jackson & joe ~delta session

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I've been photographing Joe for about a year now and for this last session his mom Katie wanted to add older brother Jackson into the mix. One of my favorite things about Katie, besides her paintings, is that she really likes to do different things with her sessions. So for this one, we headed out of town, down a gravel road, and past the bayou until we finally stopped at Po Monkey's Lounge.

I'm sure most of you readers that are from the Delta know exactly where and what I'm talking about. Many of you have probably even been there. For those of you that aren't familiar with the area, Po Monkey's is one of our wonderful, out of the way jewels. An old sharecropper's home that has been converted into a small blues joint with a very random schedule. Rarely are events widely publicized, and often you have to just ride out there to see if anyone is playing. But that's OK, because the place probably only holds about 50 people anyway. Here's a cool little article the New York Times did about a year ago.

So these images were created there, as well as right next door beside another old sharecropper house that has been abandoned. I love these parts of the area where I was raised. Sessions like this remind me quite a bit of growing up in the Delta, and whenever I photograph brothers, it always makes me think of my little brother. We quickly grow out of these overalls and start putting on suits and ties. And sometimes it's just nice to reminisce about the days when we all ran around barefoot, played with sticks and rocks, and jumped fearlessly into muddy puddles of water.

Katie, thank you so much for letting me remember some of my own days with my brother. It's been a fun year. I hope you enjoy these images as much as I did making them.





~wj

nancy margaret & Andy ~ esession . . . round 2-dc

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I flew up to DC a little over a week ago to create a few more images of Nancy Margaret and Andy for their guest sign-in book. I can't wait to wrap up the design on it. It's going to be a challenge, though, because I've now got twice as many images from which to pick! And I've got to edit them down to only 20 or 30! Between Oxford and DC, it'll really be a fun book to display and share.

Nancy Margaret and Andy, thank you both for being such gracious hosts to me while I was in Washington. I truly had a blast and I can't wait for the wedding in October.



~wj

PartnerCon

I'm quite honored and humbled to be asked to speak at this year's Pictage Partner Conference to be held in Los Angeles September 9th and 10th. Most of you photographers are probably quite familiar with what this is, but for those of you who aren't, PartnerCon is an annual conference held by Pictage where many of the worlds best portrait and weddings photographers come for education and creative fellowship. It's called Partner Conference, as most of the attendees work directly with Pictage who provides our online hosting and printing services, among other things.

My presentation will address the importance of photographers developing their personal work. I'll talk a little about how to continue to explore our own photographic visions, and how to work that in to your portrait and wedding business. My goal is to make things both informative and inspirational.

If you're planning on attending PartnerCon and would like to know a little bit more about what I'll be discussing, feel free to drop me an email. I'll be happy to tell you more of the specifics. You can see the complete schedule of presenters HERE.

In the next few weeks I'll be adding a little more information about this. For those of you attending, I'm really looking forward to meeting all of you. It should be a fun and inspiring two days.

Take care and keep exploring.

~wj

Nancy Margaret & Andy ~ esession . . . round 1-oxford

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I met Nancy Margaret and Andy a few weeks ago for an engagement session. Things went so well we've got another planned for this Thursday in DC. I can't wait. It should be a ton of fun. This session was in Oxford, MS near Nancy Margaret's home, and I'm sure Andy will be thrilled to create some fun photos exploring the DC area near his home.

They'll be marrying this October in Water Valley, Mississippi and the wedding is going to be absolutely gorgeous. Kate Barron of A Bash Events is coordinating and I'll be assisted in my photo duties by Deb Tracy, who's flying in from California to second for me (thanks Deb!)

So I'll be leaving first thing tomorrow morning for a quick trip to DC, and be back in Cleveland Friday night. It'll be a bit tiring, but tons of fun. Nancy Margaret and Andy -- see y'all tomorrow!

~wj

Tiny Trotters ~a lesson in humility

I played basketball last night. It was in the same gym where I played junior high ball over twenty years ago. My team wasn’t very good when I was a kid, and we weren't any better as adults.

But man, was it fun. The video above is not from our game, but I posted it to give you and idea of what happened. Those are the same guys on the clip that we met last night.

A group of local firemen and police officers played a charity fundraiser last night against the Tiny Trotters. I am a volunteer fireman, so I qualified for the roster. But I have to be honest, I really didn’t want to play at first.

To me, it seemed to be a lose-lose situation for us. The Tiny Trotters are a traveling team of little people. If we lose? Well, we’d face ridicule from our fellow firefighters and police officers. If we won? I’ll let you figure out how that might not look so good for us.

