Great weekend

Where to begin? I had a great weekend. The weather was perfect! Friday night we went out to Crab Trap and got some seafood. It was great, as always. I really like Crab Trap, definitely my choice for St. Simons seafood. Instead of going out for drinks, we all came over to our house and watched "White Chicks". One of my favorite movies. Saturday we were going to go to the beach, but it wound up being a little chillier than expected, so we retired to the house where I completed various half-finished tasks, i.e. the stairs, cleaning the garage, yard work, etc. I also rode my bike that morning. We found out later that afternoon that someone found Kelly's car keys. Talk about being excited. Instead of spending the money that we were going to spend on the new keys (those electronic ones are expensive!) we went out to dinner again.... this turned out to be most beneficial to me. I ran into the guy that owns Palm Coast Coffee Shop in the village. They host local artists monthly..... Guess who is going to be there this month? ME! Yeah, I'm actually awaiting his phone call to give me all the details, I was just so excited I had to tell you know. I'm really pumped. I will let you guys know the details right away, so you can all get down there and see my stuff. My first showing.

That's all. I have another wedding to shoot this weekend. I'm excited. Have a great week y'all.

Friday Foto

Before last weekend I had this preconceived notion of wedding photography. I thought that this would be a good way for me to earn money, shoot and get my name out. Never did I actually think I would enjoy it or find that special art niche in it. I did. I consider myself a fine art photographer, and by saying that, I mean the kind of stuff you would see and buy in a gallery. Corporate photographers, photojournalists, portrait photographers (etc.) all have their place in the world, but myself, I like to be classified as a fine art photographer. I wanted to find my niche in the wedding world... not just producing ho-hum candids of so-in-so hugging the bride, but something a little bit more artsy if you will. Granted, this was my first wedding, but I feel confident enough to say that I know what kind of shots I would like to get from now on. Everybody needs their flare, you know?

These photos are just a few of the 1,028 and that I took last weekend. I have begun the processing, and am getting close to uploading the proofs on the web for the bride and groom to see. I thought I would give you all a little sneak peak. It's OK, the brides an avid reader of Island Profilin', I know she won't mind... but she better not be reading today, I dare say she has a lot more important things to be doing!

I, of course, photographed those important moments too, the ones that need to be taken however normal they may be. There is a place for those in every album. I am grateful to have shot this wedding. It has opened my eyes to a new style of shooting that I have to say I enjoyed. My art is growing into something that I enjoy more and more. I hope you all like it as well.

Oh, it's almost here

The summer, the weekend, the beach... they are all almost here. This weekend is supposed to be beautiful, and I plan to spend the majority of it sitting on the beach. Tonight is the donaters only opening of the new Coast Guard station here on SSI. They are calling it the Maritime Center. Tomorrow is the grand-opening. I am going tonight as the photographer. I am looking forward to it, because well, it's an opportunity to shoot.

We're getting our car fixed tomorrow, so that will be all OK now. I love the summer. Don't be mistaken though, my favorite season down here is definitely winter, but I love the summer too. I think this summer will be great because Kelly will be out of school and willing to do much more than usual.

Who's excited about the Friday Foto? I hope you are, hopefully you'll like it. I got a compliment from somebody the other day that stumbled across my blog and traveled through and saw some of my photos... it made me feel real good. It really means a lot to me that you guys like my stuff. It gives me the confidence that I need. Thanks.

Busy getting back

So you always pay for it when you take a day off. I've been really busy at work the past couple of days, but that's OK, it makes the day go by so much faster. This weekend I shot a wedding, it went really well. I actually enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. I got to shoot in a different way than I normally do, and I believe it will help me progress as a fine art photographer. My next wedding is in a little less than two weeks, and I am already anxious for it. I shot 1000 photos this weekend, that's 6.8 gigs worth of pics. That's a lot. As soon as I start processing these, I'll share some with you all. I am really proud of them.

Yeah, the trip wasn't all work, we had fun too. Although, Saturday morning I awoke to find someone had hit our new car in the middle of the night and didn't bother leaving a note. It was pretty bad too. Insurance will cover it, so that will be fixed soon.

I heard today that we are definitely getting some new stores in the area. I saw the final plans for the Harvey's shopping center, and they are: Target, Ross, Lowes, Michaels, Old Navy, Petsmart, Circuit City (it's moving)... I think that is it. So, we'll see..... It's supposed to open in the summer of '07.

