Love is in the air! And weddings occur every weekend in mass numbers, especially in the spring time. Yesterday’s wedding ceremony for Michelle and Mike was and example of the perfect spring wedding…navy blue and yellow…pretty bridesmaids and lively groomsmen, and of course, a fun, very-much-in-love and super happy bride and groom. The challenge in shooting weddings is time…we never seem to have enough of it. But, the fast pace adds to the excitement and it’s a great way to be stretched creatively. I have a few tricks up my sleeve when it comes to “posing” my wedding party. The image featured here makes use of one of my favorite “tricks” and is probably one of my favorite “guy” photos to date.
For more wedding pix, you can visit the set on my flickr account by clicking here And keep checking back! As more happy couples tie the knot throughout the summer and invite me to capture their day, I’ll be adding my favorite photos to the collection.

For a few years now, I’ve been following a band called NEEDTOBREATHE. These guys are all from my home state of South Carolina, and from the upstate near where my Dad grew up. They play some amazing, rootsy, southern soul infused rock music that has a life of its own. When they play live, there is an energy that comes from the stage that is just amazing. I’ve had the privilege of shooting their shows for a while, and even put together a photo journal that they now sell on their merch table. They are a joy to shoot because every show is full of life and they truly pour their hearts out into every show. They give 200% to every show…it’s hard not to be moved by their live performances for that very reason. And right now, they are on fire….they are selling out shows consistently.
To be honest, this is blog entry is a blatant and unashamed plug for NEEDTOBREATHE. They are currently on their spring “Won’t Turn Back Tour”. If you can catch them on the road, you must. You won’t regret it and you’ll be an instant fan for sure. You can go here to see their tour schedule and find links for ticket purchases. Seriously, you won’t regret going…worth every penny and more to see them live.
Oh, and in this image, they are closing out the show, standing on the bar at the back of the venue singing an acapella version of “Washed by the Water” Simply amazing.

I’ve spent approximately the past six months working on a project that I’m very excited about. I can’t give any details YET, but they are coming soon. If you know me, and you know the bands I love, you’ll figure out who is in this photo…and how it might be connected to my project. But shhhhh! Keep it a secret for now! Hopefully a big announcement is right around the corner!

On Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, I had the privilege of attending a workshop conducted by photographer Jeremy Cowart. If you aren’t familiar with his work or the things that he is passionate about, make sure to check out his website when you have time. Anyway, I had longed considered it a goal to meet him and thought it would be cool to have time to talk with him, but I figured that would never really happen. But Jeremy is a real people person, a real “hands-on” kind of guy with a great deal of internet social-connection savvy who makes a point of being accessible. And so it wasn’t long before he realized that one way to really connect with photographers who love his work was through twitter. Yep, the social networking site you either love or hate became the only way that Cowart advertised his workshops (he had three; I was in the last one). I signed up, paid, and looked forward to the day I would head to Cowart’s Franklin, TN studio. And so, on Tuesday evening as I struggled to open the door to the studio to be part of the first session, Jeremy Cowart himself opened the door and welcomed me in.

Cowart is a very laid back guy. I’m not sure much of anything flusters him. In the midst of high priced shoots for people whose “brand” is their livelihood (think Carrie Underwood, Zac Levi, and Imogen Heap) what I learned of Jeremy Cowart is that he does what he does under all that pressure with confidence, warmth, and a great great deal of talent.

After he led us through what a shoot would look like for him and how he would think through a session, we had a chance to shoot as well. Bear in mind, this was NOT a workshop to teach us how to shoot like Jeremy Cowart. In fact, the theme of the two-day study was all about pursuing and developing our own creative style and vision. So, as we are shooting (five photogs for one model) I’m thinking of what it is that might define my style. We had a hour and a half to shoot, edit, and process, and I’m sorry to say that I held it together UNTIL it came time to edit. The clock was ticking and I had to choose three shots (supposedly my “best”) to turn in for a public critique. I love to shoot. I love post-production. I love to mull over each image and choose what I like. I do not rushing through this process. But, it was what it was, and when push came to shove, I chose the wrong photos to submit. In fact, I only like ONE of those photos now.

In the composite I posted, row 1 are the images I WISH I had submitted for critique. I feel they are more consistent, stronger, and mostly free from annoying things I know better than to do.

The four images I did submit are on row two. Yes four. I cheated and gave him four…but that’s more about me being indecisive than anything. They aren’t horrible. But they aren’t my best, either.

So, while he was kind in his critique and said some nice things, I think it’s safe to say Jeremy Cowart was not blown away by my work. Not that I really expected him to be…the man is an imagery genius. But I knew I could have done better. Because I was feeling fairly discouraged after all the critiques of all the photographer’s work had been done, I asked Jeremy at dinner if I could show him the images I felt were really my “gut” instinct images to submit. Thankfully, he did look at them and had much more positive things to say. I left feeling less discouraged but with a really good lesson learned.

Because he didn’t gush over the first images, I had to really think about some things. And that was probably the best part of the workshop. To be challenged to do better, to think more clearly, to be more intentional, to define “my style” and think about my artistic vision, those things are far more important than heaps of praise. With that said, I plan to tighten things up, be a more disciplined, thoughtful shooter, and really seek to refine my style.

Stay tuned…

If you clicked on any of the words above, you were led to multimedia work that has images that are breathtaking and heartbreaking all at once. This is not my work, obviously, but I felt this piece was too important to overlook. We take so many things for granted in our country. The freedom to exercise religion is so precious. And while these people have suffered greatly, their desire is not to retaliate. Their desire is to pray for their attackers. And for themselves, the message is clear. Do not lose faith.

Help-portrait was today around the world…and Charleston had an event as part of the movement. Our event was dove -tailed into the Ministry without Walls outreach that happened at Hampton Park. Over 20 of us local photogs and a few big-hearted volunteers took portraits, printed portraits and distributed portraits of almost 500 people. It was cold outside…but our hearts were warm. So much love, so much gratitude, such a great experience.

Well….there are really two more images in my run of recent shows. I thought I could get away with just three…ha! This is Mark Schultz performing at Shandon Baptist Church on the last night of the fall Come Alive Tour. I had been told by Mark’s PR that the stage was classy, and that was the truth! The back drop was illuminated with different colors throughout the night and the effect was just gorgeous. And, just so you know, Mark is an outstanding performer. He’s a very down to earth, talented singer/songwriter who also happens to have a great sense of humor. To see the entire set from Mark’s portion of the show, go here

This is the third in my series of concert photos…but not the last. I actually shot four shows in nine days, so there will be one more image added to this run. These are the women of Point of Grace. They’ve been doing their thing for over 15 years, but their enthusiasm, excellence, and commitment to their craft doesn’t seemed to have slowed down or waned. In fact, they are better now than they were five years ago the first time I saw them. These women are true professionals, and it was a privilege to attend and review their show. The review will be posted on Titletrakk.com and I’ll edit this post with a link as soon as it goes up.
In the meantime, you can view all the pix from this set by going here