In 2012 I was named the Official Photographer of the Louisiana Bicentennial!
I can often be located at 30°26’31.99″ N 91°10’56.33″ W.
My name is Frank McMains and this is my photography-ish blog/website/personal soapbox. I live in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and like the place very much. I have a B.A. in Religious Studies from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and an MBA from Louisiana State University. I owned and ran a bar called Red Star in downtown Baton Rouge from 2000 until 2012. Prior to that I was involved in historic preservation and urban revitalization work in one of my city’s oldest neighborhoods. I got my first camera, a Pentax Spotmatic, when I was 13. Around the same time, my grandmother gave me my first typewriter.
I am actively involved with the goings-on of the place I call home, serving on the board of WRKF, the local NPR affiliate, and on the board of BREADA, the Big River Economic and Agricultural Development Alliance. I have received an Award of Merit from the Louisiana branch of the American Institute of Architects, was recognized by the Baton Rouge Business Report in their Annual “Top 40 Under 40″ and by Gambit Magazine for the “10 People to Watch” list and been the subject of numerous articles. Projects I have played a part in have been featured in publications ranging from DWELL Magazine to Time Out New York, the New York Post and many others. I am also a roaming reporter for the New Orleans based, WWNO radio program, hosted by Poppy Tooker, Louisiana Eats. My writing and photography has been widely published (see selected client list below) and it has even won some awards of its own. Additional plaudits are available upon request but modesty demands I leave out some of my more questionable accomplishments. My official and reasonably updated resume is available for your viewing pleasure here (control or right-click to download the file) if you are interested in such things. I am also a member of the Professional Photographers of America.
In addition to regularly contributing to regional and local publications, I work as a freelance photojournalist. Ironically, I am a terrible speller and a poor editor of my own work, so please forgive the inevitable errors. It is a blog after all.
This website started in 2004 (for many years it was called Lemons and Beans, before that it was Chemical City, yikes) as a place to post recipes, travel diaries, musings, rants and whatever else I thought passed for a “blog”. It has been loved and it has been neglected. In early 2010 I breathed some life back into it and things have been going gang-busters ever since.
I like your pictures, how can I get one to call my own?
Prints of all my work are available by clicking on the Buy Prints link or emailing me directly. For reasons of both organization and time, not all (or even most) of my prints are listed on the retail portion of the site. But, they are all available for sale. So, please contact me if you are interested in any images that you do not see listed under the Buy Prints link. [NOTE: There are some issues with the e-commerce module, it no longer allows you to input shipping choices. Until I get this fixed, all sales will go out UPS ground. If you have problems, email me at frankmcmains@gmail.com]
I live in Baton Rouge, why should I pay for shipping?
A bug in the previous version of my e-commerce software did not allow for a “local pickup” options. This problem has been corrected in the latest version. However, if you still have problems with the site trying to make you UPS a print across town then please email me.
But the size is all wrong!
Full frame, professional digital cameras, just like film cameras before them, produce an image that has a 1:1.5 ratio. But, for reasons that no one really understands, standard frame and paper sizes don’t usually come in that ratio. If you plan on professionally framing a photo you buy here then size is not a problem. The framer will be able to accommodate the print. However, if you want to use a standard frame (5×9, 8×10 e.g.), that’s okay too. The print will have to be cropped a little to fit the frame but I can do that for you before I send it out. Just email me and we can make sure your print fits your needs, literally and figuratively.
Blue Border and Square Thumbnails, WTF?
Many of the older post have not reformatted properly with a recent site redesign. Thus, the WordPress template will sometimes put a blue border around some of the main images in blog posts. I fix these as I go back through them, but it will remain a problem until a full, manual adjustment is made to the site. Sorry about that. You may also notice that on the Buy Prints page the thumbnails for the images are square even if the images listed for sale are not. This is another weakness of the e-commerce software I use. Just click on the image and a full view of the target image should pull up on the same screen. Don’t worry, I would not send you a botched crop if you bought a photo. You know me better than that.
