We have a local celebrity in Loretto, TN. David Weathers has been a Major League Baseball player for a lot of years and for a lot of teams. If I’m not mistaken he has also played in five World Series. He currently plays for the Cincinnati Reds.

A great guy, David and his wife Kelli started David Weathers Charities in 2003 to champion causes for children in Lawrence County, TN. We’re very proud of him for that because they do a lot for the community.

David and I played baseball together back in the late eighties at Loretto High School. This year I volunteered to be the photographer at the Celebrity Golf Tournament that the charity hosts annually. The event was held at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail course in Muscle Shoals, AL. (more…)

A couple of weeks ago I wanted to use a Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR lens on a photo shoot that I had coming up , but I wasn’t prepared to spend the almost $1700 MSRP for a new one. Luckily now there are several lens rental companies that have sprung up to meet the needs of photogs like me who are getting started and realize the difference that a pro lens can make, but aren’t quite prepared to fork over that much dough.

Even renting such a lens costs more than the kit lens on your DSLR so I wanted to find a good company to rent from at the best price and service combination. As usual I researched several companies and I think I found a gem. More after the jump. . . (more…)

I love giving creative Christmas gifts. It’s just so much more fun than buying something off the shelf.

I’ve lost count, but I believe 2007 marks the ninth year that I’ve created photo calendars for my family. Every year I scare them by telling them that I just didn’t make enough photos this year to come up with a good calendar. They never take me seriously and I have always managed to put thirteen photos (one for each month and one for the cover) from the year gone by into a calendar that they can enjoy until the next year. (more…)

On the subject of business, I wanted to share something I’ve been working on.

As of a couple of months ago I’ve started a virtual tour business (panoramic photography) that will serve real estate agents and business in Middle Tennessee and North Alabama. It’s called SpotLight Virtual Tours. As in “Put your property in the SpotLight”. Check out the website to learn more and refer anyone you know who could use virtual tours to market their business…please! (more…)

Savannah and Walnuts

Originally uploaded by Brett

Time flies…..seems like yesterday that Savannah and I were in the back yard picking up walnuts. Here’s a photo of this year’s version of our annual “event”.

Brett

Today I’m learning to post from my Flickr account. I’ve been getting back into photography lately and I ran across this photo of Savannah from earlier this year. I just loved her expression in this photo so I decided to use it as the guinea pig of my Flickr posting experiment.

Brett

We just got back from Walt Disney World….actually a couple of weeks ago. I’ve uploaded my favorite pics to Flickr, and here’s a slideshow. Enjoy!

If you’d like more detail on the photos, visit my Flickr site.

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

There was no mistaking that it was October in the Volunteer State. Just a little chill in the air and spectacular blue skies. Savannah and I had another playful day. I snapped this shot during one of our excursions outdoors:

A couple of weeks ago when we arrived at church my three year old, Savannah said “Daddy, it’s going to be an incredible day isn’t it?” I said “It sure is sweetheart. Today is what ever you make of it”. Sunday’s are always incredible, but when she said that I just had a little “moment” there. Besides the fact that she had used a really big word for a three year old, I realized that if we could all wake up with that kind of outlook on life every day. . .even two or three days out of the week, this world would be a much better place.

It’s nice to have a child around to keep you humble, but today I got an added benefit. You see every year about this time I have to spend most of an afternoon picking up walnuts that have fallen off the tree out behind our house. Otherwise I can’t mow the grass. Last year Savannah “helped”, but this year she really made this chore easy for me

We were home alone since my wife Amy was out of town, so we were just hanging out in the back yard. When I pointed out the walnut situation (with no intention of actually going into it today), Savannah insisted that she wanted to pick them up. I wasn’t about to look that gift horse in the mouth so I promptly provded her with a suitable container and she went to work. Within just a few minutes the entire area was walnut free and se was asking for more. I assured her that in a couple of weeks the rest would fall and she would have ample opportunity to be helpful. In a way I wish kids would stay this age. . . .