Signature Magazine

The Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston is a wonderful museum, as well as a client of mine.  I recently got the newest issue of their Signature Magazine, which comes out a few times a year and is available at the Museum and sent to members.  It's always a fun project to work on as I have the opportunity to meet a lot of the artists with upcoming exhibitions or pieces in the permanent collection. This issue was a little different in that it focused on another type of artist, the literary artist.  So, I was thrilled to have the chance to meet and photograph local Blue Bicycle Books store owner, teacher, poet, and writer Jonathan Sanchez.  He is featured on the cover and in an article.  Here it is:

If you haven't been to the Gibbes recently, it is definitely worth a visit, as 2 new exhibitions just opened, which are excellent.  As a photographer, I am always very excited to have a photography exhibition come to town and this one is awesome!  Sound and Vision; Monumental Rock and Roll Photography is in the main gallery and features many famous photographs of musicians from the 1950's to the present.  Everyone from Elvis to Kurt Cobain is in there and it's really a treat and a lot of fun to see.  I got this shot of Donovan (yes, that Donovan....) in front of the photograph of himself at the Member Preview Party last Thursday.

The second exhibition which just opened are the works of Charleston sculptor, Willard Hirsch.  His works can be found all over Charleston and I photographed several for another article in Signature.  I visited Charlestowne Landing, Washington Square Park, White Point Gardens, the Charleston County Library as well as the Gibbes to see and photograph some of his sculptures.  There are many more sculptures on public display and if you have the opportunity, I high recommend seeing them, as well as visiting the exhibition.  The Signature article is below.

Hollings Cancer Center

It's always fun to see the final results from photo shoots, as many times it's not until several months after the shoot that the images are displayed or in print. The other day I was at Hollings Cancer Center for a shoot and got to see the large displays I photographed for Hollings' Clinical Trials campaign.  Hollings is a long time client and I really enjoy working with all the folks over there.  Not only have I been able to have a glimpse in to the incredibly important cancer research they are doing (they are a designated National Cancer Institute), I've also had the opportunity to meet and photograph some of their amazing survivors.  Cancer survivors who have participated in Clinical Trials have been the subjects of these photos and each one has been a true joy to photograph. Through photography I get to meet all sorts of people, and I have especially enjoyed meeting this group of people.  It seems that sometimes those faced with the most adversity, have the best outlook on life.  I found that to be the case with these people.  Here are the displays which appear around the halls of Hollings.  Each person was photographed participating in one of their hobbies or doing something they enjoy.

The image of Jill Bradley was one of the most difficult, but also one of the most fun.  We photographed in the pool at the MUSC Wellness Center, and as is probably obvious from the final image, I was in the pool also.  I was lucky enough to have a photographer friend loan me her underwater housing, which was essential for pulling of this shoot.  There is actually a lot of nice natural light which comes in to the indoor pool through the skylights, but we still had to supplement with a few strobes.  Jill was a real trooper and swam "at" me several times while I backed up as quickly as possible.  She is an excellent (and fast) swimmer so pulled it off with ease, thanks Jill!

Kepler

Hello, I am getting back on the blog train with the hope of being a much more consistent blogger!  I've been very busy lately shooting for Spoleto Festival USA. The festival began on May 25th and the Finale is this Sunday at Middleton Place Plantation.  I've shot at Middleton several times and always love photographing there, so am especially looking forward to shooting, listening to some great music and watching the fireworks display this Sunday. The Festival has been great and I'll post some photos once it wraps, but in the mean time here's a shot I took of the opera, Kepler, which ran along with a review in The New York Times this past Saturday.

Cows, cows, cows...

We recently went to Legare Farms with the kids and took a hay ride.   There were cows everywhere and I loved them!  I forgot what great photo subjects they make.  Here are a few pics from the ride.

Of course my little girl loved them too!

Summer...

