This past October brought a really cool opportunity to create new imagery for a nearby manufacturer’s new line of hunting-related products that were soon to be revealed.  Crosman Corporation, of Bloomfield, NY, known for its extensive line of recreational airguns – was now about to break into the hunting crossbow marketplace with three different models of crossbows under their Center Point brand, along with some new optics offerings, and another, very unique, Benjamin-branded airgun named the Pioneer Airbow, that was developed to propel a hunting arrow, rather than a pellet.

Crosman was in the midst of developing their campaign to announce and advertise these new products when they had first reached out to me, and through the course of a couple meetings, we planned for a mid-October photo-shoot that would meet their need to create an image library encompassing all of the new products, for use in printed catalog, the Crosman web site, social media platforms, and trade-show displays.

A great deal of preparation needed to take place before any photography could, and we had some time on the calendar to make that all happen fairly comfortably, while we also waited for those classic October days.  People were wrangled for the upcoming shoot, locations were scouted, tree stands were hung, hunting clothing was gathered, product was allocated and set up, and all the other little details were attended to.  Knowing that we had a great deal of imagery to create for numerous products in different situations, I had decided to try and keep our locations in close proximity to each other, so that we had all the different scenery we needed, and didn’t have to spend too much time traveling in-between each site.

On our property alone, I had hung several tree stands, strictly for the photo-shoot, and also had access to a couple neighboring farms that offered up just what we needed to create the scenarios on our to-do list.  Everything was in place.  Now, we just needed some favorable weather and good light.  We’d planned on a day-and-a-half of shooting, and wanted to accomplish as much as we could during that time.  A bit of a schedule had been developed, with some flexibility added in, but the real approach was to simply begin at the top of our list, make some gorgeous photographs with the first of the products, and just keep on truckin’.

The day prior to the photo-shoot, I felt really good about the way things had fallen into place.  I had hung some tree stands specifically for use with morning light, and others for end-of-day light.  During scouting, I had decided when the light direction would be best in the different crop fields and wooded areas, and had decided to kick things off at sunup the next morning in a gorgeous-looking soybean field at our closest neighbor’s place.  That night, wanting to go to bed at a decent hour to get rested up, I let the dog out the back door about 10:00 to let her do her thing before shutting things down for the night.  I walked out onto the back deck as Sienna squatted out there in the dark.  The not-too-distant sound of heavy farm machinery filled the air.  Pretty common this time of year out here – everyone’s trying to get their crops off when the moisture levels are right, and before any foul weather comes in.  I could see the lights of a combine moving along through the trees.  Wait a minute.  What?  They were cutting the beanfield I had planned to use in the morning!  NOOOO!  My heart sank for a minute, but then I remembered another, larger field of beans farther down the road that was planted on wider rows and had taller plants.  No problem.  Didn’t really NEED those beans anyhow.  They were just going to look pretty in the photographs.  (It wouldn’t be until later the following afternoon that we’d find the second beanfield had also been cut that same night!)  GAH!

Everyone showed up on time the next morning, and we got right to work after having a little coffee.  We loaded up the trucks and ran down the road to the second farm and headed out to some fields to begin our day.  We had nice light in the morning, and it really turned into a gorgeous October day.  By 9:30 or so, I had shucked off my hoodie and was just in a t-shirt.  It was that warm.  Some rain was coming in, though, and within a couple of hours, the sky began to darken.  Dramatically.  Shifting gears quickly, we ran back up the road and entered some different crop fields that were arranged on a hilltop to take advantage of that dark western sky, and the sunlight that still shone from the east.  Once the rain finally hit, we broke for an early lunch back at the house, and got right back to work when the weather had passed.

During the course of a day-and-a-half (plus a little,) photo-shoot, we accomplished capturing thirty different scenarios with different combinations of people and equipment.  Intermittent overcast skies during both days robbed us of some of the more dramatic lighting I had hoped for each evening, but was still very workable, and still resulted in a really nice body of photography.  In all, just over 6000 images were captured, and I narrowed it all down to the top hundred or so the following day.  The client made their selections, around 50 images, and I spent time with each of those, giving them the usual “hands-on love” to tweak the tone and color, and take care of any retouching items that were necessary.

Many of the crossbow-related images, depicting the Center Point Tormentor, Sniper and XR175 crossbow models, were put into immediate use on the Crosman web site, as those products were becoming available for order very soon after our photo-shoot.  Imagery of the Benjamin Airbow would not be revealed to the public until the product was launched at the ATA (Archery Trade Association) Show, held in Louisville, Kentucky, from January 5 – 7.  I had received a few of the 2016 Crosman catalogs in the mail, and through images posted on social media channels, I was also able to see some of the imagery from our shoot used in large-format trade-show displays in the Crosman booth at the ATA show.  I always get a kick from seeing the various ways that my photographs are used for different purposes.  During this particular project, maybe a little more so than usual, I had to keep in mind the different formats the folks at Crosman had in mind for final reproduction, and had to try and create compositions that allowed for flexibility among those formats, also anticipating the right amount of negative-space for any headlines or copy would be introduced.

The days of October are behind us for a while, and yesterday’s change in the weather here reminded us of what time of year it really is.  We’ve been fortunate with the season so far, though, and I almost feel as though more than a month of our typical, real winter has been erased with the warmer-than-normal patterns we’ve enjoyed until now.  Having spent some time today with the images for this post has, for a few moments, helped to transport me back those days in October when the sun was on our faces, the smell of autumn was in the air, and the fields were vibrant with color.  During those moments, when I’m able to block out the cold scene outside these walls, and ignore the hum of my office heater, I can almost feel the itch of October, and I wish that for maybe just a day or two, I could rewind a couple months, discard the responsibilities, and pop out into one of my hunting stands to sit and enjoy those October woods.  My time doing that this past season was agonizingly short, and I crave for those days.

Camera:  Canon EOS 5D Mark 3

The post October Days appeared first on Grant Taylor Photography, Inc..

A pan of freshly-roasted peppers, just pulled from the oven, and still sizzling. Whoa!

Lately, I’ve really been enjoying the process of creating imagery to illustrate a series of food-instructional articles for POST, a beautifully crafted, Rochester, NY – based magazine.  Thus far, I’ve spent time photographing for four such articles, three of which have been published in successive issues of POST, with the next coming in the September / October issue, and more planned down the road.

For the July / August issue of POST, I was teamed up again with the wonderful Sue Gardner Smith, who would be writing the article, and found that I’d be photographing executive chef, Jay Speranza, of Tony D’s, a deliciously fantastic, Italian eatery in Rochester’s Corn Hill neighborhood that features a menu of many beautiful things, many of which are prepared in the restaurant’s coal-fired oven.

Step One – drizzling the olive oil on your arrangement of peppers.

