It’s always exciting when I get to collaborate on projects with my friends. A few weeks back I shot CD Packaging photos for the upcoming EP release from my friend Hannah Miller. Hannah is really an amazing singer-songwriter. I know this first hand because I used to play drums in her touring band The Misadventures. Here are a few of the shots.
Last week, I asked myself a question. Am I photographing the people I love and cherish? After some thought, I came to the realization that I have neglected to capture the special people in my life. The woman you see in the photos is my lovely grandmother, Althea Woodward. She dedicates her time to help those who are less fortunate and is the most giving and compassionate person you will ever meet. She is without a doubt, one of the most inspirational people in my life.
During the shoot, I could see how special it made her feel to be photographed by her grandson. Every time I looked at her face, she had a glow and kept saying how she felt like a celebrity. Not only was I spending time with this special woman, but I was also creating images that would be passed down for my grandchildren to see.
Are you photographing the people you cherish? I encourage you to take time to photograph the people in your life who are special. Once the moments like this fade away, you will never be able to get them back again. These images will always be here to remind me of the time I spent photographing my grandmother.
I was just thinking about how nice the weather has been recently here in South Carolina. When I think about nice weather I often think about Folly Beach down in Charleston, SC. The last time I went to Folly it was for a photo shoot with Actor Frank Ponce. I will never forget this photoshoot because frank and I both were eaten alive by Sand Gnats. Let’s just say I looked like I came down with chickenpox by the time I got home. Believe it or not I spent most of my post-processing time on this shoot cloning out Sand Gnats. It’s always fun working with Frank so the itching and extra time was well worth it.
Here is a shot from that photoshoot with Frank.
This past week I took singer-songwriter Haley Dreis out in rural South Carolina to shoot updated press photos. It’s been fun to watch how much Haley has grown musically since I first worked with her 7 months ago. She is hands down one of the hardest working musicians I have come across in South Carolina.
Here are a few from the shoot.
A few weeks ago, I decided to use model Caroline Dietlin Velez for a test shoot in Charleston, SC. Caroline was perfect for a vision I had for this particular location I found a few months earlier in downtown Charleston. After swapping ideas back and forth with Caroline she also had a location or two that sounded intriguing. We began with the first one which was a house that had recently burned down but half of it’s structure still stood. After a brief inspection of the house it looked safe enough to take some photos inside and I figured as long as I was extra careful I’d be just fine.
I was trying to catch more sunlight coming into the house from a hole in the roof like I did in the photo above to create some lens flare and then trouble struck. My right leg went completely through the floor and on my way down my brand new Canon 5D Mark II (Only used once) hit the ground as well. I guess I skipped the pain part because I was more worried about my camera than what just happened to me. The pocket wizard snapped right off the camera. A brand new pocket wizard I might add. Talk about luck. I was surprised the camera wasn’t broken after how hard it hit the ground. This is a testament that Canon really makes some heavy duty cameras. My camera now has some battle scars but it will more importantly remind me not to go into houses that don’t look safe. I should have known better after watching all of those Holmes on Homes episodes I’ve seen on HGTV!
Upon arriving at the initial location I had planned to use, there were a nice array of trash cans lining the sidewalk and totally blocking the view of the building. It also looked like someone had moved into the building and I didn’t want to intrude and use their home without permission. Everything I had planned on doing with this location fell apart and I obviously couldn’t shoot or use it in any way. Lucky for me, Caroline’s second location in mind was to use an abandoned gas station not too far away. When I got to this location I looked around and placed Caroline next to a small tree in the parking lot. I think Caroline was a bit confused as to why I was making her stand next to this tree until I showed her the test shots!
This photoshoot was a perfect example of when things don’t go as planned but end up working out in the end. I’ve learned not to lose my cool but rather roll with it. You never know what you can create when you are led in a different direction.