midwestphotographer
April has been a busy month. In between it all West Michigan Orthopaedics released a series of videos I recently finished working on. This was a partnership between myself and Com616. These informational/instructional videos are focused on some of the issues their patients seek treatment for. All and all it was a fun project and I was thankful to be part of it.
Just a quick post for today but I’m looking forward to some projects coming up…more to follow…
Along the road of photography I love to meet people and be a part of their journey. Awhile back I met Terrence... Super cool guy and incredibly hard worker. His journey in-front of the camera has only continued to grow over the months and yesterday he gave me shout on Instagram after a lot of that work. I'm happy to help and working with him over the last few months has been great. Super excited to see where he goes.
Anyway, pretty cool stuff. Aaaaand it's a pretty busy week so it's a short one. Looking forward to a video production with a new client that should be pretty fun. More to follow on that... Have a good one!
Just a quick one as we wrap up the week...it's a nice BTS shot taken by the most excellent Artie Bowman onsite at company in Detroit. The client needed some warehouse images to showcase their new facility. I needed to get above it all to capture it. Clearly it all worked out with the help of a lift. The images turned out great and this BTS is pretty cool. Looking forward to posting more content here and some of the project in the hopper for next week. Have a good one out there. More to follow...
Usually around this time of year I like to write about the music I stumbled across that hit me and stayed with me for the year. This post is admittedly a little later than what I like, but busy times had a hand in that, and I suppose the ole' adage, "better late then never" applies nicely. I'm not a music expert by any means and I have a tendency to stumble across a song and pay it over and over and over but I would like to think my tastes are rather eclectic and diverse enough to merit a quick review. Also, I should note, these are songs I LISTENED TO IN 2017, not necessarily were RELEASED in 2017. Time used selectively here.
So let's jump in...
5. Honne, Too Long, 2015
I don't know what I was doing in 2015, but it wasn't listing to this song. Don't remember how I found it this year but I dig it. Chill. Falsetto. Things I fall for.
Too Long, a song by HONNE on Spotify
4. The Lagoons, California, 2016
This song is just amazing. Again, chill, heavy sax influence...which I dig. The sax in M83's Midnight City is everything, which that song is SO good (I could have put it back on this list by my own rules). Anyway, I can't help but tap my foot when this song comes on. It was a choice studio song for me this year.
California, a song by The Lagoons on Spotify
3. Bvdub, Nameless, 2017
It wouldn't be MY list if Bvdub wasn't here. And by default I can't have bvdub #1 every year but I would say this year he comes #3 (but given the day, #1 I suppose). I can't think of a harder working musician out there. At least by sheer volume alone. I would argue by talent as well but sadly the ambient music scene isn't everyone's thing. Every year he releases at least one album. This year his release Heartless is a really great progression. It reminds me a little bit of Born In Tokyo (from 2013). His other 2017 release (yes there were two in 2017, usually are two a year) Epilogues For The End Of The Sky seems to have a higher play-count on Spotify than Heartless. It's tough to narrow it down for me. I really like them both for different reasons. I'm writing this early, so the perhaps the stillness is influencing my feelings. Go listen to both and make your own decision if it's your sort of thing.
Nameless, a song by Bvdub on Spotify
2. Markus Schulz Presents Dakota Featuring Bev Wild - Running Up That Hill
I love trance. Probably a mix of early exposure to 80s synth and video games. I don't know, but when a trance song hits me, it hits me. This song is awesome. It hit the speakers late 2017 and I love it. Markus is one my favorite artists in this genera. Not a morning song, but choice indeed.
Running Up That Hill - Extended Mix, a song by Markus Schulz, Dakota, Bev Wild on Spotify
1. Slowly by Giraffage featuring Matosic
This is just a fun song. I can't help but dig it. I've had the pleasure of sharing it with several people and all seem to find it just the same, fun. I don't even know what category of music this falls into but it's somewhere between chill and pop (I think). Anyway, it's a great driving song. It's a great afternoon song. It's a great studio song. So much to like about it.
Slowly, a song by Giraffage, Matosic on Spotify
So there's my "hot top 5" of the year. There's way more that hit the speakers thoughout 2017 but as I reflect at the moment, these are those songs I played endlessly or at least came back to for a healthy amount of repeat plays.
Looking forward to getting back to photography. 2018 is already shaping up to be busier than the last. More to follow....
When I meet up with passionate people who want to collaborate I always make the time. Vinh and Skotty of Cranium are definitely those people (follow them Cranium.club!) I spent part of the night in the studio with them this week photographing. And with tons of help from Artie we managed to put together some looks for their upcoming release at All City Kicks. All good things from them. Anyway, short post for the day. Could be the last one of the year! Crazy. Have a good one out there...more to follow...
