Jeremy Charles Photography + Design

This month’s Summer Travel issue of Oklahoma Magazine features my cover shot, as well as photographs shot for several of the feature articles, notably a follow-up piece about the senseless murder of two Weleetka girls almost 1 year ago.

The idea for the cover story was to portray the classic American summer family road trip. I enlisted my friends Scott Heberling and Casey Evans to be Mom and Dad, while OK Mag designer Mark Allen’s son happily posed in Norman Rockwell-esque fashion. The owner of this sweet car was understandably trepidacious about putting so much luggage on the roof, so we shot the luggage separately and combined them in post.

Above is writer, radio personality, Oklahoma music historian, and playwright John Wooley. I had the  pleasure of shooting John for an article regarding his one-act play Time Changes Everything, which is a speculative conversation between Oklahoma music legends Woody Guthrie and Bob Wills.

Above is Green Builder, and my friend, Micky Payne of Happy Hammer, Inc. Micky’s been a part of many important projects in Tulsa, notably the renovation of Cain’s Ballroom, although this article focuses on his recent environmentally conscious projects.

I was charged by Oklahoma Magazine to cover the inexplicable murder of two Weleetka girls Taylor Paschal-Placker and Skyla Whitaker. Their bodies were found by the side of the road a short distance from Taylor’s then-residence. The crime was brutal, and seemingly random. Nearly a year after the incident which has shocked the community, the killer has not been found.

Taylor and Skyla’s classmates Misty and Trista designed a commemorative yearbook page for their friends. Below, the home of Taylor is left abandoned, her family unable to withstand it’s proximity to the crime scene.

In every assignment, the photographer looks for the key shot that defines the story. Mine was the Okfuskee County sherriff. It would have been the capstone to the story had he shown up for the shoot. So it goes.