Seattle based designer and entrepreneur Stephanie de Villa contacted me earlier this year about doing some photography for her baby onesie line, baby deVILLE. After talking about some creative ideas and quickly Googling “onesie,” I put the full resources of Explosion 5000 Photo, LLC into the project. Earlier this month Stephanie launched the baby deVILLE website, featuring photography by yours truly.

There were three main deliverables for this job, two of which included talent (aka babies). For the first setup, I placed a mildly reflective white board on the ground on photographed individual babies lying on their backs. The purpose of this shot was to clearly show off the design while being worn by the baby. To get the angle I needed, I climbed up a ladder and shot from overhead. I was very fortunate to work with great parents who worked tireslly on getting their children to smile and look-up. All I had to do was hang out 8 feet in the air and blast off frames. I exclusively used the Nikon D300 and Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 lens. I lit the babies with a large softbox overhead and off to the side, yet just inches away to get very soft light. Several feet behind their hid I used a beauty dish to provide a little fill and keep the top of their skulls from getting shadowy.

The next setup involved the talent against a white seamless. I blasted the 9 foot roll of white seamless with two Calumet 750 Travelites, and lit the babies with a 500ws Bowens Gemini through a large softbox. The individual shots were pretty easy, but the group shot proved to be a little tougher. It’s tricky enough to get one baby to do what you need him to do—multiply that by four and you have a totally different animal. Again, the parents really saved my ass here and gave their children great direction while I ripped off frames as quickly as my lights would recycle (about 1 every second).

So as not to subject the babies to needless blasts of 2000 watt-seconds, I used a weirdly shaped doll as a lighting stand-in. We actually found the doll at the location and it worked out well. Evan climbed onto the set to monkey around with the doll at one point, and I grabbed this slightly bizarre looking outtake.

I shot the entire session tethered to a MacBook Pro and previewing the images in Adobe Lightroom 3 Beta. Since Lightroom does not yet support tethering for the D300, I used a nifty little program called Sofortbild to grab the files from my camera. I then setup Lightroom to auto import any images captured by Sofortbild. This setup worked great as it allowed Stephanie, her assistant and the parents to see what kind of images I was capturing. It made the whole photoshoot a much more interactive experience, which ultimately benefits the quality of the final finished product.

The final deliverable was to shoot every design/color combination of the onesies alone on a hanger. I used the same white seamless setup and hung the clothing from a lightweight boom. About a week later, I photographed a bare hanger at Studio 806 against white. To get the final image, I removed the boom from the product shots and composited the hook part of the bare hanger into everyone one of the design/color combinations. The end result is a hanging onesie that doesn’t seem to be hanging from anything.

As you might imagine, the logistics of coordinating 5 babies, many wardrobe changes and multiple setups can create a hectic environment. Much of the success of this photoshoot comes from having a client with a clear vision and parents who worked tirelessly to make their babies cute. Since I was able to focus on the technical and creative aspects of the shoot, it allowed us to work quickly and avoid any major baby-disasters. I wish Stephanie the best of luck with baby deVILLE—if you have a little one at home, I highly recommend you check out her site and order some new threads for your critter.

For a look at everything we shot, check out my Flickr set or view the slideshow. Stephanie also has some behind-the-scenes photos on the baby deVILLE site.

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.

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).

Chris and his lovely girlfriend Kate came by the 806 on Wednesday night to do the shoot. I setup a few lights and a blue background in the garage, er studio, and streamed some tunes through the surround sound system (the new Lightspeed Champion, if you’re wondering). I exclusively used my new Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8. My first task was to get a few military grade portraits in the bag. I stood on a chair up against the garage door with the lens extended to top end of the zoom range of 70mm. Once I knew I had something that would work, I asked Chris if I could experiment with some other light modifiers and angles. I took the image above by getting really close and dialing the lens back to 24mm. The three of us (Kate, Chris and I) were also joking around talking the whole shoot, which gave me the opportunity to get some nice candid shots that reflect Chris’s upbeat and enthusiastic personality.

