KELLY LEE FLORA'S | BLOG | Wedding Photography | Wedding Photojournalism

Makers Mark Charity Signing Event

2011-12-23T16:21:00.001-06:00

If you've kept up with my blog, you know that i've been a fan of Makers Mark for a long time. Not only do they represent great Kentucky heritage, they are also marketing geniuses. I call it "Makers Marketing". Case in point, this charity signing event for Habitat for Humanity had bourbon fans lined up for hours waiting for a brief interaction with Bill Samuels Jr., the heir to the family business. And now he is passing the business to the third generation with his son Rob Samuels. To commemorate the changing of the guard, they created a new special edition label and gold wax for patrons to dip into.

Elisabeth and David

2011-10-22T22:20:00.000-05:00

Elisabeth and David had their wedding celebration at the 1869 Homestead just outside of town. What a great location for a Fall wedding. The weather was great, the couple was great, and Leona Morelock with Lasting Impressions pulled it all together seamlessly. Take a look at this SLIDESHOW of the event.

Shana and Jamie

2011-10-14T22:09:00.000-05:00

I photographed this outdoor wedding at a private residence recently and wanted to share some images of Shana, Jamie, and their wonderful family. The reception carried on into the cool Autumn night and the outdoor fireplace kept everyone nice and warm as the brave ones stepped up to the Karaoke mike. I'm fairly certain a good time was had by all. Here's a SLIDESHOW to prove it. Enjoy!

Kayla and Samuel

2011-08-20T21:58:00.000-05:00

I worked with this great couple a few weeks ago at Lost River Cave. We set a record attendance squeezing 400 guests into this famous underground nightclub. Many thanks to Leona Morelock and her crew at Lasting Impressions for making it all possible.

I spent two days getting to know Kayla and Samuel as they celebrated family birthdays at the Brickyard Cafe during the Rehearsal Dinner. Then it was a full day of wedding preparation and celebration. Here are a few select images, and a SLIDESHOW of the event.

Ten Years Later

2011-07-22T03:04:00.003-05:00

I'm reading a book titled Flying South; A Pilot's Inner Journey by Barbara Cushman Rowell. She was the wife of one of my photography heroes, Galen Rowell of Mountain Light Photography.

Back in the Summer of 2001 I took a trip to California to do some landscape photography. My good friend, Rob Baas, was living in Pasadena at the time and I flew out to L.A. to meet up with him and we took a trip to Yosemite National Park. We had a coveted camping pass to stay in the park. It works kind of like a lottery, and there are only so many given out each year. This needed to be taken advantage of.

Yosemite is amazing, as you would imagine, but perhaps more amazing to me was the drive home. We took the back route through the Eastern Sierra mountains to the little town of Bishop, California. Galen and Barbara had recently relocated there from the Bay area and were just settling in to the new studio when we dropped in for a visit.

As fate would have it, he was there in the studio. I say fate because, this is a man who spent most of his life traveling to remote corners of the world, places like Pakistan, Tibet, Patagonia, South Pole, North Pole, etc... So to see him in person was much more than I had expected. It's always great to meet someone you admire, but in his case, it was also very humbling. Why? Because at the time, I had just turned 30, and he was in his 60's. I will never forget shaking his hand and seeing the muscle in his arms and legs. This is a man that climbs Mt. Everest for fun and tries to find passages and slopes that have never been attempted. It gave me hope that I can have a career well into my later years.

I purchased several of his books and had him autograph every one of them. Now i'm very glad I did.

The next Summer Galen Rowell and his wife Barbara were on their way home from a trip to Alaska and made the headlines when the pilot of the Twin Engine airplane they were flying in crashed short of the runway on final approach to Bishop. Everyone on board perished in the crash. The irony is that he died in his own backyard instead of on the Summit of some far off mountain.

Flying South is a book that was written about a journey they took to South America in a single engine Cessna 206 Stationair. Written from Barbara's perspective, it reads somewhat like a pilot's log book. She successfully piloted them to the tip of South America and back. It was due to be published when that fateful crash occurred.

For me it has a little bit of everything, travel, adventure, photography, and flying. It also has a lot of personal history which I find interesting, but also makes me sad that their lives were cut short. They've spent time hanging out with everyone from Robert Redford to, The Dalai Lama and some of those stories are in the book. What a life.

So tonight I was watching the nightly news and there was a story about the storm that blew through earlier. They were showing footage of the airport and I was sad to see my trainer plane N704XP laying upside down. The winds were so strong that they broke the tie down ropes and flipped several planes over.

Several years ago I was contracting aerial shoots with clients and in the process became hooked on the whole flying experience. Every single time we hit the throttle and watched the earth drop away from us, it was exciting. It felt like my own personal magic carpet, and once you've done it the feeling never leaves you.

Here's a shot of me and Doug Rawles, my flight instructor.

They say that you'll always remember the first time you solo and it's true. For me it was August 8, 2004 and I remember it like it was yesterday. I'll never forget taxiing to the end of the runway by myself and questioning wether or not I was ready for this. I thought about the old adage that mountain climbers use: "Every step up the mountain is optional, every step down the mountain is mandatory"! Yeah, it was something like that, taking off is easy, but eventually you have to come back down and that's where it gets tricky.

I remember lining up with the center of the runway and pushing in the throttle. It felt like I was doing something illegal. I expected to land and be surrounded by FAA, FBI, CIA, TSA, KSP, BGPD, anyone with initials. I just couldn't believe I was being trusted to do this by myself, but I loved every minute of it.

Coming in on Final Approach to Runway 3.

That sense of accomplishment lasted for exactly one week until my daughter decided she was tired of waiting and on August 15, 2004 we welcomed Savannah into the world. From that point, I got deep into the business of being daddy, but I still love flying and one day i'll pick it up right where I left it.

A fisheye perspective of the world from 1,500 feet.

My alma mater down below.

Ashley and John

2011-06-24T02:42:00.000-05:00

This was a really fun wedding at Crosswinds Golf Course. Ashley, her bride's maids, and flower girls arrived in golf carts to walk down the aisle. Even the reception had a golf theme. Check out this Slideshow for the long version.

Regina and Sean

2011-06-17T18:09:00.000-05:00

Regina and Sean had a very beautiful wedding recently at Olde Stone Country Club. It was an incredible mix of Russian, Armenian, and American culture. Here are a few images, but for a longer view, follow this link to the Slideshow.

Dawn and Eric

2011-06-12T22:06:00.000-05:00

Dawn and Eric had a intimate wedding celebration at the Bell House in Lexington, Kentucky. It was the perfect setting for a small group of attendees and a fun backdrop for portraits. Rumor has it that the house is haunted, but I checked all of my photos and didn't see any strange Casper sightings in the background. If any ghosts were there, I guess they were contented to sit back and watch the celebration.

Ashley and John

2011-06-03T11:17:00.000-05:00

I'll be photographing Ashley and John's wedding next weekend and thought I would post a few shots from their engagement shoot. It's going to be a great outdoor wedding at Crosswinds Golf Course.

Regina and Sean

2011-04-14T21:52:00.000-05:00

I had an opportunity to work with this great couple last weekend at Olde Stone Country Club. They will be getting married there in June so we spent the afternoon shooting their engagement session on the property. And what a great day it was. We started off indoors and worked our way out to a perfect sunset. It's going to be a beautiful wedding.

