July is one of my favorite months of the year, and as if it couldn’t get any better, we advertised on two of my favorite industry magazines’ sites this month. Our web ads appeared on both Print and HOW’s websites, two reputable design magazines. Here’s a brief breakdown of each site:
Print is a bimonthly magazine about visual culture and design. Founded in 1940 by William Edwin Rudge, Print is dedicated to showcasing the extraordinary in design on and off the page. Covering a field as broad as communication itself—publication and book design, animation and motion graphics, corporate branding and rock posters, exhibitions and street art—Print covers commercial, social, and environmental design from every angle. Engagingly written by cultural reporters and critics who look at design in its social, political, and historical contexts, Print explores why our world looks the way it looks, and why the way it looks matters.
Founded in 1985, the HOW brand began its life as a print magazine. Today, the brand still includes an award-winning magazine, but has grown to encompass a host of products and events created to serve the business, creativity and technology needs of graphic designers, whether they work for a design firm, for an in-house creative department or for themselves.
I was happy to promote six photographers this month, each with a compelling image to showcase. Below is a little about each shot:
This image was from a personal project. I wore these sunglasses last summer all the time and one day, I broke them. I really liked the glasses, I couldn’t just throw them out, so I kept them for a while. Later I decided to photograph the glasses for memories. Everyone has a memory of losing his/her favorite things. Broken sunglasses, stained t-shirts, or worn-out shoes, the list is endless. I thought I would share this bittersweet feeling through an image. My grandmother used to write Haiku a lot. This image is like my way of writing haiku.
The image was from a testing session for a potential project that never ended up seeing the light of day (lack of budget, the classic excuse). The initial idea was to capture a series of portraits to feature a local university sports teams. I wanted to create a soft pallet with an edgy light setup that highlighted the build and shape of the athletes. The image has served as a great portfolio piece and has received a great amount of feedback.
I was on an assignment in Cape Town, South Africa shooting on a Masterfile production. It was basically kids and moms in the kitchen. I happened to see the little girl looking over the counter and I knew we had a great shot. We tried a few different props such as cookies and candy for her to look at, but the apples worked best, visually and for healthy eating and such. Anyway we shot there for about a week with art directors Felicia Cohen & Vicki Schelstraete. It was a great experience and I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to go to Africa. It is still one of my favorite jobs ever.
This was a personal project. A friend of mine had a vintage Mini Cooper that he wanted to sell. So he brought it over to shoot for his eBay listing. Another friend of mine (the woman in the car), happened to be there. For fun we went shopping for wardrobe, lit it up, and did some shots of her out in the parking lot. I then composited the image with a background inspired by old films I had grown up watching, shot using green screen and not quite keyed to today’s standards. I never intended for it to look “real.”
This photograph is of Jack Passion, Freestyle Beard World Champion. For the past few years I’ve been tracking various subcultures and attempting to create portraits of devotees. I traveled to Austin, Texas in early 2011 to photograph the winners of the Misprint Beard and Mustache competition. I’m currently working on a book of portraits of bearded men (and women)! Beard clubs are becoming increasingly popular, and with good reason. Their meetings and events are all about beards and beer, and are a lot of fun. Other subcultures that I’m currently photographing are roller derby, surfing, and brew masters.
I try to update my portfolio at least twice a year with new material which is non-commissioned. We have this beautiful pool situated right alongside the ocean, it makes for really great photos, where the blues of the pool just roll onto the blues of the ocean and sky. It’s really difficult to get crap shots here. Armed with a Hasselblad, P30 back and a battery pack, my assistant and I arrived at this pool two hours before last light. It was one of those missions where we had no idea what to expect and nothing was scripted. The characters would emerge as if they were waiting for us (and they were). At the main diving pool we met Grant and Rich, two part-time stunt boys working in the film industry. They were more than willing to get some air, show us there skills and pose for the camera. At the next pool we met some characters who were more than happy to get in front of the camera, I think they were spurred on by the vodka they had consumed that afternoon. Often when there is no plan and I just get into my car and head off looking for shots, that’s when the best photos happen. Allow it to develop in front of your lens rather than push it and always shoot in first or last light…the magic hours.
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