Nathan A Smith Photography

8 Months Old

2011-09-29T19:43:00.000-04:00

I know this is several months old now, but Jamie and I have been taking pictures of our little one every month to see how much she was changing. We revealed them all for her birthday, but this 8th month picture was one of my favorites. Enjoy!

My Girls

2011-01-27T23:11:00.000-05:00

Where I've Been

2010-12-30T19:26:00.000-05:00

Our precious daughter arrived in late August, 6 weeks before her due date. She spent three weeks in the NICU at the hospital and then we were finally able to bring her home. She has been such a joy and I cannot believe she is four months old already!

Tomatoes

2010-06-28T15:15:00.002-04:00

We planted some tomatoes this year in the garden for the first time and I'm excited to report we have some fruit! I can't wait until they ripen and we can give them a try!

No Pictures Yet

2010-06-27T12:50:00.003-04:00

Well, I haven't been able to take any new pictures in a while. Last weekend was spent crib shopping (and we finally decided on one!) and this weekend we conquered registering at Babies R Us. That place is overwhelming! Thankfully we had a friend go with us that has a baby, so she could tell us what things she actually found helpful. It is really amazing how much such a small person requires. We are officially 6 months into the pregnancy and cannot wait to meet her!

New Lens

2010-06-10T09:02:00.000-04:00

For my birthday this year, I was able to upgrade my zoom lens from one that I've had for years and loved. The old was a gift from a good friend and my sister and I've used it on many trips. It was getting to be time for an upgrade though so I went with a new Nikon lens with Vibration Reduction technology. It is supposed to help keep the image steady when you are zoomed out pretty far in lower light. It just arrived last week so I haven't had a chance to test it out much yet, but hope to in the next few days and will try to post some images from it soon!

Friends

2010-06-08T08:19:00.004-04:00

Some of my friends got married a few weeks ago and in between the service and the reception, they had a cocktail hour out in a courtyard and the light was amazing! I snapped a few of our friends and thought I'd share them on the blog:

Fun on the Back Porch

2010-05-08T19:00:00.000-04:00

Now that we have this great back porch on our house and even a grill to use on it, we felt it was time to purchase a table and chairs so we could spend more time out here while the weather is nice. This was conveniently right before my 30th birthday, so we were able to enjoy the outside with some BBQ to celebrate.

We had some ladderball and bocce:

Some fun hanging out and talking time:

And a reuniting of old friends:

We had beautiful weather and it was a great day to celebrate and enjoy being outside!

Lack of Posts and Fun News

2010-05-07T22:44:00.005-04:00

Well, isn't this fun, I haven't posted in quite a while.

It is not that I haven't taken any pictures, it is just that I haven't made the time to go through and edit them for the blog. I've got some time this weekend so I'm hoping to finally be able to post them.

Here are a few new pictures to hold you over while I work on others from the past few months.

We are so excited to be having a baby girl in October!

New York City Collages

2010-03-20T17:49:00.002-04:00

We went to New York City back in 2008 and it has taken me forever to get together the collages that I took while there. I'm really excited with how they turned out, hope you enjoy! The first is the Flatiron Building and the second is the Brooklyn Bridge. There is one more that I haven't put together yet, hopefully I will have time to do that one soon.

Games!

2010-01-06T14:36:00.001-05:00

My family loves to play games whenever we are together. I think we played cards (31, Nertz), speed Scrabble or random board games the whole time we were in Birmingham and Tennessee. Here are a few of our game table having fun!

Rachel and Amy

2010-01-04T14:32:00.004-05:00

We had so much fun over Christmas getting to see my sister and cousins, even if only for 24 hours! Here is my cousin Amy sharing her hand with Rachel, and the second is of Rachel at the table.

It's Almost Christmas!

2009-12-21T12:33:00.001-05:00

I'm pretty sure Jamie brought this ornament to our marriage, or maybe it was a wedding shower gift, but either way it is one of my favorites. I love the smell of a real Christmas tree in the house, the fun of sitting by the lit tree with a good book and some Christmas music on. If only I actually enjoyed a cup of coffee, this would be a perfect time to drink it. My Christmas beverage of choice is actually eggnog, just the regular kind, nothing special added in. I'm really looking forward to relaxing for a couple of days off of work and enjoying time with both sides of the family throughout the next several weeks. Merry Christmas!

Aperture Fun

2009-12-19T09:41:00.002-05:00

I wanted to do something photo related now that we have our tree up and decorated, I thought it would be fun to play with the aperture and see what the different sized bokeh (the out of focus aspect of a picture and the specs of light in the background in this case) looked like. I know the pictures aren't fantastic, this was a teacup that was sitting nearby, but the point was the background!

