I'm as giddy as a school girl about seeing Dave Alvin tonight www.davealvin.com  & http://www.downtownchattanooga.org/media/pages/nightfall/artist.php . I don't think I've taken a camera to any of these concerts this year but I'll probably have one with me tonight. See ya down front!

A couple of commercials for what's going on tomorrow:

www.BetterThanSchoolPictures.com 10:00 AM - 12:00 noon only

www.KeithPhoto.com/models Open Model Call 12:00 noon - 1:30 only. ENDS at 1:30 SHARP! There is NOTHING to buy from this one. I just need to build my model book so I'll have some people to choose from when I want to do special projects.

If you're interested in either of these click the links above and read the pages to make sure there is no misunderstandings.

Hope you have a GREAT weekend!

Keith

Well I put up my fair booth in the dark last night. It seems that someone drove a tent stake (metal) through an underground power line at the fairgrounds. By all accounts he's lucky to be alive. Any way, I just turned on the headlights of my truck and hung my display prints.

By the time I finished that and came back to the studio and did some things that needed to be done it was 3:00 AM before I got home. So, I got about four hours sleep. Needless to say I'm dragging about now. I'm determined to get at least 5 hrs tonight!

I just finished posting the pageant photos from the fair. My target was to have them on-line by midnight. It was 12:05. Oh well.

Grand Jury: There are a lot of really stupid people out there. Some really bad ones too. It's the ones that kids are involved in that really get to me.

Talk to you soon,

Keith

I'm on Jury Duty this week, Grand Jury to be exact. I learned a few things today too. For one, there is WAY more Meth in Gordon County than I would have ever imagined. Second, Did you know that the Gordon County Jail doesn't even have doors on the cells except for the few that are in the "high risk" category (murder, rape and such). I saw it with my own two eyes. there are three bunks to a cell but the cell has no doors! There's about 30 guys in each group that can mingle or conspire at will. No way to lock them all down at once. It's VERY dangerous for the jailors.

OK, sit down for this one. Apparently, their are some knuckleheads that think this is OK for the new jail in order to save some money. It's usually pretty hard to get me to express an opinion about the bureaucracy of government but this really lit a fire under me!

On a lighter note, the fair starts tomorrow and the Jury duty thing took my set up time away. So, I'll probably pull an all nighter (or almost) getting the display set up and ready for tomorrow. It should be a good looking display though. Wish me luck.

I'll be at the fair every night except Friday. If you see me be sure to give me a howdy.

See Ya,

Keith

Lots of Catching Up to Do

Well, Well, Well, I haven't posted for a couple of weeks and I've got lots to say. I'll try to keep it short though.

My web-master Wayne Mullins and I met with a "Federal Guy" (he said to not say what agency) about my web site hijacking mentioned in another post on this blog. These guys are SERIOUS! That's a good thing in post 9/11 times.

Let's see... I didn't do much over the Labor Day Weekend. I mostly hung out around the house and REALLY enjoyed it! I did make it to the Tim O'Brian concert on Friday and I got some new fish for my Saltwater tank at home. It's really looking good now and I'm really getting a lot of pleasure out of it. I've had the tank for almost a year now and it's nice to have a hobby that's NOT photography related. I DO photograph it sometimes though.

BTW I have an established 90 gallon saltwater aquarium for sale if anyone is interested. It's complete and healthy. I'm just going to keep one tank so the 90 has to go.

I spent most of last week working on the first of what I hope will be a monthly newsletter. I took about a thousand of them to the Post Office yesterday. If you don't get one by about Tuesday shoot me an e-mail with "Newsletter" in the subject line and I'll get one out to you.

Since the Better-Than-School-Pictures site got hacked right when I announced the dates for that promotion I'm offering it again next Saturday, Sept 16th from 10:00AM - Noon only. Check out www.BetterThanSchoolPictures.com for full details and pricing. Please e-mail this link to everyone you know that has school aged children. It's a cheapo promotion and I'll only be able to repeat it if there is good partacipation.

Volunteers Needed!

I'm training a new photographer and I need your help.

I need some volunteers to be "guinea pigs". We’ll choose a few children to come in for a "test" session with my new photographer. If you’re chosen you’ll receive a studio session and an 11x14 without any obligation or expectation of a purchase. If I photographed this session it would be $25 and the 11x14 would be $129. Even with my Red Bud math I can tell that’s a great deal.

At this time I’m looking for individual children only but I may need siblings to test with soon. I’d be grateful if you would volunteer. Go to www.keithphoto.com/test to sign up. No phone calls on this one please.

