and made a lot of great friends.

Fast forward 20 years later, I’m now a well established fitness photographer, and came back to Minnesota last year.  I had the honor of working with two amazing fitness athletes. Both of these clients came recommended by other Minnesotans that I’ve worked and become acquainted with via social media.

My first athlete was Taylor Salewske.  This lady is so inspirational! She was recommended to me from my client Marissa.  Marissa and Taylor both told me about her transformation story, and anyone that knows me, knows that I LOVE a fitness transformation story.  I love hearing about the struggles that people have gone through, and overcame by making fitness the catalyst that projects them towards a new journey in life and the fulfillment it gives individuals.  I’ll actually let her tell her own story if you decide to ask her.

Here are some images that we captured at Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis with my friend Ryan Fonkert assisting me.  

We began the shoot doing some fashion looks, then turned it towards fitness.  I’m proud of Taylor, and now she’s off to bigger things in Phoenix, AZ as the Editor-In-Chief for the FITPosium Online Education Network.

My second athlete is Kelsey Ellis…

...this lady is definitely leading the way in Minnesota as a trainer!  Now you say, “How so?!?” and I answer with her passion to ensure that Minnesota fitness is put further on the map and recognized as a powerhouse state for fitness athletes.  From what I’ve witnessed, she’s unselfish with her time, to her clients. Kelsey was highly recommended to me by a long time fitness athlete and makeup artist Melissa, whom also lives in Minnesota.  

Here are some of the images we captured together at Lake Nokomis...Again, thank you to my friend Ryan Fonkert for the assist!

The one thing that Kelsey, Melissa, and I continuously spoke of was building Minnesota up and making it something spectacular for fitness athletes.  I’m going back there again this year to help get things moving in the right direction. As a Marine of 20+ years, and as a a proven communicator, I’ve learned and developed a work ethic that’s unparalleled to my peers.  For me, and my business “MikeCon Photography”, it’s all about the athletes and ensuring that they get quality work on a consistent basis.

Kelsey and I were texting back and forth last night and the biggest thing that made me start back to blogging and pushing out this message were her words, “I wanna make MN big too!  I know I can do it!”. That to me spoke volumes, and awoke my motivational spark. I guess some part of me began to feel like nobody else was truly caring about their photos, or promoting all of the hard work that they’ve accomplished in their fitness journey in order to motivate others.  I’ve unfortunately met others who are just fitness trainers/instructors that really don’t care about their people, and are just in it for a quick paycheck, or some title to validate their ego. Kelsey is not like that at all! That selfless attitude to bring up her people in her state is something that I love!

Contact me today if you’re a fitness athlete in Minnesota, and let’s build something special together.  With all those beautiful lakes, fields, farm houses, and city culture, I know we can make something amazing!!  I’ll be flying in on the evening of the 25th of May and shooting with athletes from the 26th-27th of May.  

Mike Conley @mikeconphoto

#mikeconphoto

"Ride Along" - By MikeCon Photography

***DISCLAIMER***  This does not have anything to do with those who've actually suffered from police brutality.  It's an unfortunate set of events, however this is my personal accord from my "Community Relations" ride along that I witnessed firsthand. 

First and foremost, I'd like to thank with a sincere heart the police officers at Denver's 6th District.  Specifically, officer's Peltier, Neblock, Yepishin, and Lemmons.  These gentlemen really opened my eyes on the true good that properly trained police officers do in the community. 

As a concerned citizen living in the Denver area, I wanted to be more involved in my community.  On television all last year and until now we all saw a lot of police shootings that have not just disturbed the black community, but the world.  Like any normal black man in America, I was angry.  I had reservations on how the civilian police were truly when you are dealing with them one on one.  Yes, I said, "civilian police" because if you forgot from reading my "About MikeCon" section, I grew up in the military service because of my Father, then I did my own tour of service as well.  With that being said, I've grown accustomed to how military police work.  After speaking with officer Peltier from a few months ago when I did a quick shoot of him at Cheesman Park, he asked me to do a ride along with him and check out a day and see the police officer life first hand.  

On 23 October 2017, our day began at 0700 (7 a.m. for you civilians) for "Role Call".  We listened to the Sergeant passing the daily updates on things to look out for, and fugitives they're looking for before we hit the streets.  We went downstairs and to his vehicle, got in and I wondered, 'How the heck is anything going on this early in the morning?', so I asked officer Peltier, "Does anything really happen this early, and on a Monday"?  He replied, "Not normally, but you never know.  Monday's are usually slow".  We pulled out of the station, and sure enough, the radio squelched, and we were off to our first call.   

We arrived at our first call at a hotel, where the front desk worker told us about one of the tenants being unruly.  The next call really showed me a different perspective of people.  There was a homeless couple that was sleeping in front of someone's home.  After spending time to explain to them that they couldn't remain there, it was explained to me that the homeless problem in Denver has been a major one and to the point that there's not much they can do except shuffle them around the city.  Yes, there's shelters they can go to, however most don't go because there's bedbugs, lice, thievery and some domestic violence that goes on in there.  It's so bad that there's a special  "Homeless Outreach Unit" that does their best to mediate issues that arise from the homeless and others.  

As the day went on we encountered other domestic issues between family and roommates, then dealt with a depressed man, living in a hostel for sex offenders, dealing with severe depression, who subsequently ended up getting locked up because he had a warrant for his arrest (failure to appear in court).  Other than that, there were quite a few calls that were for the removal of homeless people.  It's apparent there's a MAJOR problem, not just in Denver, but around the entire U.S.  It gave me a better perspective and shifted my mindset to trying to figure out what I can do to help this and contribute to assisting these citizens.  Seriously, it wasn't a race issue in my head anymore, it was a human issue.  Human issues should ALWAYS be the biggest concern. 

Seeing all of the homeless people made me want to engage this problem first hand and be part of the solution to help the community.  This year and for all the upcoming years I personally want to be more involved in helping people have food to survive.  I'm asking that we all play a part in this and help our fellow man.  There can only be a resolution if we all take a stand and make a difference!!

Semper Fi!!

P.S.  I almost forgot to add....please someone, make some time and get those officers at the 6th district some upgrades to their building.  They've been dealing with flooding, asbestos, and mold.  They truly deserve better!!!