Featured Artist and former Photography Instructor for the City of Belton, long-time News Photojournalist

Welcome! Thank you for visiting my website - I invite you to take a take a look around - check out the galleries - they are public images from some recent shoots as well as from my random travels throughout Texas, Minnesota and beyond.

Here is a recent time-lapse video I created from the October 13, 2012 Minneapolis-St. Paul Zombie Pub Crawl - SOOOO much fun!

I recently relocated to the Greater Twin Cities area this fall after spending more than six years in Central Texas. As a reporter and photographer for the Killeen Daily Herald from 2006-2009, I covered the Killeen City Council as well as a number of high profile murder trials in Bell County. 

Now as a photographer full time, I work primarily events and sell my artwork both online and at various venues as a vendor. I was featured this past year with an exclusive art exhibition in Texas that was on display for 3 weeks at the Viva Les Arts Center. I'm looking to do something similar here in the Minneapolis area.

My Photography Experience

I have more than seven years of experience as a published photographer, five of which were spent shooting for newspapers in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Texas. As a photojournalist, you are challenged with finding good shots in ordinary situations - nothing posed. But at the same time, I was a beat reporter, so building contacts was a key ingredient as well. So I'm quite well accustomed at interacting with people and building a rapport with them - then building a story with my photos.

Tech Stuff - What I Shoot

Not to lose you here with a rampant display of geek brovado, but I feel it's important to point out a few differences between a professional photographer and a guy who owns some nice camera equipment. 

First off - I use a Nikon D700 as my primary camera body and a D300s as my secondary/backup. I have 7 or 8 lenses (it's always going up and down) that include a Nikon 50mm f1.4G prime/fixed focal length lens, a Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 DX wide angle, a Nikon 20mm f2.8 wide, a Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 - I've got my eye on a Nikon 135mm f2 fixed telephoto lens that may phase out my 70-200 altogether. For most any shoot I do, I will use no more than two lenses.

Now - it's one thing to know the terminology and what all that mumbo jumbo actually means. But it's an entirely other thing to be able to apply that knowledge immediately and smoothly. Right now, you can go to Best Buy and pick up a 14.2 megapixel Nikon 3100 for about $500 with a lens - some places bundle it with a 75-300mm zoom. Already, you've got more megapixels than my D700 or my D300s - both are 12.1, just one is a FX the other a DX. The D700 retails for $2,500 - the D300s for $1,600.

You can hold $5000 or $500, and for 95% of what most people shoot, you'll get equal or better results from the cheaper camera. In other words, the nominal use range for an entry level SLR is wide enough to cover day-to-day uses. And those boundaries can be extended a great deal with a little knowhow - you don't need a $3,000 camera upgrade to shoot your kid's basketball game without a flash - pick up a 50mm f1.8 off craigslist or ebay for $100 - put that on, set to manual, aperture F2, drop your ISO to 1600, shutter at 160 - and you're home. With those settings, you can stop motion on a car going 35 mph through downtown at midnight with mediocre street lighting.

One of my favorite photographers said "Buying a $7,000 Nikon camera doesn't make you a photographer, it makes you a Nikon owner."

I provide a balance of artistic poses to get the classic look you're looking for along with years of experience and a photojournalistic approach to get gorgeous, candid moments you never knew you wanted.

To schedule a session or request more detailed information on photography services for any day of the week, call (254) 833-3608 or send an e-mail to justin@justincoxphotography.com.

Check us out on Facebook: www.facebook.com/nightanddayphotos.

Professional References

Some of my professional references are included below from my time as a reporter and photographer at the Killeen Daily Herald. Ask any of these individuals about his or her experiences with me; they'll tell you in their own words.

Jimmy Don Aycock, Dist. 54 State Representative

Ed Mullen, former Mayor of Harker Heights

Henry Garza, Bell County District Attorney

Buck Harris, longtime Killeen area defense attorney

Ted Delisi, Political Strategist, owner of Delisi Communications in Austin

Greg Schannep, Retired Colonel and U.S. Army Chaplain, Regional Director for Congressman John Carter

Sam Murphey, Harker Heights City Councilman, former District Director and Military and Veterans Liaison for U.S. Representative Chet Edwards

Nancy Boston, Chairman of Bell County Republican Party

Scott Cosper, Killeen Mayor Pro-Tem

JoAnn Purser, former Killeen Councilwoman

Juan Rivera, Killeen Councilman

Paula Miller, Killeen City Secretary

Tim Hancock, Mayor, City of Killeen