I love a good challenge, especially when it comes to photography. And one of the most challenging and — for me — creative aspects of being a photographer is playing with light. There’s one truism that’s hard to avoid in photography: you have to have light. Some situations just don’t have enough, and/or what it does have lacks quality.

I shot the Sogade party last year at the Blacksmith’s Shop; this year it was at the Terminal Station. The light at the former was great to work with, and the venue was a bit more intimate. Terminal Station is a much bigger space, and the overhead lighting was just too yellow. I think when the lights were off — as they were after dinner — it was probably worse. Add to that my general journalistic approach, and I had, like I said, quite a challenge.

Still, armed with my trusty strobe and fast zoom, I did my best. I used aperture priority for most of the later strobe shots, just so I could capture some detail and some movement. Naturally, the posed shots came out the best, but the lighting was too low to get real good studio quality portraits. I think I need two things: (1) a higher ISO would help, especially on the newer sensors; (2) an assistant to hold a strobe where I need it.

Each gig is a learning experience. I did get some cool shots, and I managed to experiment a bit. Here’s a small sample.

The rest of the gallery is password protected, but if you know the Sogades, ask them for it.

I’d like to also thank the Drs. Sogade for the kind words about my photography, particularly Dr. Bola Sogade. Thanks for asking me to be a part of your event again this year. Hopefully next year, I’ll bring my assistant.

We had the pleasure of returning to the W’s home to capture some holiday moments with this sweet family. You may remember baby Veronica, though she’s grown quite a bit since we last saw her. This time she was able to wiggle and squirm her way out of photos, so we had to be quick on our feet and owe many of her smiles to a handy little squeak toy. Thanks again to the W family – we were honored to be invited for a repeat photo session, and we hope you all like the results as much as we do.

The gallery is password protected, but if you know them, be sure to ask for the password to see the complete set.

Thanksgiving at Dad’s has been a tradition for almost ten years. Autumn and I haven’t gone every year, but we do try to make it when we can. Usually it’s a festive occasion with our extended family from Ohio, but this year it was just the four of us, three cats, and a dog.

Autumn and I drove up on Tuesday. Other than spending time with Dad and Sharon, there are two parts of going to Dad’s that we both enjoy: happy hour at Calhoun’s and the drive though the Smoky Mountain National Park. The latter was especially cool when we were on the motorcycle, and the former was especially cool when we weren’t on the motorcycle. You know, so we could drink the beers that their partner, the Smoky Mountain Brewery, brews. I particularly like the Appalachian Pale Ale. Anyway, during happy hour, the beers are $2. Need I say more?

Spending time with Dad and Sharon is always the highlight of the trip. We drink, eat, and listen to Dad’s stories. I’m the only liberal in the family, so they listen to my weird political points of view, and we drink more. It’s always a great time. We also get to hang with the cats: Bill Bailey (who reminds me of my boy Apollo), Pearl (named after some basketball coach), and little Puke. The latter is a relatively new addition, and I’m trying to get Autumn to let us adopt her. Help me talk her into it, won’t you?

Each of us helped with the turkey day preparation: Dad cooked the turkey on his Big Green Egg; Autumn made her requisite green bean casserole, but with Brussels sprouts (yum!) and an awesome cranberry sauce; I made the stuffing; and Sharon made everything else. It was all pretty damn tasty.

And of course I had the camera out a bit. Here are some highlights.

Thanks, again, to Dad and Sharon. We always have such a great time with you guys. I know Autumn is easy to hang out with, but I’m always a challenge. Thanks for asking us back.

We went for some food, but left with some cars. Photos of cars, that is.

Friday night was the annual pre-Thanskgiving Thanksgiving meal at the Anderson compound. Autumn wanted me to take some photos of Spencer’s newest show car — which is actually a truck and boat — but he also had all of his other vintage cars in their various states of repair sitting about the yard. This seemed like an open invitation to a photog and his assistant, so we spent our before-dinner time shooting.

As you can see, I wanted all the photos to have the same feel after post production. I gave each a similar color treatment and found a set of textures that I liked (my thanks to the generosity of Caleb Kimbrough on Flickr). I am going for a groovy vintage look, similar to the cars I was shooting. I was also using two strobes off-camera on stands; thanks to Autumn for helping me with their placement.

Check out the rest of the “Spencer’s Cars” gallery. Oh, and thanks to my mother-in-law Cheryl for some great food.

For the fall colors, that is. Even though the day wasn’t ideal for a portrait shoot (the sun was totally absent), we knew the rain was coming, so we decided to try to capture some of the fall colors for they disappeared for another year. I wasn’t optimistic, but we managed to get a few that I really like.

We started at this spot along my running route, but ended back in front of our house. Yes, our street — Hines Terrace — might be one of the prettiest in Macon this time of year. I know I’m a bit biased, but it really is hard to beat. Check out last year’s shots, and the previous year’s.

Here are some samples from yesterday.

All shots that used a flash — which was most — the flash was off-camera; see the equipment list below. Most times, I positioned the flash 90° from the model, to get a dramatic lighting effect, like the sun setting. Sometimes this produces shadows that are a bit harsh, but had I the time (and energy), I could have compensated with a second flash. Still, I’m frequently amazed at what you can accomplish with just one strobe when you take it off-camera.

See all the shots in the “Autumn in the Fall” gallery. Enjoy the colors.