When I used to think of the name Astroturf I immediately  thought of the hard cement like playing field where sporting events would occur in such places as the legendary Kingdome, a local treasure that was torn down in hopes of giving Northwest sports fans a taste of sunlight.  Wether I was misinformed from the start or just poorly educated in synthetic fields, the mental imagery is now completely different.  Have you ever passed a soccer field that looks so perfect and green and wondered how many thousands of people work to maintain the golf course like quality?  Maybe?  Well, lawn care is another topic entirely and won’t be covered on this blog.  So, the point of the beautiful looking field is that very likely it’s perfectness is due to Astroturf’s synthetic grass that looks and feels like real grass.  It does not taste like real grass though…

Astroturf recently completed an instillation at Lewis & Clark College in Portland Oregon and asked me if I would take some beauty shots of the field and details of the type of turf they installed. The field is in their main stadium and used for football, track, lacrosse and soccer. Subtly built into a forested hillside on campus, the 78,000 square foot field feels very intimate and accessible.  We chose to shoot at night under the stadium lights to capture the feeling of a main event setting.  The job was a success as we were able to capture the quality of the product in both macro and micro points of view, telling a complete story of the service the company has to offer.  If you’ve never experienced running on synthetic grass, I highly recommend next time you pass by that type of field to kick off your shoes and give it a try.  Nothing replaces the original, but this comes awfully close, and the water bill is significantly less.

Lewis & Clark

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

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:

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.

Amos Morgan Photography just had a taste of what it’s like to live the Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.  Or, what it might be like to work for them at least.  I was asked to shoot on a Westport built luxury yacht for Everett based company Pacific Coast Marine.  They make the doors and hatches for ship builders all over the world.  And if you think to yourself what’s the big deal about a door, ask yourself what keeps the water out of your comfy state room when a giant wave swamps your bow in a huge storm.  The ship was impressive at 130′ and in perfect condition as it was about to be delivered.  The weather, however, wasn’t in perfect condition and I was tempted to act as a stowaway in hopes they would be cruising to sunnier climates.  I assured PCM I would email them photos from the new location when we arrived.  Alas, it was getting close to Christmas and I hadn’t done my shopping yet.  Next time…

I recently got back from a trip to Alaska with Seattle branding firm Urban Influence.  We went up for a four day trip to shoot The Hotel Captain Cook in Anchorage.  I would love to say I spent most of the time snowmobiling and hunting moose out in the tundra, but that just wasn’t the case.  The hotel is huge and we put in some very long days without stepping outside.  The view from the restaurants 17th floor windows were amazing and I want to head back to shoot in the wilderness as soon as I can.  Besides being impressed with the beautiful mountains surrounding Anchorage, I was also wowed with the level of service and hospitality by the staff and the overall warmth of the people we talked to.  They say people either love it up there or absolutely hate it and these folks truly seemed to love it.  As for me… I’m not sure I’d live there full time but, I definitely felt like I was standing at natures door step and perhaps I did hear a faint call from the wild.  And then it was time to fly home.

Iphone East View

Iphone West View

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:

June ended nicely with a job for the new downtown office building West 8th.  My friends at The Frause Group needed photos to show at the building’s grand opening party.  During the walk-through plastic covered most of the walls and crews were scrambling to put finishing touches on the lobby and conference rooms, but we were assured the place would be sparkling by the shoot day just two days from then.  Otherwise some serious photoshop skills -more like rendering skills- would have been put to the test.  Fortunately, the locations we shot in were indeed ready to go (at least from our perspective).  The photos were beautifully presented in the from of huge 4 foot acrylic boards a week later.  The building is beautiful and while Amos Morgan Photography would like to move into an office/ studio space in West 8th we just don’t feel like we’d utilize the 20,000 square ft floor plans they’re offering.  Maybe next year…

West 8th Lobby

West 8th Exterior

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