Since I always forget the exact branch and rank he serves in, I asked Chris if he could send me a few notes on what he does. He emailed me with an excellent breakdown of how the Army, Air Force, Air Force Reserves and Air National Guard work. I’ve included a paraphrased version here:

Each state has an Army and Air Force guard component, respectively. Guard units differ from federal military branches in that they are state-run. Air Force Reserves get called to active duty by the President; and the Oregon Air National Guard gets called to active duty by either the President or Governor of Oregon. It is common for the Guard components to assist in state disasters, while the federal military branches are seldom called in for this type of work (except for the Army Corp of Engineers).

To recap, the structure breaks down like this:

Army
Army active duty
Army Reserves (federal)
Army National Guard (state)

Air Force
Air Force active duty
Air Force Reserves (federal)
Air National Guard (state)

The uniform Chris is wearing is his Class A service dress. This kind of uniform, commonly referred to as “blues,” is only worn for formal events such as promotions, interviews and ceremonies. His rank of Staff Sergeant is indicated by the four stripes on his sleeves. As recognition for his service in Iraq, Chris received the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, which is among the items on his ribbon rack. The ribbon rack is a collection of awards and achievements. The specific placement of each award is determined by its prestige, bottom row to top row.

Doing this shoot with Chris was a lot of fun, and I am really glad he agreed to let me use the pictures here as apart of the Explosion 5000 In Ur Face project. The charter of the project is to create images of my friends doing things that make them who they are. I really like how Chris’s charisma and personality come through, even in uniform. Below are a few more shots from the night, one of which Chris will submit with his application.

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.

Mario and Luigi.
Think tossing a ping pong ball into a cup is difficult? Try battling through 14 levels and only being allowed to move in two dimensions. Respect.

Strategy.
In sports, it is often said that defense wins championships. This team appears to have selected the “Oops… I Did It Again” strategy.

Remembering years past.
Do you remember World Series of Beer Pong IV. I barely do—thank goodness for blogs.

Alliances.
In an effort that even Madeline Albright could be proud of, the Garden State and the Empire State decided to put a stop to the bloodshed and join forces for the World Series of Beer Pong.

Wingspan.
Scientifically speaking, leaning is the name of the game. Shortening the distance between the point of release and the target makes perfect statistical sense, even when you’ve had four or five pitchers of Bud Light.

Team Slogans.
Drunks 4 Hire remind us that ‘shit’ and the amount of clothes you’re wearing have an inverse relationship. Party on, Wayne!

Kilts.
Suiting up for a beer pong match is all about comfort and freedom of movement. Choosing clothes that restrict you might cost you the match. The logical progression of this philosophy is to avoid wearing pants… but how to achieve this in public? Simple. The Scots (another nation known for seriously enjoying their libations) figured it out years ago: the kilt.

Badgers.
If there is a competition that involves drinking beer, you can almost certainly count on Wisconsin to send a delegation.

Strippers.
These young ladies are the representatives from Team Sapphire. Ever wondered who might work at 70,000 square foot gentlemen’s club? Look no further. (The place even has skyboxes—what?!).

Intimidation.
Being a pro beer ponger means vigilantly defending your rack. Never let your opponent have a free shot. And if you’re girlfriend is available to talk to some smack, hoist her up and let her run her mouth too—all is fair in beer pong (provided you follow the rules).

DJ Whoo Kid.
Having a-list beats to get your pong on is crucial. The folks at BPONG.com recognize this and recruited G-Unit’s official DJ to keep the Flamingo rockin’ during the three days of game play.

Team Portraits.
One of my favorite aspects of shooting the World Series of Beer Pong IV was meeting all types of colorful characters. For WSOBP V, I wanted to shoot some of these folks on white seamless with quality lighting. I flew from Seattle to Vegas with 130 pounds of gear shoved into three bags and setup shop on Day 2. Check out this photo to see the setup. After getting the lights set with Josh’s help, one of the first teams I photographed were the WSOBP II Champions, We Own Your Face. Despite the menacing graphic on their uniforms, these guys could not have been nicer. I’ve included several more portraits in this post, and the whole project is on Flickr. Also, check out the video below for a quick run down of the gear and a few of my favorite shots.

