Stephen Hunton Photography

Making the move

2009-07-30T20:45:00.002-04:00

I've officially made the move over to a Wordpress Blog...it's taken a while, and the help of a good friend to get me there. It's been a wild ride over the past few years, taking pictures, some victories, some failures, but all along the way I've tried to learn from all of it. I hope you'll join me at my new URL and continue to stay in touch.

TO THE NEW LOCATION WE GO!!! (Click Me)

Stephen Hunton Photography + ONE

2009-07-23T01:31:00.005-04:00

Just got back from one of my favorite shoots of all time. I'm still editing through all of the pics, but that's probably because of 2 things. 1) I took a ton of pics and 2) Kristine took a bunch of pics....(to be continued)...

You'll hear all about Kristine's first experience as a wedding photographer in an upcoming post. Not sure whether or not she'll ever want to shoot with me again, but she should because she took some GREAT shots during the day.

Before we made our way up to some of the most beautiful country we've seen, we got to hang out in the big apple for a day, without the kiddos. It was a welcome break with my best friend and partner in crime. We did our best to see the local fare, walking from 52nd street all the way down to 13th street and back up again. Hitting up B&H, the high line, Chelsea Market, Spice Market, and Pink Berry all along the way. That night we had a great dinner at Bar Americain (a Bobby Flay joint) and then grabbed a drink at a cool little bar before grabbing some zzzzzz's and getting ready for our drive upstate the next morning.

Just a couple shots we grabbed along the way:

-see a couple more on My Flickr Stream

Maddie's Senior Session

2009-07-16T11:46:00.005-04:00

Last weekend, a friend of mine (Check out Brian's work @ Studio6) came into town to shoot and meet other photogs in town.

I had a shoot scheduled with a musician from Birmingham who had to reschedule at the last minute. But Brian was coming, so we took Maddie (aspiring photog from Lovett high school) around the outskirts of Atlantic Station here in Atlanta for a little impromptu photoshoot. It was a blast. We found some cool locations and just practiced our craft. Sometimes it's just great to get out and shoot for fun, because it let's you try things you normally wouldn't with a scheduled paying Client. Hopefully Maddie learned a little in the process, but we definitely snapped some great Senior pics along the way:

WaterSound

2009-07-10T09:01:00.003-04:00

2 Minutes of Water Sound from Stephen Hunton on Vimeo.

Jared Johnson is Reinventing Himself

2009-06-29T14:55:00.002-04:00

Jared Johnson is a country artist, formerly out of Nashville and now gracing the great state of Texas with his country rock sound. Jared and his wife just relocated back to Texas where he's reinventing himself and his sound. He's been on a couple TV shows such as his current place on The Singing Bee.

He's a great guy with a really fun personality and was so much fun to shoot with. Including our having a beer at our last stop in the Woodlands. (Goose's Acre).

Thanks Jared! I can't wait to hear the new tunes!!!

Check him out @ http://www.myspace.com/jaredjohnsonmusic

Thoughts on the first 60 Days

2009-06-28T23:00:00.000-04:00

I've been "self-employed" for almost 60 days. So much has happened in less than 2 months, but so much needs to continue to happen. It's amazing how many ups and downs, how often it goes from full-speed to stopped and back to full-speed again. Conversations turn into gigs, gigs turn into gigs, conversations lead to nowhere...ups and downs. when's the next shoot? what about that email I sent, did it sound right? was I priced right, did I do everything I could. It kinda reminds me of this pic in that everything about the image is fun...but behind the camera, I'm getting doused with rice and my gear is getting all dirty and crusty...I don't really know what I meant by that.

Maybe the hardest part of being a full-time photographer has been the change in certainties. Now, we all know that nothing, even a full-time desk job that feels certain...is actually certain, but this new venture is even less certain because I used to know that a check was in the mail every 15 days. Now it's all about getting booked, making connections and selling "the brand". Honestly, it's really fun. It's exciting to see my work get noticed, to have someone hire me for my creative eye, etc...but it's also scary. There seem to be so many variables into getting the next gig, and I have so much to learn. Constantly feeling like I don't know what I'm doing isn't something I'm used to, and it's been humbling. But the things I've learned have been that much more exciting because it's coming from a place of total blindness. Shooting is the easy part, but learning to build a brand is the tough one. Before it was nice to have a shoot on the weekend...now it's necessary to shoot as much as possible. Before I could take my time...now I always feel like I'm running out of it.

But, now I appreciate the time more. I'm more aware of it, and enjoy it more freely when it comes to me. From time shooting, to time with my family that I wouldn't have had, had I been sitting in my cubicle in building C on the 16th floor, in the corner where the window overlooked the window in building D and blocked my view of Atlanta.

So, yeah...it's tough when you're only as good as your next shoot, but the competitive side of me is addicted to learning more, to discovering what it is I'm truly supposed to do, and to enjoying myself, my family, and my job more than ever.

Paige + Jason + Summer Georgia Rain

2009-06-28T20:50:00.004-04:00

I had the chance to shoot Paige and Jason's wedding in Covington, GA on May 23rd. It was at the home of the FFA, on their large campgrounds and was an amazingly beautiful place to get married. Paige and Jason were such cool people and made shooting so easy (as you can tell from the pics), but the rain did test us quite a bit.

The bridal party was huge and everybody seemed to have a fun/lively personality, so it was a blast hanging out with everyone...even if we had to dodge the rain a bit.

The biggest challenge of the day was that the outdoor wedding had to move inside, to a basketball gym with no lighting aimed at the stage...I didn't want to shoot with a flash because it would have been pretty distracting in that dark room, so I just opened up my ISO and let 'er rip. I'm pretty happy with what I got, but was definitely sweating it a bit when the last minute decision was made to go in. All in all, an amazing day with great people and some fun images as proof.

Thanks Paige and Jason for a great day!

The Conner Family Session - Augie rocks!

2009-06-26T11:42:00.002-04:00

So...how cute is this little boy? He had such amazing eyes! It was great to shoot with the Conners again, as any second shoot is always amazing because it means they liked the work, so I was humbled to get to do it again. The Conners are an awesome family and we have fun when we're shooting.

The shoot was crazy though becuase these storms were blowing through Smyrna every few minutes. It would be perfectly normal out, then the clouds would rush through and dump rain on us for like 10 minutes, then we'd shoot more, then more rain, then shoot...etc. You get the picture. All in all I was really happy with how the images came out, especially considering the challenges with the weather!

Thanks Kate, Steven and Augie for a fun shoot!!!

The Vitulli Sneak Peak

2009-06-26T00:29:00.002-04:00

Kristine and I were blessed to have some amazing friends in college. Friends we wish we got to see more of now. Matt is one of those friends. He and Kristine went to Texas A&M together and he and I became friends from all of the long distance driving I did to come see Kristine over our 4 years of dating long distance. He's an amazing guy and has an amazing family, so it was such an honor to get to run around Market Street in The Woodlands, TX when we were in town to see family.

Thanks Vitullis! Y'all were awesome!

Garrett Moore Promo Shoot + some serious rain and missing keys

2009-06-13T10:33:00.004-04:00

Last week another local photog, James Christerson and and I went out with our friend Garrett Moore to shoot some promo pics. You might have seen some stuff I shot for Garrett a while back, but we just wanted to go out, find some cool locations, and generally have a good time testing out new stuff. It was a blast shooting, and we even finished up pretty early because the location we found had numerous different looks all in one spot.

Lucky for us, we got to the car right as it started raining, but then realized that we'd locked the keys in the trunk! Oops...so, the severe thunderstorm rolled through with us seeking shelter in the metal shack you'll recognize in a couple of these pics. I was honestly a bit scared due to the wind causing the metal roofing to clap loudly over and over while rain breezed sideways through our little rickity shelter. It was an adventure to say the least! Here are my favs from the day + a little video montage I threw together.

Garrett Moore Photo Shoot from Stephen Hunton on Vimeo.

The Schaum Wedding - Cashiers, NC

2009-06-08T22:33:00.002-04:00

Right at the beginning of May I was got the opportunity to shoot a wedding for Norborne and Cathy. They have one of the coolest stories...both being a bit older but never having been married. I loved the fact that they didn't settle...they waited and found love and sealed the deal at a beautiful resort in Cashiers, North Carolina at the beginning of May.

It was also a great experience because I was able to bring along Nam Nguyen to shoot with me. Nam is an amazing photographer who's been doing this longer than me, so I feel like I learned a ton from him. He took great shots and just added to the overall package of photos that Norborne and Cathy are going to receive. THANKS NAM!!!

