The Woman in Pink

Two-time cancer survivor Kim Beverly, founder of The Woman in Pink, poses for a photo at It's A Girl Thing Salon on Second Ave. in Gastonia on Thursday October 4, 2012. The Woman in Pink, which she runs with two partners, works to donate wigs to women suffering hair loss due to cancer treatment. 

Firefighting Couple

Husband and wife firefighting duo Kenny and Julie Griffin pose in their turnout gear in the exercise room at their Lincolnton home on Monday February 13, 2012. Julie is employed full-time with the Charlotte Fire Dept. and Kenny is full-time with the Gastonia Fire Dept. 

I had an assignment to photograph this Lincolnton couple yesterday. I think if they ever decided to quit fighting fires for a living they could probably make it as interior designers. Their rural home was beautiful and game me a couple of excellent backdrops for photos. 

It was abundantly clear after spending half an hour or so with these guys that they love (at least) three things; each other, their careers and their dogs. 

I think the top photo sums it up, but as always, I think it's important to try to get at least two distinct shots from a portrait assignment, if possible. 

I also wanted to incorporate the red striped walls and vintage piano into a photo and have an option where they weren't in turnout gear. I ended up framing such that you can hardly tell they're at a piano, but I still like it as a more intimate compliment to the above photo.  

Paranormal Investigators

The State Paranormal Investigations team poses for a photo with some of their gear at the historic Gaston County jailhouse in downtown Dallas on Sunday October 16, 2011. From left: Jeff Rielly, Drew Skinner, Sandra Handy, Dave Hodges and founder Chris Rushing.

I've never tried to flare my lens with a laser before, so I wasn't sure what would happen. I think it looks kinda cool and appropriate for the subject matter. I'm glad we got the flare right on one take though, that laser was burning my brain.

More Horseshoes?

Cherryville Post 100 pitcher Adam Benfield poses with his lucky horseshoe in the dugout at Buck Fraley Field in Cherryville on Sunday July 31, 2011. Benfield found the horseshoe and now brings it to games and keeps in the bull pen for good luck.

Artificial Portrait

I think it's important for portrait photographers to occasionally remind themselves what it feels like to walk away from a shoot seeing doughnuts (from a ring flash).

So, as I was tooling around yesterday taking some self portraits I decided to make like Brad Trent and do what he calls an "artificial portrait" by pulling back to show the reality of the lighting being used to create the picture.

I usually find including your lights in the frame to be cliche, but Trent's portraits are about pulling back the curtain rather than than saying "Ooh, look at the cool gear that I have and you don't." He pulls it off.

As far as portraits go I've largely been influenced by the work of Dan Winters and Ben Baker, among others. I think my own style is somewhere in between the subtle but dramatic Winters and the high-contrast, almost surreal look of Trent, but for these pictures I went for the more contrasty look.

To do this right I should have pulled the camera back and included my ring flash in the shot too, but there was a wall right behind the camera position so I had to zoom out rather than back it up.

Also, I cut my feet off. Oops.

Below is the shot that I was originally going for (in my defense, I didn't have the best raw material to work with).

Extreme Runner

Runner CJ Barnhart poses on top of Hidden Wall at Crowders Mountain State Park on Tuesday July 5, 2011. Barnhart runs the trails at Crowders to train for races involving obstacle courses like the recent Super Spartan 8-mile race in Winnsboro, SC where he took home a medal.

Crazy Eyes

James Richard Verone peers through the glass of a visitation booth at the Gaston County Jail on Thursday June 16, 2011 where he is being held while awaiting trial for an alleged bank robbery. 

I believe this is the first time I've been asked to shot a portrait of an inmate at the jail. Which makes sense. The jail doesn't normally allow cameras inside and most inmates have lawyers telling them not to speak to the media.

This guy is an exception to the rules, in more ways than one.

If you have a minute, I highly recommend reading The Gazette article about this man who has decided to make his new residence the Gaston County Jail.

Education in trouble

North Gaston physical science and chemistry teacher Elizabeth Leonard poses with the smart board in her classroom on Wednesday June 1, 2011. Leonard received a pink slip informing her she may not have a job next year despite being named the Gaston County Schools New Teacher of the Year.

