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The Way of the World

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Much like birds and whatnot on National Geographic, people do things to attract attention or show off.  For the most part these things can be summed up in a word:

“Style”

Sometimes it’s clothing style, cosmetic style, artistic style, or personality style.  Many times, these days, it’s hairstyle.

Recently I did a photoshoot for a long time friend of mine, who happens to be a top-notch stylist.  By “top-notch,” I mean Redken Certified.    If you know what that means, you know how prestigious it is.

Anywho – she has had her styling fingers in many heads of hair and, as such, has developed her own unique style of cutting, feathering, trimming, coloring and other verbs that I don’t actually know.  The point is that she’s good and has something to show off.

 

That’s where the actual photography comes in.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Check it out.

However, the whole point about trends in style all filter down to the point of the whole post.
The Pack

Much like with wolves, if you don’t keep up, you fall behind to get eaten by crows and such…  OK, maybe not to that extent, but still – there are ramifications.  Really what I’m trying to say is “beauty is determined by the determiner.”  I know that sounds convoluted, but its just the case.  This model is beautiful.  She’s beautiful with the retouching and she’s beautiful without the retouching.  In fact, she’s flat-out hilarious (one of the most fun people I’ve worked with in quite some time.)    Just to drill home my point – she busted out the robot in the parking lot for the sake of a funny portrait.  Awesome.

However, people that look to style mags demand a more “commercial” level of beauty, and so the process of retouching begins.
Now, I know what you’re saying (or at least should be):  “Jon!  Didn’t you write a post a few months back about not doing this exact thing if at all possible?”

Well, yes.  Yes I did.  But in the same breath as condemnation, I will always stand straight up and say I will break my own rules to help my friends succeed.  Also, I like paying my bills… well not… I… YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!
So yes.  I am conflicted and my brain doesn’t quite know which side of the fence to come down on… So I sure wouldn’t mind some opinions.  There’s a comment box down there somewhere…
But, because I know you’re looking for it, here’s the before and after:

– Jon

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Danger Time.

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Back in the day, when I first began my educational journey into photography, I met two people about a week apart.  Ashley Lawler and I became “significant others” and have remained that way for the better part of half a decade.  Carl Amyoni and I have remained very close friends and instigators of each others’ bad habits for a similar time frame.

Now – this is all nice and nostalgic, but personal relationships aside, we also make up a trio of photographic entertainment.

In the early stages of our acquaintance, we decided to start a series we initially called the “Canadian Olympics.”  It would consist of ham-hocked trials, regular risk of personal injury, and a lot of plaid.  In the end it will probably be a series of images of people doing incredibly stupid things.

As is the case with too may things these days, the concept fell through and all we were left with was a series of “promo shots” and one very elaborate and flame-filled take on the luge.

Recently, I have been wrapping up a series of time-sucking endeavors and can see a gleaming orb of free time rising on the eastern horizon.

Furthermore – I feel that if I stick this in the world-wide-web, it will prompt people to bother me about new pictures.

YES YOU!  I AM RELYING ON YOU TO PESTER ME FOR WORK.

In the meantime – enjoy this blast from the past with a special guest appearance by my cousin, Mike Strong.

– Jon

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I Know This Dude Who Tries To Build Everything Himself…

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My buddy, Carl Amyoni, has a particular set of skills… skills that make him a nightmare for people like IKEA.

Carl is one of those unique individuals that grew up not with The Rugrats or Inspector Gadget, but with the likes of Norm Abrams and Tolstoy – essentially the makings for a modern-day Renaissance Man.  However, instead of a hoity-toity Palisade, Carl found enlightenment in things like raw steel, hand carved mallets, and sandpaper of varied grits.

He was well on the way to a life of hand-crafted stuff.

One day, Carl became interested in photography.  (He still won’t tell me exactly what happened – it has something to do with Public Access Channels and a substantial quantity of artichoke and onion guacamole).

Anyway – after meeting him through a photography class, it became clear that Carl was more interested in building, himself, what could otherwise be purchased at any department store.

About 3 and a half years have passed and, as such, other friends and I discuss how it’s likely Carl, in the search of imagery-perfection, designed and forged his own camera.

I think it probably went something like this….

– Jon

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Get the Delorean Ready

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I try to be introspective on a regular basis. While I spend a respectable amount of time reviewing failures and successes I’ve had, it feels like I still critique outside situations more than I critique myself.

A few minutes ago Adam’s Facebook told me I need to go read his new post.  You should really read it, too.  Cash Cat is the bomb.

On a related note I have (sort of) a photographic memory – which would make sense.  When I tend to look back on prior experiences (even when something just happens that makes me think of previous endeavors) I have hardly an issue with bringing up a memory that directly pertains to my current situation.  Well, that’s not really true either.

More than consciously sorting through a lifetime of experiences, my brain takes the wheel and makes the decision about what’s important.  I guess it’s relate-able to a Google search.  When someone says “spill” my brain does a little sorting and settles on the time I left a clear glass of clear gelatin in the fridge.  Then it broke.

