Elk Knob Hike

The temperature, finally rose above freezing for the first time this month over the Holiday weekend so we figured we would take advantage and thaw out a little in the sun. We set out to hike Snake Mountain but the land owner has recently posted No Trespassing signs. Pretty disappointing but I'm sure there is a good reason for it... We went over to nearby Elk Knob State Park instead and climbed the 1.3 mile, 1000 ft elevation gain to the snow covered peak. The summit offered an amazing view from both sides of the peak, looking towards Boone and towards West Jefferson. The climb back down was fun, as we skied down more-so than walked. Good hiking with good friends is always nice...


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Hienz Foosball

In between the Christmas festivities and New Years joy, I found myself working on a rather large side project. I decided to give the foosball table from my childhood a facelift. All the foosball men where painted to match the 2008 Pittsburgh Steelers superbowl starting line. There are even a few videos in the flickr set, With beerpong and foosball, this table is now the center of the party!

Bad Sweater Party

Well finally, the holiday rush has come to an end, and we have plenty of photographs to show from the last month. First on the list, the bad sweater party round 2. This was a great little project to try out on a few unsuspecting friends. A tripod was set up in a room with 3 lights (2 AB800s and 1 SB600) on a black backdrop. The camera was then triggered via wireless remote. The results were much better than expected. I would like to be able to market this to potential wedding clients, with a few extra tweaks of course.

Jeep Trails

We finally got our second snow of the year this past weekend. Stan and I checked out some nearby trails that we had been eyeballing for quite some time. They were well worth the wait, especially in the freshly falling snow. We'll be heading back there soon I presume.


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Jeff and Brandy's Engagement Shoot

Last weekend Adam and I had the pleasure of shooting engagement photos with a couple in Chapel Hill, Jeff and Brandy. We responded to an ad on Craigslist as we often do and they selected us for the shoot. While on the shoot we were amazed to find out that they had received over 100 responses to their ad!!! That info made us very thankful to have been selected! We are very happy with the results, a few of which you can see below. Jeff and Brandy were a very friendly, kind and gentle couple, making the afternoon of shooting truly enjoyable. We wish Jeff and Brandy the very best of luck!

Why did the turkey cross the road?!?

Probably because the FlyingRooster was chasing it around with a hungry look! I was headed out to Blowing Rock to take photos of a church for High Country magazine when I crossed under the Blue Ridge Parkway and happened upon about a dozen grazing turkeys. Pretty neat birds, I had no idea they could fly high enough to roost in the treetops...

Washington DC Outtakes

A few months ago when I traveled to DC to take photos of President Obama honoring the 2009 Stanley Cup Champions I took a bike and spent some time before and after the press conference photoing monuments. I assumed this was an appropriate Veteran's Day post. Thanks to all of the members and families of our Armed Forces for keeping us safe! (Pretty happy with the results of these, especially the night time ones as I was using my bicycle with my camera bag on top of the seat as a tripod)... Enjoy!


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App State stays out of Mocs' reach 35-20

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After starting the game with two huge interceptions (D.J. Smith and Jacque Roman) on the Mocs' first two possessions and a 21-0 lead at the end of the first quarter, the momentum shifted. In the second quarter Armanti Edwards was picked off twice and Devon Moore had an unfortunate fumble to record three Mountaineer turnovers. Edwards had a streak of 141 pass attempts without a single interception before the first pickoff Saturday. The defense stood strong in the second quarter, allowing the Mocs only one score before heading to the locker for half time.

In the opening kick of the second half the Mocs kicked an onside kick and recovered it, much to the surprise of all. The only thing more shocking was when they successfully repeated the move on their their next kickoff. The Mocs hustled a twenty unanswered point streak before the Mountaineer offense could regain focus.

In the fourth quarter Devon Moore ran for two of his three touchdowns in the game. Mark Legree sealed the Mountaineer win by pulling in an interception with less than ten minutes to play(the defense's third of the game). The offense moved the ball to the end-zone for the final points of the Mountaineers 35-20 win.

Saturday the Mountaineers travel to Elon University to play what will ensure for the winning team a SoCon Championship crown. The match-up will end one of the two undefeated teams' dream of a loss-less 2009 conference record. GO APP STATE!!!

Soaking the Studio

Started on a story about a church recently and one of the photos I want to incorporate has a water pouring element. I decided it would make my life much easier on the day of the actual shoot if I went ahead and did a little practice work lighting this portion of the shot. After trying the shot several times and getting the lighting the way I envisioned it, I decided the only issue was the water wasn't dramatic enough. I hopped up on a chair and poured the water from about 5 feet above the glass; it certainly did the trick (when it actually landed in the glass).

For the Photogs:
1 AB-800 camera left behind glass w/ red gel
1 SB-600 camera right behind glass w/ white umbrella

A Brief October Parkway Visit

Headed out with my friend Mac to the Blue Ridge Parkway for an hour or so to try and catch the last of the fall leaves. We didn't get as extravagant of a display of colors as we have in the past (I believed they were deemed "muted") but it was quite a sight none the less. The horse was clearly quite the model as well...


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