I recently received an inquiry from someone wishing to purchase a signed print of a photo I took almost 20 years ago in Washington DC. This is the The Statue of Freedom, which sits on top of the U.S. Capitol. I found the original transparency, scanned it and made versions in color, B&W and sepia.
The statue, by sculptor Thomas Crawford, had been in place for 130 years. It was removed by helicopter (which I didn’t photograph but must have been a sight!) and placed in the parking lot of the Capitol. A good friend and artist, Mary Beth Ramsey, convinced me to tag along with her to the Capitol to take pictures of the statue before it was covered up. Mary Beth had planned on doing a piece of her own artwork based on the statue and needed a photograph that would show the lines and shadows. The Statue of Freedom was only visible for an afternoon I believe, before scaffolding was put around it for the restoration process. Great timing on our part!
It’s a wrap for 2011 (I say “wrap” because of new career in movies…more on that later) and I wanted to take a look back at some of my favorite photos and experiences from the past year.
The year started off with a 3-week trip to Africa with two different groups, the Eastern Congo Initiative and the Nike Foundation. I had the pleasure of traveling to the Congo for a second time with ECI and it’s founder Ben Affleck, along with a delegation that included my new favorite Republican, Cindy McCain. While in Congo, we visited sites including the Mungunga III refugee camp, HEAL Africa, Children’s Voice and YOLE! Africa. For the Nike Foundation, we traveled to Kenya, Ethiopia, back to the Congo and Rwanda.
Ben Affleck at Mungunga III refugee camp near Goma, DRC.
Cindy McCain and Ben Affleck at the Mungunga III refugee camp.
While traveling in Africa, I had the opportunity to go an a gorilla safari in the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda. It was one of the most fascinating and incredible experiences to be so close to these magnificent creatures. It was a long hike to get to the gorillas, so next time, perhaps only one camera rather than the three I was carrying with me.
A young gorilla at the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda.
A male silverback gorilla in the jungle in Rwanda.
One of the biggest honors this past year was to be chosen as one of 20 photographers in ASMP’s (American Society of Media Professionals) Best of 2011 portfolios. My work on Alzheimer’s for The Shriver Report was featured along with an interview.
In March, I was invited to be part of a panel of former White House Photographers at the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum at Harvard University’s Institute of Politics. David Valdez, David Hume Kennerly, Eric Draper and I discussed our experiences working at the White House. The entire discussion was recorded by C-Span and can be seen here. Thanks to my good friend and former co-worker at the White House, Kara Minar.
I still manage to stay connected with the Clinton family, photographing three different Clinton Global Initiative meetings this year. In April, I was at CGI University in San Diego, then at CGI America in Chicago in June and finally, the CGI Annual meeting in September in New York City. The highlight of the New York meeting was watching Chelsea Clinton interview her mother, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
President Clinton preparing his remarks before a going on stage at CGIU in San Diego.
Hillary and Chelsea share a mother/daughter moment before taking the stage at CGI in New York.
Chelsea Clinton interviews her mother, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton at the annual CGI meeting in New York.
In May, I had an exhibit of my Hillary 2008 campaign photos and selects from my White House years, at the Art Institute of Seattle. Some of the same campaign photos are currently on exhibit in the Stauffer-Flint Hall building on the campus of my alma mater, University of Kansas in Lawrence. They will on display at KU until June.
Photo Exhibit at the Art Institute of Seattle
The summer brought a couple of different challenges for me. I decided to take a 4×5 large format class at Photo Center Northwest. I have always loved portraits shot with a 4 x 5, so was determined to learn the camera. It was difficult to focus (the image in the viewfinder is backwards and upside down) but produces sharp, big negatives. I was back in the darkroom, processing sheets of film and making huge 16 x 20 black & white prints. One of my first portraits was of my daughter Mavis. The toughest part was trying to get a 7-year-old to sit still while I focused this beast of a camera. I finally offered to pay her $5 if she would just not move for a minute – her first paid modeling job. My friend Olivia Taguinod was my other model, working for free. A special thanks to my instructor Jahnavi Lisa Barnes, for being so patient with me.
