The Rockin' Rocking Frog

This incredible design was created by Thomas Haapapuro of Thaap Designs. Anyone could have a rocking horse, but having a rocking frog is what can set you apart. This hand crafted wooden piece is original and is what should be on everyone's wish list. Support the arts and this amazing artist.

Artistic Design

                                              

  

These beautiful pieces were created by Thomas Haapapuro of Thaap Designs and Kara Koonce of Carini Designs. Thaap Designs created the inspired hand cut wooden pendant and the beautiful beading was created by Carini Designs. This collaborative artist effort has been a success. Many of these pieces are being featured at the Wooden Stone Gallery at South Park Mall in Charlotte, North Carolina. These classic pieces will be feautured throughout the holiday season. Support the arts and these creative artist. A big thank you to all that were involved through this amazing process.

Fall Drives

On Halloween, I took a drive with my family to the mountains and we came across a deserted old water park. So I shot a few photos and shot this panoramic. This park was in Moravian Falls, NC. 

As a storm was approaching, I went down to Mountain Island Lake in Charlotte, NC to shoot this panoramic.  You never know what you will come across on a Fall drive. 

Culinary Herbs

I photographed herbs once before, and I decided I wanted to do something completely different and better than before. I shot this with a Sinar 4x5 camera with black and white film. I decided to create a layout with three different herbs and I wanted more of a fine art look than a commercial feel. The low key feeling gives  new beauty to each herb. 

An Impermeable Cork

A self promo I did  for a wine company for class. This was shot with a Sinar 4x5 with Kodak Ektachrome film. I original thought of a wine tasting ad, but changed to a different look to create something more abstract. I chose a very select focus to enhance the brand on the cork itself. A different look for an ordinary object.  

Broken Experience

For an assignment, we had to take a life experience that has changed us or affected us in a significant way and create an image. I decided not do create a photograph about a specific experience. Instead, I went in a direction of more abstract illustration. This represents the past, and how it is in the past and how those times no longer have a hold on me. I shot this with a Sinar 4x5 camera with black and white film. The glass in the front represents the present and everything else represents the past. 

White Water Panoramic

This is a panoramic of the White Water Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. I created this for my digital imaging class. There are six images total that create this photograph. The dramatic feel of this panoramic helps the overall scene come alive. 

Incredible Edible Eggs

Our assignment... photograph 12 eggs anyway we wanted. I decided to do something a little different. I shot this with a Sinar 4x5 camera with black and white kodak tmax 100 film. I love the challenge of shooting glass and i wanted to enhance the look of the eggs by adding that element of my style. 

Taken

This is an Oakley advertisement I did for my fourth self promo. These are the new Taken sunglasses from Oakley and I decided to use myself as the model to show my own love for Oakley. From the beginning I wanted the final images to be placed in a layout. I think it showcases the sunglasses in a better way than with just a single image.  

The Most Mellow Mushrooms

For my third self promo, I decided to incorporate my love for fine art with my commercial 

photography. I shot this with a Sinar F1 camera with TMax 100 black and white film. I placed the mushrooms on a tree stump to give a sense of nature and to add another interesting element.

Chrome

This is a table top I set up a couple of months ago. This was shot with a 4x5 Sinar camera with Ektachrome film. I also did some camera movements to adjust the focus and place it where I wanted. There is just something about chrome that i love.

ABC Poster

For my digital class, we had to go to Greensboro and photograph the alphabet found in nature. Then we had to create a design with those letters. I had the idea of building a a pen out of all the letters. And I also photographed ink and placed that in the left side of the frame to give another element. 

Tilt Shift

This is an image of my families old Brownie cameras and some of the images created by those same cameras. I shot this with a Sinar 4x5 camera with Kodak Ektachrome film with only available light. I used some lens movements to choose exactly where I wanted the plane of focus to be. And I have loved large format photography ever since. 

Herbs Anyone?

This is my second self promo. I decided to do something a little different, but with food photography in mind. I placed sage and other herbs on fishing line to give it another element. I used soft light coming from both the left side and the right front. I shot this with a Canon 5D at 1/4 at F4.

Tea Time

My first Self Promo. This image is of a blooming tea, which is tea leaves that unfold into a flower while steeping. I want a very simple and high key image that would best illustrate the product. I boiled water and poured it into the tea pot to create the condensation at the top. All lighting is coming from behind the tea pot and I used one fill card beneath the tea to bring those tones up just a little bit. 

Tolerance

Illustrating intolerance in America, was a difficult task. Our assignment... to create a cover for the book Us and Them. I choose to create more of a tolerance illustration rather than intolerance. The black and white paint exemplify different people having different ideas and backgrounds coming together as one. The paint brushes also represent the necessity for equal cooperation from all that are involved. 

Self Portrait

A self portrait meant to show my style and artistic direction. I used a Sinar large format camera as a prop to show where I hope to continue to improve in my photographic abilities. This camera is one of my favorites, because of the flexibility of what it can do, especially scheimpflug.  

Bon Appetit

Our first client assignment... illustrating breakfast baked goods. We were challenged to create a sense of time and place with our lighting and the use of props surrounding the product. I used window light and a mirror on the left side, to fill in the shadows. Now Bon Appetit!

The Fair's Swing

A few years ago, I was told that fairs were great places to take photographs. So I went to the Cabarrus County Fair. I spent several hours walking around and I passed by this swing many times. I was just about to leave, the sun was setting and I finally saw the swing in a new way. And I captured one of my favorite photographs.