Martial Arts Portrait Sessions

2011-03-31T00:36:00.000-05:00

We had the first round of Martial Arts portrait sessions this past weekend. It's an ongoing project that i'm working on to capture some stylized portraits on black. Had a lot of fun and looking forward to another great session this upcoming weekend.

The Far East

2011-03-19T21:24:00.000-05:00

I'm gearing up for a series of martial arts photo shoots and went through a few arrangements today. I thought these images were provocative and mysterious. I'll post some of the stylized portraits once the shoots are underway.

A New Year

2011-01-03T17:48:00.002-06:00

Happy New Year everyone. I hope you got all you wanted for Christmas and didn't go TOO heavy on the 2011 resolutions.

It's been busy around here the last few weeks, looks like a lot of engagements happened over the holidays. If you would like to experience a nice relaxed documentary photography approach on that big day, you've come to the right place. Now is the time to plan, i'm booking up on the prime Summer dates already, as i'm sure many other photographers are. If you like what you see HERE I would love to meet you and hear all about your wedding day celebration. I look forward to seeing you.

Metamorphosis

2010-10-24T22:34:00.001-05:00

I have had a custom workstation in the works for quite a while now. I've been fortunate enough to be embraced by our local Amish community and have had the privilege to work side by side with one of them in his workshop. I made several trips getting to know him and have captured these images over the course of the past year. The Amish community is very private and they do not like being photographed. You will notice that the portraits in this series are either behind a hat or in complete sillouette to respect their wishes of anonymity.

Here is a stack of slab wood that came from a log that has been submerged in a Kentucky river for nearly two hundred years. It is the product of the great logging boom that swept across our country during the 18th and 19th centuries. Less than one half of one percent of the old growth forests in Kentucky still exist today. They were cut almost to extinction. When the logs were floated down river, some of them sank and never made it to the mill. I recently helped with the reclamation of this piece of history and have crafted a custom workstation out of the wood.

Here is a shot of the slabs after being run through a planer and glued together. I kept the "Live Edges" in tact for a more rustic feel. This is a combination of the axe cut of the original lumberman and two hundred years of the river acting on it.

I had an opportunity to use some historic tools including this draw knife to smooth the edges and create a look that works with what mother nature did before me. I also went through a heck of a lot of sandpaper after hours of sanding.

After a generous amount of Danish Oil, she was assembled in the workshop. The final dimensions are 3 feet by 8 feet. It is bar height at 40" tall so that I can stand up and work or sit in a tall architects chair. The mobility is awesome, I think this is the only way to go.

The proud owner. I love the way the rustic feel offsets my life of high tech gadgetry.

Now that i've had a few days to get some work done, i'm already planning a bigger workstation! It seems to be endless, but this piece of furniture will stay with me for years to come, i'm sure. It's amazing to think that this desk represents several hundred years of history. And the journey that it took from the virgin growth forest of America, the two hundred years it spent resting on the bottom of the river, and finally to arrive in my presence is fairly astonishing. It truly is an heirloom piece to be passed down in my family.

Birds of Paradise at Lost River Cave

2010-09-19T18:53:00.000-05:00

I had the opportunity this weekend to photograph a wedding reception at Lost River Cave. It was the creation of Leona Morelock and her team at Lasting Impressions. I found the details to be very interesting and wanted to post a few. I'm very color oriented, so the blue and green peacock feathers and red/orange hues of the spotlights reflecting off of the cave drew me in.

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in D.C.

2010-07-26T02:56:00.000-05:00

I recently made a trip to Washington D.C. while I was shooting a wedding in the area. I didn't have a lot of time to play, but I did make time to visit the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum at the National Mall. I'm a bit of an aviation nut, so I was kind of like a kid in a candy store. I'll post some shots of the rest of D.C. in a later post.

The following day, I spent the morning at the Smithsonian's new complex at Dulles Airport. The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center is kind of like the big brother to the National Mall museum. This museum is actually a huge aircraft hangar. Anyone who loves aviation, should definitely make a pilgrimage to this place. Standing nose to nose with the Space Shuttle is a sight to behold.

The one that started it all. This is the original Wright Flyer, on display at the National Mall.

It amazes me to be so close the real aircraft that made history. Can you imagine flying this single engine plane all the way across the Atlantic Ocean, by yourself?

Two very cool planes from two different era's. The F4U Corsair and the SR-71 Blackbird.

Adria and Jonathan

2010-07-03T15:12:00.003-05:00

I recently had the opportunity to photograph the wedding of my friends Jon and Adria in Martinsburg, West Virginia. It's a great little town just a short drive from Washington, D.C. They celebrated their ceremony and reception at The Purple Iris at Hartwood Mansion. It's a beautiful historic mansion surrounded by lush gardens.

I had a great time photographing them and getting to know a new place on the map. I created a slideshow to showcase some of the images from their wedding celebration HERE.

Thank you Adria and Jon, I enjoyed it.

Jon and the guys having some fun before the ceremony in this Jesus"esque" portrait. We were doing some group shots when I noticed the juxtaposed circular frame on the wall.

Calm Before the Storm

2010-05-10T22:09:00.003-05:00

Last Saturday I went to Nashville for a Jimmy Buffett concert and we got out just in time to miss the epic flood, then I headed out for New England. The time schedule was jam packed with meetings and "just in time" travel arrangements, however, on the first leg of the journey I managed to find a quiet place in the woods. My accommodations for the first night in Connecticut was this quaint New England cottage by the lake. Actually it's called Aspinook Pond, but it looked like a lake to me. Didn't really get to spend much time looking at the lake, so I grabbed a few shots right outside the cottage. The next day it was on to New York and well... let's just say a faster pace.

MidDay Live Interview

2010-02-25T21:29:00.012-06:00

Here's a segment from WBKO's MidDay Live show earlier today. I had the opportunity to work with wedding
planner, Leona Morelock, a few weeks ago on a wedding that she planned and orchestrated in conjunction with
our local news affiliate, WBKO.

Here are a few shots from Beth and Ryan's wedding. The combination of the
Capitol Arts Theater as a ceremony location and Leona's 1920's theme was great.

A Cowboy Wedding

2010-02-04T16:45:00.004-06:00

My long time friend Wes got married in January. His and Natalie's wedding was the excuse I used to create all of the Southwestern photos in my previous posts. I figured, i'm already in Oklahoma, why not drive a little farther and find some exciting scenery.

This wedding was shot slightly different from many of my weddings. Normally when I arrive at a location one of my first goals is to get establishing shots of the bride and groom. In this case the bride and groom both had such interesting stories that I spent a lot of time with details, building up to who they are as individuals.

I've referred to Wes for years as my "Cowboy" friend, the pictures should explain that. He has lived the quintessential cowboy life for as long as I can remember, stubborn and proud, reckless and loud, but also one of the few true gentlemen i've ever met in my life. His wife, Natalie, has quite a story to tell as well. Her late husband was a bit of a local legend who worked with the Oklahoma City Zoo and spent much of his life working with native tribes in South America and Africa. After his passing, many of the animals and artifacts were offered to zoos and museums around the world. When you drive onto her property, you're greeted by wolves, foxes, a lizard the size of an alligator, and a parrot that "meows" to heckle the cat, then says "here, kitty, kitty, kitty"!

