A Beautiful Day...

Wow! What a beautiful day it was yesterday! I spent the better part of the day working in the studio. Most of the painting is done; and yesterday, we were working on hanging trim and stuff like that. Then, yesterday evening, Kellie and I took off to Bridgeport, Alabama, where we photographed the family of a former co-worker of mine. The location was absolutely BEAUTIFUL! It was back in Doran's Cove and seemingly as beautiful as anything in Cades Cove! I had the pleasure of seeing my friend, Misty, and meeting her family - husband, Justin, and son, Walker. We had a blast doing this shoot! Here are a few samples...

Jameson

Whew, what a day! I spent about five hours treking around Chattanooga with my good friend Royce Cornelison, president of P&C Construction. I'm doing some commercial work for them - shooting finished jobs of theirs for them to display on their website and in a new brochure. I saw some VERY nice buildings today folks!

Then I came home for about an hour before setting off in the other direction to Skyline, Alabama, where I photographed my little buddy Jameson! Jameson's mother, daddy, grandparents, and myself followed him all around his grandparents' yard this evening (fighting gnats or mosquitos or something)! He didn't feel too good today, and wasn't just full of smiles; but we got some adorable shots anyhow!!! Here's a couple of my favorites. The last one is of Jameson and his "Maw" - the one person who was getting smiles out of him this evening! Of course Maw didn't want her picture made; but I got this one anyhow and had to include it here! So, Emily & Jesse, here are a couple of samples; and I'll try to have the rest finished in a week or so.

Thanks!!

-BYRD

I've Been Tagged...

I have been "tagged" by 2 of my photographer friends... Gerri Weatherbee , and Anna Karin . This means that I am supposed to share with you, my blog friends, a few random facts about myself. So...here goes!

The Rules.Post the rules before you give the facts. Post eight random facts about yourself. At the end of your blog post, you need to tag eight people and list their names. Leave the people you tagged a comment on their blog, letting them know that they’ve been tagged.

1. My wife was born on my third birthday! Yes, we share the same birthday (February 11); and to further complicate things, we married on that day in 2000! I also have an uncle and first cousin who share our birthday!

2. My great-grandparents, Wiley & Josie Bird, also shared their birthday (May 21, 1893/1894).

3. By that last comment, maybe you can tell that I am an avid genealogist and probably enjoy that more than nearly anything else! I have published three books on the subject, and have three more in the works.

4. The last book I published, The Bird Family (2003), was something I had worked on for more than 10 years! I started gathering information for it before I could ever drive!

5. I love wathing reruns of Andy Griffith, Bill Cosby, and Little House; and yes, I cry during almost every episode of Little House!!! And there's nothing wrong with that! At least that's what my therapist says! ;)

6. The smell of skunks doesn't really bother me. It's not my favorite smell or anything; but it just isn't all that bad. Smells like burnt coffee to me. On the other hand, I really don't like to smell things PERIOD. I don't care if it's a candle or a diaper - I don't really like to smell things. My wife will come running at me with a candle, saying "smell this!" and then gets mad because I DO NOT want to smell it!

7. I am really scared of spiders. I mean, not to the point that I freak-out if I see one; but boy if I think I've got one on me, WATCH OUT!

8. I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. Since I've been married, I've wanted to be a school teacher, a mortician/funeral director, a photographer, and my dream since I was in high school - a barber! Whatever I do, I want to do it right; and so for now, I'm a photographer! Who knows about thing time next year!

Okay, here's my special 8:
I'm gonna be lazy and not "tag" anybody else :) Sorry!

Cades Cove...

It's that time of year again that I start planning my week for our trip to Cades Cove, where we'll shoot family pictures throughout the week. This is a BEAUTIFUL Fall setting, folks! Think about joining us this year! The sitting is ONLY $50.00, which is cheaper than my regular on-location sitting fees! The dates are October 1 through 6, so if you or someone you know will be in the Smokies during that week, give me a call or shoot me an email quickly! Also, if you have a favorite spot elsewhere in the Smokies, we'll meet you there too!

