Eva and the Dog Boys
July 19th, 2011
T-Bone, Eva and John.
This past Saturday evening, I found myself heading south to Naples, NY to take in a little bluegrass music with a few good friends. I’d planned to bring the camera along to collect some new images for a musician-related body of work, and had been communicating with Elaine Verstraete, one of the band members, to make the necessary arrangements. It turned out to be a really nice way to spend a perfect summer evening outdoors and have some fun while getting a little photography done at the same time!
Eva and John harmonizing beautifully.
Eva and the Dog Boys were playing the back patio of the clubhouse at Reservoir Creek Golf Course in Naples starting at 5:00, and were well underway by the time I rolled in. My friends Willie, Michele, Leah and Chris were already there enjoying some cold drinks, and after catching up with them a little and enjoying a perfectly chilled glass of lemonade, I decided to get the camera out and see what I could do.
Mike pickin' out a hot streak on his banjo.
Truthfully, I had felt a bit drained from the heat of the day, and didn’t have my mind quite in the right place to feel very motivated to do photography. The lemonade helped perk me up, though, and once I got clicking, I started getting re-energized and having a really good time! I’ve always loved hearing music performed acoustically, and was truly enjoying what I was hearing as I worked with the camera. The dinner crowd that had gathered to fill the tables on the clubhouse deck was having a great time with the music, too! I moved around the group, trying to find some interesting perspectives and make some images that helped to convey the energy and soul of this group of artists and their music.
T-bone on guitar.
I took a just few short breaks to visit with my good friends at their table before they headed home, I ate a little dinner on the deck, and hung out with the band after they finished up their set around 9:00. What a fantastic group of folks to sit (over steaks and beers,) and visit with! We talked music, photography, life in general and had some great laughs together! We had also touched upon a few ideas for some upcoming collaborations, so I’m really looking forward to our next time together.
John was like lightning on that mandolin. Dang.
Eva and the Dog Boys is made up of four ultra-talented musicians who gel together just wonderfully: Elaine Verstraete – Upright bass, Mike Cloonan – Banjo, John Denniston – Mandolin, and T-Bone Farley – Guitar. The group is constantly changing configuration during their set, each taking turns at lead vocals, depending upon the piece being performed. It’s readily apparent that they have a great time playing together, and that energy comes through beautifully in their sound. Information for upcoming appearances can be found at the band’s web site and also on their Facebook page. Check ‘em out!
John and Eva having fun with the crowd.
Mike tearing it up on the banjo.
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark 2.
Trout Unlimited Part 4: Bigger Fish to Fry
July 17th, 2011
The first fish of the day, a beauty of a brown trout.
After several outings for creating photography and several more for videography, our project for the Seth Green Chapter of Trout Unlimited was getting pretty close to wrapping up. We had a great body of images to pull from for the poster series and for the downloadable wallpaper set. Now, being guys that love to fish, though, and being guys that pay great attention to detail, and, well, just being guys, we collectively agreed to go back out for one more trip to see if we could catch some larger brown trout. A couple of the images in particular, while already beautiful, in our minds might carry more impact if they’d been made with some “more solid” fish in hand.
Absorbed in a moment of tranquility, Matt pokes through his fly box for something yummy-looking.
Going along with the wonderful little morning routine we had developed through the course of our project, Matt drove up from Canandaigua to meet me at the Starbucks in Henrietta, grab coffees, hop in the Tundra and head south to meet Dean at Foxy’s in Scottsville. Now, for the record, the parking lot at Foxy’s had merely become a convenient meeting spot for us. We didn’t venture in. Ever. Besides, at this time of day, it’s doors are locked up tightly. See, Foxy’s is a little “exotic dance” type of joint. At least that’s what we had heard from others that had experienced it.
Matt tying on the nymph he had selected.
Dean rolled in to Foxy’s, added his waders, boots, rod and reel to the growing pile in the truck bed, and hopped in the back seat. This morning, we were going to fish a stretch of Oatka Creek that is really only accessible through private land, doesn’t see much fishing pressure, and is known to hold some good fish. We were all pretty excited at the prospect and the possibilities that this place held. With Dean’s connections, we were actually able to drive down a utility road on his friend’s land and park right next to the creek. Not exactly “roughing-it,” but we sure weren’t complaining!
Dean easing in his first fish.
I shot video of the guys gearing up at the tailgate for a little bit, and then got into my own chest waders and boots. We eased up to the creek and while the guys began reading the water and making their plans, I was reading the light and making plans of my own. It wasn’t too awfully long before Dean hooked his first fish. I was right next to him at the moment, and could tell that this one was substantially meatier that the other browns we had seen so far. Once he’d brought the fish into his release net, I knelt in the water next to him and composed the images I had hoped to capture. We didn’t have too long. Not much more than a minute, really. We’re trying to be conscious of the fish’s health and do our best to release them safely without creating too much stress for them. Dean had submerged the trout so it could breathe some, and then I could really only get a handful of additional shots before it was time to let the fish go. I had said to Dean a few moments later, after scrutinizing the images on the laptop, that if we didn’t catch anymore fish that day, I was extremely satisfied with what we had already. That first one was a beauty.
