Summer Spiders

One thing that has always signaled the end of summer for me is the appearance of huge spiders in my doorway. They have gorged themselves all summer long on moths and mosquitoes and they are spinning their last webs of the year. Where do they go after the first frost? Who knows, but they always return next year.

This fine fellow was hanging a web in my parent's porch in Virginia.

Newborn Photos of Baby Joshusa

Joshusa was born a few weeks early so he was a tiny fellow when I first met him. It hard to get my mind around how small each of us are when we first come into the world.

The mom told me this smiling is a result of "extra gas"... I thought he was smiling for the camera.

See the full gallery here.

The Wedding of Angie and Eric

The big wedding day had finally come for Angie & Eric Scissom. I had met these two earlier in the year when I took their engagement photos. Now we were back in the same exact place for their wedding ceremony and reception.

Click to view Angie and Eric's Wedding Gallery Web Site

It was an outside wedding, and the temperatures were anything but typical for mid September. It seems that summer wanted to hang out like a drunk who doesn't know when to leave your house party. It was over 90 degrees that day and extremely humid. I soaked 3 shirts, and I felt a few pounds lighter when I got home. I was hoping not to get heat exhaustion.

I tend to go into high gear when working a wedding especially if I do not have a second shooter with me, and I try to be everywhere at once. To make  a long story short, the wedding went beautifully, the reception was wonderful and the spirits of everyone involved were high. Here are a few of my favorite photographs from that day.

The Colors of Fall 2010

Every year I make a habit of enjoying the incredible fall colors of Atlanta. I am amazed at the combination of hues that come and go in just a few weeks. Here are a few photos taken right behind the studio.

This last one was taken with my iphone which exaggerated the blue in the asphalt.

Office Halloween Costume Contest

The law firm down the hall works hard, but they try to let off a little steam on special occasions... like Halloween. This gave them the excuse to act silly for a costume contest. Again, me and my office mates were asked to be judges to choose the SCARIEST COSTUME, the FUNNIEST COSTUME and the MOST ORIGINAL COSTUME. It was a tough call but we all agreed the ribbons were handed out. After the contest we invited the participants back to the studio for a quick costume portrait. Here are a few of them.

These brave women chose to impersonate their bosses. Luckily they have a good sense of humor.

This gal claimed to work at "King Burger". She said I could have it my way... but don't get crazy. Think lots of ghetto attitude and you can imagine what she sounded like. The hair and nails are fakes. She had everyone laughing so she won the FUNNIEST COSTUME award.

This mummy won the scariest costume award, but really we thought she was pretty cute.

Aftert this chamber maid had her portrait maid, I asked her id she could do a little dusting.

This "lady" had more chest hair than me, and her husband would not kiss her goodbye. 

This contestant had a bewitching classic costume. We can't wait to see what they do next year.

Awesome Halloween Pumpkin Carvings

Last week I was asked to be one of the judges at Halloween Pumpkin carving and contest. Only a few people entered, but a lot of effort went into carving these little works of art.

The one above was an instant favorite. The man who carved this pumpkin is a gifted wood carver and it took him 90 minutes to make this face in the pumpkin.

I asked if I could take a few photos in the studio so that the winners would have something to remember long after the pumpkin rotted away.

The Secret Forest of Charles Hughes

I made this book about my father last year, but never wrote about it in this blog. Some of you may already know the book or own it, but for anyone else stumbling upon this, these are the actual page spreads. You can view The Sceret Forest of Charles Hughes as a PDF file here.

This is cover and introduction page.

On a trip back to Virginia, my father, Charles Hughes, took me to see his classroom at the Maritime School in Norfolk, Virginia. My father has spent a majority of his life teaching children and young adults of all ages.

His classroom is very unique and you likely will never see another room like it. There are scientific treasures everywhere that you look. Most of them collected and preserved by Charles himself.

You could easily be looking at exhibits from a science museum with strange collected creatures and live animals in aquariums.

Behind the school, the teaching continues in a unique outdoor classroom under a single pine tree. A circular bench was constructed where whole classes of children could be taken and taught about nature.

Beyond this point, behind an unassuming chain link fence is a truly magical place... the place that I call the "Secret Forest of Charles Hughes".

The forest is rare to the east coast of Virginia because it contains extremely old and large live oaks that could be hundreds of years old.

Many of these forests were destroyed for fuel or building materials so the fact that this one survived in such a populated area is surprising.

Though the forest is protected now by a fence, it was not always so. The community came together to run off vagrants and remove thousands of pounds of trash from the forest. Some of the damage can still be seen like these huge fire pits.

My father and others realized the important ecosystem that was a few hundred yards from the school and the fantastic opportunity to save a unique place for future generations.

I took photos in the classrooms and forest so I could make a book about it as a present of appreciation for my father. I know that he liked it and so did many of his friends. The library of his school asked for a copy so the kids would know more about it.

This project is the closest one to my heart and tries to capture the dedication of a man who has taught over 50 years, and a genius who has inspired  generations of students into knowing that not all knowledge comes from a book.... some of it has to be discovered for yourself.