So as you look through the SLIDESHOW , take a look at some of the background scenery that helps establish who these people are. I found it fascinating and I hope you do as well. Cheers to Natalie and Wes, i've never seen a couple more completely suited for each other.

Three amigos. Dennis, Wes, and me before the wedding. In keeping with the whole cowboy theme, my camera was propped up on the tailgate of a truck. Improvisation!

Delicate Arch Sunstar

2010-01-22T23:27:00.008-06:00

I've been playing with some of the images from my recent trip to the American Southwest. This is an HDR composite image that I created of the famous Delicate Arch in Utah. It's so popular that it's actually on the Utah license plate. With so many photographers trekking up to photograph this famous landmark, I decided that I needed to do something a little different to pull away from the crowd. The resulting image has had quite a bit of work done to it. I don't think the editors of National Geographic or any other natural history magazine would be interested in such an image, but as an Art Print, I think it's pretty cool. Just wanted to share it, hope you enjoy.

Wonders of the Wild West

2010-01-12T16:20:00.134-06:00

If the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single footstep, then surely the journey of FOUR thousand miles begins with a good rental car! I had a meeting in Dallas this week with Touch A Life Foundation to talk about doing some future work with them in Africa and Southeast Asia. Then I headed to Oklahoma City to shoot a wedding.

Then... I sort of forgot to stop driving. Did you ever need to just clear your head and put some miles under you? I did. After the wedding I woke up the next day before dawn and headed west. A thousand miles later, I ended up in Page, Arizona, base camp for the Antelope Canyons. They've been photographed pretty heavily over the years, so I guess I just wanted to put my own personal stamp on them. You can see some samples below, i'm in love with the colors.

After that, I headed over to Monument Valley and stayed at a place called The View. My God, there IS truth in advertising. These two photos of the "Mittens" were shot right outside of the hotel. It's a good thing too, I went out about an hour before sunrise and it was almost single digit temperatures. After the good light disappeared, I went back to the hotel and had breakfast.

I've criss crossed the country in planes several times and at 35,000 ft and almost 500 mph the world looks small and goes by fast. After 60 hours of driving I have a new appreciation for just how BIG and beautiful America really is. It was a great trip, but if you're in a hurry, take the plane :-) The drive home was a bit of a "forced march", I saw two sunrises and two sunsets without sleeping, I might have even seen Jesus and the Buddha, i'm not sure, I was pretty delirious after driving 27 hours from Monument Valley to Kentucky in one sitting.

Horseshoe Bend on the Colorado River. Check out the detail shot below, it was frozen.

Delicate Arch is at an elevation of almost 5,000'. It's a 1.5 mile hike straight up to this famous vantage point. I'm in decent shape, but i'm not acclimated to these high elevations. At one point, I honestly thought my heart was going to explode before I got to the top! I had a long trip ahead of me, so I didn't wait for sunset, plus, it was extremely cold and icy. Not a good place to get lost after the sun goes down.

Here are the Antelope Canyon shots. I called the one above "The Face", do you see it? The light comes down through a small crevasse on the surface and bounces around on the walls creating all of these amazing colors. When I say small, I mean I had to squeeze through it to get down in the canyon. My backpack was almost too much for this tiny space, but i'm so happy I went.

I love giving them names, I called this one "Eye of the Serpent". It's just amazing to me that this is a bunch of sandstone with light bouncing around.

Looking Back on a Decade

2010-01-01T01:22:00.010-06:00

The first decade of the new millennium reads like the opening lines of a Charles Dickens Novel: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us..." Sound familiar?

The whole idea of passing over to the New Millennium was daunting even before anything bad happened. Remember everyone freaking out about the clock striking midnight and all the computer systems were going to shut down? Black outs? Chaos? Well, it didn't happen that way, but it didn't take long for things to turn ugly.

The photo above was taken about a month before 9/11 rocked us to the core. Soon afterwards we found ourselves in the middle of two wars, then Hurricane Katrina paid a visit, then the Stock Market tanked. Wow, these are the "Good ole days", huh? Newsweek Put together a nice slideshow of the past 120 months.

I can always depend on Jimmy Buffett to pen the perfect song "We Got A Lot To Drink About".

It wasn't all bad though. While all this Rockin' & Rollin' was happening on a world scale, I had a few changes in store for me as well. For the most part, this was the decade of my 30's. I ran off to the Caribbean, got married on a sailboat at sunset, became a father, learned to fly, found a new style of martial arts to be obsessed with, and watched my photography business do barrel rolls, loops and stalls. I won some awards, shot my last roll of film and transitioned to the digital darkroom (I mean LightRoom) and went through enough Apples to make a fruit basket. Switched from Nikon to Canon and back to Nikon again. This last one is expensive and not recommended.

As 2009 came to a close, I was thinking of all the 9's in history that have a name associated with them. There's the Gold rush of 49, the Great Crash of 29, the Summer of 69, for me The Class of 89, we're gonna party like it's 1999. I think 2009 will mostly just be remembered as a recovery year, or as Buffett says we "hit the re-boot key". Other big events happened like that amazing landing on the Hudson River, and a historical Presidential Inauguration. Michael Jackson,Ted Kennedy, Patrick Swayze and Farrah Fawcett among those who departed.

So what does the dawn of a new decade have in store for us? Your crystal ball is as good as mine, but I feel like things are starting to change for the better. I've got several projects planned for this year, many trips to take and pictures to make! I hope you do to!

Happy New Year everyone!!!

WKU at Christmas

2009-12-21T21:42:00.008-06:00

I passed by Western earlier today when I was dropping off some prints to a client and I saw some Christmas decorations on Cherry Hall. I was thinking that it might be pretty cool looking around sunset so I came back to have a look. I had my daughter with me, we were way past sunset, and it was pretty much freezing temperature so we didn't stay long, but I got a few interesting shots. Though we missed sunset, I did manage to get a crescent moon in one shot. I may have to do some more shots around town this week.

The Cotton Carrier System

2009-12-17T14:26:00.007-06:00

I recently discovered a breakthrough in camera carrying systems called the Cotton Carrier (Thank you Andy Cotton) and I wanted to share it with everyone who visits my site. It's a vest system that allows you to take the weight off of your neck and also keeps cameras from flopping around on clumsy straps. I've tested it on some shoots now and I love it. I've got a few weddings coming up right after New Year's and i'm excited to field test the system in that arena. My weddings are very long due to the documentary nature of my shooting, and after 12 hours with a typical camera strap, your neck and shoulders are ready to bail out.

I also have some traveling coming up this year, some urban, some more rural. I'm excited to see how the system feels in different environments. The Cotton Carrier folds down to almost nothing and fits nicely inside my Think Tank Airport International rolling case.

I would also like to acknowledge Karl Grobl where I first heard about the Cotton Carrier. He is a traveling photojournalist who has a wealth of knowledge and information on everything from how to pack for trips to how to travel in general. He does a lot of work for humanitarian organizations all over the world.

Jantsen's Gift

2009-11-18T00:19:00.013-06:00

As a storyteller, i'm constantly studying, reading, quietly observing the world around me, trying to gain a deeper understanding of what makes a great story and how everyday stories are made great. Through this search to sharpen my craft i've been introduced to "Jantsen's Gift". It's the real life story of a woman who lost her child to an undetected heart ailment, the painful journey that must accompany such a loss and how you eventually pull out of the tailspin of sorrow.

