Web Ads: Feature Shoot

by Mark Harris

April has come and gone, and so have another round of Wonderful Machine web ads. For the generally rainy month, we decided to brighten things up by placing four GIF ads with happy photos over on Feature Shoot, one of our old favorites. Their site is a great resource for photographers, photo editors, and just about anyone interested in great photography.

For this round of ads, we selected two portraits, one landscape and one food shot. The first shot, a mother and child, comes from Madison-based portraiture photographer David Nevala. It’s such a sweet, heartfelt moment that we couldn’t resist featuring it. David was kind enough to give us a little background on the photo:

This image was shot on assignment for Organic Valley, on a family farm in California. I’ve shot for this client over the past six years, on farms across the US. In Organic Valley’s photography, we always feature the actual farmers, and this shoot was no exception. We spent two days being led around their expansive farm and this shot happened in the waning moments of the shoot.  As I was dodging cow patties, my assistant nudged me and nodded toward this sweet moment. The creative direction on these shoots are simple and honest; show what makes each farm unique and present the farmers as they are. Organic Valley is just now rolling out their new carton designs, which feature my photography (see below). It’s been the first time I ever thought having my picture on a milk carton was a good thing.

The second photo featured was shot by US and Thailand-based travel and portraiture photographer Aaron Joel Santos. It made us ask, who is this mysterious girl with this overwhelming gaze into the world above her? Posed against a bush of purplish leaves that perfectly complements her dress, the colors also went well with the Wonderful Machine orange that you see on the last frame of this ad. Aaron gave us a little view into the shoot and the city it took place in:

This image is from a fashion shoot for Sula Clothing, out of the UK. I went with the model to Tam Dao Hill Station in northern Vietnam to take the photos. Tam Dao always has a bit of a mysterious overcast feel to it, and I wanted the photographs to have a bit of a dreary, mystical element to them. The designer used a lot of deep violets and indigo in her collection, and this dress matched up perfectly to a wall of purplish leaves nearby. From there, it was as simple as having her lean into them.

Our third ad was a serene landscape shot by Spain-based portraiture and travel photographer James Rajotte, captured in the Sierra Nevada. It features a lone rider (who, actually, wasn’t alone in the full photo) but the crop added a bit of Old West charm to the ad.

And lastly, this beautifully scrumptious food shot by Detroit-based food and drink photographer Joe Vaughn completed our round of April web ads. Here’s what Joe had to say about the photo:

Shot at a summer heirloom harvest dinner at the height of Michigan’s tomato season, this image is farm to fork at its finest hour. James Beard Award Winner and Food Activist Alex Young of Cornman Farms and Zingerman’s Roadhouse served up these Michigan heirlooms and vegetables, literally just hours after being picked from his backyard farm, a mere 8 miles away.

Before I take almost any bite, I generally snap a shot. It’s a personal food journal.  And it’s not for weight loss or tracking fat. I just admire the relationship between a chef and his finished plate. The funny thing about this shot is, that is was my dinner.

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