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.

The first place we shot was a community baseball field in Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood. This was particularly fun for me to shoot because I’m well aware of how important baseball is to them. As friends of Nick know, he took off from Seattle several years ago to play and coach baseball in Italy. The next time I saw Nick was earlier this summer when he introduced me to his fiance, Sara. As far as I’m concerned, Nick left to play baseball and came back with a wife—not bad!

The next stop on the Nick & Sara photo tour was Marshall Park on the west side of Queen Anne. Although it’s only a few blocks down the street from Kerry Park, I had never been there. Marshall Park features sweeping views of the Puget Sound and Olympic Mountain Range. We timed our shoot perfectly with a gorgeous sunset.

Since the wedding is literally hours away, I wanted to get a few images up before the big day. I’m working on more photos from this shoot as we speak. Over the coming weeks, I’ll be adding more to Flickr. Also, stay tuned for official Explosion 5000 photos of the wedding and reception.

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.

The photo below is to be used for her party and event planning venture. The vision was simple. Carrie told me she wanted an image to convey that “the rest of your life will be boring after I’m done with you.” Those models featured in the background are Sharat Reddy and Maria Moses.

Getting serious for a moment, we did a more straight-on head shot to be used in Carrie’s work with Bancroft & Company.

To portray the values of Withinsight Technologies, we traded lions and legs for a dartboard.

Worried there wasn’t going to be a Gus lighting test? Fear not…. Since I know you all tune in for Gus—here you go. In addition to being a great assistant, Gus also has the pleasure (read indignity) of sitting in while I setup lights and dial in camera settings. The lion and Gus were having so much fun that they actually high-fived during my setup.

These images were a lot of fun to create. Crafting photos for enterprising entrepreneurs is always a treat; and working with Carrie as a client was pure joy. She has boundless creativity and brought a lot of enthusiasm to collaborating on a vision for these photographs. I was also lucky to work with Pagie Beckley and Kevin Law of Urban Light Studios—you guys rock. Stylist Cassie Williams provided hair and make-up expertise. And much appreciation to the leg models, Sharat and Maria… thanks for adding that classy touch.

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.

Mo Bros

My partner in crime for much of the MOPLOSION is Aaron Huber. Don’t let his hippy persona fool you; he might be tuned in, but he certainly hasn’t dropped out. Aaron, captian of the Lip Ticklers, is on the Seattle Movember Committee and is responsible for generating a lot of the success the MOvement has in this city. Not only did Aaron star in the promotional video, Aaron was my right hand man for the duration of this shoot. From hauling equipment, to setting up, and breaking down; Aaron lived the MOPLOSION with me. He’s also a very talented photographer and has some excellent behind-the-scenes shots on his Flickr.

Not one to disappoint when costumes are involved, Sergio came decked out as a Cuban drug lord. Word is after the photo shoot he was spotted on the Port of Seattle docks taking care of some business.

I met Tom for the first time on Sunday. He heard about the MOPLOSION on Facebook and decided to check it out. For looking like a complete badass, he was actually a very pleasant chap.

Ken was first up in the photo shoot. In addition to an excellent mustache persona, he brought a ton of energy and set the tone for the rest of the evening.

Going “creepster” with Chris.

Adam always hams it up for the Explosion. The dude has been all over this blog for the past year and even showed up in the MOPLOSION promo vid.

This year’s chest shaving award goes to Keith. Congratulations on having a thick enough harvest to actually be able to carve things into it.

Sharat concisely expresses his feeling about prostate and testicular cancer. Sharat is a fellow teammate of mine on Mustache Across America. Support his mo by donating here.

Some just have MO style than others… and it’s hard to argue with the sartorial sensibilities of our very own Seattle Movember Committee Chairman.

Don’t you have a sandwich and a waterfall to go chase after?

Mat brought out the red, white and MO for the shoot. There’s something very patriotic about growing a mustache, don’t you think? In addition to saluting America, Mat is also a member of the Lip Ticklers. Donate to him here.

Lucas, another Mustache Across America teammate, is rocking some handlebars this season.

The next three gentlemen are apart of The MOst Interesting Men in the World. After photographing these characters, I’m not exactly disagreeing with them either.

As a native Montanan, Russ perfectly brought to life the stoic cowboy.

Love the fact that the jacket is growing several mustaches too.

Mo Sistas

Us Mo Bros would not get far without all the support we receive from our Mo Sistas. In the early days of the month, they tell us that are mustache is “really coming in” when we really look like middle schoolers hitting puberty. When the “creepster” phase hits, they don’t fumble for the panic button on their car keys. And by month’s end they are still by our side telling everyone how great kissing a MO is. Well done, ladies.