Another good trout that would come to the net a short while later.
We did wind up having another fish come to the net, one that had a little different character than the previous one, and succeeded in capturing a few more really strong photographs. We were having a really good morning. Heading downstream, we explored some new water, shot more video footage, and came up empty-handed as far as trout were concerned. Time for lunch. Truck bed full of wet waders and boots, we rolled into Caledonia, picked up some supplies at the grocery store, and headed over to Dean’s house to grill up some Zweigle’s hot dogs for our lunch. Mustard, onions, relish, chips. Washed ‘em down with a couple ice-cold Sierra Nevada Pale Ales, and relaxed on the front porch for a while. Matt even fell asleep in his chair for about twenty minutes, mouth agape, while Dean’s dogs snarled viciously at each other as they fought over the rights to a rubber ball. Dean and I just kicked back in our chairs, sipped our beers quietly, and took it all in. It was a perfect day. Perfect.
Dean picking up his line at the end of a drift.
At this point, the images have all been edited, final picks have been made, and a video has been edited and put together. Maybe there’s still a little fine-tuning that Dean and Matt are wiggling out in the design and copy, but it’s pretty much a wrap. While that’s a very satisfying accomplishment, I had really been enjoying our collaboration and routine. Kind of hate to see this one end. Fortunately, there will be many others to look forward to!
In an added note, none of the brown trout encountered during our project were eaten, injured or otherwise maligned. All swim freely, and happily so.
Looking upstream toward Matt.
Mom!
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark 2
Trout Unlimited Part 3: High and Dirty
June 15th, 2011
Dean adding split-shot to his leader.
May 14, 2011. I met up with Dean Milliman early that morning in our normal spot. I had arrived early this time, and was already in my old Simms waders when he pulled off the road. Matt Smythe had commitments for the morning, but was planning to join up with us later in the day. This would be our second outing to fish and create photography for our Trout Unlimited-Seth Green Chapter project. We were into it fully now, and had some great work under our wader belts already. A handful of posters for the campaign had taken shape, and we had begun to talk about shooting footage for a video component or two.
Coaxing one up on Spring Creek in the late morning.
With the wet Spring we’d had in Western New York and most of the Northeast, the ground was already pretty heavily saturated, and water levels in the creeks were on the high side. Thunderstorms and steady rain had pounded our area all night long, and in the morning, arriving at Oatka Creek, we realized that the fishing conditions were going to be pretty unfavorable. Dean had used his iPhone to check the Oatka Creek Water Level Charts, and had seen that the last reading at the USGS-Garbutt, NY reading station was around 3.2 feet. The watershed that feeds The Oatka still had to drain all of the moisture from the night before, so Dean knew that the sucker was going to rise some, and muddy up. Not good for fishing. Not one bit. Still, we pressed onward.
Nymphing on Spring Creek.
We spent the morning working together, casually at times, conversing and laughing while Dean peppered some good-looking runs of the creek with bead-head nymph patterns. Roll cast after roll cast, mend after mend. Not much action. I still worked around Dean with the camera, shooting details, environmentals and landscapes, crouching in such a way that the creek’s cold, moving waters threatened to find their way over the top of my chest waders. At times, only an inch or two of neoprene protected me from a very wet and chilly awakening. About mid-morning, I had felt it was getting increasingly difficult to hold my footing among the rocks in the creek bed. The flow of water had increased noticeably. Dean had the splendid idea of leaving the now rising and silty Oatka, and heading down the road a couple miles to Spring Creek in Caledonia. This spring-fed creek boasts notoriously gin-clear waters and does not have the massive watershed that affects Oatka Creek with runoff. Spring Creek wouldn’t likely be under the same, unfishable conditions, even on a nasty day like this.
Dean and Matt reading the water on the "Private Run."
We were the only ones there. At least initially. We re-rigged, hiked in to one of Dean’s favorite spots, and got back to it. Dean, intent on nymphing a very specific run, and me kneeling in the waters just in front of him getting some great shots. It was raining again, relatively lightly, and the sky had darkened considerably. Our bellies were growling, and it got our minds churning on lunch and good, grilled burgers. Wait! No! Dismiss that thought for now! Back to fishing.
Wooly Buggers.
Eventually, Dean came tight to a really nice brown. The trout of Spring Creek are known for their color, and this one was very handsome. He had some decent meat to him, but still wasn’t who we were hoping to run into. After a few camera shots, Dean released him and began casting again. About now, our area on the creek was starting to get a little popular with some of the other guys that had rolled in. Before too long, our cravings got the best of us, and we hiked out to the truck. We hit the grocery store on the way back to Dean’s house, and picked up the necessities for a good cheeseburger lunch. One with all the fixin’s.