But it's more than just a book, it's a foundation for change. Pam Cope, the mother and author of the book, found a way to make her son's passing meaningful. They received several donations after his passing and created Touch A Life Foundation to help children around the world. This small town wife and mother with her average life became an agent of change on a global scale. Through her struggle to make sense of a world without Jantsen, she became a beacon of light and hope for children all over the world.

As the father of a five year old daughter, I can tell you that this book was tough to read. If you are a parent, you'll need a box of tissue to get through Chapter Two, but it's worth it. If I ever understood the meaning of "Empathy", the ability to understand and share the feelings of another, this book made it clear. Sometimes I would read a page and take a break and then come back for more. It's challenging to hear her story and think about your own kids.

You can get the book at Amazon or Barnes & Noble, but the best way is to make it meaningful by making a donation to Touch A Life Foundation, I hope you will. She will send you a signed hardback copy of the book and they have a 100% matching program right now for all donations.

I made a donation through my photography company and she sent me a signed copy. I especially love the way she autographed my copy of the book, almost daring me to lead a meaningful life! Thank you Pam, definitely words to live by.

Adria and Jonathan

2009-11-03T23:58:00.008-06:00

Here's a few shots from a recent engagement shoot with my long time friend Jon and his fiance Adria. We had fun shooting on one of the last great Autumn days with leaves still on the trees. Adria came down from Lexington for the shoot and we went to one of my favorite spots on WKU's campus.

They are getting married just outside Washington D.C. in June. I think they are giving me a historical tour of our Nation! The ceremony is in Martinsburg, West Virginia, the rehearsal dinner is in Hagerstown, Maryland and i'm flying in to D.C. to get there. Wow, this is going to be a great wedding celebration! While i'm there, I may have to make a visit to the Smithsonian. And I heard about one other really interesting location. I'm looking forward to it, I hope we have time to do a day after shoot in D.C. before they jet off.

Thank You

2009-10-26T18:48:00.003-05:00

As my business has progressed over the years, i've watched it evolve and move people with emotion. Which is exactly what it should do as the craft of storytelling gets better and better. I still love to hear clients voice it in their own words. I recently booked a wedding with a Marketing Professor at WKU. In her first correspondence with me, here is what she had to say:

"When some of your pictures of people I don't even know brought tears to my eyes I thought I'd better contact you about my own wedding!"

Thank you Joanna, I know that is sincere.

I shared with her a funny revelation that hit me on the way to our first face to face meeting. After I parked at Western and made my way toward her office, intertwined with the latest crop of WKU students, it hit me; "Wow, i'm about to show my presentation to a Professor of Marketing on her home turf. This is where she judges presentations for a living!" And I knew there was a pass/fail outcome associated with this single meeting. I hope she gives her students the benefit of the entire semester.

I'm going to assume that it was the power of the images and not my presentation that is the reason I will be documenting her wedding day celebration. We both got a nice little laugh out of it though, and I look forward to presenting her own wedding images to her.

Traveling Vietnam Wall Memorial

2009-09-30T22:21:00.010-05:00

This past week the Traveling Vietnam Wall Memorial came to our hometown. I had a chance to visit it briefly and captured a few images. I also dug into some old files to get a comparison to the original Vietnam Wall in Washington D.C. which I visited several years ago. I think this is a great opportunity for the many people who may never get the opportunity to visit our Nation's Capital.

Here are some shots of the real Vietnam Wall in Washington D.C. I photographed these several years ago. It's amazing how emotional each of these memorials are for the ones touched by the Vietnam War.

This shot is actually somewhat of a self portrait. If you look closely, i'm the one with the Khaki photo vest.

Jillian and Joe

2009-09-12T01:51:00.016-05:00

Recently I had the pleasure of working with Jillian and Joe from Edmonton, KY, they were a great couple to work with. Here is a series of images from that shoot, but if you really want to see how the day went, check out this Slideshow.

Incidentally, Joe is the Tour Manager for Black Stone Cherry, a local band that's made quite a name for themselves touring all over the world. If you look closely you might see some of the band members in the slideshow.

This was my first time shooting at the Glasgow Country Club. It was a beautiful setting for a wedding and Jillian made my job easy.

There was an Elvis sighting at the reception.

A Visit to Maker's Mark

2009-09-04T11:25:00.011-05:00

A long time friend of mine is a Maker's Mark Ambassador and after seven years it was time to go crack open his barrel and do some bottle dipping. I took my cameras and just had fun documenting the process. I walked away feeling like Maker's Mark has one of the finest marketing strategies of any business alive today. They get their clientele involved in the process and allow them to get close to the product that they love so much.

Attaching personalized labels.

Mike dipping bottles that came from his own personal barrel.

Yours truly.

Moody Blue

2009-08-30T23:25:00.002-05:00

I just returned from a wedding down at Lake Martin, Alabama. This lighthouse at Childrens Harbor is a beautiful setting. There is a little white chapel that sits right at the waters edge and the lighthouse is adjacent to it. I slipped away during the reception at Harbor House to create this image of the lighthouse operating just after sunset. The lake looks incredibly tranquil and peaceful on this evening.

Recently, however, Lake Martin played host to Aquapalooza with Alan Jackson headlining. Supposedly there were 15,000 boats out on the lake during the concert. It gets pretty dicey on the lake when the wind blows, I can only imagine the size of the waves when that many boats are out on the lake.

International Newgrass Festival

2009-08-24T20:53:00.016-05:00

Bowling Green, KY is the birthplace of Newgrass Music and this past weekend was the first annual International Newgrass Festival. A big thanks to Kenny Lee for hosting the event. There were great artists scheduled all weekend long. I made it out on Saturday night to see several of the original members performing in their own solo bands. There was Curtis Burch, the amazing vocals of John Cowan, and the father of Newgrass, Sam Bush. At the end of the night Curtis and John came back on stage with Sam for some original Newgrass Revival songs.

I had a great time shooting this and enjoying the music. It was a wonderful cool August evening.

Curtis Burch a.k.a. Dr. Dobro.

My good friend Sean Thomas with Musicians Pro and Star Studios holding it all together.

John Cowan doing what he does best.

The father of Newgrass, Sam Bush.

Up, Up, and Away

2009-08-01T20:01:00.023-05:00

I was hired to do an aerial photo shoot this week. I've done plenty of them in the past, but this one was extra cool because the client secured a helicopter to do the job. I've shot out of airplanes for years, but I don't think it compares to the feeling of levitating. You're sitting there listening to the RPM's increase and then suddenly the ground just drops away from you! I'm not at liberty to talk about the scope of the project, just wanted to share the adventure with you. My pilot for the day was Wayne Breeden, perhaps one of the most skilled pilots i've ever flown with. You can check him out here Helicopters, Inc.

That's Wayne removing the door so I could shoot unobstructed. I'm not afraid of heights, but I do have a healthy respect for gravity. In the back of my mind i'm always concerned about dropping a $6,000 camera and lens from 500 feet. I can tell you that from 5 feet, it sounds like a pair of cheap roller skates smacking the pavement (ouch!$!$!$!).

Hanging out in the breeze.

This is the cool little Safari truck we used to get around on the ground.

A few scenic shots of the beautiful property we were on.

