I recently had a wonderful engagement session with Lisa and Kevin in Atlanta. Lisa is pursuing her PhD at Georgia Tech and Kevin is an active duty US Army officer assigned to Fort Benning. We met at Piedmont Park and shot on the lawn and moved to several great spots in the park for romantic shots of this very much in love couple.

Nawal Bookmiller assisted me in so many ways, she was an invaluable asset; thanks Nawal. The park is always a favorite place to shoot and its location and proximity to downtown and its skyline make it an almost magical location. After we finished at the park we moved to the campus of Georgia Tech and to the roof of one of the classroom buildings for a dramatic view of the city as the light was beginning to fade. Our timing was nearly perfect and the city lights in the background along with Lisa and Kevin in the foreground made for some great shots.

Lisa and Kevin are a very attractive couple and a real pleasure with whom to share some time. Nawal and I really enjoyed the opportunity to talk and swap stories. This is an incredibly intelligent, warm and friendly pair and after a few minutes I felt as though I had known them for years. It was a real treat to meet and get to know them. We wish them all the best and can't wait until they tie the knot later this year.

Here are a few shots from our session in Atlanta.

I don't get enough time, or make enough time, to just go out and shoot for the pure joy of shooting very often. This is from a recent trip to Piedmont Park in Atlanta. I was shooting the geese in the water responding to folks feeding them and I spotted this little guy with his mother just having a blast tossing bread in the water. Nothing more than a quick snap, but I wanted to share this with everyone and remind them, and most importantly myself, to stop and smell the roses as often as you can.

Catherine and David were married on an unseasonably mild Saturday on December 17th at the Bethel United Methodist Church in Dawsonville, Georgia. The ceremony was punctuated by a Color Guard of active duty solders, many of whom are Ranger Instructors from Camp Frank D. Merrill.

Catherine was gorgeous in her beautiful gown and the family and friends in attendance participated in a memorable ceremony that marks the beginning of their lives together. Everyone was in a festive mood and just a week before Christmas the decorations reflected the colors of the season.

The reception was held at the Dahlonega Market Place on the square in Dahlonega, Georgia and the venue was beautifully decorated by the family of the bride and the event planning and catering was orchestrated by Jennifer Menio and her fantastic crew from Events by Dezine. The food was to die for and the wedding and groom's cakes were incredible. The master of ceremonies was none other than Tod Peavy of DJ Tod and we had more fun than is probably legally acceptable.

All the photographers, Dana Hornbeck, Nawal Bookmiller, Barbara Franks and myself had a great time documenting this very handsome couple's big day. Thanks so much to all the vendors for the great job making this great couple's wedding so special; and thanks to the family and friends of Catherine and David for their graciousness and fun loving spirits. We had a great time and we wish the young couple all the happiness they can handle.

Catherine Pre-Ceremony

Play Bill for the Show


Barbara and I have known Heather Wilkerson for a good while; she is one of the sweetest people we know and one of the sweetest people you will ever meet. I first met Heather at the Crimson Moon Cafe via a mutual friend - Curtis Jones. Recently, Heather embarked on an artistic journey. When Heather contacted me in September to request I document this event I had no idea that she was so serious about painting, even more pertinent, I had no idea that she was so amazingly talented. I am so happy for her, so proud of her and so hopeful for her future success. I love her work, each piece speaks to you, no, it sings to you. In fact, each piece of art is music centric, in that it is inspired by a single song. Heather's concept is very innovative and very effective and Barbara and I just love her work; we could not resist taking a favorite piece home with us - the original piece entitled 'Arpegio's In The Night.' Please visit Heather's webist H Lives Art to see all of her beautiful work.

Heather's artistic moniker is 'H,' and it fits her. She chose to debut her paintings to a packed house at The Crimson Moon Cafe, where met in Dahlonega, Georgia (for eeveryone from out of town or out of state). The evening possessed an electric atmosphere. Heather's paintings are extraordinary, interesting, challenging, beautiful and inspirational. Hanging on the walls around the Crimson Moon, our favorite coffee shop, honky tonk, watering hole, it became an impromptu art gallery; we loved it.

Present to help celebrate Heather's coming out party were Nashville recording artists Chuck Cannon and Chuck Jones. The singer/songwriter CHUCK CANNON is renowned for a string of hits performed by George Straight, Randy Travis, Wynonna Judd, Toby Keith, Lonestar, Billy Dean and many others. Successful singer/songwriter CHUCK JONES opened the evening's musical entertainment and he absolutely killed it!! Chuck is a masterful guitar player and his rendition of 'Ode to Billy Joe' resulted in thunderous applause that shook the house. Chuck Cannon followed Chuck Jones, but Chuck Jones stayed onstage to accompany him on guitar. Man, oh man, what a wonderful performance. I have seen some great performances this year, but this was my favorite without a doubt.

Those of you who were in attendance, please view these images and relive the performance; those who might be unfamiliar with Chuck Cannon or Chuck Jones, or just couldn't make it out that evening to the Crimson Moon, please use the images to get a flavor for all these wonderfully talented folks.

UPDATE: The gallery is now online and available. I have uploaded approximately 2,000 images in 11 categories. The online gallery is a complete ecommerce site and you can order prints if you desire. To view the gallery follow THIS LINK, and when asked for a passcode, enter 20111118.

Hope you enjoy the images as much as I enjoyed capturing them; it was a blast. Finally, to those at the show that tolerated my clattering shutter, my moving about or if I stepped on your toes or bumped you by accident, thank you so much for being so tolerant and good humored. I hope you enjoy the images and consider the collection of memories from this great night worth the transgressions required to capture them. I really enjoyed being there to share the evening with you and if you think I was not transfixed and transported by the music, you should have checked out my toes tapping on that beautiful wooden floor.

Heather Wilkerson

Chuck Cannon

Chuck Jones

Olivia and Joe met Barbara and I in Dahlonega the weekend before Thanksgiving. We had a great session rambling around Dahlonega. Barbara and I think the world of Olivia and Joe. Olivia is the sweetest thing and Joe is a young man so full of character and with such a bright and promising future in the military. They are so perfect for each other; we wish them both the very best that life has to offer and more happiness than they can handle.