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.”

Digital photography is a blessing and a curse. How great is it that you can shoot over 1,000 pictures on one card, on one charge, at different ISOs and never have to reach into your bag? The obvious downside is that you’re also looking at serious time on the couch with your laptop trying to sort through all these stills. After shooting the Product Runway fashion show at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall last August, the counter on my camera was well over 1,500 frames. I guess I just “got into the moment” and blasted away. I had so many pictures that the best way to sort through them was holding down an arrow key while watching different scenes flash across the screen. Almost instantly, a little thought cloud appeared above my head that read, “this would look cool as a short film.” Over the next six months I kicked it around a little bit, borrowed some software, failed, thought about it again, bought some software and eventually finished the short video above. I haven’t counted, but I think there are well over 1,000 still photographs in the film. Also, please check it out a HD full screen version by visiting its home on Vimeo or downloading your very own copy here. It’s also on YouTube, if that’s your thing (or if you’re on an iPhone).

Product Runway is a unique competition for Pacific Northwest interior designers, suppliers and architects. Teams are formed several months in advance at a swanky event that serves as the competition’s kick-off party (the Explosion was there). Designers are paired with design suppliers, and the rules state that the team must design a haute couture piece culled exclusively from the materials the supplier works with. All the outfits featured in the show are made from things like carpet, tile, tubing, metal surfaces, etc. Given these constraints, the results are absolutely stunning. I was thrilled when my friend Jill, one of the directors of the event, asked me to shoot the show. Few things are as fun photographically as creating art out of other people creating art. Below are a few of my favorite stills from the evening.

The event was extra fun for me as I had three beautiful dates: my two lovely sisters and their friend Kelsey. They came in from Chicago and Michigan to hang out with me for the week, and being able to rock a fashion show with them was a blast.

Still want more? Check out my Flickr set to shots of every single model/outfit, red carpet coverage, and the after party!

How are you doing on your New Year’s Resolution so far? I have a couple photography related resolutions that are coming along pretty well. All of my work is backed up on at least two drives in an organized fashion (thank you LaCie). The other is well under way (see below). And yes, Seattle Athletic Club, I promise I’ll be by soon. But I digress… Last Thursday I brought the Explosion to Office Nomads for their January open house. My friend Alexandra, who is their community cultivator, asked if I would shoot portraits of their guests. The theme was to be loosely based around “new year’s resolutions.” We originally talked about shooting on white seamless, but I when I scoped out the space the night before the party I realized I just had to shoot against that green wall and chalkboard. Coincidentally, the chalkboard played perfectly into the theme.

This is Alexandra of Office Nomads, which is a co-working space in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. Several of my friends work at spaces like this, and I was eager to check one out for myself. Basically, you rent a desk and can drop by whenever you like. While working at home in your boxer shorts does have its advantages, you miss out on actually interacting with humans. Office Nomads provides self-employed consultants, code monkeys, artists and basically anyone without a regular office the opportunity to conduct business in a work positive environment that has all the benefits of a traditional workplace (phone, internet, kitchen, lounge, conference rooms, etc). Pretty cool concept—and even cooler people. The one thing I kept hearing from all the “nomads” is how much they love the cross-fucntional and somewhat accidental networking and collaboration that takes place. I’m sold.

And Alex’s resolution… I think it’s pretty self explanatory.

It seems like Justin is already well on the way to knocking out his goal. Full proof is here.

Does switching to Code Red count? How about transitioning to Diet Mountain Dew? To be fair, the direction I gave immediately before taking this photo was “give me your ‘oops-I-drank-too-much-Dew-face.”

Nothing wrong with that. Carry on.

Just in case there wasn’t enough green in this photo for you… gotta love the “Emerald” City.

This picture inspired the following picture…

Which gave rise to this concept….

Waffles anyone? Eric informed me the he makes waffles every Wednesday for all the Nomads. He invited me to stop by and sample some of his home, er office cooking. I’m there!

