2009 Predictions

Here is an article from Photo District News that asks different creatives their opinion about current and future trends in advertising. I have included a quote from Jennie Myers, from Boise Advertising Agency Drake Cooper. We couldn't agree more with Jennie.

I have been working hard to push my imagery in that direction. I want to offer agencies and clients a new direction, new thought process and more options. Help shift the paradyne of what is possible.

Talk Softly at least until 3pm.

OMG, just waking up (brain pounding slightly) from the Mitchell + Palmer (here) Christmas Blowout. What a shindig. Great people, killer offices, go-go dancers, free food and booze. So great to see a building full of smiling faces, laughter and sticky concrete (probably from the Plum Vodka and Red Bull) .

The aroma of beer, cigars, guacamole, smoked ham, chocolate chip cookies and some other stuff I am not familiar with added to the vibe. The go-go dancers (gyrating on Billy and Robs desks) added to the controlled chaos. I posted a small video of the dancers.

The new digs (Muse Building) on Jefferson was absolutely packed. Billy and Rob made a huge splash and from what I can gather are very much loved and admired. I haven't seen that many evening gowns and stillettos since I was in NYC in October. It was a ripper, seriously.

I am hoping to initiate the idea of doing that every other Friday.

This product really "Sucks"

We just finished a great project with Mitchell+Palmer (here) for Pro Team (here). Pro Team manufactures world class vacuum cleaners. We had a great time working with Rob Palmer, Billy Mitchell and Hollis Welsh on this project. Pushed the photoshop possibilities even further. We totally dig the challenge. Did I mention that this product really sucks. No really.

The shot (created in the fertile recesses of the Mitchell Palmer psyche) was a composite of many different elements. The final ad illustrates the many medical benefits of having a superior cleaning system. The ads are being run in various trade publications, nationally.

Our deep appreciation to the group at Mitchell+Palmer and Pro Team.

Hard Drives and Gun Powder

This is a new series of images for high tech rifle manufacturer Tactical Solutions (here). What could possibly go together better than gun powder, massive amounts of electrical current and a Italian Female Secret Agent with a tude. We had a blast, AND nobody was hurt, at least visibly.

Expanding Universe

I just finished a few images for the portfolio. I am widening the visual footprint of the studio. For years I shot portraits and commercial people images with some pretty tight constraints. It was challenging (and seldom sucessful) to push the envelop. Then I shot food, tons of it, for years, and found myself again constrained. Food photography is challenging, no doubt. Mainly because the products have very limited shelf life, endless prop options , and ultimately it has to look very tasty, whatever that takes. No small task. But artistically I wanted to say more in my image making.

I guess the unleashed portion of the portfolio is my revolt against what I consider the "visual boundaries" I had to work with. Now we can take strong visual concepts and push the technology to match the pre-visualized idea. What a rush developing the skills to create any image you can imagine. Lines of fantasy and reality blur. Logistics of a huge productions suddenly disappear. New ways of problem solving emerge.

It has surely blown the doors off "What is possible".

The new direction combines the best of both worlds. Traditional photography sensibility with a bit of "pixel polishing". This is a really exciting direction. My advertising community seems to embrace this notion as well. It provides them with a new story to tell. New solutions to client's marketing dilemmas.

I am going to continue to push what is possible, offer a dynamic variety of visual solutions to clients and keep exploring better ways to tell a story visually.

PDN PIX DIGITAL hits the streets

The November 2008 Photo District News has hit the streets. We are jazzed as my image of downtown London was chosen as a winner of in the "Travel and Lifestyle" category. I posted this award a few weeks ago. It is always nice to see the images in print and circulating. Just keeping the dream alive!!

PDN Keeps on Giving

Wow, I was so stoked to see the page above on the Photo District News website. We posted this story a couple of weeks ago but was really excited to see it in print and on the site. We are very honored to be part of the DrakeCooper creative team on the project and to have been featured on in PDN. The article discusses Advertising Agencies west of the Rockies. Check out the post below.

Walter Justice Book Release

Walter Justice's book is out next week. We shot the cover a couple of months ago and posted a blog entry (you can see that by scrolling below). Walter commissioned us to create an compelling image that illustrates the concepts and theme of his book.

Above is a screen shot of his web-site. Check it out. Enjoy.