Matt working a run in the afternoon.
Fed and happy, we enjoyed a couple cold beers and a nice visit with Dean’s wife Jane, their daughter, and their two ferocious hounds. Matt showed up some time later, and after making a plan, we trucked out to a piece of property that was owned by a friend of Dean’s – one that would provide us access to a somewhat restricted stretch of Oatka Creek that is known to hold some truly big brown trout. As good as a creek might be, though, unfishable is unfishable. The waters on The Oatka had risen even further, and were just plain opaque with silt from runoff. Rather than nymphing, the guys mostly chucked Wooly Buggers into the current, knowing full well that some beasts were there to be caught. Problem was, the beasts weren’t very likely to see the Wooly Buggers in all that murky water. No dice.
Dean casting in a spot of late-day sun.
We did get a spot of sun late in the day, and plenty of really nice images for the campaign. That evening, we were treated to a delicious, hot dinner of tuna casserole that Jane had worked up for us. It was a beautiful and well-deserved end to a long day. We visited on their front porch later that night as thunderstorms revisited the area. These storms, and the rain that would come in the following days would cause Oatka Creek to rise another two-and-a-half feet in the next 48 hours, and the creek would not be fishable for another two-and-a-half weeks.
Heading back to the bank for a creekside creative meeting.
As I write this post on the evening of June 15, we are planning to fish the “private” stretch of Oatka Creek in the morning. Matt’s meeting me at the Starbucks in Henrietta again, at 6. We’ll coffee-up, and head south in Dean’s direction. Hopefully, tomorrow will bring some better luck, and some bigger trout. Fish with shoulders.
Streamside beats conference room hands-down.
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark 2.
Trout Unlimited Part 2: Wet and Windy
June 15th, 2011
Looking upstream, into the wind and rain on Oatka Creek.
April 16, 2011. After having scouted a few productive-looking stretches of Oatka Creek and Spring Creek a couple of weeks prior, it was time to begin work on our project for the Seth Green Chapter of Trout Unlimited. For me, that meant gearing up in neoprene chest waders and immersing myself in the icy, rushing waters of Oatka Creek to do my photography. For the people I was photographing, it was pretty much the same, but they got to catch some fish! My good friends, art director, Dean Milliman and copywriter, Matt Smythe were not only along to fish and be photographed, but were gathering experiential information that they could apply to their own creative perspectives on our project. They were collecting the heart and soul of the waters we were on, and of the day itself. Sensitivities to be conveyed in the coming creative pieces.
Dean attacking a likely run on my downstream side.
Weather-wise, it was one of the nastier days we had seen for a little bit. It was cold, it was raining, and the winds gusted heavily from upstream. Waders and raincoats, hats and light gloves. It didn’t take too long for me to notice that the guys were taking longer than usual to tie tiny bead-head nymphs onto delicate tippets with their cold, unfeeling fingers. Just part of the deal when you’re on a Northeast trout creek in the springtime.
Cold fingers and fine tippets.
As we had done on our scouting day, I had met Matt at the Jefferson Road Starbucks to pick up our jet-fuel for the morning. Two tanks full, please. Pike Place Roast. Black. With a heavy spray of mist coming off the road behind the Tundra, we rocketed southward, toward Dean, who was already waiting for us when we turned into the pull-off in the hamlet of Garbutt, NY. We all geared-up for our morning on the creek, shut the tailgate on the truck and headed down the muddy trail that would lead us through the woods to The Oatka.
Choices.
The water was a little bit higher than we had wished for, but the creek was still pretty fishable. I hung out around the guys, photographing them from different perspectives as they waded, roll-casted, mended, stripped, and replaced flies that were lost to tree branches along the banks of the creek. We played this way for a while, moving upstream little bits at a time, casting, shooting, protecting the camera from the wind-driven rain, and shooting some more.
Dean at The Cedars.
Dean caught the first fish of the day. There’s always something special about that first one of the season. The brown trout’s colors seemed impossibly intense on such a dark, drab day. He was gorgeous. He wasn’t big, but he sure was beautiful. His pectoral fins were a wonderfully deep amber color, his belly bright white, with gold on his flanks. Blood-red speckles mixed with chocolate ones to further camouflage his olive-green back. Dean held him for me to photograph, but only for a few moments, before releasing him back into the creek’s rushing waters.
Dean's first brown of the season.
Matt would hook up not long after, also landing a really pretty brown. I was upstream from him, though, and couldn’t navigate the underwater rocks quickly enough to get to him and photograph his fish before its release. That would be the first fish Matt had caught on his new Flytooth weight-forward Razorstrike line that he’d been yapping about and loving. Dean caught a few more fish later in the day, farther downstream, and in the course of the day, we collected hundreds of images that I would bring home to edit that evening.
