Focus Photography Convention.

2019 was my 1st year entering the Photography image competition.
I entered a total of 10 images and 8 of those received a Merit rating of having a score of 80 or above. 433 images in total were entered with a merit percentage of 59% so coming in with 80% was pretty exciting for me.
In addition, one of my images wan 1st place in the  illustrative Animal category, plus a Top 10 Photographer award and the Emerging Photographer award.
Here are the images that merited.

Flashes of Hope

This morning, Kelly and I had the privilege of being the photographers for Flashes Of Hope, at All Children's Hospital in Tampa. If you haven't heard of it, Flashes of Hope is an organization which has 55 chapters in different cities across the Country. The goal to photograph children being treated for cancer and we present the families with framed photographs, proofs and a CD of all the images. A big thank you to the Tampa Bay Co-Director, Dana Hudepohl and Brooke Curtis of The Hair Brewery for providing Hair and Make-up services!

It's so amazing to see the life and spirit in these children and yet so heartbreaking. If you would like to support Flashes of Hope, you may click on this link to make a small donation. Thanks so much! Here are a few of the Photographs from this morning...

Amazing Beach Wedding!

Add together; a Beautiful Bride, great guy, love, Bradenton Beach, perfect weather and that equals something fantastic. Kayla & Chris were married on Bradenton Beach on April 12, 2012 and we all had an amazing time. We spent the Friday night at the Queens Gate villa's where the Wedding Couple, family and friends were staying. On Saturday, the morning of the Wedding, we had a great Breakfast on the water with my wife Kelly, her Sister Cindy and Husband Roger. I met up with Kayla shorty after that as she began getting ready for the big day. Kayla was more calm than most brides and was seemed to move through the day effortlessly. Other than the minor delays the day went very well. Of course, Chris started his day with the guys, hitting the links for a round of Golf. Not a bad way to start any day! I'm am so glad I had the opportunity to capture and share their specials day and hope you enjoy some of the images. Click on the images for a larger preview.

Sunset on Little Harbor

Had a great Sunset Family Photo Shoot at Little Harbor in Ruskin. Kelly and I met with Simone, Anthony and 2 great kids, Zack & Reagan. (Hope I spelled Reagan correctly) These guys had great personalities and were just a blast to work with. We started shooting a little after 4:30 and had to work pretty fast as sunset was at 5:30.

Little Harbor is a cool little place in Ruskin on the water with a view of the St. Pete skyline in the distance. There is a little restaurant on the private beach called Sunset Grill and they ended up staying and having dinner there after the shoot. As the sun was setting we were able to capture some pretty dramatic sunset images with the help of Kelly holding the softbox with some fill flash.

Here are a few of our images.

One of the styles of Photography that I really seem to enjoy is Street Photography. Although I don't often have a chance to do it, I find it very interesting and exciting. Capturing unique looking individuals can be fun and also a bit intimidating. The question is always to ask permission to take the photo, or simply snap away paperazzi style. I've done it both ways and the more often you ask for permission, the easier it is to do. However, I do remember a specific time photographing homeless people in downtown Lakeland for a Project. I was accused of being a police officer undercover and taking pictures to turn the people in. In hindsight, I should not have done that project alone as I was quickly out numbered with my only weapon being my camera...and quick wit. :)