Posts in Category: Commercial
Merlefest: we’re looking at you, kid
It’s the MOST wonderful tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiime of the year!!
Yes, Christmas is actually the title holder, but as professional photographers who love documenting events as much as celebrations and the daily lives of our clients, MerleFest is in second place. Once again, we’re going as Official Photographers and full-time music fans and we’re psyched. This is our third year to get the announcement from them that we’re going to this amazing music festival. Count down is on to one of our absolute favorite and hardest jobs of the year!
Lindsay Lou & Flatbelly (2016)
Steep Canyon Rangers (2016)
We Banjo 3 (2016)
Sarah Potenza (2016)
Emi Sunshine (2016)
Merlefest 2015 for Pixels was spectacular and we walked 12 million steps – give or take. We took some of our favorite event photos including this one of the Avett Brothers.
The Avett Brothers
2016 was even busier as Ryan and I split up visiting stages, shooting various artists and bands and then loading images. A blast! Merlefest this year runs from Thursday, April 27 to Sunday the 30th and we’re already trying to figure out how to store sleep and vitamin C (not possible) and looking forward to the crazy pace. This year will be one of the largest yet as they’re celebrating the event’s 30th year. The lineup this year is amazing. The Avett Brothers will be back, along with Scythian, the Zach Brown Band, Andy May, The Contenders, The Waybacks, the Steep Canyon Rangers and dozens of others. Get your tickets and meet us there!
Pixels on Paper photographs, engagements and weddings, brid
Boondocks Brewery | some commercial photography with a beer chaser
American forefather Benjamin Franklin famously said, “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” This isn’t actually true. What he wrote was, “Behold the rain which descends from heaven upon our vineyards, there it enters the roots of the vines, to be changed into wine, a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy.”
What is true is that both rain and beer can put a smile on our faces, and one place that handles the beer part is Boondocks Brewing Taproom and Restaurant. These guys have been open since August 1, 2012, which makes today their 4th anniversary! Well done, team.
It’s a 40 minute drive for us, but it’s our neighborhood spot because we love them, they love us, the food is fab and the craft beer is exceptional. And while “boondocks” means out-of-the-way, backwood, or rural, the set up the Boondocks Brew Haus, just down from the restaurant on South Jefferson Avenue, is all modern. They just updated the brew system a week ago to a larger one and it is sleek, sophisticated and state of the art. Equally cool is that everything about the brew system was customized, from the piping, the control panel, motor/pump mounting all the way down to the Boondocks logo on the lids for the tanks.
Because we consider owner Gary Brown, head chef/general manager Jared Yelton and the staff family, we offered to help with the installation of the new equipment. When we arrived however, all the heavy lifting of getting the 3 new large tanks in place had already happened. Gary was still doing some fitting work so we stayed a little while to take some photos to help document the history of the installation, even getting a couple “proud poppa” photos with Gary at the tanks.
The brew haus is responsible for creating the amazing craft beer for the restaurant, but the space is also open for events like monthly beer and wine dinners, private functions, rehearsal dinners and family reunions. The gang at Boondocks is very active in the Ashe County community, as well, supporting local farms and hosting events. They were just awarded the Ashe County Small Business of the Year award for 2016. Finally, manager and chef Jared came to the Pixels anniversary party in 2015 and provided appetizers and cooked other items on site. We just love these guys and are raising a glass to them. Here’s to many more years of making people happy. CHEERS!
We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs babies and kids, engagements and weddings, brides and special events and portraits of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.
pixels takes a [quick] break from humans…… for a little architecture & real estate photography
… and the house sold almost as soon as it listed.
We had the privilege and fun of shooting photos for a couple who were planning to put their gorgeous home on the market. Talk about forethought. This amazing mid-century modern house deserved to be treated with the right lighting, time of year and staging. We mean no offense to real estate agents who take photos of the homes they’ve been asked to sell, but this couple wanted to capture their home at its best and contacted us to make it happen.
The shoots took place on two occasions. We photographed the exterior in April when the grounds were a knockout and everything was in bloom. We then returned in June to take the interior photos. Between the landscaping, the furnishings, the staging and the times of year, we and they were so pleased with the results.
This home in Wilkesboro is unique in that it is a true sprawling, original mid-century modern home with spectacular landscape design and a guest cottage. 5 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms, 3 dens and an indoor pool, totaling over 4000 sq ft. The clients forwarded our photos to their agent and the house was sold very quickly and the now former owners credit the photography for helping expedite the offer and sell.
