Apodments in Seattle | for the High Country News

Andrew Girardeau-Dale, 24, is photographed in his estimated 8-foot by 16-foot "apodment," a studio-styled form of micro-housing, on Friday Dec. 27, 2013, in the Capitol Hill neighborhood in Seattle, Wash. The small space - rented for less than 800 per month - comes with all utilities, internet access, a microwave, fridge and storage management options.

Georgetown Carnival | Portrait

Nichole VonLudke plays her accordion for passerbys at the annual Georgetown Carnival Saturday, June 8, 2013, in the Georgetown neighborhood of Seattle. The quirky event featured live music, burlesque and crafting. (Jordan Stead, seattlepi.com)

area (a design + build firm) | Portrait

Made a portrait for my good friend Matt Lewis and his colleague, Andrea Jacobsen, for their design and build firm, Area. Check them out and enjoy!

Jackie Helfgott | Portrait for Seattle University Magazine

Got to spend a couple hours with Dr. Jackie Helfgott, a professor, criminal justice department chair and sketcher at Seattle University in Seattle, Washington, to make pictures for the school's alumni magazine. Enjoy.

Taylor Guterson | "Old Goats" director

Quite often, quick portrait assignments end up with you wracking your brain to make an individual in a dimly-lit cubicle appear as the next Mona Lisa. You got it: this day was just that. After meeting director Taylor Guterson and making some boring "senior portrait" styled images, I hit the jackpot. A seven-foot marlin hung from the off-white wall of his office in Bellevue. Cautiously maneuvering the beast's head spike through the hallways, we made our way into the parking lot where I asked Guterson to remove his shoes and socks and roll up his jeans - Huck Finn style. He loved it, and the rest is history. Enjoy!

A quirky director with a 7-foot marlin hung up in his office, Taylor Guterson - a filmmaker responsible for the low-budget movie titled "Old Goats" - is photographed Friday, August 10, 2012, in Bellevue, Wash. The film stars three former non-actors playing versions of themselves as older men, coping with life in the modern world. The movie, shot on Bainbridge Island, was made for $5,000 and has since gone on to garner attention at multiple film festivals around the country.

Marcia Evans | Portrait

Marcia Evans, owner of Jewel Hospitality, poses for a portrait Thursday, August 2, 2012, at her office in Seattle, Wash. Evans recently filed a complaint with the attorney general's office concerning Yelp informing her of the fact that they would remove her negative reviews from their website if she paid them for advertising.

Zach Galifianakis & Will Ferrell | Portrait - Seattle, Wash.

If you have the time, I wrote a blog post for The Seattle Times on my experience photographing this dynamic duo. I could post the saga here, but it's relatively long and best read and viewed on the S.T. website.  The post includes setup images, the story of how I almost blew this portrait and a description of the general feeling of my heart about to explode whilst making pictures of these two jokers. That post can be read here. Enjoy!

Actors Will Ferrell, left, and Zach Galifianakis, right, pose for a portrait during a promotional visit for their new film, "The Campaign", on Thursday, July 19, 2012, in Seattle, Wash.

Goodies for Gabe | Final assignment for The Daily Herald

It is always interesting to see what your final assignment turns out to be after working for an outlet for an extended period of time. After all, the concluding shoot that feels like a milestone in your career is, in fact, only another assignment in a newspaper that will continue to publish, years and years after you leave. That being said, something still tugs at you about your final work for a particular publication. While the picture is nothing to write home about, I'm glad my final image for The Daily Herald held an importance and a good cause for a tiny young man named Gabe. Enjoy.

Zeke, top, and Gabe Stevenson, bottom, pose for a portrait on Tuesday, June 5, 2012, at their home in Cedar Hills, Utah. Although the two are identical twins, Gabe was born with cerebral palsy. Actions are being taken to organize and receive donations to benefit the young man and his family.

The "Chief" | Portrait

It is confirmed: cops are not allowed to smile in pictures. At least that's what Pleasant Grove's newly-elected police chief told me. For working with five minutes and a black tackboard as a background, I came away happy with the cleanliness of this image. Enjoy!

