Photo Assignment with Gordy, a Dual Purpose Patrol K9

Photo Assignment: Gordy – Dual Purpose K9 Patrol

This was a cover photo assignment for the Village of Sussex. It’s a bi-annual publication called The Courier. I photographed K9 Gordy under the watchful eye of his handler from the Waukesha County Sheriff Department. I was laying on the ground to get below Gordy’s eye level and to bring in the squad car’s logo. Didn’t think much of the position I was in until after the shoot. Probably not the ideal pose in front of a well-trained K9 with his handler standing behind me. Gordy’s handler was in complete control of his alert model. I made a small noise with my mouth to get Gordy’s attention but after Gordy gave me a quick hard stare with alert eyes and pointed ears, I realized really fast that the handler should do all the attention getting. I had a large rocket dust blower in my pocket along with a long Canon strap on my camera. The handler pointed out that the items could draw some attention from Gordy. Luckily, Gordy just wanted to do some nice poses. It was pretty sunny out so I opted to shoot in the shade to bring down the contrast of the police vehicle’s color scheme. The lighting also worked well to hold the color in Gordy’s fur. This was definitely a really neat experience.

Eye Care Facebook Banner Ad Design

Just finished this Facebook header design for an eye doctor’s business.

This is a freelance Facebook banner ad design I recently did for an eye doctor’s office. The woman in the photograph is a stock image. The winter scenes I shot right after a snow storm went through the area. The design and illustration elements I created from scratch. Snowflakes were courtesy of Zaph DIngbats.

Disarmed and Recycled Nuclear Weapon Systems Product Photography

This is a product photo of items produced from disarmed and recycled nuclear weapon systems. Photo taken 12/8/12

The group product shot was for BrightandBold.com. The product line is made from a unique copper alloy created from disarmed and recycled nuclear weapon systems. Bottle openers and jewelry make up this group shot. One of the more unique freelance web product photos I’ve done. The company deems the products are safe to handle but it was still a little odd to handle items that were once a part of a nuclear weapon.

Freelance Building Photos of Pitman Theatre at Alverno College

Front entrance to Pitman Theatre. Photo taken 8/22/12

South walkway to Pitman Theatre. Photo taken 8/22/12

North walkway to Pitman Theatre. Photo taken 8/22/12

These architectural photos were shot for a construction company’s portfolio. Most times I would avoid a noon hour shoot but this one worked out well. The design’s long lines reminded me of some of the buildings from the early to mid 20th century. The northern exposure provided some nice shadow areas for contrast. The landscaping provided a nice compliment to the building’s front entrance.

Kenosha County Courthouse Photograph

Kenosha County Courthouse architecture photograph. Photo taken 10/7/12.

I shot this architecture photo a couple times. The landscaping was in process during the first two visits so I ended up retouching the image a little to help it along. The grass was partially finished so I cloned some of it into place being sure to provide a compressed and softer look as the grass moved out of the focus area. The flags were at halfmast so I needed to bring them up for the client’s final photo. On the final visit for this shot, the landscaping had wooden stakes with bright orange ribbons to keep pedestrians off the new grass. Great for the grass – bad for the photographer… These were shot on the weekends to avoid any parked cars or people around the entrance. While this shot had the dramatic wide angle look, I also provided a couple with a normal look. The street lights were a little tricky to shoot around so I provided a couple options.

Mitchell Building Cupola Photograph

Mitchell building cupola in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Photo taken 10/27/12

I shot this photo for Langer Roofing. This is from a series of architectural photographs for a calendar used to promote the company’s visibility. The company handles high and steep roofs like church steeples and high rise buildings.

Industrial Mining Equipment Product Photography

On Thursday, October 18th, I had a photo shoot at WTC Machinery. Shoot started at 7am and went until 2:30pm. Did about a dozen shots on a machine that was capable of 305 tons of pressure. The photos will be used for advertising, product sheets and manuals. I opted to use video lights to cover the larger dimension of the product. The product was being crated and shipped to a customer as soon as I wrapped. I had an adaptor in my truck that allowed me to recharge some of the batteries on the way to my second shoot of the day for the football team I cover. It turns the vehicle’s electric outlets into one that looks like the ones in your home.