I can not tell each of you how inspiring it was to be asked and how scary it was to do… Following in the footsteps of such great photographers is always hard to do, especially when you put everything you do out there to be looked at under a microscope and picked apart at the cellular level.

More than posting a guest blog, I am humbled that Scott thinks enough of my work that he asked me to share it with his many readers. I hope that is might have somehow inspired you and gives you hope that anything is possible with hard work.

Should any of you find your way over from his site, let me say thank you for taking time to read my Guest Blog and showing enough interest in my work to come here. I have never been an in-your-face type of guy, and I am sure you will take notice that this blog is quite sparse.

For those that are looking for more information on my DAM Solutions, I will be happy to share them here or on Scott’s Blog. However, since it is his Blog, I have been very conscious not to intrude and make it a marketing ploy for me or my work.

I look forward to 2010 being a great year… I am venturing into areas of photography that have not been what I am known for. Still, it is what drives me… My goal is to continue my photographic journey and growth into advertising/commercial, architectural and entertainment. No matter where we are, we all hit walls… As our brothers in Rascal Flatts once said, “If one door opens to another door closed, keep on searching till you find a window.” That line says a lot, and it is something I always look for in my everyday life.

Thanks again for your interest, and most importantly, thanks to Scott for this great opportunity to show my work and share my photographic journey with yo all.

Cheers,

Paul Abell

Lately, things have been crazy for a good reason: lots of cool assignments:  Chick-fil-A College Kickoff (for Atlanta Sports Council), NFL (for AP Images) , NCAA (for US Presswire), Gospel Music Channel (Many Thanks to Ben Rose), BET (for Picture Group: Pay if Off, Monique Show & Monica) and Ludacris & President Carter (for the Associated Press).

Yesterday, I booked an assignment for Houston Sprints, Active Adult Community; I have provided photos to Houston Springs in the past, and I am very excited to be working with them again, thanks to Malanie Lewis and and Lauren Messmer of By Design Solutions, in New Jersey. This will be a 2-day mixture shoot that consist of lifestyle and architectural photography. I am stoked to get going on areas of photography like this, as it gives me an ability to use the creative talents I once had as an award-winning graphic designer (BFA Graphic Design, University of Georgia).

NOTE: I have been dealing with major computer and storage issues. Over the last month or so, I have had 2 computers fail and a DROBO fail; At present, both my new 15″ MacBook Pro and 24″ iMac are at Liberty Technology being repaired.

The story surrounding my DROBO is for another day, however, I will say that we determined that a bad Firewire port on my iMac must have been the culprit (constant recycle mode). DROBO CS has been great thus far, as replacement DROBO was quickly sent; once the drives were loaded in the replacement DROBO, they began crashing, one-by one; Luckily, I had just purchased a new DROBO, so I am using it until my issues are resolved. As for the date on the drives that were in my old DROBO, I am unsure it is will be recovered. I have had 1 drive cloned, and the DROBO booted up… Upon copying it to another drive, another drive failed. Two other drives are being cloned now… The results on the second drive are not looking good, as Liberty Technology  has reported numerous errors. Once everything is completed, I will post the final results of the cloning and if the data on the DROBO was able to be salvaged. I am keeping my fingers crossed, but feel sure of the final outcome!!!

This weekends games: (NCAA) West Virginia @ Auburn & (NFL) Carolina Panthers @ Atlanta Falcons; Next weekend: (NCAA) Arizona State @ Georgia & (NFL) Cleveland Browns @ Baltimore Ravens. I am praying for a day game in good light… Not sure it is going to happen; first chance is Cleveland @ Baltimore; Let us hope it is prefect weather!!!!

Burns Family photos coming ASAP; first of next week!!!!

While my iPhone has been a savior, I have continued to struggle with keeping track of daily tasks, as well as present and future business projects. To date, I have tried numerous programs, calendars and online services that never quite delivered the control that I needed until I came across “Things,” Task Management software for your Mac & iPhone, by Cultured Code.

If you are looking for an inexpensive solution to manage you daily Tasks, I suggest you give “Things” a try… It is a solid solution that I have synced to multiple computers though my DropBox account.

Cultured Code has posted a short, online video that reviews “Things” features…  Take a look: http://culturedcode.com/things/screencast.html

Cultured Code also has a blog that is used for updates, etc: http://culturedcode.com/things/blog/

NOTE: In future “Staying Organized” posts, I will focus these other great solutions: DropBox, 1Password for Mac and iPhone, Billings, BillMinder for iPhone, YouSendit, as well as other Mac & iPhone applications that help me stay organized, on track and focused.

The music here is from the last band I was in before I went back to the University of Georgia to earn my BFA in graphic design. Yes, I had long hair and those were the days… I was going to be a rockstar, and nobody was going to stop me; Well, unfortunately, music did… As it changed, I lost interest and moved to Athens; while in Athens, I never found the right situation and pretty much gave up playing for nearly 10 years. My daughter has shown interest in playing and singing, and I have missed it, so here we are… Looking back on a time that was pretty good!

This music is from the 1994 version of Soul Shaker: Paul Hand (vocals), Todd Kirkland (guitar), Cheney Brannon (drums), Phil Folds (Bass) & Paul Abell (guitar). To the best of my recollection, the drums and bass tracks were recorded at our rehearsal studio — Black Box or RTM. All vocals, guitars and final mixing took place at Todd’s apartment in Atlanta. We did this an a very low budget — $0.00.