Police Chief Michael Smith photographed on Thursday, May 3, 2012, at the Pleasant Grove Police Department in Pleasant Grove, Utah. Smith was recently promoted from his previous rank as captain.

Springville Artists | Portrait

Springville resident and artist Jordan Brun photographed on Tuesday, May 1, 2012, at the Springville Art Museum in Springville, Utah. The museum plans to hold a unique auction of 20 pieces of art donated by Utah-local artists to raise funds to purchase new art to expand the collection.

BYU Volleyball | Something a little different

Rarely am I moved by a sports image in any aspect outside of the capture of peak action. During a match between BYU and Long Beach State, Brigham Young's Robb Stowell reacted to a point against his team in one of the places in the stadium with an ethereal background. Luckily, I had spent a solid 15 minutes on the floor of the BYU side of the game shooting tight with a 300mm - something that rarely pays off. The centered composition, an absent background and the multi-directional light on Robb during such a moment jumped out at me. When you see that weird frame in your take that appeals to you (and maybe you only!), do not be afraid to move it. What's the worst that could happen? Enjoy!

BYU's Robb Stowell buries his face in his jersey after a point was scored against his team by a Long Beach State player during a quarterfinals game on Saturday, April 21, 2012, in the Smith Fieldhouse at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.

Marty McCoy | Portrait

I feel like the portraits have come in droves this past month. When I knew that an elderly gentleman named Marty McCoy (who had narrowly avoided a stroke) was coming in, I opted out of my usual preference for strobes and brought it back to basics: hot lights. Fluorescent hot lights. Photographers everywhere just cringed.

... Needless to say, the quality of light provided by office lights nailed to 2x4' boards cemented into paint bucket stands was exactly what I was looking for; soft, flattering and gentle on the wrinkles. Enjoy.

Ardie Adams & his orchards | Portrait

Nothing better than meeting the subject of your portrait and finding out they're not only easy to get along with but a good person at heart. Ardie Adams, one of the oldest living fruit growers in Utah County, was certainly no exception to the rule. Mr. Adams and I spent an afternoon together talking life, cherries and the ol' Book of Mormon. As I was leaving, he put his hand on my shoulder. "You seem like a fine young man with a fulfilling life being lived already," Adams said to me. "I respect how hard you work - never underestimate where hard work can get you." Noted. Enjoy!

Ardie Adams, 90, a life-long fruit farmer, poses for a portrait Friday, April 13, 2012, in his orchards at his home in Pleasant Grove, Utah.

Ardie Adams, 90, a life-long fruit farmer, presents some of his cherry blossoms Friday, April 13, 2012, in his orchards at his home in Pleasant Grove, Utah.

Korbin Levin | Athlete of the Year

I present to you another in the series of the Utah Valley Athlete of Year portraits, this time with a young man named Korbin Levin.  Not only does the dude have a great name, but just like Ms. Riggs from the previous post, he let me do what I had to do - no time crunch whatsoever. The image that ran in print is not pictured here (as it's my least favorite), but I decided to share a couple for the sake of the work put in. My only regret is utilizing a limited distance light kit for the shoot. It would have been great to spread my strobes out and shoot more environmental, but hey - that is the nature of the beast. Enjoy these outtakes from the afternoon's session.

Mercedes Riggs | Athlete of the Year

Year after year, all over the country, youth athletes are awarded this prestigious honor... and local photographers struggle to do something different with each new batch of portraits. After I got assigned this year's load of portraits, my editor Mark Johnston made a simple request: "let's bring these back to strong, clean photography," he said. Sounds good to me.

I lucked out with Mercedes Riggs, the Utah Valley female basketball player of 2012. Not only was she a total sweetheart and came prepared in a badass Timpanogos jersey, but she allowed me to corral her around for over an hour and half as I executed various portrait ideas I had been cooking up for the shoot. The paper ended up running three portraits of her, pictured below. My only wish is that the high school had stocked more basketballs for the first image.  Another hundred orange orbs in the background of the picture couldn't have hurt. I can only hope that she enjoyed seeing them in print as much as I enjoyed shooting them.