Heading back to the airport. In a few weeks Wayne will be in Alaska shuttling fishermen to remote fishing holes in the back country. I thought I had a cool job as a photographer, but I know when i've been beat :-)

WCHS Class of 1989

2009-07-22T21:21:00.004-05:00

Here's the group shot from this weekend's 20 year reunion. I hope everyone had a great time reconnecting. I have two options for you to choose from. If you would just like to see a larger view of the image than the one I posted on Facebook, simply click on the image here. You can then right click and save it to your hard drive. If you would like to have a print of it, follow THIS LINK.

Kristin and Brian's Wedding

2009-06-28T16:32:00.024-05:00

In my earlier post I mentioned that my little sister was getting married. Kristin and Brian had a beautiful outdoor wedding at The Club at Olde Stone. Congratulations to both of them. Here is a sneak peek at some of the images captured that day.

Kristin and Brian

2009-05-19T14:48:00.010-05:00

This was a very special engagement session for me. Kristin just happens to be my baby sister. Wow, it's hard to believe the day has come for her to get married. I still remember pulling her around in a little red wagon when she was three years old. I remember the words she couldn't say like ayewape and dot dog (what she meant to say was lemonade and hot dogs). It's funny what you remember 25 years later. Maybe for the reception, i'll have to pull out some of her childhood recordings of the "Bumble Bee" song ;~)

Now she's living in Nashville, has a great fiance and the wedding celebration will be June 6th. We had fun shooting this engagement session. We started out at Centennial Park and worked our way downtown. Got some shots on Broadway and almost ended up in a British documentary film. You just never know in Music City.

Congratulations to both of you.

One More Candle and a Trip Around the Sun

2009-04-19T00:57:00.005-05:00

Well, it's just after 1am, April 19, 2009. I waited up for the arrival of my new birthday. Actually, I probably would have been awake anyway, but tonight at least, I had an excuse.

I thought I would take some time to relax, reflect, and do a little reading. My book of choice this evening was Mark Twain, "Following the Equator". I always get a kick out of reading his insights about the world. He was complaining that he's waited all his life to see the Southern Cross and now that he's finally in the Southern Hemisphere, it doesn't look like a cross at all. More like a kite really, but even then, only if you had a good imagination and weren't into perfection. He says that Constellations have always been troublesome things to name. If you give one of them a fanciful name, it will always refuse to live up to it; it will always persist in not resembling the thing it has been named for.

Well, Twain covered astronomy, on the astrology side of things I was born on the cusp of Aries and Taurus. So if you're fascinated by that kind of thing, i've got one foot planted on the Earth and one foot in the fire. Hey, that's actually pretty close to reality for me. Either way you look at it, i've got a 50/50 shot at "something".

The photo above was taken about 10 years ago, in some foreign tropical outdoor beach bar. I was just curious to see what 10 years of roaming the planet has done to me. I don't think too much has changed, I still love to travel, photograph and enjoy life. Since that photo was taken, i've added a wife, a daughter and a few nagging gray hairs, but the basic song line is still the same. With any luck, there's still several thousand more miles in front of me. Lots of stuff left to see and do. I'll see you out there.

An Interesting Life

2009-04-09T16:24:00.008-05:00

I have always believed that travel is the best way to grow, to see the world through someone else's eyes. To get a different perspective than the one you were born into. It is particularly evident when you leave the country, that you are on someone else's terms and the learning curve sometimes comes at you quick. I was born with a desire to explore and see the world, so I enjoy the different perspectives. The photo above was made somewhere in Honduras. There's a little Honduran kid playing on that little dock reaching out into the ocean. Most of the kids there didn't have much, but they were just like any other kids around the world, full of energy and big smiles.

In my research and travels, i've collected a group of people both living and dead, who I consider to be influential to me and my life's direction. Some are authors, some adventurers, some, musicians, some business leaders, but they all have a purpose in common with me, something that I could borrow and share and relate to. As the song line goes, "I've read dozens of books about heroes and crooks and i've learned much from both of their styles".

One such person is Don Blanding. He was an author, actor, adventurer and all around interesting person who seemed to live a full and interesting life. I discovered his poetry about 12 years ago. He penned the perfect poem to describe my life's biggest dilemma, and i've never forgotten him or that poem. As I am closing in on another birthday and another year of living, I thought I would share it with you. It is essentially the mental struggle that every traveller has between home and an endless curiosity for what's over the horizon.
-----------------------------
The Double Life
by Don Blanding

How very simple life would be
If only there were two of me
A Restless Me to drift and roam
A Quiet Me to stay at home.
A Searching One to find his fill
Of varied skies and newfound thrill
While sane and homely things are done
By the domestic Other One.

And that's just where the trouble lies;
There is a Restless Me that cries
For chancy risks and changing scene,
For arctic blue and tropic green,
For deserts with their mystic spell,
For lusty fun and raising Hell,

But shackled to that Restless Me
My Other Self rebelliously
Resists the frantic urge to move.
It seeks the old familiar groove
That habits make. It finds content
With hearth and home -- dear prisonment,
With candlelight and well-loved books
And treasured loot in dusty nooks,

With puttering and garden things
And dreaming while a cricket sings
And all the while the Restless One
Insists on more exciting fun,
It wants to go with every tide,
No matter where...just for the ride.
Like yowling cats the two selves brawl
Until I have no peace at all.

One eye turns to the forward track,
The other eye looks sadly back.
I'm getting wall-eyed from the strain,
(It's tough to have an idle brain)
But One says "Stay" and One says "Go"
And One says "Yes," and One says "No,"
And One Self wants a home and wife
And One Self craves the drifter's life.

The Restless Fellow always wins
I wish my folks had made me twins.

What do YOU see?

2009-01-29T14:31:00.010-06:00

I had a nice conversation with my good friend Susan who is wandering around on Duval Street in Key West, while the rest of us are knocking ice sickles off of our cars. She's down there writing a book and we were talking about how there are places in the world that trigger your consciousness differently. The whole idea of going to Key West to write a book made perfect sense to me. It has a long history of art and culture and puts you into a creative mood. You know, the whole quit your job and run away to Margaritaville thing really appeals to me.

I've travelled to a lot of places that sound good when you're doing the research and then don't live up to your expectations when your standing there. I lot of people have told me that they don't understand my fascination with places like New Orleans' French Quarter and Key West was on the list of confusion as well. They say that it's a nasty, dirty place. It's old and mildewed and there's too many bums in the streets and it isn't safe. I guess they're looking for a 5-Star hotel and a T-shirt that says they've been somewhere.

So that got me to thinking, well, ok, what they said is technically true. These places are a little dingy and sometimes scary, so why am I fascinated with them? I've traveled enough to know that a lot of places are going to be disappointing. It's hard for a place to live up to some storybook image you have in your head. And the bigger your wish list is, the more of a let down it is going to be.

As a traveler, I see the same things that most people see. When i'm standing on Bourbon Street and it smells like yesterday's garbage, i'm not immune to it. On the other hand, as a photographer, I also see it for what it "could" be, and maybe that is the difference. I go to a place that has some nice raw materials and try to create alchemy from the little movies going on inside my head. Clients hire me for my attention to detail and ability to see what others pass by. Sometimes it's backwards, and i'm forced to leave out the details in order to see a place the way I wish it was.

