The easiest trap to fall into as a photographer is complacency in one’s book.  This can happen for a number of reasons, but they are all excuses that will one day eventually come back to haunt an outdated, stale collection of work.  For this shoot Amos Morgan Photography pushed pause on the TiVo, made a couple calls and set out to create art.

For this occasion I contacted my friend Kat who I photographed for a fitness shoot a couple years ago.  She is working on some more lifestyle fashion work which was a perfect fit for what I wanted for this project.  And completing the shoot was another friend, Barbara, who did an amazing job pulling wardrobe and styling the concepts.

We had a great time wondering the neighborhood streets finding interesting back drops and random props to serve as inspiration.  I truly love the specific expectations of a commercial shoot and have never complained about input from an art director or client (well, almost never).  And this shoot was a nice reminder that it is equally rewarding to grab the camera and a rough game plan and go out and take some pictures just for the hell of it.  So everybody, keep shooting, even if you’ll never show anyone except your parents during a visit on some holiday.  And please remind me from time to time to do the same!

As the last days of this year’s summer became visible on the calendar, I remembered it was time to buy a new fall coat as well as schedule another Luxe Magazine artist portrait.  This time around the subject was Tacoma Art Museum director, Stephanie Stebich.  Moving beyond the common artist, the magazine is now featuring the royalty of the local art world.  And in Stephanie’s case, national royalty given her impressive background including the Cleveland Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum, and Guggenheim Museum in New York.

The Tacoma Art Museum is a beautiful building filled with great places to shoot and there would be even more if they took down all those sculptures and paintings…   One part in particular stood out to me.  It’s a small courtyard in the middle of the museum that currently houses a long term Dale Chihuly glass installation.  The installation is a collection of 40 or so multi colored glass floats.  Getting into the actual courtyard requires opening a side window and balancing on the sill as you step over a gap and onto the concrete tiles.  Kinda like getting back into your room as a kid without waking your parents up cause it’s 2 AM and you weren’t supposed to be out.

The courtyard is surrounded by glass windows which are tinted and thus very mirrory (photo tech term).  Stephanie was very patient as we worked on finding an angle that hid myself and my lights in the thankfully large window paneling.  My methodology is still based on a time when digital imagery and photoshop wasn’t as available as it is now, meaning I shoot the best picture possible without relying on post production to fix it.  But, I still had to retouch my strobe out of the corner of one window as I feel it’s important to have balance, especially when the sun is moving into your shot and the subject doesn’t have much time until her next meeting.

Stephanie Stebich

Recently Amos Morgan Photography shed the cold cruel marketability influenced trigger finger of the  commercial shooting world and went wandering in search of inspirational beauty and love.  Why this sudden 180 degree transformation?  It was to promote and sell, I mean celebrate and commemorate the beautiful engagement of dear friends of mine, Joe and Starr.

All joking aside it was my pleasure to photograph this awesome couple who interacted with each other in a wonderfully compassionate and caring way.  Which of course made my job easy and enjoyable. We returned to the actual site of ring presenting at the picturesque Alki Beach in Seattle, ending up at sunset on the rocks by the water.  It’s very rewarding to take photos for people who have so much personal attachment to the outcome.  And it is my hope that these photos continue to represent an amazing time in their long lives together.  Uh-oh, heart is swelling… must find ad job before I float away…

Last week Amos Morgan Photography caught a wave that has been forming for many years but officially crashed with massive mainstream interest this year (I never claimed this blog was about trend setting).  That wave is called Stand Up Paddle Surfing, or SUP. The shoot was for local clothing company Spacecraft.  The location was held at the burgeoning beach community staple Surf Ballard.

Surf Ballard has done an amazing job at creating a small California beach town feel in a large Seattle neighborhood.  Sure, 80% of the year it may not feel or look at all like California, but those 4-6 weeks a year (don’t tell anyone it’s really more like 12-14) you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference.  It’s easy to feel at home sitting outside in one of the Adirondack chairs watching customers bring in boards trailing seaweed and sand wearing huge smiles.  If one wasn’t so content to sit and watch the scene unfold it would be impossible to resist grabbing a board and paddle to head across the road where a small access beach hides.

If this sounds like a paid advertisement, I am flattered and my wallet wishes it were true, but it’s not.  It’s the authenticity of this place that strikes me as unique.  In a city where the active lifestyle and athletic betterment of one’s self could use a 12 step program, there is no ego or competition with this place.  People come to hang out or work out and it all fits into the same mold.  The unofficial motto of the shop which is said with a good portion of the tongue within the cheek is “Surf Ballard: Harvesters of Stoke”.  As humorous and cliche as that may sound, it’s freakin’ true bro-brah.  Surf it up with a paddle that is…

A few from the shoot:

Recently I had the fortunate opportunity to shoot local musicians The Pica Beats.  The shoot was held in a remote 70’s basement somewhere in Washington and will be used as promotion for the band’s upcoming shows and new record release.   The warm wood paneled walls coupled with the blazng fire felt like we had just stepped off the slopes and were slipping on our turtle necks about to pop a 12 year Cognac.  Unfortunately, it was only a 7 year and it was summer so we had to cut the sleeves off the turtle necks.  Despite the seasonal differences the basement proved a great location for an intimate setting.

