The Cat Ladies
Posted by John Keatley | Filed under Editorial, Tear Sheets
This assignment really surprised me, and made a big impression on me. I’m not talking about being surprised by the locations that I shot at, or some impossible circumstances that came up during the assignment. I’m just talking about being surprised by people, and gaining an appreciation for the fact that everyone is different. Vicki and Janis love cats. As do many Americans. I am actually allergic to cats, so although I do not hate cats, I don’t really get excited about them either.
These two ladies love cats so much, they pour almost all of their time and energy into making the lives of feral cats as comfortable and safe as possible. As the tear sheet indicates, they trap, neuter, and release or find homes for feral cats.
I spent two days shooting this assignment, and on the second day, Janis drove me around her hometown to show me some of the feeding spots and cat shelters that she frequents. As we drove around, she would stop every few blocks, and fill up empty feeding dishes. I was amazed by the number of cat shelters and bowls that were hiding in the bushes, and behind businesses. Sometimes there were bowls right out in front of a business. It was a hidden world, like the Troll Market under the Brooklyn Bridge in Hellboy II, for those of you who saw it. You might walk by a cat shelter, or food bowl in public every day, and never even notice it. I can’t recall ever seeing one in my life, but there were dozens of stray cats living behind, under, and in front of buildings just within a few blocks. And all of these cats are given fresh food and water every single day by Janis and some of the other ladies who are involved. That’s a lot of money when you think about feeding hundreds of cats everyday.
While we were driving around from location to location, it really hit me. Every day, for years, these women have been caring for cats all over the city, and making a big difference. They prevent thousands of kittens from being born into difficult situations, and provide much better care for those cats that are already living without homes. While we were at a trailer park on the first day of shooting, a lady came out of her home, and thanked Vicki and Janis for what they are doing. She said that since they started fixing and caring for the cats in her neighborhood just weeks earlier, things have gotten much better. Cat’s were no longer urinating all over the place, and the frequent cat fights had pretty much stopped.
After my shoot with Vicki was over, I thanked her for what she is doing. Her work may not affect me directly, or at least in a way that I would have ever known about, but it is so good to see people caring for others (cats in this case). Trapping cats, and feeding them is not something that I will ever do, but I am thankful that there are people who do. That’s what I love about photography. I get to meet so many different people, and experience life from so many different points of view. I can just imagine what I would have thought when I was younger about “cat ladies”. Remember when so much of the country would laugh at “tree huggers”. I’m grateful for a new perspective. If everyone could find just one small way to care for people, animals, or the earth ,the changes would be great.
I have just been thinking about these things lately. Interestingly enough, some of my work has allowed me to experience first hand the needs of others, and what some people are doing to help. Thanks for reading.
You can read the entire article about TNR (Trap, Neuter, Release) (here).
* If you are using a blog reader, you may need to visit my actual blog to see the cat slide show above.
Tags: Cats, Feral Cat Spay/Neuter Project, Feral Cats, Janis Newman, Neuter, Seattle Metropolitan, Stray Cats, Tear Sheet, TNR, Vicki Farretta
New Online Portfolio At Redux
Posted by John Keatley | Filed under News
My online portfolio with Redux just got updated. I haven’t changed it much since we joined forces a couple of years ago, so it looks pretty different now. It’s funny how arranging pictures in a new way can bring new life to images that I am already very familiar with. So head on over and take a look (here).
This is the first of many updates which will be rolling out in the coming weeks. Soon, I will have a new website, and print portfolios as well. I’ll write more about that when they are finished though.
I’m hoping to have my portfolio done by the middle of May, so Photo Editors, let Marcel, Laura, or Jesi know if you want to have one sent over to you.