In coordinating our schedules, we landed on a Sunday morning photo-shoot, and I arrived at Tony D’s with a truck full of gear at 8:00 am.  I met with Jay shortly thereafter, and he helped me to get oriented with the kitchen and the process of roasting the peppers.  Jay had actually done a good bit of prep-work, and had roasted and prepared peppers already in a couple different ways, as I recall.  We talked for a while about the steps in each process, and, settling on one method, how we might go through those steps to create some visually-interesting and storytelling images that are, for the purposes of instruction, also easily readable at the relatively smaller size in which they’d likely be reproduced.

Transferring the peppers into a bowl, for a bit of a rest.

I had decided upon the kitchen areas that I wished to photograph in, and while I was beginning to set up my lighting, Sue arrived.  We had planned that she would sit with Jay for half-an-hour or so, and interview him, gathering the necessary materials for her article, while I worked on my lighting and got things ready for photography.

The lighting for the entire series thus far had been pretty simple – one main light source (with some modifications,) and I wanted to try and stay consistent with that.  I loved the quality and flexibility of the light setup I’d been working with – it renders the food with some gorgeous, rich texture and natural color, which I feel is so important and necessary to good food photography.   I’ve also realized over the years that there’s also not typically a great deal of empty space in restaurant kitchens for setting up lighting gear – another reason to keep it simple!  Still, I had brought out all the big guns, just in case.  Never know what you might run into!

Re-drizzling the peppers with the juices rendered during their time in the oven.

Once I was ready to go, I touched base with Sue, who was finishing up her interview with Jay.  She had seemed very please with how it all had gone, and handed Jay over to me.  Sue usually likes to stay for the photo-shoots, and I really enjoy her company when we’re able to work together – but on this day, she needed to run off to her responsibilities at Brighton Farmer’s Market instead.

Covering the pepper bowl with a cling-wrap contains steam, and makes peeling easier!

Well, Jay and I dove in and got to work.  For the most part, we stayed with the chronological order of the steps involved with pepper roasting, but one or two steps were rearranged to allow us to work during the time the peppers were roasting in the oven.  During the cooking time, Jay created some finished dishes with the peppers he had roasted already, and I photographed the three different recipes that he had made and plated up.  There was a stunning arrangement of roasted peppers, basil, roasted pine nuts and gorgonzola with a balsamic and olive oil drizzle, (whoa,) a coarsely processed roasted pepper coulis that he used to make some really incredible bruschetta.  Finally, there was a mind-blowingly good sandwich that paired the roasted peppers with prime roast beef and a sharp provolone.  Unbelievable.  One of the very best sandwiches I’ve ever had.  Ever.

Jay, demonstrating seed removal from the just-skinned peppers.

Once the finished dishes were all photographed, we got back on track with capturing the remaining steps of roasting the peppers, and finished up with what we needed to do there.  The final step of the process was to spend some time creating a nice portrait of Jay to accompany the other images in the article.  We had a really nice time visiting during the process, Jay’s father showed up and chatted with us for a while, and once I was satisfied that we’d done all that was needed, we wrapped, and I packed up the lighting and camera gear to head back home.

Jay Speranza, executive chef and culinary mastermind at Tony D’s, Rochester, New York.  Photographed May 3, 2015.

Jay, gracious as he is, sent me home with some of the delicious things he’d made for the day, all packaged up, that were shared and enjoyed with friends that evening!

(Alright, alright.  I need to come clean here, and be perfectly honest with you – I’m sorry!)  See, prior to this shoot, I hadn’t really been much of a “lover of roasted peppers,” at least not most of the time.  I don’t know, you get them in a sandwich somewhere at a nice café or something, and the peppers in the sandwich, well, they’re all cold and slimy – maybe they come from a jar, I have no idea.  Blechhhhhh.  No thank you!  I usually choose to stay away from ’em!  What I can tell you, though, is that during my time with Jay, and having been exposed to the beauty of wonderfully roasted and prepared peppers, I have been won over completely.  I suppose, though, that being selective about where I enjoy my roasted peppers is the key – and I’m pretty certain that means another trip back to Tony D’s for some further exploration and research! Not a bad gig, in my estimation.

The July / August issue of POST is currently on newsstands in the region, and is also available via subscription.  For more information on how to pick up your own copy, just hit up the POST web site!

Roasted peppers and pine nuts with basil, an incredible gorgonzola, and balsamic / oil drizzle! Gorgeous!

Camera:  Canon 5D Mark 3

The post Roasting the Perfect Pepper appeared first on Grant Taylor Photography, Inc..

It’s all about the people, Baby! How the Social Butterfly rolls at Xerox Rochester International Jazz Fest!

It’s not too often that I’m able to write-up a blog post about a recent project so soon after having completed the photography, and it’s even less often that I’m able to post while the event that the work was created for is still happening, and the work is out on display.  In most cases, the publishing of posts is delayed for months, because of the need to wait until the client has released the work to the public in whatever manner was intended.  In other cases, it’s simply because the crafting of blog posts is delayed due to my own schedule of things.  I really love having this opportunity to sit down today, and write a post while things are still fresh and relevant and happening!

Working through a range of expressions and gestures to capture the heart and soul of The Social Butterfly.

Back in late April, (which seems like forever ago,) I had been awarded a really great photography project, and would be working with Rachel Spence, and a team of creatives from Roberts Communications, developing imagery that would be used in a campaign to advertise and support the 2015 Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival.  The photography would serve to illustrate the personalities of five different characters that were being fleshed-out for the 2015 campaign theme, How Do You Jazz Fest?

The Purist is all about the music, and she loves it all!

Each of the five characters being brought to life would represent some of the different approaches that people have to enjoying their time at Jazz Fest, and allows the audience to relate to the character that best fits their own personalities, or most closely shares in their Jazz Fest-related passions.  What is it that gets you excited about Jazz Fest?  The music?  The social environment?  The food?  Just being out in the city on a gorgeous summer evening?

Sandwiches, meatballs, poutine, Cajun plates, and lobster rolls – The Foodie is at Jazz Fest to explore deliciousness!

The schedule for making things happen was an aggressive one.  We needed to pull a team together and get the work done within a pretty short period of time.  I reached out to Carol Cieslinski, at PowerHouse 27 and began making arrangements for the casting, and locking-down the studio time we’d need for executing the photography.  While Carol, at the studio was busy getting things arranged on her end, I began pulling in the rest of the production team – Hair & Makeup Stylist, Prop & Wardrobe Stylist, Photo-Assistants, and a Re-toucher for handling the post-production work.

Creative Supervisor, Rachel Spence, from Roberts Communications, confers with Makeup Stylist, Holly Holmes, while overseeing the important details and bringing The Foodie to life.

