Fresh Loaf

Photographing this event was more intense than I expected.  There were about 30 couples huddled under the Piedmont Park pavilion on a  rainy Halloween night.  I was in the very middle of the crowd during the vows, trying to get as many angles of as many couples as possible.  Before I started shooting, I wanted to watch these couples. They looked into each other’s happy, watery eyes like there wasn’t a soul for miles.  They were all absolutely in love with each other.

See more photos of happy couples and other images from Pride 2009.

(Photo and text by Dustin Chambers)

Bookmark It

This photo was shot at 2:22 p.m. at the corner of Marietta and Peachtree streets in downtown Atlanta. The photo is of a sign advertising for Eddie’s Gold Teeth. I shot it really tight to emphasize the weirdness of all the open mouths.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

Bookmark It

I photographed Decatur-raised rapper, B.o.B., at Smith’s Olde Bar on Oct. 18 with little knowledge of his music. I spoke to some people about him before the show and heard that he was “the new Andre 3000,” and that “if the recession hadn’t hit, he’d be multi-platinum by now.” No amount of  hype could have prepared me for those next two hours of live music. B.o.B.’s talent was immediately clear.  What was more endearing was that he was having fun. He tore on to the stage, rapping and playing guitar, and had the whole crowd grinning ear to ear.

(Photo by Dustin Chambers)

Bookmark It

This photo was shot Oct. 10 at the Rialto Center  for the Arts during auditions for the Apollo Theater’s 75th anniversary season of Amateur Night, that starts in January of next year. Anybody who wanted to try out had the opportunity as long as they were one of the first 300 in line at the Rialto that morning. Each contestant got up to 90 seconds to try out for the Amateur Night producers in an “American Idol” style audition, after which they were either informed that they were “going to New York” or offered a polite thank you.

Dwayne Terry, 26,  of Lawrenceville, GA was the eleventh person in line at the audition. He arrived outside the Rialto at 7:45 p.m. the night before the auditions and slept on the sidewalk in front of the theater. “When you really want something you have to go get it,” he said. “The biggest thing was I was so excited about the opportunity, that sleeping on the sidewalk really did not matter.”

When this photo was taken Saturday at 10:26 a.m. in the audition room, Terry was minutes from his life-long dream of trying out to perform at the Apollo. “When that photo was taken I was meditating, I was thinking about ministering to the people in the room through my art.” Dwayne, who goes by the performance name Inspirit, describes his talent as “Inspirational Mime.” During his performance he combines lip synching to Christian music sung by Yolanda Adams with miming. “What I try to do is lip sing every part of the song, every word, every beat and then I try to portray it in mime. I don’t think anyone else in the world has done this so completely.”

Terry was not one of the 47 contestants invited to go to New York and perform at the Apollo, “I was really disappointed, of course, but I think God had a bigger vision for me, he has a bigger plan. It was probably just to touch the people in that room. Next time the Apollo has another try out I will be there again, because the inspirational mime is not just for the church but for the world, the world has got to see it.”

(Photo and text by Joeff Davis)

Bookmark It

This image is from the Sweet Auburn Heritage Festival that took place Oct. 3-4. I thought it was funny how this guy’s face fit perfectly in a gap in the line of cotton candy hanging from his booth, especially because of his serious expression contrasted with something fun and light-hearted like cotton candy. Even while talking to people that walked by the booth, he never moved from that position.

Check out more photos from the street festival.
(Photos and text by Alan Friedman)

Bookmark It

This car was parked on Alta Ave. NE when a tree fell on it at 5:45 p.m. on Sept. 26. The car was Billy Eiselstein’s. All week Billy had purposely parked his car in the front of his house because two big pecan trees in the back of his house had been staining his car with falling pecans. “I been parking in the front of my house all week to avoid pecan stains,” he said. “I didn’t know how bad it was ’til they removed the tree.”

(Photos by Joeff Davis)

Bookmark It

I saw this hole in the ground Monday morning. I had never seen a sink hole and was surprised by how intense it was that a whole world of water existed right under the road.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

Bookmark It

This photo was taken at the Atlanta Arts Festival at Piedmont Park. I took plenty of pictures of people looking at artwork, but the “3-D” artwork at this booth made for some especially funny and interesting images. I liked this one in particular because these three people came together and made this perfect symmetry in the frame for just a couple of seconds, and they all brought the glasses up to their face at the exact same time. It was one of those photographs that just fell into place right in front of me, for just long enough for me to snap a few frames. I also thought the lack of context makes the image kind of confusing and funny.

