Spring is in the air

                                             Without winter, spring would not be SO SWEET.

GIVING is the UNITED WAY

     "Kindness in words creates confidence.  Kindness in thinking creates profoundness.  Kindness in giving creates love." - Loa Tzu

     Since 1887, the United Way has been focused on advancing the common good and mobilizing the caring power of communities around the world to GIVE, ADVOCATE and VOLUNTEER to improve the conditions in which they live.

This year, A2Z and myself helped our local chapter, with the concepts, design and photography for the 2010 Report to the Community.  Here are a few shots from that shoot.

Testing Testing

I was digging through an old folder labeled TeST SHoTS and laughed pretty hard at this one.  These types of memories make me love this job so much.

Brandon, Me and Jeff...

Insight Magazine-Mohit Uberoi

For those of you who don't subscribe or come across the monthly issue of Insight Magazine, here is the opening spread for this months issue on Mohit Uberoi.  It is one of my favorites this year.  Even if it is only February.

Design Council*Print With Purpose

Ahhhhh UTOPIA, a place where the print industry is alive and thriving.  That's how I said it last year and I see no reason to change it.
Once again, I had the pleasure of covering the U360 Competition this year held in Chicago.  Being the type to occasionally enter a contest myself, it is really interesting to be a bystander in a room with tables full of incredible work and see how they get whittled down to the finalists. Tough crowd too.  Some beautiful work never saw the light of day.
Congrats to the winners...


Sidebar:  The W Hotel was Awesome!  Very Swank!   I even found a face.

If you are into diner food, you have to check this place out. They have been around since the 20's and it taste like it.  You are greeted with homemade doughnuts fresh from the fryer and everything on the menu is made from scratch.  It truly rocks.

Lou Mitchell's

565 W. Jackson Blvd

Chicago, IL 60661

An Evening with Victoria Vox

I know, I know, the tree is curbside, the leftover cookies and candy are in the garbage and you've all started working out and have moved on from the holidays.  Well, better late than never, I have one more morsel of goodness that I would like to share.  An original Christmas song sung by the one woman band, Victoria Vox on December 23rd at Ledgestone Vineyards.  It was a very cozy night.
Happy New Year everybody!

A Day at the Farm

Most of you reading this blog already know a bit about me, and that I'm no stranger when it comes to photographing kids.  Most of the time it's for a specific reason, ie: a kid drinking a glass of Quik, a baby in diapers or a little tike indulging in a triple scoop of ice cream.  What you DON'T usually see, are the many families and children that I shoot throughout the year, just for the fun of it.  It's an opportune time for me to just sort of, stand back and let things happen on their own, while I capture the moments that happen naturally.  It's a time when I am able to take photographs without thinking about a specific "vision".

The shoot was with 3 brothers, 2 dogs, and a few horses.  Normally, I wouldn't show these photographs, but, like the family I recently photographed, I also grew up with two brothers... out in the country.... surrounded by farms, dogs, horses, and tree forts.  And, for some reason, I just felt like showing a few of the photos I took of them this past fall.  I guess it sort of felt like looking at my own family photo album.  Except I had a sister too(I didn't forget about you sis).
There were plenty of precious moments - those "magical" moments that just happen completely on their own, without direction or decree.  I think I ended up processing out nearly 200 images.  However, I will spare you some time and show you just a few of those moments.

The Grape Crusher

The bronze "Grapecrusher" statue of Napa Valley was created by sculptor Gino Miles.  The statue is dedicated to the workers who labor in the vineyards.  It weighs 6,000 pounds and stands 6 feet tall.

I grabbed this shot on my way in to the valley for a conference.  Good timing.

PaSSiNG THe TiMe

To and From.  These are some of things I saw and captured to and from Houston.

LooSeLeaF

Kids nowadays; what are they thinking??  I'm sure you've heard that question before.  Well, just a couple of weeks ago, I found out what these kids nowadays ARE thinking.

