Almost Deleted

This is another photo that got mixed in as a test shot that actually turned out well. This is a self portrait done with the remote on my Nikon. I had the camera set to manual focus, and was checking the exposure. I love that hat.

This is why you shouldn't get in the habit of deleting a photo from the camera. Always import it, give it a chance, and then delete it if you need to. I'm trying to get in the habit of checking the photos on the camera less while I'm in a session. I just need to trust the consistency and focus on the subject.

One More

Ok, one more from the shoot with Rhonda.

I had so much fun. I think a lot of that was Rhonda's fault, she's just a lot of fun to hang out with, but also I just have fun pushing that little shutter button down.

This was shot using my homemade snoot with a 20 degree grid strapped to the front of it. I basically stole the idea from one of my favorite photographers, Zack Arias. Instead of buying a lightsphere and painting it, I cut a hole in the bottom of an old Lysol Disinfectant Wipes pale, and wrapped it in black gaff.

Oh, and I love this location. There is still so much more of it to explore, and it's right in my backyard. 10 points if you know where it is.

Elevator Number 5

My very good friend Rhonda came by today and we snapped off a few shots for her newsletter. Despite it being a little claustrophobic, we were able to fit myself, Rhonda, two bags, a light stand with a half-collapsed 60" umbrella and a Nikon SB-28 flash in the same elevator. I used a 15mm fisheye lens on the D80 to grab Rhonda in what I like to call her "Muppet Face". I told her this one would hit the internet.

If you're in the Charlotte/Fort Mill area, I'm running a special on portraits until the end of June. $25 per 'look' with a minimum of 30 minutes and one location per look. A 'look' is basically a change of clothes and hair. You'll walk away with at least 3 photos per look. Single portraits only. Contact me if you're interested.

African Baby

I'm backing up my photos today and this photo catches my eye like never before.

I want to go overseas again.

And I want to kiss this kid on the cheek.

Clearly I Need More Models

Not that Heather isn't beautiful, and a really good sport, I can't make up an entire portfolio with nothing but my wife. I mean, I could, and I would, but I won't.

I mentioned that I would be giving away free portrait sessions, so here are the details.

ATTENTION: This is not a popularity contest, and I am not picking 'favorites'. It's not personal, it's business.

To be considered for a free portrait session, please do the following:

1. Become a 'FAN' of Organic Visual on Facebook.
2. Post a current photo of yourself on the wall of the Organic Visual Facebook page.
3. Start your post with "PORTRAIT GIVEAWAY:"
4. In the description, briefly tell me what you intend to use the photo for.
5. Tell me what your geographical location is. I'll be shooting in Charlotte in June, Hampton Roads and DC in July.

The deadline is May 23rd at Noon-ish. One week from right now.

My wife, Heather, and I will be choosing and scheduling 4 sessions in the Charlotte/Fort Mill area, and 6 sessions in the DC/NoVa/Hampton Roads area.

Things you should be aware of:

1. You must be at least 16 years old.
2. You must be willing to sign a release form giving Levi Bethune and Organic Visual full rights to any photos taken, as they may be used for promotional material, private galleries, and commercial use. (under 18 needs parent's signature)
3. You must be willing to drive up to 15 minutes to meet me at a location of my choosing.

You'll get at least 5 GREAT photos out of this deal, and it will only take about an hour. My wife will be with me on the shoots to help with art direction and comfort. Further instructions and details will be sent out to the people we select, but this is just what you need to know right now.

Please understand, if I don't pick you, that doesn't mean I don't like you. It doesn't mean you're not photogenic, and it doesn't mean I won't take your photos some other time. This is not a contest. I'm looking for a rather specific, yet diverse look to represent the photography for my business.

Even if you're not picked, based to the response of this offer, I will be giving away more sessions in the future, and all those offers will be made first to the people who participate in Facebook/Twitter.

Free Portraits Anyone?

I'm looking to boost up my photography portfolio, so I'm going to be offering some free portrait sessions.

You come with makeup, wardrobe and hair ready to go, and I'll pick the location and bring 'props'. We'll spend no more than one hour, and I'll give you at least 3 free images that I choose from. I'll use any and all images for my own personal and business portfolio, and you'll have to sign a model release.

(You must be 16 years old or older. Single portraits, headshots, or couples only. I'm not offering family portraits for free online, but contact me if you're interested.)

There are limited spaces available, and I will be choosing the people I shoot. If you're interested, and in the Charlotte area during the month of June, or the DC area in July, visit the Organic Visual facebook page and become a fan. Details will be posted there FIRST. If you want to get in on it and don't have a facebook account, you can follow @organicvisual on twitter. Oh, don't have twitter either? Ok, you can read about it right here on this blog after it's been posted in those two places first.

Zoyenka Loves Momma

Isn't she gorgeous?

This photo was taken on Mothers' Day while we were picnicking at the Greenway in Fort Mill, SC.

Colour Academy 4 of 4

I ran lights for Public Radio the other night at the Visulite Theater in Charlotte. One of the opening bands was Colour Academy, and since I had nothing to do, I clamped a remote flash to a light bar and tried my hand at a few 'one light' live shots.

This is shot 4 of 4 in this 'series'.