Behind the Scenes

As is rarely the case here on the Andy Aupperlee Explosion 5000, I actually let the camera get turned around on me. Aaron was kind enough to snap a few photos of my MO. He also grabbed some awesome behind the scenes shots. Check out how we turned a bar into a studio on his Flickr page.

The photos above are just the tip of the ‘stache. There are well over 100 different looks at this year’s MOPLOSION crop. Check out the slideshow below or head on over to my Flickr for enough upper lip luxury to get you through until 2011.

I owe big thank you to Buckleys in Belltown for hosting our shoot this year. You guys rock. Also, thank you to everyone who dropped by to be photographed or just hang out with us. You made the shoot a success!

If you laughed at these photos, enjoyed the video or just feel inspired, please consider making a donation to Movember.

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.

When you’re waiting for your turn to jump in front of the lens, hang out at Buckley’s in Belltown’s awesome bar and socialize with other mo-bros & mo-sistas. Buckley’s was gracious enough to allow us to have their back room to stage the photo shoot. In honor of their hospitality, please consider purchasing a beer or two while we’re getting our mo-tography on—nothing goes together like mustaches and brews anyway, right?

If you liked the video above (or caught it on Vimeo), please consider dropping by my Movember page and making a donation. Even $5 is cool! For the camera folks out there: the video was shot entirely on a Nikon D90 with the Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8 lens.

Last year we had a blast doing the photo shoot; and I’m really looking forward to getting everyone back together and meeting YOU at the 2010 edition. Check out the photos from 2009 for a taste of what you can expect. The photos created so much buzz that we were named “Mo Team of the Week” by Movember USA. Let’s keep Seattle at the forefront of everything mo this year—please invite your other mo-bros and mo-sistas to the shoot!

EVENT DETAILS:

• MOPLOSION 5000 Photo Shoot
• Buckley’s in Belltown
• 2331 2nd Ave, Seattle, WA
• Sunady, Movember 21, 2010
• 7-10 PM

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.

Desiree and Steven Cole Salon gave me what amounted to total creative control of the shoot. They wanted a nice group photo, but how we got to that point was up to me. My original concept was to shoot each stylist individually on white seamless, then composite them all into a “group” photo. Only problem, I didn’t know the first thing about shooting on white seamless. I basically followed Zack Arias’s excellent (and funny) tutorial, piece of gear by piece of gear. Since I was yet to purchase strobes or any other light modifiers, I rented a truckload of equipment from Glazer’s here in Seattle. After a stop at Home Depot, I was dialed in. The photo above illustrates the set we built inside the salon. I stashed a Bowens 500 w/s Gemini behind each of the bi-fold doors to light up the 9′ white seamless. We also laid down two pieces of reflective white tile board. The key light was another Bowens Gemini outfitted with a Chimera soft box.

With the set built and all the clients gone for the day, we launched into the photography. Each employee took a turn modeling while I directed and encouraged them to pose with different props. I exclusively used the Nikon 35mm f/1.8 DX lens; and because I would need to composite the images together later, I used a tripod to maintain similar angles and proportions. After scrubbing through hundreds of photos, I later assembled the composite (at the top of this post) from these individual shots. Although it’s a bit more work, the composite approach has many advantages. First, it ensures even, consistent lighting for all the subjects. It also allows me to create a photo that seems like it was shot at a bigger space. Steven Cole Salon is quite roomy, but it’s not the cavernous white room that the composite implies. I also had literally dozens of different looks for each of th employees. Another advantage of creating a composite is being able to individually select the perfect pose for each of the subjects.

With the composite components in the bag, I wanted to try one other idea. When I scouted the salon earlier in the week, I noticed that the chairs were pretty cool and movable. I thought it would be interesting to contrast the black and chrome chair with the white seamless. To get a different look from the straight-ahead composite stuff, I climbed up an 8 foot ladder and photographed the stylists from above. Luckily I had Gus there to spot me…

And what would an Andy Aupperlee Explosion 5000 production be without the obligatory lighting test shot of Gus. This was actually the first time Gus ever assisted me—and I definitely needed him. Not only was he handy on set, but we packed his Subaru full of gear after I filled up my Explorer. Gus has worked with me about a half dozen times since, and he’s now my go-to-guy for getting ambitious creative endeavors accomplished.

To check out more shots from the Steven Cole Salon shoot, check out Flickr or watch the slideshow below.

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.

I arrived early to scope out the venue and check out some of the behind the scenes action. Amazing that all a goof like me needs to get backstage with a bunch of models is a press pass… but that’s a different story.

Apolo Ohno was the celebrity du jour on hand for this event. He rolled up to the Qwest Convention Center in a Lamborghini. I was asked by the event organizers to cover him “on the red carpet” like a paparazzi… so I channeled my inner Don Purnell and gave it a ‘big shot.’