Last Loop

Well, I have to say that this has been an epic fall in Boise. Leaves started turning in the middle of Sept and it is still peaking. The valley floor in a quilt of deep orange and red, with the Boise River in a cobalt ribbon through the center.
I went for the last big motorcycle ride of the year last weekend. . The mountain passes are going to get a little sketchy here real soon. Rode from Boise to Sun Valley - Sun Valley to Stanley - Stanley to Boise via Idaho City. About 350 miles. I knew the colors would be insane so I decided go to Silver Creek, the world famous trout stream. Well known in fly fishing circles as "The Creek". I have spent countless hours fishing in this cathedral. Tough slow water, smart fish, (check that) smart, big fish! About 2 hours from Boise.

On the ride I took the shot above at the Creek. While cruising through Sun Valley I stopped to check out a new architectural assignment. A awesome property in downtown Ketchum, (picture above). That is going to be a great project! When I get the images done I will post some.

Boise State University, feeling the power!

We are so stoked to announce that Boise State University's Ed Tech Department (here) have just joined the growing, dynamic community we are creating at TDG Digital Manager.

More and more companies are understanding the incredible efficiency provided by our simple, well designed, scalable data asset management system. Boise State University's Ed Tech Department specializes in graduate degress in distance education. A perfect partner to research and test the "possibilities" provided by our TDG Digital Manager. We are expecting great things as a result of this exciting partnership.

Onions Are Our Friends

I am just doing the final touches on the Idaho-Eastern Oregon Onion Committee's new billboard campaign. We love working with Sherise Jones, the creative director at the committee. She is hilarious, and very creative. We have a couple previous images on the site www.tri-digitalgroup.com

We did a composite and shot the backgrounds in Oregon and the model Rachael in our Boise studio.

Heading West

We just got our October Issue of Photo District News and was pleasantly surprised to see we were featured in a article about local agency, Drake Cooper. The article addresses the agencies that are "West of Madison Ave" and the talent that lies west of the "Big City".

It paints the west in a great light and exposes some of the talent that chooses not to live in the big "Advertising Cities". I love articles like this. For so long New York, Chicago, L. A., Miami, Seattle and the like were considered the only areas to find talented agencies as well as photographers.

I grew up in Southern California and went to college there. I started my photography career there as well. I just chose a quieter existence in the Rockies. For years announcing that your studio is in Boise, or Bend or Madison, brought muffled chuckles from the mainstream advertising community. That is beginning to change. Talent exists everywhere, and more times than not photographers from "outside" the geographic center of the photographic universe provide unique perspectives, a laid back, unpretentious, low key attitude, as well as world class talent. As the following post states, we just won our second PDN PIX DIGITAL Award in a row right here in Boise, Id.

Come shoot in Boise, you will not believe how awesome this place is, and you don't need 20 permits and a act of congress to shoot outside. If you need location work, don't forget plane trips are relatively inexpensive and we have a killer airport about a mile from our studio. Our bags are always packed!

I say BRAVO PDN. Thanks for the shout out to "Big Sky Country".

OMG We doubled down!

I got some unbelievable news today. The image above is a winner of the Photo District News www.pdnoline.com, 2008 PIX DIGITAL Award in the"Travel and Lifestyle" category. We are truly grateful for this most prestigious award. Last year we won the same award in the Advertising Category. The award coincides with the Gigantic Photo Expo in New York this October.

The Photo District News Awards are considered by many to be the premiere photo awards in the industry. Talent from around the globe submit thousands of images in various categories. Photo District News is again throwing a huge party at Splashlight Studios (we attended that last year) where they roll out the red carpet for the winners. The image will appear in the December Photo District News Magazine as well as their web-site and other marketing material.

We want to thank everyone at PDN for this great honor.

Welcome Aboard

I want to welcome the Idaho Potato Commission (here) to our TDG-Asset Manager (here). The buzz is building about this incredible, affordable system. The TDG Assset Manager is a web-based, fully customizable library for storing, managing and distributing digital media files. It's easy to use, yet still provides a powerful collaboration and production tool.

Companies seeking to take control of their digital assets are finding our system very liberating. Reducing time to market and controlling the runaway cost of simply looking for a particular image are only two of the many reasons companies are signing up for our service.