-BYRD

In the Works...

We've got a lot of exciting things going on! The studio should be complete in about a month; and we can't wait for our Open House so that everyone can come see our great new space! We are also now offering a greater variety of digital albums and memory books! AND, we're revamping our wedding packages, which is pretty big for me, since I haven't really pushed any focus towards weddings over the past year. So, watch out for great things to come! Hopefully by the first of October, I'll have my first "Mini Session Day", offering Halloween Portraits to the kiddies to have their picture made in the costume! Then, by the end of October, we will begin our Christmas Mini-Sessions! I'm telling you THERE'S A LOT OF GREAT THINGS IN THE WORKS, so check back often!

This picture has no relevance to the post, I just liked it! These are my girls - Kenzie & Kayla!

-BYRD

Godwin Reunion

The Sunday before Labor Day is always a day that we can count on spending time with the Godwin Family at Maw-Maw Godwin's house. Maw-Maw Godwin is Kellie's great-grandmother. We always have such a great time with this part of the family and one thing has never changed over the past eight years that I have been in attendance - these folks KNOW how to cook! Here's a couple of shots of the day, all of which can be emailed to any of the Godwin Family if they will just shoot me a note requesting them. Also, ALL of my shots from today can be viewed on my MySpace page. Pictured here are Maw-Maw (Dimple Godwin), 5 generations between Maw-Maw Godwin, Maw-Maw Joyce, Vicky, Kellie, and Kenzie & Kayla, and the last shot is of the girls on a swing with some of their cousins.

Back Home...

Mom, Kellie, Mackenzie, Makayla, and I rolled into the driveway this morning shortly before 1:30 a.m. We're all worn out; but we had a great time!

I had a WONDERFUL time at the Mike Fulton Workshop in Ocean Springs, MS. Mike is co-owner of Tricoast Photography; and is one of the nations top wedding photogs! I can't wait to start applying some of the techniques I learned from Mike! I'll post some of those pic's soon!

Dauphin Island - Let's Go to the Beach!

Well, Kellie and I are off to Dauphin Island early in the morning, along with our girls and my mother! Kellie's parents are also coming down for the weekend. We've rented a four bedroom HOUSE right on the beach, where I'm hoping to do some beach photography of the family. Next Tuesday and Wednesday, I'm going to a photography seminar in Ocean Springs, Mississippi (about an hour away from where we're staying); and I hope to leave there with a more in-depth knowledge of on-location photography! The class is being instructed by Mike Fulton - a fabulous on-location and wedding photographer. A cool thing about the place where my class is being held is that it is in the old high school building where my mom went to school back when she lived in Ocean Springs in the late 60's! What a coincedence, huh?
Also, I just got back Dauphin Island Sunday, after a weekend fishing trip with a bunch of friends. The picture below is the bounty of the crew from Boss Man. It was a lot of fun! After we got back to shore, we took little Emily over to the beach to capture a few beach shots of her and some with her family too. She's the daughter of my good friends Kyle & Amy. You can see all of my pictures on my MySpace page (if you're a friend).
Anyhow, if you know anybody going to the Gulf this weekend, tell 'em to look me up; and we'll do some beach photography!

Alec

Alec's back in front of the camera again today! He's six months old, and ready to conquer the world! We got a lot of cute poses out of Alec this afternoon. This boy LOVES to smile!!!
Mom/Dad - here's a little preview of things to come!

-BYRD

Zilah

Remember Zilah? She's already nine months old! Zilah wasn't feeling too good this morning; but she managed to pull it together long enough to smile and strike a few poses. Here's a little preview of our time we spent together in the studio this morning!
Studio? No - it's no where near finished; but that is where we shot today! I have another appointment coming up in just a few minutes; and so I've got to go get ready for that now!

We Have Sheetrock!!!

Here are a couple of updated images showing our progress. We now have sheetrock; and they should be finished with it by the first of next week! Fortunately, they're also priming the walls - so I don't have to! I guess next will come the trim, and then paint!!!

