“Crazy feats of strength including catching a bullet by hand, lifting a 5,000lb Hummer off the ground, holding back Cars and super bikes at full throttle…and thats just the start. Stay tuned…”

That pretty much sums up this recent promotional shoot for Chad Netherland. Events will be held in NYC and Las Vegas….for more info check Chad out on Facebook.

Peace

Hey everyone –  

I’d like to say thanks to all of you for the great response to the first shoot Chad and I threw together a few months back. And it literally was “thrown together”. It seems that no matter how much we prepare and brainstorm, we always end up with images that have little resemblance to the initial concepts. And so when Chad and I got together recently to shoot images for upcoming features in various magazines, I welcomed the blank stares and hollow looks that we’ve both become accustomed to. 

With scheduled features in Details Magazine and Cigar Aficionado, the only airtight goal was to create images that would receive strong cover considerations. We’ll have to wait and see on that front. And before you all give me grief, let me just say that the “brick period” has  run it’s course, with bigger and better things to come.

Peace

When Rachel Grant, (best known for her role as Bond girl “Peaceful Fountains Of Desire” in “Die Another Day”) flew into town for a photography session with me six weeks ago, I knew this was going to be something special. I also knew that if we made it through the unbelievably aggressive shot list for the day, it would be a miracle. Well miracles do happen, and not only did we complete everything we needed to, we had an absolute blast in the process.

Having three completely different projects to complete was a challenge, but looking at these sample shots below, you see how a true model gets it done. The days work included a cover and feature shots for “Inside Kung-Fu Magazine”, promotional photographs for a new “Ripley’s Believe-It-Or-Not” project, as well as beauty shots for Human Nature, a great new skin and hair care product line out of the Philippines that has secured Rachel as the face for their line.

I have to give a huge shout-out to Chad Netherland who co-ordinated the entire shoot in addition to building the photography set, Stylist Lindsey Netherland, as well as hair stylist Ashley Cannon, and make-up artist Mary Chestnut.

Returning to Hilton Head Island a month after our spring catalog shoot, these lifestyle/fashion shots for BJ’s Wholesale Club can now be seen in their March Journal……which means they can also now be seen on my blog! With an entire day devoted to creating each image, every minute was needed to build the 20 foot platform, fake pool deck, and find the ideal weathered pickup truck, as well as the dozens of other props and details. Once again I owe a huge thanks to the great crew that was assembled to make this all happen and run smoothly…..

Looking at these images it’s easy to imagine the sun on a cloudless 70 degree day, smothering you with warmth as March comes to a close. And if you are imagining that, then we have done our job. With a two month process of location scouting, layouts, casting calls, production meetings, conference calls, quotes, shooting schedules, weather contingencies, post production, retouching, design changes, copy writing, copy proofing, press checks and printing, this “Spring” catalog shoot actually took place the first week of January. And did I mention cold? Cold as in a cold front that gave us 5 consecutive days in the 20’s, with a wind chill of nose numbing proportions to boot. 

Shot on Hilton Head Island for BJ’s Wholesale Club, we managed to get what was needed AND make the client very happy….always a good combination. And let me just give props to the incredible models who managed to give us “warm” expressions while fighting hypothermia. I’m pretty sure we wiped Wal-Mart out of Snuggies.

Below is just a small representation of the end result, and if you happen to be one of the 5 million people who will be receiving this in their mailbox, you now have the inside scoop!

If you’re a business owner today, you no doubt understand the importance of packaging and printing that sets you apart from your competitors. And if you find yourself scratching your head, not knowing where to turn, give my good friend Jeri Presser a shout. Jeri and I go way back and when she decided her site needed a fresh look, she approached me to shoot samples to showcase her work, some of which are shown below. While certainly not the most challenging photography technically, it was important to create interesting images that in no way overshadowed the subject matter. Not the easiest balance to achieve, but I’m pretty pleased with what we accomplished.

Keep an eye out for the new and improved Presser & Associates website coming soon!

I’ve always been a huge fan of the mixed use urban lifestyle, so much so that I actually live and operate my office out of one right here in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. So when I first pulled up to “Citrine”, a contemporary salon located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, I knew immediately I was going to enjoy photographing the space for co-owners Eileen LeFever and Gordon Nixon. Working with architect Philip Szostak, Eileen and Gordon were able to realize their vision for Citrine, a vision that was born from a simple, “less is more” approach to design.

Not only was I very impressed with the detail and thought put into every inch of this space, Eileen and Gordon are two of the most genuine, creative, and welcoming people I have ever met. So if you ever find yourself in Chapel Hill, stop by and say hello, you’ll leave feeling like you’ve known them forever!

When I was brought in at the eleventh hour to photograph this ad for Coastal Uncorked last week, it was clear that both myself and the art director needed to be ready to work on the fly as our window of opportunity was extremely narrow. Not having a chance to see the location in advance always makes for an added element of surprise, and after moving our set four times due to fast creeping shadows and an uncooperative sun, we were finally able to compose, light, and shoot what we needed to get this created.

Once again I find myself thinking how incredibly fortunate I am to work with such creative and forward thinking clients, who put their trust in me to do my part in the process day after day. So a big “thank you” goes out to all of them.

To see more of my work please visit my website.

Last week I was inspired by a client of mine to revisit some pro-bono work I shot for Street Reach a couple of years ago here in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. It’s a particularly good time of year to remember those less fortunate in our communities, and from spending hours with the folks at Street Reach, shooting a campaign designed to gain awareness for the homeless, I witnessed first hand how so many are truly benefitting every day from the generosity of others. Below is one of the images from our shoot, with the complete campaign available for viewing on my website.

I recently completed a series of promotional images for Chad Netherland, 10 time Guinness World Record holder for extraordinary feats of strength and martial arts that you really have to see to believe.

When Chad and I hung up the phone after our initial discussion I did what I usually do: jump on my computer and research as much as possible about the client, gaining a complete understanding of who and what I am taking on. It was clear after seeing the direction of his past photography that there was a fairly large element missing. Yes there were dozens of images that documented his accomplishments, but nothing in his image bank illustrated the highly entertaining aspect to what he does. So after more discussion we agreed that there needed to be a somewhat theatrical feel to the photographs, illustrative and suggestive. Below are some samples from our shoot, the final ice-break image will be the upcoming cover for Kung-Fu Magazine.

You can see Chad’s accomplishments featured on page 76 of the current Guinness Book of World Records, as well as their video games for Nintendo Wii and DS, with even more ambitious goals set for 2010…stay tuned!