Sharan

Sharan told me that her father was the reason her name was spelled with two a's. She told me that her father did it so she would learn to stand up for herself and not take crap from anyone. As a father, I think that's a pretty good idea. We,as fathers, want our daughters to be strong. Tough even. We want them to succeed and be beautiful people.I met Sharan at The Light Factory Shoot Out. We were both volunteering. At first sight I thought to myself, I have to photograph this girl. She's different. Just the way she carried herself caught my eye. SO, thankfully she accepted my offer and here are some of the images.

I shot nearly 300 exposures. It was tough to narrow it down and select these but I did it with much thought. Also, I rarely release images straight out of the camera, but these have not yet been touched. I think I like them this way. Just Sharan. No retouching.

Thanks Sharan. Brilliant job.

-- Mike

When the band comes over.

My wife and I have been supporting local music for as long as we can remember. As a matter of fact, it's how we met. One of our favorite local bands is Moonshine Racers. They are really one of the best bluegrass bands around. So when I got the call from Matt, one of the members, asking me to do a new PR shot, I jumped at the chance. Little did I know that the shoot would turn into an event (nice way of saying party).

As I sat up lights and a background in my home studio, the beer and music began to flow. The tunes just kept coming. My daughters danced. My wife chimed in on vocals. And I watched with camera in hand trying to capture it all. What a GREAT night.

These are just a couple of my favorite images. Check out the real band in a dive near you.

My First, Lucy

This little child changed everything. Thank goodness. My wife and I now have two, Lucy and Ella. When I moved the studio to its new location, our house, it gave me the most wonderful gift of all. At any point I can stop what I'm doing and capture the three greatest gifts of all, my lovely wife and two incredible daughters.

I know, sounds sappy but it's true.

This past Friday I was photographing a friend for his portfolio cover as Lucy watched from behind me. She just sat there patiently and watched. She's almost 3 (August 18th). When my pal, Jeff, and I got an image that we were happy with we both said, got it. Lucy said, my turn. So, this is Lucy's shot. She's such a fantastic subject.

Katherine

I can't believe it's been so long since my last visit to this BLOG. Time seems to have a way of escaping. Along with a few projects for clients this month I was finally able to do a little testing. When I met Katherine, I knew I wanted to photograph her. Katherine is a wonderfully natural girl that did an incredible job in front of the camera. Hair and Make Up provided by none other than Elizabeth Tolley. Great job to you both. Love the work we did together.

The Farmers

Well, I've been talking about this shoot for over a week now. It's about time I post a few outtakes. These have been altered a bit by the art director, Chris Just. Chris and I met when he was working with The Buntin Group in Nashville, TN. He's now at Erwin Penland in Greenville. We're still working together and I'm loving it. (think he's loving it too)

This trip took us almost 3000 miles. Out to Eastern North Carolina and then back to Boone, NC. Over to Tennessee and down to Georgia. We finished down deep in South Carolina and then back to Tryon, North Carolina. Incredible. Great farmers and great photos. Can't wait to see the final posters hanging in BiLo.

Thanks for following.

2700 Miles

Today I asked Mike how many total miles he has traveled for the farmer shoot. 2700 miles. I told him he could be in San Francisco by now. I suppose that slow and steady is the best way to travel from farm to farm, sleepy town to sleepy town. Mike wraps up today with his last farm shoot and will have plenty of images and stories to blog in the next few days. For now, here's two from yesterday's journey.

Update From the Road

While Mike is out shooting, I (Rosemary) have the pleasure of updating the blog with his latest images and shenanigans. Mike's on a multi-day shoot capturing farmers and their produce. The gig is taking him to NC, TN, GA, and SC (I think in that order, but it's tough to keep up). This project tickles his fancy and mine too. It's refreshing to remember that some of our food does in fact come from our own state or just a state away, rather than always being flown in from another country or even continent.

Mike will give a full report or two once he returns. For now, I'll share the quick mid-trip recap he gave me today: "Hundreds of miles. Good food. Good music. Bad weather, but the locals don't seem to mind it. Think my accent is getting twangy."

Seems pretty accurate. Except the accent. Mike is, afterall, from Rock Hill so his accent probably isn't getting any twangier.

On to the images. Here's a few of my favorites that Mike sent today.