On July 19th, Deanna and Natario were married at First Baptist Church Denbigh in Newport News VA. The reception took place at the Hampton Roads Convention Center, where the bride and groom arrived from the ceremony in a white Rolls-Royce. Fortunately we were able to slip away for a few portraits with the classic car. Thanks to Melody and all who helped make this day a success! The decorations were provided by A Touch of Elegance, adding a splash of color to the reception. Special thanks to my assistants Gary and Charlie for helping out with the photography and lighting setups. Here’s a sneak peek into Deanna and Natario’s special day.

Decorations by A Touch of Elegance

Everyone capturing the cake-cutting, including myself

Congratulations to Dr. James M. Russell III, recipient of the 2008 Virginia Outstanding Scientist award. On last week, I photographed Russell and the 2007 award winner, Dr. M. Patrick McCormick, on the campus of Hampton University. Images were created of them in front of Ogden Hall, the Administration Building (pictured below), and other areas of the campus. Thanks to Yuri and her staff for coordinating this session.

One or two images from the session will be part of a billboard display along interstate 64 in Hampton VA. Look for the super-sized image during August and September 2008.

Dr. James M. Russell III (left) and Dr. M. Patrick McCormick (right),
winners of the 2008 and 2007 Virginia Outstanding Scientist Award

The 2008 Hampton Ministers’ Conference and Choir Directors’/Orgainists’ Guild Workshop kicked off on Monday June 2nd on the campus of Hampton University. Preachers and church musicians from all over the country have gathered here to worship, network, and learn music and concepts that they can take back to their hometown churches. This year’s conference speaker is Bishop Charles E. Blake, presiding Bishop of Church of God in Christ Worldwide. Here are a few images from the choir soloist performance and Bishop Blake’s sermon. Enjoy!

Choir Director

On Friday May 16th, I had the pleasure of photographing the JET program’s Annual Black Tie Gala. The event was held at Hampton University’s student center ballroom, where Wavy 10 (NBC) news anchor Don Roberts served as emcee. City of Newport News mayor Joe Frank was the recipient of the 2008 JET Visionary Award. Congratulations to all of the JET program participants! Also thanks to Gary for helping with the photography, and Myrtle for assisting with on-site portrait orders.

Don Roberts, Wavy 10 (NBC) morning news anchor

Newport News Mayor Joe Frank w/ JET program director Don Rose

I recently held a studio portrait session for Amber, a music major at Hampton University. We created lots of great images to be used for her upcoming vocal competition. Hopefully we can narrow them down to just one for the program.  Here are a couple of my favorites.

On Mother’s Day ‘08, Hampton University held their 138th Annual Commencement Exercises on the campus at Armstrong Stadium. This year’s speaker was Christopher Gardner, whose life story was the made into the movie “Pursuit of Happyness” w/ Will Smith.

This was a very emotional speech for him, since his daughter Jacintha was among the graduates that day… the first in his family to graduate from college. President Harvey made it a “two-fer” by presenting Gardner with an honorary doctorate degree. My cousin Greg also graduated Sunday with his MBA… Congratulations!

Slideshow (runtime 1:07)

Commencement speaker Christopher Gardner

On Wednesday, I held a studio portrait session for a few members of the Miss Southeastern Virginia Pageant committee. I thought it was neat how they just happened to show up wearing red, white & blue. Their solid-colored clothing worked great for these promotional images. Here are a few from our studio session.

On April 26th I had the pleasure of being a judge for a Virginia high school skills competition. This year’s state level competition was organized by SkillsUSA and held at the Hampton Roads Convention Center. High school students competed in areas ranging from brick laying to automotive repair to… photography. For the photography competition, there were four judges including myself and photographer Greg Adams.

My task was to judge studio portrait lighting. So, students had to position, meter, and adjust two flashes for a studio lighting setup. They took ten photos and choose what they felt was their strongest image… and explained why. After the competition, Greg and I answered a few questions and showed the students some lighting basics. Your’s truly “modeled” a little, to help show different types of lighting.

Photos by Greg Adams