Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of attending and enjoying an event held at the new Coleman Place event center here in Asheville. Monroe, Julie, and Heidi all did a wonderful job of coordinating the event...and were gracious enough to invite me along to be a part of it. I had just arrived back in Asheville from a wedding in Florida (images from that posted here soon) and was tired, but had a great time! Here are a couple of quick shots I grabbed that night with my point and shoot...

My friend Tara and I



Braidstream



Tara's table (I forgot to take a picture of my own table...anyone else get one?)



My friend Parker and I hung out most of the evening















Stacey from the Bloom Room and Liz from the Purple Iris





Maria from Claxton Farms and I



Monroe from Homewood and Coleman Place talking with Stacey







Then later in the lobby.....Segways! Man, I gotta get me one of these!



and as the night of fun concluded I found myself the subject of being "Parkered"...the Asheville equivalent of being Punked, I guess. Parker thought it would be fun to plaster my car with his business cards...all the way around! Thanks, buddy! You'd better keep an eye out for some payback.

I’m all fired up! I’m on my way to Vegas for WPPI. I’m in the Charlotte airport right now waiting to board my flight. This will be my first WPPI (Wedding and Portrait Photographer’s International) convention and I’m really looking forward to it. Though the convention itself should prove to be interesting, I’m mostly looking forward to seeing some of my friends again....and making some new ones!

One new friend that I’ve yet to meet is Dustin Izatt. Why is he a friend already without having met him? Because he and his wife were gracious enough to share their room with me tonight. The guy that booked our rooms for the trip was not able to get a room for me for tonight....and I just found this out last night! Yikes. I tried every possible website to get a room: priceline, orbitz, hotels.com, kayak, cheaptickets, the list goes on and on, and unless I wanted a 5-star suite for $600 a night, there was no room in Vegas to be had! I had quite the panic attack today trying to get a room and I sent out emails to about everybody I could think of that was already in Vegas...I even emailed Mike Colon. I just want to say THANK YOU to all of you that came together and helped me find a room!!! Nathan and Amber Holritz, Bruce Mayhill, and many others. But especially to Regina Holder who went the extra mile to help me and also put me in touch with Dustin. Thanks again!

On a personal note, I’m excited to say that I bought a new car yesterday! I finally let the Benz go...she’ll be sadly missed! I do love the new car though! It’s a Lexus...my first Japanese car. I’ll post some photos and more info when I get the chance, or when I get back to NC. What a bummer to buy a new car then fly out the next day to be gone a week...at least my wife will get to enjoy it while I’m gone!

Hello all,

We had a great weekend. I shot a wonderful couple, Becky and James, from California on Saturday. They had their ceremony at a tiny chapel in Weaverville and a grand reception at the Grove Park Inn. A good time was had by all. I'll post some photos soon.

As many of you know, I have moved my studio to a new location in North Asheville recently. I'm still struggling to get my internet and phone service connected there...I've simply not had time to dedicate to that. Consequently, I've not moved over the core of my operations yet.....so, seems like no matter what I need, it's inevitably at the other location! I'll be relieved and excited to have everything all in one place!

I've been organizing the studio a bit the past few days to feel more prepared for the Pixel Pushers meeting I'm hosting there this Wednesday. They're a local digital photography club of which I'm a member. I'm excited for the group to see my new location, but the task of getting ready to have 50 people in my space is a little daunting. It's coming together nicely and I'll have it as ready as I can by Wednesday.

Hope to see many of you there!

If you're in the Ashville area and would like to see a couple of great photography exhibits, please check out the Carolina Nature Photographer's Association opening reception tonight (Friday) at Pack Place from 5:30-8pm. Or, visit Gallery 86 in downtown Waynesville for the opening reception for the F32 photography club's exhibit from 6-9pm. I'll be attending both as best I can!
Corey

Well, I finally broke down and started my own blog. The pressure was overwhelming. I'm excited to start using it as I think this will be a great way for me to keep my thoughts organized as well as the perfect forum to showcase my recent work as it unfolds. Feel free to post your thoughts or comments! I look forward to meeting you all here regularly!

Corey