Tags: Editorial Portfolio, Editorial Rep, John Keatley, Online Portfolio, Redux Pictures
Lisa Ling
Posted by John Keatley | Filed under Celebrity, Editorial
This has been a difficult year for many people. I personally have been pinching pennies, and admittedly, things have been pretty slow at Keatley Photo as well. But looking for a bright side to all that is going on, the downturn has offered me a chance to slow down, and think about things in a new way. Not that I want it to be this slow for too long… Of the photo shoots I have had in the last few months, several of them have shared a theme of social justice and thinking outside of oneself. For so long, our country has told us to take as much as we can, and live it up, ignoring many of the problems that exist right outside our comfortable homes. Working with, and thinking about some of these themes and issues has made a big impact on me, and is slowly changing my heart.
Photographing Lisa Ling, was one of the experiences that has made a mark on me. She is someone who is making a difference in the world, and because of her national platform, she is able to reach a wide audience and inform many people about issues that we can no longer ignore. Animal rights and cruelty is a hot topic these days. I am hopeful that because of people like Lisa, and the tools that many of us have on the Internet, we can make a difference and take steps to make changes to the way that animals are treated, both domestically and industrially. Not everyone is able to adopt an animal, or even donate to a cause for animal rights. But we can all at least be informed, and speak out against issues such as this.
The State of Washington has recently had several raids on puppy mills, which really opened my eyes to the cruel treatment of dogs. Lisa Ling also made a short documentary about the cruel business of puppy mills which was aired on Oprah (watch here).
Animal cruelty is obviously one of many issues that need to be addressed, but I hope that as a country, we might start to be more open and aware of the needs around us. Lisa spoke to a group of students before I photographed her, and it was exciting to hear some of the students talking to each other as they were leaving the event. Many of them seemed moved and challenged by her talk, and I hope that many of them will strive to make positive changes in their communities, and in the world.
Below are links to several videos and articles about puppy mills if you want to find out more.
Main Line Animal Rescue
Seattle PI video report about a puppy mill raid earlier this year (here).
PETA undercover video about puppy mills (here).
Seattle Times articles about puppy mill raids this year (here) and (here).
Tags: Celebrity Portrait, CNN, Journalist Portrait, Lisa Ling, Lisa Ling Portrait, Main Line Animal Rescue, National Geographic Channel, National Geographic Explorer, Oprah, Portrait of Lisa Ling, Puppy Mills, Reporter, Seattle Metropolitan, Social Justice, The Oprah Winfrey Show, The View
Big Fish In A Bad Economy
Posted by John Keatley | Filed under Editorial, Tear Sheets
* If you are using a blog reader, you may need to visit my actual blog to see the slide show of outtakes, and just for fun shots.
If I were starting a multi-million dollar company, I would do everything in my power to recruite Jeremy Lewis to run the show. He was a thrill to work with, and a great guy to boot. Jeremy is the CEO of Big Fish Games, and I recently photographed him for the May 09 cover of Seattle Business Monthly.
He seems to have found a good balance of taking business very seriously, but at the same time enjoying life with a good sense of humor. And I think that shows in these pictures. As further proof, I was intrigued by the fact that he is reading a biography on Charlie Chaplin, and drawing inspiration from Chaplin’s business savvy. “In both good and bad times, he did the same thing: He made enjoyable, safe, mass-market entertainment at a great value. He was a true business leader for his times.”
It takes a lot of creativity to find business inspiration from such an unlikely source as Charlie Chaplin, but I like that kind of “outside the box” thinking. Maybe we could send some of that kind of thinking to the Auto and Financial industries.
Big Fish Games is now the leader in “casual games” and they are quickly growing, despite the slumping economy.
“After netting $85 million in revenue and growing by about 70 percent last year, Big Fish doesn’t appear to be slowing down. This January, Lewis says the company’s subscription base grew 111 percent faster than it did in September 2008, when the stock market crashed.” - Randy Woods and Julie H. Case for Seattle Business Monthly
Click here to read the entire article in Seattle Business about Big Fish Games, and other companies who are thriving despite the economic downturn.
Tags: Big Fish Games, Big Fish Games CEO, Business Portrait, Casual Games, CEO On The Cover, CEO Portrait, Cover Photo, Jeremy Lewis, Online Games, Seattle Business Monthly, Seattle photographer, Seattle Studio, Studio Portrait, Tearsheet, Video Game CEO, Video Games
Santa on the Street
Posted by John Keatley | Filed under Personal Work
* If you are using a blog reader, you may need to visit my actual blog to see the slide show above.
