As you might have guessed, seeing “Part I” in the title for the previous article this is going to be an ongoing series given my recent effort to reprocess a whole host of my archived images.

If you are just now coming to my site, please feel free to take a look at the articles below:

• High Dynamic Range – Reprocessed: Part I – Old Sheldon Church

This article is related to one of my favorite and commonly used location, Sope Creek. If you get a chance, I’d highly suggest taking the family out to visit this location (you can find information about it in some of my previous articles about it).

While it does take a small hike to access the old ruins, it’s really quite worth it to experience such a magnificent slice of history. I hope you enjoy my re-processed & re-envisioned high dynamic range view of this fantastic spot! Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts!

Enjoy!

There is nothing quite like seeing old friends start new beginnings.



Even more so, when you get to be a part of it; for me being the photographer of two wonderful people who happen to also be friends starting their lives together.



I had the pleasure of working with both Shawn & Michelle on their engagement shoot a few months ago and I was honestly quite thrilled to be asked to also do their wedding as well. The wedding itself held a great deal of symbolic meaning to this fantastic couple. The date of the wedding was specifically chosen to fall on Valentines Day and this also happened to be during the time for celebrating the Chinese New Year.

While there was some concern surrounding the weather that week (you may see a few articles I posted about it previously at the links below) the day of was something out of a fairy tale. The temperature outside was cool and crisp, allowing for the snow to stick long enough for some amazing pictures.

• Winter Wonderland in Georgia: Part II

• Winter Wonderland in Georgia: Part I

Everyone here at Dim Horizon Studio’s wishes Shawn & Michelle the best of luck to their future.

To book a Wedding Package, check availability, or if you simply have questions please contact Dim Horizon Studio at or Contact Us Directly

If you didn’t get a chance to go to MomoCon a few months ago then I have to say next year I’d highly suggest you make plans to attend. Located on the large Georgia Tech Campus, the convention as a whole was quite a display of what can be organized with a few talented and passionate individuals.

MomoCon is free convention with all sorts of perks given to those that donate a little extra or buy an upgraded passes. Even with that said, it really is a well run convention and has a little bit of everything wherever your interests may lay in the Anime subculture. For me, I was surprisingly contacted by one of the lead organizers on MomoCon Twitter and was invited to attend, and even wore an awesome special guest pass while attending.

I will also say that when registration opens their “free” block of passes (they have to limit their numbers due to the regulations of the campus) go quite quickly. So register as soon as you get a chance!

• MomoCon’s Website

For MomoCon 2010, I primarily participated in two panels; one centered around Steampunk Costuming & Design, and the other on Cosplay Photography; or as I like to call it, Basic Portraiture.
I’ll be the first to admit I was a bit lost for words during the Steampunk Costuming & Design. I didn’t quite know where to interject my thoughts on the entire affair given my perspective as a photographer. Mostly I let the tremendously talented Matt, Erin, John of Penny Dreadful Productions and Meredith, Joseph of Outlander Armour take it away.

I will say in general, and from a down and dirty sort of view, shooting specialized costumes typically only takes a extra effort in the sense as a photographer you have to ensure your composition truly takes advantage of whatever your shooting. This can also be said for any specialized post processing techniques you might decide to use.

In the case of my Steampunk photography, I let the client/costume tell the story by putting them in a unique environment and ensure that I properly light the stunning wardrobe. On the post-processing end of things, its quite easy to convert images to sepia or to give them an aged sort of look and this typically enhances to story element of the shots. However; I say this also with the understanding that any technique can be overused and should like any seasoning in a meal be used appropriately and sparingly.

On the other hand, when I spoke during the Cosplay Photography panel with Meredith, I’d like to think I had a little more understanding of the entire affair. Meredith and I spoke to the basic tenets of model / photographer relationships.

• Communication

While Meredith and I didn’t have nearly enough time to cover all the bases when it comes to Cosplay/Portraiture Photography it was really overall a great experience. One of my soon to be clients katie even got a couple of snapshots of us during the panel. If you attended or even if you have some general questions yourself please don’t hesitate to let me know!

• Extraordinary Places Lost: Part II
• Extraordinary Places Lost: Part I

Much to my own dismay, one of the more popular abandoned locations in Atlanta wasn’t able to avoid this unlucky curse either. The Abandoned Prison I wrote about before was set ablaze by someone thinking it might be funny to leave their mark on the city in a violent and destructive way.

You can catch the article still on AJC.com (Atlanta Journal & Constitution).

I quickly made it down to the location the weekend after learning of the fire to see what was left. Thankfully, it looks as though only the entire second floor of the place was destroyed leaving a share of the unique gem still untouched by flames.

It’s been a long time since I sat and serious looked at my costume portfolio. During a redesign and re-imaging phase of my website, I realized how desperately I need new content, even of the same old costumes. At most I have one, maybe two, photos in each gallery I’m gaga over – but most of it is just convention shots or photos that showcase the costume well enough, but do little to invoke a feeling.

Yes, I’m that kind of nut.

As much as I love sewing and playing dress up, one of the biggest turn-ons for me is seeing everything come to life. Matt is amazing at that. Capturing these moments, allowing these characters to explode into the 3-dimensional from the pages and cells of my favorite comic or anime.

Wednesday, Matt had some downtown after work and invited me to come up to his place for a mini shoot. I say mini, because most of our shoots thus far have involved hiking, climbing, dodging bullets, and scaling mountains. (Maybe not the bullet part, but just wait til we go to the abandoned prison!) We went to a little field near his place, and the worse I had to suffer was traipsing through the mud barefooted. The shoot also lasted for only about 45 mins, and we got maybe 100 shots.

I wanted a wheat field, it was essential to my shoot. As Matt said, it’s a shame I didn’t decide on this 4 months ago when the fields where blazing with tall grass and un-cut wheat (but no one says we can’t shoot this costume again later!). The character, Horo from the anime Spice and Wolf, is a goddess of the harvest and associates herself with wheat and loves apples. It’s also an adorable love story.

Spice and Wolf

As Matt is super prompt about these things, I had the proofs ready by the time I got home! The hardest part is sifting through, trying to find which shots not only flatter me and the costume, but looking for the ones I think will stand out in a sea of other cosplay pictures. Now, the hardest part, waiting for the edits. ^_^