Once the show started I was in full-on fashion show photog mode: crawling around on the floor, switching lenses on the fly and getting dirty looks from hipsters whose view I was blocking. The Product Runway garments showed wonderfully though. It was a collection of pieces from both the first and second “editions” of the competition.

For the uninitiated, Product Runway is a competition staged by the IDCW. It pairs design teams with suppliers from the interior design industry. The team is then charged with creating a haute couture outfit using only materials from their supplier; and the suppliers range from tile to carpet to office furniture outfitters. Teams for the third version of this outrageously creative fashion show are forming now, and the event is scheduled to take place on June 3, 2011 at Showbox SODO. More information can be found on their newly designed website: http://www.productrunway.com/. Be sure to check them out on Twitter and Facebook too.

For a few more photos, check out Flickr or the slideshow below.

Adam and McKenna are engaged? Didn’t see that one coming. Actually—that’s a lie. From the minute these two met, they’ve had one of those relationships that seem to be hotter than first season of Gossip Girl. After months of disgustingly cute Facebook PDA-ing, Adam proposed to make things official in March of this year. If these two look familiar, it’s because they are. This isn’t their first go-round on the Andy Aupperlee Explosion 5000 (see Movember). Adam, a fellow blogger himself, also has endeared himself to this photographer because he actually leaves comments on my posts! For these reasons and many more, I was delighted to make a few photos of these two.

(Note: click photos for larger versions)

The first setup of the day was at Gasworks Park. I had an idea to feature Adam and McKenna in various poses on their backs, but make it look like they were standing up straight. My trusty assistant, Gus helped me setup a Bowens Gemini strobe with a 7′ Octodome (on a truly badass stand). I climbed up a ladder with my Nikon D300 and Nikkor 24-70 f/2.8 lens to photograph Adam and McKenna laying on the hill.

Gus even suggested the corny-as-hell idea of having Adam and McKenna spell out an A & M.

For setup #2, we walked up the hill and placed most of the park, Lake Union and the City of Seattle in the background. We made a few quick tweaks to the Octodome, and we were off and shooting.

With the day dwindling, our light was falling off fast. I wanted to squeeze in one more location before the sunset on Seattle for that Sunday. Adam, McKenna, Gus and I took off for the little park halfway up the hill behind Golden Gardens. After using some of Seattle’s lakes, skyline and greenery as the background, I wanted to feature some its forests.

The way I’ve heard the story is this… Adam was supposed to propose to McKenna in Europe. Adam was scheduled to meet up with McKenna in Paris after skiing the Haute Route with a few buddies in April. The ever impatient Adam decided to jump the gun right before the trip; and hauled McKenna up 4,000 vertical feet to pop the question on top of Mt. Si. Since then, they’ve been recreating what their proposal might have looked had Adam selected a different venue. The above is a rendition of two people getting engaged during an Andy Aupperlee Explosion 5000 photoshoot. Aww.

Newly engaged couple OR Seattle’s latest Nightly News duo?

Of course none of this would have been possible with my trusty assistant, Gus. He’s a huge help with setting up the lighting, being a stand-in and suggesting ideas. He even does all the crappy stuff like carry 50 lbs of sand bags and run back to the car when I forget stuff—all without complaining. Thanks Gus!

To catch more of Adam & McKenna (including bonus PDA), check out my Flickr set or watch the slideshow below.

My good friend and frequent creative co-conspirator, Jill Marasigan, recently launched a design and event planning business, P31 Collaborative. Jill asked me to photograph some of the interior spaces that feature her handy work with the intent to use the final images as part of her professional portfolio. So far the collection includes a house in Queen Anne and a loft in South Lake Union.

While it seems simple enough, interior photography is trickier than it looks. The first task is to find an angle that encompasses the “spirit” or “feel” of the room while still highlighting a few key features. Using a wide angle lens and dialing it back to 11mm may seem like the way to go; and for some shots, that approach is perfect. In other cases I found that using narrower focal lengths and being selective is more effective.

Once composition is set, lighting is the next thing to figure out. Both times I shot for Jill, I brought my ENTIRE lighting kit. Back in October, this consisted of a Nikon SB-800, a LumoPro LP-120 and several stands, umbrellas and reflectors. When we shot the loft in February of this year, the kit had been expanded to include four monolights, softboxes, grids and snoots. Even though I upped my watt-seconds by a factor of ten, accurately lighting an interior still remains a delicate balancing act that requires clever problem solving and attention to detail.

The shot of the spiral staircase above was made using two speedlights, umbrellas and the Tokina 11-16mm lens. The stairs are on the second floor of a Queen Anne home that belongs to a Seattle night club owner. I loved the way all the wood, metal and lighting work together in the space. To get this all in view, I wound up lying down with my camera inches off the floor. To get the nice glow coming from the wall lamps, I used a slow shutter speed (1/25th second) to allow for some ambient light. I used speedlights to fill in the rest.

