Rick Hawkins Photography

Jade and Will

I prefer shooting outdoors.  I like....no.. love natural light.  

This said... weddings in June in Tennesee can be quite the gamble.

Those involved with coordinating and planning were concerned about

the oppressive heat that we had been experiencing in our area.

But everything worked out great.  I mid day thunderstorm cooled

everything off.  The bride and groom seemed unaffected by the

nervousness of those around.

Once again the job was made easy by being fortunate enough

to have an easy going bride and groom.

Most of the ceremony pictures were done in color.

I did try to double key moments on black and white film.

Black and white film is the only medium that we know

will last for hundreds of years.

This is important when we consider the importance of

weddings as historical events within a family.

Wedding photos are passed down through families

and become visual mile markers that represent us

long after we are gone.

May bride

Thanks To Elizabeth for letting me feature these photos

from her wedding.  These are true black and white from film.

Very little digital work was done.  They are good examples of

why I always have a camera loaded with black and white film.

Of course having a great subject doesn't hurt your chances of

getting something magical!

I'll be posting more pictures from this wedding in the next week 

or so.   I have photos currently being processed for two

other great weddings!

I really like these pictures!  

They were taken in a children's sunday school classroom.

We used a large window with textured glass.

Black and white enables you to do away with

contrasting and clashing colors.  

The color scheme for this room was bright primary.

The challenge in circumstances such as this

is to be able to get some photos that look

totally removed from the location.

This wedding was a very sweet

affair.  Small country setting...sweet people..

easy and non stressful.  

Its situations like these that I feel honored

to be part of the experience....

the experience becomes part of me and

affects how a view the world and 

my role as a photographer.

Thanks again Elizabeth and Josh.

Murry On The Mend....

Heres Murry (Dad)  recouping after recent surgery.

Hes got it right.  Nice chair...nice window..

fresh flowers...big pillows and the loyal lap dog.

Get well soon Dad!

Rick

the blue moon party

These photographs were taken at a wonderful annual gathering on the Quietude farm right out side of Rutherford County. The farm has many interesting features but most would not translate to film at night. One feature that everyone admires is the absolutely amazing real honest to goodness hobbit house. Once again I find myself in the world of long exposure. The fellow with the wings had to stand as still as possible. As did I....no tripod. I didn't plan to take pictures..I just had a camera in the trunk. And I am not a big fan of flash photography.

The musicians played inside the hobbit house..which is quite large and ornately designed and lined with rock. The acoustics coming from the door were amazing. A could feel the single conga drum reverberate into my chest. It was a neat experience. I also was also allowed to do some slide projections on the side of the barn. Doing projections at parties and events is something I used to do often. I miss it. The projection in the last photo is actually a negative made into a slide. It's stained glass from a church. It was a celestial scene which fit in nicely with the theme of the party and the glorious moon hanging above.

I'm looking forward to this years blue moon party! I'll try to get out there early and get some more pictures of the hobbit house during daylight hours!

nocturns from the farm

These two shots come from the farm that my friend Sean caretakes. Both shots were taken at around 11pm. I was using very slow daylight film. The shutter was open for around 10 minutes giving the nice earth spin streaks to the stars. The pictures were lit by two security lights that bath the barn area. In the first picture you can see shadows going in opposite directions. Thats a neat effect that gives the picture a surreal feel. I'm not sure I even recognized it when I set the camera up. I will be on the look out for similar lighting situations in the future. Learn by doing and studying what you did. Thats my meditation today.

Rock Island

With a name like rock island it has to be good right! Right! It also is all about rocks. Rock Island State Park is a great place to check out for an abundance of reasons all of which this blog will not go into. This series of pictures is from one trip to the lake side of the park. We had hoped to get in some early spring fishing but came back with nothing but photographs of guess what.......mostly rocks. I guess this an addendum to my ?nature? post.

There is much more to see at this park. Waterfalls..deep clear pools...flora and fauna abound.. maybe next time!