New for 2011

In 2007, I graduated from USC with a business degree.  I knew then that business was the wrong direction for me but since I started it, I wanted to finish.  My passion for photography started in college and when I graduated I opened my photography business, so the business degree did come in handy.  I have enjoyed every minute of it and will definitely be taking pictures forever.  I have another passion that most of you probably don't know about, building, designing, and working on anything mechanical.  In the Fall of 2010 I decided it was time to pursue another degree by going back to school for Mechanical Engineering.

With all of that being said, I am still going full throttle with photography and look forward to adding more weddings and sessions to the calendar for 2011.   Today I have added two major things to the blog that I want to point out.  First, at the top of the page you will see a new tab called Weddings along with my other work.  There you will find pictures from my wedding portfolio.  Secondly, from the request of many of my followers, I have added pricing information for wedding packages and portrait sessions to the contact page.  Feel free to contact me for any additional information or to set up your own shoot!

It's the Holiday Season

Well it's Christmas time again.  It's starting to get cold and people everywhere are excited for what this holiday season may bring them.  I have now been married for a year and a half and this is my second Christmas that I will celebrate with my wife at our house.  We have started a few traditions such as going to pick out our tree and swapping ornaments every year.  These are a few pictures of the Christmas tree hunt and our decorations. 

All things old

I love old buildings.  I like taking pictures of them because they are full of color.  They tell stories and allow your imagination to run wild with what might have been made or done inside them.  They are great subjects because they offer different textures from peeling paint to rust to broken windows.  Most of these are ordinary shots, but again, that's the great thing about photography... you can take pictures that are interesting to you! 

This Lake Is Full of Swans

How have I never been here?  As long as I have been taking pictures, this was my first trip to Swan Lake in Sumter, South Carolina.  It was fantastic!  The park is very well maintained and extremely clean.  Unfortunately I missed most of the color change, but I was still able to get some pretty colorful pictures of what hasn't already fallen.  I can not imagine how awesome this place must be when all of the trees lining the edges of the pond are full of color. 

Not only are the trees and pond gorgeous to take pictures of, but there is some great wildlife living there.  If you like bird watching or taking pictures of birds, this is the place for you.  There is also a great garden with tons of flowers and plants as well as old buildings.  All of which are great things to take pictures of.  You really can't point your camera in a wrong direction here.

I know next year during summer and especially fall, Swan Lake is on my short list of places to visit again when I have more then an hour to walk around!  Here is a link to some great information about the park and the wildlife: http://www.sumter-sc.com/visitingus/swanlake.aspx.

Here are some shots of my quick visit this afternoon:

 

JUST A REMINDER:  Sign up for the free photo shoot by Friday!  It can be used for anything other than a wedding; couples pictures, pet pictures, family pictures, Christmas card, even a corporate head shot. Or, sign up to win it as a Christmas present for a friend or family member! 

For this post I made the images much larger.  Let me know in the comments if you like them this way or if they are too large for your screens now.  Thanks!

I Sneezed When I Took This

Charleston is the oldest city in South Carolina.  I have been alive 25 years and only been there about four times.  Its architecture makes it appealing along with the southern charm and character.  It is a city that is interesting to me because you could literally close your eyes, spin in circles, and push your shutter button and come out on the other side with fantastic pictures.  Almost everything you look at has bright colors, contrast, and great texture making it an awesome and very photogenic city.  Here are a few shots of one of my recent trips.

See, even some boring rocking chairs look interesting in Charleston.  Even in poor lighting!

How Much Less, is More?

Lately I have been challenging myself to use my Nikon 50mm 1.8 lens more and more.  It is becoming my favorite lens to carry on my camera.  Its super light and small and doesn't bang into things as I walk through stores or by people.  It is one of the sharpest, if not the sharpest lenses I own as well as one of the least expensive. 

I used to think that when taking pictures I needed to get everything I saw in real life into the picture I was taking.  Sometimes this is true but my 50mm has taught me to narrow my focus and more intimately tell the story of what I am seeing.  I'm still a sucker for wide angle shots that get as much of my surroundings into one picture, but I have enjoyed the challenge that the 50mm has presented to me.  It forces you to think harder about the subject and the composition.  For some reason it helps me to see the colors better and parts of a scene that have complementary colors and contrast that I crave.

