Portraits of Beautiful Harlequin Great Danes

When I found out that my work friend, Barbie, had 2 Great Danes, I just had to
take their portraits. Her dogs were different than the tan "Marmaduke" Danes that I knew. Instead, their fur is an amazing pattern of white and black splotches. In person, they are absolutely stunning creatures.

My sister had a 180 lb. great dane and she loved that dog. He was fiercely loyal, protective and looked like a small deer running around their farm. He could easily look you in the eye if he put his front legs on the window to look in. With his pointed ears, dark shiny eyes and long face, he looked like an alien scanning the room before making an abduction. I'll admit that he was a bit scary to me. The snapshot to the right shows him with my dog, Winston.

The build of these dogs is unlike the average canine. Look how long those legs are.

Bella is a beautiful lady and less than 2 years old. Jackson is her half brother sharing the same father.

"Jax" was only 3 months old at the time of these photos, and very much a puppy despite his size.

I am told that since these photos, he has eaten lots of food, and he is on the fast track to becoming a big man.

To me, showing the dogs in "puppihood" is something that should make people exclaim "Awww... too cute!' They they will never be this small again... especially this breed.

The other thing that I like to capture is the love between the owner and the" adopted child". Any dog lover will tell you that this can be a strong unbreakable thread that lasts a lifetime and beyond.

The affection between Barbie, Bella and Jackson cannot be hidden.

Little Jax is still labeled a puppy, enven though at 50 lbs., he would be considered pretty large for a normal family dog. He could easily grow to be 150 lbs. or more when he grows into his enormous paws.

For convenience, we met outside the Graphic Works studio. My plan was to take some outdoor shots since the weather was unseasonably warm. The advantage was two-fold. This would allow the dogs to unwind from the car ride and get used to me pointing a big camera at them. Also, it would give a chance for them to empty their bladders which Jax did on my shoe in the first minute he saw me. I avoided an in-office disaster with a a little pre-planning.

Even though we were in the middle of an office park. I wanted the photos to look like we were in a city park. By strategically shooting up from a low angle, I was able to hide much of the parking lot and busy street in the background.

When I sensed that hey were tiring, we went inside to try some studio portraits. I had photographed dogs on paper rolls before, but not this heavy. They poked holes in the paper in no-time flat, but that is what Photoshop is for. Next time, I'll use a muslin backdrop.

I wanted to emphasize the size difference between the two dogs which will disappear in a matter of months.

I also wanted to capture the unique personality of each animal. Talk about charisma... these two have it in spades. Here they were having a beautiful tongue contest.

I thought a speckled background might look good with our spotted doggies.

To me, this angle only makes Jaskson cuter!

As a photographer I cover the basic angles, and then I try to make images that are not what you would expect. A little experimentation can yield some interesting results.

Call me strange, but this last one is my favorite.

Check back again soon. There will be followup photos.

Photos for Performance Audio & Video

My buddy, Jason, is what I would call a master installer of audio/video equipment in people's homes and businesses. From simple television installation to full home automation systems, he can do it all. His installations are so clean and neat that it can make photographing his finished work a challenge. The photos below looks like a regular rooms, but they are completely wired for video, audio and home automation... and it does not stick out like a sore thumb.

On closer inspection, you may start to see the speakers in the walls and ceiling. It's only when you see an interface from an iPad, television or wall module do you realize that you can control any media device or home system with the swipe of your finger. Pretty cool.

If you need expert AV installation and personable service, give Jason a call or check out his web site at www.PerformanceAVatlanta.com. You can also check out past articles about Performance Audio and Video here: past articles.

Meet Rusty, the One-Eyed Dog

Rusty is a cycloptic Canis familiaris with an indomitable "can-do" spirit. As a puppy, he lost his eye in a freak mowing accident (that will teach him to mow the yard), and recently almost died with a mystery illness. Luckily, he bounced back.

I have a feeling that Rusty did not realize that having just one eye was supposed to slow him down, because he is very active running and swimming on "his farm".

Oops. Where is the tail? Too bad, I liked the look on his face.

