Field Museum

I love the Field Museum. Growing up in Idaho, the closest thing to this I had was the local university natural history museum which I think had a stuffed buffalo and not much else. My favorite time to visit is during the winter or early spring, when Chicago is busy being cold and miserable. One foot inside this place and you're literally transported to another world. 

Every time I visit I try to be as awesome as Sugimoto. Not likely to happen any time soon. 

So much to photograph. So little time. Can't wait till next winter.

SKIN!

Awesome poster illustration by Daniel Warren

Back in March I was asked by some of my favorite actor friends to shoot some vaudevillian posters for their jukebox-style, musical-comedy romp revue called SKIN! These posters were a teaser of sorts.

Little Family Band pt 1

Some recent photos of The Little Family Band. I'm working on a series of images for their personal use and hopefully for their upcoming album which they're in the studio recording right now. Their sound is amazing - These guys have some serious talent and I can't wait to collaborate some more with them. More photos soon but here are some of our first images together:

St Paddy's Day R.O.W.

For the second year in a row now I've had the great fortune of photographing my friend Jenn Gibbon's team of cancer-surviving rowers for their annual St. Paddy's Day Sprint for Recovery. Her non-profit organization ROW (Recovery On Water) encourages cancer survivors to stay active by engaging in crew in order to reduce the chance of relapse. It's an incredible group run by a pretty extraordinary woman. Jenn's a bit of a local celebrity and worshipped like an idol by her girls, but the truth of the matter is, she's a real hero.

Last summer Jenn set off to be the first person to ever row around the perimeter of Lake Michigan in an effort to raise awareness. 3 months and 1500 lonely miles of grueling, back-breaking hard work - a feat I couldn't ever possibly imagine having the endurance or courage to attempt. You may have heard about the challenges she encountered in the news during her record attempt. But even after this unfortunate incident, because Jenn is who she is, she never waiver for a second in her mission. She found incredible inner strength to carry on and complete her journey.

Now Jenn is a full-time crusader for survivors of both cancer and sexual assault. Her warmth and charisma along with her passion for the people who look up to her makes her one of the most inspiring people I know. I froze my butt off this year on the river photographing her team, and I'll gladly do it again next year if she asks me to.

Thanks Jenn for being so amazing.

Go ROW

Unnamed Project 02.13

I'm not sure yet what it is, but this project has me very excited. Time to get to work!

Stay tuned...

Julian Bell

I have to admit, the holidays got me a bit distracted from working, but I'm getting back in the saddle and I'm ready for action. I'm starting 2013 off with a portait shoot of a local rising star: singer/songwriter Julian Bell. Julian was recently on The Next showing some serious chops with his John Mayer cover. Recently I heard him open for another local songwriter Phil Jacobson whose album photography I did last fall. After listening to him perform live, I knew I needed to have him over for a session.

We only spent about an hour together shooting, talking about music, his new EP he's releasing next month, and our mutual love for John Legend. Julian is really a warm, kind soul and I wanted these photos to reflect that quiet nature. I really enjoyed our short time together and expect to see great things from this artist.