We processed over 120 talent-type people through a 5-hour casting, and with the client team from Xerox present that evening, collaborating with the creative and account people from Roberts Communications, the choices in talent were narrowed down very quickly.  Final decisions were made by the following afternoon, and I notified Carol, our Producer, who then began calling the talent agencies to let them know who we needed for the shoot, and when.  Within a very brief period of time, through numerous phone-calls, e-mails and running around, everything we needed to have in place for the shoot was all squared-away, and we unloaded and deployed the cameras, lighting, and computer gear into the studio and settled in for three days of really enjoyable work!

The man with a plan – The Strategist has it all figured out, and isn’t missing any of it!

Every aspect of the photo-shoot was very detail-oriented, and required purposeful thought, decision-making, and problem solving.  Lighting testing and collaboration with digital image re-toucher, Eric Barbehenn had been done during the days leading up to the actual shoot, to work-out the technique, and refine the process for achieving the overall look of the final imagery.  Careful selection of each individual that was chosen to portray each of the five characters was the next, hugely-important step in the process – finding just the right person to bring the character to life.  Each character was different from the other, and had its own set of considerations and traits that needed to be brought forth in just the right way.  The decisions that needed to be made to allow that to happen ranged from choosing the right wardrobe for each person – that involved some on-camera testing, and comparing of options, until just the right clothing combination was put together.  The background for each character was also really important in helping to set the tone, and it needed to mesh properly with the given character’s wardrobe.  Props, accessories, jewelry and makeup were next on the list, and each of those little details needed to be just right, and come together just-s0, and there was usually some back and forth in finding just the right things.  All of these little things were key elements that contributed to bringing each character to life, and visually telling the story of each.

Dolling-up the Purist – Amanda and Holly do their thing with wardrobe and makeup, under the watchful eye of Rachel.

On-set, and during photography, I had my work pretty well cut-out for me, in finding and capturing the right combination of expression, body-language, energy, and soul for each of the characters, and coaxing those things from each of our talent.  I had tethered the camera to my Mac Pro for this shoot, and had my large, calibrated monitor oriented vertically, so that Rachel had a fair amount of real-estate in which to review each image as it was captured, and she could then give me feedback regarding how all of the pieces were coming together, and any changes we needed to make to get it right.  Paying attention to all the little details, the team gathered around the set while I was photographing, and every so often, either Amy, Amanda, Holly, or Denyse would pop in to tweak a light-stand, fix a wrinkle in a blouse, tuck away an out-of-place strand of hair, trim the edge of a roasted red pepper, or add some lip-gloss.  We worked on illustrating two of the characters each day, and were able to stick pretty closely to the schedule as we had planned it, turning out a series of final images that all of us were extremely happy with!

Discussing upcoming Foodie details with Amy and Denyse, while Holly and Amanda make adjustments to our Wanderer, Rachel, Liz and Kory talk things over at the monitor, and Andy works through a time-lapse capture.

It’s the kind of project that you hate to see come to an end – fantastic clients, a phenomenal team of people to work with, a great concept to follow, a gorgeous work environment, and the opportunity to do some photography that’s a bit different, style-wise from what I’m usually asked to do.  I’d love to have the chance to work on more projects like this one, and more often!  There’s a great energy that comes from the whole process, and usually a bit of a let-down when it’s all over with!  I always get such a kick out of seeing the design elements and typography combine with each image, and in this case, how they work together to tell the story of each character.  Seeing the progression of each piece coming to life, during the entire process, and then, walking around Jazz Fest last Friday night, and seeing all of the final pieces – posters, large-format outdoor signs, and tall banners hanging from the street-lamps in the festival area was really satisfying and just plain cool!

The Wanderer is happy to explore all that Jazz Fest has to offer, and takes it all in at her own pace.

Camera:  Canon EOS 5D Mark 3

The post How Do You Jazz Fest? appeared first on Grant Taylor Photography, Inc..

This post has been inspired by the numerous text messages, e-mails, and social media PM’s from friends of mine wanting to see the trophy that was collected on Saturday night in Las Vegas, NV.  Super-sorry to have to disappoint you.

But, I can tell you what happened.  And what it felt like.

Coming home empty-handed from Las Vegas is not an uncommon occurrence.  It’s probably fair to say that it happens to most of us.  It happens to the best of us.  You gotta expect it, almost.  Even if you’re relatively lucky.  That’s just the chance you take. You shake your dice, give ’em a kiss for good luck, and let ’em roll.  Sometimes it plays out in your favor, and most of the time, it just doesn’t.  Still, you’ve had a beautifully fun time giving it a shot.  Hopefully.

In this case, though, coming home empty-handed was not what I expected.  Not even remotely.  Hadn’t even crossed my mind.  This was supposed to have been a sure thing.  Kind of makes me chuckle.  A little.  Ahhhhhh, Vegas.

The pool area at Caesar’s Palace. Pretty cool.

A little over a month ago, I had received an e-mail from the American Advertising Federation (AAF,) stating that a photography series I had created last year for Seneca Park Zoo Society‘s big fundraising gala, Zoobilation 2014, had been selected from a massive field of entries, to receive an AAF National American Advertising Award.  Sweet! Unbelievable!  Awesome!  (They don’t tell you, see, whether it’s a Gold or Silver Award.)  That would be revealed at the June 13 awards ceremony, held at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas.  So, long story short, before I know it, I’m on a plane bound for Sin City, and looking forward to meeting up with my good buddy, Joe Mayernik, whom had flown out the previous day to attend #Admerica15 and tend to his duties as one of the members of the National Advertising Awards Committee.

The view of the neighbor’s place, The Bellagio, from our room on the 38th floor of Caesar’s Palace.

The work for Zoobilation 2014 – A Night to Shine had been done in collaboration with art director, Rachel Spence, who developed the concept and theme for the entire campaign, and writer, Brian Rapp, who provided the headlines and copy.  Both Rachel and Brian are key players at Roberts Communications in Rochester, NY.  Rachel had given me a really good, strong idea and direction to follow with the photography, and though we struggled a bit with creating the images at times, it all came together nicely in the end.  It really didn’t feel right to me that I was heading to Vegas on my own to receive the Addy Award.  The project had been a big team effort all along.

The Zoobilation 2014 photography campaign, as it hangs outside the Palace Ballroom, among the other winning entries.

Poor Joe hadn’t been very lucky on his outbound journey.  Thunderstorms and other difficulties created enough of a mess that day, that he wound up having to sleep in the terminal at O’Hare that night, and get out to Vegas early the next morning. Along with Joe’s National Awards Committee responsibilities, he was part of a panel of judges that would be analyzing entries in a student competition for public-service announcements.  One little kicker – Joe’s luggage didn’t arrive with him.  So, off to Caesar’s he goes, rolls into the judging, probably a bit disheveled and not-so-fresh – Hours before he’s able to even check into our room and wash the Terminal 1 grime off his face.  Ugh.