Considering Judy is The Stranger Party Crasher, I’d call this an appropriate resolution. Look for a column on this party in The Stranger soon.

Because being more “you oughta know” doesn’t really work as a new year’s resolution.

Fellow photog Dan isn’t making much progress on his resolution.

If anything is unclear about this photo, just ask.

I think I speak for all of Seattle when I say, “dear God, I hope you’re not kidding.”

Four servings a day yall!

Do you think Sharat has a chance of being cast for next season’s Jersey shore? (Remember, he is from Brooklyn).

Susie and Alex demonstrate that the boss/employee relationship is alive and well in 2010.

Here’s a shot of the setup. For more info, check this Flickr image.

I was even asked to get in front of the lens and write a resolution on the board. Don’t know what I’m talking about? Check out my Facebook page for details. I hope everyone that reads this blog will consider helping me out with this one.

Check out my set on Flickr or watch the slideshow below for these photos and few extras.

Nick Kartje asked me if I would photograph him and his brother Pete. They wanted to make some prints to give to their parents as a Christmas present. Since I happen to think this is an excellent idea, I was more than happy to help out with the shooting portion of their gift. In true Explosion 5000 fashion, I hauled out a truckload of lighting equipment and recruited a trusty assistant (Gus) to capture the Brothers Kartje.

Our first stop was Golden Gardens on the west side of Seattle. The temperature was barely in the 40s which allowed the Kartje boys to show off their full range as Midwest natives. To give you an idea of how chilly it was, my assistant Gus (from Minnesota himself) had a Patagonia shell fully zipped with the hood up and was wearing gloves. Lauren, Nick’s girlfriend, also hunkered down and braved the elements for the shoot. Since we were rolling with quite a bit of gear, it was nice to have a few extra sets of hands to haul stuff to and from the Explorer.

I originally scouted this location a few weeks back. I went out with my tripod, a light stand, and shoot through umbrella. Using the timer on my camera, I took several self portraits in between wind gusts. Unfortunately, the umbrella did not hold up after being blown over a couple of times. And while the results of this self-styled photo shoot will never see the light of day, the scouting experience helped me prepare for shooting Nick & Pete.

The key to making these photographs were my assistants. Gus was in charge of a Bowens 500 watt second monolight connected to a large Photoflex softbox. Also slung over his shoulder was a Bowens Travel-Pak battery to power the flash. Even though we mounted everything on stands, the howling wind would have blown my fancy equipment into the Puget Sound if Gus hadn’t held on tightly. I shot with my Nikon D300 and Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8 lens. The advantage of shooting portraits with telephoto lenses is that it allows you to capture a narrower band of the background. In this case, the mountains actually look like mountains instead of a distant horizon. The downside to shooting at longer focal lengths is the distance it creates between you, your subjects and your lights. PocketWizards can allow you to sync things at these distances, but adjustments can be harder to make. Being the great friend that he is, Gus is a terrific listener. When I called out, “turn the power up to 4!” Gus dutifully responded and adjusted the light.

Next stop on the Kartje tour was Gasworks Park. If Golden Gardens shows off the natural beauty of Seattle, Gasworks highlights the marriage of this terrain with a thriving urban setting. The fun thing about Gasworks is there are always other Seattleites enjoying the park. On this Sunday afternoon I was careful not to include the “Frisbee team” practicing next to us. I’m only assuming they were a team because of the strange outfits and Rocky-esque music they played from a boom box during their “practice.”

Before packing up for the 806, we made one last stop at Kerry Park. The light and temperature were falling fast, so we only made a few frames. I was able to convince Lauren to get in front of the lens for several shots with Nick—seemed only fair since she’d been a trooper and helped out all day! After wrapping at Kerry Park, the whole team met over at my place for dinner. Nick picked up steak, potatoes and veggies. Once were sufficiently fed and warmed up, we looked at the days shoot on our 46″ LCD. With the whole gang in the living room, we picked “winners” and narrowed down which shots Nick would eventually have printed.

