3ric Johanson And The Photonic Fence
Posted by John Keatley | Filed under Editorial, Tear Sheets
Imagine rows and rows of boxes piled up to the ceiling at your local Costco. The boxes are matte black with bold white writing and a robot looking face on the front with beady red eyes. Maybe something like the Terminator, but more kid friendly. Suburban moms in California and Arizona are lining up to be the first on the block to own a personal laser mosquito zapper. Jacqueline from Rancho Cucamonga places her new mosquito zapper in the over-sized orange cart, next to her new cooler with a built in iPod dock, and the ten pound bag of chicken strips. She can already imagine the warm summer nights by the pool, free of mosquitoes. I envisioned the situation for these early adopters to unfold much like the Cornballer as seen on Arrested Development. Kids running around the yard with laser burn marks all over their bodies, hair on fire. You worried about your kids running with scissors? Forget about it. You’ve got a military robot with lasers in your back yard.
That was the scenario that popped into my head after hearing the words laser mosquito zapper, but as I found out more about the assignment, I discovered it was not the next ridiculous consumer item at your local big box store. 3ric Johanson and a team of really bright minds actually came up with this idea and made it into a reality with the goal of wiping out malaria. With a mandate from Bill Gates to think differently about finding a solution to prevent malaria from spreading, the Photonic Fence was born. The technical description of how it works is a little above my pay grade, but by recognizing the size, speed, sound, and speed and insect beats its wings, the Photonic Fence can differentiate between bees, flies, and even male or female mosquitoes. Only female mosquitoes bite and carry the parasite causing malaria, so only the females need to be terminated.
3ric works at Intellectual Ventures, which is a research lab in Bellevue, Washington. In addition to the Photonic Fence, they are working on some pretty amazing projects including a super-thermos to transport vaccines, and a system to weaken hurricanes. While taking a tour of the lab with 3ric, he explained the reason Intellectual Ventures is so different from other labs is they are encouraged to experiment and push the boundaries of what is currently being done. Failure is not something they are afraid of, and they have the luxury of pushing the boundaries because they have investors behind them. Because this type of work is so expensive, however, other labs often don’t have investors willing to take on this kind of risk.
Make is a really cool magazine, and if you get excited about DIY projects, I would recommend subscribing. You can also find out more about the Photonic Fence and Intellectual Ventures at this page. I was really encouraged to see some of the top minds working on projects with the single goal of making the world a better place for people who don’t share many of the luxuries we so often take for granted.
I’ll leave you with a super slow-motion video of mosquitoes getting blasted by a laser. Enjoy.
New Tech Toy I am most excited about right now.
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Tags: 3ric, 3ric Johanson, 3ric Johanson portrait, Bellevue photographer, editorial photographer, Hacker, Intellectual Ventures, John Keatley, laser mosquito zapper, lasers, magazine, magazine cover, Make, Make Magazine cover, malaria weapon, mosquito blaster, photographer, Photonic Fence, scientist portrait, Seattle photographer, tech portrait, TED
Photography Talk Video: Chapter Two
Posted by John Keatley | Filed under Press & Interviews, Video
Photography Talk Chapter Two Video from John Keatley on Vimeo.
I hope you enjoyed the first video of my photography talk. As promised, here is the second video, and number three will be rolling out very soon also. The third one will be the Q&A session. I cover a lot of ground in this video including working with celebrities, but the main points are focusing on what you are trying to show in your work, and taking control to make it happen. Some of you have asked which camera these videos were shot on and although I have recently started to shoot video on the Canon 5D Mark II, I actually used this bad boy to film my talk.
Tags: commercial photographer, editorial photographer, John Keatley, photographer, photography lecture, Photography Technique, photography video, Seattle photographer, Video
Photography Talk Video: Chapter One
Posted by John Keatley | Filed under Press & Interviews, Video
Photography Talk Chapter One Video – My Photography Story from John Keatley on Vimeo.
