Photography is so much more than a business. Photography allows us to slow the pace, breathe the air, catch the sweet smells of the great outdoors and experience the rain, wind and sun. It enables us to freeze glimpses of time and capture life's portraits of joy and sorrow in the eyes and faces of  both the living and dying.  Through photography we are able to visualize the miraculous and behold the beauty of this fragile world. We may make a positive impact on our world and the plight of our fellow man as well as creatures great and small by responsibly documenting and bringing to light not only the preciousness and fragility of life around us, but the imperfections as well.    

     The beginning of my photographic journey was a direct result of  two aunts who taught school in Santa Fe, New Mexico convincing my parents that I needed to be involved in the Arts. After viewing a couple of my first works at painting with oils they encouraged me to find another medium. It was at this point that they decided to ask me what interested me. My answer was photography thinking that this would surely get them off my back. Shortly after giving them my answer I was presented with what looked like a box with film in it. I was instructed in it's use. "To take a wide picture you turn the camera sideways and to take a tall picture you turn it straight up"...such were the technical instructions for taking landscape and portrait shots. There were two view finders one on the top if you were taking a vertical and one one the side if you wanted to take a horizontal shot. A knob on the side was used to advance the film and the shutter release was a real nifty looking lever with a rounded red button. But with such antiquated equipment I got hooked. I read everything I could get my hands on that was related to photography. If I lacked the funds to buy a particular book I visited the library or picked the brains of a photographer willing to share information. I confess that was a number of years ago.

     As photographers, whether in the studio or the great outdoors, light is our most powerful tool. In simple terms we use instruments to measure it and a box with an adjustable hole in the front to control the amount of light exposing the film or hitting the digital sensor. Whether we spend several thousand or a hundred dollars for a camera our best results depend more on our software than our hardware. Scott Smith in his book on Studio Lighting said it well," it's not all the hardware that makes a photographer good at what she/he does...it's the software between the ears....it's what we know about the hardware and light and how we apply it." Knowledge is power." I still inwardly laugh when I hear," What kind of camera did you use?" It's like asking a carpenter what kind of saw or hammer he/she used or a painter what kind of brush she/he used.

     We do not want to run a photography mill just to meet overhead. All our sessions are by appointment only and structured to allow our clients time to get comfortable in front of the camera which is critical to good portraiture.  Since we also shoot on location we decided that a professional  studio adjacent to our residence would give us an edge in today's competitive business climate by reducing overhead and operating costs when we are out of the studio. 

• 25 plus years photography experience.

• Lived and attended schools in Florida, New Mexico and Mississippi.

• Graduated with honors from Clark College.

• Served as Instructor Trainer and National Training Director for internationally recognized scuba training agency.

• Served as Regional Vice President for RFI.

• Organization affiliation with Professional Photographers Association (P.P.A.) and National Press Photographers Association ( N.P.P.A.).

     Equipment:

       Depending upon location and specs we shoot both pro 35mm and/or medium format, film and digital. 

     Field and Special Assignments: 

      Based in central Mississippi we specialize in photography for the family, corporate and commercial marketplace. The majority of our stock and editorial work is shot digitally. By shooting digital we can shoot an assignment, upload and transport images at high speed electronically anywhere around the globe. Large image files are transferred to DVD and shipped overnight.

• P. O. Box 2128, Brandon, MS. 39043

• Phone: Central Mississippi  601-955-9416

• E-mail:   macmcguffee@gmail.com

Staff:

     Leslie Riggs McGuffee:              Business Development and Marketing Director

     Don Johnson:                             Location Coordinator and Historian

     Durwood E. McGuffee JR.:       General Counsel