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John Karl Breun / Photographer
Monika Labbé / Photographer
Kumiko Murakami Campos / Photographer
Renee Polaczek / Makeup Artist |
John Karl Breun / Photographer
JOHN KARL BREUN was born in Queens, New York on July 14, 1964, and received his first camera at an early age.
He moved from Elmhurst, New York to North Reading, Massachusetts at the age of 4 where he grew up with his sister Christine and graduated from N.R.H.S. in the spring of 1982.
Shortly thereafter he moved to Buffalo Grove, Illinois with his family when his father's job was transferred.
He attended and graduated from William Rainey Harper College and Southern Illinois University at Carbondale ("how 'bout them dawgs...") majoring in Business and Aviation Maintenance.
While attending school he became more involved in photography and continued to learn through self-study, attending countless seminars taught by internationally known photographers, taking classes at Columbia College in Chicago, working in photo labs, freelancing in studios and assisting established photographers.
After working in the airline industry for 10 years his career ambitions changed and he decided to pursue his love of photography as a profession.
JOHN KARL BREUN has been a Chicago-based photographer for the past twenty years.
His experience includes location and studio portraits; weddings, bar/bat mitzvahs and other special events; fashion, beauty and model photography; entertainment and public relations; architectural, industrial, product and food photography; nature and fine arts.
John's work has appeared throughout the United States and internationally.
He is a member of the Chicagoland Professional Photographers Association, the Better Business Bureau, the Mt. Prospect Chamber of Commerce and the United States Parachute Association.
John's other interests include skydiving, backpacking, camping, boating, playing guitar (I'm a drummer trapped in a guitarist body), music, theatre, sports and cooking.
He currently makes his home in Wheeling, Illinois with his black cat Taz.
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Monika Labbe’/Photographer
Monika was born in Warsaw, Poland and came to the United States at the tender age of nine. Her love of photography grew from her love of capturing, moments in time. She received her first camera when she was 10; it was a Kodak automatic 110. She fondly remembers the little red button that indicated that the flash was working. That little red button no longer exists on the camera she uses today, the Minolta STSI, but that no longer seems to matter.
Her lifelong passion with photography became serious in 1999. That year she traveled extensively all throughout Europe and documented what she saw with her cameras. However, it wasn’t till the autumn of 2002 that photography took on a new meaning as she began her professional career by starting her own company.
Some of her photojouralistic work has been published in the “Courier”, the College of DuPage paper that has a weekly distribution to a few thousand consumers. Her landscape photography has won several awards, and her photographs have been published in numerous Travel Books including, “Infinite Illusions”, “Images of the Mind”, “Wondering Spirits”, and “A Journey into the Imagination” which is scheduled for publication in the Summer of 2003. The books are all available for sale at www.picture.com
Recently, one of her photos entitled “Rosy Outlook” was featured on the Oprah website in Breathing Space as flower of the month, as well as, in the Oprah bi-weekly newsletter for the month of February of 2003.
Her ability to document feeling and personality of her subjects has been remarkable. The photographs seem to come alive. When asked if she enjoys her work she says, “I love it!! I cannot believe how blessed I am, that I actually get paid to do what I love is a dream come true!”
Her other interests include rock climbing, hiking, cooking gourmet dishes, and studying art history. She is a co-founder of “Artifacts” an art ministry that was established in the Summer of 2002, as well as, a avid human rights activist, and a mother of two young girls. |
Kumiko Murakami Campos/Photographer
KUMIKO “Kumi” MURAKAMI CAMPOS is from Osaka, Japan. When she was a little girl she made a little yellow portfolio where she kept her -mostly animal- pictures which she made with her family’s 110 camera and her best shot which she bragged about—a close-up photograph of her dog “Chibi.”
She enjoyed drawing and writing as a kid and remembers destroying her VHS copy of the original Star Wars movie because she loved to pause the tape to draw a new character every time one came on screen.
Kumi attended Kansai Gaidai Hawaii College in Honolulu to study the English language and later continued her education at the University of Northern Colorado where she received her Bachelors degree in Visual Arts/Photographic Imaging with a minor in Graphic Design. While attending UNC she interned as a staff photographer for the Colorado Eagles of the Central Hockey League for their second season and also did some freelance photography work.
She came to the Chicago area in May of 2005 and currently resides in Elk Grove Village with her daughter Mika and her cats Velvet and Momo.
Along with working for Classic, she is a staff writer and photographer for one of the Japanese community newspapers. |
Renee Polaczek/Makeup Artist
Renee Polaczek was born in Poland and is an especially gifted artist and makeup design specialist. Her professional experience has included such opportunities as Makeup Artist, Beauty Advisor, Sales Representative, and Manager at various salons and boutiques including Nordstrom’s, Marshall Fields, Joey New York, James Joseph, etc. Her product experience includes Emlin, Dermalogica, Trucoo Makeup, Alexandra DeMarkoff, Benefit, Calvin Klein, Channel, Christian Dior, Clarins, Prescriptives, and many others. Renee has over 15 years of experience in the beauty business, with a special emphasis on skin care and color tones.
Renee’s energetic attitude also encourages her to establish a Chicago-based catering business, with clients such as the Chicago Cultural Center.
When she is not too busy with her many endeavors, her remaining time is spent at home with the family, including a six-year old daughter who is currently experimenting in becoming a makeup artist herself.
Renee’s experience in makeup design for photography includes wedding events, family & personal portraits, models and fashion events. Classic Photography has been proud to offer her creative artistry for the past five years now. |
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