NEW BLOG!

The time has come. I now have a NEW blog.
You can see it by clicking here.

This blog will continue to hold all the images and entries I have entered, but I will no longer make any additional entries.

If you have any questions, please e-mail me at info@csmfoto.com

The new blog address is: www.csmfotoblog.blogspot.com/

NEW WEB SITE!

Yes, I have added a new site!

So, I have finally added a site for client proofing and 'everything else". I have been wanting a site to put photographs I take that fall under the 'everything else" category. So, in that site you can view photographs I have taken of landscapes, musical groups, international travel, fine art, and sports. ALSO, every client will proof their images through this site. It includes a shopping cart and will allow you to make an order right there through the website. Pretty Cool! ALSO, I am in the process of updating my engagement / bridal site. I just did a session with a couple in Myrtle Beach that was phenomenal! I have posted a little tease of that session below. LASTLY - I am going to be launching a NEW BLOG very soon where I will be posting all of my new work with bigger images, slideshows and lots of GREEN color! I will debut my most recent photo session on that blog which is scheduled to be up on Wednesday. So, I'm crossing my fingers. I told you LOTS was coming. So, here is the beginning of LOTS.

Tenth Avenue North . . . debut.

I want to tell you about some friends of mine who just came out with a new CD. They are called Tenth Avenue North. I met Tenth Avenue North when they agreed to play a conference I was doing for students at ECU. They have done it for us the past two years (they deserved a lot more than we could pay them and they still did it). I took some pictures of them doing our last conference and posted them below for you to enjoy. I think their sound is unique, but if I had to pin them down to a style it would be similar to Chris Tomlin. If you like him, then you'll love this.

A lot of times I can't help but wonder if some Christian bands are really "Christian" in their devotion to the Lord or just to the music industry. I can personally attest to these guys and their genuine love for the Lord, especially Mike the lead singer. They have a unique ability to communicate their passion for the Glory of God. If you want to hear their hearts about this click here. I feel like I have this strange gift of being able to pick out music that is going to top the charts. Their single "Love is Here" is going to be big, as well as "Hold My Heart". You can check their website out here. You can listen to their music on itunes here. So, I'm a big fan and wanted to share them with you. Enjoy.

Photography Philosophy and a new logo.

I'm so excited! I just received my new logo by Brent Holloman. We went back and forth on this logo for two months. We went through several different designs but this is the final product and I am really happy with it. Brent put up with me really hounding him this last month and made me a really satisfied client. I will recommend him to you if you ever need design work. He can do it.

So here is the idea behind the logo. I wanted something that reflected in a very simple way my philosophy on photography. The three green boxes do that for me really well. My philosophy is this:

"photography helps us remember the things we forget."

Memories fade. The bottom line is - we can't remember what we ate for lunch yesterday - let alone really important things in our life. Photographs help us preserve those memories. By looking at the image of our daughter smiling with two front teeth missing . . . we recall and preserve that memory . . . even 5, 10, or 20 years later. Thats why people risk their lives by running into burning or flooding homes to retrieve their images. They don't run in for their television. They risk their lives for their memories, because they know that once the photographs are gone . . . their memories of the details . . . they will fade with time.

I chose the color green because green represents growth to me and with that the passing of time. I like the text of "csm" because it looks like a roller coaster ride to me . . . and, well, life is a lot like that - plenty of ups and downs. The three boxes (that go from lighter to darker shades of green) represent memories faded that come more into focus with an image and with that image comes . . . remembrance. I want my photography to provide that for people . . . a time capsule of moments . . . a season of life frozen . . . held in your hand . . . to help you re-live and remember. In some cases a photograph is all we have left of a loved one. In that case, the photograph becomes quite precious to us.

I want preserved memories of our children, our engagement, our wedding, . . . even seasons of life . . . our son learning to ride a bike for the first time . . . the first missing tooth . . . the first steps . . . Life moves so fast. It's important to capture it now.

. . . . . because {she's born} . . . because {she's turning one} . . . because {he's graduating} . . . because {they're engaged} . . . because (they're getting married} . . . because {she's pregnant} . . . . because {they grow} . . . . . . . . because {time flies}.

