Help-Portrait Augusta

Help-Portrait is an absolutely amazing new movement in which photographers, make-up artists, and others devote their time and skills in order to provide breathe taking photos for those less fortunate. All too often I think we really take for granted the value of a photograph. Think back to the last time you had your picture taken, you probably immediately turned the camera around to check out the photo on the LCD screen. If it was a good picture, it was probably followed by a nice smile. I think its safe to say everyone gets excited when they are tagged in some new pictures on Facebook from the previous weekend. Especially if it compliments their looks. Seems like a simple life pleasure. Unfortunately, there are some who live just down the street from us that don't get to experience that simple life pleasure. Now I may be romanticizing just a bit, since after all, pictures are pretty important to me. But putting a smile on a child's face with a photo is one of the greatest feelings I've experienced.

Jennifer and Brandon's Wedding

   What an honor. Jennifer and Brandon are the all american couple. She is a beautiful blonde, and he served in the military. It was a complete honor to shoot their wedding this weekend and I came away with some of my most favorite photos I've ever taken. It's late so I am going to be quick.

I took 1776 photos yesterday. I picked around 30 of them to share with you all. More details to come.

Published: Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles

I finally did it. A piece of my work was published in a magazine this month! It's not a substantial full-page spread with an detailed biography about yours truly, but its a small victory!

My sister is currently working at Bee Atlanta, a brand new, eco-friendly interior design boutique in Atlanta's East Andrews. One of their many eco friendly product lines includes locally harvested Honey. They have an assortment of flavors and I got my hand on a jar. Its a simple design but its eye catching. I had just bought a new lens that is excellent with macro shots so it was a perfect match. Surprisingly I was able to control myself and waited until after I took the pictures before I cracked the top and started taking spoonfull after spoonful. Little did I know, one of the photos I took would find it's way to Atlanta's Home and Lifestyle magazine!

Here is the original photo:

  I am also now on Twitter. You can follow me @michaelknowlton.

Joe and Chasity's Engagement Shoot

I had the wonderful opportunity to photograph Chasity and Joe's engagement this afternoon and I couldn't have ask for a more wonderful couple. Chasity and Joe are both intense Green Bay Packers fans and their passion for each other is even more intense. Even in between juggling work/school and planning a wedding, they both remain incredibly happy and optimistic. It was am absolute pleasure hanging out and getting to know them better and I look forward to what has the making to be a beautiful wedding.

I recently picked up the update for lightroom and am absolutely loving it so far. I can upload to facebook and flickr inside of lightroom and the ability to design custom albums has opened some new creative doors. I will hopefully be picking up Adobe InDesign soon in order to offer custom wedding albums to my future clients. And I get to completely absorb myself in learning something new. Something i'm starting to realize I really enjoy doing.

Do what you love, make the world a better place

One of the percussion players today said "do what you love to do, it will make the world a better place." Being here in Brazil has really shown me that money and material goods don't always bring happiness. Our tour guide thanked God for blessing him multiple times. Was he rich? Not one bit. But he talked of the relaxed atmosphere and mindset in Salvador. He told stories of leaving work and going straight to the beach or to the hillside to watch the sun set with a drink in his hand.

He loves his life, not because his drives a shiny car or because he lives in a fancy house, but because he does what he loves and surrounds himself with great people. I have been blessed with being able to do what I love alongside the people that I love. And for that, I am eternally grateful.

The Blogger is not allowing me to upload any photos, but if you go to www.flickr.com/photos/mknowlton

Brazil Day 1 Teaser!

Well I don't have much time, after what seemed like a flight that would never end, we finally got to Brazil and I immediately had the camera out taking pictures (and video now!) We even got to get off the plane on the tarmac instead of going though the tunnel like most boring airports!

The computer is about to die so I am just going to upload some pictures. But, I am having an absolute blast and it is a challenge to take a BAD photo here. It's just too beautiful.

Homecoming Week at KSU!

 Well it is that time of the year again. And while Kansas Kennesaw doesn't have a football team just quite yet, who said we can't celebrate the beatiful (and smart) young ladies that call Kennesaw home!?

I took a few photos of the young ladies on court representing the Phi Mu Sorority at Kennesaw this week and the pictures came out phenominal if I do say so myself! These ladies definitely made my life easy!