Heading down from the 38th floor to the Casino level on our way to the big event.  Yeah, the guys watching the elevator security cameras probably got a chuckle out of this.  That, or they’re just numb to it all by now.

As soon as my flight was wheels-down on the runway, I had a series of texts from him, describing the situation, and any chance I might see if I could get his luggage before leaving the airport.  He’d sent along photos of himself holding his baggage-claim tags, so once I had my own checked-bag in hand, I made it back through the sea of carousels in Terminal 1, went outside and hopped a shuttle to Terminal 3, where his bags were hopefully sitting in the United Airlines office.  Little bit of sweet-talkin’, and show the attendant the picture Joe had sent, and next thing I know, the very nice woman from United was helping me load the bags onto a luggage cart, for ease of transportation.  Sweet!  I responded to Joe’s earlier string of text messages with a picture of our bags all piled up together on that cart.  Needless to say, he was very, very happy about that.

Winning an AAF National American Advertising Award is, to me, quite a tremendous honor.  It means that work that you’ve created during the previous year has been judged (in this case by a panel of creative, heavy-hitters in NYC,) and has won an Addy Award at the local (Rochester, NY) level, among a very strong field of entries, which then makes it eligible to be forwarded to the regional level, (AAF District 2,) to be judged again by a second group of people, and if an award is won there, the work can then move on to the AAF Nationals for another judging.  This year, in March, our Zoobilation 2014 project had an incredibly overwhelming evening of recognition at our own 2015 RAF Advertising Awards – Winners, and had gone on to claim a Gold AAF Addy and two Silver AAF Addy Awards at the District 2 competition.

The gathering in the Palace Ballroom at Caesar’s Palace on Saturday night, for the 2015 AAF National Addy Awards ceremony.

Sitting in the Palace Ballroom at Caesar’s on Saturday night, at the awards show, I had mixed feelings.  Oh, I was so thrilled to be there, and especially to know that our work had been recognized at that level!  It’s a very different vibe, though, from our own local awards gala.  I suppose that most of it is that when you’re on your home turf, you’re in a room of 400 or 500 people, most of whom are friends and acquaintances.  You’re pulling for each other.  It’s so much fun, and there’s such great energy coming from that group of people, and they’re celebrating right along with you.  On Saturday night, I was sitting there alongside Joe, and a handful of friends that he’d introduced me to on Thursday evening.  The whole thing was, surprisingly, pretty low-key.  I was trying hard not to get my hopes up that my award might be a Gold one.  That’s not the easiest thing to do.  Still, there’s a chance.  Hey – we’re in Vegas, after all, and the night is young.

It was either in the second or third block (I honestly can’t remember which,) of the Gold Addy presentations that the Zoobilation 2014 photography was projected on the big screen above the stage.  Holy smokes!  I could hardly believe it! Again!  It stirs up the emotions inside every time.  I got a little choked up.  Joe and my new friends were hooting and cheering loudly, while scattered golf-claps emanated from across the room.  I think I was just sitting there, taking it all in and shaking my head in disbelief.  Again!  Felt pretty fantastic!  (Golf-claps fade out.)

Celebrating at Mesa Grill on the Casino level of Caesar’s. (l to r,) Liza, Nicole, me, Adrienne, and Jenn. (Not seen here – Matt and Joe. Sorry, guys.)

When the time came to make the walk to the stage and be presented with the trophy, I rose, buttoned my jacket, and made my way past the awkwardly-retracted legs of Joe, (who has long ones,) Adrienne, Matt, Jenn, and Liza.  Now, walk yourself up there, and don’t trip on the carpet in front of all these people.  Up the steps to the stage, and a firm handshake from Mr. James Datri, AAF President and CEO, who said to me, “Hey, nice to see you again this evening,” (we had taken the same elevator to the Casino floor earlier,) and then, the trophy was handed to me.  Turn this way, please, pose for a photograph with James, another handshake and a “Thank you so much, Sir!” and back down the stairs and toward my seat among the crowd.

“Grant.”  “Grant!”  “GRANT!”  Someone behind me was calling my name.  I turned around to see one of the women from AAF beckoning me back toward the stage.  “I need to get that trophy back from you, please.  We’ll send yours to you in a couple weeks.  Okay?  Thank you very much.”

More golf-claps from around the room.

Rats.

Unfortunately, in the excitement of the evening itself, I wasn’t able to – well, none of the winners were able to snap a picture of their award and get it into their social media feed amid hashtags for the event and the host organizations involved.  We didn’t get to clunk that sucker down emphatically onto the bar at Mesa Grill before ordering a round of fifteen-dollar margaritas at the end of the night.  We didn’t get to see if a Gold National Addy Award would get us into the High-Rollers room at Bellagio.  I just sat there in my seat and watched the other winners accept their awards, only to be very politely relieved of them a moment later.  I don’t know how I hadn’t noticed the process earlier on.  From what I could gather, two trophies must have been in play all night long, presumably – repeatedly shined-up backstage with a soft cloth, and handed off to the woman that brought them out to James for recycling to the next winner.  Oh, well.  I didn’t have that much room in my luggage, anyhow.

Rats.

So, for now, all I can provide is an FPO.  (In our industry lingo, that’s “For Position Only.”)  A low-resolution, un-retouched placeholder that we can work with until the real thing shows up.  Have a look at this for a minute go ahead and click the picture to enlarge it.  If you squint your eyes a little, THAT’s kinda what it looked like.  Pick up a foot-long piece of pressure-treated 4×4 wood post.  That’s about what it felt like.  Up on that stage on Saturday night, though, it felt like that, but better!  The lower three-quarters or so is brushed, gold-anodized aluminum, and the top quarter is a gleaming cube of etched lucite.  Man, the thing had some real heft to it, too!  Solid!  It was a gorgeous trophy to see, and it felt great to hold. Even if it was only for a moment or two.

The FPO 2015 American Advertising Gold Award. This will be in a place of honor on a shelf in my office, until the real thing arrives in the mail.

We still had our margaritas at Mesa Grill.

Vegas was really, really good to us, but man, it sure feels great to be home.

The post Sin City Gold appeared first on Grant Taylor Photography, Inc..

Othello, Seneca Park Zoo’s barred owl, featured on one of the posters in the campaign created for 2014 Zoobilation – A Night to Shine.

Here in my cozy office, on this gray, windy, Sunday afternoon, my heart is full, and I almost feel as though I’m sitting up in my chair a little bit taller than usual.  The reasons for this are many, but for this moment, I’m focused on the events of this past Friday evening.

The 24th Annual RAF Addy Awards event kicked off in typical fashion – on this night, just over five hundred people from the Rochester, New York advertising community attend a gala event, during which awards are given to the very best creative works submitted from the past year.  This is our Academy Awards – our Emmy Awards –  our The Voice.  It’s a highly anticipated, annual event – a fun evening of viewing entries in the gallery area, tossing back cocktails, slugging down hors d’oeuvres, getting warm hugs from friends, catching up with clients, having some laughs, and finding out what this year’s judges thought of the very best of creative work that came out of our town in the past year.

