Project 1:18

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Everything about me rails against what I call “Cattle Chute” photography, where the client is herded into the studio, poked, prodded, and shot (like a piece of meat). A personal portrait should be that: “Personal”. I want my artwork to stand the test of time and be a testament to the body, soul and spirit that resides in each individual. It may take more time but it will mean more in the long run than the cheap, hurried shot. To get the best image, time should be taken to learn who each person is and what they like, dislike, hold dear or fear, and what made them into the person they are today.

This project is about a woman who my wife and I have known for many years. At one point she worked for us in our business and was one of our best and most memorable employees. Honest, to a fault, one day she found a hundred-dollar bill lying on the floor next to the register and turned it over to us in hopes we could find the owner (we did). Subsequently, she was written up in the daily newpaper for this unusual act, although for Dawn there was no second-guessing. An intensely spiritual person, daughter, wife, and step-mother she was Mrs. Montana in 2000. A beautiful person inside and out!

We are working on a personal portrait that will show who Dawn is and hope to show the world today, and future generations, her many facets all within one image. Therefore, it’s important for this type of project to have a high level of collaboration between photographer and client in order to get a ‘feel’ for their heart and mind and to learn which elements should be in the image. It’s a process that takes a lot of time and talking. Throughout that process, and in the background and just as important as the learning process, is my goal of putting the client at ease and making them feel comfortable in front of the camera and the photographer. Although Dawn has been on many runways in her pageant career, this is different and more personal and not everyone is an extrovert. The first few sessions are meant to accomplish those goals.

I’ll keep you posted on the progress of Project 1:18.

Blessings,
D.

Tara 2

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Tara came to me by way of an acquaintance who is an excellent make-up artist in our local area. Tara is an interesting person…a navy veteran…and a geek. We had talked about doing a shoot which incorporated the ‘andro’ (short for androgenous…look it up) look that is now sweeping into fashion circles. Tara is anything but andro! She is slender, petite, and when she steps in front of the camera, drop-dead gorgeous. We had a lot of fun putting together several different looks during our shoot at the KM theater…which made it a very late night.

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Blessings!
D.

Ballerina Project – McKenna

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On Sunday we drove to the Northfork of the Flathead River with a short stop at the Camas Creek entrance to Glacier National Park to take advantage of the early morning river bottom fog which was illuminated by the quickly rising sun. It was frosty and our ballerina, McKenna, was quickly wrapped in wool blankets between shots to keep her from getting too chilled or possible frostbite. McKenna’s parents James and Sherry were along for the excitement and were even put to work holding lighting on more than one occasion. Thanks, James!

At one point we stopped at the Polebridge Mercantile to buy some of their world famous baked goodies and get some warm drinks. You can only imagine the strangeness of McKenna walking in to a backwoods, bohemian, bistro attired in her pointe shoes. The looks she got were of bewilderment, but it didn’t bother her in the least. At one point the owner of the Mercantile asked us what we were doing and we explained everything to her. Wow…the things we have to go through for good pictures!

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Blessings!
D.

105 in dog years

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At least once a year, my wife and I take pictures of us as a couple…usually around our anniversary in October.  For many years, as I suspect is true for a lot of people, we didn’t have our pictures taken, for many reasons.  We were too busy, we were too broke, the kids were never around, and blah, blah, blah.  This has changed and I regret not having more images of just Ann and I.  There will be a large gap in the pictures taken of us after our wedding until the kids were born.  Now they are gone and it’s just us and the dog, Yojii.

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What you can’t tell from this image is there is a man on a bicycle on the bridge.  He’s talking on his cell phone as he probably couldn’t get cell reception anywhere else.  Here is an un-retouched image:

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Getting a decent image is always an exercise in gymnastics, track and field (pole vault and broad jump), and dog-whispering. I set the timer on the camera for ten seconds, sprint to where I’ve predetermined my place to be, move the dog to face the camera, smile pretty and wait for the shutter to activate…which at times isn’t very long and we have some very interesting poses! The reason for the massive smiles is because of all that activity.