Here are a couple from the amazing day!

You gotta respect the location! and the camera on the right :)

31 People...and a couple people had run off already! haha...I like how it turned out though.

This Rockabilly Band Rocked the Reception...

And of course...a couple from Nam (how could I not post these???)
I totally appreciated this shot from Nam because it was the details that I really found him SO good at. I'd work with Nam every time if he'd do it!

Nam and I have similar styles, but it was cool to go through all of the images and see where we're totally different. This shot was one where our styles went really well together...all I had to do was slap a little black & white on there and it was $$$. :)

This may be the best dance reception pic I've ever seen! LOVE THIS ONE!

Adler + Thomas + D90 Video

2009-06-08T14:23:00.002-04:00

Adler is pretty addicted to his friend Thomas The Train...here's a little proof. It's also proof that I need some work on my focusing and panning skillz. :)

SHP - Senior Sessions - Dickson Nuesse is Headed to College

2009-06-05T10:31:00.002-04:00

Kristine and I spent the first few years of our time in Atlanta volunteering for Young Life. Once we had kids, the weekly commitment became a bit tough to navigate with a full-time job/etc. But, we've stayed friends with a lot of the kids we hung out with and it's been so cool to watch them grow up. I'm currently trying to expand my business to Senior Portraits, so I asked an old Young Life friend, Dickson to stand in for me to get a little practice. Amazing to think that this guy was a sophomore in high school when we met and is now headed to college in the fall. Good luck in college Dickson! You're the man!

For Cryin out loud...let's have some fun

2009-06-04T00:16:00.003-04:00

Just thinking tonight about how easy it is to get bogged down in all the biznass. What I mean is, take a second to realize what it is you're doing...and whether or not it's really making you happy. As of today, I'm getting to do something I really love to do, and hopefully it will continue to grow into more...BUT, the best part is that it is allowing me to really have fun. With my family. And what's more important than that? Money? Stuff? Etc? I'm sure those things would plus up any great family situation if managed with care, but what I've found in this first month of being out on my own as a photographer/business, is that the small things in life really are bringing me the biggest joy.

For instance, today...my 2 1/2 year old son held onto my neck so tightly that it left a mark. Not because he was scared (though he was), but because he was trusting me to help him learn to swim. It's a moment that I'll always remember and cherish, and I'm so thankful that God put me in a position to be able to say "what the heck, yeah, I'll be at every swim lesson this week...work can wait til midnight, but He's only gonna learn to swim once"

So, as a guy just trying to figure it all out myself, I'm just gonna continue to give it 150%, but to try and remember that sometimes you've just gotta jump off a wall or two and have a good time.

SHP and The Hendersons: sneak peek!

2009-05-21T16:43:00.003-04:00

Weather in Atlanta has been less than cooperative when it comes to photo shoots over the past few weekends. Wendie Henderson, who works for The Home Depot corporate offices here in town, was referred to me through an old friend whom I've shot numerous times and we played weather roulette for a few weekends, to finally just book our session on a Tuesday night. The summer light is great until really late, so we just found a great spot in their front yard and snapped away until the kids were "done with it". Such a cute family! I mean, how lucky can I get to have such cute Clients all the time.

Thanks Wendie and the Hendersons for making my job so easy!

Wilhelm Family - Session #2

2009-05-19T10:59:00.004-04:00

There's not much more flattering than when I client hires you again. Susan and Frank Wilhelm live in a really cool part of town, which I had no idea was as close to this park near The Prado. It will forever become a favorite family shoot spot because there's so much great light and shade to work with.

When we had our first shoot, their daughter was only 18 days old! So it was fun to see how big she's gotten. Thanks to a really cool family for coming back to SHP!

The Ayres Family

2009-05-18T22:17:00.002-04:00

Sometimes, as a photographer, you just get lucky and get to shoot the cutest people possible. The Ayres family was one of those times. Their girls were just SO Freakin cute the entire day, and held it together for almost 2 hours of shooting. I had a great time shooting their beautiful family at their house and then around Marietta Square, which is a great place to find a few locations all within walking distance. Plus, there was some kind of dance recital festival going on that weekend, so they took in some of the show after the shooting was done...I'm sure Nick was super excited about that part! :)

Thanks to the Ayres family for making it such a great day!

and this is when you know you've worn them out. :)

The Blanco Family Rocked the ATL

2009-05-14T12:23:00.004-04:00

Last weekend I had a really fun shoot with Cecile Blanco (of Stylemenow.com) and her super cool family. We were fighting against the weather, but in between rain drops we found some of my new favorite spots in Atlanta. I've shot at the Krog St. bridge before, but some new spots over around Atlantic Station will be a go-to area for some time.

Thanks to Cecile and the fam for making my job easy by just looking so darn cool!

On the road...Nashville

2009-05-06T16:15:00.004-04:00

The last couple of days have been crazy. Had a commercial shoot, a wedding, and a band/label shoot all within 4 days of each other and in completely different states. Monday I drove up to Nashville to shoot Dave and Jamar of Level6 Records. They're a new label/promotions company and are headed out on a 30 day tour to promote their new business. We shot in the morning at a few locations we found downtown...I'm in LOVE with Nashville as a location because there are just so many awesome spots.

Then in the afternoon, I shot King Brock, a new artist who sorta reminds me of the Incubus singer. He's got a great EP coming out, so be on the lookout for his stuff.

Here are a couple of my favs from the day:
The Fellas from Level6

King Brock

Change: May 2nd, 2009

2009-04-27T23:45:00.001-04:00

Change is good. Change is scary. Change is exciting, refreshing, hopeful, nerve racking, and so on. Friday is my last day at my current day job. I've been doing photography on the side, late at night editing, shooting on the weekends, and as of May 2nd, 2009, I'll officially be going after a career as a full-time photographer. I'm passionate about photography and want to give myself a chance at doing something I truly love for my day job.

There are so many details involved in this leap. So many people to connect with. So many emails to send. But it's fun to have the chance to see what will come of this. Thanks for all of your support and prayers as I attempt this transition and I can't wait to hit the ground running on May 2nd, when I drive up to Cashiers, NC for what will be an awesome wedding. The next couple weeks are nuts for me, but it involves a ton of shooting, so be on the lookout for some new blog posts soon!

So, please check out my website. forward it to your friends, coworkers, family, enemies...whoever :)
STEPHENHUNTON.COM

This is sort of how I feel this week...at the top of this slide and part of me just has to close my eyes and GOOOOOOOOO!

Designing a digital image portfolio - and FAST!

2009-04-14T16:17:00.016-04:00

I recently had the opportunity to present some of my work for consideration to an ad agency. This is new territory to me, and although I've been working on ideas for an actual book to provide art buyers, I needed something FAST. Like, in an hour Fast. Here's how I tackled it in that timeframe. What are your workflows like?

Engagement Shoot - Athens, GA style!

2009-04-10T16:36:00.003-04:00

Last weekend I got to meet and shoot an awesome couple in Athens, GA (Home of the Georgia Bulldogs!!!). I'm an SEC guy, so anytime I get to shoot in an SEC college town, you know I'm happy. Athens is officially one of my favorite places to shoot because there's just so many great places to find within walking distance. From downtown, through campus and over to an old broken down building, we never got in a car. It was awesome meeting such a cute and in-love couple. I can't wait to shoot their June wedding...and can I get an "amen" on this couple having some good looking kiddos?!

Garrett Moore - Re Edit

2009-04-02T23:58:00.000-04:00

Garrett is a super talented singer/songwriter from here in Atlanta. We did a quick shoot last year, but as usual, as I was going through some old pics, I just wanted to try something different.

If you ever get the chance to see Garrett live, go do it! He's got a great soulful voice. Check him out on myspace or facebook. It'll be worth your time.

At the house

2009-04-02T19:30:00.000-04:00

My boys just keep getting so big! It's so much fun watching them grow. Eli's smiling a ton now, and Adler just continues to laugh his infectious laugh. They both light up the room enough that I didn't need a flash for these pics...well, the new camera helped a bit too! :)

Atlanta Skyline - morning commute

2009-04-02T19:15:00.000-04:00

I have a great backroad way to get to work in the mornings and I always pass this spot where the trees open up in between a couple subdivisions and lets you see the Atlanta skyline all the way from Mableton. This morning the weather was really crappy, but the clouds made for a cool pic and I just had to stop because it was a rare occasion where my camera bag was in my car!