Abe, one of Seneca Park Zoo’s bald eagles, immortalized upon one of the five, eight-foot tall banners that hung outdoors during the summer evening event.

Rachel Spence and I both arrived a little later than we’d hoped, but grabbed drinks at the bar, and fell right into visiting with everyone.  During the short time we had remaining in the cocktail hour, we must have hugged and visited with thirty or forty people, Rachel found that one of her co-workers had worn the same dress as she had, and I had a small hand in helping to extinguish a good friend’s hair when it caught on fire at the bar.  No open-flame candles next year, okay, people?  My hand still smells like burned hair.  So glad no-one was hurt.  Addy Night can be crazy, man.  Believe me.

Marina, a sleek and graceful sea lion, on the face of one of the Zoobilation 2014 event tickets. There were three different tickets in the campaign, and each ticket-type was represented by a different animal.

For the 2015 competition, three hundred fifty-one entries were received, driven to New York City in late January, viewed, and judged by a panel of five creative professionals from that advertising community.  The entries came from Rochester’s advertising agencies, marketing firms, non-profits, printing houses, magazine publishers, web developers, writers, illustrators, graphic designers, cinematographers and photographers.  I had a handful of entries this year, one of which was a series of four photographs created for Seneca Park Zoo Society’s annual fundraising event, Zoobilation.  I had worked on the project with Rachel, and her Roberts Communications co-worker, our friend, Brian Rapp. The work was something we’d done as an independent collaboration, and on a pro-bono basis for the Zoo, on our evenings and weekends the previous winter.  So, in addition to my photography entry, some of the individual elements of the campaign, and also the full campaign – designed by Rachel and written by Brian, had been entered into the appropriate categories.  One was for the banner series, another for the poster series, and then, the full-campaign that included everything from an invite to the kick-off event, posters, banners, wine bottle labels, event tickets and note cards.  I’m probably forgetting something, but you get the idea.

Bill, the zoo’s rhinosceros, featured on one of the campaign’s six posters.

Well, early-on in the award ceremony, and in-between the laughs and chuckles elicited by the on-stage banter of the presenters, we were called upon to make the walk to the stage and be presented with a Silver Addy for the banner campaign.  More hugs, some handshakes, photos snapped with the trophy, and hushed congratulations from friends as we made our way back to our table.  We were excited!  It felt great!

On the event stage, receiving the Silver Addy for the Zoobilation 2014 banner series that was a component of the whole campaign. Photo by T.C. Pellett

Back at the table, I was going through my usual post-award process, while trying to still pay attention to the awards being presented, and applauding for each of the winners.  See, my folks back in Vermont always want me to shoot them a text if I’m fortunate enough to have received any awards during the evening, so I was doing that, and also letting our client, Michelle, in on the great news.  I could tell that Rachel was very pleased, and Brian, too.  That made me happy, too.  It’s a little difficult to remember all the details, but after awards were given to winners in a  few other categories, we were called back up to be awarded a Gold Addy for the poster campaign, and before we made it to the far end of the stage, the presenters were calling us back to hand us another Gold Addy for the full-campaign.  Whoa!

(L to R,) RAF President, Megan Jaffarian, Grant Taylor, Brian Rapp, Greg Shainman, Tim Winter, Rachel Spence. Photo by T.C. Pellett

We were so excited and happy.  Man, I could hardly believe it!  I was getting warm in my jacket, though, and pretty thirsty by that point.  Brian and I headed to the bar to grab a few bottles of water and a new drink, while Rachel headed back to the table with the freshly-acquired hardware.  When I sat next to her, I leaned over, gave her a kiss on the cheek, and said something to the effect of, “If nothing else happens tonight, I’ll still go home very happy.”  See, the categories for photography – Elements of Advertising, usually came toward the end of the evening, and even though it’s a beautifully put-together event, and I so enjoy seeing friends and colleagues receive awards for their awesome work, it sometimes seems like a long wait to see whether any of my photography entries had received any love.

Lou, the lone hyena of Seneca Park Zoo, certainly one of the most wonderful of beasts we were fortunate enough to work with!

Our project had some really, really nice momentum going at that point.  I think that Rachel recognized that, too.  She smiled and winked at me once, then leaned over toward me and whispered, jokingly, “Oh, my gosh – what if we won Best of Show?”  I looked at her like she was crazy.  I shook my head.  “No way, Babes.  There’s so much strong work here.  Are you kidding me?  There’s just no way.  Us?  No.”  Still, somewhere in the back of my mind, I wondered.  Is it possible?  Ahh, no way.  Don’t even think about getting your hopes up for something like that.

I was so very happy with the recognition our project had received at that point, and was even further thrilled when I was awarded a Gold Addy for my entry of the Zoobilation work in the black-and-white photography category.  Awesome!  Really was having the best Addy Night ever.  For one project I’d worked on to have gained so much recognition was pretty astounding.  I’d never quite had that happen before, to this level.  It felt absolutely fantastic.

Then, at the end of the night, it happened.

After the Best of Broadcast trophy was awarded.  After the Best of Print award.  After the Best of Digital award, and after the Best of Photography award.  Right then.  Our full-campaign for the 2014 Zoobilation – A Night to Shine event was awarded Best of Show.

Wait. What?

Best of Show?  I was aware of the applause.  I was aware of someone behind me patting my shoulder.  I was aware that Rachel and Brian had already stood up from their chairs.  I was aware that I had tears forming in my eyes.  I don’t know why, but I did.  And, I was aware that I couldn’t move or breathe.  Stunned.  Floored.  I guess, after a moment, I stood, but I don’t really remember doing that.  Kiss and a hard hug from Rachel, and we were on our way to the stage.  I was in such a state of disbelief, but there we were.  On the huge screen behind the stage, a video was being projected of the five judges, talking about our project.  My mind was spinning some, though, and I wasn’t really very focused on what was being said.  Then, when it was time, we walked up the steps to the stage, and into the open arms of two of our very good friends who were the award presenters, and the previous year’s Best of Show winners.

Betsy Traub captured things just perfectly in this photograph of Rachel and I getting our congratulatory hugs from Greg Shainman and Tim Winter.

Proud, overwhelmed, floored, thrilled.  With some disbelief thrown in for good measure.  It’s a crazy roller-coaster of feelings when stuff like this happens to you.  At least that’s how it was for me.  How it still is, I guess.  Even a couple days afterward.  But so incredibly cool.  So now, the three of us, by having been awarded with this tremendous honor, have also been saddled with the monstrous task of producing next year’s RAF Addy Awards ceremony.  We’ve got some tough acts to follow, and some big shoes to fill, but looking around and knowing the group of phenomenal, insanely talented friends and colleagues whom we’ll surely be calling upon for help, gives me a tremendous amount of confidence.  But – holy smokes.

