Day 1:

Overnight flight from Charlotte, NC (made better by the awesome tunes put together by our Music & Lifestyle department of course) / arrive in Rome @ 10AM / hotel check-in / Nap (even Italian espresso can't cure jet lag) / Trevi Fountain / great weather and outdoor seating for dinner = great first day of Rome.

Day 2:

A walk around ancient Rome / gelato / Vatican City / Vatican tour...the Pope loved the OMJ grey gingham I was wearing so much, he let us skip the line (ok, that didn't actually happen) / St. Peter's Basilica / Gianicolo Hill / Trestevere / Capitoline Hill / Spanish Steps (scouting future store locations for OMJ of course...right beside Valantino) / Piazza Nivaro / wow I am am getting tired just typing this. 

Day 3:

The Pantheon / shopping / Colosseum tour (I have heard by many it is not as big as they expected...but this place is massive and you have to see it in person to truly appreciate it / Roman Forum /Palatine Hill / more gelato / dinner / bed

Well folks, that is how you do Rome in 3 days. Major props to my wife for tagging along and putting up with me every time I stopped to take pictures. Had a great time, but glad to be moving on to what will hopefully be a slower change of pace. Next stop...Cinque Terre!

Best,

Bradley Rhyne

*A special thanks to my wife for letting me stop multiple times on the side of the road to get some of these shots.

This blog is an excerpt from my blog over at OLE MASON JAR

Growing up in Gastonia, it was about time I got out there and took some pictures of the place I call home. I have had the privilege of photographing some pretty cool places and cities, yet never stepped into my own backyard.  Last week, that changed, as I finally got some pictures of some of the most historic spots in Gastonia, NC.  Next time you are traveling down I-85 South, stop in and see whats taking shape here, a city with lots of history figuring out how to move forward while honoring the past.

Until next time,

Bradley Rhyne

Photographer and Co-Founder and CEO of OLE MASON JAR

Chicago, Il Saturday, May 3^rd

Depart Charlotte NC | Arrive in Chicago IL | 50 degrees and windy = tip to myself for next time to only come to Chicago in June, July or August | Starbucks warms me up | Check in to our hotel | Grab my camera, and we hit the streets | The Magnificent Mile is pretty magnificent (so is the amount of my wife’s shopping bags I will eventually be carrying around later) | Dinner at the Tortoise Club (two thumbs up)

Sunday, May 4^th

Breaking out the Tahoe Grey Flannel for today (cold weather approved) | Sunny Side Up for breakfast | Trolley Tour of Chicago (I very much recommend) | Soldier Field looks like the Coliseum + a UFO | Gino’s East Pizza for lunch | More Shopping | More Starbucks | More pictures | Nap | Take the “L” to Wrigley Field for Cubs vs. Cardinals game (Very surreal and an incredible vibe and so much history to take in, a true example that keeping things simple is sometimes better | Chicago loses but that’s ok, I am a Braves fan anyways | Back to the hotel and lights out

Monday, May 5^th

It’s a Mulberry Plaid kinda day | Breakfast | Oak Street for only window shopping (Michigan Ave. has some great shopping, but Oak St. is where the real shopping is… Jimmy Choo, Tom Ford, Christian Louboutin , Hermes etc… like I said, only window shopping) | Good conversation in Barney’s with a sales associate about OLE MASON JAR (she like my shirt, I liked the idea of being in Barney’s) | head over to a great local Chicago shop, Haberdash (OLE MASON JAR approved) | Lots of pictures | Chicago Dog’s for lunch | More pictures | Patron Hacienda for dinner | John Hancock Signature Lounge to celebrate Cinco de Mayo

Tuesday, May 6^th

5:30 a.m. wake up call (early bird get’s the good pictures) | My camera, the Charleston Brick Oxford a Venti Starbucks and myself head to the bean (taking pictures at sunrise will guarantee no peeps being in your shots) | Adler planetarium for some skyline shots | Navy Pier | Farris wheel ride for good measure | Garrett’s Popcorn for lunch | Airport | Back in Charlotte

I have got to give it to Chicago, being my first time ever visiting, I was thoroughly impressed. I am a big fan of New York, so Chicago had some pretty hefty shoes to fill, yet did so in its own way. Chicago will never be as big as New York, have the same history as New York or have the same overall vibe as New York, but it doesn't have to. Chicago is unique and great in it's own way, and that's all that matters.