I had traveled to Cartersville, Georgia to take photos for a Boy Scout promo and Rusty lived in the house where I did the photoshoot. In between the human photos, we coaxed Rusty onto the set to see if I could make a portrait of him.

I find that dogs who love treats can be easier to photograph compared to ones who could care less. Rusty likes cheese... enough said. The photos below were taken at an angle that makes it easy to imagine Rusty whole again.

A few minutes before these photos he decided to take a swim in the river even though it was 40 degrees outside.  I think he would have jumped in even if there was ice on the surface. Rusty was not going to let anything stop him from having a fun. Good boy!

Delicious Cake Photography for Couture Cakes in Atlanta

Some cakes seem just too pretty to eat... even if that is the point. Such is the case with anything made by Lisa Humphreys of Couture Cakes, an Atlanta boutique bakery specializing in dazzling wedding and event cakes.

I collaborated with Couture Cakes to make photos of a showcase cake that looked absolutely amazing. The theme included delicate flowers, pearls and butterflies.

Lisa styled the accessories and we moved various items in a out of the photo in different configurations. Below is an early image that we later abandoned for a simpler design.

The final destination for the photos is Cake Central magazine. We made the photo below with lots of negative space so that it could be used as a cover which often require space for a magazine logo and article teasers.

As it turns out, we did not get the cover, but we did get a nice 2 page spread.

It is amazing to think that all of this is made with flour, sugar, time and talent.

A closer look reveals details like hand painted butterflies and letters, meticulously formed shapes, subtle color design and a variety of surfaces.

The flowers are made from edible fondent which may be a surprise to anyone viewing it. I would bet some people looking at these did not even realize that they were not real flowers. They are so delicate that it took several days of patient work to make them. 

Lisa is an absolute master of cake design and it was a pleasure working with her.

Photo details for this included 2-3 flashes, 1 humongous umbrella, and 1 soft box. An additional flash was sometimes used to lighten the background, which was a painted wall in her home.

Win a Fiat 500!

A client of mine is running a sweepstakes offering a chance to win a Fiat 500. Technically sweepstakes must allow anyone to enter without purchasing anything so, go for it at: www.georgiaexpo.com/sweepstakes. If you know anyone who works with trade show pole and drape products, let them know because their chances of winning are even greater since they can enter multiple  ways.

I built this single web page for Georgia Expo and it has some cool features including a YouTube video in a lightbox, social media links and a form that allows people to enter and also upload photos of them using Georgia Expo products.

Promotional Video for the Psychology Department of Agnes Scott College

My wife is the head of the Psychology Department at Agnes Scott College, a women's college open since the 1880s in the city of Decatur, Georgia. They are currently redesigning their web site and each department was tasked with developing a promotional video. This is a pretty tall order for many people who do not make videos all the time. I offered my services to help my wife out, but I wanted to approach the project from a photographer's point of view.

(UPDATED) See for yourself below or click here to watch it on YouTube if the video does not play for you.



I am not a video professional per se. I consider myself a photographer who is sometimes tasked with making videos. To me, still photos and moving video are worlds apart that require different equipment, techniques and most of all editing time on the back end.

The plan was simple and necessitated by the fact that I would only have about 10 minutes with each ASC student who was going to appear in the video. I would take a variety of still portraits of each student and then make a recording of their prepared statement of "why I like the Psychology Department". To simplify this, I had a mic hooked right into the Canon 5D Mkii that I was using. This kept the recording with the person's images so I could easily combine them later in iMovie. Yep, Apple's consumer video editor.

This approach worked well for several reasons. First of all, I am better at taking portraits than making video so I decided to stick with my strengths. Another reason is that taking portraits can be much faster than making video. The students would have had to memorize their text and multiple takes would have been required to get the perfect performance. That can barely be done in 10 minutes with professional speakers, much less regular folks.

My wife and I wanted there to be a consistent theme throughout the video to tie everything together. I used a picture frame that read "Why I Like Psych" that would appear in every scene. Each student was also named in the video to make it more personal.

The students that participated did an excellent job, and I believe that they show the diversity and independent spirit alive at that school. Agnes Scott College is a unique school, and I got the feeling that the women who go there love it.

