Orchid Hill Studios produces award winning images

Rich and Cassidy Cox of Orchid Hill Studios attended the 85th Annual North Carolina Professional Photographers Convention, the longest running professional photographic convention in North Carolina. They joined hundreds of industry professionals attending this event February 28 to March 5 in Durham, NC. 

Photographs created by Rich Cox of Orchid Hill Studios in Raleigh NC have recently been accepted into the General and Loan collections of Professional Photographers of North Carolina's 2013 State Photographic Competition. Cox’s work will be on display on the PPNC’s website, www.ppofnc.com for public viewing for the rest of 2013. This Photographic Competition is held in conjunction with PPNC’s annual convention and trade show for professional and aspiring photographers.  A panel of 7 eminent jurors from across the United States selected the top photographs from 486 total submitted entries at the Sheraton Imperial in Durham. Judged against a standard of excellence, 123 images were selected for the General Collection and just 26 (about 5 percent) were selected for the esteemed Loan Collection—the best of the best.

Titled “Dreams and Determination”, Cox’s photograph of a competitive gymnast placed second in the Children’s Portrait category and is in the 2013 Loan Collection.

Five other images “Alpenglow Moonrise”, “Daddy’s Girl”, “Appalachian Falls”, “Portrait of a Priest” and “OBX After the Storm” were accepted for the Court of Honor, recognizing their high quality.

Cassidy, a high school freshman, became a student member of PPNC in 2013 and is one of its youngest members.

Rich and Cassidy also attended photography classes focused on photographic skills. Some of the industry’s biggest names taught here, including Tim Meyer, Marilyn Sholin, Blair Phillips, Woody Walters, Carl Caylor, Sunny Williams, Karen Goforth, Don MacGregor, Karen Rubin and Lew Everling.

About Professional Photographers of North Carolina

Professional Photographers of North Carolina (PPNC) is the largest NC non-profit association created by professional photographers, for professional photographers. PPNC has roots back to 1869 as a resource for education and support of professional photographers and those aspiring to the career. It currently assists over 500 members through education and resources for their continued success in the industry.

For more information about members and educational opportunities around the state, please visit www.ppnc.com. 

Local Photographer’s Work Goes to International Exhibition

Richard Cox of Orchid Hill Studios is honored by peers and jurors for high-quality photography.

Raleigh, NC January 14, 2013

Photographs created by Richard Cox Orchid Hill Studios in Raleigh have recently been accepted into the General Collection of Professional Photographers of America’s 2012 International Photographic Competition. Cox’ work will be on display at the Georgia World Congress Center, January 20-22, 2013, in Atlanta, Ga. This International Photographic Exhibition is held in conjunction with Imaging USA, an annual convention and expo for professional photographers and several photographic associations.

A panel of 43 eminent jurors from across the United States selected the top photographs from nearly 5,000 total submitted entries at Gwinnett Technical College in Georgia. Judged against a standard of excellence, just over 1,800 images were selected for the General Collection and just 476 (about 10 percent) were selected for the esteemed Loan Collection—the best of the best. The Loan Collection images will all be published in the much-anticipated “Loan Collection” book, and over 200 selected

General Collection images will be published in the “Showcase” book by Marathon Press.

Titled Blue Ridge After the Storm, Cox’s photograph will be in the International Photographic Exhibition alongside other top photographic works from the competition and traveling and special invitational displays. These images constitute one of the world’s largest annual exhibits of professional photography gathered simultaneously under one roof.

About Professional Photographers of America

Professional Photographers of America (PPA) is the largest international non-profit association created by professional photographers, for professional photographers. Almost as long-lived as photography itself, PPA has roots back to 1869. It has never stopped growing and looking for new ways to assist its now 24,000 members through protection, education and resources for their continued success in the industry. See why photographers love PPA at www.ppa.com

Contact: RICHARD COX

919-264-9577

richcoxphoto@gmail.com

High Senior Potraits - Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Wake Forest, RDU

http://video214.com/play/NISgevGr1VP20W15QKGICg/s/dark

Reprint - Don't let your kids grow up to be JPEGS.

http://strikingimagesblog.com/2011/07/dont-let-your-kids-grow-up-to-be-jpegs-the-lost-generation/

Raleigh Professional Photographer - Images recognized at Southeast Region Professional Photography Meeting

Professional photographer Richard Cox of Raleigh NC was recently awarded merits for several of his images judged at the 2012 Southeastern Professional Photographers of America (SEPPA) competition. One of the images, shown above, demonstrates his electronic painting abilities. A simple photograph of a tobacco farm in Fall was transformed into a unique digital painting entitled Tobacco Road Bale Out. 

Rich received three merits at this competition. Several of his images (not able to be shown at this time) have been advanced to the International Photography Competition to be judged in July 2012.

SEPPA is the largest regional affiliate of the Professional Photographers of America. SEPPA encompasses states from Delaware to Florida and Mississippi to Puerto Rico. Boasting one of the largest photographic Trade Shows in the country, the biennial convention in Georgia is attended by thousands of visitors from the entire southeast and beyond. Program talent rivals any other professional imaging convention while the annual affiliated print judging is accepted and sealed by the Professional Photographers of America for national merits. SEPPA is also the official host for the PPA Electronic Imaging and Commercial categories judging.