One of the day's trout, caught on a bead-head nymph pattern.
Some of the images we collected on this first day of the project would become the ones that would set the tone for the remainder of the project. They would become, for me, the bar that I would reach for each time we went out with the cameras. For me, they became goals and motivators. They also became successes. Good, meaningful ones. Not unlike that first good fish of the season.
Selection.
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark 2.
Trout Unlimited Part 1: Scouting and Burgers
June 2nd, 2011
Oatka Creek, seen from the Old Farm Bridge.
We hit Oatka Creek for the first time in the early morning hours of April 2. I was joined by good friends, Dean Milliman and Matt Smythe for a scouting mission of one of Western New York’s most popular trout fisheries, one that is deeply steeped in history and tradition. The three of us were beginning work on an advertising campaign for the Seth Green Chapter of Trout Unlimited. On this day, we had joined up with Pete Bella, another good buddy, who was our contact with the organization and would serve as its voice during our processes. We were getting the lay of the land, talking with Pete about the message we could carry for Trout Unlimited, deciding where and how to photograph, absorbing the feel of the creek, gathering thoughts and ideas, and figuring out the likely spots to catch some decent fish. We were well armed against the day’s cold with jackets, gloves, boots and hot coffees. Cameras in hand and at the ready, we headed upstream first and then back down, stopping at likely spots to explore possibilities, and hold streamside brainstorming sessions.
Matt, Dean and Pete slurpin' coffees and talking concepts.
Matt and Grant in a heated streamside discussion. Must have been about trout.
After a few hours of scouring the riffles, runs, banks and eddies of The Oatka, we decided it was high time for a little nourishment. We headed down the road to find some lunch at a great little joint called The Iroquois in Caledonia, NY. Along the way, though, we decided to pull in to make a stop at the Caledonia Fish Hatchery. The hatchery in Caledonia is the oldest in the Western Hemisphere. Seth Green himself started the hatchery in 1864, specializing in the breeding and nurturing of brown trout. The hatchery has the capacity to crank out more than 800,000 of the little buggers each year. Located along the crystalline waters of Spring Creek, the old hatchery buildings and runs on the land convey a sense of great historical importance to trout fishing in our country. It felt good to be there. For the four of us who love the outdoors and trout fishing so much, it felt as if we were standing on hallowed ground.
Dean, Matt and Pete at Caledonia Fish Hatchery.
When we finally arrived at The Iroquois, we were all about ready to gnaw the legs off a porcupine. We found a four-top table, got situated, and promptly ordered a round of cold beers. When we told the proprietor what different types of food we were all interested in, he gently informed us, “We got cheeseburgers.” The four of us assured him that cheeseburgers would suit us just fine, thank you, and we enjoyed them thoroughly with the usual condiments and a really dynamite salsa that was made in-house. Fries, too. Good stuff.
Pete, Dean and Matt in touch with the environment.
Through the hot chow and another round of beers, we hashed out our thoughts from the day, describing to each other the visuals, written messages, sensitivities and ideas that were zinging around in our brains. We would talk again soon, once we gave ourselves time to absorb and think. We headed back to the trucks, and pointed them in the directions of home. I would meet up with Dean and Matt again in two weeks for our first outing on Oatka Creek to capture images and fish. That story will come in Part Two.
Grant capturing some of the surrounding environment for the sketchbook.
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark 2.
Black Widow Custom Bows Catalog
April 3rd, 2011
The 2011 catalog cover. The Black Widow PSA-X, in Bocote. Mumford, NY.
Last October and November, in the heart of the New York State deer hunting season, not only did I find myself pursuing whitetails with archery and muzzleloader gear, but also carving time from several of those days to create some fresh product photography for the Black Widow Custom Bows 2011 Product Catalog. Based in Nixa, Missouri, this company produces some of the very finest traditional archery equipment that can be had.
The PSA-X, Bocote, a take-down recurve, in an optional environment.
Black Widow has been around since 1957, when the Wilson brothers began to build recurve bows for a growing list of customers who coveted high quality archery equipment. The company has evolved through a few phases over the years, and now lies in the very capable hands of Roger Fulton, Toby Essick, and John Clayman. I had the fortunate opportunity to meet these people in May of 2009, when I attended the Instinctive Shooting Clinic, held at their facility in Missouri. These are the sort of folks that make you feel very welcome and comfortable right away, and are amazingly eager to share their knowledge and passion for traditional archery. Everyone that I met at Black Widow seemed to fit this description. It struck me as a very unique and special organization of like-minded people. They’re very passionate about what they do, and the products they create, and it really shows. Being among them, even for a short time, was a truly great experience.
The Precision Compact Hunter, PCH-X in Tulipwood.
