Please enter your email and website or LinkedIn to receive more information about our free and paid accounts.
Please enter your email address below and we’ll send you instructions on how to change your password.
After almost 25 years on staff at Southern Living, Hoover, Ala.-based travel photographer Art Meripol began his freelance career in commercial photography in 2013. He knows how to put people at ease while on location – creating an energetic yet relaxed atmosphere. His extensive portfolio made him the ideal candidate to photograph Sweet Home Alabama’s 2022 official vacation guide.
Art was contacted by Intermark Group, a marketing firm located in Birmingham, after seeing the work he had previously done for the Alabama Tourism Department. Art was the photographer for the book Alabama Barbecue – Delicious Road Trips written by Annette Thompson and photographed the trails seen in “The Official US Civil Rights Trail Guide” by Lee Sentell.
“I’ve photographed nearly all of the state’s iconic sites for Alabama Tourism”
The project took place at two separate locations – encompassing the beauty and history that Alabama has to offer as a tourist destination. The first location was the Alabama Gulf Coast, which is a 32 mile stretch of pristine, sugary-white beaches.
“This has great recreational appeal to families and brings in many vacationers from out-of-state.”
The weather was extremely hot on the day of the beach shoot. Temperatures were high with a heat index of 107. The crew set up several cabanas along the beach to provide shade and had multiple locations set up with cold beverages. This helped Art keep the equipment clean and cool on the sand while keeping his own energy level up for 11 hours.
I think I drank four bottles of Gatorade, six bottles of water, and several more fruit juices.
The second location was the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site in Tuskegee, Ala, where the legendary ‘Red Tails’ Tuskegee airmen trained. The site shares the story of The Tuskegee Airmen, who were among the first African-American military aviators in the U.S. Armed Forces and served heroically during World War II in spite of enduring the racial segregation of the U.S. military at that time and racial discrimination of the Jim Crow south.
The challenge Art and the rest of the crew encountered at the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site was shooting inside an un-air-conditioned hangar. Fortunately, they were able to open one of the large doors to circulate the air.
Art worked in harmony with the video crew. Trusting them to instruct and arrange the talent on set. For most of the shots, Art didn’t have the opportunity to meet the models before stepping in to shoot the stills.
It wasn’t ideal but it was what needed to happen
The post production process was seamless. Art routinely shared the images he’d taken with Executive Producer Chris Mann and Creative Director Lauren Barnett throughout the day. Downloading the images during lunch breaks so that both Chris and Lauren could review them. This process in turn helped Art stay on track, there was a deadline for the video and stills that was approaching quickly.
Art had a great working relationship with Intermark. They started with several pre-production calls to review the shot list, brainstorm additional ideas, talk about a color palette for the wardrobe, and review talent.
It’s always a kick when I receive a brief that uses my photos as examples of the desired look.
A large scale project involving two different locations and adhering to Covid-19 restrictions proved to be challenging. During the shoot there was a covid compliance officer ensuring everyone’s safety; only allowing two subjects on set at a time. Art juggled between being the only photographer shooting stills on a set with a 25 person production team and bouncing back and forth between two camera crews making sure he didn’t miss a shot.
As wonderful and challenging as this project was, Art was glad he didn’t have to make any of the tough decisions like picking the locations. Art has done stills on video sets a few times over the last couple of years and is comfortable working with them, the adjustment was working with such a large production team.
It was impressive watching how well-integrated their team was.
Working on Sweet Home Alabama’s vacation guide taught Art that sometimes you have to let go of control. Some situations will teach you to work with what you are given and find the balance between yourself and your client.
Words can’t express how good it was to work with Art. The crew was singing his praises, as well as the agency team. I, too, am so thankful for Art and his wonderful attitude and work ethic. The images are stunning and we truly appreciate him! – Executive Producer Chris Mann
See more of Art’s images on his Instagram.
Credits
Director: Chase Strickland
Executive Producer: Randy Mihalchik
Executive Producer: Chris Mann
Creative Director: Lauren Barnett
Producer: Sean Hobbs
Production Manager: Jerry Flippen
Director of Photography: Randy Arnold