It hasn’t exactly been the “best Summer ever” when it comes to the weather which makes weather dependent shoots an interesting mission to accept.  These types of shoots are the reason I have been practicing all these years at remaining flexible by making and changing plans at the last minute.  Sure it’s cost me a few friends and strained relationships, but it’s all worth it when the client enthusiastically shakes my hand and boisterously shouts, “that’s one helluva shot Morgan!”

Thankfully, in this case we tentatively chose a couple prospective days a month in advance and when shoot day rolled around the positive weather reports were actually accurate.  Our location was the flagship restaurant of the Ivar’s dining family and it’s located next to the ferries and aquarium on the downtown Seattle waterfront.  The restaurant called Acres of Clams has a stunning view of Elliot Bay and the ferry docks.  It is the quintessential Seattle experience.  Although, if you visit please don’t feed the seagulls french fries outside because they’re getting huge and starting to prey on the majestic Bald Eagle and Blue Heron populations that reside in the area.

The water and sky was a perfect example of a calm late Summer evening.  The hustle and bustle of the season’s activity seemed to melt away from everyone on set as we couldn’t help but enjoy the amazing elements of the Northwest.  These photos help me remember why I love living here when I’m staring at a blanket of gray clouds and misty rain in the middle of January.

Dining Room View - Ivar's

Rabid Gulls

I always look forward to hearing from Luxe magazine as their call means a new introduction to another one of Seattle’s amazing artists.  And this call was no exception.  This portrait request was for Meyer | Wells who design and build beautiful wooden furniture.  Seth Meyer, a master craftsman started the company with John Wells’ experience as an a acclaimed furniture designer.  Much of the material they use is local urban reclaimed wood, including perfect full grown trees, that for various reasons cities remove from private and public spaces.  Their huge shop is filled with beautiful natural light and super high ceilings.  Even though I am not a woodworker and without a doubt overlook much of the subtle elements of a shop, just standing in that space was incredibly inspiring.  The location we chose for the portrait was a hallway of various wooden planks that clients can hand select for custom designed pieces.  The collection and variety in that hallway alone would be enough to make most woodworkers drool.

John and Seth were awesome to work with, showing a great sense of humor and humility which made for some wonderfully candid shots.  They showed me some pieces that were in the process of being finished.  And seeing the richly stained and polished wood gave me a nice full circle vision of the approach that is their business.  I’ve said it before and I maintain that the greatest gift photography has given me is the intense appreciation of the time, patience and expertise that it takes for all people to competently perform any given job, task, or creation.

I celebrated my birthday this year with my friends at Frause shooting portraits for the Seattle Southside Tourism Association.  We shot four portraits for their Tourism Ambassador program to be used as posters for an upcoming event.  I was surprised at two of the locations with candled desserts and a chorus of “Happy Birthday”.  Thanks Deborah, Nathan and Christina!  It made my day and for a freelancer work can often be the best present of all ; )

We shot the portraits in Tukwila at the Southcenter Double Tree, Acme Bowl and the Museum of Flight.

Keeping with a portraits for magazines theme I just had the opportunity to shoot Dandelion Botanical Company for AAA magazine Journey.  Located in old Ballard, Dandelion has pretty much every (legal) herb you could ask for.  Mary, who between shots was measuring and weighing product for customers, did an awesome job humoring my requests.   Even when it defied any real action she used in the every day business, she agreed it looked good on film, or pixels (someday I’ll stop referring to digital photos as film).  Alternative medicine has always been fascinating to me and it almost led me to a career in acupuncture.  Mary is extremely knowledgeable in the many uses and combinations of the huge array of product in the store.  She even gave me some samples of tea to help me stay focused at the computer on these beautiful sunny Summer days.  Mary, my business is in your hands now…

Here’s the photo that ran:

If there is a time to be slow in Seattle it’s the month of July and although photo jobs were few I was happy to fill the time biking and swimming all over the Northwest. Thanks for keeping quiet clients ; )  Work really picked up in August just in the nick of time as I was becoming fatigued with all the activity.  The first week of August began with another artist portrait for Luxe Magazine.  The Artist is Justine Ashbee and she creates beautiful designs using paint pens.  All the drawings are done free form by hand and she made an incredible piece as I took photos of her.  Although more comfortable drawing than being photographed she did a great job and her light filled space made for an ideal place to shoot.

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Environmental portraiture was the primary focus of my early photography.  The way we as mobile free moving people create and live with very stationary inanimate objects has always intrigued me.  Like the most faithful pet dog, our environments and workspaces patiently wait for us to come back and interact with them, bringing action and creativity to an otherwise lifeless place.  This interest, I suppose is the reason I was so excited to shoot an artist portrait for interior and design magazine Luxe.  The portrait is of furniture designer Sara Wise.  She makes a wide variety of beautiful custom made pieces consisting of metal and wood.  We shot inside the shop where she makes her furniture and posed her with an unfinished round table and base she is making for a client on the East Coast.

Sara Wise

I recently traveled across the state to Spokane.  I was asked to photograph a few commercial buildings and the Montvale Hotel for a client of Seattle brand studio Urban Influence.  It was beautiful clear blue skies on the East side of the mountains, but there was no sign of Spring anywhere to be seen.  We shot a few exteriors and it was the coldest I’ve ever been on a shoot.  And it’s not like I’ve been in the studio my whole career.  There was a point when I wanted to be a ski/ snowboard photographer and I logged plenty of hours on freezing peaks waiting for people to hike back up the side of the mountain.  Maybe next time I’ll bring a coat.

Here’s the beautiful post application of the images by the design team:

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Here’s the Montvale Hotel at night and a few details from buildings we photographed:

Downtown Spokane

Building Details