Steve Sheppard Photography Blog

Governor Bob McDonnell announced today that ICF International, a global professional services firm, will establish an operations center for Business Process Management in Henry County. The $15 million center will create 539 new jobs.

Here are a few photos from today. In the first photo, ICF International’s Chairman and CEO Sudhakar Kesavan greets Governor McDonnell outside the Henry County Administration Building before the event. For anyone looking for a job, the company will hold a job fair this coming Friday and Saturday at the Liberty Fair Mall in Martinsville.

I shot the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 today for the Associated Press along with AP Photographer Steve Helber and Don Peterson. Here’s our photos from the day – AP Images. The last 10 images should be mine, but check the byline because the sort could get reordered. It was a great race.

I covered the second night of the Martinsville-Henry County Chamber of Commerce’s Fast Track 2011 trade show tonight. I shot all these photos with the Olympus E-5 and 14-35mm F2 and 7-14mm F4 lenses somewhere between ISO 800 to 3200.

The first photo was the moment a computer generated Martinsville Mayor Kim Adkins as the winner of an iPad from HD Web Studio. The second photo is a booth that was showing window pane film technology that insulates windows from cold and heat. That was pretty cool. The third photo is from the SPCA booth. Someone needs to adopt this dog. The fourth photo is Lucky Dog meeting the Blue Ridge Bear. Lucky Dog has a good home. The fifth photo is the StarTek booth. Yes race fans, that’s Timothy Peters on the right in the sixth photo.

To end this tour of the evening check out that last photo. A double image of Martinsville Bulletin photographer Mike Wray on the big screen. It reminds me of the Double Mint girls – double the fun.

I shot the Martinsville-Henry County Chamber of Commerce’s annual trade show, Fast Track 2011, tonight. Here are a few photos from the event. The last couple of photos were shot with the Olympus E-P1 as I was goofing around walking back to Mike Wray’s pickup. I walked to the show from my studio and Mike was giving me a ride back.

I shot the Tums 500 and the Kroger 200 this weekend at Martinsville Speedway for the Associated Press. You can see some of the photos from the Kroger 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race here.

You can see our take from the Tums 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race here. Steve Helber, Don Peterson and I were shooting for AP. There are also a couple of pool photos from Jaren Tilton of Getty Images.

The Harvest Foundation held its annual Nonprofit Leadership Summit today at the Spencer-Penn Center. Here are a few photos from the morning session.

The Martinsville and Henry County Chamber of Commerce held its Annual Meeting on Tuesday night at Chatmoss Country Club. Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling was the guest speaker for the evening. When Lt. Gov. Bolling came into the ballroom he grabbed my tie and asked, “What’s on the tie.” It was a tie with little shrimp in bowls of grits.

The last photo is of former Delegate Barnie Day who won the Fred Herring Award.

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell came to Martinsville and Henry County today and brought $2 million with him for Monogram Snacks. In the last photo, Governor McDonnell and House Minority Leader Ward Armstrong share a moment.

The company also provided a meal for first and second shifts and gave recognition to the employees for their outstanding service.

Here are some of the photos I shot at the “JAM” session tonight at Patrick Henry Community College with my Olympus E-P1 and a 25mm F1.4 lens.

The first photo is the Carolina Chocolate Drops. The second photo is Helen White and Wayne Henderson. The third and fourth are Montana Young. The final photo is Dom Flemons, of the Chocolate Drops, going crazy on the banjo.

Wayne Henderson and Helen White, Montana Young and the Carolina Chocolate Drops along with the Junior Appalachian Musicians “JAM” program students performed at Patrick Henry Community College. If you have never seen these folks perform you have to go.

I’ve seen Henderson, White and Young in the past, but tonight was the first time I had seen the Chocolate Drops. They were outstanding. Thanks to the Harvest Foundation for bringing these groups here to promote this music to area youth. The first photo is Montana Young, then there are several of the Chocolate Drops and the final photo is White, Henderson and Sara Grabade.