Vacation Therapy
I used to hate taking photos while on vacation, but as I have gotten older I have found it almost therapeutic to capture these moments, even if for no other reason than populating my computers wallpaper slideshow.
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Headshots: Cosette Tomita’s Compcard
I am always searching for new ways to light my subjects, and with every shoot, I seek to perfect my technique. Recently I started using a Westcott ‘7 Parabolic Umbrella. After a few test shoots, I rolled out the umbrella for this headshot with teen female model Cosette Tomita. Using a giant softbox overhead to give Cosette’s hair a little kick and some overhead fill, I had the model strike several different poses, including this jumping shot below.
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David Axelrod slashes stache
When I met David Axelrod in 2008 at Obama for America campaign headquarters I instantly wanted to photograph him in front of this iconic Obama image. I decided to light Axelrod with light similar to what was in the Obama portrait, only from the opposite side, to create symmetry and contrast all at the same time.
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Chicago Advertorial Photographer: Powering People
I was so excited ten years ago when an advertising agency asked me to shoot nine day-in-the-life photo essays featuring utility workers in Wyoming for a public relations ad campaign. The December 2002 project was such an amazing opportunity to not only take some really cool pictures, but experience quite an adventure. Every day we visited a new small town, each different in their own way.
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Bacon Anyone?
After the worst drought in half a century hammered livestock producers like Hoelscher with record-high feed grain prices, there is renewed interest in raising pigs, an indication that the struggling hog industry is on the cusp of a recovery.
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Chicago IL 60614
Every day I walk through the front door and step over my mail. When I pick it up, I never think about where its been or how its made it to my home… God only knows, I guess.
Well sort of. After spending most of yesterday with United States Postal Service employees, I know a lot more about how it made its way to my door than ever before.
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Chicago Magazine Food Photographer: Kellogg’s Corn Pops
When I was photographing chef Jared Wentworth, I told him this was the most beautiful dish I have photographed all year… my apologies to all the other chefs who have posed for me in the past twelve months.
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Walmart workers protest, shopping continues
Protesters demanding higher wages and better healthcare for hourly workers thronged to Walmart stores across the country, though there was no evidence they disrupted operations for the start of the crucial holiday shopping season.
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Black Friday on Thursday?
I’m not really sure why Black Friday is now on Thursday… seems like a race to irrelevance if you ask me. Before too long Black Friday will be on Tuesday and no one will care. Never the less, I was in Target tonight for probably the fifth time on this annual shopping event.
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Failing schools: Should we cut our losses?
Recent education reforms have encouraged closing many long-troubled schools. Between 2010 and 2011, 2,000 schools were closed nation-wide. But some argue this may not be the right answer.
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