Best,

BR

Anguilla lies about 150 miles East of Puerto Rico, and 9 Miles North of St. Martin, but is vastly different than either of these well known Caribbean destinations.  Anguilla is home to 33 beautiful beaches which could all rival for the top spot on a world ranking.  Making this island even more alluring to us, was the fact that it is still somewhat unknown to a lot of people, and thus not overly commercialized and incredibly secluded. 

Map of Anguilla

Anguilla is the epitome of relaxation, and I must say that is what we spent the majority of our time doing.  Our resort, Cap Juluca, was by far the best place I have ever stayed, highlighted by the excellent service and the fact that every room is directly on the beach (you can't get much better than that). If you have ever dreamed about what it might be like to find yourself alone on a deserted island, go to Anguilla and visit some of the beaches there to get the experience!  You can easily be the only people on the beach at a given time...it is a incredibly relaxing!

If laid back and low key is your thing, as well as exploring and eating great food, Anguilla is the place for you.  Seriously, all you need to do is take a camera, point and shoot!

Now go buy a picture, so I can write off part of our trip ;) !

BR

With that in mind, I will do my best today to get things back on track, and going forward  will truly try to regularly update!

So with all that said, the last 6 months has been VERY busy with so many major life events happening.  Where to start?  I bought a house, had a restaurant chain buy one of my pictures, successfully launched OLE MASON JAR and I GOT MARRIED!  (more to come in detail for all of those).  Obviously, things have been a little hectic, but I can’t help but make sure to stop and count my blessings, as God has truly been good to my family and I in 2013. 

Stepping back, and not getting ahead of myself (remember I have 6 months to make up for here), todays blog focuses on me buying a house, specifically, less about me buying a house, but more on me moving away from uptown Charlotte.  Those that know me know this was a tough thing for me…and a major milestone in my life (If you picturing me being drug away kicking and screaming, you are almost spot on :)  ).  I had lived and worked in North Carolina’s largest city for over 4 years this past January when my lease finally came due, and that was the end, as it was time to grow up and enter the next chapter in my life.  A couple months later, I bought a house in the quaint little town of Belmont, and my days of being able to step outside my front door and snap pictures of the QC are finally over. (as a side note, I would not change where I live now to move back to uptown Charlotte).

As a final farewell/tribute to my time in Charlotte, I thought I would feature a few of my favorite pictures and give some "behind the scenes" insight for each of them as well.

(The above picture was taken on the CATS Lite Rail tracks at the Carson St. Station.  In the background you can see "the pink building" as well as Camden South End apartments.  This picture was one of the first pictures I took while living in Charlotte around 2009, and was while I lived right across the street at Camden Grandview.  Yes I was standing in the middle of the tracks, but don't worry no trains were coming!)

(This is the only picture I have gotten of the Epicenter in uptown Charlotte that is any good.  In fact this picture was purchased and hangs in Cheddar's restaurant in Gastonia...Go check it out! The hard part about getting this picture was actually the place it was taken, as it was taken on the  adjacent lite rail platform that is next to the Time Warner Cable arena.  Because I had to leave the shutter open for several seconds to get the exposure I wanted, and because the lite rail platform is always crazy busy, I was constantly having people walk in front of me ruining the shot.  But, at last I obviously got the shot I wanted...just don't ask me to do it again :) )

(A. I love the panthers. B. I love photography = this is probably my second favorite picture I have ever taken in Charlotte.  This was taken on the Church St. overpass, and once again I have the shutter open for multiple seconds in order to get the headlight streaking.  Now, just waiting on the panthers to call...I will gladly let you hang this somewhere in the stadium!)

