fred rollison

The Charlotte skyline is always a great one to shoot and this image is from a recent shoot of a condo development that just went on the market. I think I need one of these!

I was in south Florida last week on a shoot and got this view from a condo in Estero, Florida just north of Naples. I think I could get used to temps in the upper 70′s to start the new year off! These condos even have an Apple store below. I think I need one!

PhotoShelter’s blog feature on pros using point/shoot cameras included one of my photos and some details from me on using these cameras for personal work and maybe even some paying ones. I shot this with a Nikon P7000. Nice to be included!

PhotoShelter Blog link

BMW Manufacturing’s Zentrum museum I shot recently and a 15 second exposure showed a few stars on a clear night. I shot this while waiting for the inside lights to be turned down some, but this one worked a little better.

I’ve been on several photo shoots in Charlotte recently for a client and the location is in the North Davidson Street area (NoDa). NoDa is a former mill village area and is now a great mix of music venues, restaurants, galleries and restored homes. The Evening Muse and The Neighborhood Theatre are two venues worth checking out for live music.

Spending a few days in Panama City Beach, FL again and most of the days have looked this view. As tropical storm Lee comes ashore in Louisiana, the panhandle is getting the edge of it and plenty of rain. Got to try out my new Nikon Coolpix P7000 for it though.

Here is a new poster for BMW’s X3 that I shot at The Performance Center’s off-road track in Greer, SC a few months ago. Thanks to Mike Wrenner of the Performance Center for his driving and patience during the shoot!

I spent a few days this week shooting BMW Manufacturing’s Academic Outreach Camp for rising high school seniors in Spartanburg. One day of the course was at BMW’s Performance Center where the students took to the road to learn proper braking and how to control the car during a slide along with other important driving skills.

A pontoon boat floats on St. Andrews Bay at the edge of the Gulf of Mexico in Panama City Beach, Florida on Memorial Day ’11. This image was from a helicopter as part of a shoot of a condo development on Panama City Beach. The clear water of the gulf and the light that day were the best I’ve seen in a long time.

Well at least these people don’t have much yard work to do. I shot this a few weeks ago at Ocean Isle Beach, NC. Thought it worked better in black/white as it kind of has a California in the 60′s feel to it, I think.

With all the news on  how bad the economy is these days, music is always a good diversion or escape.  One of my favorite musicians (and songwriters), Allison Moorer, is releasing a new cd on  Feb. 19.  “Mockingbird” might be the first cd I’ve bought in a while since I’ve usually been just buying a song or two online.  Her sister, Shelby Lynne, is an equally talented singer and songwriter and these two strong-willed southern women were both raised in Alabama so what’s not to like about them?  Check both of them out.

Here’s a photo I shot of Allison a few years ago.  

I went to great depths to get a photo of the roots of this tree.  It’s actually on the side of a hill at Greenville’s Falls Park.  It’s a great place to visit along the Reedy River and right in the middle of downtown.  It’s worth the trip!

Okay, I thought that would get your attention.  Yes, the economy does seem to be on life support, but there are some bright spots.  Here’s a photo I shot this week for BMW Manufacturing at their new assembly plant under construction in Greer, SC.   This plant will be producing their X3 model which is currently being made in Austria and of course their main assembly plant will keep turning out X5′s and X6′s.

As the weather warms and everything starts greening up and blooming, it means it’s time for The Masters in Augusta.  I enjoy it much more in front of the tv now, but I have some good memories of covering back when I was in shape and could tolerate the days of walking up and down the hills.  Yes, there are hills in Augusta.  Here’s one of my photos – Jack making a birdie on #17 on his way to winning his last Masters.

I did a photo shoot this week near Montgomery, Alabama and had to take a little time to visit Hank Williams’ gravesite.  It’s up on a hill overlooking downtown and is well worth the trip.  He only lived 29 years, but had a lasting influence on music even though it seems lost on much of what is popular these days.  At least we have other outlets to hear his influences.

Here’s an image of a Challenger jet I shot this week for Stevens Aviation. We had the tarmac hosed down by the Donaldson Center Fire Department and then I shot it by walking around it with a strobe while my assistant covered the lens between pops.

Anything involving firemen would have to include red I guess.  Here’s the entrance to Prattville (Alabama) Firefighters’ Local 4141 meeting place I saw during a recent shoot in the town.  The yellow curb goes well with the door and awning too.

Our dog Tika usually growls and runs when she sees me with a camera.  For some reason, she didn’t this time and she posed with her newest plastic toy.  It’s not a real Corona, but is a “Cataroma Light”.  She hasn’t asked for a slice of lime yet.

©2009 FRP

Being a photographer makes you notice things, I guess, that others might miss sometime. I saw this spider web with the dew this morning in the garden next to our house. I went and got an extender for my macro lens and the sun was hitting it at a good time when I shot it. Btw – I think it was dew or it could have been from the sprinkler. Dew makes the photo a little more artistic so I’m sticking with that story.

I pass by this closed burger joint most days and finally decided to shoot a quick photo with my phone. I don’t think most of us southerners were ready for New York burgers. The photo quality isn’t quite there, but it kind of fits the subject.

