Ernest Washington Studios | Watching The Photo Reels Go Round And Round…

This is the Rich Meade I have come to know…

The Rich Meade on the weekends…

Rich Meade, the disc golfer:

But, just like every other disc golfer out there, Rich Meade also has a day job…

Rich Meade on the Job… Rich Meade, the Photographer. Polly Nance. Digital photograph. 2012.

Two Saturdays ago, I was lucky enough to be granted the opportunity to observe Rich on a photo shoot at Ernest Washington Studios. My husband has gotten to know Rich through disc golf and, at a previous tournament called The Amateur Disc Golf Championships at Bowing Green, I was finally able to hang out with him and get to know him a bit. After all, prior to the tournament, I knew Rich only through facebook and from what my husband had told me. Don’t worry, Rich took third in his division at the tournament! And for the final round (nine holes), he asked my husband Ricky to be his caddy and me to be his personal photographer (lol only joking… but he wanted me to document the momentous occasion).

Rich also asked if I would want to shadow him (observe) on a photo shoot of a sixteen year old model named, Angela Longtin. Needless to say, I did not hesitate to say HELL YEAH! Although I have been experimenting with photography for about a year, there is still a lot to learn. And, every time I encounter a professional, I soon realize how little I really know. I look up to Rich and admire him as a professional photographer. I LOVE viewing his work. He doesn’t just take pictures; he creates beautiful compositions that are impossible to stop staring at. Some might say that the models do all the work, but the photographer has to be able to make the model feel comfortable in front of the camera. Everything shows through the eye of a lens, including nerves. Rich has a warm, down-to-earth but brutally honest personality. It is refreshing to be around someone who is so real. He definitely makes the stiff and sterile, white studio atmosphere feel fun, warm and inviting. I will say, though, that Angela was a complete natural. At only sixteen years of age, this girl knew how to work it! She has been modeling for two years and flew into Atlanta all the way from Florida for this shoot.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Rich told me it wouldn’t be mind blowing but, my mind was definitely blown! I enjoyed the entire production of the shoot; from the set up to watching the actual magic happen. Upon arrival, I sent to Target on a task to pick up some white undies and a white tank for the model. Rich has an ongoing project he calls, “The White Undie Project.” He describes this project as (according to his Facebook Page) “an ongoing project that started pretty much the same time I started in fashion…I photograph every model I ever work with in their “White Undies”…removing any obvious distractions, and leaving only the simple beauty of the model behind.” I am a big fan of this project because so much of fashion is about the makeup, glitz and glam. And what a cool project to strip these models of distracting elements and allow them to be viewed in a similar light. Simple beauty with shots emphasizing form, skin tones and natural beauty. I have included two finalized images from this project at the tail-end of this post.

Overall, I had a blast and I thoroughly loved watching Rich work. He let me play around with his awesome 85mm Canon lens, while Saj Mack (the oh so awesome makeup artist and hair stylist) primped Angela in the dressing room for one of the looks. And if I had spare $2000 or so, I would have left the studio and purchased one immediately. It was a joy to use… the dressing room was a tad tight for an 85mm lens, but I worked with the space because I was dying to try that lens out. Anyways, here are my behind-the-scenes photographs of the shoot. Additionally, I have concluded this post with some of Rich’s finalized photographs. I hope you will take the time to check out Rich Meade’s other work as well (Rich’s Facebook Page)… he has quite an amazing portfolio! Thank you and please feel free to let me know what you think!

Observing the Dressing Room. Polly Nance. Digital photograph. 2012.