The Great Kristin Armstrong

We just finished the final post on a series of images of 2008 Bejing Olympics Gold Medal Cyclist winner Kristen Armstrong www.kristinarmstrongusa.com. The images are for the upcoming United Dairymen campaign www.idahodairycouncil.com.

We had the pleasure to work with Cheri Story from the United Dairymen, and the great Drake Cooper team www.drakecooper.com, Joe Quatrone, Dennis Budell, and Lisa Hawkes. The campaign, layouts and boards were honed to perfection by the Drake Cooper team and the shooting day was quite an event.

We had a blast shooting, talking about poly unsaturated fats, international competition, chocolate milk, and The Worlds in Italy. Oh yeah and just a little bit about the inter-play of light and shadow.

First time I have ever met a Olympic Gold Medal winner, first time I have ever seen or held a gold medal (yeah it is heavier than it looks). First time I have ever lifted a 15 pound full size racing bicycle. Unbelievable technology folks.

Kristin Armstong (no relation to you know who) is a awesome, professional lady. She is incredibly fit, generous, gregarious, funny, and very down to earth. Great working with her and listening to her stories of the road. We got some incredible images that are just now hitting the streets.

Mr. Manly Signing Off

While shooting in Laguna I got some terrible news. One of my best friends, Erich Korte, had passed away in his sleep. I was devastated. He was in great shape, rode hundreds of miles a month on his bike. It just didn't make sense. I was thinking about this he is the first person I have ever known that died randomly, for no reason.

Mr Manly (as he is known and I won't go into the name other than to say it was well deserved) was the first person I met when I moved to Idaho in 1991. He lived next door. I won't turn this into an o-bit, but I will say he was the most remarkable, intelligent, funny, original, curious, unique people I have ever had the pleasure to know.

We logged many a mile together and did a lot of stuff that was, let's say, somewhat questionable. But we never got seriously injured, hurt any innocent bystanders and never lost a appendage. Manly in Stanley will never be the same and he will never be forgotton.

Christmas in September

I just got back from a 4 day trip to Laguna Beach. Stayed with my great friends Moya and Wynn. I shot the 2008 Christmas ad for The Laguna Beach Visitors Bureau www.lagunabeachinfo.com . I worked with Judy and Ashley and they were awesome.

We shot half the day on the beach for the ad as well as some shopping images at the John Barber' Glass Gallery www.johnbarberglassdesigns.com. The images will be running in high end California publications like Palm Springs Living and LA Magazine.

It is always a challenge shooting at noon on a cloudless day on the beach. The ladies provided much needed grip support and masterfully wielded the reflector with precession.

This was a great assignment and it is always good to hang in So. Cal and soak up the beach juice. I get to eat some great dinners prepared by Mr. Laguna himself Wynn Oneill www.wynnoneill.com and watch the sun splash into the pacific every night from the deck. Unreal really. Spectacular place, Laguna, and the ladies at the Bureau are dream clients. I posted a couple of shots from the ads.

Carnies, Corn Dogs, Sticky Shoes

Went to the Idaho State Fair last night. Wow. I had a moment of clarity while there and have made a great discovery. Everything tastes better deep fried in poly unsaturated fat. Another discovery - it might not be that good for you. I woke up with what felt like a mild concussion and a aggressive stomach ache.

I have never photographed a fair of this kind. I have seen many pictures over the years and thought it would be a great venue. This year I wasn't going to pass it up. From the looks of the other 30 photographers there, I guess I was missing something.

The weather was really great with a killer sky and sunset, allowing for some pretty great opportunities. The whole scene unfolded once inside. Creepy Carnies dog-eyeing the teen girls, great unwashed masses, whiny kids, sticky crap all over the ground and the smell of deep fried Pronto Pups, beer and diesel.

America at play, man I love it. In all honesty, I don't think there have been too many other occasions where I have felt more American. True Americana there - in spades. It was great to get out and take in the vibe. Thank God it's only once a year!

Boise State's new Sky Box

If you are not familiar with Boise State Broncos let me give you a brief history. In the 2006-2007 Fiesta Bowl played in Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, the Boise State Broncos defeated the heavily favored Oklahoma Sooner in overtime. It is considered by many to be one of the greatest college football games ever played.

