By Karrisa Olsen
With snow totals breaking 55 inches this winter in Philadelphia (and counting…), Sean and I felt like kids on Christmas morning when we touched down in Miami last Wednesday night. Waking up to 80 degree temperatures, sunshine and an authentic Cuban breakfast (our first of many cafe con leches) couldn’t have better prepared us for a full day of meetings.
Our first stop was at the fabulous offices of Bravo Group, located along Biscayne Bay, who pride themselves on their multicultural and diverse staff. The creative team huddled around as we told them what Wonderful Machine is all about and passed around a vast selection of portfolios. Seeing as the agency often produces TV spots, it was important to share a handful of photographers that excel in a combination of stills and motion, like David E. Jackson and George Kamper. Among the books, Colombia-based (but soon to be Atlanta) photographer Fernando Decillis was a favorite and his mini-book leave-behinds were scooped up quickly. Some noticed familiar scenes from Miami in Sonya Revell‘s vibrant portraits, which caused some to group around her iPad portfolio. The Bravo staff also recognized the advertising work of another local photographer, Pete Barrett, and were delighted to find out that he was just around the corner in Jupiter, Florida. After chatting about our stock resource, we began to pack up and say our thank yous. We were honored to meet their talented team and headed off to our next destination with positive vibes in our pockets.
LGD Communications was second on our list and we were instantly greeted by their adorable office dog, Maxie, who unfortunately was too excited to sit still for a picture. Here, we presented some of our photographers who specialize in lifestyle, resort and hospitality, which pertain to all of LGD’s clients. As the creatives showed enthusiasm about seeing print portfolios, they gave us an idea of how the agency goes about hiring photographers or purchasing stock and we filled them in on some ways we can help them in the future. Robert Holland was appreciated for his water shots, Dana Hoff for his hotel work, and Chris Baldwin for his colorful youth lifestyle collection. Florida photographer, Steve Sanacore, had lifestyle and resort photographs that caught the attention of most, if not all of the attendees. We were happy that we could bring some local photographers to the table (literally) that they weren’t already familiar with, like Josh Letchworth, whose book has a charming handmade quality to match his coastal lifestyle work that makes you want to cruise along a beach highway with your surfboard.
The third and most untraditional meeting was with MAPS Production House, which Wonderful Machine has worked with on productions in the past. We connected with producers Nicole and Margaret and were lucky enough to get a tour of their incredible studio locations from owner and mastermind behind it all, Paulie. MAPS is a one-stop-shop for production and works with some of the world’s largest clients. Sean and I marveled at their intricately designed studio spaces and admired the feeling of creativity and community both the team and studios shed. Paulie was also kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule to give us a tour of the neighborhood of Wynwood, where every building (most are rehabbed warehouses) are painted from top to bottom with mind-blowing murals. Street artists from around the world travel to Wynwood to create their art, which makes it one of the most colorful and inspiring places I’ve ever been.
Later, after we did our fair share of sweating (too much information?), we met up with some of the photographers we had been promoting all day along with crew page members at the Biscayne Tavern for a few beers and bites to eat. Everyone was so friendly and a pleasure to hang out with, sharing their tales and triumphs of the business and life in Miami.
Before we had to head back to winter weather, we had one more meeting to tackle. We brought a handful of our greatest fashion and lifestyle photographers for Perry Ellis International. The creative staff there was high energy, taking the time to look through each and every book. They grabbed all of the promos and leave-behinds that were left, and some took photos on their phones of their favorite books for memory. Perry Ellis has a broad collection of brands around the world and were interested in seeing more than just the obvious fashion images. The sports portraits of Jason Myers seemed to really resonate with their golf brand, while the fashion work of Specular struck up their alley as well (the ladies enjoyed his common subject: attractive men). Juan Lamarca, was also a topic of conversation as his style was similar to a shoot PEI had just completed, and was extra appealing because of his impressive motion work. The star of the show though, was Vancouver-based Evaan Kheraj, whose delicate and soft portfolio was unlike any they had seen.
After a quick Cuban lunch at Versailles, we sadly bid farewell to Miami, hoping we’d be back someday soon. Sean and I met some great people and saw some beautiful sites during our short visit. We’ve been missing it ever since.
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