Campfire Cover
BEHIND THE SHOT
Written by JACKIE KENNEDY • Photographed by SANDY HISER
Clockwise from top: Photographer Chris Martin braves the woods to shoot for Newnan-Coweta Magazine; Pyrotechnician Beth Neely stokes the coals; NTH Media President Billy Thomasson and Editor Jackie Kennedy sit and chat while everyone else works; Charlie Neely kept the shoot on schedule by providing an endless supply of marshmallows. Click on image to enlarge.
To get a Scouts photo for our Family Issue, we needed a Scouting family, and the Conolys, of Newnan, perfectly fit the bill.
Will and Meredith and their children, 12-year-old Griffin and 10-year-old Myra, probably were not aware of how strenuous the job would be when they agreed to serve as our model family. But they hung in there with us for two hours with most of that time spent hunkered over a hot fire on an already warm afternoon. In between setups, the kids played by the lake. Griffin found a toad, and Myra perfected her marshmallow toasting skills. Mom and Dad exuded good nature and patience even as we asked them to “look this way, look that way, chin up, tilt head.”
From top: Myra Conoly prepares for her cover shoot; Griffin Conoly discovered a toad during a break between shots; Our constant companion through the shoot, Sugar takes a quick break to scratch her belly. Click on image to enlarge.
Newnan-Coweta Magazine Publisher Beth Neely built and maintained our campfire, proving her skills are not limited to writing, editing and managing a newspaper and magazine. Professional photographer Chris Martin traipsed through the woods to find the perfect spot for shooting, as our creative director, Sandy Hiser, delegated assignments and shared shot suggestions. NTH Media President Billy Thomasson dropped by to make sure we were all on task – but mostly to provide encouragement. His grandson, Charlie Neely, was the life of the party and an invaluable helper who gathered sticks for the fire and delivered marshmallows to our photo subjects to replace burned and/or devoured ones.
All said and done, our NCM family did our best to illustrate the simple pleasures of spending time together as a family.
NCM