The Watermelon Farm

For the past 12 years, my family has been in the watermelon business. Business is a very loose term in this case being we normally just give away over 100 watermelons a year. This is something my granddad loves to do. We grow them in very sandy soil (Little Sand Mountain). Sandy soil has more nutrients and accepts water more frequently (if it rains). The roots easily grow in sand because it is of course not as dense as soil. This makes it perfect for our watermelon. The downside is that dry seasons really take a toll on the crop since sand cannot hold water as well. Since watermelon require full sun, it is best for them to be in a field (which is pretty difficult to manually water), so we depend on rain every summer. Here are a few photos I took from our last gathering of the season. Im already looking forward to next years crop.

Charles + Ellie Beck

This summer, I was privileged to shoot Charles and Ellie's wedding. Located in Birmingham, Alabama, St Mary's on the Highlands Episcopal Church was a beautiful venue while the reception was held outside at Vulcan Park. The reception turned into a 4 hour dance party celebrating the marriage of these two great friends. Thanks for allowing me to be in the middle of your big day!

Car for Sale

Its been a good 3 years Saab. After much delegation, I have decided to sell my car. I am ready for a new toy for my life. Over the past few years, I have noticed that luxury cars are not my cup of tea (i prefer rooibos). I do not like leather, I want tight suspension and good gas mileage is a plus. My saab has 1.5 those. If anyone is looking for a luxury car and doesn't want to break the bank on a mercedes that will die in 2 years or an audi that costs a million dollars to work on, please check out the saab. You will not be disappointed.

New layout

New blog layout coming soon! Larger photos and more posts with added sweetness.

Getting Back in Shape

Time to get back in shape. Now thats its June, its nice and hot and sticky here in alabama. perfect weather for running. I know most people are probably turned away from that but I think thats perfect for exercise. Not because I love hot weather (i can't stand it!) but because I feel like I get more of a workout in afterwards. I know, I know, I actually just sweated off 5 pounds instead of having worked it off but im ok with that. There isnt a much better feeling of accomplishment than running a couple miles and coming back not being able to breath, sweating terribly and needing to stretch your over exerted calf muscles. That, my friend, is living. Here is a shot of a 10 YEAR OLD boy competing in the xterra southeastern championship. Just so you'll know, thats 750m swim, 29k mountain bike, and 5k run.

Memories of the Past

Lately, I was asked if I would like to visit Melbourne, AUS again. ummmm...YES. I would definitely move there again in a heart beat. I have yet to find a city in America that could compete for its title of "best city in the world". The only city ive found that is remotely as cool is Victoria, BC. Melbourne has everything going for it. Its clean, friendly, cultural, safe and artsy. Is there really more you can ask for in a city? At some point in my life, I plan on visiting again. Hopefully sooner rather than later. After a bit of digging, i found one of my old photos from Melbourne. I am still amazed at this building. www.theartscentre.com.au/

Just hit me

Well it just hit me. It has been 3 full months since ive had a full-time job. Why is the economy so bad? Why are companies wanting a designer to be a programmer? Why do amazing photographers want UNPAID interns? These are just a few questions I ask myself every day. I want to use my skills that God gave me for the good of his kingdom but where in this economy can I do that? Non-profits/Missions don't want to pay expenses for me to go overseas to document their trips and I have no money to do that. I don't even have to go overseas, we have places here in alabama who could use the same treatment as people are giving Africa. People seem to not even want to give me a retail job. Aparently, since I have no experience, I would suck at it. They dont seem to understand Ive worked with clients/print executives for the past 4 years on a daily basis. If thats not customer relations then I dont know what is. I also learn that I cant work in a kitchen because I have no restaurant kitchen experience even though I cook almost every day at home. How can I get restaurant kitchen experience if no one will hire me? Well, these are my questions and my rants that I am dealing with now. If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to toss them my way. I accept every little bit. I leave you with a photo from my trip to charleston, WV. I would love to live here one day.