Fields and Bubbles

Recently we went to Richmond, Virginia to visit my family and enjoy some time with them. All weekend I wanted to take the kids out to a field close by the house for a photo shoot. The field was just starting to bloom little wild daisies everywhere. It was really quite beautiful. So, on Saturday, just before dinner I decided to take the kids out to enjoy the daisies. I invited my brother and their little girl, Grace, to join us. Here are some of my favorites. Enjoy!

My favorite shot of the evening.


Grace taking a run through the field.


Peek.


A-Boo.




Of course Caleb didn't really want to just 'look at daisies' in the field. So later we took him to pop bubbles.

Graves and Things

Ok, so Kim and I went to New Bern recently. New Bern is quite an historic town. In other words, its very very old. We stayed at a neat little Bed and Breakfast there. One of the things we did is drive around and take photos of some old things. So we were driving and we came around this corner and the coolest cemetery I have ever seen rolls out over this beautiful green grass and under these gorgeous blue skies. It is called the New Bern National Cemetery. Now, I hadn't seen a cemetery quite like this one before, other than Washington D.C. So, I couldn't help but take a picture.

Then we kept driving around and I stumbled onto another Cemetery. This one was called Cedar Grove. This Cemetery contains the graves of Confederate soldiers that died in the battle of New Bern, many early politicians, and 19th century gravestone markers. So, the artist in me couldn't resist taking pictures of these century old grave-markers. The road inside the cemetery was made up of Oyster Shells. So, don't go in there barefooted. It was a pretty creepy place. Honestly, it would have been the ultimate childhood dare to stay a night in that place. Old and creepy doesn't quite get it. So, I fired off a few images there too.

Then we found this cool puddle and Kim was willing to wade into it for a pretty cool picture.

So, now you know . . . I like old things. Even Cemeteries. I called those images "Fine Art" because usually it is the artist in us that likes how old grave markers look. So, if this kinda thing creeps you out, then I wouldn't scroll down any further. For those of you who like it . . . enjoy!

Lydia's Birthday Video

As promised, here is the Birthday Video. It has most every image I took during both parties. Enjoy!

Lydia turns ONE

Lydia turned ONE year old recently. We had two parties for her . . . one with her friends . . . one with immediate family. I took pictures the entire time. Lydia will just have to trust me that I was there. Here are some of the pictures of the parties. I will be posting a video that documents both of the parties very soon (your child's picture is probably in the video). A special thanks to "grandma" who helped Kim tremendously with everything, (including the fruit kebabs, and cutting the crust off of 1,000 mini sandwiches . . . ok, not that many, but a lot) because I was pretty useless at that. Thanks for celebrating with us! Enjoy!

Waiting for friends and family to arrive.

The Ladybug vests . . . another thing Dad was useless at.

Mom getting a chuckle out of our cute daughter being a ladybug.

A sea of Ladybugs.

When the cake was being eaten.

When the cake was gone.

Brother Caleb got into the cake action.

Birthday hugs are the best!

Tucker.

Lisa and Caden

Learning to Walk!

Fisheye Lens

I recently purchased a new lens. It is called a Fisheye. It does some cool distortions. I tried it out on my family. Take a look, I think it produces some pretty cool images. We all made a funny face for the lens.

Caleb likes his little sister to push him around the yard.


Still pushing . . .


Caleb's Funny Face.


My Funny Face.


Kim's Funny Face.


Lydia's Grunt.


This is the 15mm Fisheye 2.8 lens.

Playing in the Field

We recently took the children to play and to enjoy a beautiful sunset. I took my camera along to grab some family memories. I thought I'd share a few with you.

This is my favorite. I love seeing the dirt kicking up as Caleb runs from his sister.

March Madness

I apologize for not posting for a while. I have some new stuff coming soon. I promise. In the meantime, I wanted to share with you how I'm doing . . . or should I say how I WAS doing in the NCAA tournament. I entered a bracket on Facebook. (By the way if you aren't on facebook . . . you should be - WARNING - It is addictive.) There are over 400,000 entrants. Last week I was in the top 25 . . . I know. I could hardly believe it and so I know you probably don't believe me. So, I took a picture of it. I know that my score says 46 and people under me have higher scores. I did notice that and I don't understand it . . . but Facebook can't be wrong . . . right? So enjoy the tourney . . . and Ladies . . . don't worry, it will be over soon and men WILL wonder back home.