Author: Matthew

After MONTHS of planning, our first leg of shooting with Initio Advertising for a local health care company is completed! Believe me, this was a fantastic, yet bone chilling photo shoot. We made a giant loop throughout the northshore of Lake Superior and and surrounding areas and put over 650 miles on the road over two days and experienced temperatures down to -27º F. It had been a long time sine I’ve worked with Jonathan Chapman, and was very impressed when I had the opportunity to watch him in action. He’s such a talented shooter and makes the models (or real health care members in this case) feel comfortable and at ease to get great expressions and phenomenal shots.

We had a wonderful crew including Ashlee Ellert and Josh Grubbs. We have 2 more phases of this shoot and I anticipate only the best. Looking forward to the next project we share together!

Had a great time today out in Delano with the wonderful folks from Pam Ratliff was delightful to work for and Jamie Parker art directed the live shoot. Mike Bigalke was our photographer and he did an exceptional job proving himself in an area that he may not have been so accustomed to. We had a lot of fun with 5 child talent and two of my favorite stylists. Janna Chin was on Wardrobe and Tia Cartwright was our lovely Make Up Artist. We all had a great time spinning their state-of-the-art merry go round.

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Jennifer Dickey hired me to help her bust out some incredible shot for an upcoming Target campaign. Photographer William Waldron came back to Minneapolis to make it happen. Earl Kendall provided the studio space for us to shoot in. Taking care of all the talent was Lori Evert & Cathy Christensen. Leading the project was Jen Hotovec of River Productions who executed everything I saw, flawlessly!

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This weekend my fiancee and I helped out with a fundraiser for Clare Housing at the Ford Centre. It just so happened to be in the exact same suite that John Reed Forsman worked out of. I love the way the Kuhlman Company has the place set up now. It was a great event and I was happy to be a part.

Holy cow, I just met over 300 babies! Sarah Fisher at Orbit Studios hired me to watch over the place while she was away. All the studios were filled with so much brightly colored non toxic plastic that custom shelving had to be built. There was so much talent under one roof! Just a few of the friendly familiar faces I had delight in seeing: Earl Kendall, Michael Haug, David Anger, Kirki Schultz, Heather Horton, Toby Rae, Angie Dinneen.

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Back with the photographer that helped give me so much experience over seven years. John Reed Forsman called and asked me to coordinate a nice job for Cargill Salt. Jill Kahn at Carmichael Lynch hired us to make a wonderful photo showing off salt, or the lack thereof. I’m sure you’ll see it soon. Our Art Director, Dale Austin, and Writer, Tim Bildsten, attended and were very pleased by the end of the day! Connie Singer took care of the wardrobe and Shannon Darsow made sure our model, Lalita Zapata looked beautiful for the camera. Assisting John were two of the best: Molly Meehan and Keith McKenna. Making sure all the digital images were organized in place and ready for the clients was digital tech Mark Gordon.

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Begin Luminette. Round two with Ron Crofoot and another Hunter Douglas line of window treatments! I couldn’t be more excited to be booked on another job with Ron. Seriously, I’ve learned more about sheers, shades and blinds than I ever thought I would. Duane Lage was again first at hand throughout the shoot, supported by Jared Cullison and Keith McKenna. This time it was great to have Janna Chin as our Prop and Wardrobe Stylist who did an excellent job bringing beautiful props to make every home look just the way we wanted it to. Supporting Janna was the lovely Meg McGreevy who I found to be a speedy girl that always got what we needed. Art Direction came from the brilliant folks at Cactus in Denver lead by Jorge Lamora. All the delightful bunch from Hunter Douglas again treated us so very well. Their products are so stunning and Ron was again assigned to make them look even better, which he of course did and made seem effortless.

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Ron Crofoot hired me after I contacted him when Duane Lage suggested we meet. This was my first experience with Ron and it was absolutely fantastic! Working with Ron pushed me to to new levels in many ways. I really do have a lot of experience and this job for Hunter Douglas employed all of my skills. The team came together seamlessly with Ron at the helm and Duane at his side. Our lovely Prop Stylist, Nina Sheffy, came in from New York and did a wonderful job. We spend two weeks shooting under the Art Direction of the talented Brandt Wilkins at Wet Paint Communications of Denver. Production crew included Jason Wood, Jared Cullison, Rob Walstead and Trev Fenner. Each of them very hard workers and helped make some excellent photographs. The locations were were able to shoot in were beautiful and perfect for the product. It was an absolute pleasure to work with Ron and his team. He is so appreciative of the talented people that surround him and completely modest about his own great work. It couldn’t be too soon to work together again. End Silhouette.

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Once again, another credit goes to the talented talented Jennifer Dickey who dropped my name when Jim Henderson needed a Digital Tech right away. I had the day open and I’m certainly capable of the job, so I took it. Little did I know what it would lead to. Jennifer styled the clothing for Scott Barber with Steve Collins producing it. Duane Lage was Jim’s Assistant Photographer and helped guide the technical aspects of this shoot. I was happy to be an important part of a very fast paced shoot. Jason Wood and Keith McKenna were the diligent photo assistants and Tony Vu helped Jennifer. Tia Cartwright was on set making sure the men’s faces looked just right with great hair as well. It was a great day and I left with a few new great connections!

