In a recent post, I mentioned how much fun it was to relive childhood memories through my work. Last February, the “fun gates” opened wide when I visited the set of the local indie film Times Like Dying. After a short drive to the country, I found myself immersed in a world including a quaint and quintessential farm, several heavy-breathing horses and some very real guns. My favorite subjects were the “reel” cowboys played by local friends Anthony Reynolds and Myke Holmes along with Fidias Reyes, Robert C. Treveiler and Jim Cody Williams. The movie tells the story of a post-Civil War family who makes a daring decision in order to survive, and the consequences that follow. This narrative short film is making its world-wide debut at this year’s internationally acclaimed Cucalorus film festival. Here are some of the characters I met while “playing cowboys.” Stay tuned for more images from my amazing day on location with this production.

Robert C. Treveiler as Amos Dixon

Myke Holmes as Wadell Dixon

Anthony Reynolds as Shepherd Chilcoate

Fidias Reyes as Miss Ledbetter

Jim Cody Williams as Percy Dixon 

Recently, my wife and I got invited to a friend’s birthday party. And she went all out. Not only did she have it at a local artist’s retreat (which completely blew my mind), but she had amazing food, creative drinks and of course – party games. So here is one of the games. Just imagine you are a professional photographer while reading this….

Help document’s K’s birthday celebration. Take a picture that would be captioned by one of the following Andy Warhol quotes and email it to ______@gmail.com by 9pm. Please note which caption goes with your picture. You may submit as many pictures as you would like. Prizes will be awarded for the best pictures. 

In the interest of time, I will not list all 10 quotes, but let’s say the mental images they suggested were all over the map. So off I went on my personal photo safari armed only with an iPhone, leaving my poor wife to fend for herself. By 9pm, I had quite a few to submit. And if I don’t win a thing, I don’t care because for a little while I got back to why I started taking pictures in the first place. Because it’s fun.

#9 “Art is what you can get away with.” – Andy Warhol

 

I wanted to share a recent image of my amazing daughter, Lucy. She has blessed my life in so many ways. I’m honored that she calls me “dad.” Currently she is into piano, painting, Girls Scouts and dancing on stage in the kids’ ministry at church. And while technically she is only 10 years old, I’m blown away by the amount of intelligence, love and compassion she possesses. I told her that her full name – Lucia – means light and to share her light with everyone she meets. I can’t wait to see what God has in store for my little girl. I love you, Lucy!

Love it when a long-time client’s name shows up in the inbox again. Such was the case recently when my good friends at Kitchen & Bath Design Studio reached out for some fresh photos. They had a rebranding project that required some updated images for their website. So we scheduled my arrival to coincide with a weekly staff meeting, allowing me to capture them in a photojournalistic style, recording their business in action. See our post from a few years ago with the same flavor, Financial Faith. That’s what a potential customer surfing the web likes to see — people at work who are actually working! We’re excited to be shooting K&BDS’s latest kitchen and bath installations next. Special thanks to Tonya and her team for trusting my approach.

Here is the client’s review of my services on Houzz…

As a small business owner I am responsible for marketing of Kitchen & Bath Design Studio and showcasing the work of our professional Designers. In the past, I have hired Chris Davis Photography to produce a television spot and to photograph some of our projects. When I needed to update our company images due to a company rebranding, I knew exactly who would be the best photographer to capture those images. As expected, Chris nailed it (again)! Chris Davis is amazingly creative and he is very detailed oriented; a combination that consistently yields great, high-quality results. I feel like Chris is my “secret weapon”, but I know that I have to share – I can confidently recommend Chris Davis Photography for any photo or video project. – Tonya Nesselroade

Back in December, I had the opportunity to travel to Brillion, Wisconsin — population 3,186. Coming from  a small town myself, I had a pretty good picture of what I was going into. What I wasn’t familiar with was the weather there. In Brillion, just south of Green Bay, it got down-right cold. Like negative-degree-wind-chill cold. Mercifully, the assignment for Ariens Company had us working inside their comfortable factory. Ariens is famous for their snowblowers and lawnmowers. They are a lean manufacturing company, which means they make the majority of the components themselves. You can follow a flat piece of steel all the way through the factory and see it in its final state. My job was to capture the lifeblood of Ariens, their workforce, in action. I was super impressed with the process, the warmth of the people and the pride in their work. And on a December day in Brillion, a little warmth goes a long way.

A neighborhood friend was attending a charity silent auction and learned that I had donated a kid’s photo shoot. She won the bid, and I suggested one of my favorite locations — the Arboretum. I gave her the standard wardrobe instructions: no black, no white, no logos, etc. I always suggest bringing options. Well, this mom got it right. Really right. Wardrobe is a huge part of any portrait shoot. It needs to be comfortable, but more importantly it needs to work within a color palette. In this case, I love the mix of prints and solids among the kids’ outfits. Repeating the blue in small doses looked great. Do kids care what they’re wearing? Not really. Do they get dirty while we are shooting? Sometimes. Does it make or break the shoot? It can.

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.

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