Middle School Dance - Raleigh NC. Middle school portraits.

Middle school students are generally under-photographed as a group. A client of ours made us aware of this when she came to us with a proposal. She wanted us to capture her children at this amazing interface between childhood and late adolescence. The image above is a personal example of a young lady about to attend her first formal dance.

Baby portraits - Raleigh, Durham, Cary, Chapel Hill



Raleigh Baby and Child Photography

Raleigh Newborn and Baby Photography

Beginners Photography Course - April 29, 2012, Historic Oakwood Cemetery

Contact us if you're interested: richcoxphoto@gmail.com

Beginner's Photography Course April 29, 2012, at Historic Oakwood Cemetery in Raleigh

Whether you want to learn how to make a heavily manipulated image like the one above, or just take better pictures of your family, our photo course is for you. It's designed for beginners who have a digital SLR (or other camera that can be manually controlled). We'll cover the 3 elements of proper exposure, composition, and gear. After a photowalk in the cemetery, we'll retire to the board room to play with our images in Photoshop. Contact me if you're interested. Rich Cox.

RichCoxPhotographics@gmail.com

Raleigh Family Photography

Why you need to buy portrait prints -and- taking the printing process into our own hands

Over the Chistmas holidays, a family's home was broken into while they were visiting out-of-state friends. All of their high priced electronics were stolen; iPods, Ipad, HD-TV, laptops and even their desktop computer. Being a fairly well-to-do family, they we initially shocked, but soon felt OK knowing that their insurance would cover replacement of all of the items.

Comfort quickly turned to sorrow when they realized that ALL of their digital photos were stored on those devices. Pictures of newborns, children's birthdays, graduations, holidays, travel and grandparents long deceased were gone ... FOREVER.

How will you lose your digital images? Theft? Computer virus? Crashed hard drive? Scratched CD? Software changes?

Well, there's an easy solution and it's not new - print your images. At Orchid Hill Studios, we have invested in state-of-the-art printers that produce outstanding archival (long lasting) prints. If the family in the above story had simply ordered prints, all of their memories would be stored in albums or books, or hung on the wall for generations to admire.

Don't take a chance. When you have professional portraits taken, get prints from the photographer. Still want to share your images online? No problem! We'll include an appropriately sized image file of any print you purchase so you can put them on Facebook or email around the world.

Here are our latest professional-grade printers, the Epson R2000 and the Epson R4800. These allow us to have complete control over the creative process from the time we open the shutter until we deliver your custom print. Unlike discount store prints that can rapidly fade, Epson Ultrachrome inks and professional grade papers provide prints that you'll be proud to hang on the wall and to hand down to future generations.

 

High School Senior Portraits (Raleigh, Durham, Warrenton, Wake County, Warren County)

We are available for in studio and location high school senior portraits. The run of the mill, school contract photography studios will say you need to use them. But you don't!
Contact us today for an exclusive appointment. Richcoxphoto@gmail.com.
You won't be disappointed...you'll love your images or we reshoot free.

Family and newborn photography - Raleigh NC

Newborn Photography

The Lazy Blogger/Busy Photographer

I've been too busy with photography lately to update my blog!

Writing some new ones this weekend!

Now Accepting Credit Cards for Our Photography Services

We've always wanted to accept credits cards for our products and services, but it was either too expensive or too complicated. Not anymore! Now that we've signed on with Square, it couldn't be simpler. The Square app is installed on our phones and iPads so we can swipe your card just about anywhere.

Remember, man, that thou art dust, and to dust thou shalt return.

As a photographer, I sometimes come in contact with some pretty interesting people. Even though I took his picture in 2007, I didn't really know Clark Wang until this past weekend. You see, Clark died last week and a friend of his contacted me for a copy of this photograph to show at his funeral. He was only 49 and died from complications of s stem cell transplant in an attempt to cure the lymphoma that ultimately consumed him.

Digging into a Google search, I learned what an amazing person he was ... cellist, Duke-trained psychiatrist, folk dancer, and one of the strongest advocates of the green burial movement. Unembalmed, he was waked at home and buried in a casket made of recycled wood and built for him by his friends.

Green burials make a lot of sense. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies formaldehyde, a major component of embalming fluids as a Class 1 Carcinogen: "the agent (mixture) is definitely carcinogenic to humans." Despite best efforts, a formaldehyde laden body will untimately corrupt the ecosystem. When a persons body is buried in a green way, their molecules return to the earth's natural cycle of life instead of rotting in a crypt.

Animoto Video - Band Together After Work Social 15

Here is a special fusion video we put together for the Band Together After Work Social featuring Lizzy Ross that was held at the Southland Ballroom in Raleigh NC.

A fusion video combines still images with HD video to create a really cool production. We now shoot 1080p video with our high resolution digital images.

These videos are one of our feature products at Orchid Hill Studios and Rich Cox Photographics. Not only do they make a unique way to feature an event or wedding, but they are an eye-catching way to present your business, band or property.