Clayton Bozard Photography: The Blog

Album Artwork for the Hannah Miller EP, “Journey to the Moon”

Clayton Bozard — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 18:26:00 +0000

I have a huge music collection and am one of those people who still buys physical CD’s. Yes, you can call me old fashioned but let me tell you one of the reasons why I still collect the physical CD’s. There is just something about having the physical paper form of CD artwork where I can flip through the pages and see all the talent that has been poured into making an album. From photography and design credits to thank you’s and personal words; It is not the same when you download an album off iTunes. I would like to see iTunes include all of the album artwork for every Major and Indie album download and I hope this will become more commonplace in the future of the digital age.

Here’s the album artwork from the new Hannah Miller EP, Journey to the Moon that I shot the photography for. James Leslie Miller, web/graphic designer based in Columbia, SC and Hannahs’ husband, did an excellent job with the artwork on this EP.

Hannah Miller

Clayton Bozard — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 12:00:06 +0000

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.

Althea Woodward

Clayton Bozard — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:24:54 +0000

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.

Frank Ponce

Clayton Bozard — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 12:02:57 +0000

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.

Haley Dreis: Take 2

Clayton Bozard — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 14:36:35 +0000

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.

Caroline Dietlin Velez

Clayton Bozard — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 19:56:51 +0000

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.

John Westley Satterfield

Clayton Bozard — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 03:01:16 +0000

I have to admit I have some extremely talented friends. John Westley Satterfield is one of those friends. John plays guitar and sings in a Bluegrass band called Woodwork Roadshow. The first time I saw Woodwork Roadshow play I was absolutely blown away. They have a sound that is Bluegrass with a mixture of punk, folk, rock, and jazz.

John is now working on a solo project that makes it’s debut at The White Mule in Columbia, SC on Friday, Nov 27, 2009. If you are anywhere near Columbia you do not want to miss this show. It’s sure to be something special.

I was thrilled when John asked me to shoot new press photos this past week. Here are a few from the photoshoot.

For more about John check out…

http://www.johnwesleysatterfield.com

http://www.woodworkroadshow.com

http://www.myspace.com/woodworkroadshow

All The Missing Pieces

Clayton Bozard — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 19:04:38 +0000

I recently had the opportunity to work with actor Frank Ponce.

Frank is a stand up guy and it was a blast to work with him on getting some updated headshots and to take some photos of him in character for the movie “All The Missing Pieces“. I took the photo of frank on the right of the movie poster above.

“All The Missing Pieces” is a Independent Film that was made right here in South Carolina by Worlds Apart Films and A Beautiful Friendship Productions. The movie will premier in Columbia, South Carolina on November, 13th at The Nickelodeon Theatre.

Official Website
http://www.allthemissingpieces.net

Official Trailer

All The Missing Pieces-Teaser Trailer from William Aughtry on Vimeo.

American Gun

Clayton Bozard — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 17:16:41 +0000

This past week I shoot press photos for a band that has been around the Columbia, SC music scene for years now. The band is American Gun and their Rock & Alt-Country sound is quite infectious.

These photos were shot in the historic Congaree Vista area in Columbia, South Carolina. It’s always a challenge to find new and interesting locations to have photos shoots. Sometimes you just have to work with what you can find. In this case I found a few empty parking lots and Mother Nature supplied me with some very nice clouds.

Be sure to check American Gun out on the Internet.

http://www.myspace.com/americangun

http://www.americangun.net

Karla Davis

Clayton Bozard — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 23:25:12 +0000

I recently shot press photos for singer-songwriter Karla Davis. Karla has a very refreshing sound and I think she is definitely an artist to follow.

For more on Karla check out her website and MySpace Music Profile.

Here are a few photos from the shoot.