I watched an interview with famed Harper's Bazaar photographer Richard Avedon recently. He said that what it meant to be an artist, was to pay attention to what everyone else wants to discard and get rid of as quickly as possible. An artist has to study, scrutinize and find the garbage essential and relevant in an effort to close the gap between what happened and what we understand.

That is a great analogy of photography. To find extraordinary in the ordinary. To isolate and choose what you "want" to see, rather than merely photographing what is in front of you.

Lost Treasure of our Ancestors: Part II

2009-01-27T01:06:00.017-06:00

If you've been keeping up with my blog, you may remember a photo story i've been working on this past year about a man who is carrying on his family's river legacy by using his unique skills to reclaim ancient sunken logs and turn them into one of a kind pieces of art.

William Joiner shares a family heritage that has over five generations operating the waterways of Kentucky. He is the sole proprietor of the company he created, Antique River Logs.

Our story began on the river. Here is a parting shot from the last trip of Autumn, before the arrival of Winter took us into the next phase.

At the sawmill, this 12,000 pound behemoth almost toppled a front end loader. The back wheels came off the ground when it was picked up

Sometimes when you're dealing with a bygone era, the tools of the trade must be hand crafted.

Stoking the fire for a long night of sanding.
Taking raw wood to a finished product takes several days of sanding, oiling, and fine tuning.

It's a labor of love
Final inspection.

Each piece of reclaimed furniture is a unique work of art. This piece when finished will end up in a collectors home in Nashville.

'Tis the Season

2008-12-21T15:10:00.008-06:00

I received a really nice Christmas card in the mail from Julie Denton, the Director of Marketing and Membership at Olde Stone. She wrote a nice note to me and said "recognize the photo"? It's one that I made during a recent "Breakfast with Santa" event they held for the children and grandchildren of the members. So this was the card that went out to all of the Olde Stone members. Very nice, I like the shot.

In addition to the weddings that i've photographed at Olde Stone, I also have had an opportunity to photograph some of the events they have there. Earlier in the year I was invited to photograph the "Concert on the Green" performance by the Chamber Orchestra with a special guest appearance from one of the former American Idol finalists, Will Makar. One of those shots ended up making the cover of the magazine and several shots are printed inside.

As 2008 comes to a close, i'm looking forward to another exciting year in 2009! I know this past year has been a tough one for everyone economically. I feel like something is starting to turn though, i'm starting to book projects way out in advance, wedding clients booking far into 2010. Everyone keep your chin up, we'll get through this economic downturn.

If you're a photographer, this is painfully funny

2008-12-08T22:29:00.004-06:00

Everyone has been complaining about the ridiculously over priced new Nikon D3x camera, MSRP $8,000!!! Here is a funny skit with Hitler ranting about it. If you've spent as many thousands of dollars on cameras as most of us photographers have lately, you'll get the humor.

Here's the link.

Emily and Clinton

2008-12-04T13:27:00.013-06:00

Now that my wedding season is over, i'm going back (finally) and posting some of those weddings.

This wedding in particular was unique in that it is the Episcopal church. Recently the church got new leadership and I was told that this is the first actual ceremony to be photographed in the church in over 150 years. That's pretty cool, i've photographed weddings here before, and all I was able to get was the bride walking in and the couple walking out. They absolutely would not allow photography during the ceremony, so I had to sit back and watch my clients memories vaporize into thin air. Sometimes change is good.

Playing Catch Up

2008-11-06T15:49:00.009-06:00

I have a series of weddings to publish on my blog. I've been running quite a bit lately, but I didn't want to let these get by without posting some images. This first wedding is of Mandy and Kyle near Lake Malone, Kentucky.

Facebook anyone?

2008-10-26T21:30:00.003-05:00

Ok, I must admit i've been hesitant to join any of these online communities. I really don't know why. I guess I thought that keeping up with my own website and blog was plenty to keep me busy. I completely skipped over the Myspace generation and didn't have any real plans to join facebook. Until now that is.

My sister Kristin is getting married this summer and she created a facebook site to share all of the planning for out of town guests and anyone else interested. I signed up so that I could access her site. I thought it would be a good idea to keep up with her since i'm shooting the wedding.

Anyway, it was pretty cool, people start popping out of the woodwork trying to be your friend. Some people I haven't seen for years are now catching up with me. If you're interested, log on. facebook.

iPhone 3G

2008-09-26T12:19:00.004-05:00

So I recently went ultra mobile with the new iPhone 3G. It's a great device, however, I do have a love/hate relationship with it so far. Yesterday I spent several hours with my web host setting up email accounts. In order for everything to work in real time, I had to switch the type of accounts they were. It's a POP vs. IMAP kind of issue. So now my email is a little more manual, but changes are acknowledged when I check email on the phone or laptop. Very nice. It keeps you from having to click the same email twice on two different devices.

Aside from my own personal technology struggles, the rest of the phone is excellent. Having synchronized contacts, email, and calendar is wonderful. Oh yeah, and it's an iPod too. I guess technically the first iPod i've ever owned. They always updated and changed so fast, I never knew which one to buy. So now I have one in my phone, maybe I won't loose it.

No matter what, it's better than my outdated Motorola RAZR. It was never really very good even as a phone.

Lost Treasure of our Ancestors

2008-08-21T21:16:00.034-05:00

Recently I deviated from my wedding photojournalism agenda to chase another kind of photo story. This was a personal project that I was interested in pursuing. I'm still in the middle of the story, however, I wanted to share some of it with you since i've all but abandoned my blog lately.

Part of the story is about an ancient treasure that has been sleeping beneath the waves for over 100 years. The rest of the story is about reclaiming that treasure and turning it into one of a kind pieces of art.

The subject of my story is William Joiner, who operates a boutique company called Antique River Logs. His family history reveals five generations of navigating the waterways of Kentucky. His father, Captain Bill Joiner served 53 years as a towboat captain. His grandfather Cecil Joiner, ran a snag boat and a mail carrier boat, his great grandfather, Commodore Joiner, ran a ferry; and his great-great grandfather William Perry Joiner, piloted a packet-steamboat.

William is a former Social Worker who spent much of his life exploring the planet before deciding to return to his native Kentucky. He served two years as a missionary in Scotland, managed a scuba diving safari boat on the Red Sea in Egypt, and spent many years studying diverse cultures, philosophies and meditation styles before returning from his journey.

Combining his family's river heritage, his diving skills, woodworking craftsmanship and an appreciation for the conservation of our natural resources, Antique River Logs, Inc. was born. He recognizes the rare and limited opportunity to offer timbers that are no longer available.

Back in the nineteenth century these beautiful old hardwood trees were cut down, pulled to the nearest river with mules, dog chained together as rafts and floated down river to the nearest mill. Some of the heavier logs never reached the mills and sank to the bottom of the river where they have been resting ever since.

The old growth timber which is no longer available combined with over 100 years of living in the river gives these logs a truly unique status.

The first step to reclaiming the logs is locating them and that requires diving. Ordinarily diving is done for sport, however, diving in a river with a moving current and near zero visibility is quite a different matter.

An intense portrait just before a diving exploration.

A rusty old spike and chain driven in by a nineteenth century lumber jack, evidence of its time capsule existance.

Here is one example of a river recovered old growth log that has been cut into slabs. This log has been resting on the bottom since the early 1800's and bears the unique markings of reclaimed virgin timber which lends to its exotic appeal.