Mavis
Olivia
Also, this summer, my movie career…..I have always wanted to work on a movie set shooting production stills, but have never had the opportunity. I finally got my chance when Seattle-based film director Megan Griffiths called me to work on her new film “Eden.” Megan’s last film “The Off Hours” was shown at Sundance last year and is getting all sorts of recognition this year. I can’t say a lot about her new film “Eden,” because it is still in post production, so stay tuned for more details. What I can say, is that I had an amazing experience and I was relieved to find out that I do indeed love working on movies. As an editorial photographer, my goal is to capture the decisive moment in time with my camera. On the movie set, if I missed that decisive moment, they do re-take after re-take after re-take, so I eventually am able to get the shot! Of course, there were many other challenges – I had to use a sound blimp around my camera, which muffles the noise of the camera, but is heavy and cumbersome. Also, the still photographer on set is usually always in the way of everything, all of the time. Our big star politely asked me to move out of his sight line, way out of his sight line…..on the very first day, in front of the whole cast and crew. I wanted to crawl into a hole, but instead, had a conversation with him after the scene. He put a hand on my shoulder and gave me a few tips on shooting while he was acting. Certain actors don’t like distractions (distraction meaning – the still photographer) during their scenes. So, lesson learned. It was a great experience and I can’t wait to see “Eden” on the big screen.
The cast and crew of "Eden" on our last day of shooting.
I had a fun assignment for the September issue of the Washington Athletic Club’s monthly magazine. I shot four of their members who excel in various sports including basketball, swimming, running and biking. My photo of Stoney Stone made the cover!
Erie "Stoney" Stone on the cover of the Washington Athletic Club's September issue.
In October, I was in Los Angeles to shoot the William J. Clinton Foundation’s Decade of Difference concert at the Hollywood Bowl. The event, a fundraiser for the foundation, was to honor President Clinton’s 65th birthday and featured Usher, Bono and the Edge, Kenny Chesney, K’naan and Lady Gaga, among others.
President Clinton and Lady Gaga backstage at the Clinton Foundation's "Decade of Difference" concert at the Hollywood Bowl in L.A.
It seems like I was on the wedding circuit in the fall, shooting weddings in Seattle, Washington D.C., Manhattan, KS and Austin, TX. Check out some of my earlier blog postings for photos from some of those events. My photographs of Jennifer Sullivan and Jerry Riener’s wedding were recently featured in Seattle Metropolitan’s special Winter/Spring 2012 Bride & Groom issue. The online version is here. 
The year ended with a wedding shoot on New Year’s Eve, so I took it as a good sign that I was working on the very last day of 2011. I hope that 2012 has as much (or more!) work, new challenges and great adventures. I look forward to seeing and working with all of you who have taken the time to read this blog! I will leave you with this image……….yea, my job is pretty great sometimes.
President Clinton, ME, Lady Gaga........cool.
Sarah Thomssen and Shawn Brixey were married on New Year’s Eve at the Shafer Baillie Mansion located in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle. The event was an intimate gathering of family and friends in a beautifully restored mansion that is now a bed & breakfast. Sarah and I had worked together in 2009 at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. During a morning coffee break one day, we discovered we were both alumni of the University of Kansas (Rock Chalk Jayhawk!) She now runs her own health & wellness business called LiveLong Wellness. Shawn is currently an associate professor of Digital Arts and Experimental Media at the University of Washington, with a resume too long to include in this blog. He is really an extraordinary person and it was a pleasure to photograph their wedding. What a nice event to bring 2011 to a close – Happy New Year!
A quiet moment before the ceremony.
I shot this image with a Nikon tilt-shift lens to blur out the foreground for a different perspective on the normal wedding portrait.
We were fortunate to have a nice day in Seattle, with no rain, so shot portraits in the courtyard of the Shafer Baillie Mansion.
There ceremony took place in front of a roaring fire in the living room of the mansion.
There was a moment during the ceremony where the bride and groom and all the guests held candles. I shot this photograph using available light from the room lights and the candles.
The newlyweds get a thumbs up from Sarah's uncle.
All smiles.
The wedding cake by Lisa Dupar & Company Catering
Portrait of Sarah
I photographed the wedding of my friends Mary Morrison and Ian Alberg this past weekend in Washington DC. I worked with both of them during the Clinton White House. They are a wonderful couple who met during the administration. President Clinton, along with Chelsea and her husband Marc, attended the ceremony at the historic synagogue at Sixth and I in Washington DC. The reception was at the former Hotel Washington, now the hip and trendy W Hotel. A special thanks to Allison Jackson of Pineapple Productions for putting together such a beautiful event.
Mary and her Mother
Ian and his father before the ceremony
Mary and her father
After the ceremony with President Clinton
The historic synagogue at Sixth and I in Washington DC.
The Supremes!
First Dance
I photographed the wedding of Harper McConnell and Sekombi Katondolo in Manhattan, Kansas on October 21st. Harper is from Manhattan but is currently living in the city of Goma, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and working on staff at the Eastern Congo Initiative. Sekombi, born and raised in Goma, is a musician, dancer, filmmaker and founder of Yole! Africa, a cultural center in Goma which serves as a forum for young people from different backgrounds to come together and express themselves through art, sport, and other media. I met both Harper and Sekombi in 2010 on my first trip to the Congo with ECI, not realizing they were actually a couple until my second trip in 2011. After a Congolese wedding last month in Goma, they were joined my friends and family in Manhattan, KS for a ceremony officiated by Harper’s father, Reverend R.C. McConnell. I was so honored to photograph their wedding and to be a part of the celebration.
