September 2, 2008
Robert Gallagher, Wonderful Machine’s Los Angeles photographer, has been keeping busy with a variety of projects:
He recently shot Steven Spielberg, Harrison Ford and the other key people responsible for the Indiana Jones movies, for Empire magazine (UK). Steven was so impressed by Robert’s team and their technical improvisation that when the light changed suddenly, he remarked “you guys should all be making movies. I like the way you work. Low tech, low fuss, fast and effective!”. Paramount Pictures liked the images so much that they licensed them to promote the movie.
Robert photographed Harrison Ford in his private aircraft hanger, “home to an impressively cool fleet of planes. What else are you going to collect if you are both Indiana Jones and Han Solo?”, quips Gallagher.
Robert also just shot the Time magazine cover story about the religious leader Rick Warren. The photographer said that “for the cover shot, we set up a location studio area literally right outside the bathrooms of the church. It was the only area where we could reasonably black out the blaring sunlight, and shoot in a controlled lighting studio situation.” He said it was another “addition to the book i keep thinking about - ‘the five minute portrait’, ” due to the short window of time that he had to shoot Mr. Warren.
I know a lot of photographers with that story!
August 22, 2008
Susan Seubert has her fine travel photography featured on the cover and interior pages of the latest National Geographic Traveler:
I think Susan describes the article best:
The story is called “Authentic San Francisco.” It’s a part of a series of stories the magazine has been doing about classic cities with an emphasis on what makes the locations “authentic.” It was a fantastic assignment. I love San Francisco so it was great to spend two weeks covering all aspects of the city. I’ve shot many cover stories, but this is my first cover for this magazine. Working with National Geographic Traveler is always fantastic. It’s an incredibly professional organization and the photo editors really support you in the field, wether it’s technical issues (in the Caribbean I had a Hasselblad back fail and the assistant photo editor helped me track down a replacement) or helping you in the door to a difficult location (they always give you a letter of introduction.)
More about Susan:
We (myself and my husband, a retired photo gallerist) live part time in Maui because my husband is a surfer and also, let’s face it, Hawaii is glorious. We live about 15 minutes away from one of the best surfing spots in the world. (I have also just started surfing. It’s very fun!) We generally spend Spring and Fall in Hawaii to escape Oregon, which tends to be dark and dreary those times of the year. We also try to go once in January for the whales. A large portion of the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary is literally steps from our front door. It’s easy to spend the day watching them frolic in the ocean.
Since my business is portable, I am able to take assignments in either place at any time. (I keep a mini-office there).
FYI: you can see more of her work on her website or more from the San Francisco project on National Geographic Traveler’s website.
July 27, 2008
We’re proud to announce that the 2008 Communication Arts Photo Annual features 5 of our photographers. Their work was chosen out of 8,500 entries:
Nikki Ormerod, photographer
Erin O’Connell, creative director
Pikto Inc., client
Eryn. “Used for my e-mail and direct-mail promotion and for Pikto photobooks.”
Scott Goldsmith, photographer
Jennifer Poggi, photography deputy director
U.S. News & World Report, client
“The Democratic Battle in New Hampshire. Senator Hilary Clinton listens to a question relating to comments made by former president Bill Clinton during a question and answer session.”
Andy Goodwin, photographer
Cecilie Jones, art director
Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, client
Portrait of client Dominick Dunne for the company’s annual review.
John Loomis, photographer
Mark Murrmann, photo editor
Outtake from a shoot for Mother Jones. Fronza Luke, a 26-year veteran nurse, was wrongfully terminated from her job at a Birmingham, Alabama, hospital after not agreeing to sign away her legal rights.
Will Lew, photographer
“Farine Five Roses” [unpublished work]
-Note: Comm. Arts selected this series of three images
Congratulations, everyone!
July 17, 2008
Canon USA has nominated Aspen photographer Tyler Stableford as their newest Explorer of Light. “We are thrilled to have Tyler on our team,” said Explorer of Light administrator Steven Inglima. “…Tyler was my first choice for an edgy, lifestyle photographer. His work shows athletic dynamism, social consciousness, a sense of danger and risk — and is technically superb.”