Gillian

Look who's nine months old! Actually, I think she's 10 months now! We shot Gillian's nine month sitting last weekend. It's hard to believe she's already 10 months. Remember she was my very first Baby Steps baby!

Kim - I'll have all of her proofs done soon!

Thanks,

-BYRD

Congratulations, Ethel & Bud

Yesterday, a photographer friend told me that she had a wedding today where the bride and groom were leaving in an antique car. I said, "That's nothing! I've got an antique bride and groom!" And what a handsome couple they do make! Bud and Ethel were married today in Trenton, Georgia, in a beautiful (but hot) outdoor ceremony, surrounded by their family and friends.

Both lost their spouses a few years ago; but God smiled on Ethel and Bud and gave them to each other. Neither minded letting me know that Ethel is 67 and Bud is 74 years of age; but who said that youth is wasted on the young? They are a youthful, energetic couple, both of whom have been a pleasure working with.

To Ms. Ethel and Mr. Bud, I wish you both many years of happiness and good health! Thank-you for allowing me the opportunity to preserve the memories of your wedding day!

-BYRD

Meet Sawyer

Meet my newest little buddy - Sawyer! Sawyer is my newest addition to the Baby Steps program; and what a handsome fellow is he! I know his parents, Matt & Ashleigh, are so proud!
A special thanks to my good friend, Christy, for her help at today's session! It's great to have an "assistant" who knows more about photography than I do!!! :)
Matt & Ashleigh - I hope you enjoy these samples; and I will have your proofs finished and loaded probably within the week!

Thanks!!!
-BYRD

Studio...

I haven't posted much in a while about the studio, so I thought I'd give ya'll a peek! This is the east wall of the studio, and that's my oldest daughter standing in the middle. This is from a few weeks ago, so we've done a little more since this. I'm having my HVAC installed right now; and I'm working some on the insulation and helping my father-in-law wire the place. My dad has been my hero (as always) throughout this whole process! He can do ANYTHING!!

Anyhow, right now, I'm hoping that we're going to finish around the end of August so that I can plan my Open House for September. Hope to see you there!!

-BYRD

Congrats, Pam & John!!

Saturday, Kellie and I had the priveledge of photographing Pam and John's wedding ceremony, which was held in their beautiful back yard in Murfreesboro, Tennessee (just south of Nashville)!
It was a hot and dry day; but the atmosphere was great for this beautiful ceremony.
Thank-you, Pam and John, for allowing us the opportunity to spend the day with you - capturing these priceless memories for you to cherish for years to come!!

-BYRD

Big Sister...

Byrd Professional Photography was selected to do the feature photography for articles in the June edition of Who's Who in Chattanooga, a local magazine which features businesses and non-profit organizations in and around the Chattanooga metro area. Among those organizations to be featured in the upcoming edition will be Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Chattanooga, which afforded me the opportunity to meet Sue and Monifa. Monifa is a beautiful young lady who lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with her mother and grandmother. And her big sister, Sue, is an energetic and giving woman, who works with a group of surgeons at a local hospital.

I only spent a short time with Sue and Monifa; but I could see right away how much they meant to each other and how good they were for each other. Sue will help mold Monifa into an upstanding member of the community; and Monifa - well, she'll keep Sue on her toes!

Drake & Gavin

Today found me once again atop Green Mountain at the Madison County Nature Trail, where I photographed these two handsome gents - Drake & Gavin. This is the first time I've had the opportunity to photograph these two; and we had a great time in doing so! Drake and Gavin are from Hytop, Alabama; and they are the sons of John & Kim. Thanks for allowing me the chance to meet your family!!

In other news, the studio is now dried-in!!! I'll try to have some more photos posted soon!!!

-BYRD

Girls, Girls, Girls...

We had a cookout last night at my in-law's for Mother's Day; and I made some "snapshots" of all of our girls - my two, Mackenzie & Makayla, and my niece, Mallory! I also liked this shot of my brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Dustin & Jill. What a pretty bunch of girls we have (if I do say so myself)!!!