Greenman.
No one showed more enthusiasm for having his portrait taken than Greenman. No one also smelled quite like Greenman. The suit did little to mask a potent mixture of beer, sweat and God knows what else. Regardless, The Explosion 5000 salutes you, Greenman.

Chauncey and Big Ben.
Even though Joey D couldn’t afford to keep Billups around, Mr. Big Shot and Ben Wallace reunited at the World Series of Beer Pong. Goin’ to work, yall.

Tables, Beer, Balls and Cups.
The more the better.

Ink and Hair-dos.
Nothing says you’re ready to decimate your opponents like a cobra tattoo and a fucked up haircut.

The Irish.
Fellow beer loving nation, Ireland, entered a team into this year’s WSOBP. Despite being nearly impossible to understand (heavy accent + heavy drinking + loud music = mainly communicating with hand gestures), these guys kicked ass. For all the Irish readers of the Explosion, you should be proud of your boys. They very diplomatically demonstrated your county’s ability to pong with the world’s best.

The Ladies.
Co-ed competition is one of the best aspects of the WSOBP. These ladies do more than keep the dudes honest and break a few hearts, they also win games. Try explaining to your frat bros that a girl-girl team knocked you out of the WSOBP… ouch.

Guns.
Rip your sleeves off, ’cause it’s beer pong time.

The Old F U.
They say a picture speaks a thousand words—I happen to think this one clearly conveys at least two.

Jim and Pam.
Beer pong at the office? Great idea. I’m telling my boss tomorrow.

Japan.
For the first time in WSOBP history, the Japanese made their way from across the Pacific to battle it out on the tables.

Good luck charms.
Whatever works, ladies.

And if you can’t borrow some cleavage, improvise. Just rub, toss, rinse and repeat.

Who can argue with a tank top?
That settles it… I’m wearing my “Sexy Photog” hoodie to WSOBP VI.

A Lifetime Sport.
Just like skiing, tennis and golf… beer pong is something you should be able to enjoy, no matter what decade you were born in.

SCBP.
Peter Rusch and the SoCal Beer Pongers were in full force at this year’s WSOBP.

No look shots.
Some beer pongers are so good, they don’t even need to see it to believe it. Kris Fraser of perennial contenders Not Even Close confidently looks away as he sinks yet another clutch shot.

A Hostess with the Most-ess.
Leah D’Emilio came back to anchor this year’s television coverage of the WSOBP V. Leah’s ability to cut through the the beer breath and get the real story always impresses—a true pro.

The Gangster Lean.
Complete with chalice and corn-rows, SCBP Founder Peter Rusch shows what it takes to be a WSOBP contender. For this year’s tournament, Peter separated from his long time partner (his wife) for a shot at beer pong glory. While the partner switch up did not ultimately lead to the $50k crown, WSOBP fans hoping for a soap opera will be disappointed: the Rusch’s are still happily married.

Play-off Superstitions.
Defending champ Ron of Smashing Time said that his weird haircut helped him win last year’s tourney. He either had an unfortunate incident with farm equipment between day 2 and day 3, or is carrying on his tradition of doing up the do for the final day.

Defending Champs.
After their debut on the televised feature table, Ron and Pop were kind enough to sit for me and make a portrait.

Technique.
It’s the Air Jordan of beer pong.

Crack kills.
Especially in New York.

Shhh.
Even though the boys from Iowa were eventually silenced, they put together another respectable WSOBP run.

Rest up.
Three solid days of beer pong can be grueling, not to mention all the distractions of Las Vegas. There’s no shame in catching a quick catnap in between rounds.

Pre-Shot Ritual.
Dunking, foot twisting, tossing, fore-head pressing… these are all techniques employed to avoid:

Missing the cup.
It’s something that happens to everyone. If you have trouble consistently hitting the cup, have a talk with you doctor to see if you’re physically capable of engaging in beer pong activity. In the rare case that you and your partner miss the cup for four hours or more, just call it quits. You suck at beer pong.