Stableford has won numerous “Picture of the Year” awards (not to mention his cover image on the 2007 Communication Arts Photo Annual) for his dramatic images shot in challenging environments, including those of Icelandic glacier caves and Colorado miners. In addition, Men’s Journal named him one of the seven “World’s Greatest Adventure Photographers”, and he had two award-winning adventure photos selected by PDN magazine’s July 2008 Great Outdoors photo contest
As an Explorer of Light, Stableford will teach seminars unique to his niche of outdoor sports, lifestyle and heavy industry. “I am honored to be part of this exceptional team,” said Stableford, “and to have the opportunity to share my passion for photography.”
Canon has booked Stableford to present a seminar at the upcoming PhotoPlus Expo in New York City. The October 23 talk is titled “World-Class Stock: Generating Ideas, Gaining Access and Creating Exceptional Work.”
It’s hard to keep up with Tyler, as his latest shoots include:
- Two lifestyle assignments for Disney’s new travel website, shot in Aspen and Vail
- Photographing the Cabela’s 2008 fall outerwear, menswear and workwear catalogs in the Aspen and Crystal valleys of western Colorado.
- A cover shoot in the Rocky Mountains for National Geographic Adventure’s upcoming September issue
Book him now, while he’s catching his breath!
June 29, 2008
Charlie Rose discovered Max Gerber’s book, My Heart vs. the Real World, and did an excellent interview with our LA photographer. The newly-released book includes Max’s photographs and interviews with children living with heart disease. This is a subject quite familiar to Max, because he’s had a pacemaker since he was 8 yrs. old. Click on the image below to see the fascinating interview:
According to Max, heart disease is the most common birth defect in the world, with 1 out of 125 children having some level of birth defect. He says that his own experience with heart disease allows the kids to relate better to him, and he has received many words of encouragement from other children’s parents about the project.You can find out more about the book at the official website, and it’s available for purchase at Amazon.
“Max Gerber’s powerful portraits of children are intimate and beautiful. No other photographer could have made as strong a statement about these children. Max has lived their experiences, and he has shared his life with us through these sensitive and beautifully executed images. We get to know these children, we see them grow, we see their strength and their beauty.”
—Mary Ellen Mark, photographer
June 19, 2008
Chicago photographer Jason Lindsey recently completed a national ad campaign for CITGO, shot for the BVK agency and art directed by Scott Krahn. Here are a few of the layouts:
Jason said the bakery was actually a coffee shop, and they changed the logo in post. “The bread was hard as a rock and had been handled for hours by the 2 stylists so we did not try it. We did load up on caffeine and treats in the coffee shop.” 
Jason says there’s a lot of effort in making good advertising Lifestyle images appear natural. In addition to directing the talent to get real expressions, the fishing shot required talent casting, stylists, Winebago rentals, location scouting, props, and location permits. It turns out the dad who they cast, plus the boy’s real father, were actually fishing guides. I didn’t ask how cold the water was. 
June 10, 2008
PDN singled out our Philadelphia-based photographer Dustin Fenstermacher for a new series of photographer’s interviews on their website. Dustin’s ongoing Cat Show! project, which may have legs for a book, was the center of the interview:
That cat always reminds me of Mr. Bigglesworth from Austin Powers (and dare I say its owner bears a resemblance to somebody else from that movie?).
Dustin also had a few recent write-ups on the Exposure Compensation blog and Carpe Diem, a Spanish blog. For kicks, read the Google translated version.
Above are a few of my favorites. Dustin has more Cat Show! work on his website, too.
May 27, 2008
May was a good month for our photographers to be recognized: 6 were winners in PDN’s Photo Annual, and an additional 4 were nominated for the inaugural New York Photo Festival’s Photo Awards!
Tanit, Aaron, Brett, and Francesco’s work was nominated out of 15,000 images. Some of the notable jury members included Elisabeth Biondi (The New Yorker), Frank Evers (director of VII), and photographer Lauren Greenfield.
Tanit Sakakini, Boston-based, was nominated in two categories: Personal work/fine art - Single and Editorial - Single:
Tanit’s editorial portrait of Norman Mailer, nominated in the NYC festival, was also a winner in the 2007 Communication Arts Photo Annual (see it in our previous blog entry).
Aaron Hobson, out of Montreal, was nominated for his fine art series of Cinemascapes:
I can’t show all of the series in this post, but you should see the rest of it here.
I had the pleasure of attending the award ceremony, and spending time with Aaron and his lovely wife Brandy. They’ve been traveling around the country, visiting Aaron’s work in a variety of art galleries.
St. Louis-based Brett Bell was recognized for his untitled fine art series whose subjects are “united through their common disregard for acceptance”:
You can check out the rest of the series on his website.