Rachel, Brian and I would like to give an enormous, heartfelt “Thank you!” to so many people for providing us with this incredible opportunity, and for giving our work the overwhelmingly beautiful recognition that it has received.  To the Rochester Advertising Federation, the dozens of people who give of their time and creativity to make the Addy Awards event happen, the five judges in New York who noticed our work, and everyone who was there on our huge night to offer their congratulations, hugs, handshakes, back-slaps and nods of approval.  The many, early Saturday morning texts and Facebook posts that we each received were so greatly appreciated.  We owe a great deal also, to our dynamite client, Michelle Picardo, who believed in us and trusted us completely, the zookeepers that stayed late into the challenging November and December evenings last year, and slugged it out in the cold and mud alongside us, tossing chunks of raw deer meat and frozen mackerel in just the right places.

(L to R) Myself, Rachel and Brian with the (very tightly clutched,) RAF Best of Show Addy trophy. Rachel’s not letting go of this trophy for anything! Photograph courtesy of Rochester Advertising Federation.

The love and support we’ve been shown in the past 48 hours has been absolutely overwhelming and humbling.  There is so much incredible talent in this town, and to be standing where we are at the moment just blows my mind.  It’s not a place that I had ever imagined I’d be.  The three of us are so very appreciative of every little minute of this thing.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Photograph by T.C. Pellett

Update 1 – April 8, 2015:  We just received notification today that our entries for the Zoobilation 2014 full campaign and also the poster campaign were each awarded District 2 Addy Silver, and my photography campaign entry was awarded District 2 Addy Gold.  We’re so excited, and very pleased to see our project heading off to judging for the AAF National Addy Awards, held in June, in Las Vegas.  (The AAF District 2 competition is comprised of local-level Addy winners from 14 different ad clubs in the northeast – Baltimore, Greater Frederick, Greater Lehigh Valley, Northeast Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Erie, New York, Albany, Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse, and Washington, D.C.

Update 2 – April 16, 2015:  The 2014 Zoobilation – A Night to Shine photography campaign was one of 157 projects selected by a panel of five judges, from a total of 4,421 entries, to be published in the upcoming July/August Communication Arts Photography Annual, as one of 37 projects published in the Advertising category.  So stoked!

Update 2 – May 11, 2015: The run continues!  Notification of further honors came this morning by e-mail, informing me that the photography series created for Zoobilation 2014 has snagged a AAF National Addy Award!  The AAF will announce whether the award is Gold or Silver, at the June 13 evening gala in Las Vegas.  Fingers crossed!

Update 3 – June 14, 2015:  Last night, at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada, the photography campaign created for Zoobilation 2014 was awarded an AAF National Gold Addy Award!  Ho. Lee. Smokes!  (For more on that, please click here for the Sin City Gold blog post.)

If you’d like to go and grab a coffee, come back, and read a little bit more about the Zoobilation project, please just click right here.

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Chef Chis Brandt, of Wegmans Food Markets, tasting the vinegar and salt-seasoned water for just the right mix.

One chilly, Friday afternoon in early January, I had the fortunate circumstance of being able to work alongside chef Chris Brandt, of Wegmans Food Markets, in the cozy confines of the Test Kitchen at Next Door Bar and Grill.  I was there to create images that would help to illustrate a magazine article being produced for Post, and was working closely with Sue Gardner Smith, who was gathering up all of the important details, and would be writing the article.

Adding a healthy sprinkle of salt to the water in the pan.

The article was to be of an instructional nature, and in this case, would guide readers through the steps necessary to properly poach an egg.  In the first sentence of the published article, Sue touches upon the fact that chef Chris has likely poached ten thousand eggs during his career.  Ten thousand!  Yikes!  My jaw dropped when he’d told us that during the shoot.  I’d say, though, that undoubtedly makes him a true expert on the subject.

Cracking an egg into the teacup that will help provide a gentle immersion for the egg, into the swirling, simmering water.

Chef Chris talked to us for a little while about all the different steps he’d lead us through, so we knew what to expect.  I messed around for a few minutes, getting my camera and lighting all set up and tweaked, and experimented with a few different camera perspectives and lens options, while Sue continued to interview Chris, collecting all of the particulars for crafting her manuscript.

Just as we were about to get cracking, everything suddenly ground to an abrupt halt.  It turned out that all of the eggs in the restaurant’s coolers were white eggs.  Well, I’d had visions of gorgeous, little, classic brown ones in my mind for the background in the photographs, and so I decided to run across the street to Pittsford Wegmans to buy a couple dozen.  Once I’d returned with them tucked under my wing, we began our work.

Easing the raw egg into the simmering brine.

It all seemed to just come together very simply and smoothly, with chef Chris going through the process of each individual step.  Right away, in the first little group of images, I found the perspective and look that I really liked the feel of, and that set the tone for the rest of the images to come.  I was reviewing images pretty frequently, making sure that I was capturing the right overall look of each step, and that all of the little details were just the way I had wanted.  On more than a few occasions, I had asked chef Chris to repeat the same step a handful of times, so I could capture some variations of the shot, or to get the raw egg running out of the shell just-so.

The format of the magazine is a good deal different from the format of my camera’s sensor – it’s rectangular, but not as long a rectangle as what the camera captures.  Because my instinct is to purposefully compose an image in-camera, and because there’s always a chance that one of the images would be used full-bleed, I needed to keep that different ratio in mind.  During our shoot, there was a great deal of “Alright, let’s move the egg bowl over this way a few inches, Chris, your hands need to be just here, and not any higher, let’s pop this plate up just a little more, and now, let’s move the eggs back over this way some, and put that teacup right there, please.”  Oh, and smile.

From Next Door’s dinner menu – a Poached Wegmans Organic Farm Egg accompanied by all the right stuff.

After I felt that I’d had what we needed for the instructional part of the article, Next Door‘s Chef de Cuisine, Zachery Dick brought in a plated appetizer recipe that he had developed, (found on the restaurant’s Dinner Menu,) that featured a poached egg from Wegmans Organic Farm, potato “risotto,” red beet purée, brown butter bread crumbs, and duck confit.  Accompanied by a sprinkling of beautiful, little Organic Farm micro-greens, the colors and textures on the plate were really just wonderful, and I was imagining that it all tasted just as good as it looked.

