Sheri O'neal Photographer

On Friday June 25 I made a visit to Joe Glaser’s instrument repair company to pick up some gear he wanted to donate to my ReTune Nashville project.  Joe’s expertise has been said to be the best around and after visiting his facility he certainly has the volume of work to support the claim.  Loving the ability to turn any experience into a photo opportunity, I took along my camera just in case.  Joe started by taking me through his entire facility pointing out the flood damaged gear he was currently working on by such names as Keb Mo, Vince Gill, John Fogerty and so many others.  I asked if I could take some pictures and he allowed me to do so although some items were off limits to photos. What a great hour of learning about musical instruments and what his business does to fix many of these damaged and broken items.  I love shooting documentary style and would love to go back and cover Joe’s business from an editorial point of view, I enjoyed my visit and I walked away with some great pictures!  Joe graciously donated 8 guitars to ReTune Nashville (read previous post) from prominent artist that were not worth fixing, all of these items were stored at Soundcheck, a facility  that house’s most of  Nashville’s prominent musician’s gear.  I was blown away by what he shared with me and so grateful to have had the opportunity to meet this talented man in person!  Below are some of the photos I shot on Friday…enjoy!

This guitar was estimated to be worth a hundred thousand dollars and Joe believes it can be restored to it’s original look and sound.  He has a special machine that can grind the fret board down eliminating any warping that occurred from water damage, the other repairs are all done by hand.  It is amazing to think of the talent these guys have to bring items like this back after such destruction.

Scott Holyfield works on a vintage guitar (bellow) that was damaged in the May 2010 Nashville flood while in a storage shed at the Soundcheck facility.  The Cumberland River crested over 50 feet and flooded the facility damaging millions of dollars worth of musical gear.

Thank you for visiting and I hope that you enjoyed reading about Joe!  If you need a photographer I can guarantee you will be happy with both the experience and with the outcome so please keep Sheri O’Neal Photography in mind for all of your photo needs .  Give me a call or drop me an email and lets do business!

I have to say I have never been one to get excited about new technology even if I do feel at times I have my geeky moments.  Being a photographer originated for me because I loved the process of being surprised, of spending time in the dark room and the feeling of mastering the craft.  Then along came digital technology.  I fought the computer revolution back in the day, rather than go out right away and buying one I waited as I do with most all new trends until I had no choice.  Digital photography was no different and it came with a very expensive price tag.  It wasn’t about just buying a camera body it was about completely changing my technique of shooting and that became a huge struggle for me at first.  As with any change the un-comfort passes with time, you accept the consequences and you find a way to be happy.

Several years ago the man I was dating at the time decided I should have an iPhone because he felt it would help streamline my business.  That Christmas I received a newly introduced 2nd generation iPhone and things have never been the same since!  I have over time become very attached to my iPhone.  Although I still have not grasped the texting as others have I love having access to my email and a camera at all times.  It is interesting to observe this new lifestyle we all have created that revolves around mobile media.  Our phones have become an extension of who we are from the applications we purchase to the cases we choose.

There are many photographers who have become spokespeople for the iPhone, Chase Jarvis being the biggest.  I have found myself for the first time excited about buying the new Apple iPhone that is supposed to be released sometime this summer. My primary reason (as goofy as this sounds) is for the camera.  The 2nd generation falls short in that department and I get really frustrated at times with the flat, soft images it takes.  Last weekend I compared side by side the photo quality from my 2nd generation phone with a 3rd generation phone and the results were amazing.  Although the quality will never be as that of my primary gear the accessibility to snap a shot of decent quality when I see something photo worthy is what matters.

Where I stand professionally at this moment is in a wind of change.  Not only with my iPhone interest but with my life as a professional photographer.  Things are different in that world and I realize I must choose to be different as well. I am changing my vision and my marketing area for the kind of work I want to do to continue being a commercial photographer in this day and age.  I won’t lie it is scary and I have no idea what this new market is about, it is as if I have once again entered the education system for a new career direction.  I have heard it said that as photographers we must reinvent ourselves every 5-7 years.  My last reinvent was going digital, now it is changing my marketing focus to coincide with how technology  has changed the industry.  Although I believe the economy has some consequence to this shift I believe as a photographer it has more to do with the technology.