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There are times when we are able to get the dog ‘posed’ and at one time he would pose himself because he could hear the beeping timer on the camera. Those days are gone now because his hearing is gone. On his next birthday he will be 15 years old! That’s 105 in dog years. We’ll miss him when he’s gone…he’s a part of our family.

Yojii, Black and white

Blessings, D.

Petite

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Leigh Ann DiDomenico, if she were soaking wet, might tip the scales at 95 lbs! However, don’t let this fool you into thinking she’s a lightweight. She’s anything but. This woman is a “commercial print, beauty and petite fashion model”, a psychologist, counselor, nationally ranked slam poet, actress, author, youth mentor, licensed minister and an artist. Not only that, she’s gorgeous, inside and out. Add her to the impressive scenery in Glacier National Park in the rain and her true work ethic comes to the front. In short (no pun intended), she is an Angel.

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EmJ Cosmetics

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For too long Emily and I have planned to meet and do a shoot together, but one thing led to another and when one of us was free the other had something going on…whether it was travel or weddings or, whatever.  Finally, last week we were able to do a promotional shoot for her professional makeup service.  Emily has been doing make-up for a decade…most under the tutelage of world famous make-up people in Portland, OR and is a certified MAC Pro make-up artist.  The incredible Ema D was our model!

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Pin-up Style Photography

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Ema and I started our photographic relationship on October 24th, 2009.  Nearly a year ago.   In that time we’ve photographed corsets, little black dresses, little pink purses AND hot pink wedding dresses, chain mail armor, swords and helmets, wolf skins and elk hides and new-aged Santa-helper.  We’ve made her look hot and sweaty, cool and tattooed, like a fifties Hollywood icon, and a model for Michelangelo.  Her creativity and class have come through time and time again and she has helped craft some of the most beautiful imagery I’ve ever created.  Though there are more than forty years of difference between our ages, I count her as colleague, a collaborator, a fellow artist, and friend…her sense of style keeps me up to date with today’s seniors and the fashion and glamour styles of cutting edge photography.

For weeks, if not months, we’d wanted to do a Retro-Pin-up style shoot but out schedules went sideways right after school got out (for my wife AND Ema) and it wasn’t until near the end of summer that we were able to schedule time for it.

Now I have to explain that Ema doesn’t like shooting inside.  She would rather be outdoors braving sub-zero temperatures in nothing more than a dress than to shoot inside….but she is graceful enough to let me subject her to a plain white seamless backdrop inside when we do shoots of this nature.  Good thing.

One of the downsides of digital photography is that it’s so easy to shoot way more pictures than is necessary and I have been getting better at shooting less.  It’s a PITA to go through three hundred images and select the best of the lot and then edit them.  It takes a LOT of time.  With that said, this session was one of our quicker shoots because I had company waiting at my home and we’d planned to make a trip up to Glacier National Park in the afternoon.  Three hours we shot.  We didn’t make it through half of the clothing that she had brought for the shoot.  In the end I had more images in less time than we usually have.  However, the quality…well, see for yourself.

Pin-up style photography: fun, fantasy, and photoshop!  What’s YOUR fantasy? ;)

Blessings,
D.

River Dance

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The middle fork of the Flathead River is one of Montana’s premier whitewater rivers and the landscape is world class with the deep emerald greens and sapphire blues of the water.  Because of scheduling conflicts the only time we (Keiko and I) could arrange for this shoot was in the evening.  My major concern with this location is that it is a very popular ‘swimmin hole’ for locals and park employees…not to mention fisherman, rafters and kayakers.  We got all of that and then some.  As I had expected Keiko was the consummate professional that I saw in all the dancers from Northwest Ballet Company.  The rocky shoreline was trickier than I had expected for footing, but Keiko persevered.  Keiko is a two year veteran of the Digitalmontana Ballerina Project.

When we started, the sun was still higher in the sky than I wanted.

But as the shoot progresss the lighting became more even and softer:

The gracefully arched bridge gave us an added architechtural element that reflected the grace and movement of Keiko as she danced along this beautiful stream.

