The Tongue River - Wyoming - TRD Photography

Back in 2013 I was driving back from Portland, Oregon to Tennessee with my family. We were trying to see as much as we could along the way. One day we drove through Yellowstone, which was an amazing experience but the photo opportunities were limited due to rain quite a bit. The next day I didn't expect quite so much but that's where I truly experienced the most beautiful country that I have gotten to see, at least in my opinion.

From my days as a kid, I've always been fascinated with Native American history. I found myself driving through places with names that I remembered from reading any book that I could get my hands on. We were driving over the Big Horn Mountain range and I was so blown away by the height, and just the energy of that place. It was like nothing I've ever experienced. We stopped on top of the mountain at the Tongue River. The only noise that you heard was the wind whipping all around you and the gurgling of the water. The whole time we were there no other cars came by. It was just you and this incredible energy. I took several photos, not many even get close to doing it justice.

I was thinking about the experience the other night, just remembering how it felt. I wanted to share one of my images from there with you guys. I hope you like it. Hopefully you've experienced a place like that in your life. I think we all need a place to get grounded, even if it's just a memory. Hope you guys have a great night! If you happen to like this image, prints are available - http://www.trdphotography.com/landscapeprints/tongueriverwyomingtrdphotography

Ricky

WWII Veteran Photographic Series - Sgt. Ferdinand Moreno - Photographer Ricky Davis

WWII Veteran Photographic Series - Sgt. Ferdinand Moreno

I've really been looking forward to this second entry in my series of WWII Veteran Portraits. This particular session was probably the toughest photo session on me personally that I've ever shot. When I first had the idea of doing this series, I pictured getting to sit around talking to veterans who were anxiously wanting to share their stories with whoever wanted to listen. With the first session, I was told that Mr. Davis had dementia. When I arrived he had forgotten a lot of things, but it was very pleasant conversation. With Sgt. Moreno, again I was told that he had dementia and I expected something similar to the conversation with Mr. Davis. I was mistaken.

When I arrived I found that his condition was a lot different than Mr. Davis. Sgt. Moreno's health is where he cannot speak. I found out from his nephew, who is his caretaker that he really hadn't been able to speak for a couple of months.. Even though he couldn't talk, I had a conversation with him, and his eyes, his eyes really reached into my chest and I felt like it was ripping my heart out. I've never been impacted by a session like I was by his. On his photos, I didn't shoot as many of Sgt. Moreno himself, because I wanted to capture his dignity and with his health, it was harder to do that. Please read further though as I was able to talk to his brother who shared with me some stories of his time in WWII, and Sgt. Moreno had some amazing war trophies that he brought home from the War that I photographed as well.

WWII Photographic Series - Sgt. Ferdinand Moreno - Photographer Ricky Davis - Film - Expired Kodak Tmax100

It took a couple of weeks but I was finally able to speak with Sgt. Moreno's brother, Malcolm, about World War II and what his brother did during the War. This is what I was told.

Sgt. Moreno was drafted into the Army. He didn't know which company or anything like that, but he said he was supposed to be in a tank. Sgt. Moreno had told him about the army showing photographs of what was happening with the German's armor piercing bullets. How they'd cut through the tanks and explode. Around that time they were asking volunteers to go into the infantry and Sgt. Moreno volunteered to go into infantry instead.

WWII Photographic Series - Sgt. Ferdinand Moreno - Photographer Ricky Davis - Shot with Canon 6D.

Malcolm told me that Ferd, as he affectionately calls his brother, didn't really like to talk about the war. He would only tell a couple of stories. He had a lot of demons from things he saw in the war. He helped to free a couple of the concentration camps and said that he would rather die than to ever surrender to the Germans. I'm going to share with you a story that I was told by Malcolm about a time that Sgt. Moreno was involved in an ambush.

WWII Photographic Series - Sgt. Ferdinand Moreno - Photographer Ricky Davis - Film - Expired Kodak Tmax100

One day in a village in France (he didn't know the name. Only that it was a really small village) Sgt. Moreno and one of his good friends were driving through in a military jeep. The town had been attacked and they were looking but they couldn't find anyone alive. Everyone was dead. They were debating what to do when from behind one of the small buildings, two Germans stepped out with guns trained on them and in perfect American English told them to get out of the jeep. Ferdinand was 6'4 and was crammed tightly into the jeep, which made getting out a little bit difficult. The Germans told them to throw down there weapons while they were getting out. They continued to move slowly...

WWII Photographic Series - Sgt. Ferdinand Moreno - Photographer Ricky Davis - Film - Expired Kodak Tmax100

Ferdinand's mind was racing and as he was moving to get out of the jeep, he noticed that the Germans had turned slightly and weren't paying close attention. He quickly grabbed his gun and fired a slew of bullets into the Germans, killing them. Sgt. Moreno and his friend had seen a ditch that wrapped it's way around the small village a little ways away and made a dash for it. As they reached it, more German's opened up on them. His friend was shot through the head and fell dead instantly. Sgt. Moreno had bullets pierce his shirt but didn't even get a scratch, just a few holes in his shirt. He hunkered down in the ditch and crawled down a ways. He peeked up, and saw German faces looking out of windows in some of the buildings. He fired, and the German dropped. He kept moving and firing at different Germans as they were trying to pinpoint his location, unsuccessfully.