Incorporating nature, architectural structures and details into our photographs is not something new for us. We’re looking forward to many more of this type of photo shoot for families who want to sell their homes or celebrate a completed renovation or remodel. You’ll never be sorry if you hire a professional.
We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs babies and kids, engagements and weddings, brides and special events and portraits of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.
merlefest 2016 – the big wrap up
Sythian, backlit
Merlefest 2016 had rain, sun, the pair of us wrapping ourselves in outerwear one minute, covering our equipment in plastic the next, changing into shorts and shedding same outerwear, then later putting sweatshirts back on, downloading photo files and racing to the next stage. WE LOVED IT. The pace was hectic and often we had to remind ourselves to eat and yet we still missed many meals. On almost every day, we would get out of the car, smooch and then not see each other again until it was time to leave that night. Occasionally we’d spot each other and wave when passing from one stage to another. (Fun tip: pack a spare pair of socks and keep ’em handy when attending this or any other multi-day fest).
Frontman for Steep Canyon Rangers – Woody Platt
Several bands we, and other photographers, were scheduled to shoot decided to block photographers from capturing any images right before going on stage. While we were disappointed, as were the crowds in the first few rows who were also banned, we did get to see new performers to Merlefest, some performers who’ve been tried and true regulars and some old timers.
Newbies included Lindsay Lou & the Flatbelly’s, from Michigan, who were lively and fun.
Of the regulars, the Steep Canyon Rangers did not disappoint. Out of Western NC – they drew an enormous crowd.
Ryan had the pleasure of covering the Chris Austin Songwriters Competition and photographing participants, including our pal Meris Gant. Austin was a beloved country music singer and songwriter who passed in 1991 and the competition raises scholarship money for Austin’s Memorial fund.
Merlefest will celebrate its 30th year in 2017 and we’re excited about what it will be like in 350 days. With all the new performers and regulars, it’s always nice to see someone who has been performing for 29 years and one of them is Peter Rowan. We’ll leave you with a couple pics of him.
We’re just now getting back to feeling semi-rested, and already looking forward to next year.
We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden.Pixels on Paper photographs babies and kids, engagements and weddings, brides and special events and portraits of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.
merlefest 2016
4 days, 18 bands, 13 stages, 74,500 roaming festival goers and 22 miles of steps for both of us. And all God’s children and Mastercard ad lovers said, “Priceless.”
We were asked to be official photographers again this year for Merlefest 2016 and were there from Wednesday to Sunday, so we’re splitting this blog into 2. We simply saw and photographed too much to try to load it into one. Like last year, it was amazing: the music, the lively vibe, the pace (read: non-stop) and we’d be lying if we didn’t say we were thrilled OUT OF OUR MINDS to have 3 of Misty’s shots picked up by major media outlets: Rolling Stone, Huffington Post and HCPress.
Ranking the bands would take WAAAY to much negotiation, so we’re just gonna show you shots of those we covered and let you investigate those you’ve never heard of and grin at those you know well.
Barefoot Movement – a bluegrass, folk trio out of Nashville.
Becky Buller – bluegrass fiddler, with a classical violin background and Old-Time/Country flair (Minnesota meets East Tennessee)
Becky Buller’s high-spirited accompaniment
Girls, girls and more girls! In order….
Emi Sunshine – a 12-year old dynamo/prodigy whose surname is spot on (from Tennessee)
Jennifer B & the Groove – Americana rock band out with a kick-butt front woman (Austin, Texas)
Sarah Potenza – Raw vocalist who leaves it all on the stage (Nashville, Tennessee)
And, finally April Verch, who Rolling Stone said best embodied the spirit of Doc Watson. She’s a CHARMER!
Jennifer B & the Groove…
Sarah Polenza…
April Verch…
Now for some boys, starting with We Banjo 3 – a brilliant mix of Irish and American strumming, fiddling and flash.
Below those guys are Old Crow Medicine Show out of Nashville. We may have lost count, but there were at least 2 banjos, an upright base, guitars and fiddles.
And finally, the Wood Brothers – an amazing trio out of Nashville.
Old Crow Medicine Show…
The Wood Brothers…
<Happy Sigh> enough for now.
Ok – two more: Sunday Morning Blues and South Carolina Broadcasters.
South Carolina Broadcasters…
More in our next blog about the new-comers, the regulars like Steep Canyon Rangers and the old-timers who’ve made Merlefest every year for 29 years.
We’ll leave you with another media love-up, this one from Huffington Post. We couldn’t be more honored or humbled!
We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden.Pixels on Paper photographs babies and kids, engagements and weddings, brides and special events and portraits of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.