Zilah

We had a great shoot this morning with little Ms. Zilah! Today was her six month appointment; and as ALWAYS, she was sunshine and roses!! She is an absolute sweetie! I'll have all of Zilah's proofs loaded sometime soon.

-BYRD

Babies, babies, babies...

Here's a couple of my little babies!!! Kaitlyn is now 6 months old; and her neighbor, Parker, is four months! Both are members of the Baby Steps program; and I got lucky enough to be able to photograph both on the same day!

I'm still working on proofing these and other recent shoots - so be on the lookout for more to come!!!

-BYRD

Sorry!!

I can't believe it's been over a month since I posted anything! I have just been SO busy that I really haven't had time. I have been photographing babies, working on building the new studio, completing a project featuring group pictures of 41 ministers, and my goodness, I can't even think of what all!!!! I have a couple of jobs that I'm going to be proofing probably on Friday; and I'll try to get some samples posted then!
A big "THANKS!" to those of you who have noticed that I haven't posted lately!!!
As far as the studio, most of the framing is complete on the inside of what used to be the garage. This is going to be where my office and gallery will be. Framing on the actual studio itself will be underway either later this week or early next week - depending on my contractor's schedule.
A great big "WELCOME!" to my newest Baby Steps enrollees - Matthew & Ashleigh Hyatt, who will soon be proud parents in about another month! They haven't found out if it's going to be a boy or girl yet, so we're sitting on pins and needles to find out what we're going to be photographing!!!
Oh, and I almost forgot - we have launched our new "flash" website at www.byrdprophoto.com. From the "splash" page, you'll be able to choose whether you enter the flash site, this Blog, or my HTML site (which is currently disabled). Be sure to check out all the new features there!!!

And I just couldn't help but post this picture of Makayla! Babies will be babies!!!
-BYRD

Alec

I had a VERY smooth session this morning with my little man, Alec! He is SUCH a good baby, and absolutely adorable!! It's Easter Weekend; and I've got four shoots! That's a new all-time high for me - ha, ha! I had Alec this morning; and I've got a Senior in Madison County this afternoon. Then I've got to come home to get ready for the singing at our church tonight. In the morning, I'm photographing a local family from our church who recently adopted a precious little baby girl from China. And lastly, it's back off to Huntsville tomorrow afternoon to photograph my first Baby Steps baby, Gillian! Not to mention church tomorrow night, and all day on Sunday (EASTER)! Whew... wish me luck!

All of Alec's proofs will be available by clicking on the image to the left. Hope you like them!

-BYRD

Construction Underway

The block mason has finished the foundation of the new studio and also closed in what used to the be the garage door. But wait... what's wrong with this picture (besides the fact that the garage is a mess)? The lawn mower is still in the garage!!! Yep, I forgot to back it out before the block mason got started; and he didn't notice it as he began closing it in! I'll figure a way to get it out (I just hope I remember to do that before I frame in the rest of the garage)!

I guess I've not really posted anything about my new studio. I'm building a 20x40 addition off the back of the house/garage. The studio will function as a natural light studio, as well as a flash studio. It's going to be great; and I can't wait until I get it done! Hopefully this summer!

Besides the addition, we're closing in what's left of the garage (about 21' x 21'). This will function as a reception area, my office/workstation, as well as a gallery/theatre-proofing room! When I get it finished, you will all be invited to my Open House!!

Here's another shot of the contruction. This is from the back of the house facing south. That's part of my land in the background, and Dogwood Hills Golf Course behind the tree line. What you see here is my golf ball pasture! This is were we grow golf balls - at least it seems that way. Golfers often slice into the pasture while trying to reach hole #2!

Anyhow, we hope to start framing on the weekend of April 13th - so wish us luck!!!

-BYRD

Alea

Ain't she gorgeous? This is little Miss Alea Reagan McKenzie, daughter of my wife's first cousin, Clint, and his wife, Cassie. Alea is a precious little girl, with beautiful blue eyes. She did a great job in her first photo session with me, which was held this morning at her house. I have one more session this afternoon, then I'll be done for the weekend (I think).

