Best of Dallas 2012

I'll just let my Contributor photo and line tell my thoughts on this shoot...

I shot the large image on each page, not the smaller shots.

Just click on the image to see larger.

Dapper Magazine

If you happen to pick up Dapper Magazine this month, I've got an ad in there that turned out pretty cool.  Drew Jones of D. Jones Tailored Collection stopped by the studio a few weeks ago to shoot it.  He is the owner and "face" of D. Jones.  We had a good time, and he turned out to be a great model.  I had met him a few months earlier, when I shot him for an editorial piece.

Dapper Mag.

Winter Warmers

I shot this editorial series on "Winter Warmers" (mixed drinks for the cold weather).   You can find it in the Dec. issue of FDLuxe on stands now.  It was a blast meeting these amazing bartenders/mixologists, and even more of a blast trying their amazing drinks.

(click on image to see larger and slideshow)

The Big Boys and Girls in The Art World

I'm real proud of this feature I shot for Dallas Modern Luxury.  I just feel like it all came together so well and turned out to be a real cool looking shoot.

The photo editor contacted me to see if I was interested and said they are looking for a "moody, dramatic, 'film noir' sort of feel".  He said we would be shooting all 8 portraits at the Winspear Opera House and Wyly Theater in the One Arts Plaza. So I quickly said "Heck yes, I'd love to shoot it."

The art direction of "noir" and some examples sent over of back stage, film and theater looks gave me some great ideas.  But when I scouted the locations, there was a distinct style  that challenged the original direction just a bit.   The architecture was ridiculous!  It was much more modern and clean than the backstage idea I had originally planned.  So after a thumbs up from David Feld, we took it to a more "modern, clean and dramatic" look.  Which I believe everyone agreed would show the space and the characters so much better.

I was a little worried about working with some of the biggest Art people in Dallas.  I thought some of these CEO's and Chairmen could be a little stiff and have some strong opinions.  They might be hard to work with and direct.  But it wasn't that way at all.  Seriously, everyone of them were a pleasure to work with.  And all of them took creative suggestions extremely well.  John Eagle even started coming up with his own poses and looks that I never would have asked him to do.  He was fantastic!  The shot that was picked was actually his idea.  I never would have asked him to stand in a chair that way, being nervous of him getting hurt.

I had an absolute blast and could not be any more proud of the work that came out of this shoot.  


(click on image to enlarge)

Here are a few more that didn't make the cut, but I still liked them.

Local, Organic, and Fresh

I got to shoot a story for FD Luxe about some amazing local eats in McKinney, TX.  It was really nice because I grew up just East of there, and was cool going back and seeing the changes.  I was a little jealous how downtown has gotten so cool now, but when I lived there it was all antique shops for old people.  I love going back to visit my mom and stopping in to eat and grab a drink.

So hilarious...and true

I got this off of Melly's blog http://notastarvingartist.com

50 Reasons not to Date a Photographer

Was inspired to write one of these hehe.

1. They rather hold their bulky camera, than hold hands with you.
2. On a romantic date, you’ll watch the sun go down and think “Wow this is gorgeous” and they’ll go “mirror lock, tripod, and stop down f/8 at 1/125.”
3. You’ll never be able to enjoy tv, movies, or magazines because they’ll point out all the visual flaws.
4. They like to sit in obscure coffee shop and voyeuristically watch people for great lengths of time.
5. If you’re taking a walk outside and you come across some “interesting light” they will make you sit/stand/pose in public so that they can take a photo.
6. You’ll never get to enjoy freshly cooked meals because they’ll spend 15 minutes taking 20 variations of the same dish with their iPhone.
7. They get angry when your friends go up to them and say “I am interested in photography, can you recommend a good camera for me?  Nothing professional I just want to take pretty pictures.”
8. You’ll wait longer for them to finish analyzing art in a museum than you’ll wait at the dmv
9. Same goes with old used bookstores.
10. When you think they’re giving you their undivided attention, they’re really wondering how they could fix you with a little Clone Tool and Patch Tool.
11. Or they are actually using you to not look so creepy as they people watch everything going on around you.
12. They rather drop $1,000+ on new glass than a purse for you. 
13. You can’t take a photo with them without taking at least five more.
14. If you ask them if you look fat, they’ll say “don’t worry I can photoshop you later.”
15. They’ll never photoshop something simple for you if the content is not up to their “standards.”
16. That photo they randomly took of you yesterday?  Good luck getting them to send it to you.
17. They spend all their time on the computer (and not for porn.)
18. They can’t have a normal conversation with throwing acronyms and random numbers.
19. They still use film cameras.
20. They spend a lot of time with people cooler than you i.e. models, actors, musicians, successful rich people.
21. They’ll be fussy over the position of a common household object, like a coffee cup.
22. They won’t return your calls or text messages, but you can bet they’re still posting pics on Instagram.
23. They like watching old films that you’ve never heard or will ever understand.
24. They like looking at weird things in general.
25. Instead of having penis-envy, they have camera-gear-envy.
26. If there’s a natural disaster in a far away land, they’re already on a plane going over there.
27. Everything is watermarked.
28. They think everyone else’s photos suck.
29. They want to color correct a lot of scenes from Twilight and Jersey Shore.
30. They hate rainbows, especially ones spinning in a circle.
31. Whenever you’re in a group talking and the conversation goes deep, they’re taking notes in some form of Moleskin.
32. They use over priced Moleskin notebooks.
33. They like trespassing into old abandoned buildings filled with health hazards.
34. They always want to show a new photo they took, but don’t really care if you like it or not.
35. They hate your n00bie friend’s new artsy profile picture.
36. Bright, sunny days make them sad, but cloudy, overcast days are apparently great!
37. They’ll take you into places that have “culture” as well a high chance of getting mugged.
38. Your birthday present will be a portrait that they’ve taken of you.
39. You can’t go anywhere new without them stopping to take a photo of everything and anything.
40. They will always bug you to be a test subject.
41. Nothing can ever be naturally pretty, everything must be fixed in Photoshop.
42. Bringing their camera means, bringing 50lbs of equipment.
43. If you break any of their things on accident, you’ll owe them thousands of dollars.
44. You can’t get them a birthday/Christmas present without spending at least $500
45. They are natural hoarders, collecting and keeping piles of old newspapers, packaging, magazines, and other things that “inspire” them.
46. They are weird and geeky.
47. They have hard drives of photos, but probably have printed 10 images.
48. They are always secretly judging your creativity.
49. If you’re ever in auto mode, they laugh at you.
50. They orgasm every time they learn a new lighting technique.

Two furniture designers home

Arthur and Scott were fantastic designers with a gorgeous home.  They really made my job easy.  Most of the house had beautiful natural light that I just had to bounce around.  I only had to break out the strobes for one shot I believe.  It was also a pleasure to finally meet Rebecca Sherman (writer), whose stories I have been telling through my images for a couple years at least.  She has a great blog also... www.housesgardenspeople.com