Recently, I did a photo shoot involving MANY kids, from mere tots in grade school all the way up to text-savvy high school students (OMG!  LOL!).  I know how kids nowadays have a severely short attention span (and patience), so in order to help pass the time for the grade schoolers and make it less like torture for the OMG'ers , each student was given a notebook and a pencil.  I then told them to write their hopes and dreams or draw a picture or whatever they wanted to jot down.  Basically, ANYTHING to keep them pre-occupied while I took their photo!

And here is what these kids were thinking...

WooF WooF

A shot I took out at the Grand Tetons. Aren't clouds great?

Special Privileges

Not that there aren't many, but one great thing about being a Photographer are the opportunities that can come from being one. Yesterday, I was given the chance to enter a CLEAN ROOM for a photo project. The client asked me if I would be ok with putting on a full body suit to go in. I laughed... Are you kidding me? I almost had one leg in it mid sentence. I love being able to go where most cannot.

I sort of felt like an umpa lumpa, except without the green hair and orange skin. Oh, and not as short. Oh, and not as much candy to be had. I did have gum in my pocket.

I love this job!

TooT TooT

OK, I'm not usually one to toot my own horn... at least I don't think I am?

However, today I am very excited. You may remember my blog post "I Executed Matt's Baby".

It explains the SPARK project that Matt and I worked on last year. It was AWESOME for Matt to win Peoples' Choice at the Addys for that project. It is always rewarding to see a client win an award for something they hired you to help them with. That's really what it's all about. Be that as it may, I took a photo from that series and entered it in the 5th Annual Spider Awards, an international black and white photo contest. And guess what...

not only did it... http://www.thespiderawards.com/presentation/winners.php?x=p&cid=41

but... http://www.thespiderawards.com/presentation/poy.php?x=p

20/80 20 percent of my photos are strictly my own. 80 percent of them are a collaborative effort of many very talented individuals. This one was very collaborative. Matt Bellisle - the brains behind the whole thing, also the maker of things in the shot as well as post production and layout. Julie Gardner - the finder of clothing and stylist. Rick Nadke - the model.

Thank You. This is for all of us.

UTOPIA

Ahhhh UTOPIA- a place where the print industry is alive and thriving. Last Thursday I had the pleasure of photographing the U360 Competition.

Not only did I get to stay at the American Club in Kohler, WI (very nice) but more importantly, I got to meet and photograph some amazing designers (very cool).

It was interesting to be able to witness the judging process. 100s of print pieces lay across yards and yards or neatly linen covered tables. All waiting to be selected to move on to the next round or be left to serve those in which it was made and nothing further. I couldn't help but think about the process that goes through my head when choosing images for the Addys and why one thing wins over another. With that thought playing in my head and watching the judges deliberate over the entries, some answers were revealed, sort of. Now I can't tell you much about what was selected, but I can tell you that I was surprised. Shocker right? Don't get me wrong, most of the pieces that were selected were awesome. You know, those pieces that you see that instantly make you wish you had a hand in it. But, on the other hand, there were a couple pieces that still boggle my mind. The best way for me to describe it is "simple", and some times simple is what it takes.

Here's what I came away with from my U360 experience:

PRINT LIVES

ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPHY LIVES

K.I.S.S. sometimes...

U360 Competition

We are introducing U360—a new competition for 2010 that is the next generation of U B the Judge. U360 is a celebration of the role print plays in today’s marketing mix. U360 will embrace excellence in communication, design, and execution of projects. '360' reflects that the judging will take on a more holistic or 'all around' assessment of the project - from concept and writing, imagery and design, and finally quality of print and bindery execution.

Our new competition will move from an event-based, peer judging platform to review by a North American panel of creative, communication, and print professionals. Winners will be included in a showbook distributed throughout North America, the Utopia website, and in press releases. An exhibit of the winning entries will be available for local market events through your Utopia sales representative (based on availability).

H@PPY HoLiDAYs