That Bald Guy that Takes Pictures

            It was suggested to me that I should reintroduce myself periodically. I don’t like it. I’d much rather be photographing or digitally painting you. I’d rather be photographing wildlife or hiking through the mountains. I’d rather be trudging through the snow in negative temperatures to get that one image that I seek with every adventure. I’d rather be talking with my friends’ kids, who always seem to brighten my day. I’d rather be doing a lot of things than trying to come up with words to describe myself. Here we are, however, and since you’re here….

            My name is Corey McDonald and I’m thirty-four years old. Yes, I’m that young. I’ve had several people call me a liar (when I was twenty-six and they thought I was thirty-six). I shaved my beard and that helped but it won’t be long before it comes back. I’M ALSO VERY SINGLE. So if you’re a woman, thirty-four or a little under, boyfriendless/husbandless, drug-free, and have all your teeth…well, let’s just say holler.

            I grew up in Monroe County, Alabama. I know, you think you've never heard of it but you have. If you’ve ever read To Kill a Mockingbird, that’s my hometown and believe me when I say nothing has changed in a hundred years. It’s a dry county, too (although you can buy alcohol in the city limits). I graduated from Excel High School in 2008 with about forty or fifty others. I started out at Monroe Academy until the fourth grade and my first day at Excel was miserable – bullied and made into the butt of many jokes because of my last name. You know, no originality in jokes in the fourth grade. I never traveled much as a kid – didn’t even leave the state of Alabama until I was well in my twenties (I did visit Pensacola a little bit, although I still need a GPS to get there).

            My favorite place in Alabama is Huntsville. That’s about four hours north of me and well worth the drive. Some great food and a lot to see. I remember that I could get groceries and food delivered back in 2018 when I was working with a studio in Madison. I thought that was just awesome. A small town kid seeing all this for the first time ever – including super markets like Kroeger – was eye-opening. Plus there’s some really smart and talented people in Huntsville (it’s the Rocket City!). The schools are amazing (James Clemons is so massive it felt like a college campus).

            Texas, though…I love Texas. I visited Texas for the first time in 2019 but I didn’t get to really see it. It wasn’t until 2021 that I got to see Dallas for the first time. What a dang game-changer. So many people, so many cultures, so many possibilities. Stores were open after eight o’clock, I could get food after nine o’clock, and there was actually things to do after five o’clock. I love the people there, too, not just in Dallas but from all over: Lubbock, San Antonio, Houston, Amarillo, Fort Worth…they’re so welcoming and they’re responsible for me really taking an interest in the whole state. I also love Montana – I mean, who doesn’t? It’s Montana! And Colorado is amazing as well – I’m very partial to the Springs but I haven’t visited everything in Colorado yet.

            I never forget where I’m from, though.

            My small little town has been my home for thirty-four years so far. I don’t know how much longer I’ll be here but I grew up on a farm surrounded by cows and electric fence. We used to have goats but they were more trouble than they’re worth – for us, anyway. They were dumb goats, always getting their heads stuck in the fence to eat the grass on the other side. Newsflash, folks, the grass isn’t always greener – especially when you’re surrounded by it on your side already. My time growing up a farm kid helps with my other job at Saucer Farms, though it’s a little different. I work there in addition to running my business full-time.

            The Saucers also got me in church about nine years ago. There was a time when I didn’t believe in God or have any faith. It’s still a struggle. I’m surrounded by wonderful Christians, though, so that helps. It definitely isn’t easy. I currently attend Frisco City Holiness – but I’m also non-denominational. I am not a this or that. I’m a Christian. I don’t care about governing bodies or this association or that association. I’m a Christian. I could attend Baptist or Pentecostal and still be a Christian. I’ve had family make fun of me for that – not the Christian part but the Pentecostal part. Doesn’t bother me one bit, though. I attended McCullough Christian Center for several years but after gas prices went up, I needed to get closer to the house on Sundays (it was a forty-five minute drive on backroads). I still love MCC, though, and the family I made there.

            My actual family just got bigger. My dad married his longtime girlfriend and so now I have a step-mom and step-siblings, sisters- and brother-in-law, and several nephews and a niece. I have a half-brother and a half-sister on my mom’s side and several aunts and uncles. My Granny passed away a few years ago. Right now (Christmas-time) was her favorite time of the year. I miss her little Christmas village beneath the tree that I wasn’t allowed to touch but touched it anyway when I was little.