(This is my all time favorite picture that I have ever taken.  1 - This was the first picture I took when I moved to Charlotte. 2 - This was likely one of the first pictures taken of the new Duke Energy building in the Charlotte skyline, as they had just completed this when I took it. 3- This is truly one of a kind, as was taken from my balcony at Camden Grandview, and since there are only about 6 units in the building with this angle and view the only way to get this shot would be to live in one of those or go knock on their door and hijack their balcony.  While I have always been interested in photography, this is the shot that reinvigorated my interest in the art, and set in motion my creative drive to continue getting better not only at photography but various other creative outlets as well.  This is also the picture most frequently purchased by others on the site...looks great blown up on a canvas by the way!)

Well folks there you have it.  I do miss Charlotte, but I am so happy to be where I am right now in Belmont...look out for some downtown Belmont pics!!!  Thanks all for reading...some great blogs to come soon that provide updates on other recent events and occurrences (wedding and honeymoon trip to Anguilla)!

Best,

Bradley Rhyne

One of my absolute favorite times of the year (probably for most others too) is Christmas time.  In fact, being the only holiday that starts to build about a month before the actual day arrives, it helps to get into the spirit of Christmas that much more (I remember as a younger kid sifting through the Thanksgiving day paper for all the black Friday deals, signifying the Christmas season had officially begun).  Now days, what signifies Christmas almost being here for me, are when the decorations go up.  Living in Charlotte the past 4 years, I must say the city planners do a great job bringing the city to life with the Christmas spirit[1].  Sure, it is no New York, but there is definitely a lot of time and effort put into making the streets of Uptown Charlotte glow for all those that live there or come to visit to be proud of. 

Prior to this year, I am ashamed to say that in my years of living/working in Uptown Charlotte, I had yet to actually go out and get pictures of the city with the Christmas decorations up.  I don’t know whether it was the short days[2], or the cold weather, but I always seemed to put off going out and taking pictures until eventually the decorations were all taken down.  This year was different though, I swore that no matter what I was going to take some pictures, and so this past Saturday night I went out and finally got some shots of Uptown Charlotte at Christmas time...just in time before the end of 2012.

-BR

This blog comes to you from the front porch of Kojay's Cafe in Blowing Rock, NC.  Finally finishing up my photo series for this fall, I figured I would stop in to one of my favorite spots, get some coffee, relax and write what is now an overdue blog.  

Fall is officially here, and with it comes the changing of the leaves, daylight savings time (meaning I wont see daylight when I get off work until next March) and one of my favorite holidays...Thanksgiving.  Despite the shorter days and colder weather, fall is my favorite season, and I would imagine one of the favorites for just about any photographer.

I will admit, even though fall is a great time to shoot, it can be very stressful getting good fall pictures, as you are really at the mercy of mother nature.  Sometimes, leaves change and fall off quickly, sometimes it rains every time you attempt to go shoot, and if you want pictures in the mountains then just go ahead and compound the stress[1].  Every fall, I promise myself I am going to make sure I dedicate the time to go out and get some good shots, yet every fall, I get busy (lazy) and don't capitalize on the small window of opportunity.  Since I had to make sure I didn't disappoint my many many followers (pretty much just my immediate family), I made it a point to do whatever it took to get a few shots to put up on my site.  Just to let you know, it took multiple tries and multiple trips up the mountain, but I finally got a few decent ones!  

Recap of this years photo attempts for fall pictures in the mountains:

September 29^th  - Came up before Appalachian Football Game and It was a downpour of rain so no pictures... ** Did get engaged though!!!

October 6^th  - Came up for Homecoming - Got a few good pics but not much time to take pictures **friends can really get in the way of things…j/k!

October 22^nd  - Went to Asheville to scout out wedding location[2] and got a couple pics **Wedding stuff can really get in the way of things... EXTRA J/K Hannah!!!!

October 27^th – Came up early for a friends wedding but leaves had pretty much all fallen off and really didn’t get too much.  Decided to write this blog instead

So you can see, it is a tough thing to get some good fall pictures in the mountains.  Kudos to all you other photographers out there, hope you had some good shooting!!!

