Audrey’s Baby Doll

After many years of hard play time, neglect, and storage, Mary unpacked her mother’s old doll and decided to have it restored.  It was originally a gift to Audrey on her 4th birthday in 1924.  What you see here is the new version after Judith Dommergue, aka Doll Doctor On Call, worked her healing magic. 

When I took her into the studio for a few pictures I was immediately struck by the way her expression changed as I changed her pose.  I used to play with dolls (GI JOE, of course!) but I don’t remember this flexibility.

Baby Jackson

I met Nikki and Baby Jackson when he was around 5months old.  Nikki and her husband Eric take a lot ofpictures of this beautiful child, and they wanted to supplement their collection with an occasional formal picture session.  I was hooked after our first outing, when I was able to see the reflections in his eyes.  

If you explore either iris in this enlargement, you can detect the red bricks and tan garage door of his house (right side), the broken white lines of the sidewalks (just under the pupil), and blue sky and green foliage (above the pupil).  This fuzzy blowup won’t sell, but it still intrigues me today.  

Photographing Performance Art

A performance could be anything from Kathy Fincher creating her art in the middle of a fundraiser to bareback riders at the Circus.  



What I like about shooting a performance is the theme is instantly recognizable and it informs us about an interesting part of the subject’s life.  

Kayaks in the mist

Early last Saturday morning I met three friends at Rogers Bridge boat landing for a sports/adventure picture session.

John, Annette, Jeff, and little Russell are experienced Kayakers.  They put in around 7am to take advantage of the mist before the sun burned it off the Chattahoochee.  I put on waders and carefully walked my camera and tripod to mid stream (inset).

Carolina Horse Park picture sessions

In April my friend Minh Duan and I traveled to Pinehurst, NC to visit my high school chum Eileen Gilbert and explore her world of horses.  Eileen is a trainer and judge in Hunter, Jumper, and Equitation competitions.  King and Eileen live in Ontario, Canada, with her husband Larry, but they winter near the Carolina Horse Park.  King is too old for competition now.  Fortunately for us he still can enjoy a light workout.  


If you think his head is way too big in this picture, I agree.  I wanted him to be the subject here because of their long relationship.  We also thought his lower eyelashes were cool.

Family Picture Book

 Printed albums or photo books are one good way to display images from the family archives. A book only needs daylight to “operate”, and prints age very slowly in a closed book. 

Last year Mary and I began scanning vintage family photos.  Soon we realized we had enough beautiful examples for a 

picture book covering 4 generations.  We decided to design a double spread page for each family in a generation (a total of 17 families).  Pages 9 & 10 are above.

We began each spread with a custom background from the family archive. (Vendors offer a wide variety of design themes with easy “drop-in” file features that can save time).  The background for 9 & 10 , left, is a  backscreen (washed-out) treatment to a picture from the family archive. 

Counting the background, there are 7 pictures here.  If we added any more it would resemble a product catalog more than a family album.   

Scout and Plan picture locations

Many people recognize attractive settings for a photo but it takes effort (for me anyway) to remember exactly where and then to conceive of a way to use it.  For example, this lake front scene could be perfect for a Bride or high school senior desiring a uniquely stylish backdrop. However, pulling the subject(s) together on a pontoon boat at the right time of day and weather is challenging.  The slanting sun rays don’t last long.









I love to see the tree trunks and their reflections lit in the morning sun this way. That means it is about 7:30 in the spring time. Some subjects just aren't up yet, but if this composition speaks to a lifestyle it might be worth the effort.