Kevin Barre Photography Blog

Abby & Carey

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Barre) — Thu, 01 May 2008 19:06:00 +0000

These are from Abby & Carey's Engagement Session. We started out at their house, shooting some more traditional images for posting an engagement announcement in the paper. Then we loaded their dogs in my truck and headed off for an extended session downtown. The doggies were awesome, and the images didn't turn out too bad either. See the entire session on my site here.

KB Photo Around Memphis

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Barre) — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 23:48:00 +0000

I do a bunch of work during the year for the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. They're my charity of choice, and I never charge them for it. A real bummer is that I was checking with my tax guy and he says that I can't even deduct the work as a charitable deduction on my taxes. That sorta stinks, but whatever, I like the people there.

So the other day I was dropping by a disc of the latest images I had shot for them and take a look at what I saw on the front of the museum.

Look a little closer at the picture in the bottom right hand corner.

Oh, yeah, baby!

Laura & Evan

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Barre) — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 22:43:00 +0000

These are of Laura & Evan from my latest Engagement Session in Memphis. Aren't they cute? You can check out the whole session here.

Published Again

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Barre) — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 19:18:00 +0000

Some more of my images have been published in an international magazine.

A few months ago I shot some images for a friend, who happens to own EgglestonWorks. Their newest speaker line, the Nine, received a glowing review in the April/May 2008 issue of The Absolute Sound. These things are freakin' beautiful (and they sound even better)! Too bad I can't afford them, 'cause they sure would look and sound good in my TV room. (Are you listening, Jim?)

The only bad part: they didn't give me a photo credit. Losers.

Sara & David

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Barre) — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 21:04:00 +0000

These are pics from Sara and David's wedding at the Memphis Botanic Gardens, with the reception at the Train Station in downtown Memphis. We had to dodge the rain to get the outdoor pics, but I think they turned out great. What a fun couple!

Have a look at the whole set here.

To the MOON!

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Barre) — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 01:59:00 +0000

I believe I have mentioned here before that I'm a bit of a nut about the American Space Program. Everything about it fascinates me, and whenever the chance to see any real space memorabilia up close has presented itself, I have always taken the opportunity. My kids are also fascinated by the stuff, so for Spring Break this year, Jordan and I took Sarah and Jack to the rocket center in Hunstville, Alabama.

When you get to Huntsville, it's pretty hard to miss the full scale mockup of the Saturn V rocket on display at the entrance to the center. Standing as tall as a 36 story building, you can see it from virtually anywhere in the area.

They have a new building at the center that was just dedicated in January of 2008. It houses the original test version of the Saturn V. It never actually flew, but instead was the source vehicle for all of the engine, transport, and assembly tests.

While we were there, we took in a 3D movie about Mars. Here's Sarah sporting her 3D glasses.

There's also a Zero Gravity ride outside by the rockets. You strap in and are hurled upward, feeling zero-g for a couple of seconds on the way back down. Unfortunately Jack didn't quite make the height requirement, so he hung out while the rest of us took off.

There were a number of flown items from each of the Apollo moon missions, including this flight suit worn by John Young while inside the Lunar Module on the surface of the moon. John Young is my personal hero. Here are a few of the things he did in his lengthy NASA career.

He flew on the first manned flight of the Gemini spacecraft with Gus Grissom aboard Gemini 3.
Flying again as Commander of Gemini 10, the mission was the first dual rendezvous with two Agena Target Vehicles.
He first went to the Moon aboard Apollo 10, flying the Command Module solo - the first person to do so in lunar orbit.
He flew to the Moon again as Commander of Apollo 16 and was the ninth man to set foot on the Moon.
He is listed in the Guiness Book of World records as setting a speed record for travel on the surface of the Moon with the lunar rover (11.2 mph!)
He was again Commander on the maiden flight of the Space Shuttle.
He flew the Space Shuttle again on the very first Spacelab mission, also making him the first man to fly in space six times, and is the only man to have commanded Gemini, Apollo, and Space Shuttle missions.
He worked for NASA for 42 years and retired on December 31, 2004 at the age of 74.

This is one of the modified Hasselblad cameras used during the Apollo 11 mission, the first time man set foot on the Moon.

These are plaster casts of Neil Armstrong's hands, taken to make custom gloves to be worn on the surface of the Moon.

This is the Command Module "Snoopy" in which John Young, Ken Mattingly, and Charlie Duke rode to the Moon.

Here's Sarah trying her hand in the original Apollo command module simulator.

Jack shows us the shuttle Pathfinder, which was the first Space Shuttle mockup used for construction and transportation testing. It never actually flew, and is in fact hollow. The fuel tank, however, is the very first shuttle fuel tank constructed, used for all of the static launch tests of the shuttle system. The lower two engines on the back end of Pathfinder are the actual engines that flew on the maiden voyage of Columbia, the very first Space Shuttle flight. The booster rockets are inert mockups.

Defection to the Dark Side?

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Barre) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 22:35:00 +0000

I did it. I made the switch. After being a die-hard Nikon guy for 25 years I made the leap today and switched to Canon.

