Happy New Year's Eve!

Well, the glorious string of days and weeks we called 2008 is coming to a close. Hooray! I know I am not alone in looking forward to a new one. Ok, as a fair warning to the other shooters out there, I must share that if you get one of these new 5D mark II thingies, do not be fooled by how inexpensive it is. Be prepared to update all your operating systems (we had only one machine holding out) and all your capture one software if you need to tether, AND all your photoshops to CS4 in case you like to be able to process raw images. I know I should have known this in advance, but computer updates are always such a cruel punishment. So enough scrooging about that, I am super excited about a new project I am starting this weekend. I don't want to give away the surprise, but IT IS GOING TO ROCK! It does relate to some new burlesque inspired images I recently shot though:

Yes, it is true- spring is just around the corner and with it will come the 2nd annual burlesque review!!

Miller Time

I am breathing a big sigh of relief that I can still talk today after all the screaming and cheering that took place yesterday during the Miller Lite shoot. What fun, though, here we are taking a look at the pix in studio (my winter boots are firmly in place until March!)
Thanks to all the agency folks and crew for helping with the cheering section!

I also got some jpgs of the shots we did last year, thanks Kevin!!! Also, thanks to Heath, Tonya and Ari and the crew on this one:

This weekend is full of testing so hopefully I'll have some more to post on that soon.

Yum, what better to go with a post-Thanksgiving blog than the midas touch of a Top Chef? We had a great visit with family and are back to the grindstone, a super week of casting leads us into another Miller project next week. Also, there is a rumor that Ms Leibowitz is speaking in town tomorrow. Hopefully I can get myself down there, give props to such a super talented lady!

Winter pix

Yay, my winter wonderland photos of Nick, Kate, Jon and Mahtab got some attention and are decorating the cover and inside of Shore magazine this month. We also just shot Top Chef Stephanie Izard for them as well. More on that after pub date. Looking forward to a little getaway next week, San Francisco here we come!

Medicine and Magazines

Well, just magazines for now. There was talk of a pharma concept but talk does not always lead to pictures.
Here is the Shore magazine Bridal issue, thanks to Kristan from Ford for sitting. The new Shore magazine should also be featuring my work on the cover, I'll post that when its released. Peace!

Polka, beer, etc

I was thinking last night when Robert was telling me a UFO story that we don't spend much time looking at the sky anymore. Living in the city doesn't do much to encourage it of course, but I do have fond memories of sky-watching back in the day. Just a thought. I realized I also have not put many new photos on here in a while, not that I have not been shooting. We have done a ton of Miller Lite in the past month or two, but of course it won't be public until the programs start. I should have some great layouts and outtakes though early next year. I did a fun test shoot here at the studio that I'll share 2 things from:

I wanted to capture a fantasy carefree memory of my youth with a twist. Sometimes I remember being out with friends and following a meandering path through the night that was wonderfully diverse, impossible to predict. One night in particular in Lisbon, I was with a friend and we met others along the way throughout the night who led us to a salsa bar until 3, a hip-hop club until 6, and a breakfast bar after that where we drank beer and sang along to bad 80's tunes right next to business folks having their morning coffee. In this photographic fantasy, some youngsters are out and they end up in a Polka bar with a bunch of more mature patrons and a band anchored by an expressive accordion player.
Going along with that theme, I created a series of photobooth shots to accompany:

hole in the wall

Is anyone else watching this show? Some friends turned me on to it last night and I am an instant fan. Anyone want to make a team and face the wall with me? I have not been this excited about a TV show since coming home to Sesame Street after kindergarten. I know, what does this have to do with photography??? Stay tuned, I will figure something out.

Bag-O-Questions

That is my husband's new nickname for me and my childlike curiosity (as I like to think of it). The Olympics has really brought out this side of me. "Do you think that really hurts when they land on their biceps like that?" Or, "Where are the underwater cameras??" Yes, the Olympics has turned me into a bag-o-questions.
I am sure I am way behind the times in noticing how cool the opening ceremonies can be, since I haven't seen them since I was a lot shorter than I am today, but holy crap was that cool?!?
I don't have any exciting photos to post today because my files are all on my office computer. Do we always need to have visual aids? :)
I am a recent addition to the Facebook website. While others seem to love and loathe it in equal numbers, I am almost completely neutral. I did get kind of excited about this map program they have on there after seeing a friend with it, since I always used to love putting pins into a world map for all the places I had traveled. Now someone is enabling my dorky travel re-living to exist in cyberspace. Pretty cool, except I think it is sponsored by Trip Advisor or something and I can only imagine the kind of depressing spam that will result in by tomorrow. All the flight and hotel specials I cannot indulge in, delivered right to my inbox. woo hoo.
All right, I am back to my line of questioning, and the Olympics, these people are freaking incredible.

