Mr. Peanut

Day 62
I've had this Mr. Peanut doll since I was like 8 or 9. My Grandparents, who have both passed, gave it to me and it holds a great deal of sentimental value to me. I know, I know, guys aren't supposed to have dolls (or be sentimental) but I'll keep this doll till I pass it on to my firstborn.

Put On Your Dancing Shoes

Day 61

Who Let The Dawgs Out?

Day 60

Say Cheese

Day 59
After a long day at the office I was way to beat to actually get out and take a photo of something scenic so I settled for the only thing that I could think of in a pinch. A self portrait. Everything looks blurry except for the very front of the lens because I was shooting with the aperture wide open and only took 1 shot. Didn't really feel up to taking multiples and then going through them all looking for the "perfect" shot... Now it's time to take off my shirt and crawl into my warm bed... Goodnight all!

What A Ham!

Day 58

What better way to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior than to spend time with family over some delicious food! We visited, we exchanged gifts, we ate, we got sleepy. What a fantastic day!

Christmas Hotel in the ATL

Day 57
After we both had to work all day we headed to Atlanta to spend Christmas Eve. Such a fun place to be! This is the room we're staying in. Great room and not too expensive either! If you look close you can see my photo gear on the ottoman on the bottom right.

...and the stockings were hung...

Day 56

After being off and taking it easy all today I was really in the Christmas Spirit and decided to take some Christmas-y pics. The first few were rather dark so I sat a flash behind the tree to give it some contrast with the wall and snooted the flash off camera right to brighten the stockings so that they balanced well with the tree/wall. Then I set my aperture to f/1.8 to blur the tree lights and shutter speed to 1/15th of a second so that the Christmas lights would be bright enough in the background. Press the shutter and *click*, a great looking picture! =D

This Way

Day 55

Another Brick in the Wall

Day 54

View from the Street

Day 53

No explanation needed. :)

The Beast Within

Day 52

To the outward observer all that is seen is an everyday car, but you know differently. As you slowly slide the key into the ignition a feeling of excitement overtakes you. You smile. Fastening your seat belt the exhilaration is almost overwhelming as you anticipate what lies ahead. You breath a deep breath and step on the gas. Nirvana has arrived....

Santa Baby!

Day 51

Tonight I had the tremendous opportunity to photography the Vulcan Performers as they performed their "Naughty or Nice" Christmas showcase. It was done as a fundraiser for Three Hots and a Cot a local charity that provides food and shelter for the great men and women veterans of our military.
You can see the full gallery at www.shawnsharpphotography.com/Event-Photography/Naughty-or-Nice

Sherry the Print Guru

Day 50

This is Sherry, she works at the local Wolf Camera and can do some amazing things with your (and my) prints! Stop by and say hello...

Coming Soon....

Day 49

I had such a wonderful day today. Got to go out and do some shopping, got a date with a girl that I've been wanting to ask out for a few months, and helped my mom pick out and set up her new Mac Pro! All in all a very fulfilling day. Unfortunately, since I'm not staying at home tonight I don't have a way to upload my photo for now. As soon as I get back to the house I'll be updating this post with my new photo. =D

Stepping on the Snakes

Day 48

Got some new shoes the other day. They're rock'n my feet even now...

Santa and the Sistine Chapel

Day 47

Every year my roommates dad carves a Santa by hand. This is one from a few years ago. In the background you can see a picture of part of Michelangelo Buonarroti's "The Creation of Adam" which was painted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome, Italy. Now you know. :)

Crazy Speedy

Day 46

Did a "commercial" for the childrens ministry at Westwood Church today. We got Speedy from the Rick & Bubba show to take the lead role and some of the kids had speaking parts too. I'll post a link to the video on youtube as soon as I'm done editing. Might take a few days though...

Fire Tools

Day 45

as the heat fades away
reach for the tool on the rack it lay
fingers grasp icy cold
the iron black they take a hold
off the rack the metal moves
into the wood making grooves
from beneath a glow appears
heat from within now draws near
orange flames begin to grow
upon the wood they ebb and flow
burning hot the fire renewed
warmth coming forth no longer subdued

Guess Where I Ate Today...

Day 44

Guess where I ate today.... I'll give you a hint, there was meat involved. Maybe a dead ungulate or two. Perhaps a heavily (and heavenly) seasoned semi-solid topping with cumin, chile peppers, bell peppers, chili powder or ancho powder, lots of black pepper, fresh onion, only a touch of tomato, little or no sugar, meat drippings, and smoke flavor. Give up? Ok, go ahead and just click here to find out more...

Waves of Sound

Day 43

Anyone who knows me also knows that I love music of all kinds and have quite the collection. From vinyl to digital and almost everything in between I have amassed, through the years, well over 50,000 tunes. The majority of the music that I own was purchased via several DJ-only music clubs such as Promo Only, Ultimix Records, or X-Mix though now I purchase the majority of my music through iTunes.