It engages me with photos in ways a zoom can't.  I have to move forward or backwards, closer or further away from my subject instead of lazily spinning the zoom ring from lock to lock.  When you move closer or further away from your subject it also changes the perspective from which the photo will be taken.  So I have found interesting perspectives that I never would have with my zoom lens.

As with yesterdays post some of these photos work for me because of how simple they are.  Simple large shapes and bold contrasting colors catch my eye even when these pictures are small thumbnails on my computer. 

 

 This is an example of too little.  This sign is highly ineffective.

I Gave You the Keys Right

Today's post is going to be short because I am on my way to play a softball game.  I haven't had time to write today because I have been super busy working on pictures I took of a wedding recently.  This is one of my all time favorite pictures.  I have it printed 20x30 over our couch in the living room.  It was under strange circumstances that I was able to get this shot.

I was taking pictures at Finlay Park here in Columbia.  After wrapping up the shoot I was walking up to my car, reached into my right pocket, and nothing was there.  I thought to myself how did I drop them, I'm stranded, am I going to die?  I feel like most everyone that has locked themselves out of their car has had that split second thought.  Completely irrational thoughts considering it's the middle of the day, I'm in the middle of downtown, and I have my cell phone.  Plus I lived at the time only a few miles away.  So worst case scenario I would have had to walk home.  I went to the drivers side window, looked in, and saw the keys hanging from the ignition.  Then it hit me, I never got them out while I was setting up my cameras and getting the right lenses out of my bag.

This was the first time that this had happened to me.  Notice I said had.  It in fact has happened multiple times now.  For whatever reason, when I pull up to take pictures somewhere I like to sit in the car and set the cameras up from the drivers seat.  Then when I'm ready I hop out hit the door lock and take off.  To only a split second after the door shuts realize that I didn't get the keys...again.  Now I keep a spare key in my wallet!  Let this be a lesson to all...mostly me!

This picture works for me because of its simplicity.  The green vs the blue, the sun back lighting the palm with a little fill flash.

Gameday!

As most of you probably know today is college game day.  South Carolina is taking on the Arkansas Razorbacks, here in Columbia.  It also happens to be home coming for South Carolina.  Today's pictures are from a few years ago when Arkansas came into Williams Brice stadium and got rocked by a tough Carolina defense.  The Gamecocks edged out the Razorbacks 35 to 32.   The story should be the same today as Arkansas returns to the WB.  This year we have the same tough defense with the addition of a dynamic offense that can both run with authority and pass like a Ferrari on I95.

These shots were taken in 2004 in Columbia, SC.  This was when I was in college working with the Gamecock news paper.  I hope you enjoy them and, GO COCKS!

UPDATE:
I could not have been more wrong.  We got stomped 41-20!  Not the greatest day for Carolina football.

Where's the Color

Fall is here, but it forgot to bring its colors.  At least to Columbia.  The mornings are cold, the air is crisp, but where are the colors?  Driving around you may spot one or two trees in someones yard with yellow or red leaves, but what about all the trees that have already dropped their leaves?  When did they change?  It could be that I am lacking in observation due to very little time spent outside recently.  However, I still stand by my argument that fall has come and not brought the gentle change from summer to winter.  It's supposed to mask the transition by disguising the fact that it's turning into winter and that all days will soon be cold and gray.  But here in Columbia, I feel like we jumped head first into winter without any colors to cushion the fall.

Below are pictures of fall things.  Colors and a scarecrow, this is what fall should look like.  These pictures are available in full resolution.  Just click on them and they will open in a new window, and feel free to use these as your computer backgrounds.  I have had the scarecrow on mine for the past couple of weeks.  I know Halloween is over but I'm pretty sure I have seen Thanksgiving scarecrows before.

A Livelihood Lost

A few years ago I was home visiting for the holidays and hopped in the car to drive around the big city of Greenwood, South Carolina to find something to take a picture of.  Oddly enough this mill was not hard to find considering it was located just off of main street downtown.  This location just grabbed my eye, not because of the dramatic colors, but because it looked and reminded me of a war zone.  It was the middle of the day while I was there but it was still eerie walking around the rubble.

I took these particular pictures trying to tell the story of an old cotton mill that was the livelihood of hundreds of people in the community.  I just can't imagine how many people walked through these gates for years, day in and day out to provide for their families.  Obviously, no goods are being produced and the jobs are gone, along with them, the identity of a town.