From where I can really see.
Today is one of those days where upon completion my initial response is to pat myself on the back for juggling so many projects and responsibilities. Bills paid (some not), invoices processed, expense reports detailed and post production begun along with a litany of other marketing, accounting and organization concerns which constitute running a business, but I find myself missing the pictures.
After two weeks on the road shooting and spending time with family I returned to start right up with long time client Cook Children’s Medical Center on a full day job and off to Houston tomorrow for HealthLeaders Magazine and yet on down/office days like these I miss my subjects and the raw energy of shooting.
From the New York Studio to the rocky mountain altitude all the way to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the Medical Center I find myself experiencing great gratitude for the people who support my career.
New York was a powerfully productive trip both in the shooting and the visits. I can’t wait to share the images we produced for the Mac Group, both the crew and the models were sublime and made for an amazing shooting experience. Once our shooting wrapped I made it to see my NY support crew at the Getty Images and Spike TV offices. With both the new faces and familiar faces I left feeling recharged by what they are creating and where we are pushing my presence. The year is half over and so much to achieve.
The return to the mountains in Colorado was such a needed escape. I took my 13 month old on her first altitude hike and with her on my back and the crisp air blowing our hair it was amazing how clear my mind was above tree line. Like the mist and rain crawling across the Rocky Mountain National Forest the doom and gloom over our industry is palpable on a daily basis as we advertise for new clients and diversify our outlets in search of creative and monetary solace. Yet underneath all the rain there is so much stunning beauty filled with trails just waiting for us to walk down. Thinking of the amazing stories and lives I am blessed to visit and the endless creative outlets at my fingertips supported by the most consummate professionals left me buzzing with ideas. Hiking down the mountain with my baby girl asleep on my back I found myself charging down the trail ready to erupt over the edge.
At the half way point of 2009, and stopping to take a breath I can’t say I have created the body of work I want to remember 2009 by. Charged and challenged I step forward into the rest of this year hungry and lustful for more adventures, for more evocative imagery. I will get to the bills eventually but for now I really want to keep pushing the development of the vision up that steep climbing trail.
Smoke Grenandes and Gasoline
I worked most of the weekend as spring winds whipped across Dallas under crystal blue skies and glorious rays of sunshine. Cyclist rode the tour of Dallas, there was a Deep Ellum arts festival, a marathon, and Nascar was in town while I shot TCU football for Nike and started a branding project for friend and news anchor Kim Fischer. As the winds of change rolled through it was admittedly hard to focus as we prepared for our first open house, I scouted locations, went looking for smoke grenades and knew there was so much in town I would not get to photograph.
With so many balls in the air right now including three jobs this week, taxes and the ever-present stress over what is going to happen with the wife’s Air Force package it was just nice to eventually get out on Sunday and play. While it was technically work, it was one of those days where I openly proclaimed how much I love my job, “pop smoke Gavin. Harl, gasoline now… more… good! Kim, Go!” This image will eventually be part of marketing materials and a web site for Kim as she prepares to move markets and take her face national. I want to say thank you to my assistants (who needs hair on their hands anyway?) and to Kim, I love the fact that she is willing to push the concept and create more than a standard head shot.
As we head into the week make sure at some point you create art for yourself.
To concept and shoot feel free to call – 469.438.2711 or email – jensen@jensenwaker.com
4th and Long
The alarm went off yesterday at 5:00 a.m. to a day of cold, wind and pouring rain. While getting ready I kept hoping for the call of a shoot postponement, it never came. Layered down, we loaded the gear in the rain and headed to the Cotton Bowl in preparation for our shoot for SPIKE TV’s new reality show “4th and Long.” The shoot was actually a fairly quick one and we produced some nice images of the contestants and Hall of Fame honoree Michael Irvin. The film crew will be here in Dallas for the next 5 weeks and the contestants will be living in the locker rooms of the stadium as they compete for a spot on the Dallas Cowboy spring training roster. The contestants were a really nice group of guys from around the country and seemed pumped up if not a little deer in the headlights at the opportunity laid at their feet. I am looking forward to working with the team again this Sunday as they start shooting their episodic, should be fun and lets hope the weather clears up a bit.
This shot is from my good friend Tom Pennington whom I first met at the Eddie Adams Workshop when we were students back in 1998. Thank you again Tom, it was great to see you.
Dallas Natural Gas Explosion
So I ran out to shoot what I could of the fire today and due to limited access wound up on the other side of the Trinity River looking back through the smoke at downtown. As the helicopters over head zoomed directly into the flames for live TV coverage this image has for me an ironic connection between the natural and the man made.
DALLAS, Texas (AP) — A series of explosions at a facility that sells liquefied natural gas sent flaming debris raining onto highways and buildings near downtown Dallas. At least three people were injured, hospital officials said.
Authorities evacuated a half-mile area surrounding the Southwest Industrial Gases Inc. facility and shut down parts nearby Interstates 30 and 35 as the explosions continued for more than half an hour. Video footage showed numerous small fires burning in the area as stacks of gas cylinders exploded.
Three hours after the explosions started, fire crews were hosing down the charred metal wreckage. About a dozen cars in a parking lot and a grassy highway median were damaged.
The canisters held acetylene and propane gas, said Texas Commission on Environmental Quality spokeswoman Andrea Morrow. It wasn’t immediately clear what caused them to begin exploding around 9:30 a.m. CT (10:30 a.m. ET).
“I thought it was artillery. It was just coming just boom, boom, boom,” said witness Tony Love, a former soldier.
JWPostcard Edit Session #35
So it is that time again to send out the monthly JWPostcard. As many of you know, when this comes around I am often torn between a selection of images and find myself asking for your feedback.
I decided rather than contacting people individually to help make the choice I am going to post the selections and get your ideas. You don’t have to be a Photo Editor to help me with this, not everyone on the mailing list is. Every opinion counts and every opinion is much welcome.
Please click the link above to leave comments:
These images appeared in TIME magazine last month as part of a story on how the gay community is changing the face of Texas politics
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