I hinted at a fun assignment I was working on last month on Twitter, and now I am excited to to be able to share the images with you.  I had a lot of catching up to do when I first got the assignment to photograph Murray Stenson from Art Director Jane Sherman at Seattle Weekly, but it didn’t take long for me to find out that Murray is widely regarded as the best bartender in the country.  Don’t believe me?Just ask Esquire, Playboy and Tales of the Cocktail.  It felt like when you get a new car, and all of a sudden you realize that just about everyone else on the road has the same car as you.  As soon as I got this assignment, it seemed like everyone I knew was going out to get a drink from Murray.  Apparently I was the last person to know.  I was quite excited to not only photograph Murray, but to also have a drink from him.

I did the shoot at Canon, which is a new bar in Seattle where Murray works, along with an all-star group of bartenders led by Jamie Boudreau who is also the owner.  There is a bit of a wait to get in, but I can tell you the wait is well worth it.  I filmed a short video of Murray mixing and explaining how to make an Absinthe Julep, which you can see below.  And yes, I did get to drink it after we were done filming.  Someone had to, and I didn’t want it to go to waste.  We did have to do 2 takes, but thankfully my assistant handled the second one since we were dealing with 124 proof.  For what it’s worth, I made sure the video was the last thing we did so my pictures wouldn’t be out of focus.

Although Murray has been written up in many other magazines, this article is the first time he has told his story.  It was written by Mike Seely, and is a really fascinating read.  Here is the link to the article if you are interested.  Along with the video, I also included a few behind the scenes pictures at the bottom.

Thanks to Jane Sherman for working with me on this, and thanks to Murray and Jamie for being such gracious hosts and subjects.  Photo retouching by the fine folks at Gigantic Squid.

Behind the scenes pictures by Lonnie Webb.

I shot this fun, quirky portrait for Condé Nast Traveler to go with an article about the crazy new gadgets people are using to avoid all kinds of germs and illness while traveling.  I couldn’t even tell you what half of this stuff does, but I like how the image turned out.  I’m bummed we didn’t get to shoot the SkyRest Travel Pillow, but there is only so much room for ridiculous travel paraphernalia in one picture.  Enjoy, and remember to always fly safe.

Photo Editor: Nelida Mortensen
Model: Rachel Elizabeth / TCM Models
Stylist: Kristie Gamer

That’s my portrait of John Keister on the cover of the current Seattle Weekly.  John is best known as the “former host of Almost Live, widely regarded as one of the most successful locally produced sketch-comedy shows—or local shows of any kind, perhaps—in the history of modern American television.” – Mike Seely, Seattle Weekly

The show ran for 15 years, and the cast, along with John included Joel McHale, and Bill Nye the Science Guy.  The sketches on Almost Live were pretty hilarious as well as short and to the point.  Unlike sketch comedy shows these days.  Although SNL does seem to be getting a little better again.  You can find a bunch of the videos on YouTube if you are interested.

It was a thrill to photograph John, and I am really happy with how the cover image turned out.

If you haven’t seen the September 2010 issue of Men’s Health yet, pick it up now.  I have 6 full pages featuring my favorite football player, Jake Locker.  This was my second time working with Jake, and he is one of the most kind and down to earth people I have photographed.  Now, I know what you are thinking.  Did he bring his pet coyote to the shoot this time?  No, he didn’t.

So, what’s up with the helmet?  And as big as this kid is, how can there be a helmet that is too big for him?  I think it was a lineman’s helmet.  Before the shoot, I requested a ball and a helmet.  Someone from the university brought us one helmet that happened to be several sizes too big.  It wasn’t until we were shooting that I asked Jake to put it on, and we discovered it wasn’t the right size.  I’m totally fine with mistakes like that, though, because it turned out to be my favorite picture from the shoot.  Fun and unexpected.  Outtakes are the best!

For those of you who don’t know, Jake was recently ranked by ESPN as the number one college player in the country.  These rankings are subject to change, but he has a legitimate shot at the Heisman this year if things continue to go well for him.  As a Husky fan, I hope things go well!

I have been working with video a lot more lately.  Some behind the scenes, and also a few photo and video assignments, as well as video only.  I really like how this video turned out, and it should give you a little glimpse into how I work on an assignment like this.

Special thanks goes out to Men’s Health Photo Editor Mark Haddad for this assignment.  I would also like to mention Affix Music which is a great resource for licensing music for slideshows, video’s etc.  Amazing customer service!  They are in the process of rolling out some new license options which will be even more specific in addressing the needs to photographers working with video.

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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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Over the past few months, I have had several assignments featuring everyday people facing big challenges.  It’s a nice change of pace every once in a while, and I appreciate the opportunity to meet and work with people who have completely different stories than myself.  It’s a humbling feeling to photograph someone in their 4 million dollar home one day, and the next day photographing someone out in the sticks who is really excited and impressed by my Hyundai rental car.

This portrait is of an illegal immigrant who has lived and worked in America for the past 20 years.  There were no guarantees the subject would show up, which I guess is understandable considering the risks involved for her (being sent back to Mexico).  I was told I could not photograph her face, only her shadow.  However, after I met her and we talked for a while, she said she would let me photograph her from the back which is what I was hoping for.

I bought some small American flags the night before, and asked her if she would mind holding them.  She said, “No, I don’t mind holding the flags.  I love this country.”

Seattle Met / July 2010
Art Director: Benjamen Purvis

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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.

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.

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 in the video section of my website 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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