 I recently returned from several weeks in Virginia, and nothing says summer to me quite like being in Bath County, VA.  I've been going to my family's cabin there my whole life and it is a place dear to my heart.  It is in a rural area in the beautiful Allegheny Mountains in southwest Virginia.  It's where I go to relax, clear my head, and have fun with my family.  The cabin sits along the Cowpasture River and our days are filled with river trips, fishing, swimming, hiking and lots of wonderful meals.  My dad has a large vegetable garden, or we bring lots of fresh produce from the Roanoke City Farmer's Market.  We spent the 4th of July there and had quite a feast.  It was a happy 4th...

Getting the table ready for our independence day dinner

And all the sides...

 

 

And the main course, yum!!! Shipped all the way from Maine by Simply Lobsters.

Ended the evening watching lightning bugs (along with the trusty Little Tikes cozy coupe, which was never too far away)

Time for bed, good night...

Cumberland Island, GA

So, I have not been good about posting to my blog!  My summer resolution is to post more often.  I am headed to the beautiful mountains of Virginia in a few weeks, so should have lots to photograph and share.  In the mean time, I wanted to share some photos I took during a very quick visit to Cumberland Island, GA.  It is absolutely beautiful and I am hoping to make a longer trip this fall when it's not so hot.  The island is filled with quintessential southern, coastal landscapes and also has some beautiful old mansions from the days when the Carnegie family owned the island.  Since I love documenting places that seem to be forgotten in time, I was absolutely thrilled when I saw these old structures.  What a beautiful place, I can't wait until my next visit when I have a little more time to photograph and explore...
Here's the path leading to Sea Camp where we stayed the night.

The Dungeness mansion was built by the Carnegie family starting in 1884.  Sadly, it burned in 1959.  If only I could have seen it in it's heyday!  I imagine it was very "Great Gatsby".  Here's my photo of the mansion in it's current state and an historical photo via Wikipedia prior to the fire.

 

The mansion at sunrise...

This is another structure adjacent to the mansion, I'm not sure what it was originally.  Apparently there were approximately 40 smaller buildings around the mansion to house the servants who worked there.  Not sure if this is one of those, or something else.  Either way, I loved it!

The FSA and Hwy 78

I've always been a huge fan of the Farm Security Administration (FSA) photographers.  They were a group of photographers hired by the US government during the Depression to document rural America.  You can read more about it here on Wikipedia. This is a unique program which produced some extraordinary photography.  I first became aware of the FSA photographers during a contemporary art class during college.  I chose to do my term paper on photographer Dorothea Lange.  She remains one of my favorite photographers to this day and I feel a huge influence from her work.  Here is an early photo of Dorothea Lange in her trademark stance, photographing atop her vehicle with her large view camera.

Dorothea Lange

 Probably Mrs. Lange's most famous photograph and one that came to symbolize the plight of many Americans during the Depression is the "Migrant Mother" photograph here:

Florence Leona Christie, age 32 by Dorothea Lange

It's hard to believe this woman was only 32 years old.

While these images are heartbreaking, they are compelling and beautiful at the same time.  They depict a very different time in America and give us a glimpse in to small town American life.  I was reminded of these photographs last weekend during a drive to Atlanta.  I decided to take a different route. Rather than going interstate highway the whole time, I took Highway 78 to Augusta.  Highway 78 is 2 lanes most of the way and runs through several small South Carolina towns adjacent to the railroad much of the time.  I love old places and buildings, so this was right up my alley.  I must say it was a bit sad though.  I imagine when the railroad was running heavily that these were rather bustling towns; still small, but much more full of life.  Once the railroad stopped being the primary revenue source and bringing people through town, and the interstates were built; many of these towns all but vanished.  I know this is nothing new, it's happened all over America.  It brought to mind images like this one by Walker Evans of what these towns must have been like during more populated and prosperous times.

Roadside Stand near Birmingham, Alabama, 1936 by Walker Evans

Here's what I saw along the way going through Ridgeville, St. George, Bamberg, Denmark, and Blackville, SC...