Kayden Porter | Anatomy of a Baseball Portrait

Before covering a baseball game in Spanish Fork, Utah, I was instructed to shoot a portrait of Kayden Porter. This kid (more like a 6-foot 3-inch, 235-pound, home-run-derby-winning man) is a beast, bottom line. Luckily, he is also a good sport. I had five minutes before the game to bust out an image to use for a highlight piece on the pitching powerhouse. Armed with a combination of two Elinchrom strobes, the greatest light of them all (the sun) and a red outfield fence that had caught my eye, we went to work. In less than a few turns of the minute hand, I had balanced my strobes to daylight and fired off 20 to 30 frames. Kayden - who had apparently done this many times before - was a natural. With little coaxing and positioning, I was getting the look I wanted. The second image was chosen to run in print.

What works for me is the punch of color and contrast provided by the reds of the fence and and outfit, especially when in competition with those eyeballs. The flesh and and hair catches the pure white of the strobes to produce an almost plastic feel, which I love in an artificially lit portrait. The detail in the stitching of the glove and hat adds tasty little details. While he may not be too stoked on it, the cracked lip is awesome.

While it is by no means a perfect portrait, I sure hope he digs it. After all, he looks like a total badass. Read the accompanying story about Kayden here. Enjoy!

Technical info: (1) bare Elinchrom strobe to the left (set cheek-high), (1) bare Elinchrom strobe to the rear-ish right (cheek-level), sun from high and behind, powerpack, Canon 5D Mark II, 135mm f/2L @ 1/200th and f/11... from what I can remember.

Tom Hawkins | Portrait at Utah Valley University

Let's face it: Utah isn't the most liberal place in the world. Born and raised a Seattle boy, I think it is fair to say I am a tolerant, easy-going individual. Take that how you will... and imagine how it burns me when an assignment of this nature pops up in the budget.
One day, Tom Hawkins - a Utah Valley University student running for student government  - received a slew hateful email when the fact that he is gay became became public knowledge. The Daily Herald heard about the debacle and we arranged a portrait with Tom as a sort of rebuttal. Needless to say, Hawkins was a shy yet engaging young man to photograph in the UVU library for part of the afternoon. I wish him the best in the wake of the news and in the elections. Enjoy the result of a fun portrait with an underlying message.

Jason Alexander of "Seinfeld" visits Utah Valley University

I about lost it when this popped up in the assignment list for the day. Over the years, I've been lucky enough to photograph some icons of our age, and this man is - without question - an icon of simliar sorts. Ask anyone anywhere if they know what Seinfeld is...  I think you know what the answer is going to be.

A group of acting students and faculty enjoyed the first of three days of conversation and critique with television star Jason Alexander, right, of Seinfeld fame, on Monday, February 27, 2012, in the Noorda Theater at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.

Night At The Museum

If you've ever had the chance to catch the Ben Stiller cinematic masterpiece, "Night At The Museum," you know it sucks. Yet, in real life, this idea - complete with a live T-Rex, a smart-mouthed mummy and a basket of free obsidian chunks - is undeniably cool. I was especially drawn to a young dancer that had seemed to come alive in her "painting." Childish wonder with a touch of adult organization behind the scenes almost always means fun pictures. Enjoy!

Callie Sweeten, 9, and her sister, Malena Sweeten, not pictured, twirled and danced in what appeared to be a framed picture as part of the first of three evenings of the annual Night at the Museum event Thursday, February 23, 2012, at Hutching Museum in Lehi, Utah.

Suzanne Kimball portrait | Principal of the Year

Had the pleasure of meeting this nice lady the other day. As I attempted to shoot a portrait of her (in light of her recent award), students and faculty from Mapleton Jr. High could not stop running up to greet her with hugs and hellos. Can't say any of my former principals got love like that. Enjoy!

Technical info: Canon 5D Mark II, 85mm, (1) bare AlienBee AB800 back left and (1) bare AlienBee AB800 camera right.

Former Mapleton Junior High Principal, Suzanne Kimball, photographed Monday, Feb. 13, 2012, at Mapleton Junior High School in Mapleton, Utah. Kimball was a recent recipient of the Utah Middle School Principal of the Year award by the Utah Association of Secondary School Principals.