"Unique" Jerome

Jerome was one of the very first who answered my craigslist ad for "Unique People Wanted" over a year ago. To date, I have photographed about 80 people and am always looking for more.

On The Roof

I shot this Mineapolis skyline view while shooting the new Children's Hospital addition. While I was about 10 stories up and standing about 2 feet from the ledge I started to think...what if a big gust of wind came up out of nowhere? Or what if my crazy self took over? Do other people think like this?

Danielle & Jeremy

Some photos from Danielle & Jeremy's Wedding yesterday at the Mill City Museum; a favorite place of mine.

Drive By Shooting

A few days ago I snapped this shot from my car while I was driving down Hennepin in Minneapolis. You can see a small piece of my side view mirror in the lower right corner of the frame. I have always wanted to shoot under this overpass. Unfortunately, the best vantage point seems to be from the lane of traffic, so I shot it going about 40mph out the window. (Don't worry, I just held it out the window, without looking through the viewfinder)

That reminds me of a photographer who worked in LA. (wish I could rember his name) He would pull his car over to the side of the road, jump out in an orange vest, place a cone behind his car and grab a couple shots. Then there was Gary Winogrand, a favorite street shooter of mine, who would have his friends drive him around as he shot out the car window. He was very prolific through his life. He died at 56 with 300,000 unedited images and 2500 undeveloped rolls of film.

"Unique" Katie

A Day Of Portraits

Today I spent the day making free portraits for a few job-seekers in the Twin Cities. Thirty people came to my studio to have their photos made. A few of these photos have already have made it on job/networking sites. Over all it was a very good day, meeting a range of people in practically every category except one...race. The notice for this opportunity was placed in a wide-range of resources and I am at a loss to explain this. There were people who work (or used to work) in a big range of arenas...I.T., nonprofit, consulting, sales, advertising, entertainment, finance...

The attitude of the people was surprisingly upbeat. I sort of expected more of a depressed state-of-mind. Maybe that group of the unemployed, wouldn't bother to come by for a photo...not really sure. Many of the participants even suggested new sources for me to find work. The day left me feeling an increased level of hope, which is a very good thing.

"The Unemployed Photo Day"

At my studio this coming Tuesday, I will be photographing people who find themselves unemployed. These photos can be used for whatever purpose they want. Hopefully it will be to use with profiles on job search/ networking sites, or when appropriate, on resumes . (The idea and ethics of having a photo on one's resume was discussed to death on the on-line photographer's website after this project was mentioned)

After the exposure this project has received, I have a very full schedule of over 30 people. I still think I will be able to squeeze in a few more. Hopefully, everyone will be prompt and things will go smoothly. Maybe I should put in a drive though :)

Charles Manson's Relative

The recent news about Charles Manson and his updated photo made me think of John who came to my studio to take part in the "Unique" series. John traveled about 300 miles with his great big dog who he also wanted included in some of the photos, which I did. He said he was a cousin of Charles Manson.

Kou Hang

Yesterday I took photos of Kou who moved to the US in 2004 from Thailand. He earned his GED from Hubbs Center for Lifelong Learning in St Paul. My client (St Paul Public Schools), is doing testimonial stories about its' graduates who have been able to made great strides. It's a great campaign by Brett Johnson over at St Paul Public Schools. People like Kou are very inspirational and it is great to be able to spend some time with him.

Mike over at The Online photographer was kind enough to publish a note about my upcoming shoot next Tuesday. (sctoll down to the previous post for info)) So far, I have 20 people scheduled. Here is the link to the OnLine Photographer.

http://theonlinephotographer.com/the_online_photographer/blog_index.html

Free Photos

After receiving numerous requests to shoot portraits of people for use on their resumes, LinkedIn pages, etc,I have come up with an idea.

Next Tuesday, March 24 I will be shooting free portraits for anyone who finds themselves unemployed. Immediately following the photography, which takes approx 10 minutes, I will make digital files that can be used for whatever. (hopefully to help find work)

If you know someone who can benefit from a photo, please have them contact me.

Free Portraits if you are unemployed
Tuesday March 24
NE Mpls Studio (I will email address)

Please forward this email to anyone and everyone

The Salvation Army Doing Good Work

Recently took a trip to Chicago to do some work for The Salvation Army. I spent a day with a mobile canteen that pulls up to areas where homeless people congregate and then serves hot soup and tea. They also will provide transportation to shelters and services if people request. (A family was taken to a shelter and a man, suffering from hypothermia, was taken to the hospital) The type of work that is being done by this group is so very important, it makes my work feel small in comparison. I am so lucky that I have opportunity and access to make these photos. Shooting under an umbrella in the freezing rain was easy compared to what they endure on a daily basis.

Alliance Housing

Just finished working with Alliance Housing on their Annual Report. Herb Frey is the Executive Director and Bob Bono works with all the tenants. These guys have a get-it-done mentality which is infectious. Alliance owns, and operates affordable housing for poor and homeless people. The residents are people on the edge who just need a window of a chance to get things going. I am not sure how Bob keeps track of everyone of these tenants, but he does and does it well. I work with several organizations who work in affordable housing and am a big believer in their mission. Can't imagine what it must be like to not have a place to live.

"Unique" Jennifer

Jennifer, who was a former student, came to the studio to be a part of the "Unique" series. She wrote many strong statements and gave me a choice. This is what I chose.

Dipping Into The Well

One of my models, who replied to my "Unique People Wanted" ad on Craigslist was a no-show today. Unfortunately, this happens about 1/3 of the time. I don't even set anything up until they call me from my building lobby and tell me they are here. (this is necessary anyway because of the funky freight elevator, which requires me to escort them up to my studio) This also makes the photography more spontaneous, which I like.

While I am at it, I find that the best photos of people tend to be the ones that happen early on in the shoot. Frequently in the first few minutes. I think this is the time when everything is possible and it is this feeling that comes through in the image. I know that many photographers prefer to spend some time with their subjects getting to know them before they decide what to do, but for me it is more instinctive.

As a result of the no-show, I am grabbing some low hanging fruit and posting a previous shoot. Here is Dan, who I actually photographed for "Prison Fellowship", but felt he was a good fit for this project.

Welcome to Minnesota & Teaching

Last night I taught a class at Southwest High School here in Minneapolis. I have taught a variety of photo classes over the past 5 years and find it very rewarding. Last night's class was a continuing education class on portrait photography called "The Intimate Portrait". The class has only 7 students which is perfect. It allows for some very good, free-flowing conversation. That and the fact they are adults and really want to be there is a plus. The old cliche, that the teacher learns as much from the students as they learn from him (I hope) is entirely true. I also find great value in actually verbalizing the ideas that I find swirling in my head. Something about hearing them in an auditory form makes them "real".

On another note, this winter is dragging on waaaay too long. When I woke up this morning it was -2º with the wind chill factor at -23º. With the official first day of spring just ten days away, this is so very wrong.

The photo above is the view from my studio (zoomed it in a bit) which I never tire of.

"Unique" Anthony

Anthony drove in from Hudson, Wisconsin in the snow (will winter ever end?) to be photographed for the "Unique" series.

"Uniques"

Wanting to shoot more in-studio and to try new techniques as well as to meet interesting people, I started placing ads on craigslist looking for unique individuals. People would respond with a description of their uniqueness and come to the studio for a sitting. I couple this description with their image. In exchange, they receive a proof sheet and cd with the images. Here is Jessica.