At both the house and the loft, I shot the Nikon D300 tethered into a MacBook Pro and Adobe Lightroom. This allows me to quickly and accurately check focus, exposure and composition. It also allows the client (Jill) to review the images and provide creative direction. Personally, I find that real time feedback from the client invaluable. For technical shoots like this where the smallest details are important, it is incredibly helpful to get the whole “team” involved in creating and reviewing the shots. Since Adobe Lightroom does not have tethered support for the D300 (although it should be coming in LR 3.0), I use a nifty little program called Sofortbild. Using this in conjunction with Lightroom’s auto-import features makes shooting tethered quite simple.

Improvising and responding to the environment is key to any photograph, and it is not different with interiors. The office shot above is the result of ditching standard techniques and experimenting with a unique feature of the location. The other two walls of this office (the ones you cannot see) are opaque, white, glass doors on slides. Instead of opening the doors and shooting a strobe through an umbrella or softbox into the office, we blasted right through the glass. I put a monolight behind each closed door, dialed it up to nearly full power, and snuck my camera lens in through a tiny opening. The result was soft, even lighting that accurately simulates the natural environment of the room.

Without question, the toughest room to photograph is always the bathroom. Reflective surfaces, tight quarters and plenty of corners, doors, shelves and knobs make these spaces a virtual lighting minefield. It took a sausage factory to shoot the loft bathroom below. My camera is setup on a tripod just outside the bathroom door. Above the camera is a large softbox and Bowens Gemini 500 watt-second strobe to provide general fill. Just inside the bathroom on the right is a closet with a hamper. I put a Calumet Travelite 750 on the hamper with a 42” diffusion disc to soften the light. This light lit the drawers below the sink. To light the inside of the shower, I put another Bowens Gemini with a standard umbrella reflector pointed at the back wall. The finishing touch was a LumoPro LP-120 on a stand by the camera. I bounced this flash off the ceiling at an angle that would light up the back corner. In post production I removed hot spots on the TV and far tile wall by cloning properly exposed portions of the same surfaces. I applied a slight vignette to give the scene some depth and wa-la: SAUSAGE.

These photographs showcase Jill’s prowess in selecting and designing everything from room layout to tile to furniture to fixture and art selection. Perhaps my favorite thing about shooting interiors is the opportunity to interpret another person’s creativity and vision. To see more of Jill’s work and learn about everything P31 Collaborative has to offer, stop by their website here.

The conditions were such that I simply had to take some photographs. February Seattle was being treated to unseasonably spectacular weather, it was the weekend and I just adopted a new member into the Explosion family… a Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 lens. After enjoying a literal boat-load of sushi on Friday night, I got a phone call from UPS around 9:30 PM saying that my new hunk of glass was at their Seattle hub. Sharat and I bombed down to Georgetown in the Explorer and picked it up just before Josh, the UPS customer service rep, called it quits at 10 PM. Since I knew Saturday was going to be as clear as Friday, I made up my mind to be at a particular spot in West Seattle as the sun came up. Sharat quickly translated my proclomation into reality by iPhoning an almanac: surise at about 7 AM. The best light of a sunrise occurs in the hour before the sun becomes visible. This meant getting to my spot around 6 AM, which called for a 5:30 AM wake-up time. On a Saturday. I know.

I noticed a lookout point on Admiral Way when I drove over to West Seattle earlier in the week to meet a couple of friends. The photographer bell went off in my head and I began thinking about how I could shoot it. Immediately I settled on shooting a sunrise because the silhouetted buildings with their lights might look great against the mountains and morning sky. With the convergence of the weather, the weekend and new gear—Saturday was going to be my moment of truth.

When the alarm went off, I rolled out of the rack, loaded the rig and took off down the viaduct. After monkeying around with camera dials and tripods for a good hour, the sun was up and the magenta sky was gone. I jumped back in the truck and cruised over to Ballard. By the time I arrived, the sun was just starting to cast its first rays on the other mountain range that borders Seattle, The Olympics. The shot at the beginning of this post is of a tree at Golden Gardens with Shilshole Bay and the Olympic Range in the background.

My hour in West Seattle was relatively private. A cabbie pulled off to watch the sunrise for a minute, and two older women power walked by; but they were too busy chatting to look over the rail. In contrast, pre 8 AM Golden Gardens buzzed with all breeds of early birds: dog walkers, exercisers and book readers. As I exchanged friendly hellos with these folks, each one of them gave me a kind of nod that said, “isn’t this morning fucking great?” I shared the sentiment, and responded with a corresponding nod that said, “hell yeah it’s fucking wonderful—I love this city.”