Late into the evening, when most of Greater Des Moines is resting up for the busy day ahead, some others are burning the midnight oil.

Aldrich Cabildo could be spinning tunes at a wedding reception, Tammy Coy could be putting the finishing touches on a handcrafted bracelet, and Ralph Gross could be thumbing through prints from his latest world travels.

These moonlighters have turned their passions – entertainment, art and photography – into businesses.

With their 8-to-5s consumed by their full-time jobs, they find themselves devoting their weekends, late nights and early mornings to their sideline businesses, sometimes at the expense of recreation and family time. They’re not slaving away in their home offices because they need the extra income, but because it is their passion.

“My livelihood, my vocation is banking. My hobby is All-Start Entertainment,” said Cabildo, a business banker for Polk County Bank who founded the DJ service with a few friends in 2001.

RALPH GROSS

When Gross traveled with a statewide delegation to China, Japan and Hong Kong in 1984, he tucked a 35mm camera into his suitcase so he could preserve the trip’s most memorable moments on film.

More than 20 years later, he looks back on one of his photographs from that trip – one of a Japanese schoolgirl waiting for a train – one that marks the beginning of a photographer’s journey that has allowed him to capture striking images of people and places in countries such as Borneo, Papua New Guinea, Ecuador and other remote areas of the world.

“The challenge of trying to catch something unique people seemed like such a difficult challenge that intrigued me,” said Gross, a senior financial planner for Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc.

His photographs have earned him a showing in a New York City art gallery, an award from Smithsonian magazine and an occasional appearance in Greater Des Moines galleries, all without any professional training and with minimal equipment.

Gross and his wife, Marty, live to travel, allowing his sideline business to fit comfortably into their lives. They’ve visited sites around the world, but mostly remote villages that have, for the most part, been untouched by Western civilization.

His photographs focus on the people he meets along the way – often tribal men and women. With the help of a translator, he engages his subjects in conversation to either draw a reaction or bring out a part of their personality. He is often drawn to their eyes, believing the adage that “the eyes are the windows to the soul.”

The key to photography, Gross said, is anticipation.

“When you see what you like, by the time you push your shutter, it’s usually too late,” he said. “Good photographers are the ones who can anticipate.”

Though his 20 years of photography has created a sizable collection of prints, most of them are hidden away in his home. Business, he said, has not been good.

“People in Des Moines do not view photography as a decorating tool or perceive it as a high art form,” Gross said.

He has struggled to find an art gallery in Greater Des Moines that will carry his work. But he understands the business. Gallery owners must carry work that will appeal to their customers, and “for them to pick up something that doesn’t fit into their business is a risky proposition.” He’s had his photographs on display briefly at several local galleries and businesses such as the Greater Des Moines Partnership. He anticipates a showing at the Varsity Theater in the future.

A highlight of his sideline profession was a showing at New York City’s Modernage Gallery, located next door to the store that processes his film. He spent six months preparing for the show. He requested photographs of the gallery and its floorplan, which he then re-created in his home using cardboard in order to find the appropriate place to display each photograph. He sent invitations to interior designers and art collectors, and was soon on a first-name basis with art critics from the Village Voice and The New York Times.

The gallery’s statement said Gross’ photographs are rich in detail, but “what is more striking is the intuitive sense of secrets that seem to lie just beneath the surface of weathered eyes, shy smiles, or leathered skin as translucent and thin as parchment,” which he was able to capture through his careful eye.

He sold some pieces at that show, but otherwise, business in Greater Des Moines has been scant. Still, Gross’ photography is as much about his own enjoyment of the art form as it is about bringing it to other people. He finds beauty in each person he photographs and each country he visits. His next stops: Mali, Togo and Ghana in November.

“They’re all exciting and different,” he said. “It’s a testament to the diversity of the planet.”

ALDRICH CABILDO

At Polk County Bank, Cabildo works with dozens of business owners, dishing out financial advice and providing many new business owners support as they step out into the great unknown.