Open Model Call NEXT SATURDAY

I’m looking for models (children) for test shoots and special projects. From time to time I have a project rolling around in my head that I’d like to test out. Most of the time these projects would require an extensive set-up or travel. I don’t feel right testing on a paying client.

I’m wanting to establish a "models book" at the studio for these projects. When I have a project in mind I’ll look in the book and choose a few people to call. For instance, we’re photographing Grandmothers Attic later this month but I don’t have samples. I’ll use the book to get a few people in so I can have samples. Or, we may call you to get sessions for Marie to practice with.

If you’re chosen for these test shots the session will be free and you’ll receive a free 8x10 from each session you participate in. You won’t be expected to buy anything but you can if you choose to. If I get enough models in my book I may have special theamed sessions just for this group. I’m holding an open model call on Saturday, Sept. 16th from 12:00 Noon - 1:30 PM (right after Better-Than-School-Pictures). There will be nothing to buy from this. I just want to make a close-up and a full length picture for our book. No phone calls on this please. Just show up at the above time. You should be in and out in five or ten minutes. Tell EVERYONE about this. It's NOT just for established clients.

Check out www.KeithPhoto.com/models to get a head start on registering for this. Remember this is ONLY from 12:00 noon - 1:30 next Saturday. If you arrive at 1:31 you'll be too late. You know how I am about working on Saturday.

Last Night Was an Unexpected Treat

Last night was a particularly fantastic night. I got to see the Dirt Dobbers www.TheDirtDobbers.com play a Schroeders in Rome. That alone would have been good but as it turned out a LOT of the people I consider close friends were there and I didn't realize that was gonna happen.

My buddy Dwight Fuller hitched a ride with me. It's damn near impossible to get him to go anywhere these days so that was a nice surprise. Scotty Knight was there, Waye Mullins and Patsy, Bryan Mullins. Of course David Bell was fronting the band so I knew he'd be there. Aside from the people that were there that I consider really good friends (with friends I prefer quality over quantity) there was a LOT of people I know and really enjoy being around. I kinda got a "warm fuzzy" feeling.

About the only thing that would have made it any better would have been having Scott Couch and David Pass there. At one time Todd West would have been on the list. It's a shame that's not the case now.

Scotty was a Dobber for a lot of years and it was really great seeing him stand in with the band for a few tunes.

Juxtaposium opened the show (hope I spelled it right). That's my friend Bryan Mullins on the left.

Here's one of the Dobbers with Scotty on stage (second from left). That was a nice treat

I'm really looking forward to next Friday. Dave Alvin www.DaveAlvin.com is playing at the Nightfall concert in Chattanooga. I can't really remember how I came to be a fan of Dave's it was either through David Bell or David Anderson. Any way, Dave only hits the East Coast about every 18 months or so and I thought I may have let him slip by without knowing because it has been a couple of years since I've seen him. I'm REALLY glad I was wrong. Dave's a fantastic writer and he always puts on a great show. See you there? I'll be down front!

Well, so much for keeping this a short post.

Talk to you later,

Keith

It's been a pretty uneventful week so far. Leann and I went to a PhotoShop class in Atl on Monday. most of it was a big ol snoozer. BUT we did come away with a couple of gems that will help us out in our day-to-day stuff.

Saturday night I made portraits for Liz Cummings' family before her husband Bobby's 50th birthday party. Those of you that know me know I'd just about rather be beat than to work on Saturday...and Saturday night at that!

Well, I'm glad I did it!  Basically I worked before the party (just a little secret, it's not really work) and afterwards I was a guest. I had a great time and got to hang out with some fun people

Here's a portrait of Liz, Bobby and Trent. As it turns out Trent is one heck of a photographers assistant, he even took some of the pictures. Trent's a pretty good PR guy too. He made sure to tell everyone that I'm the guy that makes his Santa pictures. One more thing about Trent, he's a chick magnet! What's he have that I don't have?

One of the things I really like the most about my work is the people I come into contact with. Rarely do I ever run across someone that has a cloud hanging over them. I guess if you're in the group that's always negative or life is miserable or if your self esteem isn't very high you just don't think to have portraits made. So, I generally work with very pleasant and up-beat people. That's the way I like it!

On the way home from the party Saturday I got to thinking how lucky I am to meet people like this. Sabrina Roberts and her husband Bobby are the cream of the crop in this department. Both are always wearing a smile no matter what. Sabrina's one of my favorite people. Not only is she a great customer but she genuinely "looks out for me". 

There should be more people in the world like Sabrina. Here's a picture of Sabrina and me from Saturday.