I like pushing my personal boundaries as a photographer. Last week's portrait sessions at Harley Davidson of Dothan was one of those times. A friend asked me to donate my services for charity in support of the Christian Motorcyclists Association. For a few bucks, someone could get a portrait with with their motorcycle. All proceeds went to CMA's faith-based community work. 

A huge Thank You to Falon and all the people at Harley Davidson of Dothan/Holland Motorsports for all the help getting the space to do the photoshoot.  Thanks to CMA for helping with set-up, tear-down, moving and wiping down bikes.

​Essentially, I had to set up a temporary photo studio on-site. I'd done this before on a smaller scale, but nothing on this big. The backdrop had to be large enough for person and motorcycle. It took me about an hour for set up, and I was surprised how well it turned out, but I had three significant challenges: Light, floor and backdrop. 

 I only had limited control over light, but I was pleased with the results.  We couldn't turn off all the lights, and there was some "warm light" leakage from skylights, but overall it worked out well.  Really well, actually. However, the floor presented more of a problem, and opportunity, in this area than I had expected.

The bright blue floor, complete with paintings of sea-life, presented a challenge for both light and safety. I had brought black floor cloths to cover the floor, but they proved to be too slippery on the smooth surface and had to be initially abandoned. Fortuneatly, CMA brougt in black floor mats that held my drop cloths in place. However, in a few shots I actually used the blue floor to reflect light to accentuate blue motorcycle paint on a few bikes. That worked out well.   

I needed a wider backdrop, which forced me to stay tight on the motorcycles. This wasn't  a big deal, as it just forced me into a different photography style, which actually worked better than my original concept.  I quickly realized the motorcycle shouldn't'  be the focus, the riders should be the focus. The bike is an extension of the rider, not the other way around. 

​One of my dreams is to design a mobile photo studio, and this event went a long way in testing some of those concepts. ​

I learned a lot of lessons at this photoshoot, and had  a great time. If you're interested in a portrait session with your motorcycle or vehicle (or any portrait session), contact me to schedule a mini-session.

Magical places and magical people are all around us. Behind every front door is a person with a story. My camera sometimes opens doors to these magical places and people. It often begins with an unusual building and striking up a conversation with the occupant or neighbor. It's a "spur of the moment" thing, that really can't be planned, and begins with a question and a handshake.  This is the story of such an experience. 

If you visit Wikipedia (not the most reliable source, but hey, I didn't have much time for research this week) you'll find a sparse and fairly straight-forward description of a place called Brundidge, Alabama.  Wikipedia will tell you that, according to the census, it's a small town getting smaller. Wikipedia also will tell you Brundidge was once known for making peanut butter and even hosts a Peanut Butter Festival each autumn. Now it hosts a major Wal-mart distribution center.  It was also once the hometown of Mr. Herb Siler, who in 1960 survived four rounds against the Greatest of All Time, Mohammad Ali, before getting knocked out.  Wikipedia will also mentions Brundidge lies in the "humid subtropical climate zone." I'd been to Brundidge a few times on photo expeditions, but it was on a serious "humid subtropical climate zone" day in June, with temperatures nearing triple-digits, that I met Mr. Michael Robinson. 

​I'd interrupted his lawn mowing when I approached to inquirer about a nearby property. He graciously answered my questions, and then motioned to his own home and said it was the oldest house in Brundidge. What started as a few questions about the nearby house turned into an invitation to park my motorcycle in the shade, a cold drink, and a tour of his amazing property.  Before I knew it, I had spent the afternoon with this truly fascinating gentleman of many talents and interests, whom one might call a "renaissance man." ​

Mike Robinson is a retired high school football coach, history teacher, and Methodist preacher. He is a classic car buff and restorer, as well as a collector of many interesting things. He and his late wife were the fifth owners of a house dating back to 1859. The property spreads over several acres, with an outbuilding, original barn, separate modern garage and workshop, and well-cared for gardens. All of it is meticulously maintained. Within and without, treasures were everywhere and everything has  a story - every building, vehicle, and piece of equipment. I wish I had brought something to write with, or even a recording device. All I had was my camera and memory. 

