It is a rare thing for Durham to get any amount of real snow.  Usually we see some flurries and then they are gone.   Today it started to snow and I decided to capitalize on the moment by taking my children outside for a few shots.  Below is what we captured before we rushed back in from the cold.

 

I’m sure that you’ve heard of the phrase Finger Licking Good. Well that phrase applies to Roy’s Country Kitchen in Durham, NC.  If you want to give your taste buds a treat then take some time to stop by Roy’s Country Kitchen.

Roy’s Kountry Kitchen
2514 Fayetteville Street
Durham NC 27707
(919) 682-0939

Mrs. Brown has graciously allowed me to feature several of my photographs on the walls of her restaurant.     Through those pictures I met the contact which hired me to shoot the Kwanzaa celebration earlier this month.   Last Thursday I found myself really wanting some classic Turkey & Dressing.  While I was there Mrs. Brown asked if I could bring some of the Kwanzaa pictures in to put on the walls of the restaurant.   My response to her was that I would make her a large montage to display on the wall.

 

 The poster below will be printed at 30 inches by 40 inches. It will be printed onto UV protected vinyl. An additional 3 inches of material is at the top and bottom so that pockets can be created for 1 inch dowels. It will be hung to the wall via thin black rope attached to the top dowel. The dowel on the bottom will help it to hang taut.  A well thought out presentation and attention to fine detail can make all the difference in how our work is perceived.

I decided that for 2010 I would change my business card. At first I was going to go with a very simple minimalist approach which consisted of my logo, website and other contact information on a solid black card.

You know….. the whole “less is more” train of thought….

However, I rethought that and said that I’d like a card that is visually engaging and encourages the person to look at the card.  Sort of like a mini billboard or advertisment.

While eating dinner and watching my kids play Mrs. Pac Man on my T.V. the card below slowly started to take shape.

Here is my new card for 2010 .

This past Thursday I was blessed to spend time with my family.  Each Thanksgiving we have a family reunion and it is a memorable experience to break bread, laugh and just spend time with the people that have played an important part in my life.    Below are a series of images that I captured on Thursday in between relaxing and savoring all the food.  We had everything from youth showing their latest dance moves, to talent shows and just children having fun clowning around.

Today I told the children to make sure that they get their homework done because we have things to do this evening.   I noticed that the normal chatter from my little girl wasn’t taking place.  Actually, it was too quiet.   I thought.. man this is nice. She is buckling down and getting her assigments out of the way.   When I got up to check on her this is what I found.  

It can be a bad thing when your parent is a photographer.   If the Lord allows me to live a long life then I’m going to bring this back to her remembrance when she’s an adult with her own children.  This is going in the family photo album.

Today I had the chance to make some great contacts as well as meet other people in various lines of business.  The opportunity to setup a photo booth was given to me.

 

Watch the slideshow below to see the making of the ivanwatkins Photography & Video photo booth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last night I was invited to the super bowl party of Rev. Joe and Shirrell McNeill. For the food, Event Coordinator Cynthia Farmer was brought in to ensure that everyone would have enough eats as they yelled, screamed, stomped, did high fives, showed disappointed and talked smack during the game. At one point I saw two ladies making a lot of noise, jumping around and giving each other LOUD high fives directly in front of the screen. At that point in time I had already put my camera away but boy do I wish I had it at that time.

Okay let’s get back to the eats. I was given strict orders that after I captured the food I had to lock my camera up in my car so that I wouldn’t be taking pictures all night. The whole point was that they were going to force me to relax verses working and capturing the moments.

Below you will see some of the food related decorations from Cynthia Farmer as well as some strategically placed candles to help with the friendly atmosphere.

On January 20, 2009 North Carolina Received it’s first real snow since October of 2007. Yeah, it’s been a while since the children have had the chance to play in real snow. I was also inspired by a young photographer named Kelly who sent me pictures of todays snow. My oldest boy is nowhere to be seen in these pictures. He said that it was too cold to be going outside to play in the snow.

 

 

 

Christian came into the house and said DAD… I’m finished making the snowman.  I went out side and couldn’t find it.   Well it turns out that the snow man was only about 12 inches tall.