The Andy Aupperlee Explosion 5000

Recently I had the opportunity to photograph my good friend Chris Young in his military dress blues. Chris is seeking a promotion to officer and needed to have a fresh headshot to include with his application. Having known Chris since I moved to Seattle in 2007, I’ve grown to admire and respect his dedication to service in the Oregon Air National Guard. He’s told me some fascinating stories about being in Iraq and the intense war games his unit competes in to sharpen their skills. Since I’m more accustomed to seeing Chris on a snowboard or grabbing a Miller Lite, I was stoked to have the opportunity to photograph him in uniform. This shoot also served as the perfect kick-off for my Explosion 5000 In Ur Face project (details on Facebook). (continue reading…)

In what is starting to become a New Year’s tradition, I traveled to Las Vegas on January 2nd to shoot the World Series of Beer Pong V. Being my second year on the job, I sort of knew what to expect, but I would have never guessed that Smashing Time would repeat as champions. Ron and Pop defended their crown, giving official notice to the beer pong community that they are THE team to beat. While watching Smashing Time decimate the competition was enthralling, I also enjoyed getting to meet the 800+ other participants. The Jay Leno Show sent a team; and international representatives from Canada, Japan and Ireland were among the contenders. The event truly is a cross section of life: DJs, frat boys, husbands and wives, teachers and even strippers make the trek to battle the world’s best players. With the tournament in its fifth year, it is obvious that competitive beer pong is just starting to hit its stride.

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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.
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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.

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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.
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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.”
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Atlas Clothing, a stylish vintage threads shop in Capitol Hill, hosted their one year anniversary party at Sole Repair Shop. The evening was replete with a full bar, hip guest list, runway fashion show and a photo booth. Julie Harmsen, the photographer shooting all the promotional and event imagery for the party, asked if I could lend an extra lens or two and help document the evening. As I had recently acquired some new lighting equipment, I offered up the idea of building a photo booth to capture the oh-so-debonair party goers.
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