Top Secret in Florida

Sometimes we do work that we can't talk about - this is one of them. It was a lot of fun and sunny and there were palm trees.



Credits:
Burns and McDonnell
Assistant - Adam Caselman

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Why do I do it...

So I typically use the blog to show off the new images, so I wanted to try and post some stuff that's a little less shoot based and a little more me based. I occasionally get asked "how did I end up here", pretty much all the time - it's the accent I think - and while it generally relates to me being in America and talking in a strange way, I think it could equally relate to my photography. So yeah, how did I end up here. I started off in a very different direction; I was going to be an architect, like my father, and wound up doing an exchange program to the University of Kansas - there's a long story there - and then wound up designing retail interiors and exhibits all over the country - several long stories there. I loved it, it was a really cool job with some really exciting projects...and then I started photographing them.

That was that.

I just bought a camera from Best Buy, and twelve months later I was done, I chatted to some wonderful full-time professionals, who critiqued and advised and helped me adopt the best practices. I went to the library and read, I picked up the camera and practiced, I looked and looked, at my work and other people's work and then just walked out.

So why?

I love the camera, I love the physical nature of capturing that fragment of time, that moment, I love the technique, the multiplicity of options to solve almost any visual option. I love the incredible range of styles.

That's why I do it.

So I take a lot of photos, a lot of photos, and sometimes I get asked what my favorite image was. Last year I finally had time to go home at Christmas and see my family for the first time in four years...yep, it sounds soppy but my favorite image was this outtake that really took things full-circle for me. There are some images I want to frame, some I want to frame and have in the house, but I don't have many images that make me this happy.



Credits:

Mum and Dad

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Here's the rub....Part 2

Part two of our mailer campaign recently went out and again, thanks for the ongoing feedback. On this one we opted for a postcard mailer so we could show off the artwork a little larger. This time we opted to use the rub as a hair tonic with my good friend (and fellow photographer) Phil Peterson stepping in to model for us. Also, that's Kate's hands are doing the rubbing. On the food - Trina prepped a beautiful tied pork roast and this was one of those occasions where we got to eat the props - we finished shooting this one just before lunch and without any obscure adulteration to the food Trina finished it off and we just sat down to reflect on a great shoot. Thanks to Sarah Thompson Lift who styled the head rub shot and made sure Phil left with his eyesight in tact - safety first.

Part three is coming up next. I hope you are enjoying the images.






Credits:
Food Stylist - Trina Kahl
Stylist - Sarah Thompson Lift
Assistant - Adam Caselman

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I Make Beautiful Kids...

And it's true...not of me of course, but of my wonderful friend Stephanie Malcy. It's my luck to try and capture a bit of that beauty and I got a chance to do that this year when I went to visit Minneapolis and visit some of it's wonderful agencies. Stephanie relocated with her husband Jay and her expanding family a few years ago and has always been a fantastic supporter of mine - particularly in designing my incredibly wonderful branding (both round one and two). So when I was on my trip I went by with a camera and forced her to let me take a couple of photos, ironically Merik (her eldest boy) has always been a staple in my portfolio (thanks Amanda Sosa Stone). This time it's Ryah I'm in love with.

So what's better - colour or black and white?



Oh, and here's Merik, being a little goofy.

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All of the Lights...

It's really good fun shooting architecture and sometimes we find that the simple things get really complicated to get a quick shot. This week we're out in Atlanta, shooting for Houlihan's at their Chequers location, focusing on the private dining rooms.

One of the details we love to capture are these simple "down-the-line" shots featuring the table setting and capturing the room ambience...for this one we ended up with nine lights and got a really nice shot.





Credits:
Chequers
Assistant - Adam Caselman

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Here's the rub...

So it's been a while since we last did a physical mailer, so we knew we had to come up with something that would stand out, amuse people and show off some really nice images. We were coming into Spring and Valentines Day was just around the corner, so we figured we'd make it a gift, with a twist. Kate, our resident genius, came up with the double entendre of a meat rub - so we could show some portraiture and some food imagery with a twist - in this case we went for "Give your meat a little rub...THIS MEAT" as the copy and went with a good old fashioned Kansas City strip for the meat. Thanks as always to Trina Kahl and Sarah Thompson for their fabulous styling skills as well as Chris Galloway our perfect "find" from Kate's morning workout at the gym. We heard some great feedback on the mailer and apparently there was a lot of use of the included BBQ rub. This is part one of a three part series - so get ready to see some more wonderful imagery soon.






And for those unfortunate folk who didn't receive the mailer we're sorry, but here's a look at the package:



Credits:
Food Stylist - Trina Kahl
Stylist - Sarah Thompson Lift
Assistant - Adam Caselman

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