Visual and Tactile

I wanted to create an abstract set of photos that were an exploration of visual and tactile. I played with fabric, painted wood, metal and acrylic. Some cuts I wanted to have perfect edges and others have imperfect edges. The images would be real with very minimal retouching. In this world of perfect 3D, we forget how beautiful the real thing can be.

Donut Emoji

Donuts are fun to eat and photograph. How I photograph them is always changing, unlike my favorite flavor...glazed.

One series I did involved carrying around 8 foot square photos of donuts mounted onto foam core. I’d place them in surprising locations and take photos of the giant donut posters in their new habitats. There was an appealing contrast of the gritty environments and the large clean colorful donut photos. I really enjoyed doing this but it’s not easy dragging that giant foam core around!

My latest idea is to shrink down the size of the print to fit in my bag. This allows me to be more spontaneous. I decided to make donut emojis for the prints. By placing these small images in new locations the donut emojis take on a anthropomorphic quality.

My donut series work can be seen on instagram @12happydonuts. Be sure to follow for some sweet fun!

https://www.instagram.com/12happydonuts/

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Geometric Fruit

This recent project is a study of contrasts. The differences in the shapes, colors and texture create a tension and highlight the qualities of each element. Rather than turn to photoshop for the creation of the backgrounds, I cut the shapes out of paper. I wanted the lighting to be real and not a rendered approximation. The paper texture, edges, and spacing between layers are not too perfect, which makes the composition more intriguing.  It was really satisfying to concept and then build the backgrounds…choosing the materials and colors and figuring out how to get the cuts the way I wanted.

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Chucks

This was a personal project I worked on back in 1992. I don’t normally show old work but I still found this interesting. This adventure took place when Chuck Taylor All Stars were still made in the USA and photos were still taken with film.

It was interesting going back and digitizing the film. It made me really appreciate how much control you get with a RAW digital file. It crazy to have taken all these photos on the trip without seeing a preview. I had to wait until I got back to see if the photos even worked out. So old school.

You can view the story and photos here.

Make It Personal

I always have ideas brewing of image concepts that I want to see come to fruition. Finding time for personal projects is hard but important for creative growth. I find that the process of shooting personal images helps influence my professional work as well.

I have always loved using donuts as a subject. They are delicious and unique with a rich history. I find them fascinating. For this recent series, I wanted to shoot large prints of donuts around San Francisco. It was cost prohibitive to actually print out the images and place them in the settings, so I placed an 8’x8’ square of white foamcore in each location. My assistant was the lucky one who got to watch over the foamcore once it was leaning in the photo. We had a couple of times where it almost blew away!

By shooting the images with the actual large foam core in location, I was able to capture people’s reactions or lack thereof one. I was surprised with how many people just ignored us and just walked around.

Shooting donuts is always fun and satisfying. I never know where or how I'll shoot them next!

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Stop Motion Fun

I love donuts and I love stop motion so why not combine them? That’s what I’ve done with this playful video, it’s short but sweet—just like the donuts in it. The creation of the video took several days. It may look simple but it took lots of planing and strategizing. One issue is that donuts change their appearance over time. I had to plan each part to be completed within a day. If I wasn’t able to get the shot done, I had to wait until the next day to start again with fresh donuts. Another issue was that the donuts left a sugar/grease trail as they moved. Rather then clean the surface after each move (which I did in the beginning) I backed each donut with cardboard. This made it much more efficient to move the donuts around without the hassle and mess. Another big part of completing the video was finding some great music to set the tone. Thankfully Craig Bromley was on board for creating some custom music for the video. I am amazed he was able to develop such a range in the relatively short time span of the video.

Donut Fun

I love donuts and I love stop motion so why not combine them? That’s what I’ve done with this playful video, it’s short but sweet—just like the donuts in it. The creation of the video took several days. It may look simple but it took lots of planing and strategizing. One issue is that donuts change their appearance over time. I had to plan each part to be completed within a day. If I wasn’t able to get the shot done, I had to wait until the next day to start again with fresh donuts. Another issue was that the donuts left a sugar/grease trail as they moved. Rather then clean the surface after each move (which I did in the beginning) I backed each donut with cardboard. This made it much more efficient to move the donuts around without the hassle and mess.

Another big part of completing the video was finding some great music to set the tone. Thankfully Craig Bromley was on board for creating some custom music for the video. I am amazed he was able to develop such a range in the relatively short time span of the video.

View on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/109470568 View on Youtube: http://youtu.be/lKMNmyF1ErU

I was inspired by my son’s weekly soccer games for the theme of this stop motion video. I wanted to create something fun and simple. While I was attracted to the basic theme of the idea, I learned simple things are not always easy! In this case, making the pump hose move fluidly was tricky. I needed to be able to move the hose in small, precise steps. Rather then run a wire in the hose I used a metal rod to hold each position of the hose in place. Later the rod was digitally removed. Hopefully the result looks simple and fun. Music by: http://www.purple-planet.com

Pump It

I was inspired by my son’s weekly soccer games for the theme of this stop motion video. I wanted to create something fun and simple. While I was attracted to the basic theme of the idea, I learned simple things are not always easy! In this case, making the pump hose move fluidly was tricky. I needed to be able to move the hose in small, precise steps. Rather then run a wire in the hose I used a metal rod to hold each position of the hose in place. Later the rod was digitally removed. Hopefully the result looks simple and fun.

View on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/109470570 View on Youtube: http://youtu.be/EJw-hALtd_k