The Fountains Sneak Peek

2009-03-24T23:26:00.003-04:00

Got to shoot with some of our oldest friends last weekend, The Fountains. Graycen, their daughter is our god-daughter, but Jude just joined the group in January. There are a bunch of great shots, but wanted to share a couple that were just tickling my fancy so far.

Zach Ryan - revisiting some old pics

2009-03-21T09:07:00.004-04:00

One of my oldest friends and past band mates, Zach, is about to release his second solo EP. I did the album design and can't wait to see it printed, but there is so much else that goes into marketing a "new" artist. Zach got picked up by a small label in Nashville, so I went back through some old pics of Zach from past shoots and re-edited a couple for marketing materials...thought I'd share since I've been a bad blogger as of late.

Also, check out my facebook page!

Nikon D90 - Video

2009-03-14T10:02:00.001-04:00

Just got my Nikon D90 yesterday. I know I'm going to enjoy the overall improvements from the D80 I've been shooting with, but the new video feature is super fun and will hopefully become a part of my routine in shooting as well. I really think there are some interesting applications for bridal/engagement/etc and how to offer a new assortment to Clients...this is the first thing I shot this morning...it's my daily routine. :)

Jennifer Niven - the re-Edit

2009-03-09T21:38:00.001-04:00

I had a shoot last fall with an author named Jennifer Niven. When we had her shoot, she needed two pics final edited and ready for her publisher within 24 hours, so once I finished that, the project fell off my radar. She's moving to L.A. in a couple days, so I'll be sending her the rest of the pics this week, but wanted to share them here on the ole blog.

Jennifer has two books coming out this year, both of which will have pics that I took on 'em, so I'm super excited to see them. Plus, one of the books is currently being turned into a TV pilot, so we may get to see the stories unfold on the screen! Check out her website and current books to see what she's all about.

My 11 Favorites...

2009-03-07T08:51:00.002-05:00

Haven't shot anything new in a few days, so wanted to look back at some of the pics on my flickr stream to find a few of my latest favs. Photography is supposed to be fun, and it's easy to sometimes forget that when you're scrambling to meet deadlines, edit TONs of pics, and all the while have another full-time job to take up your daylight hours, so these are the pics that make me smile. Some I got paid for, others I didn't, but they all help remind me that taking pictures is indeed fun. I hope you enjoy.

In-Law Jowl Mania 2009

2009-03-02T23:22:00.002-05:00

My wife's parents came in to meet our new son Eli a week ago, so of course I busted out my umbrella and camera and took some pics. Things got a bit crazy though. :) And jowl mania took over. I was very thankful of The Blog Is Found for introducing me to the sport of Jowling...that is, until the next morning when I could barely move my neck.

Slideshow Test

2009-03-01T16:41:00.003-05:00

A few months ago, I posted some of these photos from my visit to my parents old beach house, but I think I've found a way to post slideshows...so here goes nothin:

The Clayton Family Session

2009-03-01T15:21:00.003-05:00

The Claytons (one of our closest friends) recently brought little Lottie into the world. I had the priveledge of taking some pics of her and the whole family. Just a couple from the day:

No Title Needed

2009-02-28T22:08:00.002-05:00

Adler couldn't be more pimpin with my Kanye shades and his Lightning McQueen Jammy Tee. Things at SHP are pretty busy right now...mostly because everything else is so busy. A lot of fun is being had, but the picture editing needs to climb up the priority list a bit. I'm excited to get some of this new stuff up to share, so keep an eye out!

*shot with an SB600 and Umbrella above camera left.

a picture isn't necessarily final - Adam & Kelly Engagement Session

2009-02-21T10:28:00.002-05:00

Being a part-time photographer for the last 2 years has taught me a lot...I'm constantly learning, constantly finding new ways to improve the end product...so what do you do with Client photos that you've already delivered? In this case, Adam and Kelly aren't getting married until September. We took the engagement shots MONTHS ago, but now that I've added some techniques to my workflow in photoshop, I went back and found a couple images that could really use one last look. Here are the 3 that I grabbed and pumped up a bit:

Elijah

2009-02-13T23:36:00.003-05:00

Elijah was sleepy tonight, so we couldn't help but play with him while he slept so we could take pictures of him naked. Definitely the pics that his girlfriend in highschool will cherish. ;)

We love how sweet he is! Who do you think he looks like?

The Clayton's New Addition.

2009-02-10T20:02:00.001-05:00

One of our best family friends, The Claytons just had their second child, a girl named Lottie. Their son, Colby, is only 4 weeks older than Adler, so it's pretty awesome (and a bit crazy) that Lottie is only a few weeks older than Eli. I went to their house over the weekend and snapped a couple pics. Here are two of my favorites so far.

Elijah

2009-02-08T23:12:00.002-05:00

My new umbrella is rockin and just couldn't not post these! Have a great week!

Brothers + Cameras = ?

2009-02-05T23:01:00.003-05:00

Patrick came into town for a couple days to meet Eli and hang out. It was a great time and we had some fun with our cameras...here are a couple of fun ones.

Eli & The Hunton Family

2009-02-04T23:03:00.002-05:00

We're officially a family of four. Everyone's at the house, everyone's getting used to the new edition, including our two dogs who don't quite know what to think. It's so great to have Elijah home. It's been a long week, but thanks to family and friends we're getting a little rest (we'll take what we can get). I'll be heading back to work on Monday, so I'm trying to enjoy time with my family, bonding with my new son and helping Adler to get to know his little brother. Here are a couple more that we took at the hospital before leaving. :)

Happy Birthday! Elijah Beckett Hunton - born February, 2nd 2009

2009-02-02T14:37:00.002-05:00

My second son, Elijah Beckett was born today at 10:22 am. It was an all-nighter as we made our way to the hospital by 11pm. Things really did go pretty quickly though and by morning we knew we'd have our boy before lunch. So, here's the beginning of Eli, I'm sure this won't be the last batch of pics! ;):

Adler the Aquatic - Countdown to Brotherhood

2009-01-28T09:20:00.002-05:00

As a last big hurrah for Adler as an only child, we set out on Sunday for a day of fun. We started off at the aquarium and ended up in Centenial Park here in Atlanta where where Adler was able to burn some energy off. I just love the amount of wonder that he has in his eyes as he explores the aquarium. It's that youthful excitement that you wish you could bottle up and bring to work with you, that you'd see beauty around you and wonder at things like the sky, or clouds, or a revving engine from a shiny car. His passion for life is addicting and my hope is that, as a Dad, I'll be able to help him hold onto that passion.

A couple snaps with the ole 50mm 1.8 money maker! Seriously, this is the best lens you could ever buy for the money. No other "on brand" lens can hang with this when you factor in the cost vs. value. Sure, you could spend well over $1k and get some fancy glass, but I use this ALL the time and have found that it actually helps me improve my eye because I have to move around to get the right shot.

Is this some kind a theme? Baby pics continued!

2009-01-27T23:01:00.002-05:00

My last official SHP project before our son arrives in mere days. The Hiltons have a beautiful boy, and luckily a well lit living room. The weather was not cooperative that morning...probably somewhere around 20 degrees, so the outdoor shots were not happening. It was also pretty overcast, but there was some really nice natural light pouring through one of the windows, so we spent almost all of our hour and a 1/2 in this one spot. Using a 50mm 1.8 Nikon lens, no flashes, and just trying different ISO settings, these are a couple of my favs!

Wilhelm Family - 18 days Old

2009-01-27T12:20:00.002-05:00

With the days winding down til our second son arrives, I had two final baby shoots to prepare. Guess it's good practice for when my son arrives and I get to take TONS of pics :)

The Wilhelm family was so great and fun to work with. Their daughter was only 18 days old, which can be challenging when they're awake, but we took some shots that I'm really excited about. Here's a couple from our morning shoot at their house.

My Boy is Growing up TOOOOOO Fast

2009-01-18T15:54:00.002-05:00

Adler is just about 27 months (or a litter over 2 for you non-parents out there), but I just can't believe how grown up he looks. It really does go by too fast. Today I was thinking about how I just don't use my camera enough around the family so I snapped a couple of Adler by the wall. I'm so proud of this little guy, and so blessed and honored to be his Daddy.

Doesn't he just look so grown up in this one!!! Oh, and I think our friend Bonnie taught him the "Blue Steel" pose. :)

Hey Jude! Bun in the Oven - Maternity Session

2009-01-15T12:33:00.003-05:00

One of the coolest things when your family is expecting a baby is when your best friends are also expecting. Last weekend I had the privilege to snap a few pics for our best friends The Fountains. They're expecting their second child, but FIRST BOY, to arrive in a matter of days. We're just behind them by a week or two, so it's been really fun to hang out and experience it all together. Our other best friends The Claytons just had their second child, FIRST daughter two days ago...so our little friend group is expanding weekly :) Here are a couple snaps from my quick session with Misty, plus a cameo or two by John and Graycen.