All of Alea's proofs are available by clicking on the sample photo to the left.

-BYRD

Hilary

What a day! It's now 2:00 a.m. on Saturday; and I'm finishing up a session from early today (well, I guess yesterday - if you want to get technical). It's been a few days since I had a session; but did I ever make up for it this weekend! I have three booked, which is kind of a big deal for me!

Today (or yesterday), I photographed Miss Hilary Ann Simmons, daughter of my good friends Paul and Becky Simmons of Big Cove, Alabama! Hilary is graduating from High School this year; and we had a blast this afternoon capturing her senior portraits in historic South Pittsburg, Tennessee. You can see all of Hilary's proofs by clicking on the sample picture to the left.

In other news, our new studio is underway! The block mason is supposed to be her in the morning to get started with the block work. It's exciting to watch it begin to take shape; but it's also almost overwhelming to see all of the work ahead! But, I have some great help! Anyhow, I'll probably Blog a little more after my two sessions tomorrow.

-BYRD

Zilah Elizabeth

Awww... Zilah is now three months old (actually, I think she's four months old); and what a cutie she is! I'm still working on all of her proofs; but she was all giggles and smiles at last Tuesday's sitting.

All of these babies are just growing up so fast! It's been over six months since my first baby steps client signed up for registration; and now I have seven babies who are with the program! I'm looking for it to just keep growing too!

I'm thinking I may have to start putting out calendars with my favorite baby shots from the year before! Let me know what ya'll think about that idea!

-BYRD

Jameson

I had two appointments today. The first this morning was little Ms. Zilah's three month sitting. It was a studio sitting; and because of technical difficulties early in the session, we had to reschedule for next Tuesday night. Hopefully I'll get the bugs worked out of my equipment before then.

My afternoon session was Jameson King Gray, my newest Baby Steps client. Jameson is the son of Jesse and Emily Gray of Skyline, Alabama. We did some great shots of Jameson in and around his nursey. He's a handsom little fella; and I'm certainly glad to have the opportunity to photograph him at this precious stage in his life!

You can see all of Jameson's proofs by clicking on the picture to the left!

-BYRD

Daddy's Little Girl

What a weekend. I had my wisdom teeth extracted Friday; and I've not done much but slept since then. About all I can say about that is that if you still have your wisdom teeth, and they're not causing you too much trouble, just keep them in your mouth... enough said.
Since I didn't have any other appointments this weekend, we finally got around to photographing my baby girl, Makayla, for her one year portraits. Now, Makayala turned one back in November; but being the photographer's daughter, she has been put off for a few months for this or that.
Here's a pretty little pose of her wearing her little hooded cape. She looks like a baby chick! View all of her proofs by clicking on the picture to the left.

-BYRD

Happy Troy!

Tonight I got to meet happy little Troy Reichler; his mother, Jennifer; and big brother, Skyler! Troy turned one year old in January; and we're so glad that his mother has chosen us as his photographer!

Troy was all smiles and on the move for tonight's session; and he couldn't have "worked the camera" any better! We also got a couple of great shots of Skyler, which you'll be able to see along with all of Troy's proofs very soon!

Thank-you, Reichler Family, for giving us the opportunity to serve you; and we look forward to photographing your entire family in the future!!

-BYRD

Caty Bug

This morning I got to meet my latest Baby Steps enrollee - Caitlyn. Caitlyn is three months old and as "pretty as a picture"! She was all smiles from the time I walked in the door; and I knew right away she was going to be a joy to photograph!

I also had the pleasure of meeting Caitlyn's mommy and daddy - Cathy and Scott, and her big brother - Matthew.

The Seals family resides in New Market, Alabama, and are next door neighbors to my cousin, Michelle Allen, whose son, Parker, is also a member of our Baby Steps program.

See all of Caitlyn's proofs by clicking on the picture to the left!

-BYRD