Frequently asked questions: “Do you do family shots?” “Do you do senior photos?” “Do you make all your models get in the water?!” “Are those tattoos real?!” Answers – yes, kinda, if possible, and um… yes. Despite all the candid work that we love, yes, we shoot formal groups for weddings and families. You know us though – we won’t tell you to smile, and we won’t shoot you on a green-screen, amidst fake plants, bricks, or in any way that reminds us of our own painful Olan Mills portraits from childhood. Ugh! The Kangas family is a perfect example of what we do. This beautiful family wanted us to come to their annual, week-long family reunion on their farm about an hour South of our studio. Photog and assistant Sarah drove down on a 90 degree evening (dodged a fat black bear on the way) and were handed cans of KBC before we stepped out of the Honda. (Nice!) We explained our vision to the family, and worked with them to find spots that were both special to them, and accessible by a fleet of ATVs. We didn’t prep them on clothing, and we didn’t clean up any scenes. We wanted to capture them in their element and give them some lasting memories. In this process, we become more than an observer. We learn about them, hear their stories, laugh, and eat and drink with them. Actually – in this case, we even shared a sauna! All shots were at ISO 640 with Nikkor 2.8 lenses with moderate shutter speeds – 1/1250 down to 1/30.

photog transportation & gear

family w/ family barn

homestead w/ laundry

photog's favorite

So many fun stories behind the shots. Thought we’d share this one in particular. Shot just before 11PM, we wanted to get the bride and groom out on the dock, which was reasonably lit by some solar lanterns. Actually, the dock and some of its features were finished just before the wedding at this historic resort. The new wood smelled wonderful… Not to digress – Megan and Jon had been great sports with our shooting all day. This included wading in a waterfall, hanging out of moving vehicles, and kissing for long periods of time – you know, the usual… When we got away from the party in the tents, past the high-centered & stuck tour bus, through a maze of euphoric guests and finally down to the dock – the stars were amazing. We had them hold their poses (and their breath) for some 4 second exposures while we used a spare strobe as a tripod. The camera was set for a 2-sec delay, with a relatively open aperture, moderate ISO, and with an ultra-wide Nikkor lens. Lots of challenges in a short amount of time (bride & groom priority isn’t on photos, but on wedding guests & dancing!) and one of the challenges was how to focus on two dark subjects, under a dark sky. iPhone & assistant Louisa to the rescue who held the lit phone in the same plane as the bride & groom, allowing an easy focus lock. The shot below is an out-take and the result of an ultra-sensitive shutter release. Oops. A final version below that. Both are un-edited. Gorgeous couple. Highlights soon.

an out-take showing Louisa using iPhone for focus-lock to set the shot

a final, un-edited version

Actual internet chat dialogs with Charter today:

CGI Dana :  Thank you, Adam. Do you also have your security code from your billing statement?

Adam Johnson:  um… no.

CGI Dana :  Do you remember the PIN you set up on the account?

Adam Johnson:  absolutely not

CGI Dana :  Do you, by chance, have the account number?

Adam Johnson:  82451207900xxxxx

CGI Dana :  Great, thank you!

CGI Dana :  I am showing that the current balance on the account is $95.09 with a past due balance of $44.99.

Adam Johnson:  I edited / updated the visa that is setup for payment over a week ago. this should not be a problem.

CGI Dana :  Is this the card ending in 6199?

Adam Johnson:  that sounds right

CGI Dana :  I show that it was never activated. I can activate it, however it will take a full billing cycle to debit. Did you want to go ahead and pay the balance on the account today and then the next payment be debited.

Adam Johnson:  um… what does ‘never activated’ mean…?

CGI Dana :  There is an option on the account which is ‘active’ or ‘inactive’ and the status of the auto pay on your account is ‘inactive’.

Adam Johnson:  ok. whatever. if I edited the active autopay with a different visa, I’d assume it would still be active, yes? please press the magic ‘active’ button, pay previous balance, etc, etc.

CGI Dana :  Yes, I can do all of that for you. However, in the account the card number is encrypted so I will need you to provide me with the entire card number with the expiration date, if you don’t mind please.

Adam Johnson:  I don’t mind, but the card is in my car, in the parking lot, 4 floors down. do you want to sip coffee whilst I get it?

CGI Dana :  Adam, honestly, I can only hold for 2 minutes. So, if you want to chat back when you get done or even make the payment online at charter.com thru your my account, you can do that as well.

