Dad of Twins

Things seem to be happening at a very expedited pace these days. 

By my cover page one can see a set of twins, a boy and a girl, and yes, they are mine. 

These two cuties, were born on Feb 27 2018. They are our little warriors, having been triumphed through so much in their two months since their arrival. You see, they are supposed to still be inside mommy until May 19. Adrian(boy) and Dylan(girl) were born at 28 weeks 3 days gestation. 12 weeks before they were supposed to grace our world.

From the moment they were born, they were crying and breathing on their own. They had the help of CPAP to aid in their lung expansion and development, but were able to ween off of that rather fast, by NICU terms.  They seem curious and attentive and are physically strong. Since hour one, the doctors all said "Don't expect them home before their due date." This naturally lead mom and I to believe we had some time to finish up what we needed around the house. 

On April 18, we were informed that they were coming home the next day, one month before they were due to be born! 

My wife Christina and I find ourselves truly blessed. These two little characters bring so much happiness into our home. 

I look forward to presenting more photographs of them on my site, and hope that you too enjoy the content that you see here.

Look out for more page updates coming soon.  

Firefighter Family

A friend of mine, an Ex-Commissioner of my Fire Department, asked me to do some family photos for him in honor of his youngest son's graduation from the Passaic County Fire Academy. Kyle is the youngest of three siblings who have become firefighters, and part of the third generation of firefighters pictured in this session. Unfortunately Kyle's sister was not present to show all the family firefighters. 

A Probationary firefighter, along with Justin, who is pictured with Kyle in the last photo,  make these two the current newest members of the Wayne NJ Fire Department, Packanack Lake Fire Co#5. 

Tribute

It has been a little bit since I have updated my site, and for that I am sorry. My schedule has become quite hectic and throw in a move, and the passing of a family member and things just go off the rails. 

But today I want to pay tribute to the person my family lost at the end of September. My cover page when you sign into my site here is that of my Uncle Andy. The photo is from a boat ride in Maine the day after my cousin Dan was married. Uncle Andy passed away on Sept 20, 2017 at the age of 62.

Many have heard of the PHANTOM High Speed Camera, and Vision Research Company who produces them. But I am lucky enough to be related to the pioneers of Digital High Speed Photography. My uncle Andy Jantzen was one of those original pioneers. 

My father Art, Uncle Andy, and their sister, my Aunt Connie took over the family's high speed film business after my Grandpa Charlie passed away in 1980. For the next 12 years the trio would build and sell cameras under the name Photographic Analysis Company. as the 1990s approached, they saw where not only the film and camera industry was going, but the world of slow-motion high speed photography was also, they were going digital.

Photo Analysis found Mr. Alexandru Aciu, a Romanian engineer, to develop the needed sensors for processing the high speed digital videos. The three siblings and Mr. Aciu reorganized Photo Analysis into Vision Research Inc. and in 1992 introduced the world to The PHANTOM Camera. 

The company itself grew exponentially from 1990 into the 2000's and the family run business was then sold to AMETEK. It was a short while later that my Aunt Connie and my father would retire. My Uncle Andy worked as CEO and then Director of New Product Development. He would go on to win an Oscar for his work with the cameras and was pivotal in expanding the line from the Science and Research world into the Professional Sports and Movie Industries. After 33 years of dedication my Uncle Andy retired in 2013.

Andy will always be remembered as a humorous, sarcastic, generous, and creative person. He was admired for his ethic that nothing was unachievable. He was an avid wooden boat builder. He loved the outdoors. He was a dedicated and loving father to my cousins Phillip, Daniel and Stephanie. A second father to Claire amongst others. Finally he was the devout husband to my Aunt Linda. 

My uncle will be missed by many. He was a person who in many ways have touched the lives of countless people, and along with his family and friends truly reshaped how we see parts of the world. 

This is a link to the Vision Research Website and their tribute to my uncle. 

http://www.phantomhighspeed.com/About-VRI/History/Tribute-to-Andy-Jantzen