Friday Foto and stuff... but early

Sorry, I don't know if I will have an accesible internet connection tomorrow morning, so tomorrow's Friday Foto is now.

So, I wasn't going to let you guys see these photos of Alfonza's yet, but here are two that I'll slip in for a peak until the lot of them is complete and up on my website. One is of the inside, exposed for 30 seconds to allow for the ambient light to play well. The other is an outside window (note, I did not stage that photo). Hope you enjoy.

You want a funny link? Check this out: A site dedicated to hating the Hummer.

How about another one: If you like the Peanut Butter Jelly Song...

Wanna know something that ticks me off? The RIAA (I hope y'all read this)... their argument on MP3's for the longest time has always been that you can only have them if you bought the MP3 or downloaded it from a pay site. Apparently, not any more. Now it is illegal to rip a CD that you have paid for and make it into MP3's. That's crazy. Have a great weekend

Nothing's new...

So nothing's new on this end. I'm having a good week, glad it is going to be short. I am working through lunch tomorrow so I can jet outta here at 4.

You may call me a dork, but I watch America Idol. My favorite is Taylor Hicks, the dude with the gray hair. Now, hear me out before you go pokin' fun... He's a mix between Van Morrison, Ray Charles and any other soul singer you can think of. I love this type of music and he's great at it. He also plays the harmonica (good too) and so do I, so I like him for that. I googled him last night and discovered that he already has two independantly released albums out there (1997 and 1999). I downloaded them and they are great, some original stuff, some covers... all good. I will burn you a copy at request.

Also, if you are in the mood for new music, check out the debut album by Sonya Kitchell, "Words Came Back To Me", released in April. It's awesome! She is a 17-year-old with an old soul. She sings with an incredible soulful voice. She will be big, and you heard about her here first.

Have a great day.

What a shame...

I love going out to eat, I really do. I like food, I like the entertainment, I like being around people. There are certain places that I particularly like, certain places that really foster memories within my soul. Alfonzo's Old Plantation Supper Club was one of those places.

On New Year's eve, at the turn of the millennium, three men paraded into the quaint restaurant toting shotguns, and in an attempt to rob the place, shot Alfonzo. Lucky for him, he survived. But, why keep the place open? The stupidity of a few ruined this establishment for all. What intrigues me though, is that he just dropped it. Like dropping the dish towel when you are done, they locked up the doors and left it. Nothing was changed, food was still out, wine was still uncorked, glasses were only half clean.

I had a chance to go in there yesterday afternoon, albeit not totally through the front door (if you catch my drift), but I'm sorry, this place has to be captured like this. This memory for me, needs to be preserved. See, Alfonzo's has been sold for a cool three mil, and yes, it will be torn down and in it's place a little community with 20 cookie-cutter houses with seven feet between them will sprout up. So what am I doing? I don't know, but I shot for about two hours yesterday with nothing but the afternoon light that trickled through the broken windows onto the set tables. My plan is to make a mini-exhibit of these shots, showcased on my website. You all will be the first to hear about it when I have it done. It really is a shame.

You HAVE to see this

Check this out, you HAVE to.

Friday Foto

This photo was taken on my last trip to Crooked River. It is of a water run-off creek that I believe fills up pretty high at hightide. I love the glass-like quality of the dark water juxtaposed against the sporadicly grown trees (Yes, I actually did see that while taking this image). I really like the scattered leaves in the foreground as well. I originally intended for this image to be color, but I think black and white gives it more of the feel I felt while standing there. I named it Crooked Swamp.

I won't lie to you, I'm scrounging for Friday Fotos. I need some new material. I have been so busy the past couple of weeks with work and financial obligations (we just refinanced and got a equity loan for a car) that I haven't had much time to shoot at all. That is why I am so excited about next weekend. Kelly and I are taking Friday off and we are leaving Thursday night to go to Rome, GA for a wedding that Kelly is in and I am shooting. I am so excited for a number of reasons. One, I get to go back to my old college town, which is always fun. Two, I'm taking a day off. Three, I get to see old friends, and four, I get to shoot. I can't wait to shoot some new stuff. Wedding photos, new landscapes, new night shots... I hope to come back with a plethora of new stuff, all to share with you guys of course.

