The last day of reviews was in Texas’s largest city, Houston. Luckily, our hotel seemed close enough to throw a stone at our first meeting. In the morning, we got up, drove across the street, and headed into FKM.
FKM, an advertising, marketing and PR agency, has an impressively long list of clients including Dell, Advanced Auto Parts, Bertolli, VW, ConocoPhillips, jetBlue and the Houston Astros. After switching elevators to reach their top floor offices, we finally made it to the FKM lobby. A cartoon style decor welcomed us, with large white furniture accented by scribbled black outlines.
Our contact came down to meet us and showed us to a conference room. Soon after setting up, a large group of creatives came in and started admiring the work. Many admired Trey Hill’s realism along with Jody Horton’s good enough to eat food photos, as they had been on the lookout for some good food photographers.
The FKMers were especially interested in the Wonderful Machine business model. They were excited to see how we organized our site, allowing them to quickly search photographers by specialty or location, and the fact that if they’re having a hard time finding the right photographer that they can always contact us. It was a very successful meeting, with a lot of good contacts made and a lot of portfolios viewed.
Next, Jess and I took a lunch break and had some delectable Tex-Mex dishes at a Guadalajara Del Centro. After going a little carb crazy, we headed back to the van for our last Texas portfolio meeting at Gensler, the global architecture and design firm.
The Houston office of Gensler has designed some amazing buildings and spaces including Hess Tower, Corpus Christie International Airport, and Valentino Vin Bar. Gensler also recently completed the Houston Ballet Center for Dance, which is now the nation’s largest dance facility. Not only does Gensler design buildings, they are very involved in the graphic design, décor and branding of the projects they work on.
Jess and I met with Gensler designer, Mick, who was happy to look through our architecture and home and garden portfolios. He says they are often hiring high-end architecture photographers.
Mick seemed to like all of the books we brought but gave a few extra compliments to the dramatic imagery of Evan Joseph and the crisp clean style of Casey Dunn and Ryann Ford. He enjoyed the work of Austin photographer Jonathan Jackson, especially his AIA Austin Home Tour booklets . He also liked Jeffrey Totaro and Dana Hoff’s styles.
After a successful meet and greet, we said goodbye, snapped a few photos and headed to the last stop on our itinerary, meeting up with our Houston photographers. We rendezvoused at Coco’s Crepes and Coffee for just that, crepes and coffee. A good group of our Houston photographers showed up and we chatted over exceptionally sweet treats. Rodolfo Benitez and I discussed Venezuela, his home country and where much of my family lives. Jill Hunter kept us laughing with her funny looking crepe and thoughts on Houston weather and Tarick Foteh told us about a music video he’s working on.
Eventually, Jess and I had to leave before we got a parking ticket (those Houston meter maids are on the ball). We said our goodbyes and headed to Hobby Airport. It was hard to say goodbye to the Texas sun, but we were looking forward to getting some rest on the plane. With the trip behind us we were able to reflect on just how successful, productive, and enjoyable it really was.
Look back at the Dallas and Austin portions of our trip.
After our three Dallas portfolio events, we drove down I-35 to Austin. Along the way we passed a giant caterpillar building and the infamous town of Waco. As warned, it was a somewhat boring drive, but Jess and I kept it lively with discussions of our favorite movies and photographers and just about anything we could think of during the three-hour commute.
Once we made it to Austin, we headed straight for our photographers happy hour at The Grackle. We made it right on time at 8 pm. Of course, photographers have a different sense of time, so being one of the first ones there, Jess grabbed some tacos from a food cart next to the bar. I staked out a spot for us to sit. Soon enough we spotted Adam Voorhes and Matt Rainwaters and the merriment began.
We had a great time with our Austin photographers and their significant others. After we sat down, the boys of Public School, Jay B Sauceda and Casey Dunn, arrived and then the rest of the photographers trickled in. Almost all of our Austin photographers came to the happy hour, (which turned into several happy hours) where we discussed anything and everything. From A Photo Editor blog, to the 6th Street cowboy, to estimating, we chatted about it all. It was great to meet everyone in person, and we sure hit it off, but we eventually had to pull away and say goodnight. However, before leaving I made sure to grab some to-die-for snacks from the food cart in front of the bar.
After a good night’s sleep we ate breakfast and headed to our first Austin destination, GSD&M Idea City. Founded in 1971, GSDM is a leading advertising and branding agency with their main office in Austin and a satellite office in Chicago. Notable GSD&M clients include Southwest Airlines, U.S. Air Force, American Red Cross and L.L. Bean.