That experience served him well when he became a small business owner himself. But for him and the other four owners of All-Star Entertainment, it’s more about having fun and creating memorable events for their clients than about profits.

“If we make money, that’s great,” Cabildo said. “But it’s more about seeing people having fun.”

The three original owners founded the business in 2001 after seeing the success of a friend’s DJ service in Waterloo. Being young men who enjoyed entertaining people and having fun, they knew it could work.

Cabildo and his business partners now spend most of their weekends at corporate events, wedding receptions and even some high school dances. With a knack for public speaking, he usually serves as the emcee, while the others take photographs of the festivities and keep the music flowing.

“Especially in the summer when weddings are more abundant, our weekends are sort of limited,” he said.

They’ve done little in terms of advertising and marketing, other than occasional bridal fairs, and rely on word-of-mouth recommendations. Nevertheless, the business continues to grow and they are already booking events for 2006. All of the owners are gainfully employed elsewhere and maintain this as their sideline business. Though they’ve discussed turning All-Star Entertainment into a full-service production company, none of them have considered leaving their day jobs. Cabildo enjoys banking and doubts All-Star Entertainment could be profitable enough to allow that to happen.

In addition to the numerous events they have booked throughout the year, keeping the business going requires meetings with clients, bookkeeping and Web site maintenance, all of which has been delegated among the five owners, and consumes only about one to two hours per week.

Cabildo’s business background has served him well, putting at least one financial expert on board with the company. And his experience as a business owner gives him a better perspective when working with his banking clients.

“I totally believe that entrepreneurism, small businesses are very important to this country and this city,” he said. “Being that way myself, I concentrate a lot more on that when I’m speaking to people or when I have people in front of me at the bank.”

TAMMY COY

When Coy returned to her childhood home after her mother’s death in the late 1990s, she stumbled across some of her childhood treasures: a handmade ring, a few pieces of pottery and her rock collection. Over the course of the next few years, that rediscovery of her artistic passions led her to establish Eclectic Creations by Coy.

She started by making pieces of jewelry, primarily for friends who requested them or to give as gifts. But a friend encouraged her to start a business, certain she could make a few bucks along the way.

Using semiprecious stones and silver, primarily imported from Bali, India and the Hill Tribes regions of northern Thailand, Coy handcrafts necklaces, bracelets and earrings. Some have described her pieces as edgy, and they don’t always follow “the rules of jewelrymaking.” But she likes to think they’re unique.

“Don’t create what you think the public wants,” a friend told her. “You need to create what’s in your heart and your mind and find a place to sell those.”

Coy’s pieces can be purchased at the Des Moines Art Center gift shop, The Lagniappe in Valley Junction, the Tandem Brick Gallery at 2722 Ingersoll Ave. and Terri’s Frame Shop and Art Gallery at 3824 100th St. in Urbandale. She puts all of her profits back into the business, buying new materials to make more jewelry items.

A full-time dental hygienist, she spends her late-night and early-morning hours in her basement perfecting her craft. During the week, she works on two to three pieces, which she then finishes on the weekend.

“It takes care of my emotional and stressful times and it keeps me centered,” said Coy.

Though she is a self-taught artisan, she has taken several classes at the Des Moines Art Center, such as one that focused on wearable art. She also took a sketching class, which she said has enabled her to sketch out designs for later use, particularly when she wakes up in the middle of the night with a design she fears she’ll forget by morning.

Coy devoted much of her summer to the business and marketing side of Eclectic Creations, reading books, working with an accountant, creating a Web site, seeking advice, all with the hope of taking her business national. But like Cabildo, it’s not in her immediate plans to make this sideline business a full-time gig.

“In my business plan, that’s a pipe dream,” she said. “I’m not sure that will ever be actualized, and it’s hard to believe that could happen because it’s too scary. But if you’re letting me be a dreamer, that’s an ultimate goal.”