Earlier this week I purchased a whole D40 setup, but the cameras actually got here today. First impressions: It's really different from my Nikon stuff. That and HOLY CRAP this thing is fast and silent! Perfection in a wedding camera.

Of course, here are the very first images shot with it. The girls were out playing in the yard, so I shot them.

This is Emma. She's the lady. At six, she'd not the oldest, but we've had her the longest. She is definitely the queen bee.

This one is Zoe. She's the puppy, and don't you forget it. She's nine months old and eats EVERYTHING. If she can't find anything to eat she will attempt to eat one of the other dogs. I am only slightly kidding here.

Lastly, we have Victoria, or as I like to call her “Mrs. Victoria Graybeard."

We adopted Victoria from the Humane Society in October. She had lived there for over a year and I didn't think she needed to do that anymore. It may be because I saved her, but she never leaves my side. Ever. Oh, except when I pull out the camera. She seems to be terrified of my cameras, no matter how small they are.

Presidential Politics

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Barre) — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 15:31:00 +0000

Who's it going to be in November?

I think that Barack Obama and John McCain will end up being the final candidates for their parties, so I have left off the others who are currently running for the nominations.

I feel pretty strongly about Presidential Politics. But I haven't quite decided if I will share my feelings here just yet. So many people take politics WAY too seriously. Not that it isn't a serious topic. In fact I think it is a topic of grave importance, that's why I am writing about it here. I just worry at this point that if I were to express my political beliefs here, that it might somehow negatively affect my business. I would really hate for someone to choose another photographer because I didn't share the same political beliefs as them. I'm really doing this, more than anything else, to get a pulse on the beliefs of my clients.

So, who will it be? Take the poll below. Your response is COMPLETELY ANONYMOUS. Neither I or anyone else will see who responds below.

Amy and Ben's Engagement Session

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Barre) — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 06:15:00 +0000

Who says you can't shoot an Engagement Session in December? Well, maybe me. Amy and Ben's session was delayed twice due to rain, but we finally got it done. What a cute couple! They also booked me for the coveted 06-07-08 date this year. It seems like EVERYONE wants that date.

Well too bad, they got it first.

Payment Options

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Barre) — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 17:16:00 +0000

My usual policy with regard to payment is that 50% of the order total (before tax) is due as a retainer fee at the time a contract is signed. Recently I started offering a new payment option that is turning out to be much more popular than I anticipated. I set up a payment plan for those who want to pay for their package with a credit card. We can now divide the total cost of a package up into any number of automatic equal payments, on the first of each month. Here's an example:

If your wedding is on November 29, and you want to purchase our Modern Package, the total cost is $3168.25 (with tax). The Retainer Fee, if paid by a check would be $1450, due with the signed contract. The balance of $1718.25 would be due two weeks before the wedding date. Under the new optional payment plan, a credit card payment of only $288.02 would be due with the signed contract. Then each month on the 1st, between now and November, an additional payment of $288.02 would automatically be charged to your credit card.

This option is great for those who are on a tight budget, or for those who really just don't want to have to remember to make their final payment. Of course, we will gladly take full payment at any time, but I figured this would be a convenient option for our clients, and a number of them have already opted for it. Let me know what you think.

Sir Edmund Hillary: RIP

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Barre) — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 15:49:00 +0000

Just a quick note this morning to mark the passing of Sir Edmund Hillary, who along with sherpa Tenzing Norgay, became the first men to summit Mt. Everest in 1953. This was a guy with a pretty big pair. He died yesterday morning of heart failure, at age 88.

I'm not sure what it is about Everest that calls to me, but those close to me know that I would like to someday climb it myself. Maybe I feel the need to somehow test my own mettle. I don't really think I want to go there "because it's there" or just to be able to say I did it. Adventure has always interested me. When I read for entertainment, I prefer to read adventure non-fiction. I find that my favorite books have been about Everest. It's just my thing. I'd also like to go to the moon, but that's a story for another day.

Preview Albums

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Barre) — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 17:30:00 +0000

Here's a cool new product we offer with some of our wedding packages that make it a little easier to see all of your proofs. Preview Albums!

How cool are these things? I think they look completely awesome. Since we shoot so many images at each wedding, in most cases you would actually end up getting TWO books, like Anna Mary & Chad did here. The books are 11 x 14 inches, printed on archival photographic paper, spiral-bound, with a frosted-clear cover.

We still give you Online Previews with these packages, but the preview albums make it so much easier to select images for your final prints and albums, plus you won't have to wait for the images to download online.

Tell me what you think about them.

Wedding Show Thanks!

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Barre) — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 21:56:00 +0000

Yesterday, Jordan and I attended the wedding show at the Agricenter in Memphis. This wasn't my first wedding show (not by a longshot), but it WAS a first for Kevin Barre Photography.

I spent literally every spare hour (and some not so spare) of the last two weeks getting ready for the show. I had to run through all of the weddings I've ever done and select just the best images. As you can imagine, this was no small feat. I settled on 1222 images (from over 37,000!) to put in my slideshow. I put together some music to go along with it and showed it all on a 60-inch HDTV screen at the show, which I feel was really well received. We actually had people comment to us about what a great marketing decision it was, instead of using "old-fashioned" albums. Who would have believed that, even a few years ago?

