Greenwich Vintage // Online Store

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The fellas over at Greenwich Vintage Co. have officially launched their new online store and I'm happy to say I've been a part of it!

It's a pretty cool concept. They take vintage shoes and restore them like new! Until this point, Greenwich has been a by-appointment-only store, but they've stepped up their game to make their shoes more accessible to all! Check out their online store for a shoe you like or go ahead and get a custom order made by the cobbler himself!

I photographed the shoes for the website and photographers - you'll be happy to know this was all done with natural light!

 

Metro Magazine // North Minneapolis, 1 Year Later

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One year ago, North Minneapolis was hit by a tornado that was pretty devastating to the community.  North is probably one of the most vulnerable neighborhoods in our city that could have been hit and I had the great honor of taking on this assignment to document the people and neighborhoods of devastation, one year after the tornado. I understand that North gets a bad wrap. Because of our media, everyone thinks that North is all about poverty, drugs and shootings. However, I experienced a completely different side of the people here. I highly, highly encourage you all to go out and pick up an issue of Metro, if not for any other reason thank to read this article. It's solid and it's real. In fact, I'm pretty proud of the writers and Metro for publishing something a little controversial. The feature hits all of the key points, different perspectives on the clean-up of North and how it has effected the community. Yet, the fact still stands that one year later, there are still families in shelters, blue tarps on the roofs and uprooted trees that haven't been dealt with. On a personal note, while shooting this story, I took one of my all-time-favorite pictures...ever. I wandered into the old Broadway Liquors one day, not thinking that anyone was inside, but I found a little boy, probably about 10 years old, who was devoting his spring break to cleaning up the store. In fact, there were several children lending their support to clean up their community on this day and it was quite inspirational. Not only did the people of North open up their homes to me, but they also shared their perspective and thoughts on how much of a struggle the last year has been. I think one of my subjects, Jeriland Spence said it best, " There's no calvary coming to the Northside. The thing that has to be done here needs to come from within."

Photographing this story definitely changed my entire view of the people and community of North Minneapolis. My hope is that for every terrible news story you hear about this neighborhood, that you remember and realize how many good people are working to rebuild the Northside into a positive place.

If you are interested in helping the people of North Minneapolis re-build, here's a link to donate to: The Northside Home Fund

 

 

 

 

Metro Magazine // Female Body Builders

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My very first job as a photographer was for a newspaper. This is where I totally fell in love with the idea of doing this for the rest of my life. I loved being on assignment, rushing to meet a deadline and sharing my images with a community on a daily basis. This also meant that I was critiqued by an entire community on a daily basis, which was one of the best experiences I could have had right off the bat. As time has gone on, it seems like more of the commercial and editorial work I've been getting hired for is a little more glamorous, a little more controlled and very scheduled. There's absolutely nothing wrong with this, but when I got a call from the Art Director over at Metro about this story (and another I'll be blogging about tomorrow), I was instantly in love...I was back on assignment! In the current issue of Metro Magazine, I have two stories that are very documentary. The first is all about female body builders and their lives. Beyond the group shot that was published, I tried to get to every woman's home/work life, as well as their gym time. It was fascinating to learn about their lifestyle, routines and very calculated schedules to get ready for competition. Each of the women I photographed were in training and 'leaning out' over the course of several weeks to be in-shape, and as we imagine body-builders being! It was also kind of nice to know that these women aren't always at 1% body fat and that they do enjoy a giant bowl of pasta! The coolest thing I took away from being with these ladies was their sense of community and encouragement amongst competitors. Most of these women know each other, share trainers and are true friends, beyond the stage!