A big thank you to Nick and Pete for asking me to help with their brotherly portraits. They were fun to shoot and up for pretty much everything. Also a big thank you to Gus and Lauren for assisting—half of my gear would be floating in Shilshole Bay if it weren’t for them. To view more pictures, check out my set on Flickr or watch the slideshow below.

Last night The 806 hosted the second annual GQ Christmas Party. The tradition began last year when Ryan Nguyen & Ryan Wheatley organized a small gathering of well-dressed, close friends. I was unable to attend I was on an assignment in Washington DC. For the 2009 edition, the Explosion 5000 came out in full force. We built a photo booth in the garage and loaded up on props from Archie McPhee’s. Add a few cocktails into the mix, and you’ve got yourself a real photo explosion.

Ben and Mira were among the first to venture into the booth. According to Ben, it’s nothing new for girls to chase him down with mistletoe and try to pull some antics. If he looks like he’s used to this, it’s because he is.

Although Matt is in excellent shape and has decades to go before having a white beard, it did not stop Christie from hopping on his lap with a few Christmas wishes. From the look on Matt’s face, I’m not so sure if Christie has been good this year—you’ll just have to ask him.

I was delighted to see Brian and Sheena bring the party to The 806. I’ve often said that the success of my parties can be measured on 1) If Brian Stewart shows up and 2) how long Brian stays. We must have thrown one hell of a party because Brian held it down with us until well after midnight.

The real credit for the success of GQ Christmas goes to this man. Ryan Wheatley was the creative force behind the evening, rallied the troops, sent the invites and cooked up 6 pounds of New York Strip roast. Although the meat was medium rare, the party was well done (sorry… couldn’t resist).

B Cox and B Rowe made a memorable appearance, the latter coming as Pimp Santa. Only a Kalamazoo native could pull that off with such style.

What would a party at The 806 be without Sharat and Caitlin? Not only were we graced with their presence, Sharat brought along his super fun roomates, Justin and Alex; and Caitlin upped the “hot mess” factor on the dance floor factor by inviting Kim, Brian, Paige and Emily.

Ryan Nguyen, the third resident of The 806, was in prime form last night too. Jini and Ryan put on quite a memorable performance—it even went “Classic Nguyen” at one point.

Zack dropped by the photo booth to spark things up with Christie.

And of course yours truly get in front of the lens for a few shots. Nice job taking handling the camera on this shot, Caitlin!

Thank you to everyone who came out and made GQ Christmas at The 806 a success! It was some of the most fun I’ve had all year. For more ridiculousness, goofy hats, over the top poses and fun, visit my Flickr page, or watch the slideshow below.

After nearly four years in the Pacific Northwest, Tom Bartlett is bolting clear across the country for the other Washington. The one with Michelle and Barack. From the very beginning of my time out here in Seattle, Tom has been a great friend. From the jama-jam, to Oktoberfest, to checking out bands like Kay Kay and Fleet Foxes—Tommy B has been there.

As Tom is leaving for DC after Christmas, we all gathered last night to send him off in style. The evening kicked off with a potluck hosted by Ryan and Katie at their new West Seattle pad. I concocted a double batch of the now famous white chicken chili, however I left the “final assembly” stage of the process to Katie. I prepared the chicken and vegetables on Thursday night and had the remainder of the ingredients and Crock Pots delivered to the Connors. On Friday afternoon Katie integrated the pieces and let it cook on low for 5 hours—perfection.

Before we left to meet up with more folks in Ballard, I insisted that the group sit for a portrait. And of course—I was planning on lighting the thing. I opted for my lightweight “strobist” setup: a Nikon SB-800, LumoPro LP120, two stands and umbrellas. Since my PocketWizards were being fussy, I triggered both strobes optically using the pop-up flash on my D300 (set to manual at 1/32 power). I positioned one light and shoot through umbrella on camera right, facing the group on the left of the frame. I put the other light behind the group on the left and pointed it at the love seat gang. I took a few test exposures, chimped to get the histogram lined up in the middle, set the timer and ran to my position. Boom—instant group photo.

