The Mr. Man party

Seems like just a couple weeks ago I was posting pics from Reid's 1st birthday party.  As cliched as it sounds, it really is amazing how fast time goes by when you have kids.  Tris did a great job putting the "mr. man" party together, I just had to take some pics.  

This shot of Melinda is incredible.... I can say this because I didn't take it.  Sasha (the girl in the tie) took my camera and snapped away.  It's entirely possible she's never touched a dSLR before.  Hats off!

Happy Birthday Reid.  You're awesome.

Birmingham Weddings - Katie Beth Bridal Portraits

I've worked with Katie Beth for several years now.  She's a very talented industrial designer-turned-graphic designer for Student Life.  It seems like she's been planning this wedding for years now, so I knew she had a specific idea of what her bridal shots needed to look like.  Even though it was freezing weather, she knew she wanted to be outside and had even found a great place to shoot.  KB told me about Boulder Field here in Birmingham.  I'd never been there before but it was awesome.  We had to shoot around all the climbers and graffiti but I think they turned out great.  

Alabama Magazine - Cowboys + Indians

This was my first chance to shoot for Alabama Magazine, and it was also my first chance to shoot a spring spread in 38 degree weather.  It was literally one of the coldest days of my life and I'm pretty sure our model got pneumonia soon after.  The styling was done by the one and only Stephanie Drake from Proper Measures.  She's incredible to work with.  

--Please take note of the strategically placed cat sitting by the horse.  It makes the shot.

 

Birmingham Wedding - Micah and Haller

I love it when people have a different way of going about things.  Micah decribed her wedding to me and it went something like "We're getting married in a bar on Sunday night, we want absolutely no posed pictures, we're just gonna hang out, then at some point we'll get married and go back to hanging out....oh and there's going to be a caricature artist, so if you want to get a picture drawn of you, go right ahead."  I'm in!  I loved the idea that it would be just friends gettig together to celebrate.  Micah and Haller wanted me to capture everything going on, that's it.  It was the most relaxed wedding I've ever been to or shot.  

One other note, Micah had told me leading up to the wedding that Haller was a chef.  I didn't think much of it, but the day of the wedding I found out it was Haller McGee, the executive chef at the amazing Satterfield's here in the Ham.  The Satterfield's staff actually cooking all the food at the wedding, (like this wedding couldn't get any cooler.)  If you get a chance, please check out Haller's restaurant.  It's crazy good.

You can read more about the wedding here.

 

 

Family Photo Session - The Moon's

 It was just your standard Birmingham family portrait session.  Family home for Christmas, family wants pics with the grandbaby, grandbaby is having this kind of day:

  In the world of photography, sometimes it be that way.  You can't make a situation be something different than it wants to be.  So you look for ways around it.  There's a picture to be had no matter the situation.  Whether the kid is upset or there's a torrential downpour, it's my job to tell the story.  

The Moon's and I have been great friends for years and when we were discussing where to shoot, we thought it could be cool to head downtown and shoot at the brand new Railroad Park.  There's no way we could have predicted that Holland would have been so excited to see the park herself that she wouldn't want to be touched.    Seriously.  No touch.  The above picture is what happened to her dad (Ben) when he tried to pick her up.  This all sounds bad but it wasn't.  Holland provided tons of comedy and I couldn't be more pleased with how the pictures came out.  I love the Moon's.

PS - It turns out I only needed Photoshop for one pic.  Care to guess which one?

Bobby Smith

 Here's another one of those uber-talented friends of mine.  Bobby contacted me a while back to shoot some photos for his new album, "Wretched Man".  It was an honor to be chosen seeing as Bobby is really good friends with a lot of great photographers in Birmingham.  He's currently the featured artist on SongCircle, which is very exciting.  Great guy, great talent, great album, check him out:

Bobby's website

Bobby's MySpace page

Bobby's SongCircle page

Ben Wallis

I don't know if I've ever taken a picture that so accurately depicts the subject.  Ben is a writer and producer at Student Life.  He kind of weirded me out a few years ago when I first met him as an actor for the summer.  An enthusiastic idea machine is the best way I could describe him.  I was impressed at all the things he could do creatively, but annoyed at how easily it all came to him.  We became fast friends once he was brought on to the staff.  Ben's the kind of guy that can write a score for a cartoon he wrote, animated, and voiced all by himself.  That level of creativity makes me sick, but it's also the kind of people I'm surrounded by... people far more creative than myself.  

So back to the picture... He came to me with this idea to show what he does with one frame.  There's a lot of detail in there.  I'd love to take credit for the idea, but it was all Ben.  

This is another shot from months ago I just forgot to post.  And since it would be weird to have multiple Ben Wallis posts, I might as well just include it.