Puttin' on the Schnitz: Capturing the magic of the Oregon Symphony

So lucky to have the Oregon Symphony as a client. For the last several years we have had the pleasure of getting a behind the scenes view of the whole shebang. This involves going backstage, annoying audience members with shutter noises, climbing tall ladders, hanging with Carlos, that kind of thing. This year's marketing involved capturing the magic of the Schnitz with all its amazing architecture and unique historic details, plus the excitement and anticipation of attending the Symphony. We were pretty excited ourselves to have access to all the little secret spaces the concert hall has, and were kept on our toes by the documentary vibe they wanted.

Happy Campers, Pickathon 2013

Every August for the past 15 years a magical event called Pickathon takes place just outside of Portland.  Four days of music, camping, beer drinking and general good times spill out onto Pendarvis farm.  Not only is there amazing music at 6 stages tucked all over the woods but it is also the only large outdoor music festival in the United States to eliminate single use dish ware, cups (thanks to Klean Kanteen) and utensils.  Plastic free since 2010 they also compost and use renewable energy.  I was given the official job of photographic 'roamer' which basically means wander around and shoot whatever makes the event cool. See ya there in 2014.

MusicFest NW is Rubbish - Willamette Week Cover

You never exactly know how it is going to go with celebrities.  Perhaps spending your life with people that never tell you no can have a warping effect. Thankfully this diva mentality was delightfully absent from Fred Armisen, of Portlandia fame.  I can never decide if that show is funny or not and if audiences from Mid-Western states would want to hug me or shoot if we were ever to meet. Fred showed up as his alter ego, 70s-era punk rocker Ian Rubbish, for the shoot.  At first I was afraid that he was going to talk in a British accent for the duration.  In which case I'm afraid I would have had a hard time keeping it together, persistent giggles making it difficult to push the shutter.  But no, though dressed as Ian, Fred played himself, a very sweet, laid back guy, who was game for whatever wacky things I could think of.