February 20, 2009
O'Keefe Pottery
One of the great things about living in Chatham County, NC is the community of artists that call this area home. This particular artist, Lara O'Keefe, trained locally under Mark Hewitt and then branched out to start her own business. I spent a morning with her, observing her work in her craft. I was amazed at how strong and beautiful her arms and hands were. I'm sure that is gained from a combination of picking up her little child and from kneading the clay that is formed into her pottery. Lara has created a beautiful studio to work in which is in a little outbuilding that is surrounded with a garden. This building is just outside of her charming old farm house. You can see in the last picture that Lara is standing in front of a wood fired kiln that she built herself! Again, I am amazed! This photography session reminded me how wonderful it is to work with fellow artists, the inspiration lasts far beyond the photo session.
February 03, 2009
Kariann and Nathen
I was going through some of my images from last year and this one caught my eye. I photographed these guys when I was working for Steve Exum. They had gotten engaged at Duke Gardens so we came back in the peak of Autumn to get good colorful images for their engagement photos. Steve is photographing their wedding which is coming up this year, I know they'll have a wonderful wedding....
Howie DeWitt!
These fine cowboys and I went out to the ranch on a cold winters day to get some promo shots for their band, Howie DeWitt. I know all the girls love a good cowboy, so here you go. Anyway, everyone should come to Moncure to check out their music, or at least visit them on their Myspace page. We grow em good here in North Carolina!
January 22, 2009
Barack Obama's Inauguration!
My friend Dana, her cousin, and I were up in Washington DC doing our best on inauguration day to be a part of the event. Unfortunately I have a hard time waking up early, so we didn't get out of the apartment until around 7AM. You'll see here a kind of time line of what we went through.
First we were in the streets trying to filter through one of the few checkpoints. The long image showing five photographs in a row is a 360 degree view of what we stood in for three or four hours in the early morning cold trying to get through the first checkpoint. Fortunately, due to the large number of people, we were huddled together like penguins in Antartica... the body warmth I am sure kept us from getting too cold to last.
You can see in this next picture that after hours of patiently waiting with excited people, singing songs to keep us warm with our new found friends, we made it up to the police line and were excited about getting through so we could move our arms and legs.
Dana, Kristin, and I were very cold, so we went into a Mexican restaurant to warm up with some food and Mexican coffee. We heard cheering and saw flags waving from outside and realized Obama had been sworn in. Our new found friends that we were just singing songs with in the crowd had a small phone that we watched Obama's speech on. Filled with emotion and hot liquids, we set out again to try to get to where the action was. There was another barricade keeping us from the parade route. This barricade was not made of police tape, but of a metal fence guarded by secret service men and army guys. We were stuck in what I called "no man's land." Between the two barricades there were no public places to use the bathroom and there were no vendors to get hot drinks from. Regardless of this fact, the celebratory mode continued on.
We waited another hour in the last barricade, the Secret Service checked our bags, our cameras, took my water bottle, and at last we made it through to the parade line! We were so lucky because the parade started right after we arrived. When Obama and Biden arrived, they got out of their cars and walked and waved. Needless to say everyone was yelling "Obama, Obama!" Dana compared him to a a magnet, while all the observers were like little metal shavings. In the commotion and freezing temperatures, I didn't keep a steady hand and have a few blurry pics to show for it. I decided to put them up here anyway, because heck, it is Obama and Biden!
What a wonderful long day it was. We walked back to our apartment, the distance that took us ten hours to travel that day, took five minutes to cover on the way back. In the apartment I got in my pajamas, made some hot chocolate, and watched the rest of the glorious event on the television. I felt content on the couch as I heard Obama's motorcade whiz him from ball to ball that evening outside of our apartment. We now have a new president!
First we were in the streets trying to filter through one of the few checkpoints. The long image showing five photographs in a row is a 360 degree view of what we stood in for three or four hours in the early morning cold trying to get through the first checkpoint. Fortunately, due to the large number of people, we were huddled together like penguins in Antartica... the body warmth I am sure kept us from getting too cold to last.
