THE BIG I: I got my photography published
cover of Big I Michigan September 2026 issue
In late July I got a call from my wife from her office, she was in a frantic excitement. Her boss was selected to become the next president of the BIG I Michigan, the largest trade association that represents independent insurance agencies across Michigan. He was in need of photos to submit for the BIG I magazine that would be going out in September. My wife and I have had a wonderful report with her bosses over the past few years and when they needed a photographer they immediately thought of me.
Now the reason my wife was frantic wasn’t just because she thought it was a wonderful opportunity for me, but also because it was very short notice. They needed to do the photos the next day. I was honestly a little tired from working a shift at my night job the previous day, and my next shift would also fall that same day as the photo shoot. Which now meant that aside from spending the rest of the day preparing all the gear I was going to need for the shoot, after the shoot I needed to edit and have finished results before I went to work that night. After I got off the phone with my wife I immediately went to our storage area in the basement and started looking through what gear I could find to do portraits. Up to this point I hadn’t done head shots in well over a year. I have mostly stuck to street and documentary style shooting for my personal hobby.
As I waited for my wife to get home from work, I gathered the strobe lights, light stands, meters, charged all the batteries, and ironed the backdrops. I also needed to make sure all my settings were set on my cameras.
I decided to use my Fuji XT5 and my Fuji GFX 100sii. Everything so far was falling into place, I truly believed I was all set for this photo shoot. I was also excited to finally use my portrait lens on my GFX system for a real photoshoot. I had full confidence in using my GFX system for the whole shoot, however if there was one thing I learned from my previous employer, Tammy Labar, a women who took me under her wing as a wedding photographer and to this day I owe everything I know not photo related to doing professional photo work. That involves packing extensions cords, hair brushes, portable steam irons, even packing a pack of gum. She taught me to always have a plan B! This is why I also brought the fuji XT5.
The day of the photoshoot my wife and I got to the office with ample time to set up. Everything was running on time and smooth. But when I went to test the GFX system with my strobes, the strobes didn’t fire! I tested the connection with the test fire and it worked so I knew the strobes themselves were not the issue. After trying several times to get the camera to fire the strobes, the anxiety set in and I made the decision to shoot the headshots with the fuji xt5. I thought to myself maybe we can use the GFX in another part of todays shoot. Or just use the Xt5 the whole day. Either way for the headshots we were sticking to the XT5. We got the headshots done smoothly, and still managed to make good time.
Original photo, Dan Mercure
Fuji GFX 100sii
Three generations of Mercure
Dan Jr. (left), Dan sr. (center), Chris (right)
Fuji XT5
After the headshots I was off with my client to do some on location shots. Aside from being the owner of the insurance agency he was also the local Fire Chief. As such he needed some photos around the fire station in uniform. The location was great, it was right in front of the big garage doors and all the fire engines were nicely lined up in a row. I decided this is where I could use the GFX system, the 100 megapixel environmental portraits to convey the importance of being the fire chief, coupled with some portrait shots I think really told the story.
Mercure staff in front of office
Fuji GFX100sii
After the shoot I managed to get the images edited and finalized and sent off before my next shift at work, and honestly hadn’t put much thought about since then. Until yesterday, when my wife texted me and my family announcing the release and the importance of the magazine. The response was astounding! It never really hit me how great it all actually is until I started getting congratulatory messages blowing up my phone. But the moment it truly set in how much of and amazing feeling it was, was when she came home with a copy of the magazine and I saw my photo on the cover.
Overall it was a great experience and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. I am also learning I need to be more excited when great things like this happen to me. I don’t think I stop and smell the roses as often as I should.