The Parker Family

2009-01-10T16:48:00.002-05:00

Finally finished editing shots from a shoot early in December...what a crazy month it's been. The Parkers were a super cool family. We had a blast on the beach...trying to get their two labs to look at the camera. challenging to say the least, but we had some fun and some shots came out great.

The Bradley Wedding

2009-01-10T16:18:00.002-05:00

Before the holiday I was able to travel down to St. Augutine to shoot a wedding. The bride & groom were great and had a really fun group in their wedding party. Just a couple shots from a fun day:

Lensbabies are Fun

2009-01-05T14:14:00.004-05:00

For Christmas I got my brother a lensbaby lens for his Canon 40D. I'm a Nikon guy, so we of course had to play with it right out of the box so that I could have some fun too! The lens is totally affordable and once you get used to it, can help you to come up with some really cool images. These are just a few samplings of pictures that he and I took. All in all, I'd recommend this to anyone but might suggest spending the extra money for the version that can be locked into place.

PT took this one

Mine

Mine

PT took this one

PT took this one

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

2009-01-04T17:25:00.004-05:00

Over the past month I've had a growing relationship that until recently felt like it was getting better and better. But something changed over the holidays and I realized it was time to have the DTR. We talked, and after a sleepless night of crying, remembering the good times, and talking about the future, my beard and I broke up. Today, I moved on. I'll forever miss my beard, but know that my family will be all the stronger because of its absence.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

2009-01-01T13:25:00.001-05:00

What will the new year bring? 2009 should be exciting to say the least. Happy New Year from the Huntons and SHP!

Hurricane Ike - The Aftermath at The Hunton Beach House

2009-01-01T11:25:00.005-05:00

Hurricane IKE blew through Galveston over 3 months ago, but his effects are still being felt on the Bolivar Peninsula where my parents had our beach house. The house has provided so many fun times over the 10 years that we had the beach...Prom 1998, countless trips, Adler's first 4th of July (that he'd know was happening). It's sad to think of all that was destroyed in the area, from peoples homes to their businesses. Fortunately, ours was a vacation house, but it still stings. We visited the beach this week, 3 months after the storm, and my Mom let me know that this is a VAST improvement from where it was 3 weeks after the storm. They hope to rebuild, but have currently moved from the second row of the beach, to front row, and now wonder if they'll be told that they actually will not have that land any longer. Either way, they'll probably rebuild on the beach somewhere and the memories will continue soon. Here are a "couple" images from our quick trip down to Holiday Beach.

This is my parents house...

This is my parents Jeep. Liability Insurance probably isn't going to cut it...

if you look hard enough. You can find winter in Texas.

2008-12-28T11:20:00.002-05:00

We're home for the holidays and really enjoying our time with both of our families. This is just a little fun that's sorta out of my normal photog routine.

A Year To Remember - 2008

2008-12-23T09:52:00.003-05:00

2008 has been a great year. When I look back at all that's happened, I can barely believe that it all happened in 2008. Adler went from being barely walking, to being a full on track star, complete with singing voice and curly long hair. He's grown up so much in 12 months...I can not believe we have a 2 year old! This year we also found out that we'll have another family member in 2009, so it's been fun to dream and plan with my beautiful wife who is such an amazing Mother to Adler and I know she'll be the same to #2. :)

On the work side of things, I was able to get some amazing experiences through working on The Home Depot account at The Richards Group. Things like having my pictures from the Olympics TV shoot be used in their online advertising just put the icing on the cake of an amazing job. Photography has been growing throughout the year. I added more weddings and family shoots than the previous year and have had so much fun working on that business and growing my skill set with technology and just taking pictures in general.

So...here are a couple of my favorite images from 2008. You may have seen some of these on this blog or flickr, but looking back and putting them together gives a sense of how SHP has grown this year. Merry Christmas!

Preview - The Parker Family

2008-12-22T16:56:00.004-05:00

While I was in Florida shooting a wedding, I was able to meet up with The Parker Family for some fun on the beach. There are so many pics from that whole weekend to edit, but this is one of the first I finished.

Reminiscing: The Olympics Vol. 2

2008-12-22T15:36:00.003-05:00

Just another image from my fun times on the Olympics TV shoot for Home Depot in '08. Mary Weinberg ran in the Womens 4x400 relay and scored a gold medal. She was amazing on set, as were all of the athletes, but I wouldn't be surprised if we saw her in a Nike commercial sometime soon.

Reminiscing: The Olympics

2008-12-16T12:03:00.002-05:00

Probably one of the coolest projects I'll work on in my career in Advertising happened this year. I was fortunate enough to be the account guy for our Olympics TV shoot that The Home Depot did in June. You probably saw the final product if you watched any of the Olympics, but the shoot was amazing. Being around those world class athletes, who were so thankful and excited to be there, was amazing. Not to mention that I was able to take TONS of pictures, some of which were used in their online advertising... There are so many images that I never really sifted through, because things got so busy. But when fellow photog and blogger Andrew Shepherd hit me up on twitter, his simple question as to whether or not I knew someone he knew, became a trip down memory lane and I wanted to post (possibly the second time) one of my favorite images:

2008-12-14T12:47:00.004-05:00

Lately I've been trying to remember that family pictures, OF my own family, are actually more important than the ones I get paid to take for other people. It's really easy to get so busy that you forget to capture your own memories, so here are a couple that I took this fall of Adler (and his friend Emma in a couple):

2008-12-13T14:20:00.002-05:00

Last Shoot of 2008 - Looking forward to 2009

2008-12-11T22:45:00.002-05:00

2008 has officially come to a close for SHP. My next shoots will be in 2009, and it's nice to have a break from shooting, although I've got well over a thousand images left to go through for the three shoots I had last weekend. I went to St. Augustine, FL for Arin's wedding and had a blast with a really fun group. The next day I was able to book a family shoot (complete with 2 labs) and ended up with some fun images, although getting the dogs in the shots was a bit challenging.

One of the best parts of the weekend was getting to stay at a great B&B on the beach for the price of taking pictures of the place. It was amazing. The owner was so gracious, a great cook, and really fun to talk to. We'll definitely go back some time, just to hang out there. Here are a couple teaser pics from the weekend.

2009 is going to be an exciting year. From having our second son in February, to a total redesign of my site and blog. I'm still just working on a "plan", but will be excited to get moving on some new things in the photography world.

Hope all's well with you and yours. Merry Christmas! and God Bless.

Tis the season...for family pics!

2008-12-02T15:35:00.008-05:00

It's been so busy around The Hunton house the last couple of months. Many of you know that photography is sort of my second job, so although I love shooting and getting to be creative, it creates way more work. My goal the last couple of weeks has been to get to this weekend (December 5th) with a backlog of zero(!!!) photos, so that when I go to Florida on Thursday to shoot a wedding, I will only have new projects to worry about when I get home. With some late nights along the way, I was able to clear the list of projects, so here are a couple photos from the last month or so:

New Chapters

2008-11-20T09:44:00.002-05:00

New Chapters, originally uploaded by stephenhunton.com.

Had a great time shooting with Kate and Steven and their 3 mo old...he was literally the most chill baby I've ever shot....looked at me the whole time and hardly ever cried at all...even when we laid him on the leaves for a minute!!!

There's a lot of work going on right now, both at my day job and at SHP...stay tuned for new developments!

Boom! Kinetic / Zach Gump / Dave Wilson Productions

2008-11-19T08:53:00.009-05:00

Wow...am I really this behind on blogging.

Back in September I got to fly back out to my old musical stomping grounds (Fayetteville, AR) to spend some time with some of my best friends from the band days, to shoot promo shots for their new band/ep. You might remember the "water in yo face" post from a while back, but I did want to share some of the other hilarious shots from the weekend. Plus, while we were there I did some photos for Dave Wilson too. He's a producer/engineer living in Nashville, but was our horn player back in the day, so it's basically like a huge fraternity getting back together to make music and have a blast the entire time. Dave is building his business and needed a couple shots for his website.

I can't wait for everyone to hear the tunes that they recorded for Boom! Kinetic and for Zach Gump (one of the singer's from BK is also doing a solo project), but here are a couple of my favorite images from the weekend.

Motrin - Really? You want to tick off moms?