Adam Johnson:  it will take more than 2 min. yup. is this so-called ‘activate’ button obvious when I return?

CGI Dana :  It’s already been done, so when you chat back all you got to do is request help with processing a payment.

*** NEW AGENT ***

TTD Lisette :  I will activate your internet service now, Adam. Since your services are interrupted, the system will automatically charge you $1.99 restoration fee, which will be added to your next month’s bill.

Adam Johnson:  wait… hold on. you are charging me $1.99 for not activating this when I entered visa info over a week ago? not cool. nix that please…

TTD Lisette :  No, Adam. The system will automatically charge it to your account.

Adam Johnson:  then automatically remove it

TTD Lisette :  Again, the system will automatically charge it to your account.

Adam Johnson:  on principle alone I object. I already went through this BS ‘activation’ thing today with an agent…

TTD Lisette :  Is this okay?

Adam Johnson:  um, no. there are rules. this isn’t ‘Nam. across this line YOU DO NOT…

TTD Lisette :  I will activate your internet service, Adam. To remove the $1.99 charge on your account, I will transfer you to our Billing Department.

TTD Lisette :  Would that be fine with you?

Adam Johnson:  {sighs} yes

** NEW AGENT **

CGI Elizabeth W :  I cannot credit back the $1.99 restoration fee either as it is automatic and may not be added to your account, depending on whether or not the system adds it. I will, however, note your account to credit that back considering the circumstances. If it is on your next bill, you can chat back and have that removed.

Adam Johnson:  {pondering this…}

CGI Elizabeth W :  We do not manually apply this fee. It is added to the bill (sometimes, not always) when services are reconnected. I cannot credit it back as it isn’t on your account. If it appears on your next statement, you can chat back and the agent will apply the $1.99 credit.

Adam Johnson:  lets go with that then. thx.

CGI Elizabeth W :  You are welcome. Can I assist you with anything else this evening?

Adam Johnson:  just make the sales people stop calling me. I tell them EVERY time: I’m happy with cellular, and I do NOT have a TV…

CGI Elizabeth W :  I will put you on our Do Not Call List.

Adam Johnson:  really?! that would be stellar, elizabeth

CGI Elizabeth W :  I will do that now. Can I assist you with anything else this evening?

Adam Johnson:  that’s worth the $1.99. thanks. goodnight.

More inspirational, guilt-inducing racers in this year’s race. Technically the guilt isn’t your fault, its ours… Special thanks to the race organizers for inviting us to shoot this one. Though it was the 36th annual race, it was only the second time for us shooting it. It is a tad early for us to be awake, let alone standing on the side of the highway waiting for you to run past us, so more special thanks to veteran assistant Whitney Warstler for bringing the pot of coffee, and equal thanks to Todd Brassard for bringing us beer via bike as the sun warmed us up nicely on the pavement. There were a staggering 551 racers, and we did our best to shoot you all. Gallery here!

Again – congrats to everyone. Thanks for the smiles, the shout-outs, the thumbs-up, and the occasional tongue out at us.

AND – it is very sad, but we had a Petzl headlamp on the side of the highway, flashing towards oncoming traffic right near our hangout. We suspect a racer grabbed it for the lost & found. If you have seen it – we miss it… thanks!

*** GALLERY ***

Did you want just see the highlights? No problem. Take a peek and join our community.

The editor at Modern Brewery Age loved the ‘tattoos in a brewery‘ shoot that we did with our friends at the Keweenaw Brewing Company in Houghton. Pete Reid used a few of them on the closer page of the 4/20 edition, and there are some nice shout-outs to our friends, our crew, and to beer. Thanks to everyone that helped with this fun project.

And as always – these sweaty, dirty, bloody, smiling bikers inspire us. We had a crew of 4 shooters at two course locations to get complete coverage. If you can’t find yourself chronologically, well… you were probably avoiding us on purpose. Thank the race organization for hiring us to shoot, which means mid-resolution images are totally free for you to download from the full gallery. How nice is that!? Thank you to our second shooters & assistants who were nice enough to share water and DEET: Tania Levy, Sarah Bird, and Louisa Raisbeck.

With that, there are a few ways to enjoy the images.

Highlight slideshow from 2010 and 2011 below (100 images)

Facebook highlight gallery (20 images)

Full gallery for download and purchase (1200 images!)