An Amazing Collaberative

After years of considering the benefits of a collaborative effort using my photography and the skills of a retouch artist, it's finally happening. I've been on this search now for quite a while. At times I thought that I had found the right team or the right person, only to fall short somehow. Maybe it was personality or maybe it just wasn't the right time. Now, I feel strongly that the time has come.

It's always been my goal to show the viewer something special, something they can’t see with their own eyes. Still, it has also been very important to me to maintain my aesthetic. Trends like the lens baby, cross processing, de-saturation, over sharpening, or those lovely fake film edges are okay, but should never carry the entire weight of a final image. Some say a trend is here today and gone tomorrow. Riding the wave of a trend might be nice, but to me it seems an unrealistic path. Keeping imagery classic has always been important to me. An image should last longer than the trend it was built on.

Part of what I like about the collaboration I'm fostering these days is attitude. The attitude it takes to see a project through. It's not only what I bring to the table; it's also what the re-toucher brings to the table. How can we both bring out of an image ALL that it has to say? Well, we have to listen. This is a relationship that has been built on listening. It's really like no other I know. I'm grateful. And this is how the story goes:

About a month ago I was called by an art director at an agency in Peoria, Illinois. He was in a pinch. Because of a NASCAR rain out, his photographer was suddenly and unexpectedly unavailable for a shoot that day. Tight deadlines meant the art director and client needed to shoot NOW, rather than wait for the photographer to be available. The MCP team went into action. My producer and I were able to postpone a shoot on my schedule, hire additional assistants, and get the truck packed. In less than an hour, we were on our way to Welcome, NC.

The assignment: shoot stills for an upcoming CAT sponsored contest while a video crew secured footage for web spots.

While loading in equipment and preparing to pull angles and light, I began a conversation with the digital assistant, Jason Dulin. We both thought that the standard NASCAR shot, driver and car on a cyc wall, had been DONE and DONE and DONE. As we talked more about what we could do with the time we were given (about 4 hours total), the collaboration was born and the decision was made to try something else. We're not the first to attempt a departure from the norm and we won't be the last, but for now we're very satisfied that we're on to something. We hope to do more work together in the future and we are dedicated to bringing something special to the table.

Thanks so much for visiting the BLOG today. Jason and I hope you like what you see.

To see more video and stills from the CAT Shoot please visit http://www.cat.com/daytona/home