The Latest Thing

Blog problems

2012-01-27T11:27:00.000-08:00

Dear readers, there are technical issues with this blog, I will be switching to a new one in the near future.

The Mac and Cheese that "Changed My Life"

2011-07-20T08:46:00.000-07:00

The past month has been a whirlwind of travels. We have been working on an Ad campaign for Pfizer Animal Health with Bader Rutter. This project took us to Iowa, Oklahoma, Texas, and Tennessee. Portraits of Cattlemen ( and one woman) on location.... Love it!

Our starting point was in Northern Iowa, where we were met with rain, and 60 degree weather. Not a problem - we made sunlight, and warmed it up a bit. The weather for the other three locations? Let's just say we did not have to create sunlight, or warm it up at all. It was really freaking hot - but the portraits we made were really great. Our goal with this project was to find simplicity in the locations, use ambient light when possible, and capture a simple confidence in all of the people photographed. The final samples will be posted soon.

For one of the locations, we found ourselves in Amarillo - so we made it to the Cadillac Ranch. See our group below -from left to right - Myself, Doug Stouffer-AE, Stef Bartz - Location scout / Assistant, and Bob Shriner- CD.

There are some other shots posted here to share the environments, the meals, and the good times we had. I would love to work with Bob and Doug again!

And yes Chris (the waiter from the steak place in Texas), my life is not the same since that Mac and Cheese with the bacon topping. Thanks for the words of advice.

Keep it Simple

2011-05-27T12:34:00.000-07:00

Ahh, the simple things...

The good old days of walking through the woods with slingshot in hand. Scanning the ground for those special rocks that will fit perfectly in the pouch - Then finding an old pop can to use as a target.

The hours my brother and I used to spend doing such simple things.

Have a great weekend, and try to have some fun - plain and simple.

Connecting With Old Friends

2011-03-29T13:35:00.000-07:00

This image is one that I shot months ago - As it sits, it's pretty interesting.

But what is really interesting is the project that I made the image for.

After quite a few years of not hearing from each other - Mike Bernhagen and I connected on Facebook. After catching up a bit- he told me about the documentary film he was working on. This film is called "Consider The Conversation". It is a very powerful film - focusing on the American struggle with communication and preparation at the end of life.

Visit Mike and Terry's website to learn more about this project. There is a good chance that what you learn will help you, and your family better deal with this uncomfortable subject.

I was so happy to be involved in making the still images for dvd packaging and promotion.

Visit http://considertheconversation.org/

It's Been a while!

2011-03-02T07:56:00.000-08:00

I switched websites, and with that switch came a bit of a lag in the blog-age.

The "Budget repair Bill" battles in Madison continue, and that is really the story in the state right now. I have posted a gallery on the site dedicated to it. When I attended the protests, I tried to be the "fly on the wall" and just document the thing- but I could not help talking with people, and hearing their story. What really struck me most about this whole thing? People want to talk - it does not matter who they are- the public workers, the tea party protestors, or the taxpayers of the state. All of the people involved want to be heard.

Up until this date, it has been a civil process. I hope it can stay this way.

I am a taxpayer, a father of school-aged kids, and a business man. I am one of the many people who actually think there are more than two sides to this issue, or any issue for that matter.

Charles in Charge

2010-05-04T11:13:00.000-07:00

The honesty of an eight year old. We can't seem to get him to lose the bracelet from the waterpark - it's been over two weeks and he will not cut it off.

Some Great Out-takes

2010-03-20T10:29:00.000-07:00

Too many options......

Last week we had a fun-filled shoot with a great young talent in the Chicago area - Casey gave us all we could ask for, and more. Take a look at some of the images we did not use.

Too many choices - always a good problem to have.

Keepin' it Simple

2009-07-22T12:37:00.000-07:00

This is a shot I did about a month back, and I really love it. This girl's focus makes this image......

This is one of those images that made me smile as soon as I shot the first frame - Gotta love it!

A Day At The Museum

2009-07-07T11:10:00.001-07:00

Yes, it has been great fun lately. We have been in New York, and all around the Midwest in the recent months. We have shot farmers out in the fields, Business people in Times Square, and Harley riders at the Harley Museum in Milwaukee.

We did this shoot for Wisconsin Tourism with Boelter and Lincoln, and it went really well. Bill and Karen Davidson ( of Harley DAVIDSON) were featured in the most recent campaign. Here are a few behind the scenes shots. In one of the shots Michael Stodola (CD) is showing us all how to pose in the most confident way.

Thanks to my good buddy Stef Bartz (location scout for campaign) for shooting behind the scenes.

5 Gold Medals

2009-01-05T08:29:00.000-08:00

As promised, here is the shot of Bonnie Blair for Wisconsin Tourism.

Bonnie and her family were a treat to work with - and she did a great job "keeping it real".

It's not everyday you shoot a five time olympic gold medal winner.

More on the Tourism Campaign

2008-12-16T07:39:00.000-08:00

We had a few more print ads to do for the winter Wisconsin Tourism Campaign. The challenge?Print ads shot on the same day as the TV spot.....these situations can be a test, and the still shots can become compromised. Not on this campaign. We worked alongside Spot Filmworks again, and things went well. Michael Graf (director) and Pat Fischer (producer) worked my thing into their thing, and it was a good thing.

Ferne is such a beautiful woman - she has this inner glow and confidence. The result was a strong, clean image for the ad.

Next up? Bonnie Blair.