Aperture Setting: f/1.8

Aperture Setting: f/2.8

Aperture Setting: f/5.6
At this point it was getting a little too dark to not have the flash, but I think that would have messed up what I was going for!

Aperture Setting: f/11

I think I like the first one the best, the size of the circles all overlapping give it a fun quality. I also like in the second picture how you can see more of the heptagonal (seven sided) shape that the shutter actually is.

Roses

2009-12-17T21:24:00.002-05:00

I brought home some roses for Jamie the other day and they've really opened up beautifully! I was able to get a few pictures in before running out the door for work the other day.

Time to Move

2009-12-03T15:07:00.003-05:00

I've been absent here for a while as we have spent the last three weeks, taking a break for Thanksgiving in the middle, to pack up our current house. We've been working like crazy to clean up, pare down and pack and move boxes. We even got a little painting of the kitchen in the new place finished. We are excited to be renting a house that doesn't share a wall with anyone, has a second bathroom and is a little closer to both of our offices. I'm hoping to post some pictures once we get a little more settled.

I Love Fall!

2009-11-01T20:18:00.002-05:00

Downtown Church

2009-10-27T20:30:00.001-04:00

There was a church across the street from the hotel where we stayed that I noticed each time we left. The architecture of the building as well as the ivy growing over most of it really captured my eye. I love the contrast of the old church being dwarfed by skyscrapers all around.

Chicago at Night

2009-10-26T09:00:00.001-04:00

One night we went out to Navy Pier, though it was pretty cheesy and touristy, it was fun walking all the way out to the end and getting a view of the whole city. We read "The Devil and the White City" about the World's Fair in Chicago before we went, and even though we didn't make it down to the site of the fair, we had to check out the Ferris Wheel, which was invented for the fair. They have one on the pier and though we didn't go for a ride on it, it was fun to see it and think about what it would have been like back when the first one was built.

After dinner one night, we decided to go up to the top of the Hancock building where they have a bar/lounge to get dessert and coffee. It was so fun to be at the top of the building overlooking the whole city. Walking through downtown, I didn't realize how big the city actually spread out. It was a fun perspective getting to see it all lit up. Though I didn't get a good picture of it, I looked out one of the windows and the contrast between the blackness of the lake and the lights of the city was remarkable. This picture is looking back towards the Willis Tower.

Chicago Buildings

2009-10-24T12:52:00.001-04:00

The weather that weekend was absolutely perfect. All three days it was beautiful blue skies, not a cloud in sight and the temperature in the 70s. Perfect for walking around outside and enjoying the architecture of Chicago. We went to the Shedd Aquarium which is on a peninsula out into the lake and it offered some beautiful views of the harbor and the city. With the cool breeze off the water, I really could have stood there for a long time!

Little did I know that the Sears Tower no longer exists, it is now called the Willis Tower. That just doesn't have the same ring to it. We were standing in front of it and were thinking, "I know this is the Sears Tower, why doesn't it say that!". We decided not to go inside as we had plans to go to the top of the Hancock building later that night. We took an architecture boat tour through the river that goes through the middle of the city, and from the boat we could see the glass enclosures you could step out into and see all the way down to the ground from one of the top floors. That would terrify me!

I think the river is another characteristic of the city that I liked a lot. Some of my other favorite cities have a river running through it, Paris and London, and I think it changes the feel of the city when you are walking around.

I also love public transportation in cities that do it well. Atlanta is absolutely terrible. I still think New York and Paris are my favorites as being the most efficient, but Chicago wasn't bad. We had passes so we could ride the trains and buses all we wanted to and that worked out well. I enjoyed seeing the famous "L" through the middle of downtown, it was so fun seeing and hearing the trains go by overhead.

Chicago as a Tourist

2009-10-22T21:52:00.004-04:00

Jamie and I went to Chicago a few weeks ago for a long weekend getaway. Neither of us had been to the city before and we had always heard good things about it. I took a lot of pictures and since I'm still going through them, I'll post them here as I finish.

We naturally had to go to Millennium Park to see the famous Cloud Gate sculpture, otherwise known as "The Bean". It was so fun and fascinating to see how it reflected the city skyline and was really just enormous! We went on a Saturday afternoon and I think over the course of walking around for an hour or so we saw about 14 different wedding parties coming for portraits. I guess it is the thing to do if you get married there! The second shot below was an attempt to get a different type of picture at the bean. It was fun getting all the distorted ones, but it was so crowded! I did attempt a collage there, though there were so many people, I'm not sure how it will turn out.