To the eyes of this photographer and archer, the Black Widow bow is an incredibly beautiful thing to behold. They are wonderfully functional works of art. They are designed to shoot accurately, and they are designed to hunt. Furthermore, they are just plain gorgeous! Layer upon layer of wood, bamboo, fiberglass and phenolic are painstakingly glued-up to form the backbone of each bow. The muscle of the bow, though, lies in its limbs, which are also built from glass, bamboo and wood veneers. While the “standard” Autumn Oak, Graybark and Ironwood bows are just dynamite to look at and a dream to shoot, one can have their bow built with a truly “custom” touch by ordering an “X” model, that incorporates the exotic wood of the customer’s choice. Other accessories and cosmetic embellishments can be had to make a bow truly unique and personalized.
The Black Widow PMA-X Camo Hunter.
Overseen by Master Bowyer, Toby Essick, the recurves and longbows that Black Widow produces achieve a perfect blend of science and art, of functionality and aesthetic. They are sexy, graceful and powerful, and just plain fun to shoot! They are breathtaking. Their construction is the result of years and years of experience, and maintains a balance of fine hand-crafting and computer-controlled machining.
Detail of a one-piece recurve, the PTF-X, in Honduran Rosewood.
The photographs made during this project were created in Mumford and Canandaigua, New York and also in Washington, Vermont. Because part of the photography was done through the late part of the season, I was able to get some shots of the bows the bows in a slightly snowy environment. That, to me, seemed fitting for the catalog’s January release. The falling snow was not something that would have been too likely in southwest Missouri, even at that time of year.
Detail of the PL-X take-down longbows, in Tiger Myrtle (foreground) and Honduran Rosewood.
When Toby Essick and I had made arrangements a month prior, he had decided to send me six different bows to photograph. Only one of the six he had sent was a one-piece bow. The other five were take-downs, meaning they can be taken apart once unstrung. The recurves take-down with the removal of two hex bolts, while the longbows incorporate a neat and clean system that Black Widow calls their “Locket Socket.” This setup offers absolutely zero evidence that the bow can be taken down, because the upper and lower halves of the bow fit together so very precisely, and the connection is concealed by the grip of the bow, made, in this case, of beaver-tail leather. A “Locket Socket” equipped bow comes apart much in the same manner as a fine quality fly rod, making it far easier to transport in a case, on in a backpack during a hunt.
My own Black Widow PMA-X, in Bocote. Canandaigua, NY, April, 2009.
Once the photography had been completed for the catalog, I was finally able to play a little bit with each of the bows! I had received the go-ahead from Roger and Toby to hold a Black Widow Demo Night at Creekwood Archery, in Brockport, NY. It was pretty informal, but a dozen interested guys showed up to shoot the bows, and experience the fine craftsmanship that goes into each of them. I was able to provide some good information to most of the questions that were asked of me that night, and it seemed that everyone really enjoyed having this rare kind of opportunity! Since Black Widow deals directly with their customers, it’s not really possible to just pop into an archery pro shop and try one out. Having several different models close at hand on this particular evening was a pretty special deal!
The PMA-X Camo Hunter and Matt's barn.
A couple days later, just prior to shipping the bows back to Missouri, I connected with good friend and creative writer, Matt Smythe. Matt had come out to Creekwood for the demo night, and was interested in spending a little more time with a couple of the bows so that he could do a bit of a write-up for his personal blog site, Fishingpoet.com. Initially his intent was to do a product review of a Black Widow recurve and a longbow. I wound up bringing all of the bows to Matt’s house, where we started shooting at a block target inside his barn, and later migrated to the backyard, where we had set up a 3D whitetail buck target. Matt’s dad, Steve, had joined us, and was really enjoying shooting the longbows in particular! In the end, the written piece became more about Matt’s first real experience with top-end traditional bows, and with the instinctive shooting method. Here’s a link to Matt’s great story of this day, titled Of Blood and Bows. Fishingpoet.com is chock-full of other great material that you’re sure to enjoy, too. Take a few minutes to go and give it a look.
The Camo Hunter, taken-down.
Matt getting in tune with the Camo Hunter.
Matt's father, Steve, really connected with the Honduran Rosewood PL-X.
Nice 17-yard group!
Camera: Hasselblad H2 with Leaf Aptus 65S digital back (catalog images,) and Canon EOS 5D Mark 2 (backyard images.)
Jinelle, Her Saw, and a Good Tree
March 13th, 2011
Though windblown, hungry, and colder than heck, Jinelle is very proud of her perfect Balsam Fir.
The heady scent of the Balsam Fir pitch on my hands still hangs in the air, and I’m not going to wash it off. I’m savoring it as long as I can. Just this morning, “Stage Two” of the new personal project was underway at Stokoe Farms, in Scottsville, NY.
Jinelle Shengulette, photographed March 13, 2011, in Scottsville, New York.