About a year ago there was a significant transportation change in my life. In fact you can see the progression start here. Coming in hot, on route to Chicago, I lost the majority of a muffler on I-94. Well, didn't loose it, but started dragging most of it down the road. I was "that guy you did not want to follow" down the expressway. After that, it did make me wonder what the larger implications were of having a 2002 Subaru with 250,000 miles on it. I still believe that it had some life left, but it was a gamble. And after more consideration, gambling with safety isn't a good idea. And if I were going to a production where my car couldn't physically get me there, that would have been a problem as well. In fact, depending on the contract you sign, many have a clause built in for needing reliable transportation. While I had unyielding faith in my ride, it may at times, been misplaced. Maybe. I mean look how majestic it looked.
2002, Subaru Outback
It is a strange thing, that year, that car, as it was a year ago...was probably one of the rapidly disappearing mechanical cars out there. It had a CASSETTE TAPE DECK. Virtually all of it was mechanical. There's something strange about that now. You really feel the idea of it being a tool, device...a machine when driving it. It wasn't a computer. Modern day cars are a computer. Very little question about it. The gas petal doesn't make the car go. But it's how you tell the computer that you would like to go and it determines if that's going to happen. Times change. Computer or no computer I had plenty of fond memories in that car. It lived through a time in my life where change was never ending. Virtually everything was changing every 3-6 months. I crossed the country from east to west, north to south and all back again several times over. Through sun, rain, whiteout blizzards, late nights and early mornings. It saw, along with me, virtually everything. Sights, sounds, places, weather... clichés and drama... it was sad to let it go. But as with time, things change, cars change. One thing that does seems to stay with us is music. Odd how that works. I remember finding, for better or worse, Coldplay in 2002. A Rush Of Blood To The Head was essential listing for me. I had a cassette tape that I would play in the darkroom at college. Printing in the darkroom until early hours of the morning. Always last to leave. There were floating boomboxes that would find themselves in darkrooms and random classrooms. You had to search them out if you wanted one because there were only two, but if you got one, that was lucky timing. They only played tapes though. The Coldplay cassette made it to the Subaru, to the darkroom, and back again, over and over... and then eventually to the shelf because CDs became cheap to make. And now, CDs are becoming the rare commodity as well. Such is time. But as time changes, the music seems to stay. Coldplay and Dashboard Confessional occupied the majority of what I listened to in college. And I still find myself listening to those albums from time to time. And with a little imaginative encouragement, I'm back in the darkroom, or as this frame of mind would have it, a 2002 Subaru off to a new place and a new adventure. Nice little reflection for midweek. Hey Subaru, let me help you tell a story, because as I have it now, this photographer's off on a new adventure and with a newer #Subaru.
A Newer Subaru Outback
There are times when I get a great opportunity to randomly work with someone... this is a pretty good case in point. Daphne had some time in Michigan before heading back to the sunny southwest and we took a hour or two to put together a few solid portraits in the studio before she left. There were a lot of really good moments. It was awesome that we had a chance to work together. Daphne is going places for sure. It'll be great to say, "I knew you when..." but until then, these are some great portraits. I'll post a few here over the weeks and a few more on insta.
Daphne, 2017
Also, I cannot believe it's Thanksgiving. Time is racing by. That being said, there is a lot to be thankful for. Both in life and work I am continually grateful for so many of the people and opportunities that are part of who I am and what I do. I'm looking forward to a lot, but it's impossible not to look back and feel a lot of gratitude. For those of you stateside, I hope you have a good Thanksgiving with family and friends. If you happen to not read this in the states, be well my friends. More to follow...
I've been siting on a lot of work I've created over the last few months. I've found, for me at least, it's a bit process to add it to the portfolio and take on new jobs/projects at the same time. The greatest resource in the arts, or as much as anything I suppose, is time. Hands down. Always time. I never seem to have enough of it.
But I am happy with a lot of new work I've been producing. It's been a lot of collaboration and hustle. But it's all coming together. I'll post some here, and for sure on my Instagram. I'll probably post backstory here for a few that DID make it into the studio page but never here. Like I said, it's a process.
This image never made it here or on Instagram but it signifies my first collaboration Jordan. His work and skill can really take the image further. His mastery with skin tone, luminosity in the shadows, and background gradients is excellent.
I've worked with him on some select images and I can't say enough good things. Anyway, it was awesome to work with Jennie, The Matthew Agency, and Lauren Nicole Makeup. So many fun moments. More to follow...
Lake Michigan is looking pretty fall-ish these days.
I'm really into slow shutter speeds lately. This is a rather beautiful image from Northern Michigan. There's been a lot of travel lately but it seems things are going to slow down for a bit. Hopefully I'll be able to dive into a few images sitting on my drive that I haven't had a chance to look at. That being said, it's the weekend. Have a good one. More to follow...
