Caroline & Will

Caroline and Will are getting married today and I'm so excited about shooting it. The shots above are from their engagement session from earlier in the year. Last night I photographed the rehearsal and it was great to hear all the encouraging words their friends and family spoke about the two of them. The wedding is going to be beautiful. Look for some shots from it next week!

Happy Birthday Caleb!

Today is his birthday and I hope his special day includes alot of unicorns and flowers and rainbows and buttercups.

Please visit his blog today and leave a comment on his most recent entry. The more random and ridiculous the comment the better, and it doesn't matter if you don't know him. I'm going to be really mad if he doesn't have at least 50 birthday wishes.

Caleb, you make my life alot more fun than it should be. I'm very thankful that we are friends.

For those of you who don't know him, he is the other photographer for the A Bryan Photo team. Check out a recent wedding of his HERE.

Rod Rosenbladt

I recently got the chance to photograph a hero of mine, Dr. Rod Rosenbladt. I met him for the first time a few years back when he spoke on father-son relationships at my church. The title of his 4 part session was "When a Good Father Dies, Its Always Too Soon". His talks were saturated with colorful stories of his own father, who often presented Rod with undeserved grace. Rod says he learned much about the character of his Eternal Father through watching his earthly one.
The sessions of stories and deep rooted theology have influenced me as a father more than any other individual experience. I listen to the sessions at least once a year. His insights into the mind of a child and the actions of fathers are priceless.
Since then, I have kept up with him through his weekly radio show The White Horse Inn (which I listen to on podcast and highly recommend).
I caught wind last month that Rod was back in Birmingham for a few days. I immediately began to seek him out so that I could bring him to my studio to photograph him. A few people help me connect with him and introduced myself (I never had officially met him 4 years ago) and convinced him to allow me to take his picture. He was gracious enough to give me 30 minutes and I'm so thankful to have gotten the chance to let him know how much he has meant to me. If you are interested in the "Father" series, just leave a comment on this post with your email address and I will send you the MP3's.
He recently released a talk titled "The Gospel For Those Broken By The Church" which I recommend to any who feel that they have been burned by church in the past.
Rod, if you ever read this, thank you for filling my life with Grace and Truth.

Jane Hart & Bayard Wedding

Coming soon....very soon.

Peace. - Caleb

Jane Hart & Bayard Film

I'm working my way through Jane Hart and Bayard's film right now.....I'm very happy.







Peace. - Caleb

Amy Jo & Zoe

Many of you may remember Amy Jo. She was recently in the studio for me to photograph the spring collection of her clothing line, A Mother's Arms. She brought her baby girl Zoe with her and I got to steal a few moments on film of the two of them. Please check out all that Amy Jo is doing, because it truly is remarkable!

Rachel & Keith

Rachel and Keith already had a wedding photographer but asked me to shoot their engagement photos.
I'm very pleased with the outcome! Good luck to you both and thanks so much for asking me to be apart of your wedding in a small way.









Click HERE to view the full gallery.

Claire & Grady

Caleb is shooting the wedding but I got to shoot the engagement! We went to the Boulder Fields here in Birmingham. It was my first time to shoot there and I think I may go more often. Claire is the sister of Hannah whose wedding we shot this past November and Grady is the Maddox's cousin. What a small world. Can't wait the see what Caleb does for their wedding!
Wow. I'm chalked full of engagement shoots.





Click HERE to view the full gallery.

Mary Brittain & Jay

I had these two in my studio last week for a meeting about shooting their wedding. Before they left I grabbed a few shots of them in the studio. I can't wait to shoot their wedding in September!

Neighborhood Snow Day

It snowed a few weeks ago and it was the perfect time to pull out the rolleiflex.
We had a great time with our neighbors during a relatively weak snow storm.

The Brooks' live next door. Noah practically lives at their house and thinks of the girls more like family than just friends.












The Maddox's live across the street and we don't look forward to their move to Dothan in a few years when Jeremiah is done with residency. Pace is one of Noah's best friends.







The ever adventurous Joel helped the kids make a snowman. Noah was mesmerized by it and kept saying, "Hello Mowman."

