This banner was created utilizing two photographs by Aponi Studios. Final product measured 6' and can be hung indoors or outdoors.
This photo was shot by Aponi during the Renn Faire at the Washington County Fairgound's rodeo arena. The subject was cut out and placed over layers of parchment paper and the stormy skies, with two additional layers of borders consisting of leaves and hand brushed vignette. A final layer of dark shadows was used to give the parchment paper layer a lighted stage effect.
The rally is winding down, it has been a fantastic few days and I have shot many thousands of photos from Devils Den, Dickson Street to Eureka Springs. Galleries will go into full production starting tomorrow morning so please check back often. I'm off this morning to conclude the final day of shooting from Pig Trail Harley Davidson and back to Eureka Springs to shoot with Joe Skaggs of ridepics.net. Here's to a great rally and a safe trip to all on the way home!
This pup is a crowd stopper. Sitting quietly in a nice leather backpack, his owner said that this dog is followed across the internet as he travels from rally to rally, no one with a camera can resist taking his photo (I can testify) and then post them on the internet (double testify). What a cutie!
On September 18 the 5th Annual POW MIA Tribute Ride was conducted from Lokomotion Fun Park to Avoca City Park. The ride culminated with a ride-by in front of a newly erected memorial in honor of those deserving military heroes who have sacrificed. The memorial was funded by local veterans organizations, businesses and residents donating money, labor, materials and time. The gallery is still being produced, most all riders are now online with scenes from the ceremony to be loaded over the next day or so. This was a very moving event, the riders expressions of tribute were clearly evident as can easily be recognized from the photos. It was an honor to have been invited as a photographer for this event.
Aponi Studios will be shooting from various locations throughout Bikes, Blues and BBQ this year. See you on the road!!!
A nice photo of the bank on The Square in Fayetteville. This shoot was done for a website in production for FayettevilleARcoupon.com, currently in development by Aponi Studios.
Saturday, September 4 Aponi Shot participants in the Sheriff Ralph Baker Memorial Poker Run. The ride started in Huntsville at the Square, went north to Beaver, and then around Beaver Lake finally ending at Jose's on Dickson. I perched upon a post of the swinging bridge in Beaver at the Beaver Inn catching riders as they crossed from 10am until 1:45pm. Great shoot, fun perch, groovy bridge, awesome bikers! Hey there were a bunch of cool cars too!! 
I was on my way to the Iron and Ink Bike Show / Swap Meet when I drove by The Pig Trail Harley Davidson dealership... whoah!!! Harleys Harleys Harleys... I had to stop. Well, I never made it to Avoca, but had a great time browsing Harleys, biker watching, motorcycle stunts. COOL! It was their 4th year anniversary celebration; bike show, trophies, battle of stunt bikes, a water slide, concessions and bikes, bikes, bikes and more bikes. I regret I didn't make it to Avoca, so many motorcycles, so little time. VERY awesome shoot; many incredible bikes and lots of very nice people who didn't mind to stop and pose (or pose on the fly!). Perfect day!!
This week consisted of another fun shoot with a high-schooler named Jordan. We did the shoot at Battlefield Park in Prairie Grove. Lots of great pics, I think this one is my favorite. I really like the rustic logs and porches for a setting, the black and white photos were especially nice against the logs and grains in the wood. Challenges? Primarily the heat... it was about 100 degrees, but Jordan kept smiling anyway :) Good job!
This summer I was invited to 4 Mile Creek Gaited Horses farm in Velvet Ridge, AR. It was about a 4 hour drive so we were forced to shoot with the sun high in the afternoon sky, by the time I arrived. Leaving early was thwarted by the birth of my collie's 6 pups which ensued about the time I had hoped to head out. Critters! Ah well, the birth was uneventful and 6 healthy pups were born (more on that later). When I arrived at the farm to start the shoot, the family had carefully bathed several of their herd stallions which were to be featured on their new website, all squeaky clean and tied standing in a row awaiting their shining moments. Shooting a line-up of 5 stallions can be trickier than one might imagine. It would seem an inviting mare lingered off in the distance just close enough for the stallions to be aware of her presence. Everyone had a saucy mood as if to say "pick me, pick me... no no pick me!" None-the-less, the shoot went very well in spite of the challenges. The horses were delightful, I even felt some heart strings being pulled for a handsome gelding they were presenting for sale. mmmmm more pasture.... Thanks to the Mahans for a great shoot and a very enjoyable afternoon, not to mention Mrs. Mahans impeccable hospitality and delicious pot roast. Visit the Mahan's website at www.4milecreekgaitedhorses.com
This was a fun shoot which just so happened to fall right after a cleansing early morning rain, giving things a shiny, clean look and great natural filtering from the light cloud cover. This happens to be my son who I roped into a practice shoot. I have another teen shoot scheduled for this week, looking forward to it. Teens are fun to work with, they either naturally enjoy being in front of the camera, or quickly warm up to it during the course of the shoot.
This was a private session traversing from Prairie Grove to Devil's Den. What a fun gig and an awesome person to shoot; a good sport willing to stop his bike anywhere and pose... from sidewalks to scenes at the Battlefield park, even asking the rangers if we could park on the grass for pics, sadly they declined. That's alright, a little photoshop magic did the trick :) This shoot inspired the background to my blog, great pic. I love the grunge feeling of the brick wall with the bike parked on the sidewalk. Thanks for the fun shoot!
On July 3 a bike event was held in support of breast cancer in Fayetteville, AR. The event was called Bikes, Babes and Bling and was geared toward women bikers. Congregating on Dickson Street, the familiar rumble resonated throughout the day in spite of a steady rain. By the time I arrived in the late afternoon participant numbers were few, but it was hard to blame them in the constant, unyielding rain. Still, rows of bikes could be found parked in front of bars and restaurants along Dickson Street and I was happy to have been able to get a few nice shots. See you again next year, ladies!
