CORNDOGORAMA!

East Atlanta hosted CORNDOGORAMA this year! This awesome music festival was started 13 years ago by Dave Railey to promote his band on his birthday and has turned into a great festival for indie rock bands to come and rock out to a crowd and enjoy corn dogs in the process. It was HOT, but that didn't keep the corn dog lovers away from this event! :) For more information on the event... http://www.corndogorama.com

Celebration of Frank's Life...

I was honored when Frank's wife asked me to take photos at the "Celebration of Frank's Life" memorial service. I was a little nervous because I had never shot a memorial service before and I knew I would be a mess, but Vanessa said Frank would be so happy to know I was shooting it, so I grabbed my camera and headed to the memorial that was held at the Plaza Theater last Wednesday (June 24th). When I got there it was like no other memorial service I had ever attended. They were selling t-shirts and a memorial poster, all proceeds going to the family. The concession stand was open and the name Frank read above the theater doors. In the lobby the walls were adorned with Frank's work, everything from T.I. to David Lee Roth to Iggy Pop hung on the walls. Frank's aunt took the stage and read words from Frank including a top 10 list of the best things about having cancer. The show also included a local band playing a couple Strangler's songs and two slide shows, one of his life from beginning to end and another of his work. The night was amazing, although very emotional, it left me thinking.....It was sooo Frank.

Lauren Conrad's L.A. Candy...

It was my first book signing and I headed out to what I thought was going to be a nice quite shoot at the local book store, I have never been more wrong. I walked in and barely could make it through the crowd. Once I got the the media area, I was surprised to see I was the only media there. Then I looked over my right shoulder and there were people climbing over the book shelves holding their point and shoots trying desperately to get a shot of what was going to be Lauren Conrad from the hit TV show "The Hills", you see she wasn't even out there yet. I was amazed at the amount of people in this bookstore that had come out to get her to autograph her book "L.A. Candy". After the majority of the people where gone I walked around and realized that those people were really climbing the shelves because the shelves were broke and books were all over the floor. Who is Lauren Conrad again? It was a weird night to say the least.

More photos at: http://atlanta.metromix.com

Musicfest rocks Candler Park...

One hundred degrees, but that didn't keep the people away that came out to hear good music, see some great art and enjoy refreshing beverages. I stopped in while Sonia Leigh was on stage and man was she jammin'. The park was crowded with people, most of which were hiding in the shade to try and get some relief from the hot sun. Later in the evening fans came out to see Rusted Root and Guster.

Live X with Anberlin...

99x had Anberlin in the studio for a Live X this past week. Unfortunately, the lead singer got a flat tire driving up from Tampa and was stuck in central Georgia somewhere. How do you have a Live X without a lead singer you say? Well 99x pulled it off with style by asking one of the mega fans to sing the bands hit song with them. They also made copies of the lyrics for all the fans that attended and had them sing as well. This was the first time anything had happened like this in the history of Live X's. After playing their hit song the band answered questions and signed autographs. Although some were disappointed, I think everything went well considering the circumstances.

Manchester Orchestra ROCKS Summerfest!

The line-up for Summerfest this year was a perfect local line-up starting with Ponderosa an amazing band from Atlanta. These guys were meant to sing together, their harmonizing is something to see and hear! Then, as if that wasn't enough The Constellations took the stage like they owned it. It was different to see them rocking it out in the sun, normally they are in a bar at midnight somewhere with a crowd of fans jamming to their music, but it was a nice change up and the killed it as always. Finally, Manchester Orchestra took the stage and WOW, these guys rocked. The show was interrupted half way through and were asked to turn it down due to neighbors complaints, lead singer, Andy Hull said he was worried on the drive over if they would be too loud for the Virginia Highlands neighborhood and then they carried on with the show. It was an amazing local rock show for a perfect summer day! See more photos at: http://gallery.me.com/catmax55#101575

Playmate of the year hosts PJ Party at Whiskey Park...

Playmate of the year, Ida Ljungqvist hosted a party at The W's Whiskey Park. The night was full of beautiful people. Ida, not only the Playmate of the Year, but the first African American to hold this crown. She was so sweet all night signing autographs and hanging out with the fans in her Pajamas. Before becoming a playmate she was working in a Beverly Hills boutique, but she has left the boutique behind to persue the Playboy world. Also, at Whiskey Park that night DJ/Playmate Colleen Shannon spun the records that the crowd danced to all night. It was a fun night to say the least.

For more photos:

This Incredible Journey...

One of the best and hardest times of my life was when I was going to school for Commercial Photography. School pushed me to do things I had never done and I learned so much in the two years I was there. Before going to school I worked in accounting for ten years, but being stuck behind a desk looking at numbers all day just wasn't filling that void I felt. I made the jump in the fall of 2006, it was the scariest thing I had ever done to leave a nicely stable income to go to school and chase after a dream. Although, school was never my thing in the past, I really seemed to excel in the photography classes and even made the Dean's list while attending Gwinnett Technical College. It's been a long road, but one I have enjoyed tremendously. I am thankful for all the amazing people I have met along the way that have offered encouragement and words of wisdom to help me push my way through this dream that has been one incredible journey! I have so many ideas in this head of mine, so stick with me on this journey because there is so much more out there for me to capture and share with you!

Abandoned School...

I love wandering around old abandoned building. This one was ok, but I wish I had a model the day I was there. There are some cool big rooms that would make for some great portraits. It's alway interesting to check out these places to me and try and put together a story of what the walls have seen and heard. These doors were especially interesting to me, I wonder how many times they had been slammed by angry children. We tried to figure out how old the school was, but with no luck.