It is hard to imagine that a month ago when we had the opportunity to work with Sommer again (first session here) that we were freezing our butt's off for this shoot. Now, here we are and the weather this week is averaging mid-60's, with mid 70's and a smattering of 80's are predicted for next week. And we are not even out of February yet, go figure.

Due to scheduling conflicts, we had to make a call to our favorite backup artist, Cara Woodward. We have known Cara for nearly 8 years. Not only does she work with Rachel in the salon, she is a great friend to our family.

This second go round with Sommer was hampered a bit by the weather, which ended up being about 10° cooler than the weather forecast that morning with some unexpected sprinkling of precipitation. All of which is to say that Rachel (who still accompanied me on the shoot) was not a happy camper. Rachel is not much for the outdoors, particularly when it is cold and wet as she has developed and shown symptoms common with Raynaud's Syndrome primarily in her fingers, which you can guess makes it not so fun and sometimes difficult to work with makeup and hair as her much warmer, not bothered by the cold photographer husband asks her to adjust two strands of hair he doesn't want to bother editing later. Hey, we all have quirks, right?

But back to our cold, wet moment in time with the lovely Sommer. It was cold. And it was wet. And for some of these shots, we weren't exactly asking Sommer to wear the most warm of clothes. But, we were there, and damn if Sommer did not have a wonderful attitude about the situation. And really, I did have a wonderful little trash dumpster area that I wanted to shoot around and a bridge to uncomfortably pose her on. Seriously, so what would you do? Nobody said this was easy... So just to tidy this little bit of rambling on my part, my many thanks to these two wonderful women in Rachel and Sommer in allowing this goofball "artist" the opportunity in some rather downright horrible weather to take the time and experiment with his craft. We hope you enjoy the results as much as we do.

Model: Sommer C.

Hair/Makeup: Cara Woodward

Photography: Patrick Biestman

More Portrait Selections

development in studio: mary

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.

just walking around evans looking for spots

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.

a little mother's day jaunt...

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 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.

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.

my year in the miller theater, volume 7

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!

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…

new construction equals new opportunities

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.

they say never work with animals...

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.

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…

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.

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

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.

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...

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."

it's not always going to be perfect...

...and that's ok. Sometimes Rachel get's a bee in her bonnet to shoot a non-commissioned session. She got a new bit of makeup, a new hairstyle she wants to try out, a new dress she found, or maybe someone from church who's hair she's been eyeballin' or face she want's to try that new makeup on. This photo session with Susannah would nicely fit into several of those categories. But as you may know from the previous blog post, I often don't like to repeat myself when it comes to a session, so what do I do when I have my pick of locations for a session with a client who is along for the ride? Well duh, how about behind the Big Lots and Home Depot parking lot? Isn't that what you were thinking?!?

the return of winter, a carly session.

Alright, so my last post caught us up with Sommer during our photo session in the winter, yet was full of witty repartee about the weather turning towards summer (seemingly) and yet as I write this post at 2a on March 14, a few days after we just "sprung" forward and the temp yesterday was a lovely 36° as I trudged through the forest scouting locations for future shoots. Future shoots in warmer weather if I had my druthers. But not too warm, too soon as you all know how lovely the heat and humidity have fun with us here in Augusta during the summer months.

the return of sommer

portrait photography and patience, the katie session

For those of you in the know, it is Championship Sunday as I write this and one of the biggest story lines of the playoffs has been Le'Veon Bell and his unique running style. If you happen to be around the t.v. while the Steelers are on today, take a listen and see if you can count the number of times you here the word "patience" in reference to Mr. Bell. Please don't make a drinking game out of it, because with Phil Simm's behind the mic, it will be every other word out of his mouth when the Steelers have the ball and you would be well on your way to being toasted by the end of the 1st quarter. But outside of that digression, Mr. Bell truly does have a unique way of running with patience and if I may be so bold, I am going to use him and his style as my segue into this lovely Senior Session with Katie.

Welcome Back And A Little Gift For The New Year

It's been awhile since I have found myself sitting here having the opportunity to share what has been going on in our little corner of the world and it is good to be back. While Rachel has dropped in every now and then to let you know what has been happening, it's time that I step up to the plate as Rachel's plate overfloweth. She has been absolutely bringing it over the last several months, working at the salon, redesigning her website which includes a new clothing shop, continuing to pioneer the wedding hair/makeup market here in Augusta as well as being an extraordinary mother/daughter/sister/wife/friend for all of those that have the privilege. And from time to time, being my willing subject in front of the camera.