About two hours before the game was to begin, I began to change my mind. Earlier this spring I made a promise to myself that I would try to do more things in life that seemed uncomfortable. You know, the “try-something-everyday-that-scares-you” kind of thing. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that the worst that could probably happen was that I’d be a little embarrassed. OK. A lot embarrassed. But there just seemed to be a much larger upside to what I could learn.

So I put on my old basketball shoes and headed to the gym.

When I got there several of my teammates were already warming up on one end of the court. The Trotters were on the other end. But I only counted four.

“Hmmmm. Maybe it’ll be a forfeit and I won’t have to go through with this, “ I thought. I crossed my fingers. “After all, you need at least five to play.”

Warm ups continued. I never saw a fifth man.

We went back into the locker room to meet the guys and to learn a little about “how the game would be played” ( I won’t reveal any secrets, but I will say, that not all of the gags are “spontaneous”). The other team was great. So fun and full of life. But there still wasn’t a full roster on their side.

We went back out to the gym floor. A few hundred people were there and they all seemed ready to laugh – mainly at us, I was sure. The event organizers introduced our team and we played the part of macho cops and firemen. High fives. Chest butts. Muscle (or flab) flexing. We were ready and determined to keep this game close, even though we knew the odds were stacked against us.

The Tiny Trotters were introduced. 1-2-3-4. Still no fifth man.

Then we saw him.

The men’s basketball team at our local university did some pretty nifty recruiting this spring. Filled with a roster of guards, and in need of some size on his front line, head coach Jason Conner somehow discovered some hidden talent from overseas. That talent was to be the fifth member of our opponent’s squad.

So there they were. Four Tiny Trotters and a seven foot, twenty year old Russian.

In this previous post you can see the halftime score. Here is how it ended.




I can’t even begin to describe how good these guys were. Truthfully, they could have beaten us without the Russian. It might have been a little closer, but they would have won. And turns out there were one or two more Trotters and a few other locals from the university playing with them. The gags weren’t just for game time. They began before the crowd ever showed up. But we never stood a chance, no matter how much we might have tried to make ourselves believe it.

I’m really glad I played last night. If nothing else, I laughed and smiled in a manner that I haven’t done in quite some time. I met some incredible men. Inspiring men. Sure, I was tackled, stomped on by three Trotters, and covered in whipped cream. I had opponents go through my legs, block my shots, and steal the ball from me much, much too easily. One of my teammates had a pie thrown in his face. Another was doused by a bucket of water. We were dunked on, shot over, run around, and showed up. And we loved every single agonizing second of it.

The seven foot Russian has only been here a few months, and I’m sure he never expected to receive a college scholarship only to play in a game like this. If he performs half as well at the collegiate level as he did against aging civil servants we will be celebrating a national championship next spring. He seemed a little confused at first, but as the game went on he relaxed a bit and seemed to have as much fun as we did. At halftime, one of my friends (who happened to be playing for the other team) was talking to his new teammate.

“You having fun?” my friend asked.

The giant simply nodded his head, grinned a little and said, “Only in America. Only in America.”

So true.

Me and Little Jordan. He abused me all night.

Take care and God bless. Here's hoping you get a Tiny Trotter-like experience of your own.

~wj

Halftime

Firemen / Police vs. Tiny Trotters

Guess who's winning?

Nancy & Roger : delta wedding

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It's been a few weeks now, but I wanted to post a few images from Nancy and Roger's wedding. I was assisted at this wedding by a great photographer from Indianola named Mickey Mallett.

Nancy is from a small Mississippi Delta town named Inverness, and they were married at the Episcopal church there. It's a wonderfully quaint church. So simple and true. They spent most of the weekend at the beautiful Alluvian Hotel which is owned by the Viking Range company. It, too, is one of the Delta's gens. If you're ever passing through and looking for a hidden gem, this is the place. The cooking school and spa are as nice as you'll find anywhere.

The reception was held at the Greenwood Garden Club and was absolutely awesome. Take a look at a few of the detail shots above. I really liked their "guest book" as well as the jars they used to serve some of their drinks. And the band, Azizz -- they were incredible. If you are looking for a live band, give these guys a look.

Nancy and Roger, thank you both so much for letting me be a part of your day. I wish you both all the best!



~wj

Happy Fourth of July!

Baseball, hotdogs, and apple pie.

Lila ~dancing queen

These images are of my youngest niece, Lila.

I call her the Dancing Queen because she dances as much -- if not more -- than almost any child I've ever met. She is also the songwriter in our family. I haven't kept a scientific count, but my gut tells me this child has written and performed at least 150 original tunes in the last 18 months. Perhaps her mom or dad can help us out with a more accurate total? She is quite prolific!

Keep singing and dancing Lila. Keep singing and dancing.


Love you tons.

~wj