Colour Academy 3 of 4

I ran lights for Public Radio the other night at the Visulite Theater in Charlotte. One of the opening bands was Colour Academy, and since I had nothing to do, I clamped a remote flash to a light bar and tried my hand at a few 'one light' live shots.

This is shot 3 of 4 in this 'series'.

Colour Academy 2 of 4

I ran lights for Public Radio the other night at the Visulite Theater in Charlotte. One of the opening bands was Colour Academy, and since I had nothing to do, I clamped a remote flash to a light bar and tried my hand at a few 'one light' live shots.

This is shot 2 of 4 in this 'series'.

Colour Academy 1 of 4

I ran lights for Public Radio the other night at the Visulite Theater in Charlotte. One of the opening bands was Colour Academy, and since I had nothing to do, I clamped a remote flash to a light bar and tried my hand at a few 'one light' live shots.

This is shot 1 of 4 in this 'series'.

Mothers' Day - A Grammar Tribute

Does the day belong to Mother? Does the day belong to more than one Mother? Or is the day a tribute to Mothers? The way I celebrate it, is plural-possessive.

I just would like to preface this by saying that I've never fully grasped the rules and exceptions to the rules pertaining to possessive and plural nouns, and I stand firm on my belief that if someone were to ever completely understand them, the time-space continuum would shatter. This is a tribute the grammar rules my mother still tries to teach me.

When I was young, and talking about the day belonging to my mother, then I would use Mother's Day. It was her singular, possessive day. Hers. Her own, Her precious.

Now, being a husband and father, the day has taken a new personal meaning and I feel compelled to use Mothers' Day as it now belongs to my mother, and my wife who is a mother.

One could argue that the day doesn't belong to anyone, and it is merely a day to remember, honor, and celebrate mothers around the world, hence, the use of Mothers Day like Christmas Day and Valentines Day. I feel like this method is a cop-out, for I am a strong believer that everyone had a mother at one point in their life. It seems natural to me that the day should hold some personal meaning to someone, and thus, be possessive in some form.

Let's talk about Saint Patrick's Day. That day, according to the apostrophe syntax, belongs to Saint Patrick. If the day belonged to his family, then it would be written as Patricks' Day because it was possessed by more than one Patrick. If we used the same rule, then a day belonging to more than one mother would be plural-possessive: Mothers' Day.

See mom, I was paying attention. And if I got this all wrong, then... well, I learned it on the internet.

Why Are You Moving?

This is a photo of Bound4LIFE director, and prayer intercessor, Matt Lockett in JHOP DC, and it has a lot to do with why we're moving.

Why are we moving? The biggest reason is that our house is an un-inspired, poorly-constructed, suburban nightmare, and I'm not even talking about the people inside. However, the people inside are making the living environment unstable, and thusly, unsafe, so I am making the decision to remove my family from that situation, for their protection and sanity.

But we're not stopping there. No, we're not only moving out of our house, we're making plans to move out of the state.

Merely weeks after finally wrapping up the last bit of paperwork tying us to Virginia, we have decided to move to... Virginia. Or rather, the Virginia side of the Washington DC metro area.

Why are we moving to DC? Well, logically it makes sense if we want to be closer to family and friends from years past and to get out of suburbia, but our reasons are based on more than merely logic.

A little over two years ago, Heather and I traveled from our home-town of Chesapeake, Virginia to Fort Mill, South Carolina to give Heather's younger sisters a ride back to their internship with TheCause. Katie and Melody Crane, my beautiful sisters-in-law, were in the middle of a prayer intercession internship with Chuck Mervin and Lou Engle. After their Thanksgiving break, we brought the Crane sisters back to the base in Fort Mill, and within moments both Heather and I decided, separately, that we wanted to move there. We didn't fall in love with the location, the ease of life there, or even the cheap gas prices, and we certainly didn't fall in love with the weather, we fell in love with the people that made up the movement. That movement was made up of a band of ruffians who wanted little else but to see America revived, and they were willing to pour everything they had into that cause through fasting, prayer, worship, and activism. We fell in love with the Justice House of Prayer.

After living here for over two years, helping to mobilize 70,000 people in a stadium, traveling across the country driving a box-truck, and changing addresses 3 times, we may have missed the train. Or at least we didn't catch the same one everyone else left on. The movement is alive and well, it's just moved to different places in the country. San Francisco, Boston, San Diego, New York City, and DC, are the cities which harbor this motley crew of prayer warriors now.

We got comfortable here in Fort Mill, and maybe a little lazy. I found a job at MorningStar doing what I love to do, and we had a baby. Cool story Hansel, all good stuff, but we started feeling more and more dissatisfied with our situation, and the lack of healthy community that rallied around a central cause that we had grown to love so much.

Now, with the fresh mergence of Bound4LIFE and JHOP in Washington DC, we have once again, like the Millennium Falcon to the Death Star, become drawn to that which we wish to live and die for. Justice in America.

Oh, and that Star Wars reference? It reminds me of another little blog I contribute to: http://fanmade.org

Details

This is a photo of a friend of mine. I love the detail of the beardliness.

I think I want to start a personal series called "Extreme Close-Ups Of Guys Wearing Big Sunglasses."

And I want to submit 'beardliness' for consideration to the Oxford English Dictionary. With this photo as the description.