A great example of river reclaimed hardwood flooring.

In my research I found this excerpt that reminds us of what once was and what could have been.

All the forces of nature cannot bring back extinct species

An excerpt from an old book:

... As civilisation advances upon the forest, the wild species retreat; when the forest falls, the wild species are gone. Every human generation during these centuries has a last look at many things in Nature. No one will ever see them again: Nature can never find what she has once lost: if it is gone,it is gone forever.

What Wilson records he saw of bird life in Kentucky a hundred years ago reads to us now as fables of the marvellous, of the incredible. Were he the sole witness, some of us might think him to be a lying witness. Let me tell you that I in my boyhood—half a century later than Wilson's visit to Kentucky —beheld things that you will hardly believe.

The vast oak forest of Kentucky was what attracted the passenger pigeon. In the autumn when acorns were ripe but not yet fallen, the pigeons filled the trees at times and places, eating them from the cups. Walking quietly some sunny afternoon through the bluegrass pastures, you might approach an oak and see nothing but the tree itself, thick boughs with the afternoon sunlight sparkling on the leaves along one side. As you drew nearer, all at once, as if some violent explosion had taken place within the tree, a blue smoke-like cloud burst out all around the tree-top — the simultaneous explosive flight of the frightened pigeons.

Or all night long there might be wind and rain and the swishing of boughs and the tapping of loosened leaves against the window panes; and when you stepped out of doors next morning, it had suddenly become clear and cold. Walking out into the open and looking up at the clear sky you might see this: an arch of pigeons breast by breast, wing-tip to wing-tip, high up in the air as the wild geese fly, slowly moving southward. You could not see the end of the arch on one horizon or the other: the whole firmament was spanned by that mighty arch of pigeons flying south from the sudden cold. Not all the forces in Nature can ever restore that morning sunlit arch of pigeons flying south...

Quoted from The Kentucky Warbler (p. 148-150) by James Lane Allen, published in 1918 by Doubleday, New York.

A Destination wedding at Lake Martin

2008-06-27T15:35:00.024-05:00

Recently I had the pleasure of photographing this beautiful Destination Wedding for Amy and Matt at a resort on Lake Martin down in Alabama. It was like some kind of postcard with a little white chapel by the lakes edge and a lighthouse overlooking the lake.

The guest list included friends and family from all over the United States. That little chapel was standing room only during the ceremony. Afterwards they were greeted by a warm reception designed by Lisa Leachman.

At the end of the evening Amy and Matt exited in a boat rather than a limo. The next day they were bound for Playa Del Carmen, Mexico.

Linda and Carlthell

2008-06-05T21:42:00.008-05:00

Congratulations to Linda and Carlthell. They had a great wedding last week and then left on an adventurous Alaskan honeymoon! Sounds like lots of fun. I'll have to put Alaska on my "to do" list.

American Idol and the Chamber Orchestra

2008-05-18T22:19:00.008-05:00

I was invited to photograph the Concert on the Green at Olde Stone Country Club this weekend. Special guest vocalist Will Makar, of American Idol fame was backed by the Bowling Green Chamber Orchestra. The theme of the evening was American Idols Through the Ages, with a salute to the Big Band era, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra and of course several songs from Will. It was a beautiful and elegant evening of music.

In the News

2008-04-16T20:12:00.001-05:00

Flora named top Ky. wedding photographer

Wedding Photojournalist Association member Kelly Lee Flora was recently named the top wedding photographer for Kentucky in 2007. Flora was also awarded first place in the Departure category and fifth place in the Emotion category of the organization’s Q4 2007 Photography Contest.

The WPJA hosts four photography competitions throughout the year to recognize the skill and creative excellence of the organization’s members. Images submitted are evaluated by teams of judges.

The WPJA represents more than 1,400 members and was founded to uphold excellence in the area of wedding photojournalism

1st Place

2008-03-11T08:49:00.005-05:00

I was notified by the WPJA that I missed an entire category when I was blogging earlier. Man, I was happy with my 5th place win. The above image was a 1st Place winner for "Departures". It just keeps getting better.

WPJA TOP 100 Photographers

2008-03-10T16:03:00.006-05:00

The WPJA recently released the TOP 100 list and I landed at #26. Considering that this is a world wide competition with some of the best photographers on the planet, I was very pleased to be anywhere on the list. I have created some great friendships with many of the WPJA members from around the country and consider it an honor to be a part of this organization.

WPJA 2007 Q4 Awards

2008-03-07T08:03:00.009-06:00

WPJA just released the results of their fourth quarter contest. The above image placed 5th in the 'Emotion' category. I knew it was a nice moment when I snapped the shutter, but i'ts always exciting to have your peers and working professionals validate it. I really got excited (and nervous) when I saw that Joe McNally was one of the judges. I've been a big fan of his for a long time. His new book The Moment it Clicks has been a runaway hit.

Wedding Anniversary

2008-03-02T23:21:00.013-06:00

Kim and I celebrated our anniversary recently at a Japanese hibachi restaurant. The devotion those Japanese chefs have to their craft amazes me. What an exciting time.

Anyway, I got to thinking about our quaint little wedding in the Virgin Islands and started going through old files trying to dig up photos from that adventure. We were married off the coast of St. John on a 36' sailboat with Captain Jim Kozar presiding over the ceremony.

On the way back we had champagne and shrimp while we listened to James Taylor, The Eagles, Jimmy Buffett and many other 70's sailing hits from Captain Jim's amazing sound system echoing across the water. It was like a time warp back to 1977, but it sure was relaxing. The most beautiful rainbow popped out after a light rain and I went back into photographer mode.

We spent the rest of the week tying up loose ends at the court house in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas and generally relaxing island style. Our little Caribbean destination wedding was a great success. Happy anniversary Kimmie!

OS X Leopard

2008-02-25T16:42:00.007-06:00

I finally decided to Upgrade my operating system this past week. I'm generally not an early adopter of new systems, I prefer to wait until they work out a few of the bugs (not that Apple has a lot of bugs). OS X Leopard is now up to version 10.5.2 so I held my breath and took the plunge.

It's actually quite an update in some areas. My favorite new features are Time Machine which allows you to go back in time and fix things that would otherwise be permanently deleted, for those occasions when you make an unfortunate keystroke and save it (oops!) Now you can just undo it. You can literally scroll back in time and see what your hard drive looked like on any given date.

Mail is another nice upgrade. I like being able to save notes and "to do" lists right in my email. That seems to be where I spend most of my office time anyway. It's funny, the notes look like a yellow notepad just like the ones I carry everywhere I go.

Also, Spaces is AWESOME for shuffling between workstations without opening and closing programs all the time.

I'm still playing, maybe i'll update this post when I get a little more familiar with the new features.

On The Road

2008-02-08T12:52:00.000-06:00

Anyone remember Jack Kerouac's great American Novel "On The Road"? That's the way my life has felt for the last decade or so. I've probably logged enough miles to drive to the moon and back. Check out the odometer, I rolled over the 300 thousand mark recently (again). This is the third car i've done this to in the last 10 years. I love Honda for the same reason I love Macintosh, I don't really care HOW it works, I just need it to work!

I made a few short road trips this week to take care of business and meet some new friends. Wednesday I went to Lexington to meet with past clients and hopefully a few new ones as well. Thursday I went to Nashville to share an evening with fellow photographers. Thanks to Justin and Mary Marantz for coming all the way from Hartford, CT to share your business ideas with us.