Cheryl Virgil, left, a pre-kindergarten educator who works with autistic children, gets fired up while speaking at the "Save Our Schools" rally held by the Gaston County Democratic Party in front of the Gaston County Courthouse on Thursday May 26, 2011.

Faces & Places

Artist John Rankin with his painting "Gaston Recalled & Relived" depicting Gaston County places and faces, in his home on Monday February 28, 2011.

Rankin has traveled all over the world painting scenes from abroad, but was inspired to create this piece after a friend pointed out that he had no paintings depicting the character of his home town.

Dotson's

Dotson's Fish Fry owner Dennis Dotson poses for a portrait in the dining room of his now closed restaurant in Belmont on Wednesday January 5, 2011. Due to declining business, Dotson says he decided not to reopen the 50 year-old business after closing for a Christmas break. 

Etiquette Edge

Photos for a cover story in The Gazette's women's magazine Gaston Woman about Julie Roberts, owner of Etiquette Edge, which provides good manners and decorum education for children K-12. Roberts teaches proper etiquette for every aspect of social life, including writing thank you notes, talking on the phone, online interactions, and text messaging.

The Frugal Scholar

Educator, scholar and poet T.R. McIntosh sits in his study surrounded by his vast collection of books Wednesday at his Rocky Mount Home. McIntosh lived frugally for much of his life, saving his salary as a teacher to collect books and other valuable papers.

The Week of Portraits

Norma Trunage, the Rocky Mount Chamber of Commerce Distinguished Citizen of the Year..

One of the things I love most about my job as a newspaper photographer is the incredible diversity of assignments I shoot, from sports to breaking news and everything in between.

Sometimes, things can get a little monotonous, though.

Like last week, when I think I must have had eight portrait assignments in as many days (I sort of lost count). I like shooting portraits, but after that week I was ready for something else!

I thought I would share this one that I liked a little better than the others.

Losing her Home

Ethel Rivera poses at the front door of her home on Hunter Hill Road on Nov. 11. Rivera is in the process of moving out of the home that will be demolished to make way for a widening project for Hunter Hill Road.

Pharmacy Business Portrait

Pharmacist and owner Dr. Angela Stokes shows off the compounding lab at Northside Family Pharmacy on Bishop Road. The compounding lab is a facility used to mix custom capsules, creams and ointments--a feature not found in many modern pharmacies.

Face Off

SouthWest Edgecombe quarterback Chris Ellerbe, left, and Rocky Mount High quarterback Collins Cuthrell.

The sports editor came to me with an idea a few weeks ago. We would shoot these two quarterbacks facing opposite directions and run the photos side by side so that the end product would look like they were starring each other down--except they would each be on their own turf.

It inspired me a little. The above photos are what I ended up shooting. I lit and posed the two exactly the same way (except in in opposite directions of course), and tried to expose the sky so I had dark skin on a lighter background and light skin on a darker background for contrast. If only they had different color jerseys...

Anyway, I was pleased with the outcome.

The picture below is of Nash Central High School multi-sport standout athlete Dominique Holloway, taken for an athlete-of-the-week type feature. It's unrelated to the above photos, except that it was taken on the same busy evening of football portraits across two counties!

Comic Shop

Shop owner Jimmy Taylor surrounded with comic books at The Reader's Choice in Rocky Mount.

I was thrilled to find out that my new town has a decent little comic shop with a friendly owner. I was also thrilled to to see nice soft light flooding in from big windows in the front.

Taylor, like most people I photograph, was a little uncomfortable in front of the camera. When I shoot portraits I typically ask my subjects to stand where I need them and tell them they can just relax while I take a few test shots. At some point I discovered that some of the best poses and expressions where in the test shots when the subject was at ease.

Now I sometimes use the 'test shot' statement as a little trick when I want to get people just being themselves with minimal posing or instruction from me. It's pretty cool when you think about it; that with this little slight I'm able to set up lights and go about doing a location shoot right in front of a person without them even realizing they're having their picture made!

Victims' Families

Diana Nicholson holds a photo of her 28 year-old slain daughter Taraha Nicholson on Wednesday at her Whitakers home. Taraha was the fourth of five women found dead in Western Edgecombe County since 2005.