(Photo and text by Alan Friedman)

Bookmark It

Eddie Ray celebrates the reopening of the 14th Street bridge by donning a cape and being one of the first to go across the new and improved connector. The road opened for car traffic Sept. 3.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

Bookmark It

I took this picture Sunday morning, Aug. 30, as I was heading for a walk with my friend on a trail near the Chattahoochee River. A group of people was gathered by the riverbank. As we walked closer we saw people being dipped into the river and then pulled out. They were being baptized. At the river’s edge, people gathered around those who had been baptized, talking about them and praying over them. Joseph Harmon (center) was one of the people who had been baptized. Joseph is 14 years old and in eighth grade. “At that moment,” he explained to me after looking at this picture, “it felt like everybody was concentrating on me and praying for me. It felt kind of awkward, just how everyone was praying over me. I didn’t know what to think. It was kind of breathtaking.”

(Photo and text by Joeff Davis)

Bookmark It

Photographing sports has always been one of my favorite things to do. This image shows the absolute concentration these players have while playing their game. All eyes are fixated on the ball as it bounces off the rim and hangs free in the air momentarily before everyone struggles to gain control of it.

Check out more photos from Hoop It Up.

(Photo and text by Jeff Riley)

Bookmark It

I saw Taylor Medford walking down the street on Centennial Olympic Park Drive. He looked like bags with legs. Taylor is about to enter his sophomore year at Georgia Tech and he was just arriving in Atlanta for the start of the school year, he was walking from the MARTA station to his Tech housing. The worst part of college for Taylor? “I thought I hated French in high school but I hate physics so much more, I never thought I would hate anything more than high school French. But I do. It’s Georgia Tech physics.” The best part of college for Taylor? “The freedom, being able to do what you want, taking the classes you want and not having your nagging parents wake you up every morning and tell you to go to class.”

(Photo and text by Joeff Davis)

Bookmark It

I was excited to shoot the dancing, art, music, and multitudes of happy people at the Gentleman Jack event this past Saturday.  With all the different elements at Art, Beats + Lyrics, it’s hard to sum it up in one image.  I think this one does it the best.

(Photo by Dustin Chambers)

Bookmark It

This photo is from one of the more colorful dance pieces in Incarnation, Dance 101 Studio’s recent showcase. I love shooting dance in all its varied forms, but I’ve found that dance in silhouette is just so beautiful. And occasionally odd enough as to be amusing.

See more photos from the Dance 101 Incarnation dance concert.

(Photo and text by TL Pixley)

Bookmark It

I took this photograph at the Audacity of Hoops event, organized by the Dirty Truth Campaign, which took place July 25 at a public park in Mechanicsville. The purpose of the event was to bring together the community — especially youth — to rally behind the cause of cleaning up the neighborhoods near Turner Field, whose empty lots and abandoned buildings attract crime and drugs. The photograph was taken just before the first basketball game of the tournament that was held at the park. A member of the Dirty Truth Campaign had just given the two teams an overview of the rules and then had them put their hands in before the game. He must have heard me snapping away as fast as my camera would go because after the first one, he had them put their hands in a second time, presumably realizing too that it was a good shot. This was my favorite picture I took at the event because to me it symbolizes unity and the coming together of the kids in the community to get behind a common cause.

(Photo and text by Alan Friedman)

Bookmark It

Sometimes the city feels like a fun house mirror. Everybody is so
close together but also so far apart. This photo is a spot I drive by
all the time and I always notice the way the reflection distorts the
people on the street if you pass it in a certain way. At times it is
hard to tell which side is reality.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

Bookmark It

Perhaps it was the irony of Jay-Z playing Chastain Park that caused the torrential downpour. Chilling thunder, blinding lightning and endless rain struck Chastain Sunday night, around the time Jay-Z was scheduled to hit the stage for his concert. This line of folks was waiting in the pouring rain to enter the park for the show. I was standing at the ticket window jammed together with many others seeking refuge under a small roof when I took this photograph. The show was canceled about a half hour later and these people who had waited in line in the pouring rain to enter Chastain would soon be exiting.

(Photo and text by Joeff Davis)

Bookmark It

I met this man on July 1 on the corner of Northside and Martin Luther King Jr. drives. This is what he said.

“In 1976 I was sitting at the house one Saturday morning practicing over some songs and jokes, and I opened up my mouth and said, ‘Lord, if I deliver the word that you give me through that dummy there, man might take heed — because he don’t believe.’ And I know it is a true statement, but I thought, ‘Oh yeah I will do that later in life.’

“But 15 minutes after that, I got up and went out to the back door of the house. I had a lock on the garage gate, but I had lost the key. So I got a hatchet out of the garage and started beating down on the lock trying to knock it off the gate. That hatchet came off of that lock with my hand wrapped around that handle. I did not have no control over my hand at all. That hatchet came right off the handle towards my heart as fast as lightning and stopped within one inch of my heart and touched me softly. When that happened to me, I went down on my knees and said, ‘Oh my Lord, my God,’ and I remained there for five or six minutes. And then I got up and I looked at that hatchet laying on the ground and three things went through my mind.

“The first thing was, ‘Hey fool, this is the master.’ The second thing that went through my mind was, ‘If [God] wanted to take your life, [He] could have done it right there.’ The third thing was, ‘What you said in your house about delivering the word that I give you through that dummy, you get on it and don’t waste no more time.’

