Oracle Magazine vs Plastic Surgery

This shot was taken for Oracle Magazine out in California for their Editors Choice Awards. You’ve heard of Oracle before. It’s the software company that frequently runs commercials on CNN and MSNBC all the time…

WAIT, the true story gets even better – I promise! Scheduling this due to press deadlines, my workload and this gentlemen’s unfortunate luck was quite interesting. We touched base last Friday to set up a tentative date early this week. When we spoke again on Monday I was flabbergasted. He was involved in a serious sporting accident, subsequently shattering his cheekbone!

Wait, there’s more. In speaking with him I got the impression that he, like me, prefers to not to be photographed. Due to the injury, his face was swollen and completely bruised (poor guy)! All this before his big photo shoot! Can you imagine what must have been running through his head?

Despite all that, yesterday he was trooper enough to come by my studio to (GULP) have his big photo shoot. But wait - there’s more. I offer him one of Florida’s finest bottled water selections – the very prestigious Zephyrhills. Politely he declines stating that he can’t drink or eat anything before surgery. WHAT!!! At 3pm he is going to get plastic surgery to insert three metal plates into his face (rebuilding the shattered cheek). No, I’m not kidding.

Despite having facial numbness and a black eye for the shoot he was in great spirits and I love the photographs!

Special THANKS to a very talented photographer (and musician) – Sheri O’Neil – and only she knows why. I’m gonna hold you to that Nashvegas offer!

www.sherioneal.com

www.oracle.com/oramag/index.html

Danielle Kristen Sleeps With Butterflies

This shoot goes down in history as THE MOST SWEATY and breaks my previous record of most hours (14) on a one day assignment ever.

We started styling in the studio promptly at 6:30am. Arrived at our first location by 8:45am. But the humidity and heat index was already killing us. I had salt crystals all over my arms almost immediately and the stylist was patting sweat off Danielle every 10 minutes ALL DAY LONG. But you know, it comes with the territory (aka Florida). Nothing you can do about shooting on location this time of year. I find this much more preferable to being stuck indoors come winter-time, say if you work in Pittsburgh (GO STEELERS).

OK, our final location was in a poor section of town – a spectacular old time gas station with a ton of character. Speaking of that, the characters that we encountered were just as colorful. Everyone thought we were shooting a video and subsequently wanted to join in. There were quite a few cat calls and horn honks of the passer-bys. When we first arrived at the site the stylist pointed out a not too discretely placed crack spoon (nice). If you haven't picked up on the subtle nuances of my blogs, my tone of the word nice is slightly sarcastic.

After four location set-ups later we head back to the studio for the final controlled environment set-up. By the time we finished the sun was long gone. A very long day but extremely productive and creative :)

A few random side notes of the day: Danielle is a total trooper, keeping up with the pace of the shoot. She belted out one of my favorite Patsy Cline tunes while shooting. This girl has a great set of lungs on her. Red Bull has been proven in field test to help you go #2 (or as Mat commonly borrows Kevin's line "drop a duce"). McDonalds is the devil and its employees are the spawn of satan. Antique chairs look good almost anywhere. And oh yeah, CHICKS RULE!

Thanks Danielle for a BRILLIANT shoot. BTW, I am truly smitten by the photos. They make my insides feel like I have butterflies in them!

The WHOA Factor

Things are quite busy around here (whoo hoo). Right now I'm in the middle of editing photographs made from yesterday's 12 hour shoot (recording artist Danielle Kristen). All the details will be forthcoming (eventually). But this photo made me go WHOA! Thank heavens I'm alone in the studio right now. I'm sure you would make fun of my gasps of joy and occasional drooling over these photos. Oh how I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my work!!!

Cnote on MTV Espanol

People can say what they want about Lou and Trans Con. But the fact is he knows talent. The boys, I mean GUYS in Cnote for example. I wonder if people really have any idea just how hard they work to make it in this business? My awesome dad always said hard work pays off. Looks like that old kernel of wisdom has been passed amongst generations of families from around the world. I got an email from Cnote's manager that their video WEPA has been ofically added to the MTV Espanol playlist. You go boys, I mean guys!

Lucid Fly

Lucid Fly
Originally uploaded by brookpifer.

2:18 am - I wake up in a panic, breathing fast thinking I overslept. I look at the clock and exhale slowly. About 40 minutes of sleep to be had...

3:00 am - Alarm goes off. I don't even touch the snooze for fear that my bed head may scare my clients off. After all...

3:11 am - Nikki the lead singer of LUCID FLY is at the studio, enjoying Frosted Flakes while I pound my third cup of coffee.

3:24 am - The makeup artist and wardrobe stylist arrives looking TOTALLY put together as if there is no difference between 3am and 10am.

3:30 am - Styling commences. I have my fourth cup of Starbucks Columbian brew.

Conversations about creativity, passion, music, photography transpire between the three of us. Buffy the pug is chillin' on my lap wishing she was still in bed.

4:24 am - Doug, Justin and Derrick arrive with MAMOTH sized coffee mugs. By the time we depart (7:39 am) we finish off 4 full 12 cup pots of coffee. Can you say WIRED MUCH!

7:39 am - We depart for our destination (not unknown, I have the song destination unknown by the missing persons in my head right now) - Fantasy of Flight. This location was important to the members of Lucid Fly. Their name was derived from (hope I'm not spilling too many beans, after all we don't need more farters in the family) record breaking astronaut Shannon Lucid. Google it to learn more.

8:30 am - We are greeted by FOF's star handler, Patty. She gets to work immediately on her walkie talkie, getting gates opened so we can pull right up to the hanger. Our first shooting location is the Short Sunderland (again, google it to learn more. and no i'm not getting paid by google to name drop).

9:01 am - My assistant Mat has sweated about 2 pounds of fluid in under 20 minutes. I have done approx. 3 pounds. There is no air, no breeze, no relief in the lounge on the SS. But still we trudge on, getting this pitch black plane cabin lit while the stylist puts the finishing touches on Lucid Fly.

11:12 am - Band mates change wardrobe. Mat tears down all the lighting. I negotiate with Patty our guide. In the contract we had with FOF it was cleared that we could shoot on the actuall grass runway. But her boss was telling her not to let us on it since it was an active runway. Of course we were allowed on the runway to shoot what we needed too. But poor miss Patty had to wear bright orange and constantly look out for incoming planes.

12:04 pm - Final wardrobe change, final hair and makeup modifications. Location for the last set-up...FOF's AWESOME diner, The Compass Rose. Cheap and good eats. Patty, despite not feeling well after vomiting up her dry toast this morning, found the strength to hang out with us a little longer and enjoy some pie. She is a woman after my own heart (aka, chocolate lover). The chocolate peanut butter pie she had looked so freaking yummy. I had a chocolate milkshake and grilled cheese. Yes, grilled cheese on wheat with swiss. It hit the spot. Mat had egg salad sandwich (yuck) and the burgers the Lucid Fly consumed looked REALLY appetizing.

2:43 pm - Arrived back at the studio, unpacked and was out like a light promptly at 3:30.

And this is why I LOVE what I do. The photographs look bloody brilliant, I discovered new music that rocks and I'm blowing some up to hang on the studio walls. Thanks Mat for helping me make the Lucid Fly shoot total perfection. Nikki, Doug, Justin & Derrick - you guys ROCK. Thanks for getting up way too early on a Sunday!

http://www.lucidfly.com