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

Interpretations

It can be as fun as playing with your favorite toy: or, creating your own toy! Tweak this, saturate that, move this, twist that. What one set of eyes sees can be quite different from what another set of eyes sees. That's one of the amazing and fun things about photography; your image can mean a million different things, to a million different people, yet still retain the core value of what the photo is all about! It's not just a photo; it's art!

Insight on Pro 1 Janitorial

Marie Krull, owner of Pro 1 Janitorial, was the subject. These are a couple of my favorite shots from the day of the shoot. What a pleasure it was to work with Marie as well as the staff at Insight and A2Z.

Robert Gates in Oshkosh

Defense Secretary Robert Gates was in Oshkosh today. I was there to cover it. He flew in to check out the M-ATV that Oshkosh Corporation is building for the military. Very impressive.

The real MEAT of it!

For the past 2 months, I have anticipated writing this post, but first, the images had to be printed. Now that they are printed, I am able to release them to you, and tell you all about the shoot. Alas! They say that patience is a virtue, and I guess it’s really true!

The images were used for the July issue of INSIGHT MAGAZINE. The subject was Mark Skogen. The idea for the inside spread was mine. The cover concept came from myself, Michael Miller and Jeff Amstutz of A2Z Design. The catalyst was Margaret LeBrun, editor and chief of Insight Magazine. The team work needed to execute this entire project is what I want to talk about.

Quite often, I hear the 5 words, "It's all about you, Shane". However, this couldn't be further from the truth. Without the help of so many others, this shoot would have never gone as smoothly as it did. Scott Ehlers, normally playing the role of photographer and all around nice guy, took the time to help make the table. This table is where all of the oranges sat, allowing Mark’s head to easily slide into place and become the “head fruit”, amongst the oodles of oranges. Bill K., normally the studio manager, played the role of my right hand man; taking care of setting me up, tearing me down, making sure everything ran smoothly and safely, and running cameras and files to perfection. Julie Gardner played the role of stylist; taking care of spreading out all the oranges, finding the perfect apple, making sure the meat counter was up to spec. and taking care of Mark’s make-up and overall comfort. Rob Resnick, executing all of my wishes on flawless post production to deliver another top notch product to our client. Not to mention, Donna and Carla taking care of all the scheduling and misc. logistics.

To you all...THANK YOU! Without a great team, great things may never come to be.

Vanity Fair's Proust

MY OWN LITTLE VANITY FAIR PROUST QUESTIONAIRE:

http://www.vanityfair.com/archives/features/proust

This is a great thing to do on a lazy Sunday morning over a nice cup o’ joe; after you have had time to let go of the Monday thru Friday grind, and Saturday has had time to soak in.

What is your current state of mind?

Excited for what's to come.

What is your greatest fear?

Aside from losing those that are near and dear to my heart or another world war I guess I would have to say having to move back into my parents basement. A slow painful death would suck too.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

Forgetting the name of somebody I just met(Selective Hearing in a bad way). Sadly, this is the third change of answer to this question.

What is the trait you most deplore in others?

Traitorous. Selfishness is a close second.

Which living person(s) do you most admire?

My Parents.

Which living person(s) do you most despise?

Terrorists. Life if frickin' stressful enough.

On what occasion do you lie?

I try not to. One lie always leads to more.

Maybe a little fib if it will make somebody feel more at ease.

What or who is the greatest love of your life?

Koko.

When and where were you the happiest?

When you make an obscure reference and somebody you are with GETS IT because they were thinking the same thing. Suh-WEEET!

Which talent would you most like to have?

Is being able to fly a talent? I dream about it a lot. Well, sort of. I guess I dream I am able to jump really high and far. Almost float.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I wish I had better comedic skills.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

I'll let you know when I'm dead, or maybe that question is best left to others.

If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be?

A Pro Skateboarder.

What is your favorite occupation?

Photographer.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

Everybody loves my work; only having to do it 3 months out of the year, while making enough money in those 3 months to kick it with Koko somewhere beautiful the other 9, would be perfect! I don't need much.

Who is your favorite hero of fiction?

Bodhi from Point Break. "Ain't it wild? That's what makes it so interesting. You can do what you want, and make up your own rules. Why be a servant to the law, when you can be it's master."

Although, Neo from the Matrix is riding shotgun.

Who are your heroes in real life?

The many that do incredibly great deeds that go unnoticed. Altruistic people are what keeps the world a beautiful place.

What is your most treasured thing?

This was the only question that bugged me. The word “thing” is defined as: “a material object without life or consciousness; an inanimate object.” Things shouldn’t be treasured; people should. But, since this IS a questionnaire, and this IS my blog, here is my answer: My wedding ring would be first and my Stephen Webster ring is a close second. Everybody probably thought I would say my car.

What is your greatest regret?

I shoulda taken that left turn at Albuquerque!

How would you like to die?

While sleeping.... for sure!

What is your motto?

"Today is another opportunity to have the best day of your life"