Show your colors.
The Californian contingent proudly displayed their bear. The Canadians waved their leaf. The Texans brought their star and bar. Even Maryland displayed what is possibly the coolest state flag ever.

Bruce Buffer.
For the second year in row, Bruce Buffer of the UFC announced the final round of the World Series of Beer Pong. Bruce is one of the classiest showbiz people I’ve ever met—love that bro.

Ready to strike.
The final round is all about seeing your opening and taking it—something Smashing Time know a little bit about.

Comebacks.
After dropping the first game of the final match to Since Sliced Bread, it looked like Smashing might be down and out (literally).

Winning Shots.
After three games, Ron and Pop closed out Since Sliced Bread and repeated as champions of the World Series of Beer Bong.

Check presentation.
BPONG.com and World Series of Beer Pong founders Skinny, Duncan and Billy present Smashing Time with a check for $50,000.

See an image you’d like to use on your Facebook profile or blog? Cool! Check out my terms of use or email me at andy@explosion5000.com. I have many more images on Flickr. Check out the slideshow below or visit the set here.

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.

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.

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.

Julie and I had several discussions about what we’d like to do photographically, and to pull it off I needed nearly every piece of lighting and grip equipment I owned. I arrived at the space around 5:30, about an hour and a half before the start of the event. Julie already had my “Strobist” kit setup to get some pre-show photographs of the models. The Strobist kit consists of lightweight flashes, stands and umbrellas—essentially the kit I used to photograph this busted lens. Inspired by the website for which it is named, the Strobist kit offers portable, quality off-camera lighting solutions for almost any situation. Check out Julie’s shots here—they turned out great.

While Julie photographed the models, I began building the photo booth on the second level of the space. I hung a nine-foot white seamless background and setup two Bowens Gemini 500 watt-second monolights. The plan was to setup the photo booth with a large softbox and beauty dish. I also hit the background with an SB-800 to add a little flare. Check out this behind the scenes shot on Flickr for details. For the fashion show, I’d move one of the lights to the runway, swap the beauty dish for a grid, and use it as a high-powered, off-camera flash to capture the models.

Since it was pretty dark during setup, I attached a 60 degree reflector to one of the lights and turned on the modeling lamp so I could see what I was doing. The event’s producer, Bethany Papenbrock, saw the lamp and immediately had an idea. In addition to using the monolight as a strobe, she asked if we could leave the modeling lamp on so it would act as an additional spotlight on the models walking the first floor runway. As the show was only scheduled to be 10-15 minutes long, I wasn’t too worried about heating up the grid—although it did get a little toasty.

With the gridded strobe/spotlight in place on the second floor, I consulted with Bethany and dialed in the optimal angle and power. By taking incident meter readings from where the models would pose, I found that with the strobe at half power I could shoot at f/4.5, 1/250th of a second and ISO 200. During the show, I mingled with the guests on the main floor, pointed my lens and triggered the second floor strobe via a pair PocketWizard Plus IIs. The directional light gave me a nice contrasty look. Thanks to the inverse square law and the distance the strobe was from the models, the light did not fall off too much from the foreground to the background walls. The wood paneling at the Sole Repair Shop really tied in quite handsomely with the whole “Mad Men” motif.

For the rest of the evening, Julie and I traded spots running the photo booth and encouraging antics. There is nothing like taking schwills of PBR and blasting 1100 watt seconds at party guests. Even Andy Fitts of The Banyans showed up to get in on the fun.

What impressed me most about the evening was the collection of talented people that came together to pull it off. Producing, photographing, styling and hosting a fashion show/party is no easy task. Big props to the folks from Atlas, the stylists, the models, the bar staff, Bethany and my photog pal Julie for getting this thing together. It was a privilege to shoot and hang out with yall! To check out more photos, head over to Flickr, or watch the slideshow below. Also, if this whole photo booth thing looks like something you’d like at your party, give me a holler at andy@explosion5000.com.