I was hired by a long time client at Graphic Works to shoot headshot portraits of 16 doctors in 3 different hospitals in the Atlanta area. Painstaking efforts were taken to ensure that all of the portraits looked like they were taken in the same studio on the same day, instead of 3 different times and locations. This was accomplished with a low-tech tape measure, pen and paper.
I really enjoy this kind of work because I get to meet a lot of different personalities in a short period of time. You can see this and other corporate photography at my new site promoting my corporate photography services… launching soon!
During a father-son photo session in Piedmont Park, I wondered what the answer was to the age-old question of “where little kids get all of their energy?” Vincent is a 2 year old ball of unbridled lightning. This is the age when walking is really running and hugging is really tackling. Trying to get his photos involved running, spinning, tickling and lots of distractions. My friend Kris was laughing at me because I was sweating so much trying to keep up with his son. The kid was so fast, that I had to pre-focus on him to try to the shots.
My good friends, Jason and Amber wanted images for their holiday cards. We decided to meet in Piedmont Park right before sunset to grab a few shots with their Huskey named after Roscoe P. Coltrane (yes, the one from the Dukes of Hazzard.) If you look closely, you might be able to see Amber’s baby bump starting to show. This family is about to get bigger!
Being an owner of 2 Boston Terriers myself, Roberto and Max caught my eye in Piedmont Park. After sharing stories of our furry friends, Roberto let me take a few photos of him and the dog. It seems that Max came to Roberto by way of a will. After many month of anxious behavior by the dog, they were starting to bond. Looks like Max found a great new home.
I have waited many weeks to write this blog entry about Matthew, who recently passed away on July 2nd, by his own hands. I think that my brain needed some time to process the events that I foresaw as inevitable. Matthew was always kind to me, straight to the point and real no-b.s. kind of guy. My comments in this entry will be the same. They are not meant to upset anyone.
I met Matthew many years ago through my coworker, Lisa, who would later become his wife. Some just seem to have the “it” factor, and Matthew was one of those people. Handsome, energetic and charismatic, he made quite an impression on me. I worked for him in a professional manner building many web sites for his businesses and personal endeavors in music. If you are interested, you can hear the music that he wrote on his web site: http://matthewhumphreys.net/. The songs will give you a glimpse into his psyche and talent that he had.
One day he approached me with a special project that he had in mind. He confessed to me that he had been living with severe chronic pain for many years. Matthew suffered from Fibro Mialgia, a misunderstood medical condition, and it had taken its toll on his vibrant spirit.
At first, Matthew was private about his condition, and many people to this day do not know the agony that he was going through. He wanted to document the pain and suffering of his condition for the world to see, and I felt privileged to be let into his private world.
We called the photos the “Pain” series and we shot them one weekend when nobody was around. When I began to take the photos, Matthew went into a what can be described as a trance of grace. The look on his face was of one carrying a huge burden, but also one begging God for mercy from his suffering. Whatever happened, I kept clicking away. Then he came out of the fog and he was normal Matthew again. You can see the “pain” photos here.
I had originally thought that the photos would be some sort of creative therapy for Matthew, but I started to suspect something darker when I found out that he had not told his wife of the photo shoot. Lisa is a good friend of mine and this put me in a awkward position between a man and wife. I don’t like to be the keeper of secrets, and I felt like Matthew would share the photos with her in his own time.
From comments made after the session, I suspected that Matthew had suicidal tendencies so I kept the photos from him for months until I ran out of excuses. I did not want to be part of his self destruction.
The story does not have a happy ending. Some of the photos were used in a emailed suicide note to the world. And though, family and friends prevented the first attempt, they could not stop the final event.
I pass no judgment on Matthew or his actions. Life is complicated and nobody can imagine what his world must have been like. I choose to remember Matthew as a man of humor and grace who always treated decently… and one who let me see into his private world for one brief glimpse.
I have wanted to photograph Grace ever since I met her many years ago at a party. She has a million dollar smile, beautiful skin and a great personality. Now that she is engaged to Matt, it’s like getting a 2-for-1 deal. They look so happy together and make a great looking pair.
We had originally planned to shoot their engagement photos in the Atlanta Botanical Gardens, but I was told that I would be charged $150 to shoot professionally on the grounds. That would not do for any of us, and Piedmont Park is right next door. Nature blessed us with a gloriously cool day and beautiful light.
I told them that 2 people in love cannot hide that from my camera. Check out their engagement photo gallery to judge for yourself.
I’m not going to lie… approaching total strangers to take their photo, may not always be the best approach to getting the shot. But if you are in Piedmont Park on a breezy summer day with nothing better to do with a monster camera in your hands, the idea starts to look like a good one. This couple looked so beautiful together that I almost felt like not intruding. They agreed to have their photo taken and bam, bam, bam the session was over in less than a minute.
Michelle came by my office today wanting to get a quick photo to give all her “mothers” for Mother’s Day. Caught off guard, what was I supposed to do? I ended up throwing the kid in a box of packing peanuts so she could sit up and making something out of nothing.
I got to work with a chameleon today in the form a beautiful young woman named Marie. She can change her look very easily to give a lot of variety to the photos. She was part of an all day test shoot that I did with photographer Justinas Bartkevius. We had 3 models and full run of his house. Here is Marie’s photo gallery of that day.
Amanda is someone that I have known for quite a while now. She is a genuinely nice person with a wicked sense of humor. She has also changed a lot since I first met her by losing over 80 lbs. Her transformation is really quite amazing, and I barely recognize old photos of her.
She has also become a serious fitness nut. One of the things that she practices is Moi Thai, aka Thai Kick Boxing. You can see some of her moves in her kick boxing gallery. I am very proud of her.
