For Photographers

2010 Garage Games - Saturday, February 6th - Sandbag

It was during this event, particularly in the early morning, that weather really foul. Intermittent rain and sleet fell on the competitors making muddy up hill course's footing a little slippery. The crossfit competitors grabbed a duffel bag sized sandbag, threw it across their shoulder, or shoulders, depending on the technique used, and raced up a hill from the shore of Lake Allatoona where they dropped the bag and proceeded to do multiple reps of clean and jerk with the sandbag and then remounted the 'friend' on their shoulder, or shoulders, and race back to the shore of the lake where there awaited an Olympic bar with a good bit of weight and more clean and jerks. It was a grueling event that exhausted the fittest of these superb athletes.

I loved the above shot, but I wanted it to really 'pop' and crackle, so I took it into Photoshop and went to work and the shot below was the result. I call it the 'grunge' look, kind of appropriate with the mud, sweat and tears.

The images below were post processed by Steve Glass; he is Da Vinci reincarnate with a mouse and a Wacom tablet. When he is in Photoshop magic happens. The next two shots are examples of his talent.

The four shots above were taken by Alex Smith. Alex is an exceptionally gifted young photographer that is working with my studio from now until this fall when he will departs for his freshman year in college. Pretty talented young man, yes? I love photography and have been shooting for a long time, but I honestly can only imagine what the future holds for him and how he must feel to recognize this level of accomplishment at his tender young age.

2010 Garage Games Event Coverage

Jeffrey Franks Photography will have photographers on site to document the 2010 Garage Games in Woodstock, GA. The event will be held February 6th and 7th at the YMCA in Woodstock and in your interested in attending or competing please click on the graphic below to take you to their site for more information.

Check back for some great images of the competitors. Jeff Franks, Kristy Dickerson, Steve Glass, Dana Hornbeck, Amy Kelly and others will be there, cameras in hand, to record the intensity and competitive spirit of the events. Here is another link to the event's website 2010 Garage Games.

Bear on the Square

This weekend was the annual Bear on the Square festival in hometown of Dahlonega, GA. I called up my friend Dobbin Buck, the master of ceremonies for the event, and did a little quick coordination, gathered my gear together and off I went to shoot the musicians and the venue.

It was totally awesome! First, the acts that played in the main event tent were fantastic; I mean, really fantastic. There was delicious food everywhere if you got hungry or thirsty and the town square was a seething organism of humanity. There must have been a dozen groups of musicians playing on every corner of the square. Literally, every twenty or thirty feet impromptu jam sessions were occurring. There were more guitars, banjos, fiddles and big huge bass guitars than you could shake a stick at.

Vendors were selling instruments, mountain crafts, bottled and canned foods, lemonade, dulcimers, banjos, books; well you name it, it was there in abundance. But it was the music and the colorful musicians who came from all over that made this such a wonderful event. The weather was beautiful; blue skies with big puffy white pillow clouds floating by and plenty of sunshine and moderate temperatures. In a word it was glorious.

I hope you were able to attend, but if not, I really wish you could have been there. However, since you might have missed it, I have put together a small slide show to share the experience with you. The slide show is accompanied by a wonderful piece of music from one of the performers in the big tent – Curtis Jones accompanied by his good friend from Denmark, Martin Norgaard. It's called Holly on the Mountain and I could not think of a more appropriate piece of music that communicates how I felt during the festival.

The very last image in the slide show is the great Norman Blake, a legendary bluegrass performer. I was fortunate enough to be able to sit down at a sanctuary that had been set aside for the performers to warm up, the Dahlonega Community Center. While I sat and sipped a bottle of ice cold water, thanks Dobbin I owe you, I was able to listen in as his group warmed up and snap a few shots. Norman and his wife Nancy, Rachel Bryan and her father James went over a few tunes before the show and their music carried me away. It was beautiful that I almost forgot to pick up my camera and shoot a few images. It was a wonderful experience, almost a religous experience, and one I will never forget. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this small sampling of sixty images. I captured almost 1,500 images throughout the day and processing them will be a labor of love and a reminder of a very glorious day.

Mike Moreland and Tricia Whitmer · 2008 "N-Sight" Workshop

Spoke with Tricia Whitmer last evening and signed up for the workshop. This is going to be a great learning experience and can't wait to meet these two fine photographers and the other nine participants.

The workshop will consist of two days of heavy hands on training that will focus on equipment and techniques in the studio and at various locations around the seven acre studio property and off-site in urban settings. If you are interested in this workshop you better act fast because there were only four seats left.

To learn more about Tricia Lee Whitmer and her fabulous photography visit her web site at Tricia Lee Photography and prepared to be amazed.

Mike Moreland is also a well renowned photographer and you owe it to yourself to visit his wonderful website at Moreland Photography and take some time to view his gorgeous portraits and wedding shots.

I can't wait! This is going to be a lot of fun and I know that it will be a true learning experience that should elevate my craft to a new level.

Neighbors on Horseback - Gold Rush 2007

In my little town of Dahlonega, GA there comes a special time (weekend actually) each year when visitors flock to see our annual festival - Gold Rush. The name comes from the fact that Dahlonega, GA is the site of the first gold rush experienced, though not the last, in the United States of America. You may not know this, most do not, but at one time there was a United States Mint located in our little town.

Anyway, one of the special things that happens during Gold Rush is our neighbors in the county ride their horses, some even pull wagons, into town and entertain the city folks from Atlanta with their large animals. I took a few shots of some rather well lubricated equistrians on their way into Dahlonega; they were about 5 miles out of town heading down to the Chestatee River from where these shots were taken on the east side of Dahlonega.