"Nobody"

"The only real independent and genuine gentlemen in the world go quietly up and down the Mississippi River, asking no homage of anyone, seeking no popularity, no notoriety, and not caring a damn whether school keeps or not."
— Mark Twain, 1856.

Before Mark and I went into business together with our spouses, Erin and Rachel, we were both photographers at The Commercial Appeal, the daily newspaper in Memphis, Tenn.

When we were working there in 1999, Alan Spearman and Lance Murphey, also photographers at the Commercial Appeal, were just starting to work on a film about a man who lived navigating the waters of the Mississippi River in an inflatable raft.

After and unbelievable number of hours shooting, editing, re-editing and polishing, the film is complete. "Nobody," is a touching true story about the unique people we often overlook in our busy lives. It's a true work of craftmanship, and it's amazing that this is their first film.

You can support these independent filmmakers by purchasing the DVD. A portion of each purchase will be donated to the First Presbyterian Chruch (Memphis) soup kitchen.

We're proud of you, Lance and Alan! Congratulations on nearing the end of the journey.

Beat 'Em with Branding

Why does Coke sell more than Pepsi?

Because brand loyalty overrides reality.

Knowing what brand you are buying influences your preferences by commandeering brain circuits involved with memory, decision making and self-image.

Scientists used brain scanning to prove that brand love is just as important as actual taste. When researchers monitored brain scans of people who were given a blind taste test of Coca-Cola and Pepsi, each soft drink lit up the brain's reward system, and the participants were evenly split as to which drink they preferred.

But when the same people were told what they were drinking, activity in a different area of the brain linked to brand loyalty overrode their original preferences! Three out of four said that they preferred Coke.

What pushes your buy button?

To read more, CLICK HERE

Strictly Ballroom

Check out the Flash Flavor website, which was created by our good friend, Matt Adcock. Andrew just contributed an article about how he made the above signature LaCour image.

*Click Here to read the article!

Happy Birthday to Laura Novak!

There's nothing like rolling into town for an impromptu birthday bash! This week, we stopped in Delaware on our way up to Philly and NYC. We spent the evening with friends, including the beautiful and talented Laura Novak and her fiance, John. Laura is a savvy entrepreneur who owns and operates a thriving storefront studio in the heart of Wilmington. She is teaching a seminar at this year's DWF Convention, so be sure to check it out! Laura is one of the most creative marketing minds in the photography community.

Richard Avedon Portfolio Website

LiveBooks has just launched a new website for the Richard Avedon Foundation, which features, of course, the amazing work of Richard Avedon. For anyone who is not familiar with this legendary photographer and his powerful photographs, go look now! And for those of you who are familiar with his work, go spend an hour being inspired all over again.

*Click Here to view the site.

On the Road Again: PartnerCon LA to ShootQ NYC!

LaCour is on a whirlwind trip that began on September 5 in LA and ends on September 20 in NYC!

We kicked-off by shooting a wedding with Denis Reggie in beautiful Malibu and close-out with a ShootQ party at the coolest studio in NYC – Eddie Adams famed Bathhouse. In between, we've shot a wedding in Washington, DC, had 2 more ShootQ parties, and caught up with friends along the East Coast.

Late-nights are finally catching up with us. I caught Andrew dozing in our hotel room in DC. Even when he's sleeping, Andrew still manages to look like he might be working. His laptop was glowing as he snored. I think his dance moves at the fun KISS & ShowIT party finally tired Andrew out! Thanks Kevin, Shaun and DJ for making Andrew sleep!

We've enjoyed meeting up with many of you on the road. Thanks for your encouragement as ShootQ's tour continues. See you in Philadelphia tomorrow and NYC on Thursday!

Homing Pigeons for your workflow

The Denver Post wrote a story about Rocky Mountain Adventures photographer Charlie Malone, who uses homing pigeons to send his memory cards back to the store to get the photos ready to show and sell by the time the clients who are whitewater rafting get back from their trip down the river. I guess they don't have wi-fi access on the river? Still, pretty cool, though. Can anybody think of other ways to integrate homing pigeons into your digital workflow?