It was a bunch of work (I got only 90 min. of sleep the night before), but I think it will be worth it. My phone is ringing off the hook today, so if you are one of the ones I spoke to yesterday about a specific date, you may want to think about booking us soon, as many of the good Spring and Summer dates are being taken.

Also, to any of those who stopped by to chat and get some info, I had a really great time meeting with you all and look forward to working with many of you in the future. Keep checking back with my site. I'm going to do some serious gallery updating this week, so there will be MANY new photos on my site.

The coolest thing about the show was hearing from one of the other photographers who checked out my site today. He called just to do a little networking, and in the process said this: "Man, you have a really great eye for this, I mean you just SEE it."

I'm pretty much speechless.

Anna Mary & Chad's Wedding

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Barre) — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 23:17:00 +0000

Enjoy and, as usual, let me know what you think.

River Arts Fest

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Barre) — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 16:35:00 +0000

Here are a few of the images I shot at the River Arts Fest last weekend in downtown Memphis.

Meredith and Donnie

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Barre) — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 21:10:00 +0000

Here are some of the early proofs from a recent engagement set for Meredith and Donnie. They were so yummy I couldn't wait until they were all ready to post these. Let me know what you think.

Anyone up for Beach Photos?

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Barre) — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 18:51:00 +0000

I will be in Gulf Shores, Alabama next week to shoot some family beach portraits. If anyone will be in the area, and would like to arrange their own session for either Tuesday or Wednesday (July 31/August 1), let me know ASAP. I will work you into my schedule.

BTW--HUGE update coming soon. Stay tuned.

Those Beautiful Baker Babies

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Barre) — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 19:41:00 +0000

These images are a new twist on family photos. I'm tired of shooting boring sit-down family photos where the kids are uncomfortable (and the parents even more so). On monday I hooked up with Rachel and Adam Baker and their three children Laura Beth, Kess, and Wil. We went to a park in Germantown to let the kids have some fun. The result: 1100 images in 90 minutes! Have a look at the full set of session proofs in my Online Proofs section.

A Boy and his Bat

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Barre) — Tue, 08 May 2007 18:43:00 +0000

If you keep up with this blog you know how much I love my children, Sarah and Jack. They are just phenomenal kids. I'm very lucky.

This is Jack. He's 8 and he loves baseball. The day these images were taken was on the weekend after he was smacked in the mouth by a line-drive during practice. There's even a pic below of the sore in his mouth, EWW! (I waited until a few days after the blood went away. Trust me, it was not pretty.) Not only did he not miss his game, but he batted like a champ, cracking a two-run single and a two-run double to help his team win a 12-10 game.

I was not so sure his heart was in it back when he was playing T-ball, but I think he really likes it now in his second year of coach-pitch.

I love you, Jack-Jack.

More Flowers

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Barre) — Thu, 03 May 2007 19:11:00 +0000

I'm having fun with these flowers. I shot these magnolias at Rhodes last night. Then, when I got up this morning and took Emma out for her walk, the light mist on the green leaves was calling me.

Fun with a Macro Lens

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Barre) — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 22:07:00 +0000

Lately I've been pulling out all of my old manual-focus lenses and working them back in to my shooting. As it turns out, I like them better than my hot new zooms. These old things are like tanks–huge and heavy. But they also have just beautiful glass and make some really nice images.

I feel like most photographers today wouldn't know what to do if I gave them a full manual camera and told them to go shoot. Sometimes I think I rely too much on the technology. Lately I want to get back to my roots. All manual, all the time. That's how I shot all of these flower images. Tell me what you think.

Kate & James got MARRIED

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Barre) — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 23:10:00 +0000

This is a slideshow of my most recent wedding in Jackson, TN. Kate and James are such a super cool couple with really fun families. This was one of the most fun weddings I have ever been to. Be sure to check out their entire set of pics in the previews section of my site.

A Big Girl Haircut

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Barre) — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 23:40:00 +0000

As promised, here are the images from Sarah’s first “big girl” haircut. My favorites are the ones with the lolly-pop. No matter how hard she tries to be big, I think she secretly wants to remain small.

I love you, Bear.

Easter Babies

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Barre) — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 03:18:00 +0000

Jack and Sarah spent the weekend with us for Easter. They are getting so big. On friday I took Sarah to have her hair cut for the first time in a nice salon. I'll have pics to share of that event later this week, but you can already tell from these images that she looks fantastic. Special thanks to Jordan for helping the kids with their Easter outfits. She's fast becoming their own stylist.

God, I love these babies!

Kevin Barre Photography Version 3.0

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Barre) — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 22:25:00 +0000

Woohoo! It's been a long time in the making, but I went live today with version 3.0 of my web site, which includes my all-new super-deluxe now-we're-cookin'-with-gas logo. You can see it on the top of this page.

I've spent the majority of the last month on the upgrade, so the blog updates have kinda suffered. Rest assured, there are some big updates coming. We're back into wedding season and I have been shooting a ton, so keep checking back for updated images.