Pepita Hargrove speaks to the media Tuesday outside the Edgecombe County Sheffif's office in Tarboro. Hargrove's sister Jarniece was the latest of six women found murdered in the vicinity of Seven Bridges Road. 

Portraits, Portraits, and More Portraits!

Art Duckworth with his new wind turbine at his Apple Orchard Farm in Stanley on Saturday March 21, 2009. The wind turbine, originally installed in Intercourse Pennsylvania, was built in 1946 by the Aeromotor company and will pump water from a cistern for home and farm use.

Sometimes you don't get what you want--Sometimes what you get is even better!

Just last week I was thinking it would be nice to shoot some portraits--more specifically the environmental type. I enjoy the challenge of capturing a person's character and telling their story in a portrait. Sometimes a portrait can do something that straight new photos can't, and often they compliment one another to do even more.

This week I got what I wanted: two portrait assignments and a third that needed a portrait as part of the package. I already made a post about the first assignment on Thursday--the Faceless Portrait--but some of the others were an adventure as well.

Friday I went to shoot portraits of an athlete and coach of the year at a local high school. I had a ton of great ideas, and two friendly and eager subjects. Unfortunately my lighting equipment wasn't on the same page.

The PC to hot shoe adapters I use to trigger my flash units off camera gave out as I was taking test shots with my first set up. After losing valuable time fumbling with gear trying to improvise a solution I decided to just use the rather nice ambient light instead. They were understanding, and while I didn't get what I wanted I did get something very usable.

While I wasn't able to get the parts I needed before Saturday's assignment, I was able to work around it. I headed to Apple Orchard Farm in Stanley where Art Duckworth (top) was having a windmill installed, and I already had an idea in the back of my head.


(MULTIMEDIA FROM THE EVENT)

The photo at top is an example of vision meeting reality. Typically, when I get a portrait assignment I have some ideas of what I want to do, but I often end up going a different rout after scoping out the location and meeting the subject. In this case the idea I had in my head was the only shot I took--and I got almost exactly what I wanted!

In photography there is a lot to be said for the little happy accidents, but it's always satisfying when I can come up with and idea and make it a reality!

All-Gazette Girls Player of the Year Shannon Smith helped take Forestview High School's girls and boys basketball teams to the state championship games in Greensboro earlier this month.

Faceless portrait

Bessie Dickerson, who declined to have her face shown in this photo illustration, poses for a portrait behind the counter at the Steuart's BP station on Bessemer City Road on Thursday March 19, 2009. Dickerson was recently held up for the fifth time in ten years.

This may not be the most interesting picture in the world, but it was an interesting assignment. After her recent brush with crime, police advised Bessie Dickerson not to show her face in the newspaper. My challenge was to shoot an environmental portrait that showed who she was and what she did without actually showing her face.

I came up with several ideas during the drive to the station, and tried several, but this worked out best. light from the windows was sufficiently bright to give me a total silhouette, but I wanted more detail. I put my flash on a cord and held it up at arms length so that the cigarette rack cast a shadow over her face but the rest of the scene was well lit.

Looking at the LCD screen I believed I had her face very close to totally obscured. Looking at the pictures on the computer, however, I could still see her face too clearly. Enough light from the flash was bouncing off the counter to provide a little fill...BLAST!

Honoring the subject's wish not to be shown was the primary concern, so I had to burn down her face to get it completely obscured. Subtle burning and dodging is ethical in editorial photos, but in conversation with an editor we decided this photo just crossed the fuzzy line.

We were still able to use the picture, but as a photo illustration rather than an editorial photo. I very much wanted to pull off this effect in-camera, and while the final result very closely resembles the original intent of the image and the reality of the scene I had created with my flash position, ethics are something I don't play games with.

To me, the fact that I had to darken her face cheapens the image a bit. Lets face it, if you were to go that rout you might as well pixelate her face like they do on COPS. I wanted something natural-looking and more creative. I suppose there wasn't anything I could have done differently though, so it is what it is--a photo illustration.

The real challenge was finding a way to make the subject the visual focal point. The eye is naturally drawn to the brightest part of the frame, and with the dark face the subject sort of blends in with all the clutter on the counter.