Dan Ivanoff On Top…Of The Roof
Posted by John Keatley | Filed under Editorial
Schnitzer West CEO, Dan Ivanoff, on the roof of one of his newest office towers at 818 Stewart in Seattle. Schnitzer West is a commercial real estate company operating in the Pacific Northwest, and they are currently working on the new Amazon.com campus, and The Bravern in Bellevue. On the right side of the frame is yet another Schnitzer West tower being constructed. This is the cover photo for the April 2009 issue of Seattle Business Monthly. The Real Estate issue.
I was amazed to see blue sky when I got to the roof, because it had been snowing earlier that morning. I was thinking we were going to have to shoot inside. My assignment was to photograph Dan for cover and a full page opener. I was told I had an hour with him, which often means about 15 minutes, and that proved to be true. Turns out that Dan was doing all of the welding himself on the tower behind him, so he had to get back before the lunch whistle. I guess the economy is effecting everyone. Even CEO’s. But isn’t Dan the one who blows the lunch whistle? I can’t believe I fell for that.
This image was not in the plans, but I reacted to the location and the sky when the clouds began to develop. I had to work fast to get all of the shots that I needed and save time for this one. It was the last shot of the day, and once again, the last shot wins.
Tags: Amazon.com campus, Business Portrait, CEO Portrait, Commercial Real Estate, Dan Ivanoff, Pacific Northwest Commercial Real Estate, Real Estate Development, Real Estate Investment, Schnitzer West, Schnitzer West CEO, Seattle Business Monthly, Seattle CEO, The Bravern
Work And Play In Mexico
Posted by John Keatley | Filed under Personal Work
Heading out the door to photograph author Richard Kelley for his new book Deathstroke, I had no idea that I would be kicking it with him on the coast of Mexico just a few weeks later. Networking, and asking questions have served me well during my young career, and this was the crown jewel of examples. During the photo shoot with Richard, it came up that he has an incredible home called The Sandcastle, in Ixtapa Mexico that he spent over 10 years building. As I was asking questions, it turned out that Richard needed photography of his house in Mexico for some upcoming projects and articles, and he asked if I would be interested in photographing it. Yes. No need to really think about that one.
I spent 5 days in June photographing the Sandcastle and relaxing. I mean working. I have never experienced a place as amazing as this one. Most people never get an experience like this, and I am truly grateful for it. But I am even more grateful, because this winter I was able to go back with my wife and family for a week of sunshine while it was raining in Seattle.
There is no front door to the house. Just a spiral staircase that winds up to the pool deck, passing several other rooms along the way. The thought and care that went into designing and building the house really is amazing. It took one man 2 solid years to paint the house to give it an old worn look. Most of the floors on all seven levels of the house are carved stone. There is a perfect half inch groove between every stone, and the grooves in each room run into a drain. This makes it possible to walk anywhere in the house soaking wet. A brilliant little feature that I think we will start to see more of in new suburban homes in the States…
Below is a slide show of some of my pictures from both of my trips, as well as my portrait of Richard Kelley who made this whole thing possible. Many thanks Richard!
* If you are using a blog reader, you may need to visit my actual blog to see the slide show.
Tags: Architecture, Architecture Photography, Best Places To Go, Infinity Pool, Ixtapa, Ixtapa Pictures, Luxury Home, Mexican Architecture, Mexican Vacation, Mexico, Mexico Vacation Getaway, Sandcastle, Travel Photography, Vacation, Vacation Home
“American Youth” Photography Book
Posted by John Keatley | Filed under Personal Work
After a year of hard work and waiting, I am excited to announce that “American Youth” will be in stores and available online May 2009. That’s just a couple of months away! ”American Youth” is a 240-page photography book, that examines the newest generation of 18 to 24-year-olds in detail. The photographs are by Redux photographers, which I am proud to be one of.
I photographed two groups of young people for the book. Street youth in Seattle’s U-District, and three of the Sea Gals cheerleaders, the NFL cheerleaders for the Seattle Seahawks. The cheerleader picture above is an outtake, but it is one of my favorites. ”Define Girlfriend” is in the book. You can read a little more about my work on this project in a recent interview I did at Feature Shoot (read here).
I will post more of my favorite outtakes and pictures from the book as the book release gets closer, but for now you can head over to the “American Youth” blog and website. The website has bios of all the contributing photographers, as well as many of the pictures from the book.
“American Youth” website - http://images.americanyouthbook.com/
“American Youth” blog - http://americanyouthbook.com/blog/
Cover image © Erika Larsen/Redux
Tags: American Youth, Cheerleaders, John Keatley, NFL Cheerleaders, Photography Book, Photography Rep, Redux Photographers, Redux Pictures, Sea Gals, Seattle Street Youth, Street Youth, Youth Portraits
The Forager for Bon Appetit
Posted by John Keatley | Filed under Editorial
Why would Bon Appetit Magazine be interested in a forager? Did he pay for a bunch of food using counterfeit money? No. Not a forger, a Forager. This is Langdon Cook, a real life forager, and I photographed him for the March issue of Bon Appetit. In addition to looking for mushrooms, Langdon is an author, and blogger. His blog, Fat Of The Land is about his adventures and encounters with wild mushrooms. As well as good cooking and the outdoors. Click the Bon Appetit link above to read the write-up.
Tags: Bon Appetit, Fat of the Land, Forager, Langdon Cook, Mushrooms, Seattle Blogger, Tearsheet
Seattle Sounders FC Ad Campaign
Posted by John Keatley | Filed under Advertising
There it is. My very first billboard. This is the inaugural season of the Seattle Sounders FC, the newest expansion team in MLS. Seattle is getting fired up about our soccer team, and it’s fun to be a part that excitement. The ad agency I worked with was Wexley School For Girls, which I always enjoy working with.
Now I know what some of you are thinking. Did he paint those people in the background? No. That would have taken way too long. We ended up using a cartoon modeling agency, and hired a few dozen cartoon models to stand in the background. Ok, that’s a joke. To give credit where credit is due, Rachael Ludwig is the artist who created the background art. I shot three scenes for this campaign. Fan with a scarf, fan with a flag, and crazy Sounders fans banging on a drum. The ads will be used for billboard, transit, print, and online.
The shoot was at Quest Field, home of the Seahawks and Sounders. Since we were there, I figured I would maximize my time, and take care of some additional business. I have been intending to try out for the Seahawks special teams, so they gave me a quick look. Here are some pictures from my open tackle and field goal trials. And a quick video from the photo shoot.
Lots of screaming in this video. Soccer fans are crazy!
Tags: Ad campaign, Advertising Photographer, Billboard, MLS, Quest Field, Seattle Soccer, Seattle Sounders, Seattle Sounders FC, Soccer, Soccer Fans, Sounders Billboard, Sounders FC Ad Campaign, Wexley, Wexley School For Girls