“God knows for a fact that the people of this nation have been told all of their life about Jesus, but 80 percent have denied his word and continue to live in sin. But his word has never been delivered through a dummy, so I am out here delivering the word of God through a dummy. I am out here every day. My dummy’s name is Sweet Pea Johnson. I have been doing this for 32 years. I am out here warning people about the coming of Jesus through a dummy.”

(Photo and interview by Joeff Davis)

Bookmark It

This photo was taken on June 26, just before noon at the Fountain of Rings in Centennial Park. It seemed like almost every square inch of fountain space was spoken for as people tried to keep cool. It was entertaining to watch everyone enjoy the cooling blast of water from the fountains while trying to beat the summertime heat. This photo captures that fun of just letting loose and enjoying yourself on a hot summer day. More than once I thought about putting my camera down and joining them.

(Photo by Jeff Riley)

Bookmark It

I arrived at 79 Poplar Street in downtown Atlanta to witness Mark Farina rip the city a new one. I’ll be honest, I come from a background of punk rock and stagedives, but I’m always willing to check out something new. I walked into the club looking underdressed and feeling like a nuisance lugging my camera and flash around while taking photos of strangers dancing the night away. Luckily, after being there for about 10 minutes, I don’t think people even noticed me anymore and really got back to what they were there for — a good time. I loved the fact that I was about 10 inches from the people I was shooting, but they didn’t even care. No one made wacky faces or threw up peace signs, they just danced off the work week and let Mark F. take over their brains for a bit.

(Photo by Matt Miller)

Bookmark It

“Food? Money? Hugs? Pictures? Ass Smacks?  Just ask for more,” is what the sign says.

Just ask for more? I don’t know if I can take any more than that green uni-thong.  When I took this picture I had been at Bonnaroo for three days and Phish was about to begin its Sunday set. I guess when you’ve lost everything you still have your dignity.

Government Mule was the best band I saw at Bonnaroo. They played an awesome set with a lot of older rock covers. I didn’t hear too many bands out there I did not like, although one metal band just sounded like noise. I can sometimes get into that.

I slept every night in the back of a Ford Expedition, a big truck. We were actually very comfortable because we had an inflatable mattress. We usually didn’t go to bed until 4 or 5 in the morning — then we woke up to one of our neighbors screaming “Bongeroo! Bongeroo!” at 9 or 10 in the morning. He had a cape on one of those mornings and was running around the campsite screaming. I assume he was drinking.

The hardest part was running around because there are so many bands, but you also have to do a lot of waiting. Thursday night there was a torrential downpour, so later there was a ton of mud everywhere. There were certain areas where you could step that you would lose a shoe in the mud. Right now my shoes are next to the washing machine, but I think they will survive.

More Bonnaroo photos

(Photo and text by James Camp)

Bookmark It

June 6, 2009, 5:54 p.m., 1634 McLendon Ave. N.E.

Photography is a way to interpret reality and this is a tribute to afternoon beer drinking. When on those rare days you are able to have a beer in the afternoon, these are the sort of photos you take. It was taken at the Fellini’s in Candler Park on June 6.

For more photo tidbits, galleries and CL TV video, check out our new Photos and Video site.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

Bookmark It

This photo was taken at 7 Forsyth St N.W. on May 22. Red Clark is working on one of his regular clients Dante. Red estimates he has given 30,000 haircuts in his 10 years working as a barber. He says he got the cross tattoo on his arm to remind himself “to keep the faith.” I chose the photo for this week’s Time and Place because to me it captures the intimacy of getting a haircut. How often do you see two men interact in public in this way?

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

Bookmark It

May 18, 2009, 12:36 p.m., 1201 Peachtree Street

This photo was taken at 1201 Peachtree St. on May 18. Adam Perdue works as a delivery driver for a local Deli and he stops at Colony Square two to three times a week to make deliveries. On this day his car was booted while he was inside the building delivering someone’s lunch. Jason did not have any money on him to pay for the boot removal, so he had to call the store he worked at and ask them to send over the $50. “Its gonna cost me $50 to get this thing off my car and so far today I have only made $30,” he said.“Unbelievable man, I am just trying to make a living.”

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

Bookmark It

May 11, 2009, 10:02 a.m., Fairlie and Marietta streets N.W.

This photo was taken on Marietta Street May 11. It is a picture of a homeless man named William Gazaway. William is disabled and can barely walk. He shuffles around on a walker. William has been homeless ever since he got out of prison ten years ago. The night before I took this picture he slept on the street near Grady Hospital. “I got so many health problems it’s not even funny,” he said. He stopped receiving his disability check a while ago and now gets nothing, he does not know why. He has been in Grady Hospital recently but says they didn’t do anything for him but keep him doped up. “Its horrible being homeless” he said, “you never have any peace of mind.”

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

Bookmark It