BSU were undefeated in that season. BSU's football program has been building and improving for some time. Drawing huge crowds an interest to the famous "Blue Turf". After that season the University began a much needed and deserved addition to the stadium. The Stueckle Sky Club is days from completion. On assignment to shoot the campus, here are a couple of final images from that campaign. The Sky Club is really a great building. Dramatic and modern. Just what the Boise skyline needed.

Walter Justice

A couple of weeks ago we had a very interesting client at the studio. He is a author and is publishing a christian theme book. He wanted the cover photo to illustrate an idea from some scripture. Basically, the idea was that burning arrows were being shot at and through him and he was calm, defiant and unafraid.

He wanted the image to appear modern, not biblical but gritty and powerful. Above is the result of the shoot. It was interesting working with flames and arrows. I bought the arrows a pawn shop. Matt (pyro dude) and I set the arrows on a clamp, lit it with some fire paste and shot away.
We then clipped several of the images and placed them in the photo.

The challenges presented by digital possibilities are endless and really pushes our creativity and photoshop skills. No wonder we are photo freaks, check that "superfreaks".

London Calling

Sorry, it has been a while since my last post. It has been a very busy summer. In early June my wife and I spent 10 days in England. Spent about 3 days in Bath, near the west coast and the remainder in London.

England is a incredible country, and as you might imagine, full of history. Endless photography opportunities. Bath is an ancient city settled by the Roman's around the time of Christ. It was settled primarily because of a natural hot spring that was thought to be holy. The hot water combining with the cool English air created a very mystical foggy, bog vibe. The Romans built a huge public bath there. The engineering and design are really crazy. Very sophisticated.

The London portion was insane. London is another historic city that is totally buzzing, all the time. Incredible history. Way more than you can consume in a week. Think Manhattan, with 10 story buildings, built 300 years ago with traffic like L.A at 4p.m on a holiday weekend. Funny thing was, not a lot of technology there. Cell phones, lab tops, pda's not really prevalent as in the U.S. The people there are very friendly no "tude" at all.

I am posting some images from the trip. I am still editing the trip, that is going to take some time. Check the web site for additional images.

See you next post.

Lagunatics

I just got back from a week in So. Cal. Laguna Beach to be exact. My old stomping grounds. Hung out with my great friends Moya and Wynn. While there I had a chance to shoot for a upcoming gallery show at Seven Degress Gallery this summer.

Check out the site. www.seven-degrees.com This place is crazy. Had some pretty cloudy weather, but I enjoy shooting on overcast days. I provides perfect conditions to do my "post production thang". Here are a couple images from the shoot. One is from an old staircase that leads from the bluff to the beach. The other is the Pageant of the Masters Amphitheater.

Boise bike messengers take the "Windy City"

I just got word from Joe Quatrone, the Creative Director at Drake-Cooper in Boise, that the image created by Joe, Jennie Myers and myself was one of the three award winners at the Magnet Creative Conference in Chicago. The image was created for the Northstar Cycle Courier campaign.

I am extremely honored and stoked to get this recognition. I really love the idea of the image and working with the guys at Drake Cooper is nothing short of inspiring. Great concept, edgy and outside the box, especially here in Boise. Drake Cooper shows time and time again that pushing the limits visually can tell a story, make a point, and have an incredible impact.

I really appreciate the opportunity to be part of this project.

Shooting Jamie Eason

I just finished shooting and some post production on images with Jamie Eason. If you aren't familiar with her she is a highly sought after fitness model and spokesperson for Bodybuilding.com. She has appeared in many national magazines including covers for Oxygen Magazine.

Jamie is a total professional, awesome model, fabulous attitude, and we got some great images. We have posted a few on the site. www.tri-digitalgroup.com and www.gsims.tri-digitalgroup.com. We shot the entire day in the studio on April 14th. We did images that could be clipped into various scenes illustrating fitness and sports.

Jamie is especially interested in educating young women about the benefits of healthy living and lifestyle.

For more info on Jamie check out her site at www.jamieeason.com

Idaho-Eastern Oregon Onion Committee

For the last couple of weeks I have been working on the Idaho-Eastern Oregon Onion Committee project. For this campaign we were commissioned to create 4 images. One for each season, illustrating "onions as part of your active lifestyle". Sherise Jones, from the committee, is a great visionary and has a killer sense of humor. With her we developed the conceptual theme of the images.