I am writing this blog to do something I rarely have to do...make an apology.    While I am certainly a busy man who wears many hats (Vice President and Senior Analyst for a Fortune top 10 company, CEO of OLE MASON JAR … photographer), I will admit I have dropped the ball on getting some pictures edited for some clients of mine.  To make matters worse, those clients are none other than my lovely sister and awesome brother in law.

I currently have a situation that is a photographers dream.  I have one niece (4 year old Aubree) a newborn nephew (Lathan) and another newborn nephew (Micah)[1].  Needless to say, photo opportunities are in plenty of supply, as I have the perfect subjects to take pictures of and try out new techniques almost anytime I want.  I will be taking pictures of them for years and years to come, so everyone go ahead and get use to seeing them all over my website and blog!

Several weeks ago, just before Lathan turned a month old, I went over to my sister and brother in laws house to get some new born pictures of him.  We had a great time and Lathan was a natural in front of the camera (Aubree, as usual was also a natural, showing off her tap skills and how much she enjoys being a big sister).  Well…long story short, life happens and I just never got around to fully editing…and of course now I feel terrible.

I have been going to concerts for a long time now, and over the past few years have gotten to see a lot of great bands (see below) at some really great venues (also see below).  This past week, I am proud to say that I added Passion Pit to that list!

Bands I have seen since 2008:

The New Pornographers - 2008 – 930 Club, Washington DC

Okkerville River– 2008 – 930 Club, Washington DC

Vampire Weekend – 2008 – Rock N Roll Hotel, Washington DC

Rogue Wave – 2008 – 930 Club, Washington DC

Matt Costa – 2008 – 930 Club, Washington DC

Death Cab for Cutie – 2008 – Meriwether Post Pavilion, MD

Band of Horses – 2009 – Neighborhood Theatre, Charlotte NC

The National – 2010 – The National, Richmond VA

Phish – 2010 – Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, Charlotte NC

Band of Horses – 2011 – Fillmore, Charlotte NC

Drive by Truckers – 2011 – Fillmore, Charlotte NC

My Morning Jacket – 2011 – Time Warner Uptown Amphitheater, Charlotte NC

Band of Horses – 2012 – Time warner Uptown Amphitheater, Charlotte NC

My Morning Jacket – 2012 - Time warner Uptown Amphitheater, Charlotte NC

Passion Pit – 2012 – Fillmore, Charlotte NC

*I have seen too many country concerts to count, so just listing in no particular order: Eric Church, Brad Paisley, Zac Brown Band, The Band Perry, Josh Thompson, Tim McGraw, Luke Bryan, Darius Rucker and probably more…

Music is truly an art form, and so I think seeing the musicians live is why I like going to concerts as much as I do.  The way they are able to create lyrics and harmonies, so seemingly effortless, is fascinating to me.  To describe how much I like music, I will put it to you this way…if I was able to sing, I would 100% be playing in a band right now.  Unfortunately, I can’t sing making my dreams of being in a band pretty far fetched, so I will stick to taking pictures of concerts instead!

Recently, I started taking my camera to concerts and actually making a conscious effort to try and take some pictures while there.  Unfortunately, I have not yet been lucky enough to get a photo pass[2], so I am somewhat limited to the camera I can take and the pictures I can get at concerts.  My DSLR is out of the question and is not allowed in the gates, so my canon s90 has been the perfect companion thus far.  Fresh from the Passion Pit concert, I can’t complain at all at how well the s90 did in the low light environment[3], and being able to quickly pull out of my pocket at a moments notice is definitely an added advantage as well. 

Passion Pit was an awesome concert and I had a great time.  I was on the go, pushing to the front of the stage for most of the concert to get some of the shots I got, and it was so worth it.  For those that not have been to the Fillmore @ the Music Factory, it is truly a great venue.  The Fillmore is the perfect size for a concert that is large enough to give that big time concert feel, yet doesn't have bad seat in the house.  Pair the size of the Fillmore with state of the art acoustics, and this venue is a must to check out for any concert that comes to Charlotte.  From the great venues that I have had the chance to see a concert, I would definitely rank Fillmore right at the top with the legendary 930 Club of Washington DC and The National of Richmond, VA.  

