The Andy Aupperlee Explosion 5000

Nick and Sara are getting married this Saturday. As he was one of the first people I met when I moved to Seattle nearly 5 years ago, I was honored when Nick asked me to handle photography at his wedding; and after getting to know Sara over the last few months, I can safely say this is going to be a fun event. As part of the pre-wedding prep, Nick, Sara and I huddled up on Monday night to shoot a few photos. In little more than three hours, we shot in three locations and racked up over 500 shutter actuations. The above photo is from the final set: the kitchen. Sara is particularly adroit in all things baking, and Nick lacks no shyness in having a bite or two. While they were no doubt hamming it up a little for the camera, I have a feeling this scene is not an atypical one for either of them.

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Carrie Bancroft is a Seattle entrepreneur extraordinaire. She runs Withinsight Technologies, a tech + marketing consulting company that “makes your organization look bigger, better and brighter.” Withinsight tackles everything from marketing to branding to web design and optimization, with top-notch project management to boot.

In addition to running Withinsight, Carrie moonlights as an Associate for Bancroft & Company, the Bancroft family’s management consulting business. Finally, her favorite “non-work” activity involves planning events you won’t easily forget. Considering this array of professional stances, I was thrilled when she asked me to create a series of portraits to represent her persona at each of these businesses.

Thanks to Urban Light Studios (the location for this shoot), we were able to work with an actual lion! The fact that he is dead and long since stuffed does little to diminish his role as king of the jungle.

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Even though I’ve only got six days under my belt this season; I can confidently say it’s going to be a good one. Stevens Pass got dumped on last week and we were there to grab first tracks in some newly opened, higher elevation terrain. The short little clip above comes from just outside the ski area boundary near the Tye Mill lift. Russ Keck and Justin Day are the skiers.

This video is only the beginning. Expect a lot more skiing and alpine content on the Explosion this winter—both video and stills. The combination of La Nina, a seasons pass to Stevens, and a handful of other trips planned should make this an epic season. Stay tuned.

Welcome to the heart of Movember. This is the time of year when mustaches become thick. It’s the few weeks when women can’t help but swoon for their favorite Tom Selleck or Albert Einstein. It’s an opportunity to revel in double-takes and constantly be the butt of jokes around the office. It’s MO season. To document this phenomenon, some friends and I staged the second annual MOPLOSION photo shoot to raise awareness for the Movember MOvement. What is Movember? It is the eleventh month of the year (formerly known as November) where men grow mustaches (“mo” in Australian parlance). Mo-bros form teams and put their best mustache forward to campaign for donations in support of testicular cancer and prostate cancer awareness & research. If you’re like me and think this is an awesome idea, please consider making a donation.

Earlier this month, we announced details for MOPLOSION 2010 right here on the Andy Aupperlee Explosion 5000. If you haven’t seen the video, cruise over to the archives and check it out. The 2009 Movember shoot was a small affair and a lot of fun, so for 2010 I decided to open it up to all of Seattle. On Sunday, Movember 21 we gathered at Buckleys in Belltown and threw down one hell of a photo shoot. I was stoked to have several dozen mo-bros and mo-sistas jump in front of the lens.
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The MOPLOSION 5000 Movember photo shoot is back! Last year we changed the face of men’s health by putting our mustached mugs in front of the camera, and we’re doing the same for 2010. The only difference is that this year we want to see YOU model with us. Seattle Movember Committee member Aaron Huber and I have planned a special photo shoot at Buckley’s in Belltown on Sunday, November 21st at 7 PM. The photo shoot is open to anyone supporting or participating in Movember. Bring your favorite mo-inspired getup and be ready to have an awesome time with me and the Seattle Movember crew as we make some hilarious pictures. Your cost is FREE! Several days following the photo shoot, I’ll post the images on the internet for you to use in your own campaign to raise awareness and money for prostate cancer and testicular cancer. You can RSVP via Facebook.

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All they wanted was a simple group photo. Desiree, a good friend and stylist extraordinaire, sent me a message on Facebook asking if I would take a shot of the folks that work at her place of business, Steven Cole Salon (an upscale salon in Seattle’s hip Greenwood neighborhood). This was April of 2009. I immediately responded saying I’d love to do the shoot, but things were slow to take off. Several months passed and I discovered the likes of David Hobby (the Strobist), Zack Arias and I even met Chase Jarvis. The influence of these photographers lead me to radically change my approach to lighting and portrait photography. By the time we scheduled a shoot for Steven Cole Salon in September of 2009, I was fully immersed in off camera flash, watt seconds and soft boxes. The simple group photo was now going to be the culmination of hours of blog reading—it was, in no short order, going to be an Andy Aupperlee Explosion 5000 Production.
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The Interior Design Coalition of Washington (IDCW) asked me to photograph Seattle Fashion Week last spring. Several pieces from IDCW’s premiere event, Product Runway, were due to take a stroll down the runway. Having covered Product Runway before (and producing a short film on the event), I was delighted to hang out and rip off a few frames.

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