I had wanted to make some nice, relaxed, candid photographs of chef Chris to be used in the article, and we worked at that for a short while next.  I began with some straightforward portraits, having him look right into the camera, and then we changed things up slightly by having him carry on a conversation with Sue, who was standing off my left side, closer to my light.  Those were the shots that I really gravitated toward, and were among those submitted for further selection by the Post‘s newly-appointed Photo Editor, Hannah Betts.  One of those was chosen for use on the magazine’s Contents page, just inside the front cover.  This was a really, really fun project to work on, and I’m so looking forward to the next one.  This had been the first “food-instruction” article that Post has published among its nine issues, and it sounds as though the intent is for the piece to be a permanent fixture – featuring food preparation instruction from some of Rochester’s top chefs.

Chef Chris Brandt, visiting with Sue, in the Test Kitchen at Next Door Bar & Grill.

The March / April issue of Post, that includes this instructional article, and a wealth of other interesting and beautiful things, just hit newsstands on Monday, and can be found at most local Barnes & Noble locations,  Abundance Co-Op, Hart’s Local Grocers, Lori’s Natural Foods, and area Wegmans locations.

Camera:  Canon EOS 5D Mark 3

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One of Seneca Park Zoo’s incredible bald eagles, allowing me to get this image of him, just before swooping just over my head, and letting me know that he was done.

Seeing the calendar reminder for tomorrow’s scouting mission at Seneca Park Zoo, in Rochester, NY, was the little kick that I needed this afternoon to begin sharing some of the past year’s work in a series of blog posts that have been stacking up for quite some time, now.  So, let’s begin.

At some point last year, I was approached and asked if I’d be interested in doing some pro-bono work for Seneca Park Zoo Society’s annual fundraising event, Zoobilation.  I was excited for the opportunity to do some potentially very cool work with some great people, and eagerly accepted the invitation to join the team.  The images we were going to create would be used in a number of ways to support and promote the event, ranging from direct-mail pieces, large-format banners, greeting cards, posters, wine bottle labels, and signs.  This was to be the 25th Anniversary of the Zoobilation event, so the pressure was on to do something really special!

Sleek and super-fast, the sea lions were nearly impossible to focus on in the dark!

I’d be working closely with a team of creatives from Roberts Communications – Rachel Spence and Brian Rapp, and the timeline for the production of the first mailers was such that we needed to move pretty quickly.  Rachel had been fleshing-out the final concept for the project, and she, along with Brian, had come up with the theme, and some fitting copy that would set the tone for the entire campaign.  The imagery would feature a handful of Seneca Park Zoo’s resident animals, and, following Rachel’s vision, would celebrate the elegance, power, and character of each animal.  Furthermore, in connecting with the theme, “A Night to Shine,” and also with the 25th Anniversary milestone, a monochromatic approach would be taken in the treatment of the photography, and in the end, the pieces would each be printed in black ink, on a metallic silver paper.

Othello, a barred owl, stretching out, and probably thinking of mice.

Our photography sessions, for the most part, needed to take place outdoors, in the damp cold, and inky darkness of the November and December evenings for which Rochester is famous.  Each animal, and their enclosures, presented a different set of problems that needed to be solved in order for us to accomplish things the way we needed.  Some instances allowed for me to be inside the animal’s enclosure, without the nuisance of some type of physical barrier between lens and beast.  Those instances were probably the easier ones to deal with.  I had some freedom of movement, and fewer limitations in the setting-up of my lighting equipment.  There were, though, among the group, a handful of animals that might be prone to bite, slash, gore, or stomp me into the ground, if they decided they didn’t like what I was up to.  In those cases, we had fences and barriers between us, and everybody was going to remain relatively intact.  I’d like to try and paint a picture here, of my having survived several very dangerous situations for the sake of this project, and while I was subject to a charging rhino, a territorial sea lion, and the threat of piercing eagle talons, in reality,  probably the worst I actually suffered was having to lie in icy mud that was laced with hyena pee.

The snow leopard seemed to be just waiting for the right moment to reach through the gap in the gate to get me.

We certainly couldn’t have accomplished things the way we hoped to without the dedication and passion of the phenomenal zoo staff, particularly the zookeepers that stayed late to work with us, and helped to figure out ways to get me where I needed to be, and the animals where they needed to be.  One thing I learned is that there’s nothing like the allure of strategically placed, fresh venison chunks to a hungry snow leopard.

The awesome presence of the rhinoceros was incredibly apparent. And that was before he charged!

Months later, after seasons had changed and the weather had warmed, it was really nice to have attended the huge Zoobilation event on a gorgeous summer evening, seeing all of our finished artwork in place, having some great food, checking out all of the animal exhibits, listening to some good music and visiting with folks.  Near the end of the evening, the conversation shifted a bit, and we were asked if we’d be willing to work on the project again for 2015!  We’re all-in, and the scouting and problem-solving begins again tomorrow afternoon.  I’m really looking forward to seeing which animals we’ll be able to work with this year, and on this cold night, I’m looking forward even more attending the big event this summer!

Camera:  Canon 5D Mark 3

Lenses:  Canon 50mm f1.2L, 90mm f2.8 T/S, 80-200 f2.8L, and 100-400 f4.5-5.6L

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A pair of beautiful Jersey girls from Grassland Dairy.

I’m pretty certain this will be my shortest-ever blog post, but that’s alright.  I felt compelled, proud, and excited enough to take a few minutes and get it out before beginning to pack for a “work” trip to St. Lucia.  The sun-block and flip-flops can wait for a little bit.

The Holstien darlings of Har-Go Farms.

A series of four images from a large body of work I had created last summer had been one of my entries in the 2013 RAF Addy Awards competition right here in Rochester, NY.  The project, one of my favorites ever, was photographed for Wegmans Food Markets, and illustrates the workings of five western New York organic dairy farms that are suppliers of milk for products sold under the Wegmans Organic Dairy brand.

The Jerseys of Good News Farm bringing it on in for the evening milking.

On March 14, the night of the big RAF Addy Awards ceremony, my cows happily came home with a Gold Addy clutched tightly in their little hooves, and I was just thrilled for them.  Furthermore, (that one’s for you, Matt,) I had received an e-mail the other day stating that the same series of photographs had also won a Silver Addy at the AAF District 2 competition!  This, being my first District 2 award ever, was an especially proud moment.  So, now, the cows mosey off to the pastures of the AAF National Addy Awards for perusal by the judges there.  We’ll see how it goes on May 3.  I’m sure I’ll make an update here, if anything else comes up.  For now, people, please just drink more organic milk.  The cows thank you for your support.

A lone Jersey, reluctant to leave her clover patch and follow the herd to the evening milking at Grassland Dairy.

Camera:  Canon EOS 5D Mark 3

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Matt Smythe, gathering tailgate thoughts.

When I think of what the past two years has brought, I’m simply fascinated by the fashion in which paths and lives intersect.  The way dots connect, lines form and then branch off at different angles, each leading to new connections, collaborations, opportunities, and friendships.  Energies collect, combine and build.  All of it seems to just propel you forward.

Matt White, visualizing the opening scenes for the promo video from the bed of his pickup.

