We went on a wee road trip around Alabama recently for AAA and got to pet a goat, eat some food, and see lots of pretty countryside. Oh, and I finally got to see Ave Maria Grotto—interesting place.
Here’s a handful of photos from the trip.
Jones Valley Teaching Farm // Center For Food Education
One of my favorite organizations in our area is Jones Valley Teaching Farm and they’ve recently opened their amazing new facility called the Center For Food Education and I cannot wait to see it in full swing.
We spent part of last year working on a new media campaign that will release starting this month and I can’t help but share a couple of photos of two of the folks I photographed for this project.
First is local badass and community partner Ama Shambulia.
Katie Davis is another wonderful human and she’s been at Jones Valley as long as I have worked with them. The longer I know her the more fantabulous I think she is. Persimmons, spider lilies, and smiles.
More about her and the Center For Food Education coming soon, too.
Thanksgivingtime
Spent some time at Black Bayou with some family this Thanksgiving and I’m glad to have that ability. This is Steph’s dad, William. I’ve been connected to Steph and her family for 15 years now and I’m always learning something from them.
Thankful for all my various parents—biological, in-law, and step.
Andi light test
Worked with Andi Rice again today and I always grab a light test of him—hard to resist, really.
Chef Frank Stitt at Fonfon
Chef Frank Stitt in the courtyard of Chez Fonfon. Found these unpublished scans from a few years ago. I’m still glad I’ve gotten to witness these folks behind the scenes caring deeply about the food they make and the customers they serve.
North Carolina
We took a trip up to North Carolina to celebrate another year of Stephanie’s life and boy was it beautiful.
We also got to meet up with my buddy Chris Bennett, a forager here in the southeast, about which he quite literally wrote the book. He gave us quite the tour of Black Balsam Knob.
Took a wrong turn somewhere
We were looking for petroglyphs in the mountains of North Carolina and got delightfully turned around at one point. Very much worth it.
POPTPOP: senior portrait?
When the brief says “senior portrait” and you pack to photograph a septuagenarian and end up shooting a pale teen.
Jim Lafferty in Birmingham
Dear friend and phenomenal photographer Jim Lafferty recently made a visit back to Birmingham and we took the opportunity to photograph him with the tintype process. Made for a great sitter and an even better visit.
John Dolan at Shakerag
A while back I made a quick run up to Sewanee, Tenn. to give a wet-plate demo to the student’s of John Dolan’s workshop at Shakerag. We made plates of all the students and some of the instructors as well, but this plate of John is one of my favorite of the day. He’s a great subject and an even better teacher, and inspiring photographer all around. Hell of a friend, too.
Charles Logan
I recently started work on an interesting project pertaining some interesting WWII history. This first step in the process took me to a foundry about an hour from home where I met Charles—a man of many hats in the metal shop. I’ll go into more detail down the road, but for now, here are a couple of portraits of him I grabbed the other day.
The Breakup Cookie / Emily Hall
Some of my favorite humans around, Emily and Roscoe Hall and their kiddos Ruby and Eli.
Last year Emily started slinging her cookies by the dozen (@thebreakupcookie) and the people love it.
(You may have had a fresh one at Church Street Coffee & Books—she was their first baker and bringer of the legendary recipe.)
(You may also have seen Roscoe on Season 18 of Bravo’s Top Chef)
Mandy Lamb, Nashville, Tennessee
I’ve been busy lately (thankfully) and haven’t gotten to update this space in a while. While going through the archive of a previous long-term project, I have been finding some lovely out-takes and light tests, including this one of my friend and talented designer, Mandy Lamb. I had the privilege to work with her when she was still in Birmingham and grabbed this light test of her up in Nashville for a shoot at the Cumberland River Greenway. At the time, it was just getting started and had a new organization taking care of the Shelby Bottom Nature Park. Years later, my sister would end up living within walking distance of this beautiful place.
Jim Lafferty, Washington D.C. April, 2021
I had a project up in D.C. recently and was able to bring in my dear friend Jim Lafferty to help out. It was an intense project and having Jim by my side was invaluable. See Jim’s incredible work here.
Jon Brock, February 2021
We had the great pleasure to photograph Jon Brock on wet plate this weekend. A lovely man and the father of local legend Glenny Brock. Easily one of my favorite plates we have made and I’m thankful for him not getting a haircut or shaving his beard during the pandemic.
Photograph ©Rashod Taylor / National Geographic, used with permission
Rashod Taylor's National Geographic story dropped today.
I traveled to Georgia last year to help out Rashod Taylor with a wet-plate project he was working on for National Geographic. That story dropped today* (here’s the link) and I wanted to share some of it.
We spent the week all over the state photographing his family members who are part of the military in some way, making tintypes as a means of engaging the complexities of Black military service.
I helped out and shot some behind the scenes for NatGeo which should be on their stories soon.
*I’m writing this the day it posted, but am publishing this after the embargo time, just for the record.
Photograph ©Rashod Taylor / National Geographic, used with permission
Photograph ©Rashod Taylor / National Geographic, used with permission
Photograph ©Rashod Taylor / National Geographic, used with permission
Here are a few snaps from the week in Georgia.
Rashod and his cousin Valerie Lewis visit the grave or her grandfather, Sgt Lecky Taylor, at the Marietta National Cemetery.
Rashod organizing chemistry at his aunt and uncle’s home in Griffith, Georgia.
This is maybe 80% of the gear we needed to cram into this van. If you look closely, Rashod is in there waving.
Couldn’t resist talking this shot of my shadow at the Marietta National Cemetery.
This is a favorite moment in Griffith. We were photographing Rashod’s Uncle Ernest “Unc” Lewis and I ended up using an 8x10 dark slide as a flag gaffed to a c-stand arm. Truly a #shittyrigs moment.
Staff Sergeant Vanessa Lewis Williams shows me where “regulation” is for her hat, in preparation for a plate Rashod was about to make.
Rashod shows family the plate in the fixer.
Once again, check out the story here.
Found an old test plate
Rediscovered this old test plate of me from some portraits we made a while back.
Mardi Gras reflection
Lots of us are going to miss Mardi Gras again this year but it’s cool to see them doing Yardi Gras in New Orleans and Mobile. Creative solution. As much as I don’t like crowd, this is one event during which I love to be immersed in the culture and traditions.
Here are some scenes from a couple of years ago.
Balch & Bingham / Jonathan Hoffman
More work for Balch & Bingham.
This is Jonathan Hoffman—lawyer, dad, and accomplished music composer. He’s had his work selected multiple times from nationwide competitions held by the Alabama Symphony Orchestra.
Always one to be working, he was legitimately composing while we were shooting.
Balch & Bingham / Irving Jones
A while back I photographed some folks at Balch & Bingham as part of a recruitment campaign and I just noticed they’ve started using the images.
This is Irving Jones. Attorney, golfer, road trip enthusiast, and former counterintelligence agent.
Oh, and super nice guy.