I love how much outdoor park space the city has dedicated along the many miles of lake front. This was a big amphitheater also in Millennium Park, and it was fun to see so many people just hanging out on the lawn, eating, reading or throwing the Frisbee.

And of course, what tourist trip to Chicago would be complete without a visit to Wrigley Field? The game that night was sold out, but we still wanted to see the ballpark, so we went up and took some pictures of the famous sign. We were able to eat some dogs and brats across the street for a true Chicago experience. It would have been fun to go to a game, but I didn't plan it out well that far in advance. We still had a blast though!

Jessica's Birthday

2009-09-23T17:20:00.002-04:00

This weekend was Jessica's birthday (she was Jamie's roommate before we got married) and we went to her cousin's house to celebrate. It was supposed to be a fun outdoor day of games and grilling out, but this was the beginning of the Atlanta Flood of 2009, so we had to bring it inside. Her cousin Stephen still grilled some delicious pork chops, but otherwise, we hung around inside, watched some football, and just plain celebrated Jessica. Here are a couple of pictures from the day, the first is a classic Jessica face, I'm just so glad I was able to capture it on "film"! The second is her cousin's youngest child after dessert. He had an amazing ability to get it everywhere. The last is of some of the roses Jamie and I got for her. Hope you had a great birthday Jessica!

Fantasy Football Draft Day

2009-09-22T20:14:00.003-04:00

We were able to visit Jamie's family in Tennessee for their annual fantasy football draft day! Here are a few from the day, one of her uncle Jeff deep in thought and on the phone with his team co-captain, snacks from the event and one of Jamie and I as we watched it all unfold.

Jamie

2009-09-19T21:01:00.002-04:00

Here are a few pictures of my beautiful wife from our friend Jessica's birthday this weekend!

Florida's Highest Point

2009-09-13T13:36:00.002-04:00

On our way back from the beach a few weeks ago, we saw a sign advertising Florida's highest point. We thought that was pretty funny since we weren't too far from the beach and everything was flat. We decided to go check it out, so drove maybe 2 miles down the road and came to a small park with a few tables. We didn't want to hike too far or anything but wanted to see how far it would be. Turns out it was only a few steps from the parking area, seeing as the highest point is Florida is only 345 feet above sea level. We got a kick out of it and had to take a picture to prove we saw it!

Bocce

2009-09-10T20:57:00.003-04:00

Bocce is one of the best outdoor lawn games ever. It is fun on an official bocce court, the beach or anywhere you can find a patch of grass. I love it!

My Sister's Wedding

2009-08-07T13:34:00.003-04:00

We had a great time celebrating with Rachel and Jesse as they were married last weekend. I didn't get to take as many pictures as I wanted as I was in the wedding party, and I would much rather be doing that than snapping pictures for them any day. It really was a special time! Here are the first few from the day!

Family

2009-07-15T10:42:00.002-04:00

We've been busy with parties, showers, packing and any other way we can help Rachel and Jesse prepare for their wedding over the last few months. It seems that I have neglected blogging throughout that time as well. I wanted a quick update to share a picture of the ladies on my Mom's side of the family, it is my Grandmother, two Aunts, cousin, Mom, Rachel and Jamie. They were all able to come into town for a shower and had a great time celebrating Rachel. We can't wait to see everyone again in a few short weeks!

Updated Website

2009-06-18T18:46:00.003-04:00

As you may have noticed, over the last few weeks I have been working to upgrade my blog to function more as a website. There is a new menu at the top, with links to my portfolio, contact information and categories for posts on the site. I have also updated my header with images that rotate whenever you refresh the page. I'm very excited to be able to have some different content each time you visit the website.

My old website, www.nathanasmith.com, is now redirected here, you didn't click anything wrong! My email did not change (nathan at nathanasmith.com) so you can still use that to contact me. During the summer months, let me know if you have a need for children and family portraits or head shots, I would love to work with you!

Portfolio

2009-06-06T08:00:00.000-04:00

More Information

2009-06-05T15:10:00.006-04:00

Services:

I am available for couples, family or children's portraits, head shots and engagement sessions.

Custom and pre-printed collages are also available. One of my favorite things is composing multiple images to give you a unique and dramatic representation of one of your favorite locations. Pricing varies based on size of the collage and degree of customization.

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Investment:

Photographs of you and your family are something that you will treasure forever. I know how important these moments are and I am honored to be able to capture them for you. Please contact me for detailed pricing information at nathan at nathanasmith.com.