Today i'm staying close to home to get some much needed office work done.

LaCour Couture Book Party in Atlanta

2008-01-10T15:15:00.000-06:00

I just made a 15 hour turnaround to Atlanta! I decided to follow up on an invitation from my friends at LaCour in Atlanta to come share in community building and look at a new album company called Couture Book. Thanks again LaCour for hosting these great parties! It's a wonderful opportunity to network and visit with friends.

Andrew addressing the crowd.

Reunion. Here are some friends that went through the first LaCour Business of Storytelling Workshop with me. From left to right, Regina Holder, Laura Stone, (me), Delaney Holliman and Darren Carter.

Andrew of LaCour and Corey McNabb from Ashville, N.C.

Meagan and Lee

2007-12-17T01:36:00.001-06:00

I haven't posted all of the weddings from this season, many of them were not posted when I became so bogged down with post-production. Here is Meagan and Lee's wedding that I shot a while back. Meagan's Maid of Honor, Ashley, is my bride for this upcoming weekend.

Both weddings were created by Nashville based Wedding Planner, Amos Gott. He has handled several of my bigger weddings in the past and always does an excellent job.

Semper Fi

2007-12-03T20:31:00.000-06:00

I thought this was a really nice wedding to photograph. Briton and Kyle actually were married previously in a simple ceremony and waited until he returned from duty in Iraq before having a larger celebration with family and friends. They chose as the location, a recently renovated train depot. I thought it was the perfect location for this wedding. It seemed to me to echo WWII and the old photographs i've seen of soldiers returning from Europe and the Pacific theatres. Does anyone remember "The Kiss", a famous Alfred Eisenstaedt photo featured in Life Magazine? It was a shot of a sailor kissing a nurse in New York City on V-J Day.

Anyway, I felt like we captured some nice moments and had fun doing it. Congratulations Briton and Kyle.

Wedding Editorials

2007-11-09T00:08:00.000-06:00

Here is a sneak peek at a couple of wedding stories i'm having published in the upcoming issue of Premier Bride magazine. Both of these weddings were perfect for my style of wedding photojournalism.

The first one is Leslie and Jason, an awesome couple who met while teaching at Harding Academy in Nashville. You can see more of them in an earlier post on my old blog by clicking HERE.

And this one is Meredith and Andrew's wedding at Olde Stone. Another great couple to work with. I also love the outdoor location. HERE are some more shots from an earlier post.

Emily and Mark's Wedding

2007-11-06T01:40:00.000-06:00

This is probably one of the biggest weddings I worked on this season. There were close to 500 guests at the reception. The tents took up what looked like a city block at this private residence in Rivergreen.

Thanks to Wedding Planner, Lisa Leachman for creating the backdrop for these images.
It was an October wedding with a beautiful Autumn theme. Afterwards, Emily and Mark ran off to a resort in the Mexican Riviera for some R&R after all of the festivities. Congratulations to both of you!

As Promised... New updates.

2007-11-04T17:02:00.000-06:00

I'm working on getting caught up on my blogging. Like I said, I have lots of images to post. Just trying to make time to get them prepped and uploaded.

Here are some shots of Amy and Chris and their Autumn wedding.

Check out the excitement and animation of this Pastor.

Check this out! I shot a Halloween Wedding.

2007-11-02T17:28:00.000-05:00

I got a call early in the morning on October 31st alerting me that one of my good friends, a martial arts instructor from Nashville would be getting married later that night. Whoa! Talk about fast plans. I grabbed my cameras and ran off to capture all of the excitement. The ceremony was held downtown on fabled "Printers Alley" at a cool club with Elvira, mistress of the dark, performing the ceremony. Inside the club everything was black, the walls the ceiling the floor. I had to really get creative, but I think I walked away with some interesting shots. Definitely not your average wedding assignment.

Congratulations Donnavan and Nicki!

I know... i'm a BAD blogger :(

2007-10-24T00:34:00.000-05:00

For those of you who keep up with me, i'm sorry for going so long without new posts. I've been shooting back to back weddings for the past few months plus dealing with magazine deadlines, and honestly just trying to keep my head above water has been a challenge. I'll try to start posting some of the weddings i've done recently plus there are several more weddings in the upcoming weeks. I have tons of beautiful new images to post, just trying to find the time.

The first one is Allison and Martin's wedding at Olde Stone Country Club.

Allison and Martin take the stage.

My friends Stretta from Nashville rockin' out at the reception.

Busy, Busy!

2007-09-24T23:14:00.000-05:00

Wow, i've been running wild since I got back from Los Angeles. I've had an opportunity to meet with several brides this past week. Thanks to Monica and Himanshu for meeting with me, they are having a beautiful 3 day Indian Celebration in Lexington next summer. I took a road trip to meet with them in Lexington, and then on Sunday, Merida came to visit me from St. Louis for another beautiful Lexington wedding. Then today I went to Nashville for a Premier Bride banquet, and met several new friends.

I'm looking forward to the upcoming weekend to share in the wedding celebration of Allison and Martin at Olde Stone Country Club. Here they are during their Engagement Shoot.

Back from Los Angeles

2007-09-15T00:23:00.001-05:00

I was up at 4am Wednesday to catch a flight out of Nashville to Los Angeles for the annual Pictage Partner Conference. I arrived about 11am, missed the first session, but thankfully arrived just in time for lunch :-) After the class schedule was over for the day, many of us went to a party hosted by David Jay of Santa Barbara and Kevin Swan, an Indianapolis based photographer. It was a cool little club down at Hermosa Beach called blue 32. For some reason the morning classes on Thursday were very loooong.

It was a great trip, I was able to reconnect with many friends. Always a pleasure to hang out with the great people at LaCour based in Atlanta. My Denver buddies Katie Van Buren, and Jenna Walker. Nathan and Amber Holritz based in Chattanooga, and I even got to spend a little time talking with the guru Denis Reggie. There are so many more I can't even recall everyone, but it was a great time.

Here is a shot of the L.A. Skyline coming in on final approach to LAX.

If you've been keeping up with my blog, you might remember this image from earlier in the summer. It won a regional competition in Nashville and went on to compete on a national level in Los Angeles. It was pretty cool to see slides from big endorsers like Canon and Leather Craftsmen and then see my picture pop up on the screen in the middle of it all. I still don't know the outcome of the competition. Stay tuned...

A Wedding at Olde Stone Country Club

2007-08-17T01:23:00.001-05:00

Here are a few shots from Meredith and Andrew's wedding at Olde Stone. It was a beautiful outdoor wedding. The sun was setting on the horizon during the ceremony and the warm afternoon light was great.

My 7-7-07 Wedding

2007-08-03T17:29:00.000-05:00

It was the busiest day in wedding history. I think close to 40,000 weddings were scheduled this day! More than triple the usual Summer Saturday amount. I was fortunate enough to spend the day with my good friends Leslie and Rob. They had an outdoor wedding at a private residence here in Kentucky. It was great. I love their intimate ceremony among friends & family. When all of the celebration was over, they hopped a flight to Maui for a week of R&R. Nice!!!

Welcome

2007-08-03T15:00:00.000-05:00

I have recently moved here from my old blog site. Click Here to visit my old posts.

Thank you, have a great day.