You can see in this next picture that after hours of patiently waiting with excited people, singing songs to keep us warm with our new found friends, we made it up to the police line and were excited about getting through so we could move our arms and legs.
Dana, Kristin, and I were very cold, so we went into a Mexican restaurant to warm up with some food and Mexican coffee. We heard cheering and saw flags waving from outside and realized Obama had been sworn in. Our new found friends that we were just singing songs with in the crowd had a small phone that we watched Obama's speech on. Filled with emotion and hot liquids, we set out again to try to get to where the action was. There was another barricade keeping us from the parade route. This barricade was not made of police tape, but of a metal fence guarded by secret service men and army guys. We were stuck in what I called "no man's land." Between the two barricades there were no public places to use the bathroom and there were no vendors to get hot drinks from. Regardless of this fact, the celebratory mode continued on.
We waited another hour in the last barricade, the Secret Service checked our bags, our cameras, took my water bottle, and at last we made it through to the parade line! We were so lucky because the parade started right after we arrived. When Obama and Biden arrived, they got out of their cars and walked and waved. Needless to say everyone was yelling "Obama, Obama!" Dana compared him to a a magnet, while all the observers were like little metal shavings. In the commotion and freezing temperatures, I didn't keep a steady hand and have a few blurry pics to show for it. I decided to put them up here anyway, because heck, it is Obama and Biden!
What a wonderful long day it was. We walked back to our apartment, the distance that took us ten hours to travel that day, took five minutes to cover on the way back. In the apartment I got in my pajamas, made some hot chocolate, and watched the rest of the glorious event on the television. I felt content on the couch as I heard Obama's motorcade whiz him from ball to ball that evening outside of our apartment. We now have a new president!
January 19, 2009
One last day...
... before Barack Obama becomes our 44th president! I went around Washington DC today, Martin Luther King Jr. day, to capture the amazing energy that is surrounding Obama's inauguration. Here are some of my favorite photos, you'll probably recognize some of the people!
Inauguration: Obama Time!
I am up here in Washington DC.... a photo wonderland! This city if full of excitement and celebration as our new president is about to be sworn in. I arrived Sunday evening and spent all day walking around taking in the sights. Stay posted to see images from this amazing event!
January 05, 2009
Thanksgiving Leftovers
I took this picture of my sister, Katie, and her husband, Jay, on Thanksgiving. I let this picture slip through the cracks during the busy holiday, so I'm just now posting this image... they are so cute! Can you tell they are newlyweds?
December 14, 2008
Baby Davin
Little Davin's mom and dad are good friends of mine. We finally had a free morning open where I could come to their house and photograph their little boy. Davin is a sweet boy with a lot of personality! Here he is with his parents, Jessi and Ian, and then at the end of the session ... dreaming away.
December 09, 2008
December 08, 2008
Matt Rudolf - Piedmont Biofuels Coop
My friend Matt Rudolf needed some pictures for his bio which will be featured in the magazine, Orion. We went to the Piedmont Biofuels Coop here in Moncure to get some nice pics for the magazine. Matt has been the Executive Director of the Piedmont Biofuels Coop for nearly three years. At this point he is in transition mode as he starts a new job with the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels which is based out of Switzerland. In this portrait, he is holding some of the fuel that is made here in Moncure and Pittsboro. It is amazing what hard working folks can accomplish.
December 06, 2008
Elizabeth and John's Wedding
The last wedding of the year had me working close to home. Elizabeth and John were married at the wonderful Celebrity Diary Farm in Siler City, NC. These pictures are some of my favorite from the day, although it was hard to narrow it down to this small selection! Elizabeth wore a crown passed down through generations that was originally a gift from a king while John wore the matching boutonnière. Every detail of this wedding was meaningful and beautiful. I felt blessed to have been invited to be a part of it. It was the perfect final wedding of the year, and the perfect entrance to a quiet winter ahead.
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