Completing the set, the eldest of the siblings gets his time to shine as we travel to a many visited site by the Fury’s Ferry boat ramp. Our man turns 12 this year, a time for me that was roughly 32 years ago, so there is a lot of learning going on between the two of us. As I like to tell him and his sister, he is walking a tough path being our first, as he encounters the world for the first time and ldoing double duty earning just as he is teaching us how to parent in many situations. At times you can see it in his face and mannerisms what it is like to be a developing young man in this world, but give him some time and the true essence of his sweet personality will shine through lighting up the world around him. And if you’re lucky, you might just get one of his signature dance moves from him. He is our first, and oh how we love him so.
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8 minutes outside with lilah: a study in monochrome & color
Not to leave Lilah out of the mix after the last impromptu Collette session, I decided to take advantage of a lovely cloudy day give Lilah a little time after I picked her up from school and we walked back to the car. I’ve said it before and I will say it again, kids are so much easier to photograph because they give you so much of themselves, they are not restricting themselves because of how they think they might look. Funny faces are par for the course, awkward smiles, and just genuine being who they are is what makes shooting kids fun. So take a gander below and enjoy a young girl who can a lot to smile about in life and it shows.
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15 minutes with collette. a study in monochrome & color
I should be working on some edits. I should be going to the grocery store. I should be cleaning something. I should get her out of the house before her nap. Before long it will be time to get Lilah from school. Emails, emails, emails. But I do have a new portable background I haven’t played with enough yet. The lighting is good in the playroom. My reflector is just right over there. My camera is juiced and ready to go after my photo shoot last night.
15 minutes later and 2 hours after that, well, here we are.
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a half shot family session with the park family
I had the absolute pleasure of having another go round with the Park family several weeks after Rachel and I were chosen to work their wedding. That was my first introduction to their wonderful world, capturing some tender moments during the ceremony between Holly, Jesse, and Avett. We had spoken during the wedding day about setting up a family photo shoot after the shenanigans had died down. And that is what we have here. We took a little trip to Phinizy Swamp, a place I had not been to in several years, and took a short walk around the main area, battling other photographers and their clients for space in certain places. Luckily enough, many of the places I looked to use as backgrounds many people just walk on by or don’t go into because, well, you’re not supposed to. Shhhhh. But do be wary of the poison ivy. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did, and without further ado, here is our Half-Shot results.
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a single shot portrait session with dara
Every once and awhile Rachel (IG)comes across a dress or article of clothing which demands a photoshoot. Ok, if I am honest, we have a whole closet of items that she has accumulated that demand a photoshoot, but, the timing of life, family, business and such don’t always allow for it. Couple that with the demands of finding a model who fits said clothing item and coordinating our lives with theirs, it can get complicated at times. However, Rachel does have the advantage of working many beautiful and charming ladies at Salon Surreal (IG), and lo and behold, we were able to coordinate some time with Dara (IG) who was extremely giving with her time for the shoot.
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a single shot senior session with meg
It’s been a little while, but then again, if you have followed this blog for years, this tends to be the cycle. Now that we have entered a bit of a break between busy cycles it’s time to deluge everyone with what we have been up to. So let us start this journey off with a bang and recap our senior journey with the wonderful Meg. This is not the first go round with this family as Rachel and I had the opportunity to work with her sister, Katie for her senior session downtown. This time however, we took Meg on a little trip through Evans visiting the usual sites of urgent care parking decks, dentist parking lots, behind a strip mall, gator pond, and old warehouse parking lots. You know, Evans’ finest.
Please enjoy our journey below, and as always, hair and makeup provided by Rachel Biestman.
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a half shot senior session with julie
In our natural state, we generally like the long form photography session, what we call our Single Shot Session, spread out over a couple of hours, leisurely walking or taking short trips to various sites, wardrobe and hair changes, yada, yada, yada. But 4 hours of time when you include hair, makeup, and travel is not always a luxury people can afford, especially for Senior photography where said senior has a multitude of activities and responsibilities demanding their time. Which leads us to our quick, down and dirty Half Shot Session available for any our portrait sessions.
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a half shot family session with the eubanks
I have had the honor recently to work with the Augusta University Pediatric Unit in photographing some of their patients with amazing stories and the Eubanks family and Lion’s story was the latest. You can read more about it here on the Pediatric Triumphs page for Augusta University Health. The session was our Half Shot Session, our version of what most call a mini session, and run about 45 minutes with the goal of highlighting Lion and the support from his lovely family. With a limited amount of time we stayed right on the campus outside of the Pediatric building, but tried to utilize the uniqueness of our environment to the best of our abilities. We started out on the street side of the building…
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a single shot senior session with calla
And this is the beautiful Ms. Calla, a senior we are honored to have had the opportunity to take on a little jaunt along the roads of Evans for her senior session. A little mix of some familiar locations remixed a bit with some new “we’re taking pictures where?” locations. And without further ado, we’ll jump into what has become somewhat of a launchpad location for me, the backside of our local gym. It has turned out to be a convenient location for that first 15 minutes where we get to know each other and what it feels like to have a camera thrust into your face and I get to see how the reaction. But if you will note, we got a few new angles and vistas thrown in at the end as it can be a versatile little space.
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a quick dance with mary
We upped the ante a bit with our latest little trip with Ms. Mary. If you remember our last visit with Mary, we had a nice leisurely walk around the government buildings, library, and of course, trash containers. This session started out similar as we started out in the back of the Evans Fitness Center near the trash containers to take a moment to get familiar again with the process. However, you will notice a little foreshadowing to later events as she brought a touch of her dance moves into the back wall portion of the session below.
