Chaurita & Jeremy will wed this month and the event is highly anticipated. More about them in a later post but I must add that her bridal portraits are mesmerizingly gorgeous. Can’t wait to post those!

…BRIGHT! Miguel, I have a few words of advice: Stay humble and choose CAROLINA!!!

Meet Pastor Johnny Sampson, entrepreneurer, visionary, dreamer. The images here are from a mini photoshoot on Sunday afternoon in front of my favorite wall.

but had to share a few of the black and white images i’ve converted. when i initially envisioned this shoot in my mind, i kept thinking of opie taylor. see my mom is a BIG andy griffith fan and when we are together we watch, still today, episode after episode of “the andy griffith show”. not that we can’t turn the channel, it’s just we let old grandma control the remote (i’m going to see how long it takes for her to read this and get on me about calling her OLD!) so, back to opie. i saw little boys in a small town, trekking down the road in dark blue jeans, rolled up of course, bare feet and simple tees. then i thought, this is 2009, and kid’s attire is anything but simplistic. but the conversion to black and white gave me a little of what i had seen in my mind. some images hold me in a trance and this first one does just that. i’m going to have to do something special with it, don’t know yet. but i have to put it on display SOMEWHERE, anywhere! definitely in my studio, when i get one…which is such a debate for me because you can’t recreate this look in a studio, kids should be outside in the open air, in the HEAT and i should be outside too, sweating, chasing after them! (of course any adult would opt for ac on a hot summer day) but i prefer nature as my backdrop…green grass, trees, sand, the ocean, a farm, some farm animals, a train track, an old rusty car, tall weeds and beautiful flowers. so i got what i had hoped for, an ode to opie with a modern twist!

and one in color but still a vintage look!!

Michael Cooper the 2nd entered this world on September 4th.  His mother, a former coworker, told me early in her pregnancy that she wanted me to photograph her baby.  It’s always an honor to hear those words.  Knowing that she entrusted me to document this new life, this gift.  I set up my props and equipment right in the comfort of her home. 
Little Michael is named after his dad, Coop, who graduated high school with my little sister.   Funny how everything connects.

The image above is my absolute f-a-v-o-r-i-t-e.  Maybe it’s the enhancements…certainly it’s the enhancements.  The added texture, the black & white conversion…  Two elements that I’m finding I love passionately and defines my evolving style.  This is the latest image that gives me goose pimples.  I find myself gazing at it. 

I am reminiscing of the days of my youth, pre-teen years, when I sat staring at the images in fashion & beauty magazines.  I developed an obsession with the imagery in magazines and it was my only reason for purchasing them.  My mother used to encourage me saying “READ the articles in the magazines, don’t just stare at the pictures”.  Funny thing is I was wired to appreciate awesome photography for a purpose, my purpose.  So if you’re a mom [or dad] who finds that your child has an obsession of some sort, don’t be surprised at where that passion leads.  Just help your child discover & develop their gift.  They are wired for it.

Here are a few more images from that shoot.

This couple married last Saturday and are currently honeymooning in the caribbean. Hope you two enjoy your sneak preview!

Click here to view pictures from the golf classic and black tie event. When you enter the site, click on “clients” and enter the password “philford”.

These are images from Jason & Blair’s wedding. You will see that as individuals, they are FULL of life, so you can only imagine how they are as a couple.

A three feet tall bridal portrait graced the entrance to the reception!

A few images from the Black Tie Gala sponsored by Phil Ford to benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Nash/Edgecombe counties. Click here to view pictures from the golf classic and black tie event.  When you enter the site, click on “clients” and enter the password “philford”.

Phil & Traci in the “Soul Train” line.

Charlie Neal of ESPN was the MC for the evening.

Mayor of Rocky Mount and his wife.

Black Tie attendee sings “Mustang Sally” and was pretty good!

Lead singer of the night’s entertainment group called the Wallers

Melanie, winner of Boys & Girls Club scholarship

Mr. & Mrs. Shaw. Mrs. Shaw is the Executive Director of the Boys & Girls Club of Nash/Edgecombe counties.

I have been eagerly anticipating revealing these bridal portraits but of course I had to wait until after the wedding.

Blair married her lovey dovey this friday, july 24th and allowed me to display more than just her 3 feet tall bridal portrait, but also a collection of smaller portraits from this shoot. We shot this at the Oak View Historic State Park in Raleigh, NC. It was extremely hot but her attitude was “what do america’s next top models have to endure…if they can do it, so can I”. Blair’s animated facial expressions, her makeup & cascading curls, the well manicured lawn at the park and the huge oak and pecan trees were the perfect ingredients for a shoot with too many favorite images to display just one. These are a few of my favorites. A slideshow will follow to display even more great images from that day.