2008-11-17T10:10:00.002-05:00

Not quite sure who Motrin is trying to connect with on this commercial...does it tick you off, or does it make you want to take Motrin?

I'm actually a big fan of Motrin. With my back injury, it's been better than most of the other stuff at giving me some relief. But even as a Dad (let alone a Mom), this commercial rubs me the wrong way...

Fall has flown by!

2008-11-15T10:30:00.009-05:00

The fact that it's November 15th blows my mind. It's been such a whirlwind for me at work, at home (with baby #2 on the way) and with more and more photography work. This blog is starting to take more and more of a shift towards the photography side of things, and I've realized just how much work I've never posted. Here are a few of my favorites from the past few months, and here's to a new start on the blog. Check out my site for more of the latest!

Jennifer & Chris

2008-11-12T09:41:00.002-05:00

Jennifer & Chris, originally uploaded by stephenhunton.com.

Had a shoot over the weekend with Jennifer, Chris, and their dog Riley. They were fun to work with and we got some fun shots of Chris getting chased by Riley...not sure if they look more like they're playing together of if Chris is being attacked, but they were cool either way.

Beach at Dusk

2008-11-10T11:01:00.002-05:00

Beach at Dusk, originally uploaded by stephenhunton.com.

It's become obvious to me that I've been busy due to the fact that I realized I never put any photos from this wedding up on my blog. You can see a few of the best shots @ www.stephenhunton.com, but it's crazy that I never put anything up on the ole blog. Brandi and Nate had a beautiful wedding back in September. It was my first beach wedding and I had a blast shooting all day with them. It was a great party...so great in fact that as they were running for the car, someone decided to forgo the sparkler and just throw his beer on the groom! wow.

Anyway, hopefully I'll stop slacking and will start posting some more of my work.

I've got a bunch of shoots this weekend, but am enjoying taking holiday family pics for people, so if you're interested in a full on family shoot, or just a "holiday card picture session", send me an email at stephen.hunton@gmail.com or contact me via my website.

Jennifer Niven

2008-10-29T10:09:00.002-04:00

Jennifer Niven is an author from Atlanta who had me take some pics for two books that she has being published in the next few months. She's actually been in the writing game for a while, has had a couple other books published and I believe a movie. She was really great to work with, especially considering how quickly we had to shoot. The catch was that she needed the pictures today, and the only time we could meet was over lunch yesterday, so I took my lunch break, met her in Marrietta, we shot for 25 minutes or so, then sat down and looked at the images, picked out our favs, I then went back to work and led a normal rest of the day, then at 11pm I jumped on my computer, edited 11 or so pics, went to bed at 1:30 am, then uploaded the pics for her this AM...just another day in the life. Here are a few of my favs from the day.

Go Razorbacks!

2008-10-23T11:52:00.000-04:00

No description needed. Pure genius.

Boom! Kinetic - "Tit Tat" promo tease

2008-10-17T09:09:00.003-04:00

This is one of Boom! Kinetic's new tunes (a tease of it) and images I shot of the band...luckily I found my way into the song (I'm the one who says "Yeah, here we go now" at the beginning. ;)

delight - techniques in photographing kids

2008-10-15T10:39:00.003-04:00

delight, originally uploaded by stephenhunton.com.

I've had a number of portrait sessions over the last few weeks, most of which have been with families & kids. What I've learned is that kids are really hard to shoot from the age of around 2 - 4. And if there is more than one, then you're probably not going to get to many "look at the camera" pictures with both kids. It's a huge challenge, but have found some good results with a couple ideas and a little luck.

Location/Location - find places where kids can run around and be themselves. A big grassy field not only looks beautiful when you push your aperture all the way open (50mm 1.8!!!), but it also is a safe open space where you don't have to constantly stop them from having fun.

Let them play - fun = happy faces = real emotion in your camera. The hardest thing to do with a kid is to tell them to smile. They know how to smile, but they don't "really know how to smile". I always try this with kids to see if I get lucky, but most (who don't have a photographer for a Dad) haven't spent enough time in front of the camera to not do the classic hard smile, showing every tooth in their cute grills. Just doesn't look natural.

Run with them - this was a new one I learned with the girls in this picture. As I ran with them and my non-zoom lens, I was able to stop them, but still capture movement, emotion, etc.

Be FAST - if you're lucky enough to get kids to stand still and look at the camera you've probably only got a few seconds to get the right picture. Get your settings right before you say "hey, look at me" and then grab their attention, snap as many frames as you can and you should end up with at least one keeper that the parents will love.

Encourage them - tell kids how great they're doing.

Include the kids - I like to show kids what's in my camera so that they get excited and become a part of the process. sometimes this will make them more cooperative because they want to see the "neat pictures".

I'm sure there are many more tips/ideas/thoughts on how to shoot kids. These are just the latest ideas I've had, so let me know your thoughts so that we can all keep making great pictures.

Photography can be more than a captured moment

2008-10-08T10:11:00.003-04:00

Steven Bush is a blogger, musician, photographer who is in the process of adoption. These costs add up and he's doing something really cool to help raise the money they need. Go check out the awesome photography that he's selling for just $35 a piece. This will get you a really cool photo printed as an 8x10 and will help them get a bit closer to the funds they need.

It also has stirred up the desire in my heart to do something more with my photography. Getting to do photography on the side for a little money here and there is a huge blessing, but I've started dreaming up ways that art might be used to impact greater things than my budget (though this is important as well). I've got a couple ideas that I hope I can flesh out over the next few weeks with some of you and hope to have an update soon.

This blog just got a bit older...

2008-10-07T15:37:00.001-04:00

today's the ole b-day and now I'm realizing that I need to update my title to "29"...don't think I'm going to do it. Instead, be on the lookout for the new branded version of stevohunton.blogspot.com coming soon to a computer screen near you!

Adler is the next Nadal

2008-10-01T09:12:00.000-04:00

Boom!Kinetic - Water in Yo Face

2008-09-29T09:15:00.001-04:00

Boom!Kinetic - Water in Yo Face, originally uploaded by stephenhunton.com.

Over the weekend I headed to Fayetteville, AR where I went to college to hang out with Boom! Kinetic in studio. I played with a couple of the guys when I was in school, and now they're working on a new project. It was so much fun because it's like I never left when I go back. Even the guys that I didn't play with in college seem like my oldest friends when I'm there.

They had me take photos for their press kit/etc and I shot some stuff for Dave Wilson (the producer and old friend) as well. Overall it was a great weekend with much fun, much amazing music making, and many hilarious photos. This one was definitely my favorite, not only because it's just a funny shot, but also because I had this idea two weeks ago, got there and figured out how to execute the shot. This was the ONE take with actual water. We did plenty of set up shots before Wiley finally threw the water in Zach's face, but this was the only shot time that water was thrown and I couldn't have been happier with the result...we laughed our faces off after it was done! More pics will come soon!

The Olympics

2008-09-25T09:51:00.002-04:00

So, I posted images from my random shooting opportunity at The Home Depot's Olympic TV shoot a while ago. But, I finally got my hands on the examples of where my images were used in their online advertising campaign. Home Depot had banner ads, as well as a facebook page, and I was really pumped to see my work in actual advertising. Those of you that know me, know that I'm on the account side of things, but love and have been exploring photography, so having the two mix together was a real blessing.

There's a lot coming up for SHP in the next few weeks, so be on the lookout for shoot updates (this weekend with Boom!Kinetic, a band out of Fayetteville, AR...comprised of my old band buddies), but here are a couple examples of my first venture into commercial photography:

The Back Saga Continues: A new respect for women

2008-09-17T09:42:00.002-04:00

Well, I've officially had an epidural. I guess this was one of those things that I thought I would spend my life wondering what it felt like, but enjoying my manhood and the fact that that day wouldn't come for me. It did.

Many of you know that I've been struggling with back problems for a while now, and nothing has really worked to date, so the next step after the MRI confirmed I have an issue with a lower disc was to have an epidural shot loaded with steroids injected into my spine. hurray! :) I honestly was excited to have it though, because I've just been looking for some kind of "next step" towards relief.

Yesterday morning, Kristine and I headed to the DR at 6am. (Props to The Fountains for letting Adler spend the night at their house). As we waited for the DR, the nurse asked "Do you want any valium?"...I wasn't sure...I mean, i've never had an epidural, I've never had surgery for that matter, so I just said "Well, I'm not sure, what's that part for?".

"It will help with any anxiety"

Well, I wasn't anxious about the shot, so I politely declined...something i now regret. They took me in, laid me on a table in a cold room and applied this freezing cold stuff on my back. I laid there shivering for probably 7 minutes.

