Foto February : A Little Junkyard Family Session

When I decided to do this Foto February project, I wanted to stay away from doing the work we already do. It just makes good business sense to not do for free what we normally get paid to do. But I did have a couple ideas for some "different" family photos. So when a photographer buddy of mine, who I only know through Facebook and Instagram, asked me if he drove his family from China Grove, NC would I shoot them? I knew right away what I wanted to do.

Daryl Brewton is a colorful guy. Literally and figuratively. A sleeve of tattoos, shaved head, goatee, black rimmed glasses… I'd almost be intimated if I didn't have a good foot in height on him (maybe not that much, but everybody is short compared to me). But deep down, he's a sweetheart. An awesome dad, husband, and what I like to call a "missionary photographer". After going on several church mission trips, Daryl started a group called dbWorldwide, an organization designed to document mission work around the globe as well as help other photographers do just that.

So Daryl and his family are cool people. And I wanted to do something cool, funky and different. He told me they would be up for anything, so Danielle and I scouted a few grungy locations and this is what we came up with...

The first stop was an old, torn down grocery store on the side of the road. We've wanted to shoot here for a long time, but never took the opportunity. Meet the Brewtons, by the way.

Daryl's been framed.

Daryl and his wife Stephanie have one cute little kiddo named Gabby.

Mom and Dad.

You know what they say, the family that poos together… actually, I don't think that is a saying.



Technically, we were trespassing. We kinda sorta looked the other way when we saw the no trespassing sign. I thought we'd be in and out of there pretty fast, but time got away from us. And that's when we met Tip. He used to own this grocery store back in the day. He was funny, cantankerous, and just a sweet old feller. He wanted to make sure we were being careful and warned us to watch where we stepped (a lot of broken glass and rusty stuff… we're lucky we made it out unscathed). When I asked if I could take his photo, he snarkily replied, "No… but your camera can." Awesome.

From there, we moved on to Headrick's Garage, which has a huge junkyard behind it. This time, we asked permission up front because I didn't want a junkyard dog to find out what my butt tasted like. They were cool with letting us play amongst the old broken down wrecks.

What a cute family.

We even found some tall grass to play in. Thank goodness it was chilly out… I would've hated to see the snakes lurking around.



This is why Gabby's hands drag on the ground now.

I don't remember what was so funny. But it was. Promise.

This was Daryl's idea, I swear. And I think he paid for it with a sore back the next day. But sometimes, you have to make some small sacrifices for the awesome photos.

Daryl, Stephanie, and Gabby… thank you all again for making the trek from North Carolina to play around in a junkyard! And everyone else, go check out Daryl's site (scroll back up to the top of this post). If you feel led to, throw a donation or two his way. I hope to someday go on a mission trip or two myself so I can't wait to pick Daryl's brain for tips.

More Foto February coming soon!