Shore Magazine cover

It's in print! The Shore Magazine cover I shot a few weeks ago with Michael McKean at the Steppenwolf Theater. I also shot at L2O for Wine Spectator today and just finished a large production for my portfolio over the weekend, will post more about that one shortly. Thanks for visiting!

Networking

We are just getting ready to host an APA event for photographers and crew members at the studio on the 24th of July. See the details here:

http://www.apanational.com/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3297

Also, just finished a project with Purex and shot Michael McKean for Shore Magazine. More later, stay tuned!!

Callie

stuff

Ok, I know, its been a while since I've updated. I am drowning in to-do lists!
What should I start with, we had a great turn out at the opening party - over a hundred people showed up! Most likely to see the girls on the invitation in their underwear, but we all had to come together somehow, no? It was so awesome I am hoping to make it an annual event. We also just finished shooting the Mesirow Financial annual report earlier this month. Teresa Ging of Sugar Bliss donated a ton of cupcakes to my cupcake test shoot and we wrapped Kelly Anne up like a present the next day.


After all this we wanted to escape to the 'motherland' as we call it (minnesota) for some R&R and of course another test shoot. A big shout out to Floyd and Marcie for modeling, they were such a cute couple! And to Gina Hessburg for production and styling and Robb Kelly for hair and makeup.


Also in the past few weeks I went to Detroit for Newsweek assignment and photographed 3 portraits for Allstate. The photos of Jennifer and Adrienne are on display at Kate Boggiano's online store (www.kateboggiano.com). And SWC is using the first of the conceptual case study portraits I shot for them this spring (www.swc.com). Check back again soon and maybe I will have actually cleaned my office!

girls girls girls!

Hello!
Last week we shot 15 burlesque dancers (and Heath) for a promo that the lovely Anni Betts designed. I just love these girls so much they were the most adorable, sexy, confident super-women and I thank them SO MUCH for being a part of it! Stay tuned for details I am hosting a burlesque party to help spread the word about the great new space. We also just returned from a weekend up in Ashland Wisconsin photographing Rachel Campos and Sean Duffy of Real World fame for an editorial piece. They are also adorable and had super cute kids that made for a short and sweet session. I must plug the fantastic B&B we camped at overnight, The Inn at Timber Cove. If you have a chance, totally go there. The Summer Kitchen room was super cute and quiet (just what we needed!) but I can't say enough about the breakfast. There was enough food for 5 people and we weren't hungry for about 8 hour which is a serious record for me. That's all for now, sorry for all the thanks and shameless plugs, I just gotta give my people props!
Callie

Moved in!

Ok, we are moved into our new space! Stay tuned for our new studio launch party, website, rental info and more photos... This first photo was shot for an editorial photo illo on artificial sweeteners and features our silver studio kitchen.


I also shot Dan Patrick last week for and ongoing Cousin's sandwiches campaign. Dan was super fun in the studio, I even let him take a few pictures of me during the shoot. He should probably stick to his celebrity sports stuff; but he did have a difficult subject so maybe we'll give him the benefit of the doubt there. :)

The last thing I wanted to share is a shot from my corporate fashion shoot.

Thanks a TON to all the designers who lent some great pieces including Lee Allison, Lara Miller, Kate Boggiano, Lauren Lein, Erin Gallagher, Bonnie and Clyde's, Bess and Loie, Guise and Kaveri. Thanks you guys!!

I will try to post more often now that I have figured out this picture thing. Peace.

Progress

OK, after recruiting all my friends and an assistant to help paint this crazy studio space I think we can finally stop. The painting is by no means finished, but it is at least at a point that will allow us to move in and finish some of it later without having to get behind desks and such. Who really looks at window trim, anyways?
Buster is highly irritated by the cold, as is Robert. They are both campaigning for winter to end ASAP. I think things could be worse, but that tends to be my response to most challenges these days.
So I have been testing like crazy for about a year and a half and I think I am slowing it down for a few months at least while we move into the new space. I am told the hardwood floors in our upstairs home are finished, but tile is not. Lounge ceiling is framed but not drywalled. Kitchen cabinets are delivered but not fully installed. Repeat. So everything is 1/2 finished and apparently it takes a lot longer to get things looking nice than it did to rip the place up last fall.
Attached are 2 pix from the lovely Jenn Holiday's jewelry collection. Thanks to my super great models Anna and Jameel. I hope we can get this girl a website soon becuase her work is fantastic. That was the last thing I shot at the old space, where I officially turned in the keys this week. Hopefully I won't be studio-less for more than a few weeks.
Keep your fingers crossed for a finished photo in my next post.