We began outside, with an original US Army jeep from the 1940s, a "barn find" he has lovingly restored. Later, he showed me his garage, where he had an exquisitely restored an old Ford truck, perhaps dating back to the 1950s. He told me the exact years, but I didn't write them down. He also had a vintage Volkswagen Beetle. This is  a man of many experiences and talents,  and his automotive restoration work was amazing. ​

The tour continued to an outbuilding, which Mike had converted to a little schoolhouse in honor of his late wife, who had been also been a teacher. An school bell stands vigil outside, as if waiting for someone to call the children to class. Inside were books, maps and everything one would expect in an an old country school.  To me, it felt like a shrine not only to his beloved wife's memory, but to learning and education. This theme of education continued in the main home as well, as books and collections of unusual object filled the home.  

While Mike gave me full permission to photograph, I'm not going to include most of the images I took inside the main house out of respect for his privacy. I will simply say it was beautifully restored home, keeping the old home's original charm and feel. However, there were eclectic touches throughout the house, such as a pair of hand carved Chinese doors.

I will also say that  this was an educator's home.  There were collections and memorabilia from his days as a teacher, a coach and minister. This blending of mind, body and spirit gave the house a feeling of balance, and perhaps a touch of "feng shui."  Photos of his players from his coaching days lined the shelves, including one he took with legendary Alabama coach Bear Bryant. I found his collection of puppets from his days of  children's ministry very fascinating. 

The old barn was the favorite part of the tour. With its bright red roof, old woodwork, and amazing light, it is a photographer's dream. He allowed me to climb into the hayloft. The heat up there was brutal, but the light was breathtaking. I had just happened to catch it at the right time, when the midday sun was reflecting underneath the eaves from the red roof into the loft. It painted the loft's north end in an unearthly crimson light. Some of the light trickled through old doors resting against the wall, casting rays of purple and greens across the floor. It was extremely exciting to capture. 

The last part of my visit with Mike was spent in his kitchen as he showed me historical documents about the home's original owners, as well as local Brundidge history.  The shadows began to lengthen, and the time had come for me to get back on the road. Before I left, he lent me  book about Pike County history, and I promised to return with one of my own books to give him. 

A soft-spoken man of many talents, it was a blessing to meet Mr. Robinson and be able to spend an afternoon with him. I look forward to making my way to Brundidge again soon. 

#abandonedwiregrass #wiregrass #pikecounty #threenotchroad #brundidgealabama #photography #history #southern

One brutally hot afternoon I straddled my motorcycle and took to the Wiregrass's highways to work on my next photography book. Alabama's jungle-like heat and humidity, made worse after a week of heavy rains, made me reconsider setting out that morning.  My urge to complete this book gave me the motivation to brave the heat. I grabbed my backpack and headed out the door.

Even in its current state, this home is beautiful, glorious even. Even through the foliage, its uniqueness shines through. Neither the vines nor the thickets can conceal this homes unique charm. It's not hard to imagine its potential should it ever receive a restoration.  Such a home could be a  treasure to make any community proud. ​ 

Maybe one day soon, I'll drive by and see this house vine-free and restored to her former glory.

#abandoned #urbex #antebellum  #southernhomes #dixie #abandonedwiregrass 

Last night I spent about an hour trying to catch the Tau Herculids Meteor Shower. NASA said it was either going to be a bust, or glorious. It was a meh. I saw two with my eye, and captured several more with the camera. In fact,  it was the first time I have ever captured a meteor streak on camera. In this image I included the Big Dipper to give perspective where my camera was pointing. 

It was a good time. I'm looking forward the next meteor shower. 

Senior photography should be exciting and fun for both the senior and the parents.  This should include the session and the final images. With this in mind, I now offer themed senior photo sessions. 

The theme can be practically anything, and not necessarily what the senior did in high school, or what they are going to do (or think they'll do) after graduation. It could be cosplay based on their favorite movie, book or video game. It could be historical period costume, or even a gag theme. It can be with friends and family. It's about fun, individual expression, memories and breaking away.  

​The packages can include graphic products (like the movies poster seen here) or short theme videos featuring highlights of session images. 

Nate graduates high school this year and is on his way to college.  During the initial consult, his mom showed me a photo of Nate in his restored classic car looking over a pair of Ray Bans.  It reminded me of "Risky Business" and suggested an 80s teen coming of age movie theme. Nate and mom were all in! 

The sessions include a mix of theme-based and traditional images.  For Nate's session, I also made a custom movie poster and a short video revolving around the 80s teen movie theme. 

If you're interested in a themed photo session, or any of my photography services, follow this link to contact me. Thanks for dropping by, enjoy the images,  and see you next week. 

