I talk a lot, well maybe not a lot, about my inspiration when it comes to photographers that I love , but there is more to this thing we call art than just the inspiration that gives us an idea when we are clicking the shutter.
To me there is art in light, art in shutter speed, art in concept, and art in display.
How many of us want to see our life's work printed in books? ...
2020 we are bringing back our dormant series lady. I feel like I should start talking about series in volcano terms because who knows when inspiration is going to bubble up to the surface. I've only been doing this photography thing full time for 10 years. It feels like a lifetime, but I know just looking at 10 years of work a lot is going to change over this lifetime.
I...
2020-01-03 23:31:11 +0000 UTC View Post
A new year approaches, and with that I suppose I must consider the future. Without all of you this work does not exist. I can't even begin to express what your support has meant and how it has allowed me to grow and dream as an artist.
It is amazing what stability has given me. I have been able to look after my health. I have been forced to think about why I creat...
The light under the loan Douglas Fir that stands in our backyard is something truly special. Not on every day, but towards the evening with thin clouds it streams in through a break in the trees. A small but beautiful Hardy Fuschsia marks the perfect spot for a model to stand. Light bright enough to grow flowers on most days, but soft enough to shoot in.
If it wa...
Its crazy to think that Rachel and I first met and shot 11 years ago at a meet and greet. The internet was a different place then we would mainly network on DeviantArt (what happened there) and ModelMayhem (really though what happened there)
And while it seems every website is doomed to ruin what made it special, I have friends that I can trace back to every incarnation of this thi...
One thing I always try and advocate for when I'm teaching is that as an artist it is often important to curb the the thought "what is the craziest thing I can do here"
A sense of an adventure, a camera, and an adrenaline rush are a dangerous and fun combination, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the most dangerous image is going to be the best image, or even look the most dangerous....
There is a joy in growing my own flowers for photos that I probably can not convey. You nurture a plant for a year, watching the earliest of shoots come up from the ground. Water and light, and nutrients, and finally one day the first buds appear, and then they open.
That alone is cause for celebration, but then friends and models alike visit, and share in this. ...
The unfortunate reality with photography is that really and truly a great photo is a fantastic lie.
Models make impossibly uncomfortable poses, and locations look effortless. Things that seem as though they should be simple and safe are not always what they seem. Grass and wild grass, while the same are quite different. About 2 seconds into our shoot I noticed a ...
The hues of summer are a battle. I have learned not to trust my own eyes because they are deceitful. I am looking at the subject, at the light, at the scene, and I think I am seeing one thing, and when I take that first photo I am met with the truth. There are really only a few hours of the day that our brains can't color correct what is in front of us.
While for...
Among the wildflowers at sunset I have found myself standing in this field. Over and over again I am drawn to them, as week by week a new species reveals itself taking over the space that the growth and death of others has provided. We experiences so much our first summer. Dandelions gave way to daisies, which gave way to hemlock, which gave way to Saint Johns Wort, which gave...
2019-12-07 21:00:00 +0000 UTC View Post
We forget how hard traveling is on the body. The glamour of a life on the road looks great for the internet, but moving from place to place to place is taxing. I can't tell you how many times we've landed at home, and the flu has taken me down for a week or two. I can't tell you how many times we've landed for a work trip and the flu has tried to take me down for a week or two...
2019-12-07 00:44:04 +0000 UTC View Post
Following our Arctic Nude workshop this year, a couple of us made a trip up to a part of Iceland we don't do on the main trip to explore, and scout out maybe a few potential locations for 2021's trip.
Usually I would do this sort of thing before the workshop, but the timing was to tight, so Lillias, Svala, Nicole, and I took a semi-relaxing journey up with the goal of getting one photo.....
Shooting with Kelsey Dylan in nature is one of the most exciting and enjoyable and educational things you can do as a photographer. Hiking with Kelsey on our many shoots I have learned more about the flora of where I live numerous times. She is an encyclopedia of information able to rattle off plant names faster than I am able to absorb them and commit them to memory.
...
Taking care of the forest, and garden is so intensely rewarding. They both require care, and observation, but they live nearly worlds apart separated by only a stream. So when I went into the forest with EC Bondage to shoot for The Jungle during Modelgedon II I felt like I wanted to bring the garden with me. Something about the soft colors of the rope, bright colors of flowers...
2019-11-18 02:07:25 +0000 UTC View Post
Back in the early summer days a giant convention came to Portland, and I was lucky enough to have a bunch of new people come through town and shoot in the forest. Jessa was in town from Philadelphia, and brought the incredible Avery and Reid with her to shoot something outside of Fauna the last afternoon everyone was in town.
After a crazy week of shoots it was nice to recon...
For me creatively summer has been a time of struggle. A sunny forest can be green to the point that color correction is nearly impossible. Bright sunlight is contrast hell, the forests and parks are being enjoyed by thousands if not millions (fair enough the rest of the year I often find myself alone there), and instead of shooting all day I find myself doing the old photographer da...
2019-11-07 21:51:58 +0000 UTC View Post
I've been experimenting with soft focus techniques again. If you saw my earliest work (very little of which is still out only to be found on the far corners of early social media websites) you'd see images shot with hand made lenses that were incapable of focusing, and Vaseline covered filters.
It was only after investing the time into making these lenses, and de...
2019-11-03 00:00:00 +0000 UTC View Post
Modelgedon II was an incredible experience, and gave me the opportunity to work with the incredible Jay Marie for the first time. The evening light in the field in the summer provided me near endless inspiration. Between the daisies, the green grass, golden dead grass, and the forest just behind I found myself looking at the field as a location more often than not.
Lit...
Fall is here, but my mind is still all the way back on spring. I've watched so many plants grow, bloom, and die this year. These Yellow Anemone's were the very first moment of excitement. A carpet of green and yellow shot up on our first warm day, so Ravyn and I ran out and shot this quick little set.
Shooting with tiny flowers and people is hard/frustrating. &nb...
Slowly I'm getting caught up on my editing. Thanks to you all and your continued support I have been able to get the medical testing and help I need to deal with my injuries, and after all of that I'm finally ready to tackle months worth of editing that has built up.
The biggest issue with my health has really been that I can take photos, I can hike, but I can't sit down and...
Our forest is lush and full of inspiration. Months ago when we had our first Modelgedon it felt a mystery, and now in such a short time I feel like I know so much. The color, sky, and light is familiar. I can find my way down each path. The turns, and bends have become part of me.
So to revisit this with those I first discovered much of it with was incredible...
2019-10-19 19:15:08 +0000 UTC View Post
I think that I'm starting a new thing, or at least I'm starting down a branch that will one day be its own thing. Nicole and I have been working together for such a long time, and our rolls have for the most part stayed the same, but I feel a shift coming in both of our inspiration. This home is changing us. We are growing.
My interest in nature and photographing I beli...
I'm going to be trying to put out a weekly video with some thoughts about photography that go a little bit beyond my personal work, and more on things you can hopefully use in your artistic journey!
2019-09-11 02:27:48 +0000 UTC View Post
