Addy Bassett

These photos are from Labor Day weekend at the lake house up in Blairsville.   My sister brought her new brother and sister-in-law, who brought the latest addition to the Bassett family.  Or maybe I should say Addy-tion.  Or maybe that's too cheesy.  Let's not say that.  :) Addy was a treat to play with and photograph.  She was so laid back and only cried once the whole day.  We took these photos with my trusty 50mm f/1.8 by natural window light, on the back porch, and in the hammock with daddy.  All in all cute pics of a cute baby.

Seattle- Mt. Rainier

See the "Camping on the Coast" post below first.

The next day Curt and I went to Mt. Rainier and hiked and camped there.  It was absolutely gorgeous.  The mountain was amazing (and intimidating), the flowers were blooming all over the place, and the views were incredible.  I can't say we even made it halfway up, though we got close.   We had views of a glacier and waterfall and came up on the most amazing bathroom I've ever seen.  Aside from a delta flight, I can't say I've been to a toilet at such a high altitude.   We camped at "Cougar Rock" campgrounds.  The name was incredibly misleading as Curt and I found no older single women looking to prey upon younger men.  Maybe it just wasn't hunting season.

These first few pictures were from a "rustic garden" on the way to the park.  It was too ridiculous not to stop and take pictures.  I'll stop and let the pictures do the rest of the talking...  fun trip.  Highly recommend it to anyone looking for some beautiful scenery and good camping.

You can actually see the next photo entered in the Strobist Boot Camp contest for indoor architecture.

And here are just a couple of shots from my hotel room in Seattle two nights later.  It's traffic from an MLS Soccer game getting out.

Scott Kelby Sports Contest

Scott Kelby has a pretty fun photo contest up on his blog.  Basically, enter your best sports photo and if you're chosen, he'll fly you to an FSU football game, rent you nice lens, get you a media pass, and have you shoot side by side with professional sports photographer, Mike Olivella. Sounds like fun to me.  Here's my entry.  I shot it back in college when I worked for The Vanderbilt Hustler (student paper).  Didn't have the money for digital, so I shot it on Fuji Neopan 1600 ISO film.  Worked well, even with the grain.  Click the photo to see it on flickr, then you can click here to see the rest of the entries.

A Fashion Shoot... quite a success, but not because of me.

The models definitely made this shoot a success. So, I got a call 2 weeks ago on a Thursday night asking if I could get off work the next day and take pictures of girls in bikinis and not get paid.  It was quite the no brainer.   :)

But really, this shoot is for Glow ATL- a mobile spray tan company owned by Alex Goldstein.  It just so happens that the hair salon she does a lot of work from (Salon Modello) happened to have two people that knew my work.  Alex is hosting a Ladies night at Opera nightclub in Midtown tomorrow night and needed some "before and after" photos to be displayed on the HDTVs all over the club.  I didn't get paid, but I will also have my company logo displayed too, so it's essentially working for trade.  I can't make the party, but I'm sure sure it's going to be an awesome time.  My girlfriend Keri has volunteered to be a "Glow Girl."   I think she's just excited to be tan even though she's been working her butt off inside an office the past month.

Here are a couple of "before" photos.  The pink-haired model is Ashley Baker- a childhood friend of Keri's and the blonde is Andrea Post.  Both very beautiful girls who claim they'd never modeled before.... I don't believe them.

Alex Goldstein at work.  I asked her if she made airbrush dolphin t-shirts too, but she said no...

And of course, the after photos...

Alice and Rob- Wedding Day

Part 2:   The wedding day.  Great weather and a beach- can't go wrong! Getting Ready:

Apparently, you can never be too young to catch the bouquet...

