Exploration with Culture
I know Ryan from the local community on Bainbridge Island, and as we got to know each other, I asked to come and shoot him at work in his shop. As I walked into his space, I realized what an extreme artform this age-old process is. Lots of heat. Huge machinery. And tons of force. Here is a test phase of more shooting to come with blacksmith artisan Ryan Landworth.
Hana Organic Skincare has a new line of all-natural organic products, which I had the pleasure to help showcase with product photography. We threw in Ali Lorenz for something different, added a brush of essential creme down the right side of her face and shot her profile to come up with the above ad. Go check out Hana Organic Skincare online or at the Bainbridge Island Farmer’s Market every Saturday.
Thanks to the “shameful” state of our country’s Senators, the expanded gun-buyer background check failed yesterday with a 55-45 vote against the plan. Without tougher gun-control laws, the US Senate potentially disregards the safety of our country’s children and citizens, allowing equal ease to gun access, and essentially setting up continued failure on the ban of assault-style weaponry and high-capacity magazines. What school, Town Hall, movie theater and crowded shopping mall is next?
A simple carport test shoot on a Sunday afternoon for young Alexandra Lorenz who recently signed with Seattle Models Guild. It was fun, casual, and slightly chilly in April’s afternoon shade. With three strobes (one beauty dish and two soft boxes) and a bounce for fill, it was all Alexandra.
Barn Owl Builds – owned, operated and built by Casey and Joshua Zautke – let me invade one of their spaces as they prepared a conference table for a client. It takes an immense amount of skill to form recycled pieces of wood into a solid, effective piece of furniture. But that’s what they do. Barn Owl Builds custom selects each piece of salvaged wood for your furniture and then commences the true art of craft, creating a piece of furniture for your office, home or party den. More photos to come as I help them build their brand and market their business with product and environmental portrait photography.
I’m stoked to share this award from One Eyeland, as all the entrants were top-notch! And with the final months of school coming to a close, these awards and recognitions only increase my passion and drive to succeed in the industry of commercial photography. Below is the winning series titled His or Her Hands.
The Beekeeper 2012. Shot in my backyard as a fellow beekeeper and I harvested the honey from the hives.
Tracy Lang transitioning from a landscaper and accomplished large-scale woodblock print artist to the art of tattooing. Here she practices at home, surrounded by her inspirations, while her daughter watches over her shoulder.
Kelly Foote can either be found surfing the Pacific Northwest, surfing anywhere around the world, or holed up in his shaping trailer creating the boards he loves to ride. What he does quickly becomes second nature.
Robert Carlson is an internationally-acclaimed glass artist, creating amazingly complex pieces of philosophical shapes, ones that emerge from the depths of his subconscious. He peers through the mirrors of everyday life.
Matt Kuntz spends a late summer’s afternoon working on his Ford Mustang. There is still much work to be done.
A list of all award winners can be found here.
Last week my buddy and fellow photographer Paris Gore stepped into Tracy Lang’s Ryderville Ink realm to experience his first tatt. He wanted a skeleton cedar tree. She designed it, sketched it, and then drew it under his skin. It was nice watching a friend feel the pain while photographing. It made my time under the needle more enjoyable (the beer is a prop in the above photo).
Hot off PS6, I’m stoked with my most recent image. Shot yesterday with Casey Zautke of Barn Owl Builds, he and his brother Josh own a customized furniture company. Each piece of reclaimed wood is hand-picked specific for each order. Here, Casey runs a thick fir plank through a joiner in order to flatten its surfaces as they begin constructing a conference table.
Over the next couple of months I’m thrilled to be working with them, creating content for their brand and new website.
Location: Barn Owl Builds – Seattle, WA
Camera/Lens Specifics: Canon 5D Mark III with Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM Lens
16mm, 1/60 sec at ƒ/10, ISO 100, tripod, composite.
Post: LR4 & Adobe PS6
Tracy Lang moves from huge woodblock prints to the art of the tattoo. Welcome the new Ryderville Ink. Unlike any tattoo I’ve seen before, her Tsunami Over Mt. Baker wraps the right shoulder with a pinhole view of Mt. Baker as the body’s shoulder blade carries a wispy yet powerful Japanese-style tsunami over its summit. Bad ass. And if you would ever want a piece of art on your body, it would be by Tracy Lang of Ryderville Ink.
I shot this series of images as Tracy’s friend Shelley from Whidbey Island sat through the final three hours of work.
I invited Matt over on an unusually warm late winter day in the PNW. Two ideas: Matt in his element pruning trees outside (above); Matt taking the outdoor technique indoors and getting a little carried away (below).
This blossoming flibert tree (also known as a hazelnut tree) is a sign of the beginning of spring. The pollen on each flower is loaded, and the slightest gust of wind releases plumes of the fine yellow dust. Honey bees were loving it, one of their few choicest sources of food this time of year. Matt climbed the ladder. I positioned lights and posted on top of his car. Snap.
Banzai pruning is an artform, same as large-scale pruning, but on a different level. Instead of setting up Matt to look like a Zen master delicately snipping away at this miniature money tree, I wanted him to look guilty, cutting away his profits with shock and awe. Maybe it also reflects the scale of environmental damage that the fracking on the Bakken Shale in Montana and North Dakota cause, as well as the further advancement of permitting for the Keystone XL Pipeline. As an individual, spending his days outdoors working with trees, Matt chooses the preservation and cultivation of nature over the growth of the “money tree”.
Cameron Karsten's Imaginarium 