New Watch self promo image

While setting up for a food shoot I had this idea. I got a new watch recently and before it got scratched I thought it would be fun to shoot. I placed it on a shiny black piano bench but it was not shiny enough. I had to build a little dam out of modeling clay into which I poured water to get the reflection I wanted. This was a lot harder to shoot than one might think. I now know that most watches you see in ads come from the factory with the bezel removed. So thats how they avoid the reflections. It is hard sometimes to make yourself shoot for self promotion when you have paying work to be done. However I am a believer in always taking time to sharpen your saw. (Steven Covey reference)

Look around your world

Here is a quick pano I did last night.  I was working away on a photoshop project for a client when I noticed the light out my window.  I just happened to have camera handy (imagine that)  I snapped 6 images and stitched them together to approximate the view from my office.

This post is less about the image and more about my suggestion that we all take the time to look away from our monitors and take in the world from time to time.

New Woodside image

I have been shooting a lot of imagery for Woodside and here is the latest.  It will run in INK magazine starting next week. This is T and he was great to work with.  Great intensity and great skin.

Sunday

Today we met at 6:30 for a quick breakfast and then tour of the Obras (hospital where we are working).  There are hundreds of people here to get screened for possible surgery or other treatment. Many have walked 2-4 days to get here.  As soon as the tour was finished we began unpacking the supplies brought from home and setting up the 4 operating rooms for tomorrow. The medical personnel were busy from moment one screening patients for possible surgery.  The art team is doing a great job of keeping the children occupied.  What an amazing experience.  Wow!

Headed for Guatemala

I am leaving early in the morning to document the Medical Mission Foundation trip to Guatemala.  Taylor, my 16 year old daughter will accompany me, while I shoot surgeries, clinic visits etc.  She will be working in the art center to entertain the children who will be waiting for family or procedures of their own.  I will probably not update this blog but will be providing the imagery on the MMF blog.  I encourage you to check it often this week.

 I am including a couple of photos from our packing party.  We met a couple of weeks ago in the caves so that every person going on the trip could pack a 49lb. bag to take with us on the trip.  They are loaded with medical/surgical supplies and meds. Click and bookmark this link.  Adios  http://mmfworldnews.typepad.com/

Beautiful Horses

Saturday we had the opportunity to shoot horses and their owners on a beautiful farm.  It was an amazing 400 acres east of KCI, beautiful rolling hills, ponds and historic barns.  Here is a quick triptych I put together as it really shows the connection between this lovely lady and her horse.

Mediterranean excuse

I am sorry for not including recent posts but as many of you know we have been in Europe for the last two weeks.  We started in Rome for a few days then boarded a ship and traveled to Florence, Monaco, Barcelona, Palma on the island of Majorca, Tunis, Palermo Sicily, Naples and then back to Rome.  To say it was amazing is an understatement.  I shot around 75GB of images and will slowly try to post some here in the coming weeks. Here is one that is so indicative of the way the Europeans dine.

Bodies Beautiful

I had the fun assignment this week to work with two trainers from an area club.  They wanted updated fitness model shots and since they are a couple, some shots together.  This one is G rated.  As you can see the tattoo work is really amazing.  Whether you are a fan or not, these truly are remarkable.  Their obvious dedication to their bodies has paid off and the results speak for themselves.  As a gym rat myself this was a treat.

Aerial photo of my building

Here is an aerial photo I took a couple of weeks ago to show the old elementary school we live and work in.  My studio is on the second floor and we live on one half of the third floor.  This shows our windows looking to the south.  

From Downtown:

When coming here from downtown it is easiest to take I-35 south, get off at the cambridge circle exit, turn to the right and then almost immediately left onto greystone ave., you will be driving parallel to the on-ramp to I-35 south.  Continue driving and greystone turns into shawnee rd. go over the green bridge and after 4 small houses on your right you will see our building. 

From the south:

When coming here from the south, i.e. Shawnee, Overland Park etc. take I-35 north toward downtown, exit at Rainbow/7th street trfwy, turn left at the bottom of the exit going back under the highway, continue .1 mile passing under the green bridge, to the next stoplight and turn right on Stine ave., that road winds up and to the right and will dead-end at Shawnee rd., turn right and go over the green bridge you just passed beneath, after 4 small houses on your right you will see our building.

 If you are going to use mapquest or google map, the address is 610 Shawnee rd. Kansas City, KS 66103. Click on the photo to view it larger.

Food shoot for AWG

Today we shot food here at the loft for AWG, Beau and I love it when Tracey and Maryann come to cook and shoot.  Here are some quick shots of the shoot and one of some packaging that was recently printed.  Remember, buy BEST CHOICE, it really is better than the brand name items.

Goza&Honnold Law Firm

Here are a couple of shots I did last week for attorneys Kirk Goza Brad Honnold and Roger Nail.  Their offices are really great.  Clean, crisp and modern. Imagine that, they were designed by my buddies at Eldorado.  These images are for their new website and I wanted to try and show a bit of their environment.  Tricky with lots of mixed  light sources and color temperatures but I am happy with the end result.

Portrait in new space

This is one of the first shots I did in my new studio space.  Great natural light with north windows.  This is for a lady who is starting a new exercise blog.  Kate is fun and easy to  work with.  I love the high ISO with the MkIII.

New Woodside ad running

Here is a new ad running in local papers.  I was hired to shoot new imagery for their re-branding campaign and it has been a blast.  There are brochures, banners and now ads.  Everyone at the club has been absolutely great to work with.  My hat is off to them for running a great business from top to bottom.

Judicial Portraits

I am excited to have been selected to shoot the portraits of judges retiring from both the state and federal court.  Today Judge Holliger came to my studio and  I shot this image.  It will be printed 20x30 or so and then hung in the courtroom from which he retired.

I went to the courthouse earlier this week and spent quite a bit of time studying the oil paintings that had been done of the past judges.  I tried to emulate the style and especially lighting used in those historic portraits.  I took the task of providing a bit of history to the courthouse quite seriously.

New commercial interior shot

Yesterday I had the opportunity to work with a local designer Renee Grissom for a magazine article about her work.  We shot this conference room in Overland Park.  I tried to make the photo consistent with her work.  Clean lines, elegant but yet very striking.  It was quite a small space and a bit tricky to make look "normal" while using a very wide lens (16mm).

New home

Well, this week was comprised of moving all of my stuff from Digital Labrador  into my small home office.  It resembles a submarine navigation station, lots of electronics crammed into a small space.  The big difference is that when I sit at my laptop I have an amazing view of downtown.  The look of the city varies so much from day to day.  I promise to post some pics of the view soon.

As many of you know I have been looking for studio space to rent now that the new location of Digital Labrador does not have enough room for me to shoot in.  The cost was through the roof!  I was looking at 3,000-4,000 a month just in rent. In this economy?  Crazy right? So, after doing a lot of soul searching about space and the type of work I shoot, the solution was right under my nose. 

We live in this great old three story brick school building that just happens to have an extra room that was originally to be the developers office.  Our awesome neighbors Jim and Jean, who own it, have agreed to let me rent it.  It is about 14 feet wide and 28 deep and has its own entrance.  There are nice north light windows and a wall with some exposed brick.  Amazing how the best solution was right here the entire time.  

There is no kitchen in the space so for my food shooting, I will shoot out of our loft.  I just had my first food shoot here and it worked out great.  I have some pics of the setup and will post soon.  The food stylist loved cooking on our Viking range and there is tons of counter space.