"Are you ready?" they asked.

"I guess so"

they stuck me with the first shot, which was to numb the area and then informed me that they were going to begin the epidural. First they shoot dye into you, to make sure that they've aimed correctly and then....pure pressure on my spine. It really sucked. It only lasted seconds, but afterwards I really didn't think I could move, because the pressure in my back was so intense. That subsided, probably because of the numbing shot and we left for the house.

Kristine was such a trooper. She took me to Dunkin Donuts for a breakfast sandwhich and some coffee and then we went to the house where I laid on the couch all day, icing and resting...the only problem was, once the numbing shot wore off, the pressure in my back got worse. I was so uncomfortable last night in bed, I'm surprised that I fell asleep. I did make it to work today, but we'll see how long I last...I've been told that I should expect to see some benefit to the steroids by tomorrow or Friday. Here's to hoping I do.

The morals of the story are:

1) when a nurse offers you drugs before a proceedure...TAKE THEM. I would have much preferred to have been a little loopy when they jammed that rod of a needle into my spine.

2) women are way stronger than me. The fact that they have these shots as a precursor to the pain of giving birth blows my mind...

Buckhead Music Project - Atlanta, GA

2008-09-09T14:02:00.002-04:00

A very cool project by Buckhead Church in Atlanta. I was at the first show and it rocked. If you can make it, get out to Andrew's Upstairs this Thursday!

Shelley & Brandon's E-Session

2008-09-04T17:21:00.003-04:00

Here are a few of the favs from the e-session I did for Shelley and Brandon as part of my wedding gift to them. We literally did everything in under 30 minutes, but I'm pretty happy with a few of the shots we got:

scream

2008-09-03T22:43:00.001-04:00

scream, originally uploaded by stephenhunton.com.

finishing up some edits from a couple shoots. Brandon & Shelley (my sister-in-law) were in town a week or so ago and we spent 35 minutes hustling around the neighborhood to find cool locations and shot around 300 pics...this was the last pic of the day.

It was great to see 'em and we had fun celebrating my other sister-in-law's b-day together.

you can see more of the pics @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevohunton

Labor Day Weekend: Time Portals and Emergency Room Visits

2008-09-03T22:29:00.000-04:00

Well, Labor Day weekend was pretty interesting. I'd been looking forward to having Adler spend some time with my grandparents for a while and also had a surprise for my old band buddies in Fayetteville, what ensued over the weekend can only be described as a bit exhausting...

Friday evening kicked off with a flight to Fayetteville, AR. We landed right around 7:45 and my Dad picked us up for the 45 minute drive to Fort Smith, where my grandparents live. We got there and Adler proceeded to play with cars for a while, laying on his back and letting them drive off the mountain (his belly). He was super excited to see all of the toy cars that Jean & Wally have from years of being grand parents. After we got him to bed we weighed the option to go BACK to Fayetteville and see my old band (now called Boom! Kinetic) play at Grub's (college bar where b-side played a bunch). I decided that I would regret not going and Kristine (Super Wife of The Year!!!) opted to go with me. We left the house at 10:35 and made it to Grub's a little after 11 pm (keep in mind that it's really 12pm Atlanta time). I hadn't told the guys that I was even in town, so we just walked right up to the stage in the middle of the song and waited for their reaction. It was priceless. They were totally surprised and it was just awesome to see them play. At one point in the show they even threw cash money out into the crowd. It was insane...even to the point where I was a bit concerned that Kristine would get pushed/bumped/or whatever.

Beyond just seeing those guys, all of a sudden I ran into almost everyone that I played tennis with at Arkansas! Oscar, Magnus, Tiago, Eddie, and Drew Dees were all there and it was great to see them. Then I saw a bunch of old friends that I knew from being in the band. It was like Mr. Popular time or something...sort of surreal.

Kristine and I had a great time dancing together and watching the male cheerleader pole dance (there's no actual pole), but he found a way to do it...gross, but hilarious. All in all, a great night.

With a stop at Taco Bell on the way home, we were full and ready for some sleep. Got in bed at 3am (4am ATL time) and then Adler was up at 5!!! wha...(insert scratching record sound here). Of course, since Kristine was 1) pregnant and 2) the wife of the year who put up with being out that late...I got up with him and prayed for the opportunity to sleep later. That really never came because my Dad and I went with my Uncle, Aunt and cousin BACK to Fayetteville on Saturday to watch the Razorbacks squeak by with a win against Western Illinois. "Who is Western Illinois?" you might ask...they are the "Leathernecks" silly. Of course you know who I'm talking about. ;) It was embarrasing, and might be a strong sign of a long year to come as a HOG fan.

We got back that evening and I finally found some sleep, this time at around 12 or so...Adler did decide to wake up early again...and I was excited about it. :( But on this day, it was because he wasn't feeling well. Throughout the day he just wanted his Mommy to hold him, didn't want to eat and had a fluctuating temperature. When it finally reached 105, we took off for the ER. It was 7pm and dinner was on the table...my Aunt and Uncle are both doctors, so fortunately for us, we got the best treatment possible. no waiting, lots of attention, etc. I'm so thankful that they were there to help. Adler ended up with just a random viral infection and started to feel better the next day.

Monday morning, my Dad and I headed to the Cherokee casino. This is where I planned to win enough money to buy the car of my dreams (insert scratching record again)...after getting beat down by a little old lady black jack dealer I realized that those dreams were crushed. We headed back to the house licking our wounds and packed to head to the airport. We did stop by our first house in Fayetteville to show Adler (he wasn't very excited).

The flight back home was the smoothest part of the trip...took off on time, Adler sat contently in my lap, watching Cars on DVD, we got off the flight and had our bags come off the belt first, headed to the car and drove home. It was good to close the garage and be back in our dwelling after such an exhausting week. So now it's Thursday and I'm feeling fairly back to normal.

Thanks to Jean, Wall, David, Terry and Dad for all your help this weekend...we'll look forward to a more pleasant visit next time.

Arkansas Razorback (NEW Cheer)

2008-09-03T09:40:00.000-04:00

hahaha...

wonder

2008-08-27T16:13:00.001-04:00

wonder, originally uploaded by stephenhunton.com.

My fav from a shoot with The Presleys. We have this great little trade off program where they've watched our dogs a couple weekends, all for some free pics of their kids. Last Sunday we shot for around an hour and then went to Moe's.

Unfortunately one of the kids mad barfed all over the table, but it was pretty funny in the end...isn't it amazing how desensitized you become to puke and poo once you've had a kiddo???

Busy Livin vs. Busy Work

2008-08-22T15:36:00.000-04:00

We all know what busy work is, right? It's when you make yourself as busy as possible in hopes that you look busy at work, and thus your boss(es) will think to themselves "hey, Johnson over there sure is busy. I should give him a raise". Well, that never really happens, yet I constantly hear people huffing and puffing about the amount of emails in their inboxes, the non-stop meeting schedule they have and how they just "love" eating lunch from their cubicle. These people are busy, of course...it's a fast-paced environment, but I'm talking about the person that points out their busy-ness to everyone all the time, non stop.

I think, as I've gotten older, I've started to see more and more people using this same tactic in life. "I'm so busy...got this to do, that place to go, dinner with this person, lunch with that friend..." the list just goes on and on, and to me, sounds so exhausting. Some people just thrive on personal interaction. I'm one of those people, but I don't find myself playing the "busy life" card as much as some do. Are they really stressed out about the amount they have to get done, or is it an inner desire for someone to relate to them when they talk about it?

Maybe I need to try this tactic? I've been feeling so busy with work, life, and everything in between that it does feel daunting at times, but could voicing it to everyone around me help relieve the symptom....or would I then become "that guy"?

The fact is that I think we're all busy. Whether it's work or life outside of work, we've all got so much to do, and it seems to get busier and busier as the days go on. Maybe a quick solution is to avoid playing the "busy life" card, simply because it just takes up more of our precious time during the day, and instead let's take a second to tell someone we care or wrestle with our kids...

just thinkin.

Where did august go?

2008-08-21T10:54:00.001-04:00

August has been a busy one, from a frantiC TV shoot a new Home Depot
commercial that starts 9/6, to the Olympics being on air and working
on a few last minute projects. Kristine is in the second trimester now
and feeling better than she was, but it's a new challenge being
pregnant with a little guy running arond everywhere. It's fun, but can
be challenging for both of us. I'm just hoping for a break soon, so
that I can help more at home, but something tells mr that I've got a
couple more weeks of craziness before I see the light at the end of
the tunnel.

jealous...