We walked into their large offices and admired their lobby’s décor, including a large ampersand and a wall of cowboy boots. We sat down and started flipping through magazines on the coffee table, where we came across a photo spread where our very own Casey Dunn and Jay B Sauceda were modeling! The article was about Public School style and had some great Jay B and Casey quotes.
Soon our escort arrived and started to lead us upstairs. As we were going, I ran into an old advertising college buddy, David. He now works at GSD&M as a copywriter. I soon found out there was a large number of VCU advertising alum at Idea City.
We set out a large spread of books over four tables and Whole Foods catering (the Whole Foods headquarters is right across the street). Our contact rounded up the troops and creatives started walking through and looking at the books. Many recognized the local Austin names as well as Stewart Cohen’s motion work. A lot of the creatives enjoyed playing with Adam Voorhes’ 3D promos and thumbing through Jody Horton’s iPad. Casey Dunn and Ryann Ford’s interior shots garnered some attention. Michael Thad Carter’s Willie Nelson was also a hit as well as Blake Gordon’s breathtaking landscapes.
After the snacks were munched, the portfolios thoroughly examined, and the room emptied out, we packed up the books and went in search of lunch. Austin is a hotbed of restaurants, food carts, and bars. It was overwhelming deciding where to eat but we finally chose Mighty Cone, a food cart on South Congress. It was a tasty treat, with everything served in a paper cone. We chowed down on fried avocado, French fries and more…all served in cones. Once satisfied, we still had a little time on our hands before our last two Austin reviews, so we browsed a couple of the South Congress shops until our meeting at Milkshake Media.
Milkshake is a “strategic branding and creative agency that specializes in building brands that build community.” Their clients include Populous, The Lance Armstrong Foundation, and Trek. Our first impression of Milkshake came from the sign hanging above their front door—a unique metal object with pink neon lights and an attractive patina. This vintage meets modern theme continued throughout their office, with polished concrete floors, refurbished neon signs and a lot of giant pastel letter m’s.
We set up our books and started to discuss Milkshake’s photography needs. Their art producer and creative director let us know that most of their photography is lifestyle and portraiture oriented, but that didn’t stop them from enjoying Kevin Marple’s food shots. The CD said he was very familiar with Adam Voorhes’ 3D promo, as it’s his 3-year-old’s favorite office toy.
While we were chatting, we started hearing the popping of corks. The CD let us know that they were celebrating a new client. Jess and I got in on the celebration and were able to share a glass of Champagne. We enjoyed our conversations at Milkshake but soon after all the portfolios had been looked through and the glasses were empty, we had to pack up and said goodbye so we could head to our next meeting.
Our last Austin stop was at Advertising Age’s Southwest Agency of the Year, McGarrah Jessee. McGarrah Jessee has been getting a lot of attention lately for their creative work, interesting clients and beautiful new office building. We were excited to stop by the shop that created such notable advertising/branding work for clients like Shiner Beer and Whataburger.
We were invited by one of their art producers to come by for an end of the day review. We provided the books and snacks and they provided the Shiner (every style in fact). The meeting was a fun one, with a lot of creatives coming in and chatting about the photography. Everyone was into Matt Rainwaters’ Beardfolio, especially one bearded fellow who recognized many of the people pictured. He was actually heading off to Europe soon after for a beard competition. The group also enjoyed Matt’s “Party Terminator” leave behinds, saying it reminded them of a coworker (poor guy).
Most of the group was very into John Schulz’s still life, especially his beer photographs. Meanwhile, Jill Hunter’s serene summer porch photo caught the eye of one McGarrah creative, who stated that she’d love to relax on that porch.
After some Shiner, photography discussions, and some beard talk, we packed up and got ready to leave. Before leaving we got a tour of their stylish new office. Once an old bank, the designers had tried to stay true to the original styles and décor of the building, with vintage style furniture and colors. I felt like a character in Mad Men as we toured the agency.
Eventually we made our way out the door and headed out on the road again. This time to our final Texas stop, Houston!
Check back tomorrow to hear about the Houston portion of our trip.
Two weeks ago, after much planning and packing, Jess and I headed to the airport for another Wonderful Machine portfolio event. This trip’s portfolio tour would take us through Texas, with stops in Dallas, Austin, and Houston.
We left a rainy Philadelphia and flew to our first Texas destination, Dallas. As soon as we picked up our rental van, we made our way to The Old Monk to meet up with our Dallas photographers. The Old Monk came highly recommended, and I can see why. It was a beautiful Dallas day and their patio was the perfect spot to kick back, have a drink, and talk photography.