A couple of months ago I hosted a Q&A and spoke about my photography to a group of about 100 people in Seattle. Many people who were not able to attend sent in questions, and expressed interest in watching a recording of the talk. Well, the wait is over. This is the first 15 minutes of the talk and I am going to do my best to have the rest up by the end of the week. So check back often. Enjoy, and thank you everyone who came out to hear me, and to everyone else who is reading this for your interest in my work.
Tags: commercial photographer, editorial photographer, John Keatley, photographer, photography lecture, Photography Technique, photography video, Seattle photographer, Video
The Stuntman
Posted by John Keatley | Filed under Editorial
Economy got you down? Looking for a new career? Well, this man can help. David Boushey is one of the top stuntmen in the industry and the founder of the International Stunt School in Seattle. If you dream of a life in the movies and have no fear, David can teach you how to jump off buildings, set yourself on fire, punch someone in the face and all kinds of crazy stuff the well-known actors won’t do. In fact, the International Stunt School is thriving these days thanks to the bad economy. Lots of people are looking for a career change, and the film industry thrives when times are tough because everyone is looking for an escape. Enrollment is up this year, and David is in talks to create a reality show about the stunt school.
On set, David asked me, “What’s my motivation for this shot?”
I told him, “Once a week for just half an hour you have a regularly scheduled time for yourself. You always go to the same cafe, and you get the same drink and read the paper in your regular seat. You don’t talk to anyone, and you certainly don’t like people talking to you. While you are reading, you hear someone yelling. You try to ignore them, but they get louder and more frantic. It seems like they are yelling at you. You try to ignore them for as long as possible while your frustration and anger grows. Finally, you turn in the direction of the person screaming and snap off, “What the hell do you want!?”
I have started experimenting with video on some of my shoots for editorial clients recently, and this is a short I put together on how to throw a “picture punch”. So far I have really enjoyed working with video, and I hope to do more in the coming months. If you are reading this in a blog reader you may need to go to the John Keatley Blog to see the video. This was not my first lesson on how to throw a punch from one of my photo subjects, although my first lesson was about punching for real.
I have another short video on my Vimeo page of David telling a story about almost getting chopped to bits while filming a movie at sea.
Here are some links to the camera equipment I used for this shot.
Camera:
Hasselblad H3DII-31 w/ 80mm lens
Lights:
Elinchrom Ranger Battery Pack and Head x2
Profoto Acute 2 2400 kit
Light Modifiers:
Profoto White Softlight “Beauty Dish” Reflector
Wescott 45” Umbrellas
Elinchrom 7” grid reflector
20 degree grid
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Tags: David Boushey, editorial photographer, International Stunt School, John Keatley, photographer, Seattle Met, Seattle photographer, Stuntman
Tea Party With Keli Carender
Posted by John Keatley | Filed under Editorial
Keli Carender goes by Liberty Belle on her blog “Redistributing Knowledge“, and she is credited with starting the Tea Party Movement. She burst onto the political scene last summer while attending a town hall meeting hosted by Democratic Washington Congressman Norm Dicks. She made a speech and waved a $20 bill in the air daring Norm to take it from her and use it as a down payment for health care reform. I wasn’t familiar with the Tea Party Movement when I got this assignment, but I thought it would be awesome to shoot Keli in a way that would look like an old painting from the Revolutionary War era. Thankfully my art director loved the idea, and I was also able to get Keli to go for it. The hardest part was tracking down a period dress from the right era. I should also mention Keli is actually a member of a comedy improv group called The Beta Society. That obviously was a big help when asking her to dress up in costume since she is used to this sort of thing. I don’t expect it would be very easy to get Nanci Pelosi or John McCain to wear a costume for a shoot. Although that would be amazing!
Equipment Used:
Hasselblad H3DII-31 w/ 80mm lens
Profoto Giant 150 Silver Reflector
Wescott 45” Umbrella
Tags: blogger, Keli Carender, Liberty Belle, Political Activist, political movement, political protest, Portrait, Redistributing Knowledge, Seattle photographer, Studio, Tea Party, tea party movement
Photography Talk And Q&A
Posted by John Keatley | Filed under News
If you have been wondering what to do with your evening on March 8th, wonder no more. It’s open mic night at Comedy Underground. But if that isn’t your cup of tea, you could go to the Seattle Center hear me talk about my photography and ask me those burning questions you have been wrestling with (photography related of course).
