Holdfast. "Real Life" live acoustic video

We recently completed a live acoustic music video for the band Holdfast. They’re a super talented group of really authentic guys and we loved being a part of this project. Gillian handled all the set design and handled all the camera work. We originally planned to do this outside at sunset but we had been getting thunder storms every day for weeks and decided to retreat to safety in the studio which gave us predictable light and conditions for as many takes as was needed.

They asked for a really stripped down, one camera, one take approach which sounds simple at first mention, but then when you actually start filming the truth is that a single mistake can ruin the whole take and there’s no way to blend the takes together. The guys brought all their audio and recording equipment and recorded 7 takes. Once you start getting your marks all dialed in you get really cool shots in each take, but it’s impossible to recreate the exact same magic in each one so you’re going to just have to choose your favorite one and go with it! Ultimately #6 was the one we went with.

Here’s a link to the song on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/2FKrE8ILj7tVzuhgW8AP0I?si=b487b8faa9d94952

Handmade vase from burned cedar and walnut

When we built the studio last year one side was intended for photo and video and the other side was intended to be used as my workshop. In addition to my photography and filmmaking I love working with wood. I’ve made many picture frames and boxes and recently I started experimenting more with cedar which in the past I’ve used for fencing. But I discovered the Japanese technique of shou sugi ban, which is applying heat to cedar to make it permanently insect and weather resistant. I used that technique to do the siding on the studio which looks really cool. If you just give cedar wood a quick blast of high heat it won’t char but the color will change, adding more depth to the wood. So I thought it would look really cool when used on various applications like boxes, or even a vase like this which can hold more colorful bouquets.

A handmade cedar and walnut vase.

Whenever I make physical art I like to take beautiful photographs of it in the studio. Since we have a daylight studio Gillian will get to work styling it and then I’ll set up the lighting and we finish off the process. I’m really attracted to soft natural light and reflected light. So we used natural window light and some simple studio tools.

This is such a simple shot if you want to execute something similar. We used natural light coming in from the skylight which I bounced from a white foam core card available from any crafts store. Then we used a thin white cotton piece of scrap fabric to diffuse the overhead light.

The tools I’m using here are pretty affordable and easy to find as well. First you need a heavy stand to support the weight of an arm being extended. I prefer heavy c-stands like this one. Then you’ll need several of these really cheap clamps (like this small one from Impact) which are more of a duckbill design so they grab on to polls. Normal spring clamps, or a-clamps as they’re called in photography are not adequate because they’ll slip right off of an arm, or gobo arm as they’re called. The arm often comes with the stand, like the one I linked to above. Then, make sure you weigh down your stand with bag of rocks or a proper photo sandbag like this one.

You can do so much with such a simple setup! There’s no need to go over the top and spend a fortune on equipment before you’re really ready to make the leap. If you’ve got an etsy page or need simple product photos that you want to do yourself you definitely accomplish the look you’re after with a few simple tools! Good luck!

Native Botanical Fine Art Series

Last month Gillian and I went foraging for perfect specimens of last year’s native vegetation. We wandered around a nearby park with a cardboard box collecting dried plants from last year’s growth. I’ve always been fascinated with the forms and shapes plants take but people usually disregard them once they’ve died, even though they naturally preserve themselves on the stalk. I wondered what would happen if I took the color out of them and presented them on a clean background. This would force the viewer to respect the beauty of the shapes for what they are. If you couldn’t tell it was dead, would you still look past it? So, we took a day to try out whether or not the results would be worthy of sharing and we think they are. Let us know what you think and which ones are your favorites!

These images would look amazing when presented on a large format print with a white frame. UPDATE: They’re now added to my Etsy store for purchase. Local customers can always buy prints directly and get your signed copy hand delivered!

Behind the scenes in our studio during our Native Botanical series shoot.

Still life & fine woodworking

In addition to photography and filmmaking one of my other passions is woodworking. I utilize my studio space as both a workshop and a studio. When I’m done making new projects we clean up, set up the still life photography equipment and make some nice photos of the finished pieces!

Gillian gets free reign to make whatever she wanted here and I just light, compose and hit the button.

The boxes are made out of zebra wood with maple inserts and glue. I try not to use any nails or screws in my pieces if it can be helped. The lighting is all natural light with just a couple foam core books and a diffusion scrim to block or reflect light from the desired direction. Very simple, but very engaging results. I love how the wood pops off the dark cork background.