Of course, in the pages of the magazine, only a few photos make-the-cut to get published, so I wanted to share more of the story of being a female body builder! Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

A Simple Portrait //

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This is the perfect time of the year to test. It's the calm before the storm and an opportunity to add to your portfolio! Amber Brenke, who is one of my favorite hair and makeup artists in the city, helped me brainstorm the idea to do some simple, beautiful portraits of models. The whole concept was to document these ladies in a way that was true to themselves. We didn't want them to feel like they were modeling or playing a part, we simply wanted them to be themselves. Our inspiration was an Adele portrait that was just simple and stunning. A big thank you to all of our ladies from Ignite Models Inc. who took the time to come on into our little studio and be our subjects! Tasia, Jo, Cana and Molly were so lovely. Another big thank you goes out to Corey DeGuia, who has been testing himself and exploring video. I love the little behind-the-scene bit he put together for us!

Jason Wu for Target RED Magazine //

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The images have been released for the shoot I did for Target RED Magazine, which is Target's internal editorial. This issue featured real-life Target team members showing off Jason Wu's super-popular line! I was incredible grateful to be a part of this shoot, which was my first time collaborating with the people over at Little & Co. and Viet Do, who is a great designer and freelance art director. As always, a project like this doesn't come together without a small army of people, so I would love to give credit to our entire team:

CREATIVE TEAM//

Photographer: Eliesa Johnson

Producer: Conor Lawrence

Design, Processing & Layout: Little & Co.

First Assistant: Bryce Bordenkecher

Second Assistant: Sara Montour

Digital Tech: Liz Hardt

Laydown Photographer: Larry Callahan

Laydown Digital Tech: Josh Syx

Laydown Stylist: Lynn Ostrowski

Stylist: Erick DeLeon

Hair & Makeup: Amber Brenke

 

 

Greenwich Vintage // Made in America

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As I've mentioned before in earlier blog posts, my test shoots are taking a different approach these days. I'm taking a more environmental-portraiture approach to everything - whether that be documentary work, editorials, campaigns or fashion.  A couple of weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to document the men of Greenwich Vintage. If you haven't heard of them, pay attention. I first heard of Greenwich exactly they way I was supposed to - thru word of mouth. What I learned is that:

1) There was this super cool vintage store that sold impeccable finds in menswear.

2) Everything was made in America.

3) It was underground and by appointment only.

I immediately loved the mystery behind this company and wanted to experience the shop. Greenwich is owned by Zen - The Fresh Maker / Master Cobbler, Mustache Mike - Master Barber, and Max - the CFO. They are some of the coolest dudes around that work incredibly hard to curate the best vintage menswear for their store. They are also working on creating products of their own under the Greenwich label.

Personally, I am super excited to see where Zen, Mike and Max take Greenwich and there is no doubt in my mind that they are both leader and game-changers in their industry.

Along with the test shoot, I'm testing out some new video people as well! Special thanks to Corey for putting together this fun behind-the-scenes video!

Test Shoot // Marcellina

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Remember back in the film-days, when you shot off a roll and didn't know at all how things would really turn out? Some of the best images came from those perfect mistakes, and it made you fall in love with photography. There was a mystery, a giant un-known that was challenging us. With digital, we have instant gratification...and many times that translates into judging out photographs far too quickly. Of course, there are major perks that digital photography has brought to us as well, but I miss the mystery. Last week, I tried to bring some of that back. I hadn't really picked up my camera in a couple of weeks and I was itching to shoot. Lucky for me, our fabulous hair and makeup artist, Amber Brenke, was feeling that same itch. We simply wanted to create. Sometimes a test shoot should not be over-thought, over planned or over styled. We literally picked a date, called up my intern, Marcie, and raided her closet for clothes. Then I called my friend Sara and borrowed her apartment for a couple of hours. We didn't have a plan or any direction when we showed up. We literally just sat and dreamed up some looks and some ideas. Our concept ended up being a little commercial, a little happy and very colorful. Personally, I approached the shoot as if I were taking Marcie's portrait for an editorial or campaign. After all, this is a real girl, her real clothes and real attitude. This is Marcie thru and thru. I'm really happy with these images and a few of them might just make it in my book! Here's to collaboration and the element of the unknown.