With this change I will continue to snap away with my iPhone and when I purchase the new phone I will have the option to shoot video.  Perhaps these fun toys of creativity will inspire other things in my professional career I have not thought of before.  What ever the case stay tuned, I will be sharing with you all and I am sure it will be an interesting ride.  These new tools have opened me up as a storyteller and I am excited!

PS

Below and the photos above were taken with my 2nd generation iPhone, treaked only a little in photoshop mostly to bump up the contrast and color saturation.

Happy February everyone…ahhh the month of “LOVE”!  The year has started off strong and it is obvious that people are working hard to build their business, their brand and their identity.  Most of January was spent photographing business owners and individuals for use in their PR campaigns for the new year.  As I mentioned in my last post “image is everything” so keep the calls coming and let me show you how I can help your business image and your PR efforts with great photos.

On the personal side of photography I have begun a creative endeavor that I have been thinking about for over a year.  This project will take me through the year and will be used not only as fine art images and stock but also in my art work.  I have always wanted to inspire people and this series will be images that have positive content including words and affirmations.  The “LOVE” photo is a sample of one of many to come.

I can say that this seems to be the coldest winter I have felt since moving from Florida to Nashville in 2001.  Winter is not my favorite part of the year and being a Florida native it seems I can never get warm enough.  That being said I do get extremely excited when I get to see snow!  Here in Nashville this past weekend we saw more snow than we have seen in over 7 years.  Rather than go out and take pictures I choose to forget about photography for a day and have a little fun.  Instead of taking my expensive camera I choose to carry along my little flip camera instead.  I threw together a little video in iMovie if you feel inclined to see the fun we had so sit back and enjoy!

That’s all I have for now but  please remember if you need a photographer or advice about an upcoming project drop me an email me or give me a call!  615.385.5947  And if you haven’t done so yet be sure to join my facebook fan page!  I look forward to sharing with you again soon!

-Sheri

A In August of 2008 I was asked by the folks of the magazine “American Heritage” to spend two days traveling through Alabama photographing the churches along the hallelujah trail.  Having never heard of this trail and with the excitement of a two day travel assignment I couldnt wait to get on the road.  The hallelujah trail consist of thirty-two churches throughout north Alabama that are all at least 100 years old, are still in their original site, and are still holding services. The trail winds its way through sixteen counties in the northern part of Alabama.  My assignment was to shoot as many churches as I could in a two day period.  I started by getting a map of the trail and charting the best route to shoot with the most interesting of the churches as well as the most I could photograph in two day’s of drive time.  It was a challenge but I was able to shoot twelve churches in the two day period.  It so happened this was the week after hurricane Gustav blew through and I did not realize until around 6:30 PM how hard it was going to be to get a room for the night due to all the evacuee’s.  I was in the town of Decatur and literally went to every hotel in the town no one had a room.  I was ready to sleep in my car (although not happy about it) I was tired needed a shower, it was hot and I walked up to the counter of this last hotel.  There was a young and handsome man sitting behind the desk, I askedfor a room, he replies “I am sorry miss but we are full”.  I smiled and said you know I have heard through some music friends of mine that most hotels always keep a few extra rooms open for special reasons.  I would be really grateful if you could check and see if there might be one available, I dont care what it cost,  I have been working on assignment all day and really don’t feel safe sleeping in a strange town alone in my car with all my gear.  Would you please scheck for me, otherwise I need to ask for permission to park in your parking lot and sleep.  With a smile he went to the computer typed in a few lines and said….ok miss I think I have one left.  I relieved and slept well.

As I was driving from one town to the other I came across this really old run down row of apartments (shown above) in the town of Courtland.  I drove by them 3 times scared to get out because there was a little store with a lot of rough characters hanging out about 2 blocks up the road.  On the third pass I had to stop, I was fast, I was able to park where I could stand right outside my car door and shoot.  It took all of 3 minutes and I was in my truck, doors locked driving away.

As always these random shots while shooting an assignment often get lost in the mix.  I recently came across these and wanted to mess with them a little.  Here are a few more from the halleluja trail assignment…