            I’m trying not to name folks in this piece but it’s kind of hard. You see, I want everyone to know what kind of friends I have because they’re awesome. Their kids are awesome. But at the same time, I know how many people see this. I can see how many people are reading, have read, and how many people are on it presently. So protecting their privacy and names are pretty important to me. Just know that they’re awesome and very few. In fact, most of my friends are related to each other. That’s how small the circle is (and not simply because it’s Alabama).

            My best friend in the whole world for the last eleven-and-a-half years is about two-foot tall, doesn’t say much, likes bacon, eats whole bottles of ketchup with nothing to go with it, and enjoys my reaction to her affinity with garbage and cookies. Her name is Starbuck, a black labrador retriever. As I type this, she’s snoring on the couch dreaming about running (I assume). This past summer I got to speak to the Twin Cities Professional Photographers in St. Paul, Minnesota and teach a class in New Richmond, Wisconsin. Starbuck got to go with me. We drove for twenty hours straight there and twenty hours home, just the two of us. I think it was a huge relief when she saw the driveway and knew she was about to be free.

            We both love food, though. I love southwest-style dishes, all beef, venison, and most fish and crustaceans. My favorite drink was Coke but now it’s water, coffee, and milk. I’ve been sugar free for two years (mostly). My favorite drink-drink is bourbon or Jack whiskey, although I’ve become partial to Jameson.

            I am bald but it's growing back thanks to an all-natural product (yep, it's a product plug, too) called Spartan. I wear hats. I like wearing cowboy hats and western-style clothing. When I'm at home it's Crocs and socks. I wear glasses and contacts.

            I like music but I don’t listen to it often unless I’m on a tractor or walking. In fact, in the previously mentioned road trip to Minnesota, on the ride home we didn’t turn the radio on the entire time. Twenty hours of silence so I could think and my brain could work without distraction. Fantastic and highly recommend it. If I have to tell you my favorite music, it’s kind of like my brain: a jumbled mess. My one and only playlist consists of Slipknot, various Country artists, Snoop Dogg, Tupac, and classical artists and groups like Two Steps from Hell and Ludovico Einaudi (whom I listened to on repeat for four hours one time).

            I do love movies and television. In fact, the first thing I remember wanting to be was a filmmaker. I was accepted into the Savannah College of Art and Design film program in 2012 but had to give that up. I’ll get to that. Firstly, my favorite movies are more modern than most film aficionados; my favorites aren’t favorites because of the acting or the directors or the writing. I love them because of the behind-the-scenes specials and the colors used in the films. I’ll list them out in no particular order below:

1.       The Lord of the Rings
2.       Avengers: Infinity War
3.       Avengers: Endgame
4.       Dark Knight Trilogy

            My favorite television shows are a bit longer.

1.       Game of Thrones
2.        Excluding seasons seven and eight
3.       Battlestar Galactica
4.       Stranger Things
5.       Bones
6.       Stargate SG1
7.       Stargate Atlantis
8.       How I Met Your Mother
9.       Lost
10.       Fringe
11.   Chuck
12.   Fresh Prince
13.   Lost in Space (2018)
14.   The Fall of the House of Usher (2023)
15. Rings of Power

            I love reading, though. I didn’t love reading prior to watching Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. It was only after watching these movies that I decided to pick up a book. The first thing I read was The Lord of the Rings The Fellowship of the Ring. I was thirteen and had a third grade reading level. Halfway through reading the first book (around six months of reading), my dad bought me the complete trilogy in one book (one-thousand eight pages altogether with small print). It took me another nine months to finish but when I did, I had a college reading level. I went through the Harry Potter series like fire. At the time there were only five books but by the time Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows hit the shelves, I could read that book in under six hours the first time. Which I did.

            This all lead to my love for writing, which you can see here.

