Vera Vita Photography

I am proud to announce the launch of Vera Vita Photography, a wedding and portraiture photography business based in Athens, Ga. founded and co-owned by myself, Frannie Fabian and Richard Hamm. We will be shooting weddings, portraits or any sort of commissioned work. We haven’t booked anything yet, but we just put up a Web site, blog and Facebook fan page. Check us out at http://www.veravitaphoto.com/ or become a Facebook fan. You can also follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/VeraVitaPhoto

Also, if you know anyone getting married this year in Georgia or anywhere in the Southeast, please mention us.

Barbershop

The Colbert Barbershop on a cold, rainy New Year’s Eve. Eight-year-old Dawson Shlenutt’s mom, Melissa, the only barber in the one-chair shop, assures her client his haircut will “last the rest of the year” as Dawson cleans the condensation from inside the windows. To his right are the drawings and pictures he has colored for his mom. To his left is a photo of the Barbershop in the 70’s, when a man was murdered inside.

William: One of my favorite portraits of all time

Available light. Just a few frames. I saw the light and the shadow of the chain and said “sit here.” Then we went to brunch. Good Sunday.

Breakfast With Santa

I shot these photos last Saturday at Memorial Park during a Santa Breakfast. I really like the first two because I thought about the design and composition a little more, but I submitted all four. The last two were the ones that ran (see the page.) The ones that ran have cute moments, but I was really rooting for that baby one to go in the paper. I think the designers picked well, though. Moments are (usually) more important.

Listening to Santa read “The Night Before Christmas”

Multimedia

In a way, I think I have always wanted to be a journalist. I loved to read, write and tell stories as a kid. Around middle school, I got into photography thanks to my parents, who both studied photography as a hobby. Then when I entered college I was introduced to photojournalism by the professor here, Mark Johnson. I learned to tell stories via photos. Now I can tell stories via photos, audio and video. I think it’s very powerful and moving to hear the voices of the people in the photos.

Here is a multimedia piece I made for The Chattanooga Times Free Press in 2008 called Choosing Home Birth about the advantages and disadvantages of giving birth at home with a midwife rather than a doctor. Midwives, families and a doctor weigh in.