The band was awesome and totally up for trying and suggesting ideas as the shoot progressed.  They were lighthearted with plenty of laughter to go around.  It was refreshing to see such great chemistry, especially considering they have had some recent changes in the group and haven’t been playing together in this line-up for very long.  In one humble photographer’s opinion it’s a winning combination and I’m really looking forward to seeing how it translates on stage.  Oh yeah, did I mention their music kicks ass?  Well my friend, it does.

More links:

Pica Beats on Myspace &  Pica Beats on Facebook (become a Fan now!)

Fireside with The Pica Beats

Outside with The Pica Beats

Family Portrait

A couple months ago I got a call requesting a headshot for the CEO of the staffing agency Filter.  They specialize in the Creative industry working with graphic designers, web developers, animators, etc. pairing them with clients in need of their services.  As a freelance creative professional you definitely want to be Filter’s friend.  As we worked on a date that would match our schedules it looked as though a few more people needed portraits and by the time we locked in a date for early June the list had grown to the entire corporate office.

On the day of the shoot my assistant and I showed up ready to take portraits for industry/ trade magazines and publications.  We set up pretty standard lighting and background and were ready for the first subject.  After a couple portraits the CEO Kristen came in and we started shooting.  The photos were being shot to the laptop for easy view by everyone.  Immediately I could tell something was wrong and that she was unhappy with the photos.  A photographer’s worst nightmare!  After some discussion and beating around the bush (she was trying not to hurt my feelings) she finally said, “They look too much like a senior portrait.”  Basically, they’re not fun enough.  I was relieved because it was true and shooting corporate head shots is not high on my list of the most exciting photo shoots.

We ditched the 3 point lighting and ended up shooting everyone in different places around the extremely colorful office space using mostly natural light.  People seemed a lot more comfortable in their environment and the relaxed spontaneousness of the situation really showed as each subject opened up to the camera.  To me this was a wonderful example of how remaining flexible and openminded while meeting the objectives of the project can propel said project into more creative and inspiring places.  I have to thank Kirsten for her willingness to speak up and voice her thoughts on the photos.  And Lisa, Filter’s head of marketing, for maintaing the goals of the project as we abruptly changed directions stylistically.

Here’s a few shots from the day:

Drory

Lisa

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.

The new year has started out in a grand way!  I am proud to announce that I will now be represented by The Drouin Agency.  Deborah is the founder and owner of the agency and is such a joy to work with.  She has an extensive background in the photo industry with 20+ years of experience as a producer, art director and most recently as a photo rep.  We will both be fielding calls and emails, but now I will pass most of them along to her.

I’ve been going through images this past week looking to update my site with new content.  As I go through the editing/ selecting/ processing and retouching process I usually listen to music or podcasts and sometimes I watch on demand movies through Netflix (I wish I got sponsorship for dropping their name).  I usually watch no brainer comedies or documentaries that are more about the audio than the visual, that way I actually get something done.  However, today I made the mistake of choosing “Bigger, Stronger, Faster” by Chris Bell.  It’s a documentary about steroid use in the states.  It’s very informative and does a great job at remaining neutral.

The mistake in choosing this for me is how much it captivated my attention and for 80 minutes or so I couldn’t focus on much else.  It brought up some great points and I couldn’t help relating it to what I was doing at that moment, retouching.  Essentially, I was applying performance enhancing techniques to my images.  The point of the documentary is that in almost every industry and thing we create we attempt to enhance said “thing” past it’s original inception.  The director wasn’t saying it’s a bad or a good thing, but that it’s ingrained in our culture.  That would be the entire business model of evolution I suppose…

For me it brought up the subject of authenticity and what that means.  I guess for me authentic is more about the intention than the result.  If McGuire or any Olympian said from the start “I used these performance enhancers because coffee and fresh fruit weren’t cutting it” I don’t’ think there would have been as much of an issue.  That doesn’t mean guidelines or rules get to be ignored, but perhaps if our judgment on such things weren’t so harsh people wouldn’t have to pretend unnatural was natural and the two could merge into one.  That being said, I admit I have and will continue to use performance enhancing techniques on my digital images and I will call them photographs.

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Here’s a photo of the lovely Seattle skyline straight out of my (old) DSLR:

And here’s how I chose to “enhance” the image: