by admin on January 22, 2012
Recently I took some photos of my friend, Brad. Brad has an animation studio here in town, and it’s the host for our monthly ‘creative mastermind’ group. Every month, we get together and discuss our challenges running a creative business. I’m there talking photography, and others represent video, animation, training, and education disciplines. It’s quite a therapeutic process – I often feel energized coming out of those meetings.
A few months back, Brad shared with us his newly-completed custom Captain America Dodge Challenger. Since he runs an animation company, it’s no wonder he has a strong appreciation for this comic book character. After taking a look at it, I told him that we absolutely had to photograph it.
The first challenge was finding an ‘epic-ly American’ location. I did some scouting in the Austin area, but nothing really stood out. Fortunately, I had a trip to NYC planned, so I set up a schedule to shoot backgrounds up there (especially the NYSE building on Wall Street). Unfortunately, it rained the entire time I was up there, so I needed another option. I checked some stock image sites, but all of the images had the same problem – a vantage point which wouldn’t work with a street-level car. I started thinking about alternative locations.
A friend of mine hooked me up with some time at the Austin airport in front of a huge hangar. It was a great location. It was epic. And and all it needed was a 20 foot wide American flag, which I rented. Who knew that you could rent large flags?
Here are some of my favorite images from the shoot. I am pretty sure Brad is indeed Captain America.




It’s a little hard to tell in this next image, but there’s an American Airlines flight in the background. Of course it had to be American Airlines.

by admin on January 8, 2012
This is a little inside joke for the Austin photographers. There’s a location in town that’s been used a lot for engagement and family photography sessions. I decided to have a little fun with it. If you want to see what’s really here, google “i love you so much austin”.

by admin on December 23, 2011
Here’s the cover image of a shoot I did with Donna Berber for the December issue of Austin Woman Magazine.
Donna founded an organization called A Glimmer Of Hope. It’s mission is to affect real improvement in the lives of people in Africa. Rather than just focus on one area (for example, water), A Glimmer of Hope works through several areas including water, education, health, and micro-finance projects. Their process includes managing the entire process, from village selection to fundraising to project completion.
If you have a free moment, check out their site. Perhaps there’s a way you can contribute or get involved!
http://www.aglimmerofhope.org

by admin on December 21, 2011
I have a deep affection for fun holiday cards. In fact, I’m usually pretty busy this time of year creating holiday images for my clients. I love the whole process – discussing ideas, doing the shoot, and the post work. My goal every year is to create something that will stay on the refrigerator past New Year’s day.
This year, we went with a CSI theme. Specifically, CSI: Miami. That show is so over-the-top. Extra credit goes to Horatio Caine (played by David Caruso), as he somehow manages to open each show with a ridiculous one-liner. This video on YouTube, showing over 7 minutes of his poetic dialogue, will probably have you in stitches. It inspired us this year. Here’s the front of the card:

Some people might not get the CSI reference right away, so we included an image/tag line on the back:
We had a great time producing this year’s card, and are already thinking of ideas for next year. In the meantime, I’ve posted new work that I’ve done for my holiday clients at austinchristmascards.com.
I hope you have a wonderful holiday season and an incredible New Year!
by admin on December 12, 2011

It’s been about a month since the last post. In some many ways, the holiday season is my busiest time. In addition to my commercial/editorial work, I pick up a fair bit of Christmas card work as well. I’m looking forward to wrapping things up over this week so I can get to some Christmas shopping and baked-goods gluttony.
In the meantime, I had the great fortune to do an interview with Frederick Van Johnson of This Week In Photo. It’s my hands-down favorite podcast and, to borrow a phrase from co-host Alex Lindsay, ‘you should definitely check it out’.
You can find the entire interview here. We talk about my work prior to photography (including a stint at the Pentagon, web design, and a little film music scoring too).
I hope your holidays are off to a great start!
by admin on November 12, 2011
If you’re a member of PPA, check the November issue of their magazine. There’s a story on my custom Christmas card work. Plus, a shot I submitted got an honorable mention for the cover contest. This is the second year in a row I’ve made the HM list. One day, I will make the cover :)