Earlier versions of Soul Shaker had different band members, with Jummy Hayes on drums and Steve Tuggle on bass. Though we considered the band from Atlanta our first show was opening for Jackyl in Macon, in January of 2003. This band could have really been special…

Soul Shaker – 1994 (Advisory – Some lyrics my be offensive)

1. Give-you-my-love
2. Distance
3. What-do-ya-do
4. New-Tomorrow
5. My-Kind

Where is everyone now?

• Paul Hand: he is still playing around Atlanta… very talented, check him out!
• Todd Kirkland: I have stayed in touch with Todd since the band ended in late 1994; Todd one of my best friends and is an Atlanta area photographer and sound engineer.
• Cheney Brannon: Cheney stuck with it and played in several great bands following Soul Shaker; it paid off as he is the current drummer for Collective Soul. they have a new CD soon to be released. Congrats to him!!!
• Phil Folds: I have heard he is in Atlanta, but I have not seen or talked to him since 1995, so I can not be for sure. I played with Phil in Trantrum, and Phil was a very talented bass player. It is a shame we lost touch. If anyone knows where he is, shoot me an email.
• Paul Abell: I am an Atlanta based photographer and graphic designer, specializing in architectural, commercial, event, portrait and sports photography; I graduated with a BFA in graphic design from the University of Georgia, and I am the former team photographer for the Atlanta Braves & Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I currently own my own company, Abell Images, and I shoot contract photography for the Associated Press, AP Images, Getty Images, Picture Group & US Presswire.

More to come from Soul Shaker 1993 & Tantrum…

Enjoy!!!!!!

I want to thank creative director, Kurt Tauche, from Tausche Inc. for designing the new Abell Images identity. Kurt is an amazing talent, and I can not thank him enough for the time he has devoted to helping me advance my career beyond being a team photographer.

My Current Sites:
Portfolio: http://abellcreative.com
Archive: http://abellimages.com
Blog: http://paulsabell.com/blog
Portal: http://paulsabell.com

Future Sites:
Blog Home: http://paulsabell.com
Portfolio: http://abellimages.com
Archive: http://archive.abellimages.com

NOTE: As soon as I launch my new Livebooks site on abellimages.com, I will begin forwarding abellcreative.com to my new portfolio.

We traveled to Athens, Georgia to photograph five University of Georgia football players — quarterback Joe Cox, receiver A.J. Green, running back Carlton Thomas, defensive back Sanders Commings & linebacker Nick Williams.

Our setup was simple… For our backdrop, we used gray seamless paper. Lighting was all Elinchrom RX units: 2 Ranger RX packs with A heads and 3 600 RX monolights for rim lighting and accents.

I have been accepted into Think Tank Photos Affiliate Program… Special Code: AP-274 (Thanks to PShizzy & Think Tank Photo).

Those of you that know me, know how much I believe in Think Tank Photos gear… In my opinion, I think it the best made… Additionally, I think ordering this way is a good option as any order over $50 gives your a free gift…

Follow this link to order from : My Think Tank Photo Affiliate Site

Chris was an incredible kid that should do very well at the next level. Most importantly, he understands that academics are an important part of his success both on and off the field.

In addition to photographing Chris, I had the opportunity to photograph several juniors that will be D1 recruiting prospects for the 2010 class.

Coach Jeter and coach Martin were a great help and allowed total access to setup for the shots I needed to get. Coach Martin is an amateur photographer and worked as my assistant for the day.

The photo below was selected for the cover of DAWG Post magazine. I will update this post as I get an opportunity to prepare the other photos for the web.

Setup for this shot was fairly simple and required the following equipment…

(3) Elinchrom Ranger units (2 behind Chris with 40º grids pointed at an angle towards Chris; another camera Ranger was placed to right of the camera with a large Elinchrom Rotalux softbox as the key).
(1) Nikon SB 900 set to SU mode and fired into a silver reflector on the floor for fill.
(1) Nikon D3 with a 70-200 VR lens attached, tethered to my MacBook Pro.

More photos from this session coming…

Paul

I met Bob several months ago after being brought on board to help shoot the Chick-fil-A Bowl. By trade, Bob is an architectural photographer, and I come from sports and graphic design. 

On my way to meet Bob, I was caught in Atlanta traffic — 2 eighteen wheelers had run into each other on I-285, so I had to meet up with him an hour os so after we were to arrive. When I arrived, I found Bob shooting away… After assisting a on a few shots, I grabbed my Nikon gear and began shooting — Nikon D3 bodies (2) and with a 14-24 mounted on one and a 24-70 mounted to another. 

After an initial round of afternoon shots, Bob and I discussed the other shots needed and drove around to scout a few possible shooting locations.

When we arrived back at the lodge, I began setting up for the twilight shot of the exterior of the main lodge. However, as soon as I began to setup, a man came out of the lodge yelling. While we had been there all day shooting on approval, he had not been informed. This incident caused some confusion and my shot was not what it should have been. During this time, Bob left all shooting to me, as he did his best to keep the situation from getting out of hand. 

Here are a few photos from the eventful day/evening…