I got a call last October from my friend, Tyler, asking me if I would photograph a Christmas party for street youth in Seattle’s U-District. It’s an annual party, and they usually have a volunteer take candid snapshots that they can give to the youth who attend. After talking for a little while, we both decided that it would be fun to set up a studio in a corner where anyone who was interested could get their portrait taken.
After I finished setting up, Tyler made an announcement about the studio letting people know that it was available. Everyone in the room turned to look at me. I smiled and waved, and then everyone turned back around and continued talking and opening presents. I waited for about 10 minutes, and still nobody came over. There were a lot of glances toward the studio, but that was it. I started walking around the room, and asking if people wanted to have their picture taken.
“No way man. I don’t want my picture taken.”
I knew it would just take one person to get things rolling, and moments later, that person arrived. Actually, he was a rabbit… Although I was excited about photographing a giant rabbit, I could tell that Santa was feeling uneasy and territorial. He took his white gloves off, one finger at a time, and threw them on the ground. ”This is my holiday, Rabbit!” He screamed across the room.
That’s a story for another day, though.
I was able to convince the rabbit to let me photograph him, and shortly after, people began lining up to join in. I took quite a bit of time with the lighting setup for this, and set the lights in a way that would allow for some movement and flexibility with each subject. I made an x on the ground, and asked each person to stand there. But beyond that, I didn’t control their movements. I wanted to let each person be themselves, and capture their personalities. I know that I am not the first person to photograph street youth. But often I feel that a subject like this is an easy way to create a dramatic story without any creativity. Street youth encounter struggles that many of us will never experience, some of them dress a little different, but that alone doesn’t make a great picture. What I loved about how these pictures turned out, was the laughter and humor that came through. I don’t think the pictures would have the same feel if I had taken as much control as I would have with a different subject. I might have asked Santa to look serious, though…Couldn’t resist that one!
What do you think about the slide show? Comments please. I have been posting pictures individually, but it seemed like there were too many for that this time. I’d love to hear what you think.
Tags: Headshots, Santa Clause, Santa Picture, Seattle photographer, Seattle Street Youth, Street Youth, Street Youth Headshots, Studio portraits, U-District, Volunteer Work
Read This Blog And Win $10,000
Posted by John Keatley | Filed under Advertising, Tear Sheets
It turns out that you actually have to buy a Match 4 Lotto ticket for your chance to win $10,000, but you may not have known about that if you didn’t read about it on this blog. Right? So technically you can win $10,000 by reading the John Keatley Blog…
Ok, so enough about winning money. The pictures above are from the new Washington State Lottery Match 4 ad campaign that I recently shot with Cole & Weber United. I have always enjoyed Lottery ads because they often incorporate quirky humor, along with fresh creative concepts. I got my first taste of working with the Washington Lotto a few years ago. It was also the first ad shoot I had ever done. Publicis was the ad agency working on the account at the time. It was a smaller scale job, mostly running in newspapers, and point of sale, but ever since then I have wanted to do more with the Lottery.
That’s what made this so fun and rewarding for me. It’s a client that I have been seeking out, and I was selected specifically for my brand of photography. I was given the freedom to “do what I do”, and that always seems to bring about the best end product. Same story with the Sounders FC ad campaign that I recently shot. Go Sounders by the way! Undefeated!
These pictures are of the members of the Match 4’s. A singing group comprised of stereotypical Washington locals who are so excited about winning $10,000 that they just have to sing. That’s not the official concept actually. I just made that last part up.
Tags: Advertising Photographer, Cole & Weber, Cole & Weber United, Lottery, Lottery Ad Campaign, Lotto, Lotto Ad Campaign, Match 4, Match 4 Ad Campaign, Match 4's, Print Ad, Seattle Advertising Photographer, The Match 4's Ad Campaign, Wa Lotto, Washington Lottery, Washington Lotto, Web Ad
