"Spring Blooms"

"Spring Blooms"
Originally uploaded by memphisphotoman

It's Springtime in Memphis, TN! I love this time of year when it comes to photography. Great colors, temps are warmer, winter is a fading memory ...the flowers that bloom in Spring remind me of my grandmother, Mimi, who was a florist and her house always smell good.

"Welcome to Shelby County"

I love this photo of one of the entrances to Shelby County's "Shelby Farms", It's such an iconic image. It looks like something that one would see in the opening of a movie such as "Cool Hand Luke".

Everybody Loves a Parade!

We Americans love parades! Doesn't matter what time of the year it is, summer / winter / spring or fall. If you have a cause, you gotta have a parade. Holiday coming up? Get the floats ready. I think parades are a love / hate thing for most people. Either you love them and get all giddy or you absolutely detest them and would rather burn leaves in a 50 gallon metal drum. I guess I like parades since it gives me the opportunity to shoot photo after photo of talented musicians (like my daughter now and my son several years ago). I like the antique cars that seem to show up in all parades. And how can you forget the sadistic candy throwers who try to pelt younger kids in the face with hard candies? Ohhhhhhhhh, parades are just swell.

Sports and Pet Photography

I'm trying to improve my sports and pet photography. So, I went to a recent dog show event. My ket take-away from this event is learn how to anticipate the action quicker. If you blink, you'll miss the great shot. Take a look at the photos to the left.

Loves Me Some Sunflowers!

People from the Memphis metro area come in droves to see, touch, smell, and pose with the surreal looking sunflowers that pop open during the last week in July. Photographers and families snap photos of the sunflowers and pose their family members among them. Lovers come out and walk hand in hand past the sunflowers and if the guy is romantically inclined he will bend down and twist off a sunflower and present it to his gal. Toddlers and young children ooh and ahh and point at the yellow jewels standing before them. I'm excited each year to take lots of photos of the sunflowers, and it has become an annual tradition of mine, however, I'm also a bit sad knowing that these beauties will fade away and dry up by the end of August

Don't Forget That Shot!

How many times as a photographer have you been driving down the road or through a small town and saw things that would look great as the subject of a photo? It usually happens to me while I'm working or rushing to the next meeting. Then when the weekend rolls around I struggle to recall where these potential "captures" were and I don't capitalize on the opportunity. Earlier this year, I decided to be more pro-active on getting more of the award winning ( I hope!)shots and I now take a journal with me that allows me to add street addresses, street names, landmarks, suburbs, time of day, what was special about the subject, etc. I also read in the local newspaper about special events that will happen over the weekend and then attend the events. Sometimes I go to events that wouldn't normally excite me. Photographically, I think I bring a different perspective to shooting due to the fact that I might not be a fan of the particular sporting or entertainment event. I tend to focus on the human element instead of the actual sport itself. The more interesting photos are usually 180 degrees in the opposite direction from where your camera lens is pointing. Do the unusual and point your camera where no one else is pointing.