The picture above is of my CD collection of over 1000 CD's. Back in the good ol' days before digital music players with huge hard drives connected to them were around I used to have to bring these to every show. Vinyl was even more cumbersome!

You Asked For It

Day 42

Ever since I started this photo-a-day thing I've gotten an overwhelming number of emails requesting a self portrait, asking what I look like, or saying things like "you should put a picture of yourself up so that everyone knows who's behind the camera." OK, you've spoken, and I've listened. This picture should be reason enough for everyone to see why I stay behind the lens instead of in front of it... :p

I'll Always Remember My First...

Day 41

Ahh my first SLR. I bought this camera somewhere around 10 or 12 years ago and it has been such a workhorse. Between the body,lens, and the battery grip I think I've got close to a grand invested. It has totally been worth it!

This Ain't Rocket Science

Day 40

This is my buddy Josh. He's a rocket scientist. Yes, a real one. You know, NASA and all that... Also, he's crazy. The type that will totally leap before he looks, especially on a mountain bike. I can remember biking with him through the 18 mile bike trail at Oak Mountain and somehow I would always end up bleeding. I guess they don't call it Blood Rock for nothing! Fun times!

Stopping By To Say Hi

Day 39

Every now and then friends will stop by just to see me at work. This is my buddy Donnie who is a former coworker turned friend and also one of the coolest guys I know. His brother owns Tipsy T's where I took pics at the MissUsed concert, what a blast! Donnie, thanks for stopping by buddy!

Weathered Leather

Day 38

After looking for over a year and a half for my favorite leather jacket I finally found it! It has apparently been at my dads in a box for all this time. I picked this jacket up at Structure (now known as Express) over 12 years ago and, though it isn't the warmest of jackets, it is most definately the coolest!

I like how the black and white version turned out but the color version is amazing!

Wookiee Jr.

Day 37

Those of you who don't know me, The Deuce, or my friend Chris (a.k.a "Wookiee") personally might not get the title. To those of you who do, here is a rare pic of the Wookiee's boy. While I was at a cookout hosted by Wook Sr. it quickly became apparent that his son was definitely the center of attention. Ladies get your hearts ready, when he gets a little older He'll definitely be Mr. Popular. Wook, good luck buddy! :-D

Yorkies On Patrol

Day 36

Many of you know that my mom has always loved animals so after her retirement she decided to raise yorkies in her spare time. Each and every puppy that is born is, to her, a new pet which she will absolutely baby and spoil rotten. If only I had had it that good! :) I think it actually saddens her a bit every time someone buys one and she has to say goodbye. She spends most of the day taking care of, and playing with them and it's so funny to see her walk around with a train of cute little puppies following her throughout the house.

Peeking Through

Day 35

One of my ongoing assignments throughout the week is to videotape all of the baptisms for Westwood Church. Typically this involves recording the candidates testimony on Wednesdays, editing it, and having it ready to show the congregation on Sunday mornings. On Sunday, after they play the testimony on the projectors, I'll record the baptism(s) and then bring them home, edit them, combine them with the video from the testimony, add music and titles, and burn them on a DVD for the candidate. It's quite a process to get it all done but it sure brings me joy knowing how many people are dedicating their lives to the Lord!

Diamonds Are Forever...

Day 34

Today I got to shoot photos for a biotech business meeting. Whoo Hoo! And let me tell ya, those geeks no how to throw down! One guy even got up the nerve to talk to a girl... He said hello, then blushed, then ran away. Why was a cute girl at a biotech convention? She was only there because she was one of the public relations associates who was paid to be there. I got her number.

In all seriousness though, I met lots of interesting and much-smarter-than-I people. How do you get invited to take pictures at such an event you may ask? Well, at yesterdays party I was talking with one of the attendees and she told me that her dad was going to a biotech convention and that they just happened to be needing a photographer. We exchanged info and next thing ya know I'm hanging out with the smartest people in town.

By now you must be wondering what the picture has to do with the event.... This was inside one of the labs of one of the companies that was being represented at the convention. They make diamonds. Yes, you heard that correctly! They. MAKE. Diamonds. They also happened to be giving out free samples so I grabbed a round, ideal cut, F clarity, D color, 4ct and thanked them....

And what exactly do diamonds have to do with biotech? Well, the ones that they make are actually designed to very exacting measurements and cuts for use in both the medical field and for doing things like splitting the light from lasers in particle accelerators. Fun stuff! The picture that you see above is a wall of photos that they had printed from one of their electron microscopes. Due to privacy issues I can't show images of the actual machine which produces the diamonds but let me tell you, IT ROCKED (and by "rocked" I mean it made rocks...well, diamonds). It also wasn't that impressive to look at so sorry if I got your hopes up... just a big silver dome looking contraption with tubes leading in and out.

