Blog

Saving Westbrook High

December 30, 2013 / Editorial

Is your kid’s school worth fighting for? The parents (and staff) of Westbrook High think so. Their fictional story begins with a devoted dad who moves heaven and earth so his daughter can attend the best school in town, only find out that it’s in jeopardy of being shut down. Their struggle, along with a superb cast including Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Esai Morales and Coby Ryan McLaughlin, makes for a great family-friendly film. I was tasked with shooting the poster art, unit and behind-the-scenes photos. Saving Westbrook High was shot on location in Davidson, NC (north of Charlotte) and was directed by Gary Wheeler.

Music Man

November 12, 2013 / Editorial

With over 250 feature-film and TV placements including Dawson’s Creek, One Tree Hill and MTV’s The Real World, songwriter Lee Hester has found his groove. Working with a wide range of Wilmington’s finest musicians keeps him very busy, along with regular trips to Nashville and LA. Lee’s passion for his craft is obvious to everyone who meets him and I’m honored to call him a friend. Check out his work on iTunes – https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/lee-hester/id137292075 and follow him at https://www.facebook.com/leehestermusic

Redline Video for PC3

September 10, 2013 / Editorial, Film

Another new series for Port City Community Church caught my attention. “We’re gonna be shooting a pretty nice car. Wanna help out?” asked the media director. My resounding YES was almost as fast as the car they secured for this shoot—an Aston Martin “Vantage.” The church brands most every Sunday message. Redline is about channeling your ambition in the right direction. The car theme was a good fit and the red line of the tachometer made a nice visual analogy. So my task was two-fold: assist with the video production and capture stills. Photographing a moving car (or a still one) is no walk in the park. My goal was to get as much motion as possible in camera. And 95% of it is. Working tirelessly with church staff and volunteers, we were able to get the whole car portion of the video in one afternoon. Here are some of my favorite stills from the shoot along with a link to the approved video for PC3.

Redline – video for Port City Community Church directed and edited by Joey Connolley

New Horizons

August 28, 2013 / Editorial, Film

Leaders are born every day. But do they enter the world a leader, or are they shaped into becoming one? When I found out that the mission statement for a local private school was about forming young leaders, I decided to make it the theme of their branding video. The fine folks over at New Horizons Elementary were very cooperative and listened to my suggestion not to “set-up” shots. Instead they let me blend into their environment and capture the kids doing what they do best — being kids. With no crew, no lights and minimal gear it was easy to keep the intimidation factor down. The results were authentic and pure. Paired with a simple yet powerful script, the piece was very well received and will be used to attract future leaders to this growing school. Special thanks to Donna and Wendy for trusting me with your vision.

The Perfect Summer

June 29, 2013 / Editorial

The phone rang and on the other end was Swirl Films’s executive producer – Eric Tomosunas. And within hours I was being introduced to another Eric, veteran actor Eric Roberts. He was in town working on the locally produced family-friendly flick called The Perfect Summer. It’s a story of a single mom, who along with her teenage son, has to move back in with her dad until she can get back on her feet. He lives in a little shack right on the beach. A young surfer girl enters the picture, stalked by her over-bearing old boyfriend. Dad decides to teach his grandson how to surf in order to blend in, and catch her eye. Throw in some awesome sun-rise surfing scenes and just like that, you have all the ingredients for a fun movie. So if you’re landlocked, but need your beach fix, check out this movie on the UP network. No sunscreen necessary!

Found Time

May 21, 2013 / Editorial, Film

The other day I was asked to be a part of a camera test for an upcoming film to be shot locally on the beach. The beach presents an interesting set of challenges to a filmmaker, but I digress. Long story short, the test got cancelled due to weather. Well, I already had my gear in the car, so I used this “found time” to do a little camera test of my own. The short piece below was released later that same day. And be sure to check out the album – Love & War & The Sea In Between by the very talented Josh Garrels. Got any negatives you can turn into a positive?

No Pressure

April 13, 2013 / Editorial

One of my photographer friends (and clients) asked me to photograph his family the other day. And even after doing this for so many years, I still got a little nervous about saying yes. Whenever I shoot for other shooters the pressure to come through is definitely ramped up a bit. Thankfully, they’re really laid back and we scored a gorgeous afternoon before the heat of summer set in. Plus their little boy is a model in the making. He’s obviously the apple of their eyes. Here are a few of my favorites from the selects folder. Thanks for a great shoot, guys!

The New Reel

March 20, 2013 / Editorial, Film, News

Since I released my first reel in 2010, I’ve had the opportunity to tell many new stories through the medium of moving pictures. So I updated the reel to share some of my latest experiences, including never-before-seen footage from the feature film “Adrenaline” to be released later this year. More on that soon! Many thanks to my friend Evan Vetter for his editing excellence. Enjoy!

Don’t Be Him

February 18, 2013 / Editorial

Got a call from the media director for Port City Community Church. They needed a quick portrait for the flyer complementing their latest message series titled “That Guy.” An hour later, after hashing out some details with their talented graphic designer, we had the shot. The series is designed to help folks deal with difficult people. Our pastor assigned the homework of asking ourselves, “What’s it like to be on the other side of me?” Guess we can all be That Guy (or girl) sometimes. Thanks to our talent who worked right through lunch and wasn’t any trouble at all!

A New Year’s Renovation

January 23, 2013 / Editorial, News

As of 2013, I’ve been making a living in commercial photography for over 21 years. So to celebrate I gave my STILLS site a little makeover. Enter my friend and talented webmaster, Jesse Bond. Two words come to mind when I think of him: Detail. Oriented. Jesse patiently waited for me to edit a mountain of photos that were hiding on my hard drive. Then we organized them into simple categories and made the images really big. Jesse even created a separate mobile site for our friends on the go. When it comes to everything web, he is the man. Take a stroll through the new site and let me know what you think. cdphoto.com/stills