Augusta GA Portrait Photography: Sommer

Happy Saturday, Y'all! It has been a wonderfully long week, and today is all the longer. I did think a little art might help the day along, so I wanted to share these images of our new friend, Sommer.

Bill Cunningham, the recently deceased New York Times fashion photographer, is quoted to have been searching for "birds of paradise" in and around Manhattan. He searched for women of "daring styles" instead of women with "cookie cutter sameness" for the subjects of his art. Young, old, poor, wealthy- his selection was based entirely on his artistic perception.

Augusta GA Portrait Photography: Rebekah Too

We shot Rebekah two years ago, and it is a wonder to see her change. High school is behind her, and she is on to her first year of college in the fall. She has the loveliest gentle spirit, and a delight to be around.

Augusta GA Portrait Photography: Hannah

Her name is Hannah, and she is the most peaceful angel of a young woman. Normally she is not so serious, but she reigned the smile in for some dark lipstick and wild curls done on a 1/3 inch iron (her hair is straight). Modeling is not for the faint of heart!

A word an artist understands: Portrait photography in Augusta, GA

I do not like the word "no." It could be the most agitating word to my ears. Despite hating the word, I love to play a game with our daughter, Lilah, whose favorite word to say is "no."

"Lilah. Would you like a giant hot fudge sundae?"

"No."

"How about to play in a room filled with sweet little puppies?"

"No."

"Would you like to swim in a pool full of marshmallows?"

"No."

Good morning beautiful, Augusta GA Portrait Photography

Oh! Well, hello there, pretty thing! You look great this morning! Checking out the interwebs, sipping your coffee, swatting at the children under your feet... It is so good to see you again!

That's enough for the greetings right now, but it does seem like it has been forever since I have been curating lovely photos for you. Patrick and I have working hard over the last 18 months adjusting to life as a family of four, or really showing a little one how to adjust to life in our family. Work has not slowed down (can you believe I first typed "slown down?"), but instead is constantly filling. We have kept up everything, except for taking a calm moment to sit and share this passion of ours with you.

Senior portraits in Augusta GA: Into Art

Swoon.

Isn't she lovely?

Today we get to work with this talented young woman again, and we are over the moon.

Augusta GA Portrait: Christina all grown up

I sat across from her about a month ago, scrutinizing every inch of her face as she spoke. We were eating an incredible meal: bread warm from the oven, fried green tomatoes, shrimp and grits, pork tenderloin. It was the meal of a lifetime- one that we could never have afforded 15 years ago.

I couldn't believe she was sitting in front of me. I imagined us, walking to and from train stations. I imagined us lying on the ground miserable, holding our stomachs on a Tuesday after prematurely eating most of what we had rationed for Friday.

Evans GA Portrait Photography: In full swing

There are only two days of March left, and wedding season is in full swing.

Formal hairstyling isn't for everyone, and I used to be terrified of it. Seven and a half years ago I worked in a large spa/salon in the Augusta area, where many a girl would schedule her whole wedding preparations. Unknowingly, 4 of those formal styles would end up on my book. The impending doom of such a Saturday would beat upon me all week long. I woke up with severe anxiety on said morning, stuffing bites of chicken biscuit into a stomach filled to the brim with butterflies. I would stand behind a girl with a comb, bobby pins and a prayer, struggling to knot up loose tendrils into some sort of configuration. Standing back from my creation, I scrutinized: "it's up."

Evans Portait Photography: resources everywhere

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.

Glamour Photography in Augusta GA: Jessica

At times when you meet someone it may be hard to know where your relationship may go. Jessica and I met almost 8 years ago during my Starbucks District Manager days, and it did not have an auspicious beginning. Not to denigrate anyone, but let's just say the leadership around the store was a bit immature and led to some humorous (and not so humorous) moments.

One such moment occurred when I was called in to talk with a young woman who refused to remove her custom nail manicure: a "no-no" in the food service industry. As is usually the case in these moments, simple communication was at the core of the problem. With that connection I discovered a passion of Jessica's, America's Next Top Model.

the return of sommer

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