Heart Gallery

The Heart Gallery is a unique not-for-profit corporation dedicated to raising awareness about foster children available for adoption. The Heart Gallery of Alabama contacted me about a year ago about taking some photos for them and we just now were able to do our first shoot! What a blessing it was to meet the children and take their picture. These photographs will be shared through the Heart Gallery of Alabama's website and through a gallery exhibit in the hope that potential families will be moved to inquire about adoption. I can't wait to photograph more of these wonderful children.











These 3 are all brothers and hope to get placed in the same home.


Support your local Heart Gallery through awareness or by volunteering your photographic abilities!

Emily Deloach & Jason Feller

A great thing about being an artist who does business with another artist is the ability to barter. It both allows us to break even on our studio concerts, and the artist gets a photoshoot in return. Its WIN-WIN! I cannot emphasize enough how great it was to meet Emily and Jason and hear them play music. They have great chemistry and their music is stellar. I was really hoping to post these photos of Emily and Jason along with the audio from the show, but it unfortunately isn't ready yet. I'm pretty confident I will have it available by next week.

For now though, enjoy these shots from me and Caleb:

















View the whole gallery HERE.

Have a great weekend!

Cliptown

These next few shots are from Cliptown outside of Joburg. Hanson has given alot of their resources to Cliptown, aiding a local hospital in AIDS research and also programs of AIDS awareness to the children. The children gave us a presentation of all they have learned about AIDS and how they can prevent it. It's truly amazing how much awareness can change a serious problem.

Random Lomo

These shots are 6 months old and somehow I just saw them for the first time today. I love lomo. The sad thing is that mine is currently broken. I really don't want to have to buy a new one but i can't live without it!

Charleston



Hyman's Seafood, Downtown Charleston



Jeremiah drove me around the South all last summer. Man I miss working with him. We got to find a way to work together again.


Random shoot with Caleb and Cary. We all grabbed our cameras and took pictures of each other taking pictures. Lame I know, but we were bored .

Film from the Jabu School, Day 1

The Jabu School photographs ended up being some of my favorite from the entire trip to South Africa. The kids were so lively and excited about their TOMS ( some so excited they didn't wear them, for fear of them getting dirty ). More to come.

Jordan and Caitlin

Growing up in a house with three brothers with whom I was extremely close, the lines were sometimes blurred as to which friend went with which Johnson kid. Once when my friend Chris McCaa came over, my dad asked, "Which boy are you here to see?" This was even true when my brother Philip joined me at Samford after my sophomore year. At any given moment, I could be going out to eat with one of his friends while he played video games with my room mate.
Probably my favorite of his friends is Jordan, who roomed with Philip for the last two years of school. There are few people with more charisma than Jordan. Anyone who meets him loves the kid. I've never heard him complain about anything. I've seen him fight through many adversities over the years, yet he stayed positive through it all.
He has always been a free spirit and we wondered who could hold his attention for longer than six months. Enter Caitlin: A woman who digs his quirks and doesn't try and change him (and she's got amazing tastes in music, film and theatre). From the first time I met her, I really hoped he wouldn't let her go. He obviously knows something good when he sees it. Caleb is shooting their wedding this summer, but the two of us got to shoot their engagement shots before Christmas. They will live in Seattle, where he is from, but the wedding is at Blackberry Farms in Tennessee.

Jordan has had several looks throughout the years. Here's a shot of him post college:


Here he is today, looking a bit more smooth:










They are so hot right now!


View the full gallery HERE.

Self Portrait ( in NYC )

Erin and John

There seems to be a trend that you get really cool photos taken of you and your special someone when you get engaged and married, and you don't hire a photographer again until you start having kids. I have never done a family shoot that didn't include children until now. I was thrilled when Erin and John commissioned me for a family session despite the fact that they don't have children yet. They have lived in NY for a couple of years as John gets his doctorate and wanted photos to capture this unique time in their lives. Above is a photo I took at their wedding over 3 years ago. Below are photos I took in Central Park over 3 weeks ago.



