When I first began publishing posts in this blog section of my web site, my intent was to tell stories about projects I had photographed, show new work, to use each piece as a vehicle for prospective clients to get to know a little more about me, and what it’s like to work with me.  This was a place for me to talk about my work and myself, and what I’d been up to lately.  I’ve enjoyed that part of the creative process, and that type of outlet.  It just seems like a fairly natural extension of what I do and who I am.  In some ways, this post isn’t much different from the others.  My gut, though, tells me that this one, or at least the reason for it, is maybe more significant.  Deeper.  More meaningful.  For a wealth of reasons.

Dustin Lutt, doing his thing with the Red Epic.

I have sat at this computer to write this post on four separate occasions.  Each previous time, I wasn’t satisfied with the direction I’d headed in.  Now, I just need to get this thing out.  It’s probably not going to be the profound outpouring I had hoped for, but I’m going to be away from the “internet umbilical cord” for a few days and need to gather up a few of these scattered thoughts and jot them down.

The still images you see embedded in this post are from the production of the promo video we had created this past April, in central Kansas, to gain sponsors and supporters for the project, and to help describe our intent for the greater project, and the flavor in which it would be produced.  Captured afield using a RED Epic and Canon 5D Mark 3 in the hands of cinematographers Matt White and Dustin Lutt, the promo video came together in just two days time.

Danny Williams, fresh-out of rotator-cuff surgery, still had enough sand to help lug gear afield.

In a handful of days, I’ll find myself standing on some stunning ground in Idaho, and in the company of some very, very wonderful people – Rebecca Garlock, Ross Slayton, Colby Hackbarth, Dustin Lutt, Matt White, Matt Smythe, Robert Nelson, Aileen Nishimura, and a sprinkling of others. We are converging on a handful of Idaho’s great trout waters to begin and complete the filming of A Deliberate Life, our short-film project. (Click in the film title to view the promo video.)

Matt and Dustin filming in a gorgeous, spring-green field of Kansas wheat.

At a time when I’m struggling to find my own explanation for this project, I think it may be best to offer a statement that Matt Smythe had written a short while back for the Vimeo page that had been created to house the promo video.  He writes:

“There comes a time in all of our lives when we let ourselves dream about living life on our own terms. When we wrestle with the decision to take a step into traffic, follow our passions and live deliberately – or simply let another day, and daydream, pass.

This promo video is the initial statement of intent for a much larger film project that will be set against the diverse, rugged and breathtaking Idaho landscape and three of its most celebrated rivers. A Deliberate Life will explore the stories of five unlikely friends who share the same love of fly fishing and their choice to lead a life according to their passions.”

Danny, keeping an eye on the baby.

It’s difficult for me, also, to truly define when this project really began for me.  If I trace back all of the different lines and connections and events that had to occur in order for this thing to happen, the trail seems to go back for quite some time.  This is likely a conversation best had around a good campfire.   It’s pretty cool, when you think about it.  All of us involved are excited about this thing.  There’s a really great energy about the whole collaboration, and it’s only beginning.  The promo video has received some really nice feedback since we started making it visible.  Last week, Matt shared the following e-mail he had received from someone who had come across the video through a blog network that he follows.

I’m still trying to understand how a South Dakota guy comes to wear a Boston Red Sox ballcap.

That e-mail reads:  “This morning one of the shops I follow posted the link to your A Deliberate Life trailer. The video was inspiring and hit close to home, because after 7 years in the Army, a couple of front line deployments, and 3 corporate years in and out of airports running the suit and tie gauntlet, I decided three weeks ago to no longer be that guy. The time has come to pursue my own passion for the outdoors and fly-fishing, versus “the expected.” The decision, completely outside my box and against the safe approach, finally just came easy, as also mentioned in the video. Freaked out and trying to figure out how it’s all playing out, I’m just running with it and seeing what the adventure brings.   Anyway, the only reason for writing is to voice encouragement and to thank you. The video strengthened the confidence in my own personal decision and I look forward to the final video.”

Soaking up the quiet of a fine, spring morning in-between takes.

I suppose this collaboration means something different to each of us involved.  Though hearts and minds are aligned in this mutual vision, Each person has found their way to it by their own path.  We’ve been thrust together into it somehow, though, because our passions in life have led each of us to this very point.  Next week, the path leads us to Oregon and Idaho, and for a couple of us, Wyoming after that.  (But that’s another project.)

Set up in the midst of a tiny riffle on the slider, Matt captured the one rainbow trout in Kansas getting hooked. Whew!

You’ll have to check back now and then, please, for further posts, because surely they will come as this thing unfolds and evolves.

For now, please take four minutes to see what this is all about, and watch our A Deliberate Life promo video here.

There will be much, much more to share a bit farther down the road.

Fishingpoet, zonked out in the brain-cave at Rockhouse Motion. Hell of a journey.

Camera:  Canon 5D Mark 2

Promo video:  RED Epic and Canon 5D Mark 3

For further exploration:  rockhousemotion.com,  dustyimages.com,  fishingpoet.com

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Morning curiosity in the lush pastures of Grassland Dairy.

I’ve just recently completed what is likely one of my all-time favorite projects ever.  During the past few weeks, I have visited five different dairy farms in western New York that supply organic milk to Wegmans Food Markets, for use in various products sold under the Wegmans Organic brand.  Popular products such as Wegmans Organic Milk, Half and Half, and Super Yogurt head the list.

Lovers of grass and mud in front of the sky-line at Har-Go Farms.

The days began early for my assistant, Amy, and I, but as early as we arrived in the morning to each farm, we still couldn’t stay ahead of the farmers and their families, who were wide-awake and into their hard work long before we were.  We’d usually get to photograph the end of the morning milking, and then spend the rest of the day out to pasture with the cows, photographing them doing their work, and also capturing images of the farmers attending to their long list of chores on those hot summer days.

A lone Jersey watches as the rest of the herd moves out of the pasture for the evening milking at Grassland Dairy.

There aren’t too many ways that I’d rather spend a work day.  Being outdoors in such pretty country, among good people and animals can be very soothing – even therapeutic.  I know that Amy was feeling the same way.  I think she’s got a special place in her heart for cows, and it seemed that every time I turned around, she was talking to one of them.  One morning, she told me (in confidence,) that she secretly wished to hug each one of them as they left the barn in single file after the morning milking.  I’m not sure the cows would have put up with that, but I suppose it was a nice thought, anyhow.

Amy, visiting with one of the ladies at Good News Farms.

The handful of images you see here come from a large body of work created during five days of shooting, some of which will be selected for use in an upcoming article in Menu Magazine.

Amy, dodging the double-wire electric fence at Maverick Farm.

The Jerseys of Good News Farm heading in for the evening milking.

Eggs for sale. Organic. Fresh, daily.

Camera:  Canon EOS 5D Mark-3

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