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Scheduling:

If you would like more information on scheduling a photo session, whether children, family or head shots, or would like to discuss a custom collage, my contact information is below:

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Testimonials:

Working with Nathan was an awesome experience. We wanted truly genuine "candid" black & white photos of our daughter Zoe who had recently turned two. However, the idea of sitting her in a stuffy portrait studio just wasn't us. When I saw Nathan's work on his website, I knew his approach to photography was a breath of fresh air. He immediately connected with Zoe and she really enjoyed the experience. He was flexible - he met us at the location we chose - and never put us "on the clock." He had a "go with the flow" attitude and captured Zoe in her element: outdoors, playing and laughing in nature. We could not have been happier with the results. The photos are beautiful and natural and are priceless memories we'll treasure forever.

-- Kara, Dan & Zoe Gagnon

Nathan was able to capture our children's personality through the pictures he took of our children. He was very patient and professional. We would recommend him to everyone we know.

-- Julie K. Shaw

Portfolio: Collages

2009-06-05T14:30:00.001-04:00

Portfolio: Children

2009-06-04T22:00:00.000-04:00

Portfolio: Portraits

2009-06-04T21:05:00.000-04:00

Graduation in Memphis

2009-05-28T21:01:00.004-04:00

We were able to spend Memorial Day Weekend in Memphis with my extended family and had a great time! We were there to celebrate my cousin's graduation from high school. It was a really fun time to celebrate him as well as being together with family. We are already looking forward to next year when my other cousin graduates.

I'm still sorting through the pictures from the actual graduation, but Jamie and I had some fun with the great lighting in the church entry foyer. I just loved this one of Jamie and couldn't help but share it with you all!

Site Update

2009-05-19T20:24:00.004-04:00

I've been distracted from posting as I'm working on updating the format of the blog. I am headed out of town for the weekend, but hope to have the changes completed next week!

I'm including a fun picture from a few years ago, it is the son of one of my college friends. I can't believe he is almost 4 years old now!

Braves Game

2009-05-08T21:23:00.004-04:00

Earlier this week Jamie and I got tickets from my office to go to the Braves game versus the Mets. I used to love going to Braves games when I first moved to Atlanta 6 years ago, but I didn't go to a single game during the last two seasons. It was a great night with friends, cool weather and a fun game. The Braves didn't win, but they did score several times and we saw a home run. I'm hoping to start going back more often if possible. Below is a picture during the game from our seats.

Jesse and Rachel

2009-03-27T14:15:00.001-04:00

My sister is getting married! I'm so excited that she and Jesse will be married in August, they are such a great couple. It was so much fun to spend the afternoon with Jesse and Rachel the other week to take some engagement pictures. Jamie came along too to help out and we had a blast discovering new places on the west side of Atlanta. The goal was to get a few pictures for a Save the Date card and I think we succeeded! Thanks guys for the fun afternoon together!

Larger Images

2009-03-14T13:24:00.002-04:00

This week I figured out how to post larger images on the blog, from here out they should be easier to see! I'll have some new ones up in the next couple of days.

Snow in Atlanta!

2009-03-02T11:52:00.005-05:00

For the first time in the 6 years that I have lived in Atlanta, we had snowfall for most of the day, with really large snowflakes on Sunday, amounting to about 2 inches at our house. We had a blast being outside and enjoying the cold weather. I had my camera out and managed to take a few pictures while trying to keep it dry as well. Snow on the trees and ground is just such a beautiful and peaceful thing!

Anniversary

2009-02-09T20:34:00.003-05:00

Last week, my wife Jamie and I celebrated our first anniversary. It has been such an amazing year of marriage. I am so blessed to be married to my best friend and that we have so much fun together.

Who We Are, Shapes What We See

2009-01-22T14:08:00.005-05:00

Sadly this blog has been severely neglected. It was not for lack of desire, I've been working on some pictures from our trip to New York that I will hopefully be able to post soon as well as some engagement party pictures.

I was reading an article on photography today and I wanted to share one of quotes with you. A student of the author of the article was having his photographs reviewed by Jay Maisal (recognized as one of the top natural-light color photographers in the world). Here is the portion that struck me:

The review was fine, yet after it was over the student pleaded with Jay, “Tell me, how can I take more interesting photos?” Without missing a beat, Jay volleyed back, “Become a more interesting person.” link

It struck me as an interesting idea, "who we are, shapes what we see." Becoming a better photographer, whether you are seeking it as a hobby or professionally, does not come from reading books, magazines and blogs. Your photographs grow and become more interesting as you document your life and the things you see. So often I forget to bring my camera along to take pictures of everyday moments. There is so much that I take for granted, when I think that the only place for photographs is when travelling or working with others who want to have them taken. I'm hoping that over the course of the next year, I will have the opportunity to experiment and grow in ways I cannot imagine now. I look forward to using this blog to share with you and would love your comments with thoughts, ideas and criticisms of the photographs.