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Jennifer Dickey asked for another hand in setting up a very spooky sequence of shots at Tom Connors studio in the Wyman building. Tom did an excellent job lighting and making every set look extra creepy. I got to meet a few new people that I definitely look forward to hiring on my own in the future! John Haynes knows his stuff and is a hard worker!

This was undoubtedly the most fun I’ve had in a while! Bob McNamara was set up in Studio B at Orbit to shoot a new coupon book for Target. Bob has such a great way with people getting fabulous expressions from the talent on his set. I worked alongside Jocelyn Kracke assisting Jennifer Dickey to create massively piled up carts full of shampoo, twix, detergent, fruit snacks, toothpaste, cereal, kleenex, sponges, …ahhyeee! We had a whole studio filled up with extra product just in case. Thomas Kane was on set to make quick decisive choices and the shoot went extremely smooth It had been quite a while since the last time I saw Thomas, all the way back to my internship at Periscope Marketing.

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After having met Grady Reese on my last shoot, he recommended me to agent Jeff Cerise and photographer Justin Carrasquillo. We picked a location in Hudson for Justin’s shoot of Buffalo Wild Wings’ latest campaign! Justin had recently moved to Los Angeles and was happy to come back and do a great job for a local Minnesota company. Grady headed up the coordination and I took care of the Digital end of things. We spend a few days with Jared Cullison’s ready hands and quick mind made Justin’s every request easily completed.

Photos below © Justin Carrasquillo

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Vanessa Meade gave me a call and asked if I could help as a digital tech for a shoot by Grady Reese. Even though it’s not my leading aspiration, I have a solid knowledge of the digital process, and was happy to help! Grady set up each shot throughout a few buildings and skyways in downtown Minneapolis for Best Buy and Denali Marketing. Vanessa is such a great assistant and great to have at any shoot!

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Austin, TX based Randal Ford came to the freezing north for a great shoot at an animal shelter. We got some fantastic shots of pooches looking great with their veterinarian co-stars. Tia Cartwright was in charge of hair and makeup and Jocelyn Kracke did the props and wardrobe. Barbara O’Brien did an excellent job wrangling the animal actors for fabulous photos. Production for this job was pretty easy as it had been started before I was brought on board to finish the shoot. Looking forward to the next time I get the opportunity to work with Randal!

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Patrick Fox of Fox Studios needed an extra hand for prop stylist, Jennifer Dickey to get so many baby products looking great! I had the enjoyment in lending a hand at his studio in the Ford Centre. Jennifer always makes every piece look fantastic and this was no exception. She asked that I hand craft a mobile for above one crib. The result was stunning and made for a fantastic ad.

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Kristopher Clewell of MotionBlurPhoto asked that I help in the coordination and execution of a brand new set of photos for the Morries Automotive group dealerships. We are midway through the project and continue getting up at the crack of dawn to capture the architecture and balance of light to make these buildings into something really special. Kris’ stellar photography skills tied with an incredible talent in retouching digital files make him great for this job. My attention to detail tops the cake.

Photos below © Kristopher Clewell

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Working again with prop stylist Jennifer Dickey, we did a delightful shoot for Minneapolis based The Thymes. The very talented Tom Matre was the photographer and he made every shot turn out effortlessly. Two fun surprises awaited me: my good friend Jared Cullison was part of the crew who was responsible for the Digital Images capture and processing. The other was Christopher Berg who I graduated from MCTC’s Photography & Digital Imaging program with. I haven’t seen him for 8 years or so. The other half of my tag-team for prepping the merchandise, wardrobe and props was Cathy Christensen, who I had a great time working alongside.

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If there’s nothing else that Target has instructed upon us, it’s that they love to have a sale. The wonderful Dani Hartmann from the dot com division hired John Reed Forsman and me for this quick little promotion shot! Wehmann Agency provided two wonderful models for us, who you can clearly see having a good time in the chilly October air. Although it was sunny & clear out, the temp was quite low in the shade. Hot apple cider and Hot cocoa were my chosen cure for the chills. Glad I brought four gallons of it to share!

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It had ben a few years since I’ve worked on a Target Garden Place job, but one of my favorite Prop Stylists, Jennifer Dickey needed a hand and I was more than willing and very excited to help. For these garden accessories and patio furniture, I bet I’ve spent a cumulative total of about eight months outside in beautiful gardens! This three day job with Joel Larson Photography was a great welcome back. The shoot took place at a very familiar home for me, Mrs. Sanderson is always a great hostess.

Today I had the pleasure of taking a day away from the city and cruised out to Minnetrista, which I still do not know if it’s an actual city or not. Jared Cullison had somehow found a way to get into the very most beautiful and extensive ranch in Minnesota. When the man has a vision, he just goes with it. Although the land was absolutely spectacular, we had to step back to avoid getting overwhelmed by the greatness. The shoot went very well, better than expected and we got so many great shots that both photographer and model were thrilled about!

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Jacksonville, Florida based Stein Mart has stores scattered across the states. Although we don’t have a local center, they chose John Reed Forsman to shoot their Fall Fashion catalog and Newspaper inserts. It took more that a week for all the goodies they had for us to shoot. We had the opportunity to work in Phil Aarestad’s studio in South Minneapolis. Two full bedroom sets and a bunch of painted backdrops were created by Bob Heili (Heili Recommended) and Stuart Manning – decorative painting. Ilona Zwierski and Molly Meehan & Vanessa Meade made an excellent crew.

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