I had connected with Jinelle Shengulette a short while ago because I was interested in photographing her for this new outdoor lifestyle portfolio that I started to build a couple weeks back. Today’s activity and story revolved around the hunt for and harvest of a beautiful Christmas tree. Surely, I had wished for some snow on the ground, and in the air. Sometimes, though, the ideas come to the brain a bit on the late side, and for us, this time of year, the weather seems to be on a warming trend, with no snow predicted in the foreseeable future.
Closely scrutinizing the eligible evergreens.
When I picked Jinelle up at 8:30 this morning, the cloud cover was thick and dark gray. The air was chilly with a damp wind. It was just plain gloomy. I was focusing on the knowledge, though, that sometimes the conditions can change abruptly, and that if you’re very fortunate, magic still happens. Somewhere, deep down, I knew that the snow I had wished for would come. It didn’t, in the end, not until late that night, but it was that hope that kept us moving forward.
The Slayer of Spruce.
We pulled the Tundra up to the Starbucks at Monroe and Oxford, and piled in to pick up a Venti Pike, (black,) Tall green tea, two bottles of water, and a pair of turkey bacon and egg white sandwiches. Good to go. The trip to the tree farm in Scottsville would only take about half an hour. Hopefully, by then, the sky would be brightening some.
I took great pleasure in the thought that we might be the only people on Earth cutting a Christmas Tree today.
We arrived a bit early at the farm. Jinelle and I sat in the truck, visiting about music, sipping our hot beverages, and waiting for Larry Stokoe to show up. I had made arrangements with him earlier in the week for our shoot, and needed to hand him some money for the tree we had planned to cut. Larry showed up smiling ear-to-ear, in his red Chevy pickup, and I think his smile might have brightened a bit further when I introduced him to Jinelle. I suppose she has that affect on a fella. The three of us talked for a bit about our intentions for the shoot, about how the deer have been wreaking havoc with some of the farm’s young Douglas Firs, about the long winter, and the approaching spring. Larry bade us farewell and headed off to church. It was just Jinelle and I now, with a good saw, a story to tell, and a few thousand trees to choose from.
Jinelle doing her "Radiating from Within" look.
At long last, the perfect tree was found.
I had formed in my mind, the stages of the story that I wanted to create images for, and we set out to start the process. Though it’s new, and not “perfectly defined,” I’m thinking of this body of work as an outdoor lifestyle piece. The resulting images might be similar to those you’d see in a point-of-purchase display at Eastern Mountain Sports, an LL Bean catalog, fashion editorial, that sort of thing. It’s evolving and growing by the week, and I’m enjoying it tremendously. I want the images to have a balance of guts, spontaneity, expression, serenity, heart, and fun.
This is a woman who loves a good saw.
The wind was damp and cold today. It got through to your bones. The “Little Hotties” I had picked up for Jinelle’s pockets kept her hands warm, but didn’t do the rest of her much good. We’d shoot for a bit, and then, when I saw Jinelle start to shiver through the camera lens, I’d call a break, hustle back to the truck, crank the heater, and load images from the CF card into the laptop. The pulse or rhythm of the day seemed to work really very nicely. Cued by Jinelle’s shivering, we had the opportunity to create, pause, evaluate, make changes, and shoot more, until I was certain I had the images I wanted. In the truck, we indulged in Snickers bars as we ran through the images in Adobe Lightroom. As I watched the images pop in to the contact sheet on the laptop, I could see Jinelle in the periphery, sitting in the passenger seat, shuddering occasionally from some deep internal chill.
Chilly nose.
Finally, we found just the right tree to harvest. It’s a really sweet Balsam Fir that had a personality Jinelle gravitated toward. It smelled just wonderful. Jinelle did an expert job of cutting it. I had her haul it around for a while, as I photographed her for the last segment of the story. Back again to the laptop in the Tundra. We reviewed the images and decided that we were done. Done and hungry. On a day like today, with damp, chilly, windy conditions, we both had a hankering for some good, hot soup. We made the drive back to Rochester, and walked into Magnolia’s around 3 PM. Jinelle had ordered their amazing tomato/basil/artichoke soup, and I opted for my favorite chicken vegetable with pastina. We split a Baker Street sandwich, (grilled roast beef,) and were very, very satisfied with all of it! After dropping Jinelle off, and despite my desire for a good nap, I came home to edit our 700 images and write this post. I’ll continue to share the rest of the project here as it develops, and look forward to figuring out the next step! Thanks for a great day, Jinelle! I had a blast out there with you!
Running up and down the rows of trees was Jinelle's "Cold Remedy."
For now, Jinelle’s tree sits in a bucket of water in the garage, hoping for some unforseen snowstorm to come along. We’ll see what happens!
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark 2.
Morgan and the Marshmallows
February 27th, 2011
Morgan in the old sugarhouse.