Yes, he is actually playing her like a guitar:







Before our shoot, I met up with John at a cafe in Soho and he studied and read. These below are the quintessential John Harkey shots. While in college at Samford together, this is how I remember seeing him around campus. Typically studying, drinking coffee, while partaking in something music related. I sure miss the guy and hope a college English department in the South hires him when he finishes up school in a few years.







To view their entire gallery, click HERE .

The Jarrell Family

Last Christmas I got to photograph my friend Ray's family.



This year they added a family member and came back for some more photos. Man, what a good looking family!















You may remember that this time last year Ray was a part time DJ who was putting himself through med school. The DJ business took off and he has since kicked medicine to the curb and is DJing full time. Most of his weekends are spent in the Hamptons, Miami, or the Caribbean spinning for the high profile. Check out his site here!

The Film is in!

Do you realize the feeling of getting back over 30 rolls of film from my sub-saharan adventure? Its like Christmas morning for a 10 year old.
Here are a couple shots of some kids from the first day with TOMS. I will post some more as we continue to edit them.










So how was your weekend? Here are four fun facts about mine:

1. Noah puked on my computer and for a day I thought it was done for. Then it miraculously came back. Whew.
2. I had 103 degree fever on Saturday which SUCKED. I'm just glad I didn't have a wedding to shoot.
3. Noah turned 2. Happy Birthday buddy (Pics to follow this week). After all his gifts this weekend, we could officially start a shrine to Thomas The Tank Engine .
4. I watched Hot Rod for the 5th time. I finally bought it so now all my future viewing will be free of charge. Please rent/ buy / pirate this film immediately. So funny.

Cheers! Happy Monday!

Greta & John...Railway Luv

When Greta told me that she met her fiancee John for the first time at an Amtrack station, my mind started racing with ideas for their engagement shoot. Last month the couple was visiting Birmingham from Boston and we had a chance to head over to the tracks. The Amtrack doors were locked when we arrived (despite the fact that a train was set to depart in 15 minutes...Go AMTRACK!) so we snuck onto the track through an industrial area. We had an absolute blast and they looked hot.

Look at the Buick LaSabre in this shot, so beautiful:


I'm still mad at myself for cropping out John's foot in this one, but I love this moment:


Greta is so freakin' classic:


I can't wait for their wedding on New Year's Eve! We are going to tear the Tutwiler down...

Caleb and Katie

This is my third shoot with Caleb and Katie, and I like the groove I'm getting in with them.









I actually gave them the cameras at one point and they took some shots of each other:





Good work kids! You could do what I do pretty easily!
I look forward to following their lives as they grow. They are a joy to capture.

Happy Sabbath.

In honor of the Sabbath, I'm posting some pics I recently took of a man I admire, The Rev. Dr Paul Zahl. He was in Birmingham and I invited him to the studio for a portrait session. I hope to post some of his sermons at some point, which are chocked full grace.

Elizabeth and Adam Images

We have been going through Elizabeth and Adam Winger's images from July 21st and were so excited about them that we wanted to throw a few up before they are all ready by this Friday. Elizabeth was incredible to work with, completely laid back and spunky. She really let Caleb and I do what we do best. Oh yeah, and Adam wasn't half bad either.
Check Friday to see the complete wedding.

Kites/Slip 'n Slides

These are shots from our Johnson Family Beach Trip last month. Its crazy the joy that a slip 'n slide and kite can create.
I shot these on my lomo which is an amazing camera to travel with.





Click Here to see more!

The Croushorn's

Last spring I got to photograph the Croushorn kids, which to date was my most enjoyable children shoot. The images were alive, true to character, and total kid. This year we took it indoors and slowed it down a bit. Although a bit more subdued, there personality stills shines. I hope to chronicle these kid's lives through the years. We may even set up another shoot this summer and take it outdoors again. Look for more to come later!
Last Spring:





Click Here to View This Session
This Summer:




Click Here to View This Session

Taylor & Daniel

I'm so excited about shooting Taylor and Daniel's wedding on October 7th in Sea Island Georgia. They are such a cool couple and I feel so blessed to be apart of their wedding. A few weeks ago they came down to my studio and we did an engagement session that I felt was very "them". Daniel is an extremely talented musician that will be famous one day.

Click Here to view their engagement gallery!