I want to thank everyone who came out to the Piney Woods Art Festival in Enterprise, Alabama this weekend, especially those who dropped by my booth. The positive response to "Abandoned Wiregrass," as well as my prints and framed art, was overwhelming. I would especially like to thank the Coffee County Arts Alliance for hosting the event and allowing me to attend. Piney Woods has been a vital part of the community fabric in Enterprise for as long as I can remember. This was my first year participating, and I will be sure to return. 

My photo "Winter Chairs" was honored with Best In Show. This kinda blows me away, because there were some SERIOUSLY talented artists at the event. I am honored and grateful. 

It was great to see many friends drop by the booth, including old friends from college I have not seen in many years. I received an unexpected surprise when, in the festival's closing hour,  I heard a voice say "That's my shack!"  Sure enough, it was the gentleman who owns the cabin featured on the cover of Abandoned Wiregrass.  I had not seen Mr. Waters since the day I took that image. We had a great time catching up and talking about the shack's history, and other places around the local area that might be good candidates for future photos. 

I'm not sure when or where my next event will be, as the local art festival scene slows down in the summer. I'll be taking the  opportunity to keep writing my fiction novels, as well as riding the roads (on my motorcycle, of course!) looking for my next photograph.

Keep checking back for updates!

#pineywoodsartfestival #artfestival #photography #awardwinning

This blog post is for the photography buffs out there. Last weekend I had the honor of taking photos of Temple Monarc,  a fantastic L.A.-based band with original music and a classic rock sound.  Instead of just showing you some images, I'd like to talk about how I approach live performance photography.  I learned photography primarily by taking live music performance images. Due to the dynamic challenges of light, subject and composition, it is a steep learning curve.  It is a brutal way to learn the art, and I highly recommend it. Those lessons translate easily to any other genre of photography.

I'd like to share some of those lessons-learned today, starting with equipment and settings. 

Equipment
 
I'm using a Canon 6DM2 with either a EF24-70mm or a EF17-40mm. Any DSLR or mirrorless will work as long as you can shoot on manual. Can you shoot on auto or with a phone? Of course, but you will eventually "peak" in your image quality.  Here's why. 

Shoot on Manual

You can't fully exploit the light when the computer does the thinking. There is so much more light the camera captures than what you see "straight out of camera" (SOOC). If you shoot on auto, the computer will either hide or throw that precious light away. Second, try to shoot with post-session editing in mind. When I see a composition, I've learned to see the light as I want it to be, not necessarily how the camera initially captures it and processes it on the display screen. This is where saving your image in RAW format is critical. 

Aperture

I shoot at anywhere from f4 to about f5.6 because I want to strike a balance between low-light capability and reasonable aperture. For fast-moving bands, I don't like a lot of background blur. For slow-moving performers, and setting-dependent, I will go for more background blur.

ISO

 Shoot as low-ISO as possible to reduce noise. Low-light forces higher ISOs, but I detest grainy images unless I intend to go mostly black and white. Low-lit clubs and music venues usually drives me to somewhere between 6400 and 12500 ISO. 

Shutter Speed

I set my shutter speed as high as I can get it, even if that means slightly under-exposing the image. I won't shoot performer on low-lit stages under 1/125s. This keeps blurring down (unless I intend it). One can lessen the impact of under-exposing an image if you shoot with spot or center-weighted light metering. That means taking your light readings from the image cent er or where where your focal-point is. I use either of these settings depending on stage light conditions. I want my light-meter taking the light sample from where I want it, not where the computer thinks it should be. If the background darkens up, so be it. 

Focal Point

Focal-point control is everything in rock & roll photography. Focal point drives composition! Use the smallest AF point your camera will allow, and make sure you understand how to dynamically change your focal-point quickly. If you let the camera control the focal point, you'll throw away a lot of images and miss a lot of great shots. 

Image Speed

Set your camera to take multiple images at the highest speed. Also, make sure your data card is clear and ready for lots of images. All of this is important because of rock and roll. 

These settings give me maximum control of light and composition, and result in the best post-session editing options. Now, lets take a look at them in action. 

These two images were taken 30 seconds apart, yet that 30 seconds changes how each image was edited. In the first image, I chose black and white, yet in the second image I chose color.  Why?

Subject and composition are directly tied to focal point.  In both of these images I set up my focal point on my viewer's far right, with the intent of using the vocalist as my subject.  Specifically, I am following the singer's left eye in both images. Based on my camera settings, the singer is the subject, I've automatically framed my composition, and light meter is reading the light reflecting off the singer's face. FOCAL POINT ANCHORS YOUR SHOT. Rule of thumb: The lower the light, the lower the aperture, and therefore the tighter the focal point. 