So tonight we are having our last oyster roast of the season. I'll be sad to see them go, but after April, oysters really won't be in season anymore. Tomorrow is Good Friday, which means, Kelly is off of work. I swear, is there a holiday that teachers don't get off? I know, I'm just jealous. Tonight we went out to dinner, in part, to celebrate Kelly getting asked back to teach at Glynn Academy. We pretty much new that she would, but it was nice to get that contract in hand. Congrats out to her. I spent the rest of the evening hardwiring the new radar detector I got Kelly into the Acura. That's the only way to have one. Hardwire that sucker so you don't have to deal with it hogging up your cigarette lighter and leaving wires all over the place. That's the only way I fly. Have a great weekend.

I should have listened...

Well, I had a mocha earlier... double shot. I'm still awake. Caffeine usually doesn't effect me, but I guess it is because I have not yet become tired. Kelly tried to worn me. So, I really like our new car. It's so much fun to drive. I drive a Jeep. I've always driven a SUV, and I will always I think. I love having a car to drive though. It is so much fun. Some people really enjoy driving and some people don't really feel either way. Some people detest it. The sense of freedom that comes with driving is something that I love. Getting in the car, windows down on a cold night with the heat on, music blasting, speeding... can't get much better.

I just made some business cards for my photography business. I am really pushing to make it this way. I have just got my business license as well. I am now Benjamin Galland, LLC. Pretty awesome huh? That means I get to write expenses off, am covered under the veil of a company and look more legite to someone then just a person with a camera.

I'm watching The Daily Show as I type to you tonight. I generally do not like Jon Stewart at all because of his political views of course, but Queen Latifa's guest starring, and I really like her. She is one celebrity that I really admire. She is a great actress, beautiful and a very talented musician. Most people think of her R&B albums that she used to do. I like those, but that's not what I'm really talking about. I have this album titled "The Dana Owens Project" that is just fantastic. Dana Owens is Queen Latifa's real name. She sings jazz covers of many popular songs like The Mamma's and the Pappas' "California Dreaming" and CCR's "You Put A Spell On Me"... it's just awesome.

OK, it's time to go to bed now... I'm tired finally. Hope everyone has a great night and good tomorrow.

Vroom Vroom

Yep, this is our new car. After dealing with several dealerships in Jacksonville this morning, we drove on down to Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida and met this guy selling this Acura 3.2CL. We took it for a test drive, brought it by a mechanic, struck a deal and paid WAY less then he was asking and what we anticipated spending. 59k miles, 2001, 265HP... very nice. We are really lucky, really happy and super excited. Kelly, of course, is elated. Now, I'll I need to buy is a radar detector.

Friday Foto

Good morning readers! Can I possibly explain in words how glad I am it's Friday? This week has been a long one. I've started staying at work until 5 p.m. (I know, what a tortured life) but, I still am in at 7:15 a.m.... so there. Tomorrow Kelly and I are going to Jacksonville to look for cars. She is extremely excited, as am I.

Today's foto comes to you straight from our backyard here on the ole' island. I had the urge to go shoot on Tuesday night and went out looking for a good subject. The lighthouse, as always, is great. So many people take so many shots of the lighthouse, after awhile they all begin to look alike. I like to think that I did a decent job of distincting (?) myself from others. I love the Big Dipper in the photo. I took a lot of orange light out of the picture that was cast from the streetlights behind me. Anyway, what do you think?

So, has anyone read about the teacher that blew his hand off? Long story short, a teacher had a big bullet on is desk he had been using as a paperweight for years (he also thought it wasn't live of course). The other day in class a bug was crossing his desk and he used the bullet to smash the bug, and it went off... blowing his hand off during class. The kids in the front seats had other things to complain about then spit from the teacher. Have a great weekend. I'll be at the beach.

Wanted

So anybody know of any body selling a car? Kelly and I are shopping. We just raised our equity line and are finally ready to get Kelly a new car. Her Altima that she had since she was 15 bit the dust last year... I mean really died. It quit on the way to the shop. I got $100 for it for scrap metal. So, we have been bumming rides, sharing and borrowing cars for too long now. As always, a 6-pack finder's fee will be paid out in your choice.

I got a cool photo for y'all on Friday. I went out last night and took some night shots. It was such a clear, beautiful night. You know what I really want to shoot? I would love to capture the Nothern Lights; Aurora Borealis. I love that. I've never even seen it either. I had this great idea. I might do a whole collection of night photographs. Not plain night ones, but really neat and abstract ones. I love night photography. There is a LOT that goes into making a good night shot.

In another note, I love chicken salad.