Katie

Meet Katie. Through a series of e-mails and phone calls Katie shared with me that she was planning to major in photography at Pitt Community College in the Fall. She was interested in learning all she could and was wondering if I needed any help on photo-shoots. Well, it was a bit strange for me to hear that anyone thought they could learn about photography from me. I still feel very much like a learner. In fact, I always get a little nervous before every shoot wondering if this will be the day that I can't get ONE good shot. She was so nice and was willing to offer a helping hand if I needed one. And well, I could use a helping hand from time to time. So, after a couple conversations and a very informal 'interview' it was decided that Katie will now be helping. The job description of 'helper' is intense and filled with long hours. But, she said she was up for it (of course I'm joking).

Our first order of business was for her to feel what it is like to be in front of the camera. I think this gives a photographer an honest sympathy to clients as they smile on demand, lean up against grungy walls and avoid snakes in high grass. Another reason for her to be in front of the camera is that Katie volunteered to be my first 'senior' as I try to start up my senior portraiture section on my website. So, meet Katie. You might be seeing her around.

I had been wanting to photograph in an old junkyard I found. Katie helped me with that.

These two were my favorites of the day.

If you look closely, you can see me in the reflection of those sunglasses. She had never heard of C.H.I.P.S., of course that showed my age. In the early 80's there wasn't a better t.v show.

Below, a little bonus for those of you who like the beauty of old worn down stuff.

How can you walk away from a classic?

A little info about Katie.

What's in your CD player right now? . . . . Shakira.

Your favorite College Team? . . . . "Penn State. But, I love the Pirates too." (She said that with a smile and very sympathetically. However, I learned later that her Dad is a huge ECU football fan and so I know she is at least surrounded by good influences.)

Who is your favorite non musical artist . . . Buckley Moss and Michelangelo. (Katie is a very talented artist herself. You should ask to see her work. Pretty amazing.)

If you had ten grand to spend on anything, where would you spend it? . . . "The Apple Store, Music, DVD's and Art Supplies."

If you could travel anywhere - where would you go? . . . "Ohh, first I'd want to see Rome and the Vatican. Since I'm polish I'd want to see Poland and rounding out the top four would be Hawaii and Puerto Rico."

Five Adjectives that describe you. . . . "Imaginative, hopeful, Willing, Artist, and Listener."

What's inspiring to you? . . . "Thats easy . . . music inspires me. I listen to all kinds of music. Most recently I have really gotten into Spanish music. I like to listen to music and draw the images that come out of it for me. For me, being an artist is magic. I can create places, people, and all kinds of stories . . . all through the magic of art."

Baby Powder & Desitin

Today I decided to take a break and enjoy some time with my wife and kids. With two small children there is always some excitement in the house and today it involved baby powder and desitin. You may ask, what is so exciting about the two products that tackle diaper rash? Answer: they both make wonderful face masks!

Caleb and Lydia were playing so nicely in Lydia's room while Kim and I were having a conversation. It was quiet for about one minute until we both "noticed". Kim went to check on them and immediately called my name. I walked in Lydia's room and powder was everywhere! Kim and I both thought to do the same thing: Get the camera! We had to document the mess and choose to "enjoy" the moment. After all, they were so enjoying themselves and their faces were adorable.

Caleb and Lydia both had to take their mug shots.

Despite what you may think, Caleb is smiling.

Here they are caught in the act. Lydia implicitly trusts her big brother. We have a feeling that trust may run thin before she's three years old.

A cute face and the crime scene.

As you can imagine, a bath was in order and lots of vacuuming. We managed to clean the mess, feed them and put them down for a nap. When they awoke it was back to more "fun". You would think that Kim and I learned our lesson in keeping a watchful eye on the two of them. In fact, I even noticed Lydia carrying around some desitin and honestly thought nothing about it. I was going thru the mail and I heard Kim again. I think her words were, "Craig come here, you've got to see this and bring your camera!" This time the crime scene was Caleb's room. I walked in to see Caleb finger-painting his train table with desitin. Lydia looked like she had been electrocuted and giggled with excitement as Caleb ran another glob of desitin thru her hair. Kim sat over to the side trying to refrain from laughing. Caleb even motioned me over to play. That's when I began taking some pictures.

This year's entry to Baby Vogue Magazine:

Caleb and Lydia enjoyed their last few moments finger-painting before their second bath of the day.

In case you are wondering, it took four shampoos to get Lydia's hair semi back to normal. She looks like she has gel in her hair and probably will for the next few days.

On a side note, recently our town experienced some rather severe water problems. The news reported that fecal matter had leaked into the water supply. Yes, you read that correctly, fecal matter. In laymen's terms, that is human waste. Needless to say, the water was not drinkable and in my humble opinion it was also not safe for bathing. The last 48 hours we have been boiling water to successfully complete the task of brushing our teeth. I share this with you only because I honestly cannot imagine what we would have done today without the use of our bathtub and clean accessible water. The ban was lifted this morning. Talk about perfect timing! I know for sure that was God's grace and mercy in my life. I kind of stressed over the water situation wanting to make sure my children were bathing in clean water. With that in mind I found it quite funny that as I was washing my children for their third bath of the day (playing in the dirt outside. . . another story in and of itself) I noticed a nice yellow tint appear in the bath water. . . it dawned on me that my children probably bathe in urin anyway.

