Like many people in this helter-skelter world we live in these days, I spend more than a little of my time in my car. When I don’t feel like listening to CDs or the endless repetition of commercial radio, I like to catch up on some of my favorite podcasts, especially those from RadioLab, produced by wNYC. (Check them out – they’re a great source of information and entertainment).

This morning’s chosen podcast was all about deception, and included references to the work of Dr. Paul Ekman (the real-life inspiration behind the popular TV show “Lie To Me”). His studies of the human face revealed that we have approximately 50 muscles that can combine to produce approximately 3000 different emotional expressions.

I got to thinking that,  a photographer, I’m mostly looking for a very specific one of those 3000 expressions – a simple, gentle, natural smile. Thankfully not as rare as the odds might imply, I consider a smile as one of the great rewards of my profession:

• A look shared between a loving couple in an engagement session…
• Contentment on a bride’s face…
• Sheer delight from a happy child…
• Joy at viewing a finished portrait for the first time…
• The love of a proud father for his daughter on her wedding day…

A true sense of achievement in a high-school senior…

The list goes on and on, but it is that 1 in 3000 of expressions, a simple smile, that makes my job the best in the world.

Why not think about capturing some smiles of your own with a professional portrait? Check out the main sections of the Merrick Photography web site and see what we can do for you today.

Are you ready for something fun to do and help out a worthy local cause at the same time? If so, grab your girlfriends and get ready for a good night out!

Join us for a fun evening out, hosted at Merrick Photography’s Angel Hill Studio, with our first Ladies Night Out event to benefit Fayette Cares (http://www.fayettecares.org/).

Don’t miss this great opportunity to bring your old, broken or unwanted gold and jewelry with you and convert it into cash that you can take home, or use to treat yourself to something special from the event.

Mingle with the crowd, shop, learn more about health and wellness, and make new friends in the relaxed atmosphere of our elegant studio setting. You can view and buy art, gifts and other fun items from our specially selected group of vendors. Refreshments will also be provided to make this a perfect evening out.

Entry is free and the first 50 attendees will each receive a special “goody bag” full of treats and special offers, so be sure to arrive early!

Help us make a difference to people’s lives by making this a special evening to remember – it will be even more fun if you bring along a friend or two!

You can also RSVP to the event at the Merrick Photography Facebook Page.

Click the following links for more information about Merrick Photography, or our portrait and wedding photography services.

Our lives are a series of important milestones (childhood, graduation, marriage, raising a family) and we value our photographs so much because they capture memories of such happy times. But, it goes much deeper than that – we’re not only holding on to memories, but also what it felt like at the time, the emotions and love that go with those memories.

I believe being a photographer isn’t only about creating photographs – it requires empathy to truly capture those “images inspired by you”. Later, as you admire your portraits, you’ll recall the feelings of love and joy from those precious moments.

It’s tempting to put off having portraits created “until the time is right”, but our daily lives conspire to keep us distracted from the most important things. Our children will only be this age RIGHT NOW; there’s only going to be ONE wedding day; senior year is GONE before you know it; our families are ALWAYS worth celebrating…

Take time to connect with the things that inspire you – call NOW for a friendly chat about how professional portraits can enhance your life and the lives of those you love.

On Saturday Feb. 27th 2010, I had the pleasure of attending another wonderful concert by the Wolf River Chamber Orchestra at the First Congregational Church on S. Cooper.  As with all their concerts, I aim to capture a little of the spirit of the occasion, although I know my camera doesn’t do full justice to the talent of both Mr. Langley and the members of the orchestra, all of whom put their hearts and souls into their performance.

The music was so amazing, in fact, that I almost forgot to take photographs at one point because I was so engrossed in the energy of the performance!

I strongly urge anyone who has yet to attend one of these concerts to go to the next one! Mr. Langley is an amazing conductor, and the musicians are all, without any doubt, real professionals at their art. For me, it was most certainly worth the effort of driving from Oakland TN to see it! Perhaps we can persuade them to perform in Somerville TN sometime too.

For more information about the orchestra, you can visit their web site here: http://sites.google.com/site/wolfriverchamberorchestra/

With all the cold weather, rain, snow and ice we’ve had lately, it was a great feeling to be able to get out and about again with the camera for an hour or two (at least before the thunder and rain returned!). This time I wandered from Oakland TN to Somerville TN and back again.

Roaming around with a camera, simply discovering things that catch my eye, is one of my favourite ways to keep my photography fresh. Yesterday, I found some great subjects as diverse as the Grocery Store on highway 194 and graffiti on an abandoned home. Heaven only knows how long that house had been left unoccupied, but it must have been a number of years – it sounded as though the wind itself was about to blow it down!

A rusty drain cover, with some great texture and an old barn also captured my imagination.

This is a great exercise for anyone with an interest in photography – just go out with no particular purpose in mind and allow your inner eye to see the things your “looking” eye might easily miss…

We are very proud to announce our 1st Annual Junior Photographer Competition and Exhibition, to benefit Fayette Cares.

The competition is open to all young photographers, aged through 15 – so get those cameras out, have fun, be creative and start shooting!

The exhibition will feature the work of approximately 100 young photographers, selected by our two jurors from the entries received, and will be on display at Merrick Photography’s new Angel Hill Studio from 21^st November 2009 to 20^th December 2009.

The opening reception and awards presentation will be held in conjunction with Merrick Photography’s Grand Opening for the new studio on Saturday 21^st November 2009 from 5-9pm.

The theme for this year’s competition and exhibition is: “What I Am Thankful For…”

For more details about the competition, rules and entry forms, please see the web site at:

http://www.merrickphoto.com/junior-photographer-2009/

Today turned out to be a beautiful day here in Memphis, which is a great relief after all the rain we’ve had over the last few weeks!

This was a perfect day for the first annual AIA Memphis Chalk Art Festival, held outside the Brooks Museum in mid-town Memphis.

Over 30 teams took part in the competition and I was honored to be asked by AIA Memphis to photograph the event for them.

The standard of artwork was excellent, and everyone had a lot of fun. Congratulations to the winners and to everyone who took part today!

Saturday 13th September 2009 saw the second annual Cotton Pickin 5K run and the first annual cotton candy 1K fun run in Somerville, TN.

As a proud sponsor of the event I had the privilege of photographing the event for Fayette Cares, which is also Merrick Photography’s chosen local charity.

Here is a photograph of the overall winner of the 5K race, which saw almost 300 runners take part this year.

If you ran in the race and would like to see the finished photographs, please go to www.collages.net and login with the username “cotton pickin run 2009″ and password “21925″.

Like most small boys, when I was young I wanted to grow up to be a pilot – the thrill of the thought flying, combined with growing up in the age of Concorde and the Apollo space program were all fuel to the fire. Sadly, I’ve yet to realize that particular dream, but I still have a great sense of awe and wonder at those who do. So, I feel very lucky to have been able to meet Skip Stewart yesterday as he put his new prototype RC model of Prometheus, his stunt plane, through some initial flying tests. This is a 40% scale replica of his actual custom-built stunt plane, and currently the only one in existence.

The photograph above shows the plane landing after it’s test flight – very graceful, powerful and certainly a sight to see!

Thank you to Skip for allowing me to photograph the plane, and I look forward to seeing him at his next show – or over the skies of Fayette County, TN, where he practices his incredible flying skills. You can check out Skip’s web site at www.skipstewartairshows.com for more information on the plane, the pilot and the amazing shows he puts on.

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