            I hit a snag in 2012, though. I was diagnosed with cancer. This came about right after the plans were made for my attendance at Savannah College of Art and Design. Literally a week after the tour the doctor told me I had cancer. Most of you know that story but if you don’t, there were times I wanted to give up and quit, I was so sick. Nine weeks of hell. Chemo started at seven o’clock in the morning and I didn’t finish until around four o’clock every day for five days straight. Then the weekend, which I wanted to die. I had two weeks of recovery and then it was right back in the chair for another round. In 2018, just before my last checkup, I got a tattoo on my wrist with the cancer color on a ribbon and the words “2 Timothy 4:7.” I could put the verse here but then you’d never crack open a Bible to find what it says.

            Finally, I love traveling, food, cooking (best cook in Alabama right here – that’s right ladies, I cook).

            So I’m a photographer and an artist. You’ve read about my background but now you’re at the part that you already know. I’m a photographer. I’m an artist.

            All of the above lead me to this career. I love what I do. I love getting to know people and getting to make art and introduce my clients to the kind of quality they won’t get anywhere else. There was no art program when I was a kid. There are no art programs now. There is no art here. So it’s up to folks like me to introduce it, to share what we have and what we can do for those that have never experienced it.

            Experience.

            I never had portraits when I was growing up. I didn’t have a picture of myself that I liked ever. That’s an important thing to me. I never liked my looks. To this day it’s a struggle. I attempted suicide in 2015 – my looks weren’t the only thing that lead to it but it was certainly a factor. I always hated myself. Last year I decided to get a print of a portrait I made of myself and hang it in my house. It may seem a little over-the-top to you but for me, it’s a reminder that I matter.

            Every portrait I make of the person in front of my camera at any given time is a love letter. That letter has more words than any language on the planet can use. Whether you’re jumping onto an air mattress for me to create sports art or peeking through a bed of flowers, what I’m capturing is more than just a picture. It’s a moment in time. It’s an unbiased view of who you are. I can see it. I can capture it. I’m capturing a memory. I’m capturing the very core of who my clients are, who my seniors are, who the children are, and the amazing dynamic of each family.

            When I’m teaching my methods, my classes always end with attendees approaching me and saying some form of compliment on how they can tell I love what I do. I don’t love the attention. I love the work. I love the labor of the work. I love the story of the work.

            I know I’m not everyone’s photographer. I know that what I do doesn’t have value to a lot of people and that’s okay. What I do is not for everyone but for those that it is, they become like family to me. I actually keep up with every one of my former seniors. We may lose touch but that doesn’t mean that I’m not eagerly reading their social media updates years down the road, watching them grow, watching them get married, having kids of their own.

            I love it.

            I’ve had the best photographer friends, mentors, and organizations. I’m a member of the Texas Professional Photographers Association, West Texas Professional Photographers, Professional Photographers of Colorado, and Professional Photographers Guild of Colorado Springs. I don’t get to either group as often as I’d like for obvious reasons but I’m a proud member and proud student of classes offered by all four organizations. I have traveled across the country teaching and learning as I go. In 2025, I’ll get to teach at East Coast School in North Carolina, West Texas, and Colorado Springs, all three of which are home to my favorite photographers, friends, and mentors.

            I earned my Certified Professional Photographer designation in 2017, the same year I began my degree journey through Professional Photographers of America. I earned my Master Photographer degree in 2020. I began my Master Artist journey in 2018 and earned that degree in 2021. In 2022, I began the year with zero merits but earned my Photographic Craftsman Degree by November of the same year (a lot of speaking). I began my Animal Imagery journey in 2020 and received that designation in 2023.

            To put the above in perspective, there are photographers across the country that have been attempting a Master Photographer degree for six to ten years, sometimes longer. That journey is incredibly rewarding, incredibly challenging, and well worth it. My work improved with each result.

            I've also won many awards. I don't count trophies - only for the purpose of showing clients what they can expect and the quality that they are getting. I enter competitions for the thrill and the rush of adrenaline. I'm not a trophy-hunter - although I know several. I love the education - I'm always learning something to improve my work with listening to the judges' comments. I love the fellowship with my photographer friends (World Domination crew, iykyk).

            Thank you for reading this, if you got this far. I hope this suffices to reintroduce myself so that you know who I am and who’s photographing you.

            I hope when you’re ready to have your next portrait made, no matter what it is, that you give me a call because you want quality and a wonderful experience.

-          Corey McDonald

Master Photographer, Master Artist, Photographic Craftsman, Certified Professional Photographer, Accredited Professional of Animal Imagery

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