In December, I was tapped to update photography of some emergency service teams and vehicles for New Hanover Regional Medical Center. Their shot list reminded me of a little boy’s wish list at Christmas: a four-wheeler, a helicopter, a bicycle and a few rescue trucks. For one photo, a cherry-picker provided a great vantage point to capture all of their “grown-up toys.” The lawn of the USS North Carolina battleship made for a great location, complete with downtown Wilmington as a backdrop. I scouted other locations that were New Hanover County-specific, and our two-day shoot concluded on the sands of Wrightsville Beach. The cooperative pilot of AirLink was even able to land right on my mark, not once but twice! My wish list for 2012?….More fun shoots just like this one!

Telly Award-winning Lighthouse Film Company was shooting on location in downtown Wilmington recently. The dance party scene was complete with live band Rio Bravo http://www.reverbnation.com/riobravo. My assignment was to capture some production stills and shots of the musicians. I really love being on set, especially big film shoots with all the gear and crew. Lots of energy! Knowing how (and when) to shoot production stills is pretty important. You definitely don’t want to get in the way, or interfere with their work, of course. Hope the guys at LFC like seeing themselves behind the camera as much as I like being behind mine.

 

I live in a small town, but we have a big church. It’s called Port City Community Church, or PC3 for short. Some people call it the “rock-and-roll church,” and we do have an awesome band. But that’s only one reason why approximately 6000 people come to one of the four services on Sundays. It’s for the message. Some folks may say, “the message is the boring part.” But not here. Surfer/pastor Mike Ashcraft brings the Word in a down-to-earth way with an open and honest heart. He’s real, and his messages are too. So I was very honored when the media department asked me to photograph him. Where would we go? Well, he’s a beach lover (like me), so that’s where we went. But I didn’t want to shoot just another beach portrait, so I decided to overexpose the images quite a bit. You could say the results are almost heavenly.

New Hanover Regional Medical Center needed a cover shot of triplets who were born 8 weeks premature in 2010 at their children’s hospital. The marketing department wanted to do a “follow up” on the trio for their newsletter. Now that the boys are 18 months old, they are quite mobile, to say the least. Getting this shot was truly a group effort! After working with little ones many many times in my carreer, I’m not as intimidated as I used to be. And with a bit of planning, you can get the shot faster than you can say 1,2,3. Special thanks to the McLambs for helping out!

 

Surgery has come a long way folks. Take the DaVinci Surgical System for example. This thing brings a whole new meaning to the phrase “Look Ma, no hands!” The device was designed to reduce the time patients have to stay in the hospital by requiring smaller incisions where the robotic “fingers” can go in and fix you. New Hanover Regional Medical Center here in Wilmington needed some updated images of their baby and the skilled surgeons trained to drive this incredible machine. Working closely with Jeff Morvil, Creative Director at Morvil Design we set up the main group shot right in an actual operating room. The hospital’s job was to round up these busy doctors and have them all show up at the same time. No easy feat mind you. We captured several individual portraits and some cool still life shots along with the group pic. Now I’m no doctor, but I would say the prognosis looks great for those who need a little tuneup with these guys around. Special thanks to my crew for helping me pull this one off. Love you guys!

 

 

 

 

 

After a long, hot summer, most baseball players look forward to October. After all, this is when MLB’s elite slug it out in the World Series. One Saturday afternoon here in Wilmington, a local school team decided to break out their bats for another reason. The New Hanover High School Cats had a fundraiser to support research for ALS. They recruited sponsors to donate for each inning they played, and a scrimmage was born. Although the Cats’ spring season may be a good bit down the road, their hearts were certainly in the game.

 

A friend wanted a special gift for her husband’s birthday. She thought some portraits of their gorgeous children might brighten his office. We waited and waited for a sunny afternoon, but the rains kept coming. So we waited some more. “It’ll be worth it,” I told her. “We need a certain light.” Then late one afternoon, the storms broke and we headed east to a place where the little ones could run and play and be kids. The sky was so amazing that day, almost as if we were being rewarded for our patience. And even though the golden light and blue water practically shouted “Shoot in color,” the preview window said otherwise. I hope these images bring my friends joy for years to come.

 

What do you get when you take the very best local musicians (ie, members of the local rock group Rio Bravo) and mix them up once a week for short power set? Answer: Music with purpose. My friends at Port City Community Church recently asked me to photograph the music portion of the service. With all access to this Christian mini-concert, it’s always a blast to show the world what we get to see (and hear!) every week. It’s clear to see the band plays with passion. Thanks for sharing your talent with us on Sundays!