Concert Assessment

Venue - 9.0 (music was on point acoustically and concert was packed)

Opening Act - 6.5 (Decent opening acts The Neighbourhood and Pacific Air, but both played a little longer than expected.  I would have liked to see the extra time added to Passion Pit)

Artist - 8.0  (Passion Pit rocked the house.  Lead singer Michael Angelakos pulls it off and is obviously a talented musician with a stellar band backing him up. I think with a little more experience and crowd interaction, Passion Pit is there)

Overall - 8.5 (Great concert in a great venue that left me happy and satisfied.  Another year on tour and these guys will no longer be in a venue of this size...hello to opening for acts at amphitheaters. 

For a preview of my experience at the Fillmore shooting Passion Pit, check out the slideshow below, I hope you enjoy…I am sure there will be plenty more concert shoots to come in the future!

BR 

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[1] Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include indie pop, jangle pop, C86, and lo-fi, among others. Originally used to describe record labels, the term became associated with the music they produced and was initially used interchangeably with alternative rock. – from Wikipedia so you know it is legit 

[2] A photo pass is a credential that identifies an individual to security and event staff as an approved photographer for an event.  Photographer is able to use professional camera and photograph at the very front of the stage.

[3] When there is not a lot of light, there are two options to take a picture…use a flash and/or manually adjust your camera settings.  When using flash you should really only use if you have a diffuser or an external flash, otherwise your picture will look terrible.  Being that point and shoot cameras don’t have the ability to have either, I rarely if ever use the flash, and thus adjust my settings (ISO, shutter speed etc...) to let more light in get the picture I want.

People often ask me, how and when I got into photography?  For some that know me, it has come as somewhat of a surprise, being that by day I work as a financial analyst for a fortune 500 company, and so I can admit photography is definitely a long ways away from balance sheet and income statements.  Let me take a few steps back and start from the beginning…

I have enjoyed and appreciated photography since a very early age, mainly due to my grandfather, a fantastic photographer whose work has been published in several large publications like 'Our State Magazine'.  He’s old school too, learning the art long before digital camera’s, the Internet and adobe Photoshop.  I can specifically recall looking at various pictures he had taken, and being so enamored at how he was able to uniquely capture such picturesque landscapes.  I also recall that even at a young age, I had a strong desire to learn and duplicate, wanting to be able to some day take great pictures too.  A little piece of that desire has stayed with me over the years… through high school and college, I would occasionally take unique pictures here and there, but taking with nothing more than a small point and shoot camera or camera phone.   After graduating college, the desire got a little bit stronger, I made the investment on professional equipment, and was on my way….

That leads me to today…

I have been shooting professionally (some might use that term to describe my work more loosely than others ;) ) for a couple years now.  I currently use a Nikon D 300S, coupled with a Canon S90 for everyday carrying around, and I edit via Adobe Lightroom (all exceptional tools, and would recommend to anyone else looking to get into photography).  As you may notice by navigating my website, I take both landscape and people pictures (maternity, engagement, newborn etc..).  While both are unique mediums, they both provide a different but very gratifying creative outlet for me.  Landscape Photography is a way for me to get away from the hustle and bustle of life, as it is just me with a camera and unlimited possibility.  People photography, is equally as rewarding, and the fast pace and challenge to please the clients is something that motivates and helps me to produce great work as a result…plus there is just nothing more rewarding than the satisfaction of exceeding your clients expectations on pictures you took of THEM. 

While I have had a website for awhile now, I am constantly learning and refining my skills, and so this new site will carry me forward with new and updated capabilities to continue growing and better serve my current and existing clients.  (Quick shameless plug, any picture on this site is available for purchase, just look out for the “buy” option)

There you have it, a history of photography and me!  I hope you enjoy the site and continue to check back for updates.

BR

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