WWII Photographic Series - Sgt. Ferdinand Moreno - Photographer Ricky Davis - Shot with Canon 6D.

Slowly, Sgt. Moreno made his way back towards his lines. I was told that he killed 40 Germans. I'm not sure if that was on this mission, or in total during the war. His nephew had told me that he heard he killed 28 Germans and that Sgt. Moreno was haunted by his past throughout his life. There's probably no real way to know, and that number isn't the thing that really matters.

WWII Photographic Series - Sgt. Ferdinand Moreno - Photographer Ricky Davis - Shot with Canon 6D.

I feel incredibly blessed to have gotten to sit and meet this American hero. It's still hard for me to look at the photos, his eyes still just cut right through me. When you think about the age that these men and women were living in, and the evil that was being wrought upon the world and spreading across the European continent at the time, you realize.he wasn't a hero for killing Germans, he was a hero for answering when his country called. He was a hero when he helped to liberate these camps where men, women, and children were emancipated, raped, and even murdered. I personally can't imagine the things he saw, nor can I imagine the things our servicemen see and deal with now. We have to hold onto our past and learn from it to get to where we need to be tomorrow, and grow as human beings. Sgt. Moreno also was honored with the Bronze Star for his service in WWII. I hope that you enjoyed reading a little bit about this man, and his service to our country. If you did, feel free to share this.

Ricky

WWII Veteran Photographic Series - Pvt. Ralph Davis - Photographer Ricky Davis

WWII Veteran Photographic Series - Private Ralph Davis

Before I begin to share my experience with Mr. Davis, I’d like to share my inspiration for doing this portrait series. I have long been interested in military history, particularly Vietnam and World War II. As I’ve watched current events unfolding before our eyes, I feel that it is imperative that we chronicle and preserve the history of those in “The Greatest Generation” because we are losing a lot as a country and forgetting what has made us great. If we let these heroes that fought for our freedom pass on without learning the lessons that they can teach us, who knows if we will ever find our way back as a country. That is my ultimate goal with this series.

WWII Artilleryman - Pvt Ralph Davis - Photographer Ricky Davis - Photo taken with Canon 6D.

I had ultimately planned to begin this project when I returned home from Oregon but upon arriving I found out that my mother-in-law knew two local World War II Veterans living here in the area. I got to meet Mr. Davis, no relation to me, on Wednesday evening. When I was first told about Ralph, I was told that he doesn’t remember very much about the war because he is suffering from dementia a little bit. Upon getting to sit down and visit with him I was honored to talk about life, and a little more about the war than he had spoken about in the last thirty years.

WWII Artilleryman - Pvt Ralph Davis - Photographer Ricky Davis of TRD Photography - Expired Kodak T-Max100 Film

Ralph enlisted in the Army soon after Pearl Harbor. He was assigned to infantry and was an artilleryman in Germany. I asked him when he arrived in Germany but he didn’t remember. He mentioned that he was in a few battles but not that many. He said ” I was scared. You didn’t know what was going to happen. But times are worse now than they were before. There’s no telling what’s going to happen.”

WWII Artilleryman - Pvt Ralph Davis - Photographer Ricky Davis of TRD Photography - Shot taken with Canon 6D.

One thing that was really important to Ralph, was that even in the height of the war, with the Army giving out cigarettes to all the soldiers, he never smoked or drank. He said ” I didn’t even drink coffee. It was way too bitter.”

When I asked Ralph about where he was at when the war ended, he said he was in Otterberg, Germany. He told me that memories of the war were hard, that there was so many things that happened that he just wanted to forget. From talking to family members, they said he never really talked about the war that much.

WWII Artilleryman - Pvt. Ralph Davis - Photographer Ricky Davis of TRD Photography - Shot taken with Canon 6D.

In conclusion with this this first blog in my World War II series, I really think I learned a lot with this first session and interview. In a lot of the books that I’ve read, and the documentaries that I’ve seen, and even letters I have received, most of the servicemen have wanted their stories known. But there are different faces, different stories, and different viewpoints, even among those that lived through those times. Some came home and dealt with their experiences by sharing, and some dealt with their experiences by trying to forget. Everybody is different and there’s no telling how we would react in those circumstances. One thing that is absolutely certain, when freedom was on the line, and our Country called, these men answered the bell. Thank you for reading, and thank you to the veterans that have helped to make our country what it was, what it is, and what it will become.

WWII Artilleryman - Pvt. Ralph Davis - Photographer Ricky Davis of TRD Photography - Shot taken with Canon 6D.

P.S.

I wanted to say a couple of more words. Originally I posted this blog on Wordpress site while I was still on vacation in Oregon. I photographed Ralph using both my Canon 6D and also I shot some expired Kodak T-Max film. Since I posted the original blog while on vacation, my film wasn't back yet, so I added some film shots of Ralph here, mixed in with the digital photos. Each one is marked. I really hope you enjoy his story, and the photos. Stay tuned for more in this series to come.