We shot 4 images last year illustating "50 years of being the life of the party". The concept and images were really well received and this project is a continuation of that campaign. A couple of these images appear on our website under the "unleashed" portfolio at www.tri-digitalgroup.com

The images will appear in various marketing materials as well as very large trade show displays.

Mpix Labs

Recently I was contacted by John Rank at Mpix labs (A Division of Miller Photography Lab) and asked if I could supply them with some images they could print for NAPP conference. They wanted to display them in their booth. I was honored with the request. Last week he sent us the images he printed for the conference. I have to tell you they really look amazing. My images are pretty saturated and punchy and they did a killer job reproducing them.

A couple of days ago, I was contacted again by John and was asked if they could use the images for the NAPP Las Vegas Show. Very cool. He found our site through our affiliation with NAPP. All the more reason to be part of this great organization. If you are interested here is a link www.photoshopusers.com

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Lorraine Hotel downtown Memphis, June 4, 2006
Graceland, Memphis Tn
Dr. Porter's, downtown Memphis
Very early morning, the famous Daisy Theater, Beale St.

Famous A. Schwab in the same morning light, Beale St



On April 4, 2006 I was in Memphis on a assignment for J.R. Simplot Company. We arrived the day before, checked the photo site, and then bolted for Graceland. Home of the King. Took the tour (for the second time) paid homage to the man, felt his presence, checked out the crib, knelt at his grave, imagined hangin with him. Got some incredible images . It is everything you have heard. "Smaller than you thought", "It's on a busy highway", "The pool is so small", "Was he serious with the Jungle Room", etc.

One of the things that I couldn't get was why he would live on that busy street. Later while watching old 8mm of the King driving a snowmobile with front tires on the grand front yard of Graceland. Just tearing the crap out of the yard. Laughing hysterically. As the camera panned I saw the front gates of Graceland and beyond that, miles of beautiful Tennessee forest. The mansion was really out in the middle of nowhere when he bought it. When pesky civilization moved in Elvis bought as much property as he could across the street. This area now functions as the jumping off place for the Graceland Empire. Parking lots, ticket booths, shops. The "Lisa Marie" and "Hound Dog II" are here as well.

Went back to downtown Memphis, strolled the streets went to Boogies on Beale St. for dinner. Beale St. is one of the great American Streets and urban party zones. Lots of history, crazy vibe, gritty.

The next morning I woke up early, in the 6am range and hit the streets. I was shooting for about an hour when my friend Eric (videographer) who was on the trip, called. We met up and jumped the trolley that circles the Riverfront area of the city. The conductor, Randal was a really great guy. Big guy, grew up in Memphis. He was cracking jokes and talking about the area.

As we toured the city, passing through the sultry avenues I asked Randal where the Lorraine Hotel was. He shouted "It's right here at the next intersection", Eric and I jumped to our feet grabbed our cameras tipped Randal and split down the street in a mad rush. We came down the slight incline of East Butler and saw the hotel. I have seen that image a thousand times. The famous balcony, now with a wreath in the location where King was gunned down by James Earl Ray. My camera is out and start cranking images. It's 8 am the sun was still low but behind the hotel.

Two white caddilacs are parked in the driveway. These are the same type of cars that were parked here the day he was killed. Shooting images - every angle is killer. As I was shooting I noticed a sign on the rot iron rail that encircles the hotel. It said that Martin Luther King was shot on April 4, 1968. I couldn't believe it, today is April 4, 2006. We are there on the 38th anniversary of his assassination. Unreal.

As I started across the front of the hotel, I noticed that Eric was talking to a guy that was wearing a pretty trashed homemade sandwich sign. On the sign was a black and white, obviously "journalistic" 30" poster of Martin Luthern King Jr., Robert Abbernathy, and a unknown 3rd person. The sandwich sign guy said that the other guy was him. He was there to see King speak and support the sanitation strike.

He came to the Lorraine that day to pay his respects. Quite a moment.

I asked him if he knew from which window Ray shot King and he pointed to the upper window in the little building across the street. The back of the building faces the Lorraine. I walked up the grassy knoll, no kidding there is really a grassy knoll there as well. I stood right below the window and looked across the street and the parking lot of the Lorraine and there was the wreath, clear shot.

Really emotional standing there realizing that 38 years ago to the day, Marting Luther King Jr. was killed with a shot from a window I could almost reach.

Here are some shots from that trip. Adios for now.