The Citizen Soldier Project

As many of you may know I have been volunteering as a photojournalist for Dallas South News, a non-profit organization that focuses its coverage on the underserved south side of Dallas. You may also be aware that my interest in photography began while serving in Iraq. Earlier this year I began working on a project that brought those two parts of my life together. It started as a small idea, to put together a collection of portraits of individuals from DSN’s coverage area to tell their stories. However, as I talked the idea over with my editor, Shawn Williams, it evolved into something completely different. We decided to focus on something that I was more directly connected to, veteran’s of Iraq and Afghanistan, and to expand the project beyond just sharing stories, but as a fund raising effort for both DSN and the Fisher House, a charity benefiting wounded soldiers.

New Ad for Agape & Zoe

I had my first image used published in a magazine ad for Agape & Zoe Naturals last month. It is in the May issue of Zooey Magazine right inside the cover. As a photographer it is always a good feeling to see and hold a print of one of your photographs. To be able to go to a Barnes & Noble and pick up a magazine and find one of your photographs inside, however, brings that feeling to a whole other level. I’m glad that this image was the first one published, as it is one of my favorites and I had a really great time working on the shoot. Here is one of the color shots from that day:

Also, I did some work a while ago for A Tragic Fake, and they ended up using a couple of their images for their CD artwork. Again, it is really gratifying to see your work out their being shared with so many other people.

My own personal test subjects

I’ll be posting soon about a personal project that I have been working on over the past several months, but in the mean time I thought I would share these portraits of my dogs. The project involved shooting portraits against  a black background, which of course I wanted to test out before working with any of the subjects. So… I grabbed my two dogs and sat them down to test a few things out. It’s great having your own personal test subjects.

Bella Rose

 

I wanted to share a few photos from a recent shoot I did for Bella Rose Jewelry. This was a little bit of a change of pace for me, as I usually work with just a musician or band. This was a whole production with stylist, hair and make up, model, and the owners and designers of the jewelry all working together. It was a lot of fun, both working with a great team and doing something new. Sallie LeBlanc, our stylist, was a huge help in putting everything together, not only with the wardrobe, but really working more like a producer. Alisha McCasland did a great job with the hair and make up. She was able to give us five really distinct looks and made my job editing much, much easier. Our model Golden Chouffet was an absolute pro in front of the camera. All in all it was a great experience and something that I hope to do a lot more of in the future.

A Tragic Fake Promos

Just finished up some new promo material for A Tragic Fake recently. They just finished up their latest recording session and needed new images to go along with their new tracks in preparation for their bid to win the Battle of the Bands. Didn’t get to hit a few of the spots I had planned on, but we ended up with some great stuff. Two of the images will even be featured on their new CD!

We were just standing around looking for the next shot when Corey launches into a backflip off the wall!