Of course, we couldn’t resist the temptation to adopt this little gem!
This cute little orange tabby is the latest addition to our menagerie of pets – let’s hope she settles in okay over the next few weeks. The next job is to agree on a suitable name for her.
At just over 6 weeks old, this image is from her first portrait session. Now, if only I can get her to order a canvas wall portrait 
On Saturday 23rd August 2008, AIA Memphis held a very special event on Main Street called Dining By Design. I was fortunate enough to be asked to be the official photographer for this event, which celebrated architectural design in a Memphis Cotton Row residence.
This was an incredibly lively and fun evening – with a tremendous amount for the guests to see, eat & experience during the fun-packed evening.
Pianist Dennis Whitehead provided some wonderful piano music to start the evening off.
The sound of the beautiful Steinway echoed throughout the building, providing a wonderful atmosphere to get the event rolling.
This was followed by the energetic dancers of the New Ballet Ensemble with their entrancing movements and contemporary dance styles.
These young dancers and musicians are incredibly dedicated and talented and I wish the New Ballet Ensemble all the success in the world for the future.
Finally, the evening was rounded off by an incredible performance by Amy LaVere and her amazing band.
Amy’s distinctive mixture of classic country/gypst and jazz music had everyone up and dancing in no time!
You can read more about Amy at the Archer Records web site at http://www.archer-records.com/?page=artist.asp&sub=y&aid=5
The atmosphere of this event was relaxed, fun, entertaining, dynamic and exciting all at the same time! I had a great time creating the images from this event, and many thanks to AIA Memphis for allowing me the opportunity to work with them again.
Photographs from the event can be viewed here:
The username is “dining by design” and the password is 21925
I am always looking for ways to give back to the local community and so I’m proud to announce my support as a sponsor of the Cotton Pickin’ 5K Run/Walk to benefit Fayette Cares.
As the official photographer for this event on September 13th 2008, I will be there to document the race, the particpants, winners and atmosphere of this new annual event.
It promises to be a lot of fun!
More information on the event, including registration information can be found at:
http://www.fayettecares.org/templates/cusfayettecares/details.asp?id=29782&PID=584796
Images from the event will be available online at my online proofing provide, Collages.Net, which can be found here:
You can pre-register to view photographs from the event with the following username & password:
Username: Cotton Pickin Run
Password: 21925
Photography is a great profession to be in and I love it tremendously – nothing beats the reward of seeing one of my happy clients crying tears of joy over a newly-presented wedding book or family portrait. My clients are definitely like our extended family in this regard.
But one source of continual amusement is the amount of nonsense one reads all over the place about cameras in particular. The internet abounds with reviews galore of cameras, lenses, media cards, you name it - how this one is better than that, this lens is minutely sharper than another, or that megapixels should be treated like money – by getting as many as possible. The truth about that and other things related to photography can be found at Ken Rockwell’s interesting and very readable web site at http://www.kenrockwell.com/index.htm where you can read all you might ever want to know or even care about cameras and lenses.
Of particular interest are Ken’s amusing and often satirical essays on a variety of subjects. Very enjoyable, entertaining and thought-provoking. If you like photography at all, then go read his site – but make sure you have at least 8 hours to devote to it as you might be there longer than you think
Great job, Ken, keep up the good work.
One of the fundamental philosophies of my photography business has always been to maintain the highest standard of quality in everything I do.
But what does that really mean? By what measure can the quality in my photography actually be assessed? What defines quality in a photograph?
These are not easy questions to answer, and everyone has their own opinion on this, but I think the answer lies in three parts:
1. The technological quality of the equipment used to capture the photographs I create. This is probably the smallest part of the equation. Although the equipment must be in good working order and reliable, the camera used to make the photograph is not anywhere near as important as the eye and the artistic vision behind it.
2. The quality of the raw materials used to produce the final products. On the quality scale this is quite important as it directly affects the look, feel and longevity of the finished product. I use only the best materials available. For example, the wedding books from GraphiStudio, or canvas wall portraits that are hand stretched and expertly finished. I also use prints only from professional printing labs that use the best photographic papers. Although the final products do have a quality feel to them, I feel that this still doesn’t quite capture the essence of “quality” when related to my work as a whole.
3. The third and overwhelmingly most important part of the equation is how my clients feel about the whole experience of working with Merrick Photography and the treasured heirlooms they receive in their wedding books and wall portraits. How well does the final product match their expectations?
The following hypothetical scenario can reveal something of the true answer:
Two clients happen to visit the studio at the same time to pick up their finished wall portraits, but somehow they end up unknowingly switching portraits and going home with the wrong one. When they get home, they each unwrap them to find a portrait of complete strangers. The result? Disappointment. When they finally do get their proper portrait, they are overjoyed and thrilled. Why do we see two opposite reactions from the same photograph? They are clearly both excellent portraits since the owners are thrilled with them. From the client’s point of view the quality of the work lies in what it says about them, what it says about their personality or the relationships of the people in the photograph. It isn’t about the size or even the finish, but something else more subtle than that.
The true quality of a photograph is really something unique and personal to each and every client. This is part of what makes being an artist and photographer so very rewarding, and why I enjoy my profession so much. It is also the source of my photography studio motto “Images Inspired By You”
At the end of the day, quality simply means providing my clients with products and services that both meet and exceed their expectations and desires. It means revealing and capturing something normally hidden from view - a relationship, the romance and love that exists within our families.
It also means going the extra mile on a wedding day to photograph as much of the atmosphere and romance of the wedding as possible. It means taking the time on a bridal portrait session to make the bride feel like a real princess in her gown.
In a nutshell – it simply means to pour your heart into everything you do.
Following the Mid-South Wedding Show in Germantown last month, it’s been a very busy time with enquiries and bookings streaming in for 2009. Some of the popular dates for next year are already booked up, with many brides unfortunately finding themselves unlucky.
If your wedding photographs are an important part of your planned wedding then the best advice I can give in finding your wedding photographer is: Start as early as possible, because all the good Memphis wedding photographers will be fully booked up for 2009 very soon.
The wedding photography section of this web site gives some great tips and secrets for selecting the right wedding photographer for your wedding day, and I would strongly encourage all future brides to call for a friendly chat to talk about the aspects of their wedding that are important and to learn more about the products and services that are right for them.
Call us TODAY at (901) 606-9105 to learn more.
While photographing Annie & Bobby Syriac’s wedding (more on that in a later post), on July 19th 2008, I was particularly impressed with the flowers provided for the wedding by Oakland Florist. So much so, that I decided to visit the store for myself to see some of the other work by the owners, Teresa Bourland and Phyllis Roy.
While there, I photographed many of the flower arrangements that had been personally made by Teresa or Phyllis - literally a photographer’s paradise!
I’ve posted some of the examples here for you to see:
Oakland Florist is conveniently located on Murrell Street in Oakland, behind Anna Renae’s tea room. The store is well laid out with wonderful arrangements and decorations. For local residents this means that a long trip into Memphis is no longer needed, when there is such a great florist in town. In fact, the readers of the Oakland News voted Oakland Florist to be the best florist in Oakland for 2008.
Teresa or Phyllis can be reached at Oakland Florist on (901) 466-1234.
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