Check out the article.

I Saw A Movie Star!

"Come to Los Angeles! The sun shines bright, the beaches are wide and inviting, and the orange groves stretch as far as the eye can see. There are jobs aplenty, and land is cheap. Every working man can have his own house, and inside every house, a happy, all-American family. You can have all this, and who knows...you could even be discovered, become a movie star...or at least see one."—Sid Hudgens, L.A. Confidential

This East Coast gal is in L.A. this week, helping Denis Reggie's team on a wedding and catching up with old friends. After our walk-through at the client's home in Malibu, we had time to explore the city.

Since I'm a fish out of water here, I decided to make the most of my time in L.A. and visit local hot spots. My college buddy, Jason, met me for a night in Hollywood. He's a local, so I wasn't exactly sure where he'd take me! By 9pm, we were dining in a cool Thai joint, watching "Thai Elvis" perform a cover of "All Shook Up" on stage.

After that foray into campy karaoke, we went to hear some of my favorite musicians perform. Glen Hansard and his band The Frames offered an intimate show at the Music Box. Ever since seeing Glen co-star in the film ONCE, I'd been waiting for a chance to see his band perform live. If you haven't seen the film ONCE, drop everything and go immediately!

ONCE is the story of kindred spirits who unwittingly find each other on the bustling streets of Dublin. As their lives intertwine, they discover each other's shared talents and push one another to realize what each had only dreamed about before. The bond between them surprises them both, and the chemistry created is inspiring.

The film was shot for only $160,000 with a skeleton crew over 17 short days. It proves there's something that big budgets and sophisticated special effects can't buy — authenticity.

Capturing Quiet Moments

I was just quoted in article about "Capturing Quiet Moments" at www.WedPix.com, the monthly online magazine published by the Wedding Photojournalist Association. The article begins:

Weddings can be chaotic, noisy affairs where emotions are displayed publicly, so one of your biggest challenges can be capturing their quiet, intimate side. Trust, anticipation, skilled observation, savvy lens selection and a host of other judgments make it possible to bag those quiet, poignant moments in images that recall the day for those in attendance, as well as give those who were not in sight into what it was like to have been there. It is all part of the unique value proposition that our members bring to wedding photojournalism.

**Click Here to read the rest of the article.

18 Hours in Indy

"Hell don't care, but heaven knows, I'm up in Indiana where the tall corn grows!"—Lyle Lovett

I always loved the Choose Your Own Adventure book series as a kid. This weekend proved that I have not outgrown my love of wacky, winding plot lines that require quick decisions and childlike imagination!

LaCour didn't have wedding shoots scheduled for Labor Day weekend. Our grand plan included gardening and cleaning closets. But, boy, were we in for an adventure!

6am Saturday morning: I was stirring in my sleep, my phone's persistent buzzing coaxing me awake. I saw a message from Indianapolis-based photographer Kevin Swan.

He and his wife had been awake all night, sick with serious cases of food poisoning. As all wedding photographers know, this is a crisis situation! Kevin had a big wedding to shoot in Indianapolis, and barely had enough energy to walk out his front door.

7am: After an hour of brainstorming and phone calling, Andrew and I decided to hop on a flight from Atlanta to Indy. I called every major airline, and finally found an itinerary that would get us to the wedding by 4:30pm.

8am: Andrew and I scrambled to get our gear packed, threw on our wedding attire and shoved everything into our car.

9am: We made it to the airport in time to hurry through security and get on board our 10:30am flight.

4pm: Woo-hoo. We arrived in Indy, tired but excited to start shooting!

Despite my classifying him as "walking wounded," Kevin managed to greet us with a characteristically infectious smile. The rest of the day was a blur of frenzied fun, fueled by friendship.

We flew home on Sunday morning at 9am.

What an adventure! I would choose it all over again.




Check out Kev's BLOG for gory details!