In image 1, composition and contrast are most important, so I selected black & white to accentuate this. In this instance,  structure and subject interplay trumped color.   Do you see all the triangles and arrows in Image 1? The bass player is visible behind the vocalist. The three performers heads form a triangle.  Both he and the singer are facing the guitarist, who is looking at his guitar neck, which is pointed right at the lead singer (triangle)  If you draw a line from the top of the singer's head to the bass player's head, it forms a line that points at the guitar (triangle) which points right back to the lead singer (arrow). If you look at the bassist's instrument, it protrudes from behind the singer on a straight line, as if the vocalist is being pierced (arrow) by the guitarist.  The singer is looking at the guitarist's face, who is looking at his guitar, which points right back to lead singer (triangle). Now, look at the spotlight. It is simultaneously a triangle and an arrow piercing all the other triangles, and pointing at the center of all of Image 1's triangles - the guitarist's left hand. 

Leaving Image 1 in color, with all the different colored lights, would have been distracting. The image draws its power from composition, not color. Image 2 has a far simpler composition. Here, we have only one triangle. The guitar forms the base, and the performer's heads point to the apex. The bass player is hidden, and the image is uncomplicated, and color does not distract. 

In Image 1, the lead singer's face is fully in the blue-green spot-light. Behind him, the bass player is visible, he is facing us, and his light source is the same color, and close in illumination, to that bathing the singer's face. Therefore, the camera handles the white balance for both performers the same. When converted to black and white, the two performers' faces will handle editing identically. The guitarist, however, is getting different light and the light metering is not "seeing" him.  Therefore, he's darker. He is also dressed in a color similar to the stage lighting and blends in, but his guitar is more reflective and has a higher albedo.  By going black and white, his guitar "pops" and forms a high-contrast bottom for several of the composition triangles.  Bottom line, I get more bang for my editing buck for Image 1 in B&W, and Image 2 works as-is. 

In post-production editing, it quickly became clear Image 1 would have far more impact as black and white.  Using the BW Mixer in Photoshop Camera Raw, I can covert colors into contrast. By increasing illuminance on aquas and blues, I can make the singer and bass player's faces brighter, as I can with the reds in the lead guitar. This reinforced the composition triangles and gives the image more clarity.  Image 2 needed almost no editing, other than a change from 6x4 to 8x10. 

Two images, 30 seconds apart. Same subject, same focal point, same settings, and two entirely different outcomes.  I hope you enjoyed this week's blog. 

#photography #photo #camera #photoediting #photoshop #music #musicphotography 

Here's a new image for your Monday morning, I took this along the old 3 Notch Trail in Pike County, Alabama. ​

I'd like to thank everyone who stopped by my booth at Landmark Park in Dothan last Saturday. Spring Farm day was a great event. I enjoyed meeting a lot of new people and talking about their experiences with local history and abandoned structures in the Wiregrass.  I was also overwhelmed with the positive reception "Abandoned Wiregrass" received at the event.    

I will be at the Rudd Art Center in Ozark this Saturday, 26 March from 10 to 2pm for a book signing, along with other local authors. Please stop by and get your signed copy of Abandoned Wiregrass, as well as checking out fantastic art from local artists. 

You can keep up with my book signings, festival booths, speaking engagements, and other happening on my events page. 

A tip led me on a January journey into Pike County, Alabama. I was looking for an old church. Sunset was fast approaching, and I was beginning to lose hope I'd reach it in time to get any good shots. Sure enough, it was right where I was told. 

I can find very little about Union Springs Primitive Baptist Church online, other than it exists. However, its clearly taken care of, including the adjacent graveyard. By the looks of it, there may still be services conducted here. The first thing I noticed was the long dirt lane leading off the main road. The sunset light here is spectacular, and I am positive the sunrise will be equally spectacular.  I spent as much time taking photos of the lane as the church. 

This is a beautiful place. I will return to this place at dawn. I'm sure the church, with its eastern exposure,  will light up in the sun rise. 

Does anyone out there know the history of this place? If so, please leave a comment. 

The Rudd Art Center/Dowling Museum in downtown Ozark, Alabama kicked off  their annual All in Black and White Exhibit this weekend. Artists from across the Wiregrass participated, in all media to include photography. It was an honor not only to be allowed to participate, but to have two of my images recognized.  

I have three images in the exhibit, and two images were recognized:  "Winter Chairs" and "Ride." The exhibit runs through March 5th. Please support local art and artists.