Seating is limited, but admission is free. This will be taking place at:
Studio H, TPS
4th Floor
Center House, Seattle Center
305 Harrison St. Seattle, WA 98109
March 8th is a Monday, and the start time is 7:00. There are still about 25 seats remaining, and you must RSVP (HERE).
As an added bonus, photography consultant Amanda Sosa Stone has been kind enough to donate a couple copies of her book The Photographer’s Survival Guide: How To Build And Grow A Successful Business which I will be giving away through a drawing.
I am going to see about recording the talk, so if you are out of town, or not able to attend, feel free to leave your questions here in the comments and I will do my best to address as much as I can.
I hope to see you there.
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Tags: John Keatley, Photography, photography event, photography Q&A, Seattle photographer
Sounders FC Goalkeeper Kasey Keller
Posted by John Keatley | Filed under Editorial
It’s almost time for my two favorite professional sports. Lawn darts, and baseball. Just kidding! Soccer and baseball. Although we may be watching lawn darts if MLS and the union don’t come to an agreement soon. Aside from that, it is pretty exciting to be a soccer fan in the Pacific Northwest right now with how the Sounders have taken the country by storm. The first game of the 2010 season will be played here against Philadelphia, the newest expansion team to MLS. And don’t even get me started about next year when the Vancouver Whitecaps and the Portland Timbers will join MLS. Those rivalries will be amazing!
This is a picture I recently took of Kasey Keller. Kasey is the goalkeeper and captain of the Seattle Sounders FC. From my time with him, he seems like a laid back fun loving guy who doesn’t take life too seriously. While we were talking on set, he said “I get to play a game and catch a ball for a living.” It was fun to see that side of him, but going into the shoot, I wanted to capture some of his competitive spirit. One of the Sounders games I was at last season I spent some time on the grass right behind the goal. Qwest Field is known for being a loud stadium and the fans can carry on with the best of them. But as loud as it was in the stadium, I could hear Kasey screaming instructions to his teammates over the crowd. With that in mind, I asked Kasey if he would yell at me for a few pictures. I half expected to be rejected, but he said sure and started yelling. I won’t repeat what he yelled, but it was pretty funny.
Go Sounders!
(Here) is a post with video and pictures from the Sounders billboard I shot last season.
Tags: athlete portrait, Celebrity, celebrity headshot, Celebrity Portrait, Kasey Keller, Kasey Keller portrait, Kasey Keller screaming, MLS, Portrait, portrait photographer, screaming athlete, Seattle photographer, Seattle Sounders, Seattle Sounders FC, Soccer, soccer player, soccer portrait, Sounders, Sounders goalkeeper
Photographer Video Profile: John Keatley
Posted by John Keatley | Filed under Press & Interviews
I made a quick stop in New York last November, and while I was there I headed over to Redux to do a video profile shoot. They have been pumping out some great videos of many of the photographers on the roster, and you can see them all at the Redux site as well as the Redux Vimeo page.
This is a pretty cool idea, and hopefully will help art buyers get some insight into how each photographer works. The videos should also make for some good marketing material in the coming year.
I hope everyone had a restful December, and you are looking forward to 2010. I have really enjoyed taking some time off recently. It has given me the opportunity to clear my head, and re-focus for the year to come. I’m learning the importance of slowing down every once in a while, and just taking a rest. With the way things are going these days, it’s easy to think you have to constantly be creating new material to keep up. I suppose it is possible to keep up that kind of pace but it is also exhausting. I want to make sure I am staying balanced so I can create through inspiration, rather than creating because I feel I have to.
Thank you everyone for your continued interest in my work. I am working on some projects right now I am very excited about, and I am looking forward to sharing my photography with you in 2010!
Tags: celebrity photographer, Interview, John Keatley, John Keatley video, photographer profile, photographer video profile, Redux, Redux photographer, Seattle photographer, Video, West Coast photographer