One of the greatest challenges, for me at least, seems to be carving out time in the schedule to create fresh personal work. New portfolio images, bodies of work revolving around a specific idea for a self-promo piece, that sort of thing. I’ve been feeling a little “creatively stagnant” lately, wishing for a good project idea that felt just right. It’s been way too long since I’ve immersed myself in a long-term photography project that was just for me.
Fuel for the fire.
Fortunately, I have some very excellent friends who decided they needed to soak up some rays this week in St. John! The house (and cat) sitting opportunity popped up just at the right time. Their home and land in the country, an hour away, has been a very special place for me over the years. I love their woods and fields and outbuildings, and their log home is a gorgeous retreat for me, whenever I visit. Their property is adjacent to the land I’ve hunted for the past seven years. For me, it’s a sacred place. It’s also been an inspiring and grounding place for me to do my photography. Much of my bowhunting-related work has been shot here, and I’ve spent time photographing many friends here over the years. The heart and soul of the place just feels right to me in so many ways. It seems that every little nook of the place holds promise, and becomes a great little environment to do photography in. My gears started churning to figure out how and what I could make happen while I was in this wonderful place for a few short days.
Morgan loves her maple and oak.
I decided to take Friday off from work at Myers Creative Imaging, and make a little “creative work retreat” for myself. I saw this as a great opportunity to get re-immersed in things that have been put on the back-burner, to surround myself with inspiring elements, and to get re-energized with the beginning of a new personal project. Once I got my things settled in on Friday afternoon, (it seemed to take forever to get out of Rochester that day,) I set up my iMac, got a nice fire going in the woodstove, and sat down to catch up on some posts for the blog. I’ve yet to publish all of the posts, but made good progress, and will soon make them available. Later that evening, needing a little social interaction, I paid a visit to the home of my good friend, Matt Smythe, a.k.a Fishingpoet. We discussed the heavy topics surrounding brown trout and the whitetail deer, enjoyed the refreshing essence of some Dogfish Head IPA, and I introduced him to the Heartland Bowhunter series of DVD’s. Good, inspiring stuff.
She may not toast the "perfect marshmallow," but Morgan has her own 4-Wheeler, and knows how to drive a combine.
For Saturday, I had scheduled a shoot with Morgan Kennedy, whom I’ve photographed before for Myers Creative Imaging client, Athletica USA. The work we’ve done for Athletica during the past nine years shows up in their cheerleading, softball, volleyball and basketball catalogs. Uniforms, team attire and accessories with custom embroidering is what they do! Morgan has worked with us for more than a year now, modeling for the Girls Got Game Volleyball catalogs, and is currently represented by NY Model and Talent Agency. She and I had been talking for a few months about getting together to do a fun shoot. I’d always felt that her look, personality, energy and spirit would be a great fit with my photography, but I struggled for a while to find just the right concept for the shoot. I wanted it to be something more interesting than just a portrait, something that revolved around an activity or a lifestyle. Something that might tell a little story. Something we could have some fun with.
Well done.
I suppose that it was the location, in the end, that inspired my idea of creating a little “outdoor lifestyle” pictorial around the activity of building a fire out in the woods on a winter day to make and eat S’mores. Once I had settled on the idea, the images were popping in my brain like a little thunderstorm, (Morgan will have to tell me which part of the brain. She’s a Pre-Med student and knows all the brain parts,) and I could see it all falling in place. We only had about half a day to make it happen, and thankfully, every little necessary element seemed to fall into place just perfectly. There was really great chemistry and energy during the shoot, and I think the results exceeded both our expectations. I’m just thrilled with all of the work, and have felt a great boost on the old Creative Energy Gauge. We shot nearly 900 images, and I’m far from being done editing! There’s so much good stuff here. The ones that accompany this post, though, are images that caught my eye immediately. Ones that felt just right. I really think that they’re going to be setting the tone for the rest of the project.
We had recieved nearly a foot and a half of fresh snow during Friday’s storm. The woods were just perfect on Saturday morning! Morgan and I had talked earlier in the week about my thoughts of what the wardrobe would be for the shoot. I felt that a cozy sweater, mittens and hat were the right thing. Natural fiber, earthtones, textural, warm. Luckily, we’d made a quick stop in to Dick’s Sporting Goods in Victor, NY, and found an Under Armour hat and a little 3-pair pack of gloves (camo, olive, and black,) that fit my vision (and her) just wonderfully! The sweater we chose was one that I’d hauled out of my closet “just-in-case!”
Morgan did a truly exceptional job out there in the cold with me yesterday, and while she may not be an expert at cooking the perfect marshmallow, I’m so very thankful that she made herself available to help get me going on a new project. We worked, laughed, and had fun. I’m anxious to see what the next step forward is in this body of work, and I know that I’ll share it here when it happens. I’ll sign of for now, as I sit here and enjoy my last fire on the last evening of my retreat, listening to some good Reckless Kelly, the Bulletproof album, and wishing that Monday wasn’t coming along quite yet.