Another Trip to Brighton

2008-12-01T07:00:00.000-08:00

Something about England... the faces, the places. I have some new images in the book, and here are some of the behind the scenes images.....We had a blast, and met some really interesting people. Thanks to JJ Waller for producing, Candice Konig for makeup, and Claire Pepper for lighting.

The "bumped head" image is one of my favorite shots that I have ever done. Betty bumped her head while playing on a boat at school. Luckily her cousin Poppy was around to help in the healing process. They both have such honest faces. I could not stop smiling while making this image.

Wisconsin Originals

2008-09-09T10:12:00.000-07:00

It has been a really busy summer. I had a great project to bring it to a close - This campaign was done for Wisconsin Tourism, with Michael Stodola (CD @ Boelter + Lincoln in Milwaukee). This was the first time working with Michael, and it went really well. This whole campaign - print and TV - is designed to highlight Wisconsin's people and "the original ways they embrace fall."

The client loved the final images, the agency loved them, even the subjects( beer brewing Leinenkugel brothers ) thought they were great.

We will be working with Michael on the upcoming Winter and Summer campaigns for the same client....it will be a blast.

Another project with Arlington!

2008-03-14T12:18:00.001-07:00

Well, I did another shoot for Arlington Park...We shot images that will be used in a few "Teaser" boards in the Greater Chicago area. The challenge this time? To make them look really just bored, like they are waiting around for the action of the upcoming season to start. Another challenge was to shoot them looking like they are actually sitting up on the edge of the billboards..just hangin' out.

We had a great time shooting, and the jockeys really took to their roles naturally. Another project with Tony Bonilla at Hoffman York..He's a great guy, and does some really nice work for this client.

My Website Featured in Trade Mag

2008-02-05T08:33:00.000-08:00

While thumbing through the January issue of "Professional Photographer" Magazine I found a screen capture of the homepage of my website. The Article is titled "What Makes A Photography Website Great."........

The author - Tricia Gellman Holmes, uses my site as an example of Distinct Brand Identity. She did contact me a while back and ask if I was ok with being in the article, but I didn't know my site would be the only one pictured......so that was pretty cool.

This Distinct Brand Identity was put together with the help of David Sonday- of Sondaydesign.com...............Thanks Dave!

Huntington's Project

2007-12-07T07:32:00.000-08:00

I mentioned the project I was working on a while back for HDSA (Huntington's Disease Society Of America). Here are a few of the finals from that awareness campaign.

A Night At The Bookstore

2007-12-05T07:47:00.000-08:00

Last year I was involved in a project with Independence First in Milwaukee. They published a book called "A celebration Of Caregiving: Portraits & Stories". It features 41 vignettes about the relationships between caregivers and the people they assist, accompanied by photographs which ilustrate those realtionships. My images are used in 14 of the featured stories.

The other night, as a result of my involvement with this book, I spoke at Harry Schwartz Bookstore in Shorewood. Two of the writers, and two other photographers talked about the experience, and the people they met. It was truly inspiring!

Two of the men featured in the book are Corie and Roger. After Roger was in a head-on car collision he became a quadriplegic, and was in need of a lot of help. Having real issues with the quality of care that his father was getting- Corie decided to take over, and become his caregiver. That was more than eight years ago.

Their story is not unique. The people that are featured in this book are tested on a daily basis..The book touches on a range of emotion and experience - stress, pain, frustration, dedication,responsibility, and love - to name a few.

I was happy to be a part of this project, and to use my camera to help tell the stories. This was so very important.

You can learn more about it at www.caregivingbook.org....matter of fact, feel free to buy the book.

Communicating A Brand With People

2007-11-26T10:38:00.000-08:00

Employer branding, Recruitment marketing, Employee communications...

Many corporations currently use stock imagery on the careers section of their website...that can be great for convenience sake.....but not so great when it comes to communicating what makes a company unique, and what might be attractive to the potential employee.

Over the past few years, I have worked with quite a few clients on quite a few projects - Capturing the mission, values, and spirit of the company in photographs. Some examples??? Thomson Corporation, Chemtura, and most recently M&I Bank.

The clients I work for recognize the value in their employees. After all, what better way to inform someone about a company than to hear a quote from an employee? - Using a testimonial to learn what made that employee take a job with that company, or why they stay with that company.

I build a comfort level with my subjects. I want them to enjoy the experience of being photographed- I feel like this shines through in the shots below.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

London, England

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Stamford, Connecticut

Scouting with the boys

2007-08-01T09:05:00.000-07:00

I have been working on a poster campaign for HDSA (Huntington's Disease Society of America) with AD Grant Bernstein - (currently with Jigsaw in Milwaukee). One of our shots? A lifestyle shot of a grandfather fishing with grandkids.... so, what better way to scout this? To jump in my boat with my son, and my father, check a local lake for a spot, and throw a few casts.

The scout was very productive - I found a few locations, we spent time on the boat on a beautiful day, and Charlie caught this largemouth. He loves catching em.... he is still working on the part where he grabs them by the mouth to release them from the hook -

Holding a fish, and shooting a picture at the same time is kind of a challenge.

I will post samples of the Huntington's work when it is complete.

Rockin' Jockeys

2007-07-30T13:33:00.000-07:00

I have some samples to share from a Campaign with Hoffman York in Chicago. The project was done for Arlington Park. The shoot was a great time, shooting about 15 jockeys in the custom made jerseys.... The campaign really looks great....

My kids were curious about horse racing - so the Sibilski family made a trip to the track... This is my daughter Abby making a serious decision about race 7.