Lessons Learned from Dead Presidents

I'm pretty sure that FDR, in spite of owning "the most photographed dog in the world" did not have a strong skill set behind the camera. The same should be said for Thomas Jefferson seeing as cameras were just a little bit after his lifetime. But that doesn't mean that as a photographer some lessons can't be learned from men who had enough character to lead our country. I'm participating in a 'mini amazing race' style event called 'Expedition Give' tomorrow and one of our tasks was to do some research to find something that inspires us through some of the resources on www.values.com Naturally, I looked for something inspirational to me as a photographer, but the challenge lies in being able to apply the inspiration we find and put it into practice. This blog post represents my attempt at doing so and I challenge anyone that reads this to take some time to do the same in their own lives.

"It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something."
-Franklin D. Roosevelt

Some people may say these are photoshopped, I assure you they are not (other than the color scheme). A few weeks ago on an engagement shoot with Danny + Sam, we tried some new things while shooting like intentionally shifting the camera with a slow shutter speed to get some motion blurring action. I kid you not, 100 shots were tried... Less than 5 came out. These are two of them. Call me crazy, but it was worth every failed attempt.

“I'm a great believer in luck and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.
-Thomas Jefferson


As a photographer, its crucial to know your surrounding area for photo hotspots and always be prepared to shoot unexpectedly. I try to live by these words. And well, whether or not you count an amazing lightning storm directly over my apartment as luck or a random heart planted in the grass at Piedmont Park during an engagement shoot as coincidence, some of my older favorites wouldn't exist if TJ's statement weren't true.

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” -Theodore Roosevelt
By taking Teddy too literally at 12:30 on a friday night, in my office, when I should be going to bed, with the closest camera to me, I learned a few key things...

1) I am going to have an awesome wrinkled old man face in 50 years.
2) My dog is an attention whore.
3) I need a haircut.

And with that I will leave you with my "final thoughts"

“If I had permitted my failures, or what seemed to me at the time a lack of success, to discourage me I cannot see any way in which I would ever have made progress.
-Calvin Coolidge

“Whatever you are, be a good one.”
- Abraham Lincoln

Peeps in a Graveyard

Today, I took a stroll through historic Oakland cemetery for a springtime photoshoot. Being Easter Sunday, it was nice to just have a relaxing day around the city and enjoying the incredible weather we've been having. Easter Sunday is a day of celebration for Christian's around the world for the resurrection of Jesus Christ, However, how many of us have stopped to ask 'What about the Peeps?'... The darker side of this celebratory holiday is that Easter Sunday also a day that marks the death of millions of helpless, sugar coated, fluffy marshmallow animals. Out of respect for the massive loss that the marshmallow animal population endures every year, I'd like to pay this tribute that as irony would have it, I casually stumbled upon today on our shoot. I give you: Peeps in a Gravyard.

Jackpot!

So I know I just started this photo of the day thing where I'd like to force myself to consistently challenge my abilities and unfortunately due to weird schedules since last week I have mostly been doing my work from home, sans camera. My focus has been on redesigning this blog because I want to have more emphasis on my photography. So in the midst of starting at my computer screen, and hundreds of lines of code, for literally about 3 days straight I am sitting here at 1:00 in the morning and I found a unique find in my picture archives from the summer.

Myself, Carly, and some friends took a fairly spontaneous road trip into the foothills of the middle of no where Kentucky to stay at a cabin for a few days. We were completely cut off from the world with no cell phone signals, no internet (scary I know) but I had my camera and a beautiful landscape with no city lights for at least 20 miles in any direction. The beauty in being cut off from the things the tend to control our lives and out of the rush of every day life is that it gives you the ability to see things through a different lens [insert photographer pun here] This is what I saw:
The Sun Shines at Midnight

Buried by the City

Prolonged Stargazing

Autumn Leaves

So a few weeks ago a friend of mine was talking to me about his plans to throw a fall themed party showcasing local artists in Atlanta. During our conversation he asked me if I would be able to contribute 1 or 2 prints for the party to help with the decor. Being excited about his idea I quickly responded with a "Sure!" and within the next 5 minutes thought to myself.... "I'm not sure that I have any shots that I've taken specifically around the fall." The reason I preface these shots with this story is because if I hadn't talked to this guy about his party, I never would've gotten the inspiration that I did to take Carly around on a shoot across most of east Atlanta. So I owe big thanks to Robert for throwing a killer party and a big thanks to Carly for being my impromptu model for the day!

Italian Beauty

It's not everyday that you get to photograph and italian beauty like this... Ed Bolian of Supercar Rentals, Inc has been kind enough to provide this beautiful piece of machinery as one of the many highlights in videos that Swaff and DBay have produced and lucky for me, I've been able to have my own photo shoot with this Murcielago. It's nice being a Tech Grad and having connections :)

Dog Days

I guess today is Two-Post Thursday and maybe and I can make this a trend. Things have been really busy for me lately trying to balance work, life, and play. Because of all of the busyness around here I've been keeping a more watchful eye out for candid moments around my daily life. If we're friends on facebook you may have already seen these pictures but the other day I decided to follow Jack, our dog, around with my camera while cleaning up and waiting for Carly to come home. I think these pictures explain it on their own why we love our dog so much.