I did a recent shoot for BMW Magazine at the BMW Performance Center in Greer, SC. The subject was Jim Millard who is a driving instructor at the center. We shot an early morning portrait under very cloudy skies and then went to the track. On the track I shot this photo with an “older” camera triggered by a remote. Jim was demonstrating drifting which is going through a curve without slowing and turning the tires and pretty much sliding through the curve. He’s an excellent driver as he did this maneuver flawlessly over and over until we got the photos needed.

I did a recent shoot for a software company in Seattle for their print ads. The ads will feature some of their customers and how they use and like the software. We shot it at a hotel in Atlanta during their users conference and these are a few outtakes between the more serious ones.

I shot a Lear jet for Stevens Aviation and for the photos at dusk the Donaldson Center Fire Department wet down the tarmac for us.  The water reflects both the jet’s lights as well as mine which is a big help to the image.  The colors in the sky at this time of day only last a few minutes so the pace is pretty quick at this point in the shoot.

I seem to be involving water in some way in my shoots lately.  I shot these two for a brochure BMW Manufacturing is doing that includes what goes on at The BMW Performance Center.  We shot these drivers on the track in the  late afternoon and on into the early evening.  Most of the time I shoot at the Performance Center is in morning light and the late afternoon and early evening light has a totally different feel to it.

I was in Charleston, SC this weekend and as I was leaving had to get an iPhone image of the Cooper River bridge late in the afternoon on an overcast day. This bridge is always a good subject regardless of the weather.

I saw this tractor in a field not too far from our house and went back a few days later to shoot it at sunrise. I did the toning on the image in HDR (high dynamic range). It looks as if the tractor just quit running many years ago and was left in the field.

The sun was shining finally Saturday afternoon in the upstate of South Carolina Saturday while just to the north of us there was plenty of snow. Shot these two iPhone photos yesterday while on the way to check out another location for a photo that didn’t pan out.

It’s been a cold start to the new year and I saw this frozen waterwheel near our neighborhood a few days ago. My iPhone keeps me looking for things I would have passed up before.

We’ve had some real winter weather lately here in the upstate of South Carolina and here are a few images I shot around the house. It’s about as far as I ventured out in it.

I was at Pawleys Island, SC for a photo shoot earlier this week and saw this after just leaving the island. I shot a quick photo with my phone. I’m not sure how fresh it was, but it did catch my attention which served it’s purpose. It was in front of a new seafood market and restaurant set to open in March.

I have updated my website http://fredrollison.com with some different photos on the home page and in the rest of the site.

On a shoot this week in one of my favorite places – Panama City, Florida on the Gulf Coast. Here’s a sunset from the location of the shoot on St. Andrews Bay. I like these working conditions!

July Fourth week at Panama City Beach, Fl. – the PCB pier before a brief thunderstorm and a few photos from earlier in the week with some better weather.

Tried out my new lens, a Nikkor 24mm PC, on our Jack Russell relaxing in my chair. I haven’t used the tilt/shift yet.

I was back in St. Augustine, FL this week shooting Palencia which is a development with condos, homes, golf course and retail. I shot this one of the golf course early one morning. St. Augustine is always a good trip as it’s nice to still see some of “old Florida” along with the new.

Here are a two recent iPhone photos – the first from home at the other is a sunset in St. Augustine, FL.

I was on an aerial job this week shooting from a helicopter and as we passed over downtown Greenville (SC) I saw these umbrellas at RiverPlace on south Main Street.

Shot South Carolina’s Table Rock Mountain a few days ago on a cold morning – it was 42 degrees and tried a little HDR with it.

In Jacksonville this week on a shoot and before that started I had a chance to photograph the skyline just after sunset.

©2010 Fred Rollison Photography

I was on a shoot this week and one of the locations for the client was this graveyard of autos. Even the keys were left in one of the cars!

I recently photographed the Southern Living Showcase Home in Greenville and here is the link to the images published in a supplement in the Greenville News by the Greenville Homebuilders Association. The interiors are done by different designers and then the home is open for tours. The home was built by Dillard-Jones Builders.

I was at BMW Manufacturing on a shoot this week and during a break I shot this X5 in the body shop shop with the robots at work. I thought this photo had the feel of starting off the new year.

I shot the new BMW X3 recently at The BMW Performance Center track while under the watchful eye of a hawk on a guardrail along the track.

After hearing photographer Eric Curry speak last weekend on his light painting techniques, I’ve tried a few tests and think it will be useful at times on certain shoots. I used my Maglite (flashlight) for this one and did about six different exposures with the light hitting different areas and then layered them together.

I was in Florida the past two weeks on a shoot and spent a few days near Boca Grande north of Ft. Myers. I like the Gulf and this area really has a Caribbean feel to it, especially from the air.

I shot the Zentrum building at BMW Manufacturing in Greer, SC a few nights ago just after sunset. The building was lit with blue gelled lights in observance of Autism Awareness month.

I was in Louisville, KY this week on a shoot and saw these chemical drums from the helicopter on the way back to the airport. Not sure what the different colors mean, but maybe it’s better I don’t know.