2008-08-12T09:55:00.003-04:00

I'm sure I should support Roy in his vacation...but here's my view today:

and here is his!!!

I do have to say though...my view is pretty great with Adler and Kristine in front of me...but I'd rather be looking at them on the beach!!!

Things at the office are pretty crazy this week. We're prepping for a TV shoot on Monday, but also taking Clients to Dallas for a visit at the Agency this Thursday. Everything seems to be moving pretty fast, but hey..."it's advertising".

Hopefully by now you've seen the Olympics TV spot we did on TV...I know I have...because I've watched Olympics like a mad man. I'm such a fan this year, probably more so than any other Olympics in the past.

Can you believe how awesome Team USA has been in the pool so far? I can't. and how about the Men's gymnastic team last night! It's like patriotism has started pouring from me like the sweat off of a marathon runner.

I want my faith to be like this. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't. This week it's closer because of things like worship @ Buckhead Church or reading about Life on The Larsen's blog. God continues to show Himself everywhere, and that makes it easier...so like my patriotism for the US during the Olympics...what does it take to keep the feeling once the Olympics are over...or God isn't quite as visible in the everyday as he is now?

Stephen Hunton Photography : The Home Depot, The Olympics...lucky me

2008-08-10T12:19:00.000-04:00

Most of you know that I work for an advertising agency by day and on occasion will also take pictures as a side profession. Well, recently I had both jobs collide into one. It was basically the perfect storm of one of the coolest advertising projects I will EVER get to work on, and in the midst of that I was able to play the role of the photog throughout the week.

A little background.

My Client, The Home Depot, is a major sponsor of The Olympics. In fact, they actually have a program (OJOP - Olympic Job Opportunity Program) where they employ athletes who dream of making the games. These athletes work in stores around the country and then travel around the world in search of their Olympic dreams. It's really a cool program. They've employed over 660 athletes throughout the years!

So..... on 8/8/08 the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics kicked off. Somewhere in that program you saw a 60 second spot and a :30 spot that features a few of our incredible OJOP athletes. I use the word "incredible" not only because of their athletic ability....though it's pretty impressive....but because of their character. Each of these athletes were SO COOL to work with. So appreciative of the OJOP program and just full of excitement to be there. A.G. Kruger, the hammer thrower, was pretty intimidating to look at, but the second he started talking to you, you realized that his heart was twice as big as he is...and that's BIG. He was so pumped to talk about the summer track camp he is working at, teaching kids how to throw the hammer.

The spots will run throughout the games and it will be a project I'll never forget...OH...about

the photography! So, over the 5 day shoot, we filmed 12 different sports. My Client asked that I take some pictures of the athletes in their Home Depot aprons and then I was also able to run around like a giddy school kid taking pictures of the action. The coolest part was that everything was lit so well. The only bad part was that the director was always putting his camera right were the best shot was! ;)

So there we were...me (the brand manager) and both of the creatives...all with our own cameras snapping away. It was so cool. And I came away with well over 1k pics...of which I think I gave 60 to the Client. You can see some of the online advertising that was created with it on facebook and nbc.com (the Olympics page), but here are a few of my favorites ( you can see more @ http://www.stephenhunton.com ):

Blog Community : Come together and pray for the Larsens

2008-08-06T15:25:00.002-04:00

Many would say that you can't have friends via the blog world, yet The Huntons do. Lauren is a fellow photographer who lives in Dallas. We became connected through the Flickr community a while back via some other photogs. Lauren and her husband Matt are currently watching their newborn daughter fight for her life in only the first days with them. Please click on the link to the right and pray for them. The church is not a building. It's a mass of believers that come together to worship, respect, and call on God. The blog world can be an example of the modern church. Let's come together and pray for God to bless the Larsens and their daughter Life. Pray that He will heal her. Pray that He will give Matt and Lauren peace. Pray.

busy is the new normal

2008-08-05T23:56:00.002-04:00

Isn't it weird how being busy feels normal now? Maybe it always does, as you grow up...you just start to feel busy all the time, but I seem to remember back to a day when feeling like I had time was the normal thing. I'd get busy and then I'd just think to myself..."self, this is crazy, I can't wait to get done with this busy cycle and get back to normal."

Now it's sort of like "Self, it's crazy, and well, it's been that way. And just to prove it, you're talking to yourself".

It seems like there's so much going on in the world of The Huntons. For the full story, just click over to THE FAMILY BLOG! But there's also been some music, photography gigs, and work that's been nutzo! I've been working on some TV for The Home Depot to run during the Olympics for months now and it's finally going to be live on 8/8/08. It's not my creative idea, but it is still my project and one I'm really proud of. PLUS, I got to do a bunch of photography at the shoot with the athletes we filmed, which will be my next blog.

don't get me wrong. Basically all of the busy stuff is good stuff, but sometimes it would just be nice to be like..."Self, what do you want to do for this month? I dunno, why not sit on the deck and chill for...oh...7 days or so". Actually, that'd suck, cause I get antsy when I don't have much to do. ;)

Well, it's late...which is the new early. I'm going to bed.

Advertising...kinda like being a Doctor

2008-07-30T13:15:00.003-04:00

Being an account guy for a large advertising agency, working on a large national brand, sometimes feels like being a Doctor...an "Ad Doctor".

As an ad doctor, I'm saving lives one ad at a time, and those "lives" are these ideas that get tossed onto a chopping block and almost always seem to be dodging the knife. There are so many hoops an ad has to jump through to get on air, from strategy to concepting, to the internal review, to the Client review, to the second/third/fouth Client review, to the director bidding and presentation of the estimate that's a bit higher than the Client's budget (which was too low to begin with for the project), to the shoot schedule, to the random request to "grab some extra shots on production for another project", to the offline, to the rough cut presentation, to the 80th rough cut presentation, to the final approval of rough cut, to online of footage, to the final/final/final presentation of beautiful creative that's heading out the door, to the last minute feedback from Client, to the 907th version, to the network clearance issues, to being on air. CLEAR!

whew...such an easy job being an ad doctor.

creative flow, the lack of

2008-07-23T13:33:00.002-04:00

It's been a while since I picked up my camera and went out to try and capture creative photos, and part of me is perfectly okay with that. It's weird because I want to get better at photography and I enjoy it, but for some reason there's this piece of me that feels dried up creatively right now. what's up with that??? Part of me wonders if all the work to try and get some work in photography is sucking the creative part out of it, but there's not much I can do about that since you sort of have to work, to get work that allows you to work creatively. Catch 22 much?

So anyway, just wanted to put it out there. Do you ever feel like this?

On another note: I do have a big blog entry coming in the next week or so...I haven't been able to share much about my "shoot" with some Olympic athletes...well, the TV spot (the reason we were there) is going to air on August 8th during the Olympic ceremonies...after that, things won't be so hush hush, and I can share some of my stories with you.

4th of July

2008-07-08T12:12:00.001-04:00

4th of July, originally uploaded by Stevo28andgrowing.

We had a great weekend hanging out at my parent's beach house in Texas. Crystal Beach is famous for a section referred to as "The Zoo" where you pretty much find the best people watching on the planet in any 1/4 mile space...for the 4th of July however, it's the whole beach that's this crazy.

This is a pic I snapped of the fireworks one night...each night the beach was full of people blowing tons of money out their pockets to shoot these crazy firework shows. You could see tons of fireworks from one end of the beach to the other, and on one night Kristine and I took the jeep down to the beach and drove around (did I mention that the beach is actually a TX highway and you're allowed to drive on it???) while these were exploding above us.

what I love about this pic is that it's actually mostly luck. I exposed it properly, but because I didn't have a tripod you can see that my hand obviously didn't stay still and created this motion that makes the fireworks at the top look like deep sea creatures swimming downward.

Hope you all had a great 4th too!

Blog world unite...

2008-07-01T16:05:00.002-04:00

...and pray for The Ivey Family. They are trying adopt two beautiful kids from Haiti and need your prayer. Click on the link to hear more about their story and their heart for these kids.

Playing in the sand box

2008-06-27T14:20:00.001-04:00

Jake Arnold - Olympic Hopeful - Decathlon, originally uploaded by Stevo28andgrowing.

Had to post one of my favorite photos from my week in Los Angeles. It was such an awesome shoot and we had a great time watching all of these amazing Athletes do their thing. Thank goodness the Director didn't mind me running around with my camera like a 6 year old in a Toys R Us.

