Heavenly Fishing Boat...

Miami, Florida. Looks like a "Corona with a squeeze of lime" moment...

Annual report portrait

Portrait of an IT worker photographed for King Pharmaceuticals, New Jersey. January 2008.

Avonworth High School Fashion Show and Tea

Liz and Wade tango the runway at yesterday's Junior Class Fashion Show! The Juniors were stylin large in this annual event to raise money for the junior class. Thanks to all the parents, show planning committee, student models, and junior class advisor Nicole Levis, who donated their time and auction items that contributed to a great and fun event!
I had a blast photographing the event for my son's class and photos have been posted online for review and/or purchase.

I feel truly blessed to have kids attending a school district where people care and students get great support not only from the school staff but involved parents as well!

Meeting the man with the "Right Stuff"...

Awhile back I had the pleasure of meeting Gene Kranz the former NASA mission control flight director on the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space launches. Being a certifiable space race history nut, the chance to meet and shoot Gene was a very exciting assignment. Boise Office Products had hired Gene to give a motivational speech to their sales staff and customers. I was on hand to shoot the event and the "meet and greet" shots. Gene was very gracious and answered lots of questions. Most of you who aren't familiar with the space program, probably remember the movie, Apollo 13. Ed Harris played the role of Gene Kranz who acted very calmly and worked hard with his team to "think the problem through" after hearing that now infamous radio transmission, "Houston, we've had a problem"...His quick thinking and decision making helped save the lives of the 3 astronauts onboard.

I have a huge amount of respect for this Presidential Medal of Freedom winner and what he has accomplished in his life. And though I've met a number of celebrities over the years on assignments, Eugene Kranz is one of the most memorable personalities and someone whom I really look up to. And though I don't dig his trademark haircut, Gene truly has the "Right Stuff" many times over. Thanks Gene, for a great shoot and for your dedicated service to our country!

Jenn with Milk...

Studio shoot, with Jenn. I thought milk, plexi, and a white gown would look nice together...Whaddaya think?
Have a great weekend!

Cup of Java and chat...

I've been wanting to do a story about one of my favorite coffee houses in the city, The Vault Coffee and Tea Bar, for quite some time. After all, I'm usually in there two to three mornings a week when I'm not on location catching up on the latest gossip, discussing Sirius radio, Howard Stern, new music, and Kevin Smith movies with Brad Richards, the manager of the shop.
When you are a one man biz like myself, it's important to get out and mingle. Otherwise, I'd climb the walls from lack of social interaction.

Why the Vault? First, they serve the best damn coffee around. They use Orinoco beans, ground fresh and use Ghiradelli bittersweet cocoa in my skim mocha latte. No Hershey's corn syrup that is called "chocolate" found here. All their drinks are poured with precision and made with extra care. Great pride is taken in the presentation and ingredients. The mocha that I photographed, isn't a "special" drink made for photography, it is what their drink actually looks like every pour (even in a "to go" cup!) Coffee mugs are pre heated to avoid cooling down their drinks that are served at the optimum temperature (match that Starbucks...) It's a true joy to see utilitarian food and beverage served and created with pride which is so rare these days.

The baked in-house pastries and vegetarian lunches are super yummy and made with the freshest ingredients.
A comfy lounge, with plenty of music and design industry magazines along with an art gallery make for a relaxed visit.
And they have tons of signs. Neat signs. Signs I want to photograph that bring a smile to my face everytime I see them. One of Brad's heros is film maker Kevin Smith. He loves Kevin's sarcastic sense of humor as much as I do. The Vault has smart ass baristas much like Clerks, only with service that is more like the Ritz!

One more thing...try to get there every September 12th for Johnny Cash day. Johnny is played non-stop all day long on the shop sound system. All the baristas (Brad, Drew, Matt, and Damon) wear black. But...the fun part is whenever June Carter joins in song. That's when everyone (baristas and customers)stop whatever they are in the middle of doing and down a shot of Makers Mark Bourbon. Let me tell you...at 7AM this game can get addictive and starts your morning with a smile on your face!
Brad tells me he would like to have more "dead people" days as they are great crowd pleasers. I'm with you on that one Brad!

Test shoot with Mitch...

I had fun yesterday photographing a new model, Mitch at one of my favorite locations, The Creative Treehouse. We worked quickly and I shot using a variety of techniques, including a tilt-shift lens, Profoto strobes, and available light with fill cards. It was very much a collaborative effort and we made some great images. Thanks Mitch for your hard work, and good luck to you in grad school!