Photo of the Month | Joseph Sanders - Palmetto Bella Magazine

Photo of the Month: Joseph Sanders

My journey in portrait photography came in stages that were out of order from what one would typically think. Most of the time, someone will start with taking photos of family and friends, slowly learn the mechanics of the camera, and eventually master the editing techniques needed to produce professional looking headshots. For me, it was quite the opposite.

Starting my freshman year at Williston-Elko High School, I began to explore the world of Adobe Photoshop in my computer graphics class. I liked it so much that I took that same class twice over my four years there just for fun. Once I moved to my new home at the University of South Carolina, I took a photography class on a whim and quickly became enthralled in the mechanics of DSLR photography. After many times of going out and taking pictures of bugs, leaves, water, and other natural environments, I realized what was missing for me was human interaction. I began seeking out friends, family, and models to take pictures of, and I instantly fell in love with the art of portraits.

Fast forward to last fall. I had come home to visit my family one weekend and heard that my little brother, Tre’ Sanders, had missed his 4th grade school pictures. Obviously he was upset, so in order to cheer him up, I took him out to Lemon Park in Barnwell, South Carolina to make sure his growth that year was well documented. Little did I know he was such a photogenic young man!

Photo of the Month | Joseph Sanders | Palmetto Bella

A New Year – A New Beginning

There is a new day dawning Not just a new day — a whole new year! Masks an accessory of the coronavirus, Symbolic of the 2020 annus horribilis This new year 2021 stands before us like a storybook waiting to be rewritten. Let us plan to approach this new year with 20-21 vision. Ready to see clearly, to meet this creative challenge. Let us not only plan to do things differently but “to make a difference.” This experiment has no expiration date. If you falter in your dedication, You have the option of endless renewal. One is easily defeated when you give up trying. Strive to be more observant of

PHOTO of the MONTH: MARGARET WARREN

And why, you may ask, is this man consigned to drinking his coffee under the breakfast table? He is a college professor, faithful husband, Navy officer, survivor of the sinking of the Block Island during World War II, family man, father of 3, and gentleman farmer. And the latter is how he ended up in the Warren substitute for a doghouse. You see, the Warrens at that time had a barn and a pony but no fenced paddock. Early every morning, my father would lead the pony out of the barn, up the driveway, past the house, and out to the front lawn. There he would tether the pony for

Celebrating the Beauty of the Natural World through Artwork | “Outside and Around Us”

Artwork provided by Aiken Center for the Arts, used with permission Plein air painting is about leaving the four walls of your studio behind and experiencing painting and drawing in the landscape. An upcoming exhibition at Aiken Center for the Arts, “Outside and Around Us,” features plein air artwork by local artists Al Beyer, Bill Daniel, Sally Donovan, and Andrew Murphy from December 3, 2020 through January 29, 2021. For these artists, there is something about being in the environment as they paint that is important to them. It is more than simply painting outside; there is value from being in the open air. They are offered the opportunity to

Lights of St. Mary’s

On the frosty eve of Bethlehem, hazy nimbus of lamplight on cobblestones leads to the open doors of St. Mary’s. Within, eternal flame of brooding majesty burns above the ornate cupola. Towering pillars, angled arches, patterned concentric circles lofting above the altar — silent hints of the complexity of church history. Lambent stained windows and shadowed mosaic encircle the faithful with biblical messages. Ruby poinsettias amid pine-scented greenery flank altars ablaze with candles shedding their muted pools of empathy and bright sparks of hope this Christmastide. A tree-wrapped manger filled with new straw portends the good works of a parish to welcome the Christ Child! Lusty chorus of ancient carols