This is Jake Arnold. He's a Decathlete that's getting ready for the trials in Eugene, OR next week. Jake saved us a day of shooting when the female athlete we'd booked for the shoot bailed on us, due to hurt feet. I guess I can't blame her, since she's just training for this little event called THE OLYMPICS, but nonetheless Jake got a phone call the day before the shoot, said yes, and then was at the stadium the next day, ready to jump his arse off.

Good luck Jake! We'll all be watching.

Discipline

2008-06-26T10:28:00.002-04:00

I got to hang out with Adler last night while Kristine went out for a girls night to see Sex & the City. We had a really good time, watching Cars (his favorite movie/obsession) and playing trains. It was some good bonding time, but once we got into the bath Adler didn't want to sit down. For some reason he's going through this phase where he just doesn't like to sit in the water. After a few tries and talking him into sitting down and counting "1....2....3" I had to give Adler a spanking. I'm not a fan of this, because it's just hard to do to your kid, but we're starting to go through this defiant stage where Adler likes to test the waters and see how far he can take Kristine and I. So...we're having to learn to discipline Adler, and most importantly we want to discipline out of love. I want Adler to grow up knowing how to make a "good decision" and not end up on "Super Nanny" because we've let him grow up a tyrant. He's so sweet and I think that's what makes discipline so hard for parents to really follow through on.

The hardest part was that Adler was so sad after his spanking, not because he was hurt (I didn't even spank him hard), but because he looked like he knew he had disappointed me and was sad about it. Needless to say, I kind of folded after that and wanted to cuddle with him...it's sooooo true that it really does hurt the parent more than the child.

One crazy summer...and it just began

2008-06-23T22:56:00.000-04:00

Wow...so summer has barely even started (if officially at all???), but I'm already tired from all the action. Since April it's been a non-stop adventure for The Huntons:
-Kristine to bachelorette weekend in Austin
-Stephen to Nasvhille
-Stephen to Dallas for benefit concert
-Kristine to YL Camp
-Stephen plays dodge ball and destroys back...laid up for a week
-The Huntons head to H-town Tejas for Deanna and Jason's wedding
-Adler has tubes put in his ears
-Stephen has a show @ Smith's Olde Bar with his bro and Misty
-The Huntons meet up with Mom & Dad Hunton in Hilton Head for vacation time
-Stephen has portrait session, commitment ceremony shoot & wedding shoot within 7 days
-Stephen and Kristine have 6th anniversary
-Stephen goes to L.A. for 8 days of TV shooting
-day after Stephen gets back from L.A. - engagement shoot

There are a bunch of other happenings within this time frame, such as Adler getting a tricycle, community group hanging out for Memorial Day with homemade ice cream...etc. The gist of the story is that it has been loaded with events. Lots of fun has been had for sure, but boy am I glad that this weekend does not include a trip anywhere. This Friday, Kristine and I will having a date night so that we can just catch up, laugh and hang out. I know she's proud of me because I called the babysitter and set it up :)

So...if you're married and super busy and feel like you don't have the time or money to go on a date night...just do it. That's the Hunton challenge for the summer. To simply make time for each other, whether we have the time or not because it's so easy to prioritize everything else in front of a date night. The reality is...staying connected with Kristine is so important because that's what makes the rest of the busy-ness seem less daunting.

Creation Melody

2008-06-12T08:55:00.002-04:00

Thinking through some lyrics for a new-ish song. Started writing it around the time of the tornadoes in Atlanta. Basically it's about God showing himself within things like weather and the scenes around us. I find myself missing out on moments with Him because I get caught up in the crazy Atlanta commute, when he's there the whole time showing Himself within the trees that line the road or the sun that hits my face after the first turn out of my driveway as if to say, "good morning Stephen".

Creation Melody:

I wake up on Sunday morning

and I pour myself a cup of coffee

so I turn on the television, to see what I've been missing

and it feels cold outside.

Sometimes life can be so tough

like thunder rolling in on us

Outside my window clouds are swirling, weather man says danger is certain

and it feels cold outside

Pre-Chorus

I'm looking for the signs of love painted around me

I'm holding onto hope in the middle of this wind

But I see just beyond this horizon

and it's gotta be you, it's gotta be

Chorus:

I listen for the sound of your voice in the rain

I hear it in the clouds, shouting out so loud

creation melody

I hit the road every Monday morning

Cars surround me on all sides

So I begin to worry, but there's no reason to hurry when traffic goes on for miles

Sometimes life can be so tough

when it just won't move fast enough for us

It's all about finding my next dollar, or maybe a little more power

and then I'll be satisfied

Pre-chorus

Chorus 2x

The whirlwind that is...

2008-06-09T14:02:00.007-04:00

It's been a crazy weekend and a lonely start to the week. Kristine and Adler are hanging out with our friends The Wells in the mountains somewhere, so I'm missing my fam today and looking forward to Wednesday when they get back.

Overall, the last couple of weeks have been the typical Hunton craziness, but there has been a lot of fun along the way. I'm looking forward to the Fall, when we'll rest again. :)

Saturday was our 6th anniversary! We had a really fun date night, which included tasty southern food at JCT Kitchen and dessert at "The Chocolate Bar" in Decatur. The most fun of the night may have been getting to go to Barnes & Noble and walk around at an un-frantic pace and look at books. It's amazing how different that store visit would have been if Adler was with us. :) It was such a great night out with Kristine. We need more date nights like that, so it's my new family initiative to make sure that we get out more than we currently are. I love you K!

Also over the last couple of weeks I've had some photography work to tend to. First was a shoot with The Browns. Their daughter Dylan hit the big ONE, so we met in Piedmont Park and took some fun pics! Even with my broken toe (it's a long story) I think I got a couple good ones.

Next was Clifton and Jack's commitment ceremony. A first for me, but their friends and family were so fun and warm spirited. It was an honor to capture their event although my feet were killing me after standing and running around on the Trolley Barn's fancy floors all night.

Finally, yesterday I shot Robin and Ren's wedding. Robin is our friend Misty's Mom and they had a blast of a wedding. It was a beautiful event and both families had no trouble having a good time at the reception. Graycen was in top form as the beautiful flower girl.

In the middle of all of this, my real day job has been crazy and I played a show at Smith's Olde Bar with my bro Patrick. So, after all this you'd probably think that I'd catch up on sleep with Kristine and Adler gone....but you'd be wrong because someone forgot to tell me that the shooting of photography is the fast part, it's the editing of around 2200 pics that will eat you alive. :) Here's to a late night of photos!

Just a couple from the last few days that I like so far:

Writing new songs

2008-06-06T11:14:00.004-04:00

I have this habit of spontaneously writing new songs in single sittings...only they usually involve the verses, maybe an idea of a chorus and no other structure. The frustration hits when I suddenly can't create a bridge, intro, outro or whatever. It's like I'll sit down for an hour of creative write water rapids that flow uncontrolled until I suddenly hit the pool of tranquility and can no longer finish the song. This also seems to happen in inconvenient times, such as the day before a gig, or the week after a gig and I'm like "well, that song would have been fun to play at that show...now I'm not playing in front of people any time soon blah blah blah".

So, the cool thing is that when I start writing songs I get to reach inside the brains of my other musical friends. Specifically, Zach Gump who I played in b-side with for years. Zach's an unbelievable songwriter and musician and is always down to help out with my music which helps me get more creative and ultimately put structure into my sometimes inconclusive thoughts.

How it goes down? Well, Zach is in Arkansas playing in two different projects...one is just his solo music. His album is available on iTunes and it's really good...Go buy it. The other is as one of two lead singers in Molten Lava. You may recall some pictures I posted a while back of the guys in studio as well as some of the press photos I did. They're fun and just might have something really unique on their hands....So, with Zach being 800 miles away I typically will email him a clip/video of a song idea and ask for his thoughts. Some he loves, the others he helps me to make 'em better. It's been fun keeping the music alive in some way in my life. Here's an example of a clip I'd send Zach for a little help with...you'll notice how rough everything is....but that's kind of the point.

Wedding Resources

2008-06-05T11:45:00.000-04:00

From time to time, brides ask for recommendations on caterers, locations, bands, and more. Not to mention that sometimes, I may already be booked and a bride is looking for a photographer with a similar style that I recommend. Below are a few suggestions that I hope will be super helpful in your quest for a perfect wedding day.

Atlanta Photographers I Love:
Nam Nguyen
Matt & Katie Altmix

Caterers!!!
Carole Parks Catering
Dennis Dean Catering
Bold American // Fifth Group Restaurants

Bands!!!
Boom Kinetic - 80's Cover Music at its finest

Locations for the Big Day
The Foundry @ Puritan Mill