Then, standing there in the soft afternoon light and the freshly fallen snow, Morgan hauled off and sneezed inside my sweater. Classy, Morg. Thanks.
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark 2.
Enticing Foods from The Pub at Wegmans
February 25th, 2011
Fried Calamari with hot peppers and olives!
As I type this post, I’m sitting next to a good fire, while just a few feet away from me, outside the window, sits a foot of fresh-fallen, windblown snow. Today was one of the wintriest days we’ve had this season! I was so glad to get out of the city and into the woods where I’m house-sitting for some good friends this weekend. Their crazy cats, Stella and Buddha, are sleeping near the wood stove, and I’ve got some great chicken soup warming on the oven behind me. It’s a great start to my little “work-retreat!” I’ve got some new blog posts to write, a photo-shoot planned for tomorrow, prints to frame, and plenty of firewood to haul in and stack.
This cozy environment of mine has helped me to choose which post to write first! Cold outside requires delicious, hot and hearty foods!
The new Barbecued Pulled Pork Sandwich!
Not long ago, I was asked to create some new food photography for The Pub at Wegmans. You see, the Wegmans stores that are located in Collegeville and Malvern, Pennsylvania have within them, beautiful Pubs where great food, interesting beers and wines can be enjoyed in an inviting environment!
Last summer, the crew from Myers Creative Imaging, (John and myself with Amy Millert and Will Strawser assisting,) had spent time at each of the locations photographing people and food for The Pub’s web site. We were impressed with the menu, the quality of the food, the staff, and the feel of the space. What a great place to meet friends for a bite or some drinks! (The Tuscan Fries are really, really good!)
Fried Haddock Dinner looked really, really good!
This latest photography would be used to illustrate new offerings on The Pub’s menu. Rather than making the drive to Pennsylvania this time to do the photography, it was decided that we would make the shots happen in the studio at Myers Creative Imaging. It was important, though, to create an environment in the studio that mimicked that of The Pub. After some talking and planning, our prop stylist, Kathy found a nice sized piece of black granite countertop that was very similar to the bar top at each of the restaurants, and would be one of the two surfaces we would use during the shoot. The other surface was a dark, wood table that mimicked the tables in the restaurant’s dining area. We also needed to think of some environmental light sources that could be reflected in the granite surface to further enhance the look and feel of the actual restaurant.
The Iceberg Wedge Cobb Salad.
Once all the components were in place, Wegmans Chef John Steinhoff came to the studio to prepare and plate the meals in our kitchen. Art Director, Michael Buckley, from the Wegmans Advertising department was there to style the set, and give creative direction. We worked at a really nice, energetic pace, and completed five shots quite nicely. The images you see here are from that afternoon at the studio, and are among my favorite food images that I’ve created in quite some time!
Asian Shrimp Salad!
Camera: Hasselblad H2 with CF 132 digital back.
Winter’s First Whispers
November 9th, 2010
Saturday, November 6, 2010. Canandaigua, NY.
I could see it coming from half a mile away. It wasn’t here just yet, but it would be soon. The air to the northwest was becoming more and more opaque. The wind had picked up and carried with it a deeper chill.
There has, for years, been something very special to me about being in the woods during archery season when the first real snows of the year blew in. It’s one of the moments that I look forward to each deer season, but don’t always get to experience. Sitting in a treestand, watching the wall of snowflakes approach from across a field, or through the hardwoods, somehow has always brought me a wonderful sense of peace and tranquility. I deeply inhale those first breaths of winter, watching tall, rust colored grasses sway in protest to the coming season. I listen to the whispering static of the flakes throwing themselves at the last remaining oak leaves. It brings me to a place where I feel I’m a greater part of it all. It brings a sense of belonging. To the land. To the Earth. It’s one of those absolutely beautiful moments in the woods where I can only stand there and absorb as much of it as I can. Here, in this moment, I’m no longer an intruder.
After a while, the snow falls harder. The wind gusts blow swirling waves of snowflakes across the fields and through the woods. As hard as it’s coming down, the snow still isn’t able to stick to anything. The squirrels seem to sense what’s coming soon. They pick up their pace, collecting and hoarding all the acorns they can gather. Always looking over their shoulders for the fox whose den is nearby. Chickadees flit about abruptly, almost nervously, looking for seeds among the branches. I turn up the back of my collar against the wind. I can feel the flakes melting on my face as I strain to look through it all for the forms of deer. Nothing is moving out there. Yet, everything around me is moving. I’ve always been struck by this contrast, of how the scene before me can be filled with so much movement and busy energy, and at the same time, seem so very still and calm. Silent, cozy and welcoming, despite the cold wind.
I take these moments home from the woods with me and store them away for a time when I long for them.
Camera: Canon EOS 1Ds Mark 3