Seth+Jessica Wedding

You may recognize Seth and Jessica. I photographed their {e-session} not that long ago. You can view the images of that here. Seth and Jessica have been involved with my ministry at ECU for several years. They have been dating ever since I've known them. I know that Seth and Jessica love the Lord and that their hearts have been changed. It has been so fun watching them share with other students what has so radically changed their own lives. I feel confident that they will live their lives to make God famous in their sphere of influence.

I was the second shooter for their wedding and had a blast watching them get married. Alan Lee (I'd plug his website here, but he doesn't have one quite yet) was the primary photographer and he let me float around and get the images I was really interested in capturing. The wedding was near Pinehurst, N.C. where several U.S. Open golf tournaments haven taken place.

I hung out around Seth, the groomsmen and Ushers for quite a while.

This wasn't in the plan but Seth let me take some shots outside.

The Bride's Brother was kicking back and ready for the show. This was the Rico Suave' Pose. Anybody remember Rico Suave' or does that show my age?

Then I headed back to get some pre-ceremony shots of Jessica. This was my favorite.

The dress. I also grabbed this shot of the guy who managed to grab the garter during the toss at the reception. He displayed it proudly.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the adorable and famous Connor and Mallory-Kate.

The Groom and . . . the Bride.

The Rings. . . ok, funny story about the image on the bottom right. Jeremy, one of the Ushers, made an announcement at the reception. He requested for everyone who had a key to either Seth or Jessica's apartments to bring their keys to them. So, of course A LOT of people had keys. Everyone had a good laugh.

Seth and Jessica, thanks for letting me be part of your special day, but more than that, thanks for living your lives to mirror Him who holds all things together.

Rainey Grace

Hey Ya'll, Kim again (Craig's wife). As many of you may be able to relate, I am in the season of life where all of my friends are having their second babies. Last week one of my good friends, Shelley, had her baby, Rainey Grace. You may recognize Shelley and Taylor. Craig did a photoshoot for their family last fall. You can view those images here. I've been trying to learn the camera and post processing the images so I can help Craig with his business. Since I love babies and all of my friends are having them I figured I would start practicing there. It's been fun to be able to go to the hospital to visit and also be able to capture some images that my friends hopefully will treasure.

This first image is for Taylor, Shelley's husband. He, like Craig, loves the East Carolina Pirates. Both He and Shelley graduated from ECU, and like us, there is some pirate pride that is not optional for our children to appreciate. Taylor mentioned that he intentionally wore the ECU shirt because he "wanted his daughter to be exposed to the Pirates right out of the shoot". I love the combination effect of black and white sprinkled with a little purple and gold - arrrgh!

Here is a precious moment of Shelley with her baby girl. I'm sure there will be many more kisses to come - especially from her big brother Terry. Shelley is a dear friend and it's been special to walk alongside of her as we try to figure this thing out called, "parenting". What a privilege we have to be a "mommy".

I love this shot of Rainey Grace. The light hit her face just right and the blur of Taylor's profile staring down at her makes it one of my favorite images. The 85mm lens has to be my favorite...it's hard to learn but it's good.

Trevor

Hey Ya'll, Kim here (Craig's wife). My childhood best friend, Lindsay, had a baby this weekend. I really wanted to go and take some photos of their new baby boy, Trevor. Here are a few of the best images I took. I think I did a pretty good job (since I'm learning). In fact, Craig said that since I LOVE babies so much (and because he thought they were so good . . . he acted so surprised ;) ) that he was going to make me available to do sessions like this in the hospital. (I'd love that by the way.) There's something special about capturing parents with their newborns "before" they make it home to the "real world". I LOVE it.

Here is a picture of Trevor taking a peek at me with one eye...it only lasted a moment and he was off to sleep again. If I didn't know better, I would say he was winking at me:)

This picture captures the tender touch of a dad...his hand is so gentle on his son's head yet it portrays a strong sense of protection. I could see how much Tim already cared for his son and he was only 1 day old. I also LOVE seeing Lindsay's eyes off to the side - she's such a proud mom!

I love that Lindsay is captivated by her son.

Congratulations Tim and Lindsay!

CALI-FORN-I-A

I am a native North Carolinian, born and raised. I have visited MANY places around the world, Hungary, Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Russia, Germany, Lebanon, Bahamas, the entire East Coast, Los Angles, San Francisco, Denver, and on and on. BUT, I have never been to a place so consistently gorgeous as Orange County, California. It is the only place - so far - that I would consider moving to from my beloved North Carolina. If you know me, that's saying something.

While the main reason of being in California was attending the shootshop, the alterior motive was a much needed vacation. So, Kim and I rested, relaxed, and along the way we took a few photos.

This is the iconic california image. He was on his way home and I asked him if he wouldn't mind letting me take his picture. He said, "sure thing dude," and a beautiful image was born.

I grabbed a shot of these girls chatting away as they waited for the sunset.

Funny Story. Kim and I decided to go under the Oceanside Pier and get a photo. As I was about to snap the image a wave snuck up on Kim and soaked her. This is her honest reaction to the COLD water.

This is taken from the pier looking back at Oceanside. I went a little nuts with the Fish Eye lens.

This is the view from our Hotel on the waterfront.

A bird's eye view of San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park. The huge yellow circle is a hot air balloon that simple goes straight up to give you a great view of the park. Of course, it was closed that day.

I told you California was gorgeous.

A family enjoying the setting sun.

Kim, relaxing and reading. We enjoyed just sitting there and listening to the waves crash.

going . . . going . . . gone.

Palm trees, sand, cool breezes and blue skies.

The famous Hotel Del Coronado.

go see California. It's worth it.