R.C. McConnell, father of the bride AND pastor, in a quiet moment before the ceremony.
Harper and Sekombi
I am honored to be featured in the Best of ASMP 2011. For the seventh year in a row, the American Society of Media Photographers has selected 20 projects completed in the last year to be featured in print and online. My project on Alzheimer’s for The Shriver Report was one of 20 selected for the honor. You can read an interview with me, view my Alzheimer’s photographs along with some of my other work here.
I photographed the wedding of Jennifer Sullivan and Jerry Riener this past Saturday. Jennifer is a crime reporter at the Seattle Times, Jerry is a police officer and they met on the job seven years ago. Together, they own Guardian Cellars, a winery in Woodinville, WA. The ceremony and reception were at the Palace Ballroom in Belltown, where the wine flowed all evening!
Jerry gets a straight-edged razor shave at Valentino's in Greenwood.
The bride gets help with her dress.
First look at Hotel Andra.
Only a Seattle couple would stop for coffee before the ceremony.
Kerry Park overlooking Seattle and Mt. Rainier
Thanks to Ed Sauer for loaning us his classic Mini-Cooper
We stopped by Luly Yang for a quick touch up and look who's dress was in the window!
The flower girls and ring bearer wait for their cues.
A last minute adjustment for the bride.
Ceremony in the Palace Ballroom.
Married!
The room was filled with beautiful table settings.
Wonderful Washington wines were served.
A 3-2-1 Photo Booth was a big hit during the evening.
Tom Douglas, Seattle celebrity chef and owner of Palace Ballroom, dropped in to check on the newlyweds.
We attempted a shot as the monorail passed overhead. The crowds in Belltown on a Saturday night enjoyed the show!
Bride and groom first dance.
My favorite image from the day - kayaks and rowing boats for rent, shot on Polaroid 100 Chocolate film.
Took off to Green Lake Park in Seattle last week with my old Polaroid 180 camera in tow. I bought this camera back in 1988 to use when shooting portraits with multiple lights. The camera has adjustable shutter speed and aperture settings plus a sync outlet so I could trigger my lights with the camera, produce a Polaroid right there on the spot and see how my lighting looked. With digital cameras, there is no need for the old war horse (the camera, not me) but I’m still finding a use for it. I purchased Polaroid 100 Chocolate film and 100 Blue film from The Impossible Project, a company that is inventing and producing new types of instant film for traditional Polaroid cameras. They also manage to occasionally find boxes of discontinued Polaroid film to sell, which is how I came across the Chocolate and Blue films.
Two fishermen enjoy a quite moment, shot on Polaroid 100 Blue film.
Taken with Polaroid 100 Chocolate film, this reminds me of an image from the 40's or 50's.
The Molly Moon's ice cream truck on a busy afternoon, shot on Polaroid 100 Blue film.
It’s mid-June and the sun is finally starting to shine here in Seattle. I’ve been thinking of images that I’ve taken recently and over the past couple of years that characterize this beautiful and quirky Northwest city where I live. Thought I would share them with you………..
Spiderman taking a break at Comic-Con at the Washington State Convention Center.
A Bainbridge or Vashon Island ferry captured in film with my Holga.
The Seattle skyline viewed from Beacon Hill.
Beatniks posing for my Holga. They are actually baristas at Caffe Vita playing dress up for the day.
The dinosaur exhibit at Woodland Park Zoo. These life-like dinos move, make noise and even spit.
The Space Needle as seen through a tilt-shift lens.
The Seattle Public Library taken with my iPhone.
Seattle Storm's amazing and incredible Lauren Jackson with the equally amazing and incredible Doppler.
One of the many motel signs on Aurora.
High heels at 7th and Virginia.
Photo Exhibit at the Art Institute of Seattle
There is still time to check out my photo exhibit “My Clinton Years” at the Burnley Gallery at the Art Institute of Seattle. The show consists of images from my time as a White House Photographer during the Clinton Administration as well as photos from the 2008 Hillary Clinton presidential campaign. We had a great opening reception last week with lots of students, friends and colleagues attending. I got lots of great comments and feedback, wonderful for the ego! The show is up until May 27th at The Burnley Gallery, 6th Floor at the Art Institute of Seattle, 2323 Elliott Avenue, Seattle, WA.