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a quick walk with mary
I don’t know, is it safe to say my wife stalks women? Ogles them? Has thoughts of running her hands through their hair? Is this beginning to sound like one of those letters to the forum in a dirty mag from 80’s/90’s? Will Rachel (wife/makeup artist/hairstylist/wardrobe coordinator/photo assistant/general badass) and Mary (the beautiful young lady gracing this post above and below) appreciate the opening lead-in down Penthouse forum lane? Probably not, but I don’t think either would be surprised…
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my year in the miller theater, volume 6
Welcome back, it’s been awhile since I checked in with this little run down memory lane, thank you Mr. Compressed Vertebral Disc. But, as we have decided to mend our relationship and travel down recovery road, don’t mind us as we take a detour down the aforementioned lane. As for the theater itself, a little inside, a little outside, some close details and some wide expanses. On the portrait front, we inject a little pin-up flavor with the lovely Jessica. Onward we go…
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a half shot session: senior style with cannon
A quick and well, not dirty, but wet mini senior session with the wonderfully affable Cannon. The mini session is not for everyone. It is quick paced, and we get the party rolling right from the get go because we run it for 45 minutes versus our long form 2 hour session. The first 15 minutes or so of a full session is just for our client to get their bearings and relax and be themselves versus the robotic smile for pictures which can dominate once I bring the camera up. With a mini session, we have to start that way from the start. But the thing I kept hearing from Cannon's mom Amanada during our phone consultation was his laid back demeanor. And she spoke the truth. It was an easy session to groove into and it was an absolute joy to shoot. Best of luck to Cannon in all of his future endeavors, in particular his ability to lead a lacrosse team to victory in goal, he has the right mental attitude to succeed wherever he plies his trade.
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my year in the miller theater, volume 5
This week we open with a little roof exploration, edifice details, and a little stage time. And bees, lots of bees. And we close out with a portrait session with the lovely Lindsay, who got to show off another side from the last we shot her. This time we added the men's room as a location. That's right, I know where to take the ladies for a photoshoot.
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my year in the miller theater, volume 4
This week in The Miller brings us a bit of color and texture shot from the roof, focusing on the surrounding environment of buildings and skyline of downtown Augusta and it's unique mix of brick, sculpture, peeling paint, and rust. We follow that up with a little tour back inside featuring some of the unique fixtures and textures of The Miller, also the ubiquitous front stairwell and finishing with some sunset shots from the roof. This volume's portrait session is a Senior Session featuring Emily introducing the back alley and the room under the secret yellow room room and getting her own time on the roof while joining the "just like a tree stand" club when presented with the many ladders on the roof.
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my year in the miller theater, volume 3
Welcome to Volume 3 of my Miller time. In this episode we continue on from the previous volume and continue to explore the projector room, the ever-present front stairwell, add in a new addition in the under the secret yellow room room, and finally start the love affair with roof shots of the city skyline with the always evocative Lamar Building. We finish with a gorgeous set of photos from our session with Kristen, who pushed us to match the beauty and grace she brought to the table that day. We hope you enjoy!
pb | rb
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my year in the miller theater, volume 2
Welcome to volume 2 of my year at The Miller and thank you for showing up. I introduce a few new rooms (hello projector and uh, lady's bathroom ante-room...) and their treasures as well as establishing some returns from earlier. Here's looking at you , front door, phones and stairwell. The projector room was awesome and I would have loved to shoot there more, but shortly after my photo shoot with Ashley as you will see below, the lock was changed and I was unable gain access to the room. Oh, and for the record, it was not because I did anything, but there were quite a few copies made of the key from other people, so I think the powers that be wanted to limit access where possible.
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my year in the miller theater, volume 1
In mid 2013 the opportunity to photograph in The Miller Theater presented itself. A friend/mentor of mine had access and wanted to know if I would want to take a look. Not really knowing anything about the building or it's history, I said sure and we met a few days later downtown. For that meeting, I brought nothing but myself, no camera. Long story short, at the end of that tour I got a key, had access to The Miller anytime I felt like it, and knew I would not enter the dressing rooms downstairs alone for fear of "her." Whether she still haunts it after the remodel...
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about us series, volume 1
I hate the "About Us" portion of website work, entrepreneurship, promotion, whatever you would like to call it because I basically don't like to talk about myself, hence one of the reasons I like to "hide" behind the camera. Which, when you are a transplant to a community and trying to build a business, brand, and reputation, can cause you some issues.
So, as we are currently working on a website revamp (I totally realize how bloated and convoluted the site has become, and I am sorry) and I have come to that period in time where I have to formulate the About Us section in a way that is clear and concise (not my strong suit as you will find out), why not use the blog as a way to explore our photography, ourselves, our philosophies, and use it as a tool to tell you a bit more about us and how we view and do what we do. Then, maybe I will be able to condense something down into a quick tidbit suitable for all the website developers that constantly contact me about my "web presence."
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a little update for our portrait sessions
We have two new offerings when it comes to our portrait sessions and an updated Product Guide to share with you. We are excited to offer our Double Shot and Triple Shot packages that offer significant savings while offering greater flexibility to meet your needs. Combine our Single Shot packages in any combo you would like, so a maybe a Senior/Family(Spring)/Family(Holiday) grouping or Couples/Boudoir/Portrait grouping, or any other mix and match you can think of. Thank you for taking a look and we look forward to working with you!
pb | rb
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