I need a photographer! Are you available for hire?
Of course! I am available for all sorts of freelance/for-hire photography work. I photograph all kinds of things: dogs, buildings, children, professional portraits, products, inaugurations to obscure offices, anything you like. Just ask. Rates and booking information are available by emailing me directly at frankmcmains@gmail.com or visiting the PRICES page.
Please direct conventional mail to:
Frank McMains
222 Laurel Street
Baton Rouge, LA 70801
Phone:
(225) 603-4861
Selected Client | Photo Usage List
Louisiana Eats!
Fast Company
inRegister
Meat&Poultry
WIRED Magazine
Kracke Consulting
Beausoleil Restaurant and Bar
Calgary Boys and Girls Club
MESH Design
X-Design
Ruffino’s Resturant
Louisiana Bicentennial Commission
The Commercial Appeal— Memphis, TN
WAFB Channel 9, Baton Rouge
WKNC 88.1 FM— Raleigh, NC
Roux 61 Restaurant
The National Wildlife Federation
Together Baton Rouge
Spenser Magazine
Center for Planning Excellence (CPEX)
Episcopal High School
Silicon Prairie News
Baton Rouge Capital Area Transit System
The Baton Rouge Area Foundation
The Houston Press
10/12 Magazine
Livingston Parish Convention and Visitors Bureau
Woodville/Wilkinson County Main Street Association
Prison Photography
The Takeaway PRI/WNYC
Louisiana Healthcare Connect
Petz Plaza
The Chicago Tribune
Country Roads Magazine
East Baton Rouge Parish Library System
Bank Risk Matrix
Sunflower Healthcare
Centene Corporation
WHYR Baton Rouge Community Radio
Skyhawk Security
SF Weekly
Merge Records
Couyon’s Texas BBQ
Indian Country Media Network
W.L. Gaiennie Company
225 Magazine
BRZoom
El Consejo, Guanajuato, MX
WWNO 89.9 Pubic Radio
WRKF 89.3 Public Radio
In Register
Ducks Unlimited
Los Angeles Times
Baton Rouge Advocate
Best Buddies-Louisiana
Of Moving Colors
Culture Candy
DIG Magazine, Baton Rouge
Punk Domestic
Forum 35
Travel Off the Radar
Schmap New Orleans Guide
Baton Rouge Business Report
Vox Discipulorum, Germany
World Joint Club, Japan
Red Stick Live
Canadian Tourism Commission
Southern Spaces
5 O’clock Crows
Paste Magazine
The Red Cake Event Planning
Manship Theatre
Now Public
Shuffle Magazine, North Carolina
BetterGulf.org
Co-op Bookstore, Baton Rouge, LA
Dear Frank,
I received a link to your photographs and notes from a Google Alert I have set up for Saint John of God. I am appreciative of the sensitivity of your notes and so I would love to give you some history of Saint John of God Hospital Granada, Nicaragua. It is intriguing to come across the town name in Nicaragua and I wonder which came first SJOG Hospital or Granada. The possibility is that the Saint John of God Brothers built there because of the town’s name.
St John of God – John Ciudad- devoted the last ten years of his life caring for the sick and homeless of Granada, Spain (1539-1550) Portuguese by birth he died on his 55th birthday. His followers of whom I am a member living in Dublin, Ireland brought his legacy, the charism of St John of God hospitality, all around the world and we are to be found to this day in over 50 countries.
Don’t forget that your amazing pics are on the new WHYR site WHYR.org. Thanks for letting us use them!
You are correct! The oversight has been remedied. Thanks for running such a great radio station!
Last November you wrote an article in Country Roads about the Religious Murals of Gregory DeWitt, which I really enjoyed. I recently saw the Christus in the apse at Saint Meinrad Archabbey Church and was wondering if you can provide any insight as to the meaning of the wings and rings that are at Jesus’ feet? I have searched the web and cannot find anything, nor can I locate the book you mention, Living in Salvation, by Fr. Adam Begnaud. Do you have it, or it’s ISBN?
Thanks!