Amazon from A to Z

We covered the spectrum this year with Amazon, capturing 3 different campaigns for various departments. The first one was my favorite in terms of planing and logistics, and making sure the skill of anticipation was properly tuned. The 2nd and 3rd were more storytelling processes, highlighting the teamwork, effort and energy put into Amazon deliveries. Ultimately, this is a story about commerce and how it moves, and the people that move it, across the country.

For the 1st campaign we traveled to Los Angeles, piggybacking on a motion campaign. We captured the A to Z of Amazon delivery, specifically highlighting the new Amazon Intermodal container branding. From trains and tracks and yards, to trucks and the excitement of fulfillment centers, to passing planes, it was an extensive effort in planning, including loading a BNSF train with only Amazon Intermodal containers and traveling from Chicago to LA just for a mountain pass shot.

The 2nd campaign was a quick 1-day shoot of personnel delivering boxes, from the sorting centers to the delivery truck and on the streets to a front doorstep. The final assets land as classroom wraps where trainees will be taught the process. It was an in-the-moment shoot, often creating something out of nothing, whether camera angles, foreground elemental distractions or manipulating backgrounds to appear as if we were not located in the Pacific Northwest.

Lastly we were in Virginia, where a man by the name of Bayar Palani has partnered with Amazon Relay to help deliver Amazon packages throughout the region. This partnership has helped Bayar grow his business exponentially and create the dream-life for he and his family. As an immigrant, whom traveled halfway around the world with his parents to seek better opportunity, he is a perfect example of what hard work, dedication, belief, and persistence take to open the right doors and fully live one’s dreams for a better future. He is the perfect example of what all persons should have the opportunity to create.

For more visit www.CameronKarsten.com

Hoselink’s US Campaign

Hoselink traveled from Australia to shoot their first US campaign in Portland. Over two days, we faced equipment issues from cameras to monitors to unsuccessful connection, and still with smiles on our faces, successfully captured the desired stills and motion. In this industry, we are problem-solvers, but the key is; how do you handle yourself and others around? Ultimately, the aim is to exceed client expectations and ensure their return for future projects, highlighted by a positive, collaborative atmosphere.

It’s always fun to work with new clients, their vision and personalities. So fingers crossed…

www.CameronKarsten.com + www.the-subconscious.com

Represented by The Gren Group

GoatBox Co – The OP Hunt

Creative Director John Idle reached out to me late last year for a last-minute campaign featuring a new product made by GoatBox Co out of Texas. We were looking for a hunting scenario, and immediately my mind began to tick. Being a small production with minimal budget, I called up a couple of friends, told them the what, when and where, and started scouring Google Maps for a close location.

Within less than two weeks we were dialed in on a beautiful day, out shooting on the Olympic Peninsula with a badass truck, a cooler fitting for the occasion, and all the props necessary to pull off an early morning deer hunting scene.

Besides the hunting scene, the client also was seeking a fishing scenario and a general lifestyle, product shots. Being the middle of winter and resources limited, John, my two talent models (who look way better on camera), and myself pulled off the impossible to make winter look like a late afternoon fishing outing during “warmer months”.

For more, visit www.CameronKarsten.com. Represented by The Gren Group

The Countdown Begins: The Origins of Vodun

Who-Is-Oba-NowI’m stoked that the countdown has begun! On December 31st, I’ll be heading to Benin, Togo and Ghana for roughly four weeks to begin a project about the origins and evolution of Voodoo. As a practice of animistic worship of spirits, Vodun is the official religion of Benin and considered one of its birthplaces. I’ll be traveling with friend and fellow photographer Constantine Savvides to create a multi-continent multimedia series including still, motion, audio and text. West Africa will be the first of several locations, retracing the spread of Voodoo via the slave trade to the West Indies and Americas, to its survival in today’s organized societies. These guys, chiefs of the old slave port in Badagry, Nigeria, know what I’m talkin’ about.

I encourage you to follow my blog for in-country updates, where you’ll see us enticing boatmen to take us up river to black magic villages and feel the frantic energies of the world’s largest Vodun festival in Ouidah, Benin. A little throwback Sunday of past images taken in West and East Africa to stir the pot of adventure, culture and exploration!
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 Askar of the Hamar tribe in the Lower Omo Valley, Ethiopia
Balancing-Life
Hamar children playing in the shade – Lower Omo Valley, Ethiopia
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The old train from Dira Dawa, Ethiopia to Djibouti City, Djibouti is a long slow uncomfortable slog through some of the most arid terrain in the world.
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A liquid gas burn-off at a Chevron oil platform in the Niger Delta of Nigeria
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Local Hamar children in the Lower Omo Valley of Ethiopia
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Sunrise along the Kenyan coastline near Diani Beach
The-FuryMonkeys will steal your things if you take too long of a nap – Diani Beach, Kenya
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Traffic – Lagos, Nigeria
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A hyena-keeper feeds the wild dogs by moonlight in the Harer, Ethiopia
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