Catered by Culinard

Day 33

Tonight I went to one of those upscale parties where everyone is dressed to the 9's and trying their best to be seen. You know the type, every car there is a BMW, Ferrari, Mercedes, Porsche, Dodge Viper, etc. I got the chance to meet lots of cool people and mingle with high society again. The drinks were free and the food was top notch. I know it's a Monday night but the extremely wealthy tend not to follow the general rules of society. They don't use credit cards and they don't have to wait for the weekend in order to get off from work and have a get-together. If they want to have a party on a Monday night then gosh darn it, they'll plan it and EVERYBODY will show up!

A Great Conversation

Day 32

I can't tell you how long it's been since I've had such a great conversation with a girl on the phone. I was at home about to do my daily workout when a friend of mine called. She was concerned about a certain situation in her life and came to me for some advice. After talking her through the situation we continued to talk for several hours about everything under the sun. The great thing is that no topic is taboo or off limits. I absolutely love how open our conversations are! :)

I'll Bet You Can't Guess...

Day 31

I'm guessing that you have no earthly idea where this was taken. Are you up for the challenge?
Here are the rules:
Guess what this is a picture of and you win exclusive bragging rights and a link to your website!
Just leave a comment as to where on earth you think this is and If you are correct I'll let you know.

Peace!
Shawn

As American as Apple Pie

Day 30

After getting up at the crack of dawn, shopping, and then working for 11 hours I was quite worn out. Luckily, a friend invited me over to hang out for a while and have some fresh, homemade apple pie. How could I resist great company and great food! All in all a very fulfilling day. I love my life!

Thankful For Fall

Day 29

Today, being Thanksgiving Day, I thought about taking pictures of the family, the turkey, the children playing, all the usual stuff, but instead I wanted to bring peoples attention to the little things that we don't think about being thankful for. Yeah the leaves are pretty during the fall season but after being on the ground for a while they tend not to be so great looking. Such are the seasons of life. I am extremely thankful for every single thing that has happened in my life. To EVERYTHING there IS a season! We all go through wonderful times of happiness as well as low times during our lives. This is all part of being alive. When things are good, rejoice and enjoy it. When things aren't so good, usually there is a great learning opportunity hiding in the midst of circumstances. Be thankful for every season of life. The beautiful fall gives way to a cold and bitter winter, which does away with the old and makes way for springtime, when love is in the air and everything is in bloom!

Leaving the Pavement

Day 28

Today, after having a fantastic day at work and some great dialogue with a few friends discussing plans and various get-to-gathers over the next couple of weeks, I walked outside to see these beautiful golden-red leaves lying ever so gracefully on the blue-grey pavement. Yeah, I know this is a Black and White blog but the colors literally leaped off the ground and filled my eyes with wonderful sights of delight. If you really wanted to you could see the color version, in all of its splendor here... Enjoy! :)

Red Robin

Day 27

I saw this robin outside the window today and thought it would make a great picture. My only wish is that I'd had more than a 300mm lens so I wouldn't have had to crop it...

2 Red Chairs

Day 26

Occasionally I'll head on over to Innovation Depot to help my buddy Daniel with his company Educator Technologies. Today was such a day and though, at the time, it didn't seem like we got too much accomplished, as I look back I realize that we did, in fact, get quite a bit done.

The Viper

Day 25

Supposing someone you know came in to quite a bit of money, he might end up with one of these in his driveway... of course that would only be after giving 10% to his church and following Dave Ramsey's baby steps! =D

Film Tray

Day 24

Duck on the Water

Day 23

I spent the last couple of days in the small town of Attalla, AL with a friend. She took me to this great little park/trail where we walked around and I was able to get some great pictures of ducks doing their thing on the water.

Gadsden Park Wheat

Day 22

A Pin Up

Day 21

Today I went to a friends birthday party at the Brunswick Bowling Alley and decided to take a few pics.

Hands of Love

Day 20

So I ran across this picture today that I had taken of an ex's hand several years ago. So though I didn't actually take the picture today I hadn't really done anything with it and thought it deserved to be shared. I converted it to B&W and used a yellow filter to keep her nails from looking black. In the color version her nails are pink and the wood on the table is a deep brown.

...and it was called 'Yellow'

Day 19

I came along
I wrote a song for you
And all the things you do
And it was called 'Yellow'

Busy Day at the Office

Day 18

After running around like crazy for the past couple of days I was far too tired (read lazy) to go back out to my car and get my camera for today's pic. Luckily, there was an iPhone just in reach so I grabbed it, took this pic, and presto: Art! Ok, maybe not the kind that will make millions but hey, I never said every picture I took would be awe inspiring either....

Enjoy!

With This Ring....

Day 17

So today I had the privilege of shooting engagement photos for the future John and Amy Thomas Esq. We started the day around 8 a.m. at Veterans Park in Alabaster and then proceeded to the place of their first meeting. None other than Moes Southwestern Grill! After over 1300 shots we decided to call it a day. Whew!

Decorating Early

Day 16

As much as I absolutely love Christmas, I hate that all of the malls, radio stations, etc. begin "celebrating" before Thanksgiving. If it's before thanksgiving PLEASE talk about Thanksgiving NOT Christmas.

Holly

Day 15

The Rev'n Ty

Day 14