This is my friend, Cara, and we share a small plot of land in the back of a salon in Evans, GA.
I asked her to shoot with us as a part of a photo project we are working on, as she is one of the prettiest people I know.
In looking over these images, in speaking with other stylists, and in having experience in several other salons; I am reminded of just how great I have it. 9-5 salon life can be brutal, and yet this group of girls make it bearable, and sometimes sublime.
When in need, it is easy to look around and see nothing. Since we began this photo journey 6 years ago, our artists' lifestyle has often led us into what felt like a barren land. In retrospect, and often in the moment, we see resources-
-we see resources everywhere.
We see provision in the desert. We see intuition that has saved us thousands of dollars. We see friends who are willing to help, and we observe that they share our passion for our future.
And we are grateful.
AND FIRST UP? YOU GUESSED IT, THE BEAUTIFUL OWNER OF THE SALON AND MY MUCH BETTER HALF, RACHEL.
IN THIS THE SECOND ADVENTURE IN THE STUDIO, WE HAVE THE LOVELY RACHEL L. TAKING THE FLOOR FOR SOME PHOTOGRAPHIC DISCOVERY. HAIR AND MAKEUP BY RACHEL BIESTMAN OF THE DARLING LOFT.
Round 3 in studio development time. This session was with the absolutely wonderful Mary, who you might recall from this session or maybe this one. It was a fun time to hang and play around with the new surroundings, and I can’t thank her enough for what she brought, not only in her beauty but her patience and creativity as well. HAIR AND MAKEUP BY RACHEL BIESTMAN OF THE DARLING LOFT.
It is the wonderful Lena’s turn to play around in studio while we figure this place out. Hair, makeup, and dance instruction from fellow artist Cara Woodward.
It was there, just randomly, a beautiful glut of purple just smack dab in the middle of this lot. Every time I went for a walk over a 3 week period, just sitting there quietly growing, minding it’s own business.
Taunting me. Every single day. “You know you want to shoot me…do it soon before someone else finds me.”
Now this is a common refrain in my head when I come across a potential location for a session. However, as you all know, things are not all that normal during this timeframe. Plus, walking by it everyday was taking its toll. But, when you happen to be married to a beautiful woman who also happens to be an extraordinary hair and makeup artist in her own right, sometimes it makes sense to just succumb to the voices and just go shoot. So we packed up 2 of the 3 kids and took a little drive in the late afternoon sun for a photo session in an abandoned lot, a government building parking lot, behind a local business, and finished up at a neighbor’s driveway.
We hope you enjoy the following 30 minute quick session, and know, that if you want some purple action for yourself, it looks like it is still alive for now before the heat hits, so use the contact at the bottom so we can get you to it before it dies.
This post started out as an R & R (Rant & Rave) about social media and my distaste for it. I had gotten quite far in my little diatribe and then left myself with the quandary of creating a proper segue to get to Rachel and the dress that she made from some apparently well sought after fabric. So, suffice it to say, while I will make it known that I hate virtually everything about social media, I would rather leave you with the beauty and skills of Rachel as you look through below photos from our little 40 minute Mother’s Day jaunt.
A little time to showcase the ladies. We took a little jaunt off to a local parking lot to play around for about an hour, and as usual when dealing with kids, just let the shudder fly ‘cause you never know what you are going to get. But, when dealing with this crew you know you are going to get a dose of silliness mixed with cuteness. So what you see below is a mixture of hitting it just right and the spots in between.
Most of us have a bit more time on our hands under the current situation, so we thought we would add a bit of fun to everyone’s day this week with a little contest.
Below you will find five installments, 4 pictures a day, that will be rolled out this week, the 20th through the 24th. Do you know these buildings? The details of these buildings? Some are landmarks, or local businesses, residences, some are visited by thousands a year and some have fallen into disrepair and have not been visited in some time. So to pass the time, and maybe bring a little enjoyment to some of you out there, we thought we would have a little contest to see, cue game show music,
How well do you know Augusta?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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…
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.
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.
Welcome to Volume 7, our continued exploration of the wonderful Miller Theater and my time running rampant thru it. As for the building itself this volume, we spend a lot of time on the roof exploring it’s expanse and the environment beyond. In the portrait section, we have the lovely Jessica F. taking us to some new areas of the theater, including our first foray into the under stage dressing room area. Thanks for stopping by and check out the photos below!
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…
I hate to beat the proverbial horse here, but I really want a studio to work out of. Sort of. I think. Well, yes and no. Yes when it is over 90 degrees, 90 percent humidity, no wind, no clouds, too much wind, 40 degrees, rain, yada, yada, yada. You get the picture. And when it’s not like that? Well, of course, outside is the way to go. Unless I want a pure color background with Cyclorama wall complete with beautifully constructed lighting that never changes unless I want it to. But outside of that pure color background, there is no way I could spend hundreds upon hundreds of dollars for backgrounds when if you just walk outside and look, you have hundreds of “studio” backdrops available virtually anywhere you go. It’s one reason I can’t understand photographers that go to the same places again and again. There is only so much of the train tracks, depot, or Savannah Rapids before I go nuts.
It was W.C. Fields who coined the famous phrase, “Never work with animals or children” due to their unpredictability and scene stealing nature. I have worked with children before, and for the most part I would agree with their scene stealing nature, but animals? One of Rachel’s Zumba classmates lives close by and happens to have a little fluffy young goat to play with and we thought, what the heck, let’s test out this axiom. Couple of phone calls and voila, Jennifer has her hands full of some cute goat-ness and I have two lovely subjects for a photo session.
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…
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.
As I am getting older and mortality is becoming an ever increasing sentiment within my mind, not really but it is a good lead in, I listen to a lot of podcasts where health, nutrition, and fitness is a focus and I have attempted to clean up my act by cutting the sugary snacks and carbs out of my diet. One of the things I have dramatically increased in my diet is nuts, which have a multitude of benefits, one of which is highlighted in the below tweet from the amazingly brilliant Dr. Rhonda Patrick.
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.
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.
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
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.
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...