Although he’s trading coasts, we all know we haven’t seen the last of our good buddy. Tom: If you happen to go international, I’m sure there’s a pretty good chance the Explosion 5000 will have to issue a report live from the scene. It’s going to be exciting to see what you get yourself into—best of luck!

(A few more Tom B shots on Flickr.)

BONUS: Here’s one more group shot to send to your grandparents.

We waited, hundreds of us, in the cold and wet December Pacific Northwest weather. Shortly after 10 AM, the first-ever 787 Dreamliner pulled away from the flightline. It taxied down the runway, turned around and fired up its two Rolls Royce Trent 1000 engines. Seconds later it filled the viewfinder of my Nikon as I held down the shutter release, clicking off 6 frames a second as it climbed into the atmosphere. Within moments the 787 was a spec against the cloudy sky, and several minutes later it vanished into the horizon. After almost a decade of hard work and billions of dollars in investment, the flying 787 Dreamliner became reality.

Earlier in the morning at around 8 AM, I walked a mile from another Boeing building to Paine Field. As I made my way across the tarmac, I ran into a couple of friends who had also made the trek to witness the 787′s first flight. The flight line was electric—hundreds of Boeing employees braved the elements to catch a few fleeting glimpses of an aviation first. To shoot the scene I rolled with some heavy artillery, specifically the Nikon D300 and the Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8 AF-D lens.

While we were waiting for the first flight to commence, a helicopter from Blackcomb Aviation fitted with an IMAX camera panned the crowd from 30 feet above the crowd. It reminded me of the badass rig the guy from Brain Farm Cinema has.

Buzz on the flight line was that the flight could be called off if the weather got too nasty. Sweeper trucks made several passes on the runway to clear off standing water. Apparently the conditions weren’t too dangerous which was evident when a Bombardier Challenger (painted in the Boeing Corporate Fleet livery) landed a few minutes before first flight was scheduled. After hours of waiting, the jetway finally pulled back and the 787 taxied onto the runway. The crowed erupted in cheers as first flight was not almost certainly eminent.

I noticed a large cone attached to the tail of the 787. An engineer later explained to me that this device mechanically measures air speed. It is attached to lines and gauges inside the plane that determine air speed based on resistance—all analog. This seems strange considering the cutting edge technologies harnessed to design, build and operate the 787, but I guess there’s always room for an old school method or two.

After taxiing down the runway, the 787 turned around to face the north. If it wasn’t so stereotypically overcast, the airplane would have pointed straight at Mount Baker. Mike Carriker, 787 Chief Test Pilot, fired up the engines. The chase airplanes, two old military trainer jets, came up from the south and nearly stalled as they tried to match the takeoff speed of the 787. The aircraft quickly reached 140 knots, and with the two trainer jets and an IMAX outfitted helicopter chasing, it lifted off the ground for the very first time. Everett erupted in cheers.

The first thing I noticed about the airplane was how absolutely SICK the wings looked. They gracefully sweep back and look more like a bird of prey than a commercial jet. Bad ass, Boeing. Bad ass.

For more photos of the 787 Dreamliner First Flight, visit my Flickr set. For more information on the 787, check out newairplane.com.

This is Movember, the month formerly known as November. Movember is a month long celebration of all things mustache. Specifically, men are encouraged to grow out the legendary facial hair style to raise awareness about prostate and testicular cancer. The man pictured above, Aaron Huber, organized a team of about twenty of us to participate in this year’s antics. Mo-bros join the team by setting up a profile on the official Movember website. Mustache fans can donate to individual team members by visiting his or her Mo-space page. The Movember organization partners with The Prostate Cancer Foundation and LIVESTRONG to make sure the donations help “change the face of men’s health.”