The Big Picture

2008-12-17T13:35:00.004-05:00

I wanted to share a photojournalism website that I've really enjoyed over the last several months. My friend Scott told me about it and I love checking in every week to see what is posted. It is called The Big Picture and is a part of the Boston Globe website. As it says on the site, it is intended to highlight high-quality, amazing imagery, with a focus on current events, lesser-known stories or just anything that looks interesting. The images usually come from the AP, Reuters or Getty Images, so are ones you'd see in the newspaper or on news sites. On this site though, they are combined to tell a story along with their captions. The current post(s) are the 2008 Year in Pictures and they are very interesting. Be sure to check it out when you have a few minutes. Also, if you are on the site, hitting j advances to the next picture and hitting k takes you back to the previous one. Enjoy!

www.boston.com/bigpicture

Headshots

2008-11-17T20:33:00.004-05:00

A few weeks ago I got to spend some time outside with Hannah, we were taking some new headshots as she works on rebranding her real estate business. Here are a few of them, hopefully there will be one that works with the vision for her new website and logo.

Charlie

2008-10-17T23:29:00.004-04:00

Last week I got to hang out with Charlie and his parents again. He has grown a lot since July, he was much more mobile this time! We had fun trying to get some pictures of him while he was playing and exploring around the house. Here is a preview of some of the images, I'll have the rest ready early next week.

Trip to Orlando

2008-10-11T17:30:00.003-04:00

Last weekend we had the chance to make a trip back to Orlando, my hometown. My dad has taken a new job at a church in Birmingham so they are getting ready to pack up and move for the first time in over 20 years. He has been a pastor at Orangewood PCA there for 27 years, which is a really long time to be at the same church. We went down this weekend because they were having a dessert to send them off to their new city. It was so much fun being there with my wife Jamie and my sister Rachel and her new fiance Jesse. It was great celebrating their engagement the week before as well. One of her best friends Holly and her husband Chad came up to celebrate as well, it was really a fantastic weekend. Here are a couple of pictures from our time there.

Arkansas

2008-08-12T09:46:00.005-04:00

We were able to visit my relatives in Memphis last week and then drove over to Arkansas to a lake where we have fun outside on the boats and waverunners. It is always a great time to relax with family. One of my favorite things on the drive from Memphis to Arkansas is that you drive through the country, not the rolling hills kind of country, but farmland -- flat farmland. They grow soy beans, corn and rice in that area. There is just something beautiful about the flat land, patches of trees and occasional barns and silos. I could have spent hours out there taking pictures, but didn't want to hold everyone in our caravan up, so we only stopped once at this abandoned loading building and grain silo. Here were some of my favorites.

Sam and Ashley Gallery

2008-07-13T15:55:00.007-04:00

The pictures are ready, you can click on the image below to proceed to the gallery. Hope you enjoy!

Sam and Ashley

2008-07-09T13:01:00.010-04:00

Monday evening I had the opportunity to spend some time with Sam and Ashley and their adorable son Charlie. Charlie is 9 months old and so much fun. He just couldn't wait to crawl around whenever they let go of him. After postponing a day for the rain, we battled some heat outside and they were all awesome. Here are a few of the pictures to hold you over while I work on the rest of them.

Behind the Camera

2008-06-14T12:00:00.017-04:00

Since early in my teens, I've always had a camera with me whenever I go somewhere. From the Polaroid I had as my first camera, to the compact 35mm, 35mm SLR in college, and now my digital SLR, I have loved learning and exploring with each new piece of equipment.

Having grown up and attended college in Florida, I was excited to move to Atlanta in 2003 for my first job out of school. I was also fascinated with photographing a new city and all that it had to offer. I had the opportunity to take a black and white photography class at a local arts center. Spending many hours in the darkroom and learning more about the technical aspects of photography furthered my interest. I was able to spend several days visiting my sister in Paris that summer and loved documenting the city and culture.

During the past several years, my passion for living and loving life has been combined with a passion for capturing it through a lens. I love documenting life and capturing memories that will be treasured for many years.

I have been married to my beautiful wife, Jamie, since January 2008 and am so blessed to have such an amazing wife with whom to share my life. She has been so supportive in my desire to document life from behind a camera and she can even be found behind the camera from time to time.

Thank you for stopping by, I hope you will check back from time to time to see what's new. If you see something you enjoy, please feel free to leave a comment!

Nathan

For more information on Services, Scheduling and Testimonials, please click More Information here or at the top of the page.