Alice and Rob - Rehearsal Day

Alice was referred to me back in December by her sister Tina, whom I work with.  When I saw the couple had a website, I clicked over to it and was like "hey!  I know that guy!"  Rob and I apparently went to high school together.  I think he was president of the drama club, back when I was a freshman and thought drama club would suit me well (I was very very wrong- I can't act worth crap).  So when we all met up to show them my portfolio, he and I were able to catch up on old high school friends.  It was a nice, laid back introduction for me. This wedding was in Pensacola, FL.   I'm not gonna lie, I was stressed about this one.   It was a beach wedding.  Normally, I would think a beach setting for photography would be like shooting fish in a barrell.  However, I was a little more stressed about the timing of the ceremony.  The couple planned the ceremony just before sunset.  They knew the sun went down at 7:27pm.  First I heard the ceremony would be at 5, then 6, then when I got there it was 6:30.  My photography friends knew just one hour to squeeze in the ceremony and formals afterward would be way tight.  However, the ceremony was short and sweet, the subjects knew to hang around, and I had Keri at my side helping to bark out orders and poses.   Fortunately, we got all the shots we needed even though a few clouds rolled in toward sunset.

Aside from being a little stressed the day of, I loved the location shoot.  Keri and I got to hit the beach the day of the rehearsal and she got more sun on the wedding day while I took the "getting ready" pictures of the girls.  It was a fun vacation for Keri and I that paid for itself.   Now I just need to find someone getting married in Italy that wants to take me and my assistant along...  suggestions welcome!

Rehearsal Day:

Of course, the best use of a flower girl basket... sand.  Also- check out the depth of field on my new Canon 70-200 f/2.8 L !

Everyone in the wedding party wrote their own wedding tips to read to the bride and groom.  Of course the vulgar ones were the most fun to hear in front of the parents.   :)

Unintentional twins:

Eric and Suzanne Balint

Eric Balint and I have known each other for almost 20 years.  He and I grew up on the same street in Marietta, GA.  When I heard he and Suzanne were getting hitched, I jumped at the chance to shoot their wedding.  I think they did a fun thing by just asking a couple of friends to shoot the wedding.  That way it saved them some cash while also having a set of photographers who already knew the MVPs of the wedding party.  Sometimes that inside knowledge can help a photo guy like myself. 

I had just shot my sister's engagement pictures before their wedding and wish I had prepared a little more for Suzanne's Bridal portraits.  Because Suzanne and Eric are such sweet laid back people, they didn't ask much of me nor want me to work too hard on their wedding day.  In retrospect, I wish I had shown up 3 hours earlier, brought every bit of my equipment, and put much more work into bridal portraits because Suzanne looked so beautiful!   But then again, I wasn't about to get in the way of their plans because I know even the most laid back weddings are still very busy.  Plus, I think I shoot better with a camera in one hand and a beer in the other.    Kidding!

 Of course she made the album.  :)

Diana and Wesley Engaged

By the time this blog post actually goes up, they'll already have been married, but going along with the theme of getting my blog up to date, you get to see things backward.   These were definitely taken as their engagement photos to be published in their guestbook.  The official wedding pictures are far superior and were taken by Brandelyn Lee Photography.  They can be found here.   One day I hope to be half as good as Brandy.  I've been looking at her work before I even bought my first digital.  

First try...

Second try...

Poppy's Wedding

So these pictures aren't from my "Poppy," but from my boss's dad.   He recently was remarried at a small ceremony in Duluth, GA.   For this shoot, I was paid in italian food rather than dollars.  :) We had a fun time.  I've never seen a priest laugh through a wedding ceremony, but when you read bible verses to a 72 yearold that say "there comes a time when a man must leave his father's home..." and "may you be blessed with many children..."   I guess he couldn't help but laugh.   No worries, everyone else enjoyed themselves too. 

Pete & Chloe (and a little of Charlene)

Not surprisingly this is way overdue.   I had such grand plans of updating my blog with all of my 2009-thus-far photos in one week, but with my laziness I've treated each entry as if I just shot them.  After this post, I think I just have one more "post-post" blog entry, then I can move on to shooting more and trying to keep up. Here are Pete and Chloe.   Beautiful children of my friend Charlene.   We did this shoot just outside of downtown Norcross, GA in the midday sun.  My biggest rookie mistake- don't shoot in direct harsh sunlight unless you have to!  I did my best to counterbalance the shots in the sun with fill flash, but all in all I should have taken a lot more pix in the shade as they were the ones that came out best.  This was one of those shoots that when I left, I thought "holy crap, I made a bunch of rookie mistakes and may have a very unhappy client."   But as it turned out, she's ordered more prints than any of my wedding clients.  :)

Pete, Charlene, Chloe:

As tough as it is having your picture taken anytime in your teen years, Charlene told me Pete even thought he looked like Tom Brady in this pic.  I have to agree with him!