A Layman's Review of the 2012 Les Miserables Movie

I am breaking tradition on my blog and writing about something other than photography or graphic design. Today is a review of Les Miserables, the much anticipated movie adaptation of the now classic stage show.

The original stage show came out in 1987 when I was in senior in high school. In those days, I hung out with the drama club... which is about as geeky as the glee club is today. Thankfully, I never got on stage, but I would help with the programs and sets. It was fun to be a part of something like that.

I know I may open myself to ridicule to admit that have I listened to show tunes, but that was the year that Les Mis and the Phantom of the Opera came out... and those productions were some of the best ever put on stage.

Les Mis has been made into multiple movie adaptations, but this is the first one based on the Broadway musical. Like everyone else who loved the stage productions, I had my reservations about the actors cast for the lead roles. Would they deliver the role and singing performance the material deserved? The short answers are "yes"and "mostly"... depending on which actor you are talking about.

The producers had an interesting problem to consider when casting. They could have either picked great singers who were might have been relative unknowns or find movie stars who could sing... not always an easy thing to do.

Bringing established actors to the project brings star power which may account for some box office success, but it could backfire if the singers don't hit the notes. The decision to live record all the singing was an artistic choice to bring the story to life, and give it the emotional gravitas that love, death, sacrifice, revolution and redemption requires.

The acting was excellent by just about every member of the cast. The main characters really dug into their roles and were not afraid to completely lose emotional control... to look ugly, vulnerable or "human". A pet peeve of mine is seeing an actor's bag of tricks (Merrill Streep... I'm calling you out). When I see this behavior, I am pulled out of the story and back to reality of a crowded theater. The magic spell is broken.

On the other hand, when an actor is present, committed and completely in the moment, I lose myself in the story. That moment for me in this movie was the "I Dreamed a Dream" scene sung by Anne Hathaway. This is the song they used in teasers leading up to opening day... and with good reason. Her performance was so true, emotional and gut wrenching that it made up for any nit picks I might have had about the rest of the film. It was the bravest performance I have seen on film...and this is where the value of the live singing pays off. Here choices in timing, inflection, emphasis and all those other things I am not qualified to talk about were Oscar worthy (update... this has since come true).

Hugh Jackman turned in the lion-share's of sung dialog.... though with mixed success. If I am being 100% honest, his voice at times irked me. My wife mentioned it too. Perhaps we are just too used to the 1987 studio version? When I got home, I listened to the 2 versions back to back and while they are simliar in pitch, there is a unique tone that is missing for me. His acting, however, made up for any vocal shortcomings with a load of charisma. I can forgive some of the awkward pauses, lost tunes and a few "just spoken words". He should be commended for his efforts.

Russell Crowe is a favorite actor of mine and supposedly a singer in a band, and I can forgive his lack of a trained voice too. He tried the best he could. Some of the long extended notes were not going to be possible for him. It did not spoil my enjoyment of the movie, but it made me wonder who else could have played some of these roles...

In the end, I think the director made the right decision to hire film actors instead of stage actors. To me the 2 different arenas require different skills. Modern movie acting requires subtlety and stage shows larger overt actions that can be seen from the back of a theater. The lack of subtlety shows up in moments like Apennine's "On My Own". This showstopper usually brings the house down, but this case it felt weak in comparison to more nuanced emotional performances by other actors.

The surprise for me was to see Sasha Baron-Cohen (aka Borat) play the devious inn-keeper, Thenardier. He was great despite the fact that half the time he switched in an out of a French accent in mid-song. Actually, most of the cast had English accents thought the story was in France. Hmmm.... How weird is that?

In a neat cameo, the original actor to play Jean Val-Jean, Colm Wilkinson, made an appearance as the bishop. That was a nice touch, though I did not recognize his voice at all.

Make no mistake. This is a long, emotionally taxing movie where practically every word is sung. If that bothers you, don't see it. You should really think of it more as a Broadway style show with amazing living sets, no intermission... and only costs $10 (or less if you rent it). Quite a bargain when you think about it.