ChadCRG Images blog

It’s duck race time again, nothing like 45,000 rubber ducks being dumped into and floating down river.

Last week I was in Nebraska and shooting some photos at the zoo. They have a relatively new chimp and ape complex. One of the cool things about it was this gorilla sitting in a bridge above people just watching everyone go by.

It’s election season again, is it ever really not election season? I went out to photograph a rally recently and liked the background of the photo, and why do all politicians stand in the same pose when speaking?

I went to tour a local elementary school that is very old to get public opinion on building a new school. Most people who live around the school want a new school built, but it is only scheduled for a remodel. During the tour we went into what was the old gym and is now a multipurpose room and I found this gentleman standing near a window. I like the light and feeling it gives.

I was on hand for the first house to be dedicated on the new Knoxville Music Row Houses by Habitat for Humanity. This is a shot of Brooks and Dunn giving the homeowner the keys to her new house, the Brooks and Dunn house. Eight more music houses will be built in the coming years.

Last weekend I did one of the coolest assignments, I was at Remote Area Medical shooting for News magazine out of Austria. Remote Area Medical provides medical, dental and vision care to people without insurance. Doctors and nurses volunteered from 18 states and patients came for treatment from 11 states. It was sad to see people lined up almost 24 hours in advance to receive care. I ended up meeting several really nice families who opened up and shared their experience with me. I made so many photos I was happy with that I can’t post all of them here, but these are a few of my favorites. I hope to have the chance to continue photographing RAM in the future as they do more clinics.

Those crazy kids and their rock n’ roll! Last week I photographed a battle of the bands at a local high school. For some of the students it was their first time on a stage to perform, oh the butterflies. Everyone seemed to have a good time and I got some nice photos.

I’m not a big fan of funerals or graveside services or anything related. To be fair I don’t know anyone who is! Recently I had to go out and cover a graveside service for the Knoxville News Sentinel. The story is tragic, a man who was killed seven years ago was finally laid to rest. Just a couple of months ago his wife was convicted of murder and the family finally felt they had closure and were able to lay him to rest. They were very nice and we were the only media at the cemetery. I spoke with the family and had permission to do what I needed. For the most part I like to photograph things like this with a long lens, to stay out of the way and to compress the scene. I had been keeping a distance and as they were getting ready to intern the ashes people started gathering around and I moved in a little closer to have a clear view. I ended up making some nice photos that show the loss and impact on the family, even after seven years.

During the Heart of Giving symposium I had the chance to make some nice photos. I saw a comedian who was clever, she had the women laughing it up for almost an hour. I like this shot of her because of the motion in the image. Later in the day I had the opportunity to photograph Dr. Bass. He runs the body farm here in Knoxville and it is always interesting to hear him speak. On this day he showed photos and told the story of his experience in examining the Big Bopper to find out what really happened to him in the plane crash from way back in 1959. This was done on behalf of the family and was very interesting to hear him talk and people are always interesting what he is doing. Here he is talking about exhuming the body while a slideshow plays, I like the expression and framing. I’m not a big fan of dead people but Dr. Bass does make it very interesting to say the least.

Senator Bob Corker spoke at the University of Tennessee recently I was there. Photographing politicians can make some wonderful photos when you get past the front that is often put up. I have noticed that the smaller the venue and less you have to deal with that front. In this case it was a very nice setting at the school of business and he acted very natural. I had very nice access and was able to move around freely and make nice images. I like this one, you can almost feel him speaking.