Several weeks ago I talked to Aaron about ways to raise awareness of Movember. I offered to take portraits of the folks on our team, post the photos and throw up a blurb on the Explosion. On Tuesday night the MOst MOmentous MOs (our team’s name) got together for a photo shoot at Aaron’s place. I constructed a full blown photo studio to capture the essence of the “mo.” Aaron and I encouraged our mo-mates to dress up for the evening, but I never expected the passion I witnessed on Tuesday night. The props, costumes and utter ridiculousness that ensued would even make Tom Selleck blush. What follows below is the evidence of this “Mo-plosion.”

Mo-mate: Adam
Always the party starter, Adam was first up in the photo shoot. In between swigs of PBR, Adam ambitiously showed off all kinds of cheezy golf-pro-esque looks. If you’re digging this look, donate to Adam by visiting his Mo-space.

Mo-mate: B Cox
Brandon, AKA B Cox, brought the thunder. Since I grew up in Michigan, I was totally comfortable photographing B Cox and his piece (that is, his gun). In fact, I’m not even sure if that’s B Cox—it totally could be a 1980s version of my awesome mustahce’d Uncle Gary on Opening Day. If you love firearms as much as Brandon and I do, consider donating to Movember via his page.

Mo-mate: B-Rowe
B-Rowe (born Brian Rowe) was probably the toughest to mo-tograph. Not that he was camera shy or anything, it’s that he was literally bouncing off the walls. He did the White Trash Nation proud with his earnest portrayal of a Duff drinking hick, but as you’ll see later, he only got more mo-diculous. Donate to him now or donate to him later, but once you see what he did to his body, you’ll be completely mo-pelled to throw some change his way.

Mo-mate: John
Somtimes mos just like to kick back and enjoy a frothy beverage. John is demonstrating here how the mustache works as a “second flavor taster” (a term coined by the 1980s and 1990s mustached version of my dad). Donate to John here.

Mo-mate: Mike
Holy twelve sided die! Mike really brought the creep. The great thing about Movember is that even a good looking, non-threating bro like Mike can transform himself into an utterly skeezy character. I think at one point I gave him the direction to pretend he was looking through a peephole into a ladie’s restroom. I think we can all agree he delivered!

Mo-mate: Brian
As fun as the mo can be, it also has a badass side. I would not want to mess with this dude in an alley or at a Guns ‘n Roses concert. If you find this intimidating, you can donate to Brian here and pray that he doesn’t come and kick your ass Chuck Norris style.

Mo-mate: Aaron
Need a used car? Look no further. Not only did Aaron organize the MOst MOmentous MOs, he hosted the photo shoot and had time to get extra skeezy. If you’re not in the market for a 1985 El Camino (Aaron sells only the best), at least consider throwing this grease-ball a bone and donate to Movember.

Mo-mate: Mo Sistas
Mo bros would be nowhere without their mo sistas. If anyone really has to be “understanding” about the decision to grow a mo, it’s the ladies in our lives. Alli, McKenna and Annie are all about supporting Movember. Two of them have even stopped shaving their legs this month—way to go, gals! If the dudes here are just a little too Freddie Mercury for you, consider donating to Alli or Annie.

If I haven’t convinced you by now that Movember is worth your consideration, this should do it. Inspired by the theme of the month, B Rowe shaved a mustache into his chest hair. He did this during the photo shoot. I try to keep the Andy Aupperlee Explosion 5000 safe-fer-yer-office, but I highly suggest you cruise over to Flickr to see B-Rowe give the camera a few different looks.

Big thank you to everyone that modeled, helped with gear and hung out during the shoot. In addition to the folks you see on camera, we had another half dozen Movember fans shaving B-Rowes chest, calling out motivation to the models and drinking beers while we worked to “change the face of men’s health.” I had a blast shooting everyone and I’m stoked to see what we can do in the final weeks of Movember. If you enjoyed this post, please cruise over to mine or anyone’s Movember profile and put your MOney where your MOuse is.

If you are still craving some MOre, check out my Flickr gallery or watch the slideshow below. There are a total of 50 mo-tacular photos for your entertainment. If you’re interested in how I photographed this mo-plosion, check out this setup shot.