And to prevent us from getting hungry too early in this blog post, New York food photographer Francesco Tonelli’s work for the hard-bound quarterly food publication, Art Culinaire, paved the way for his Editorial - Single nomination:
Congrats again to our nominees!
May 16, 2008
I was excited to attend PDN’s Photo Annual party this week, especially because six Wonderful Machine photographers were winners!
Misty Keasler from Dallas won in three categories (Magazine/Editorial, Photo Books, and Corporate Design):
Misty shot the hugging couple for Dwell magazine and the above right image for a Chronicle book of her photographs of Japanese Love Hotels. She told me the hotels serve as a place for japanese couples to find a little alone time (in a densely populated country).
Her third award comes from a campaign that she shot for Stetson, which we featured in an earlier blog entry here.
Alicia J. Rose, hailing from Portland, OR, won for her “Beast” image:
Alicia’s image appeared in the May issue of Elle magazine, and yes that’s a dead pig. The image was for a project showing the intimate connection between chefs (from the Portland restaurant Beast) and their ingredients. You should also see her colorful fairy tale series on her website.
Las Vegas photographer Darius Kuzmickas was recognized for his memorable website:
Darius also just completed a public art project featuring his photographs in eight foot high columns. His work is laminated between two layers of glass, has a steel base and cap, and is interior lit. I’ll post those images soon, or send Darius an email to find out more.
Atlanta-based photographer Stan Kaady’s 2007 project, “Old School” won in the “Personal Work” Category:
The images were of Powder Springs Elementary School in a community just outside of Atlanta. The school, built in the 1920’s, had been set for demolition to make way for a new library. “Many of my neighbors and friends attended school there”, said Kaady. “My goal during several visits there was to capture memories.”
For a closer look at the entire project, visit his “Projects” section at www.stankaady.com.
Keith Barraclough, in Washington, DC, won for his image of foxhounds (shot for a stock assignment):
This reminds me that my wife and I are looking to get a basset hound, the less agile cousin of the above hounds. You should check out Keith’s lifestyle work on his site, too.
Josh Cole, of Memphis, won for his image of the band Lynden:
The work was for the band’s packaging and promotional materials. You should also take a look at Josh’s clever toy photographs on his website.
PDN’s party was also very well done. The PDN folk are quite friendly, and the venue itself was beautiful. Capitale is a converted bank, and its main ballroom has a lot of charm. Most importantly, I got to eat a sugar cookie with a giant Livebooks logo printed on it.
It was also my pleasure to hang out with our photographers Misty, Alicia, and Keith, not to mention Daryl Lang and Kristie Nilsson from PDN, who were all in town for the show. I also had a chance to chat with Casey Kelbaugh, founder of the cleverly-titled and always interesting Slideluck Potshow.
April 25, 2008
With everyone taking their activities outside, what with the nice weather, I thought it appropriate to mention a few of our photographers billboards of late:
Thomas Magno’s landscape photography came in handy for this recent Sprint billboard campaign shot for Goodby, Silverstein & Partners. Kansas City is the “City of Fountains” and Nichols Fountain is a local icon, which made it difficult to get a clean shot on his first try. Thomas counted no less than 10 wedding parties littering the picture frame before deciding to return the following (early) morning.
Thomas’ shot above for the Walking Company, for ad agency Di Zinno Thomson, was actually NOT retouched to include the traffic light above. The art director preferred a more natural look, and Magno had a scaled miniature created just for the shoot. “I rigged the appropriate lighting (used slide projector bulbs powered by rechargable cordless drill batteries). Tested it here in Boston & had the model shipped to my Hotel on the Beach in Santa Monica. We would drag it out to the Beach each time we shot ( two sunsets and one dawn). The model had spikes so it could be held in the sand and not washed away.”
Thomas shot the image below for June Mountain Ski Area. It wasn’t a billboard (actually, the Walking Company ad above wasn’t either), but Thomas’ landscapes certainly fit the format.
Bill Cramer, however, did photograph this chef and her salad for a billboard ad:
Cramer shot this Philadelphia celebrity chef for Saladworks, a growing “make-your-own-salad” chain. And yes, it’s actually named the “Avocadolicious” salad. He shot the ad, which also is running in collateral, and another celebrity chef/salad ad for a forthcoming Saladworks campaign, all shot for the ad agency The Star Group.