During our shoot, not only did we have many obstacles to work around, like people jumping off the bridge in the background, we also had a special visitor inspect the set:

As the sun dropped below the horizon the light became magical and we shot until it was nearly black:

Thanks, Keiko, for your amazing performance and thanks, also to Megan (from the Avalanche Gorgeous shoot) for providing her help on the set and technical advice to Keiko.

A slideshow with more images can be found here: River Dance.  If you do not have the Photodex plug-in you will be asked to install it on your computer.  It’s small, easy and safe.  It’s a great way of sharing your important slideshows with friends and family.  Go see Keiko’s River Dance images!

Blessings! D.

Avalanche Gorgeous

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Megan had emailed me last year and wanted to be a part of the first Ballerina Project shoot.  Unfortunately, I had already selected four girls to be part of it and, eventually, between Marisa (owner of Northwest Ballet Company) and myself we’d decided we would make this a ‘plum’ for soloists and principals or seniors.

The area for this shoot had been scouted by my wife and myself a few days prior and I contacted Marisa for the schedule and logistics…costuming etc.  I wanted to arrive at Avalanche Gorge before the sun came streaming down into the forest bottom and messed with the gorgeous cathedral-like lighting I wanted.  Poor Marisa is a night person and my early morning hours have caused her much consternation…with her own shoot in the canola field and now with Megan’s shoot.  I’m sure she considered not going, but I’m certainly glad she DID come.  Her assistance and technical support was invaluable and besides…she’s a good friend!

I was more than a bit concerned shooting in this area as it is one of the most popular hikes in Glacier National Park and at times seems more like a mall than a mountain trail.  What I didn’t want was a crowd of gawkers or someone who would interfere with our shoot.  I’m sure they were astounded to find that Glacier Park has the most unusual ‘wildlife’.  Marisa, Megan and I felt like an exhibition, but only a few tourists stopped to ask questions; all comments were favorable however, most kept hiking.

I can hardly imagine a more picturesque place in the world, let alone a stage for one of the most beautiful art-forms known to mankind around the world. That day it provided us another visual example of combining two forms of beauty and creating a third…a synergy was created.

Megan added style, grace, athleticism and beauty that I have come to expect from the Northwest Ballet Company members, but this shoot was hers alone. Welcome to the Ballerina Project, Megan.

To view a simple, slideshow of more images from this shoot, click this link: Avalanche Gorgeous If this is the first time you have seen a Photodex slide show, you will be asked to download a plug-in in order to view the show. The plug-in doesn’t take long and doesn’t take up a lot of space and is very safe. It’s a great way to share slideshows.

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Walla Walla

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The next leg of my great adventure took me from the wheat country of eastern Washington, south through the Palouse region. The Palouse area can only be understood by being there; preferably by standing atop Steptoe Butte and walking around it’s narrow cone-shaped apex. The vista is truely incredible. On this trip the sky was so filled with smoke from fires burning in Canada that I didn’t stay long…and it was HOT! When I arrived at my destination, Walla Walla, the lady at the front desk of the motel said it had been 115 degrees that day! Thank God for air conditioning. My poor dog, Yojii, was in desperate need of a huge slurp of water.
I like Walla Walla. The more time I spend in Walla Walla, the more I like it. It’s neat, clean and seems like it’s prosperous. Home to Whitman College, a small liberal arts college, it has a vibrant downtown that’s lined with sidewalk bistros and handsome shops that have the new-old look. One of my major goals in staying the night in Walla Walla was to try and contact an old acquaintance of mine from when I was a life-guard in Porcupine Bay, a campground which is part of Coulee Dam National Recreation Area, back in 1968. Over forty years ago! Dave Cosby and I spent one entire summer rooming together in a surplus government shack and shared duties as lifeguards at the campground swimming area. I didn’t make a lot of money that summer, but I have memories that more than make up for it. Dave and I met in his store, chatted a while (I think he was in shock seeing a face out of his past…four decades in the past) then left.
Next stop Boise for a pin-up shoot.