Side note: when cool liquid gelatin and shattered clear glass come in contact with the shelves of a fridge – that’s well below the solidification temperature of gelatin – it’s a bad thing.

But anyway… It’s sort of like my cerebellum processes a query, brings up the first page of results, and auto-picks what it feels is the most relevant.  My mouth sort of blurts out whatever it’s told.

So HERE’S where the photo stuff comes into play.

I would like to know what else I know, but don’t know I know it because my brain tells me I know other things.  Make sense?   Essentially, I want to think about a certain topic and (instead of settling on the first search result) dig a little deeper to see what else I can dredge up.

As a result, I’ll craft a picture or pictureS around whatever prior experience or previously learned knowledge I come up with.

Sound good?  Well, I need some help.  See – I can’t just think up a phrase or situation out of thin air.  My current situation (a laptop, white wall, air conditioner and a foot that fell asleep) are filling my dome with stimulus that will invariably lead to a certain thought.

So I need you to bring up topics or ideas.  They don’t even have to make sense.  Licorice puppies wearing glasses on Everest would be just fine, but now that I thought about it, the thought process won’t be unique.  You understand.

Fill my brain, people!

– Jon

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That’s some tasty layout

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I’ve been doing some photo, branding, design, organization – basically I’ve been acting as a marketing/ad agent for a local company.  These guys —–> Wonderland Lanes.

It’s a bowling center in Commerce, Michigan that’s about to relaunch their grille as a no-holds-barred rockin’ restaurant.

Maybe a couple months back, I dropped a sneek preview at some of the food photos.  Now, we’re in the midst of full-on advertisements.

Don’t drool on your keyboard – it’s bad for it.

– Jon

 

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Going Green… Decoratively.

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Due in no small part to a connection from a close friend, I’ve recently begun some business with a local/national herbalogically-minded, interior decoration-based company.  I suppose that’s a bit wordy, but it’s a pretty accurate description of what these folks do.

The company is BrightGreen and they craft “Living Walls.”     These guys —-> 

Basically, imagine a unit that allows plants to grow vertically on a wall instead of on the ground or in pots.  Also, because each unit can hold multiple small plants, you can essentially plant designs on the wall that match the decor and such.

Over the past coupe weeks, we began work creating imagery for the new product from the company, the “Grovert.”  It’s the plant-it, hang-it, grow-it yourself unit for sale at  plant nurseries in the Midwest.

Here’s a bit of of the project –  a few of my favorite shots.  What do you guys think?

– Jon

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Home Grown Ads.

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Hey y’all! Sorry it’s been a bit since the last post – Finals week sort of took up my time. But now I’m back and ready to rock out some new work!

Let’s start with a finish. Over the last few months there have been regular posts about a series of group adverting projects. We’ve seen hygene products, security systems, summer-y desserts… No we finish the series in the real estate industry.

Our task for this last project was to design a pair of single page ads, a 2-page spread, a billboard, and a commercial. The task was intended to focus on the service industry, so we chose the real estate sector (specifically residential real estate.

I’ll skip the long-drawn breakdown of why we did what we did – Enjoy!

Oh – and fair warning: the video is REALLY cheesy.

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Oldy but a Goody

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I’ve been gettin’ retroactive lately.

I’ve been feeling the need to restructure my portfolio – trimming down some spots, bulking up some others, creating new categories altogether…  Throughout the process I’ve been looking through my work from early on in my career all the way up to last week.  It’s been fascinating.

One of the trends I notice repeating itself is that of the “completely ridiculous.”  It seems to be a driving force in a lot of my personal work.

Which brings us to the topic at hand.

2 years ago there was a competition for a scholarship; I had to tell a story in 8 images.  As per usual, I put things off and it was dangerously close to the deadline.  Then I got a call from the accepting committee, reminding me that I still had not submitted.  I confirmed that there were still 4 days left to submit.

They corrected me.  It turns out I had gotten the date wrong.  I had less than 36 hours.

With the relentless help of Carl Amyoni, we jumped into action.

In a 30-hour shooting spree we planned the shoot, bought the props, found the locations (3 different cities), shot the pictures, and ran post production.

The project won 2nd place in the nation.

I share with you – NERDMAN.

– Jon

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Foolishly Fun

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Most of you know, but for those who don’t – I rarely shoot weddings.  It happens occasionally, but it’s always a special circumstance (family and friends).

This allows myself and my clients a unique opportunity.  I know them and they know me.  This means I can get closer, more natural reactions, and a more personal level of happiness and humor than would be possible with a clients whose only interactions with me had been business-related.

On April Fools’ Day, with the fantastic help of Ashley Lawler, I shot a fairly unique wedding in Bay City at the Perre Marquette Train Depot.

Check out some of my favorite shots from the day!

-Jon

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