A little inspiration

So as most of you know, I was blessed to make it 21 years on this planet as of last Thursday. In celebration, I took most of the day off. After finishing my 9:30AM Marketing class I decided to go find a nice shade tree and read a little of David Duchemin's book entitled "Vision Mongers" the book is all about "making a life and a living in photography". I began jotting down a few notes while I was reading, when all of a sudden David asked, "What do you want to shoot?" and "Why do you want to shoot it?". Pretty simple questions right? Thats what I thought. But boy oh boy was I wrong. The following, is my answer to what I thought were two simple questions.

This is completely unedited and 100% off the cuff. I am simply typing my thoughts. Ideas may seem to be jumbled and the essay may not flow, but thats the beauty of it. I was just writing. Writing from inspiration.
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What do I want to shoot?/Why do I want to shoot it?


    I want to shoot high budget weddings. I want to shoot the bride as she is having her made up done. I want to shoot the groom drinkin' a cold one to relax before the ceremony. I want to shoot their eager and excited (while sometimes nervous) faces as they walk down the isle and exchange their vows. I want to shoot that first kiss as a married couple, and tat first dance as they ooze with their passion for one another. I want to capture those moods and expressions that last only a fraction of a second, in order to freeze it for eternity.

Why? Because I feel there is no other way to have that level of ecstasy and happiness than to be capturing that split second and giving the couple that image that they can look back on for the rest of their lives to remind them of the love that originally brought them together.

I want to do this, because I love it. Sure the money is a nice encouragement. But the joy I get while looking at the LCD screen on the back of my camera while the batteries in my flash are recycling is unmatched to anything I have ever done before.

As I was shooting the cover of the Raining Ami CD this pas weekend the model kept chuckling as I would take a shot and afterwards glance at the LCD screen and just smile. Smile at the image I created. That is why I want to do it.

Looking through the viewfinder, I can remember seeing myself smile in the reflection of the LCD while laughing hysterically at the lame joke I told to lighten the model's mood. That is why I want to be a photographer.

As I sit here outside of the business building at Kennesaw under a nice shade tree waiting for lunch. I'm reading "Vision Mongers" and it begged the question, "Why?". I had always thought about why, but never this in-depth.

It was in my Marketing class, where I was simultaneously reading about target  marketings both in "Vision Mongers" and on the projection screen, that it hit me. I do it because I enjoy it. Most students sit absent minded while the professor lectures, but I was sitting there thinking about how I can incorporate this lecture, and this book into my business. I is that, and the fact that I left class and continued reading about target markets and marketing techniques that I knew why I wanted to do it.

I hardly take notes in class where I am required to do it. Yet im sitting here taking notes and writing a NOVEL in my free time for crying out loud! Not because I have to, but because I WANT to, because I want to succeed.

I know this was a ramble that started out as why I wanted to shoot weddings, but it turned into something much different. Something much more. And I am completely ok with that. And I have that same attitude with my future in photography. I have a vision of where I want to be. No, I haven't written down specifically that vision, but I have a vision of where I want to be and what I want to accomplish. But if for some reason it turns out differently, much like this "novel", as long as I am following my passion, I say "so be it" and I am looking forward to "riding that wave". Its going to be tough, but my passion will overcome obstacles. No matter how high. (And I'm quite short)

- Michael Knowlton
www.michael-knowlton.com
michael@michael-knowlton.com
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The view from where I wrote this

Raining Ami CD Cover shoot!

This weekend I was presented with the amazing opportunity to work with Raining Ami to shoot the cover of their new CD they are launching. They are an absolutely amazing band and I see huge things from them in the future. Leslie Beaudion and I worked together with Raining Ami to create what will hopefully be a very unique CD cover. It looked like we might get rained out, but the rain held out just long enough and those dark clouds proved to add quite an interesting mood to the photos. I think they came out great!



For more info on the band you can go to: Raining Ami

That is all for now, its late and I am ready for some sleep!!

When one just isn't enough...

In my previous post I mentioned how there were about 50 other photos I wanted to showcase. Well, being the President, the Vice Prez, the CEO, and the Sole Proprietor of MK Photography I made the executive decision that I would share a few more.

Enjoy!

Brian and Tammy's Wedding

A few weeks ago I shot 2nd at my first wedding and absolutely fell in love. I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to work with Chris again and shoot second for him at another beautiful wedding this weekend. Tammy and Brian were both wonderful to work with and had a beautiful ceremony. You couldn't have asked for better weather for the wedding, though shooting in the bright mid-day sun was a bit challenging at times. I was able to apply some of the things I learned while shooting my first wedding a few weeks ago and also learned something new. I picked 12 images, and it was incredibly tough. There are about 50 more that I would like to show but the dozen images will have to do for now.

I'm extremely excited for the next wedding!