Chloe was quite the ham...

Richmond Boys

Here are a few shots of the Richmond boys when Keri and I had the pleasure of spending time with them up in Commerce, GA.   Jackson is the oldest, follwed by Tate and then Garrett. 

This was just a "hey- do you mind if I take a few pictures?" type of shoot.  Nothing formal or fancy- I just happened to have my camera with me.  It also reminded me of how much fun shooting in available light with a $90 lens- the 50mm f./1.8.   If you are a new photographer- buy this lens.  Nikon and Canon both have them and they're dirt cheap.  It's a great backup lens, lightweight, takes awesome shots, and can open up a whole new world of available light photography.  In most situations there will basically be no need to use your flash.  Just open up the f stop to 1.8 and blast away getting that cool "background out of focus" look. 

One day I'll have booked enough gigs to afford the f/1.2 version.  Apparently, if you own that lens, the pictures basically take themselves.   Soon enough....

 

Preston Wedding

Shot this wedding February with Dahlonega's Jeff Franks.  He was nice enough to take me on as a second shooter.  I had a fun time.  Very laid back bride and groom, which always makes for the best photos.  You know they're there for one thing- to get hitched.  They weren't there to stress over details.

 

Concert- Harlem Shakes and Tokyo Police Club

Back in February, I shot this show at the Earl in East Atlanta.  Even though I could only shoot for 3 songs of each band (and yes, the bouncers enforce this rule..... found out the hard way),  I got a decent amount of shots.  

 

Fisheye Fun

Here are some shots from a random cold night in February on Ponce de Leon Ave.  It's the North Druid Hills bridge that apparently causes a lot of headaches for Uhaul trucks...  remember- 10 feet will not clear.  My 14mm fisheye lens is so much fun to shoot.  Used it on a tripod.  Most shots were 30 seconds at f/22 with my shutter release cable.  No star filter- the diaphragm blades of the lens at f/22 produce the nifty stars on the street lights.  I used a timer on one of them so I could jump in the shot.  Do I look cold? 

Newbie- Abbey Carter

Continuing to backdate my 2009 photos to when they were actually taken... Here are some from a newbie shoot I did in February.  This little dumpling is Abbey Carter- my friend Leslie's niece.  As much as I wanted to sit by the fire on this snowy Sunday afternoon, I trekked up to Roswell, GA for an on-location shoot and had a great time.

It was my first try with off-camera flash.  I take that back.  I did a faux photo shoot two days before of a couch pillow on a chair.  She was a wonderful model, though a little overstuffed.

(Nerdy Set-up Info:)  The set-up was a black backdrop hung from backdrop stands in the parents' living room.  I used my 580Ex flash on a stand with a shoot through umbrella triggered wirelessly with a Cactus V2 (later traded the V2 in for the V4.... not much of a difference though).  Added a reflector to a few shots to take away some of the shadow contrast.  I messed around with all the different settings and came up with some pretty cool shots that also translated very well into black and white. 

Abbey's parents wanted some nude shots to start off with.  We both had some fun ideas, so once I was set up we got started.  I soon came to relaize babies don't like to have their picture taken naked.  I don't either, but  that's a whole different story.  As we got into it, we found that Abbey had some of her own ideas for pictures and apparently had a little too much to drink earlier.... and may have peed a little on the backdrop.  Don't tell Jeffrey Franks though (he loaned me the backdrop).  Jeff- if you're reading this, I promise we cleaned it up very well.  

After waterproofing the backdrop with some magical changing pads or something (I have no idea what they were, but they were like a Sham Wow for pee), we got this shot:

Here are a few other favs.  In my family, the "roll tide" picture would be better supported on a stinky used diaper, but needless to say makes fun baby shots:

 

Overall a very fun shoot even through the fussy baby moments.  Usually when I drive home from a  shoot, I can't stop thinking of the mistakes I made and things I could have done differently, but this one I thought "these actually look like a pro shot them."  I very rarely think this of my photos, so it was a nice change of pace.  Plus seeing the snow on the ground helped.  It's too bad school (work) wasn't cancelled the next day.