Coulrophobia - The Series - It's just the Beginning....

Coulrophobia - The Series 

What's your biggest fear? I want to introduce you to a new series I just began work on entitled "Coulrophobia - The Series"

 I've always been fascinated by the fear that some people have of clowns. When I do conventions, a lot of people stop me to talk about my darker work and talk to me about their fear of clowns and such. I've contemplated doing a large scale, twisted clown series for awhile, and now that time is upon us. 

"Coulrophobia" is going to be a large scale, ongoing series that will build over time. It will include models, such as the amazing Raven Lee above, but I also plan on including an anyone, any size, any age can be a part of this. I want clowns of all shapes and sizes, male and female, the like. 

The wonderful, Raven Lee and I kicked off the series recently, and we've decided to announce a special one day event as well. I've never offered a "dark art" specially priced event before but it's been asked for, for years. So if you'd like to get your photos taken with me check this out. On March 29th, Raven and I are joining together to offer a dark art photoshoot, Coulrophobia style. The cost is $75, which gets you makeup provided by Raven, we will be getting wigs and some costumes and props, if you want to create your own clown character, that's perfectly acceptable too, you'll get 2 fully edited photos from the shoot, AND a free 8x10 of your favorite clown photo.  This is a specially priced, one day event. Slots have already started to fill up. You can reach me at trd@trdphotography.com for more details or to book. 

Ricky

www.facebook.com/trdphotography - Pinterest, Twitter, IG - @trd_photography 

www.trdphotography.com - Chattanooga, TN

Flashback Friday - Mandi Mayhem -

Flashback Friday - Model Mandi Mayhem - POTD 2/20/2015

Let's face it, I've got some absolutely amazing friends. Mandi is just a mind blowing talented lady and all around awesome person. This was from our last set that we got to shoot. It was featured in Ink Revolution when I was still working with it. 

Go check out Mandi's FB page at  www.facebook.com/pages/Mandi-Mayhem/139923119450671 

View more of my work at the following. 

www.facebook.com/trdphotography - Twitter & IG - @trd_photography

trd@trdphotography.com - www.trdphotography.com

As always, I'm Ricky of TRD Photography and I'm based in the Chattanooga, TN area. My studio is a stones throw from Chattanooga in Cleveland. I specialize in model photography but I also work with bands and businesses in creating a unique look to help brand their image. Hit me up if you're interested. 

Throwback Thursday - Hotels Project with Raven Lee

Photo of the Day - 2/19/2015 - Throwback Thursday - The Hotel Series with Raven Lee

One of my absolute favorite people in the world happens to be Ms. Raven Lee. I met her back in early 2012 and have had so many amazing, artistic shoots with this lady. She's been one of the sweetest, most genuine souls I've ever met! One thing about Raven that I've not ever seen at her level is how prepared she always is. Her specialty is really in nailing artistic shoot and she goes above and beyond in planning. I've never seen anyone else like her! 

I chose this photo to share with you guys today because this one came from one of my projects! It's a project that I've not really worked on since 2013 and I'd like to get it rolling again this year. It's what I called the Hotel Project. The basis of it came from the idea of working towards a book project featuring more character driven b&w shots done at hotels. Different places with different vibes. 

Even though this was one of our lesser planned out sets, it's still one of my absolute fav sets. We went for more of the old Hollywood starlet feel, with her look and with the edit. 

Be sure to go check her out on Facebook below.

www.facebook.com/theravenlee 

Be sure to stay tuned to the blog as I have a video project coming up with her VERY soon. :)

You can check out more of my work at....

www.facebook.com/trdphotography - Twitter & IG - @trd_photography 

Email - trd@trdphotography.com - www.trdphotography.com

I'm Ricky Davis and I'm based in the Chattanooga, TN area. .

The Times they are A-Changing

They Times they are A-Changing 

Sorry for the title, I happen to be a big Dylan fan and it seemed like the perfect intro for this post. Just wanted to state that the website is undergoing some changes that'll be coming to fruition in the next few days. 

With the media that we are constantly bombarded with here on social media, it's easy to have sensory overload. Recently a client came into my studio for a consultation and as we were going through my albums because she wanted to see what styles I offered, I became aware that I may have way too many images in there and that it seemed to be overwhelming. 

So I'm trimming my galleries down a little to a more manageable amount of material,  that will be updated more regularly. It also gives me a chance to feature my other work more frequently here on my blog. I plan to try doing a photo of the day project on here, in addition to other posts that I share as well. I hope that you guys will enjoy. 

Another thing to keep an eye out for in the near future is my video work. I just started playing with video, but I absolutely love it. I'm in the planning stages on several projects in the near future that should take what I've been doing with video in a different direction. 

Much love to all of you guys and gals,

Ricky

 TRD Photography - www.trdphotography.com - www.facebook.com/trdphotography                   

Twitter & Instagram @trd_photography - Email trd@trdphotography.com