Jess and I had a great time shooting the breeze with our Dallas photographers. They were a great bunch and we definitely had some laughs. We discussed it all – Trey Hill and Chad Windham‘s motion work, extreme biking, triathlons, Cuba, and hand models. Chad told us an interesting story involving Danny McBride and Las Vegas and Van Ditthavong explained how he ended up in Texas.
After several drinks and some Tex-Mex suggestions later, Jess and I said our good nights. However, before heading to the hotel, we made sure to grab some enchiladas and chile rellenos at Chuy’s. ¡Que Delicioso!
Our next day started out bright and early. We basked in the Texas sunshine as we loaded up the van and headed to our first meeting at the agency TracyLocke. TracyLocke has a wide variety of clients including Pepsi, Playstation, HP, Nokia, and 7-Eleven.
Handtruck and cases in tow, we made our way up the freight elevators and entered into a playful office with walls decorated with Simpson’s characters and fun images representing their various clients. We met up with our art buyer contact and headed to what they call the living room. It was aptly named too, as it was furnished with a couch, side tables and a coffee table.
Jess and I spread out a selection of books around the coffee table as TracyLocke creatives made there way in and started sitting. They began to look through books and pass them around. It was a very “family style” review. One art producer asked how we decided which books to bring, saying she enjoyed the selection.
The group was quick to recognize Kevin Marple’s food work (which made them hungry) and was impressed with Adam Voorhes’ still life shots. Some other favorites included Jay B Sauceda’s cowboy portraits and Rodolfo Benitez’s “Celebrate Life” portfolio. Rodolfo had pondered how to present his wide range of specialties. Eventually, he decided that rather than focus on a style, he would focus on a theme. The result was a book that he felt showed his lust for life. The creatives really enjoyed the portfolio, pointing out that everyone in the book was smiling.
After everyone was done chatting and looking through the books, we packed up and left, but not before pinning Wonderful Machine mailers around the “living room” for some guerrilla marketing.
Before heading to our next meeting, Jess and I took a barbeque pit stop. We drove around until we found a promising looking spot called Hobbi’s Bar-B-Q. Walking in, the place was pretty bare, but a long line wrapped around the counter, so we figured it had to be good. We chowed down on some delicious Texas BBQ, hot and mild sauces, and mouthwatering sides.
After we were thoroughly stuffed, we made our way to our second meeting at both Boys’ Life and Scouting magazines. Boys’ Life is the official youth magazine of the Boy Scouts of America while Scouting is an adult-geared publication for Boy Scout volunteers and professionals. Boys’ Life annual readership exceeds 8.2 million and Scouting’s is over 3 million. Both magazines frequently hire photographers throughout the U.S.
Boys’ Life and Scouting share a photo department and we met with their very welcoming Director of Photography, John Fulton. John was happy to tell us about their photo processes, rates, and the types of photography they use. Since we couldn’t bring all of our action/adventure photographer’s books with us, we pulled up a few of their websites including Michael DeYoung and Nick Hall. Of the books we did bring, one of John’s favorites was Justin Clemons’. John liked the way we organized the different locations and specialties on our site.
After we’d shown all the books and asked/answered a lot of questions, John turned the tables on us, taking our photo with his enviable Leica camera. He then gave us a tour of the office, including his own space which was filled to the brim with interesting objects, photographs, and posters.
After the tour was over we said our goodbyes and made our way to our final Dallas stop at global cosmetics giant Mary Kay. Jess and I were very impressed as we drove up to their building. It was huge, with giant windows, a beautiful pink sign out front and designated pink Cadillac parking.
We walked into their lobby that boasted incredibly high ceilings and glass elevators. Jess and I waited for our contact while sitting on pink seats atop a pink rug. A woman from the art department came down to meet us and show us to the conference room. I introduced myself and teasingly introduced Jess as, “the muscle”, to which she gave him the once over and replied with a laugh, “yes he is!” From that point on I knew this was going to be a good review.
We set up in a conference room made of three glass walls that overlooked the lobby. Their art producers were happy to look through our collection of beauty and still life portfolios and to hear about Wonderful Machine. They have many shoots a year, sometimes a shoot a week. Their art producers especially liked Claire Benoist and Naoko Kakuta’s work but all of the books were looked through and complimented.
After leave-behinds were picked up and we had swapped casting horror stories, Jess and I made our way out. We declared it a successful first day as we loaded the van and began our drive to the capital of Texas, Austin.
Check back for the Austin and Houston portions of our trip.
