For those of you unaware, the folk hero/musician/activist Woody Guthrie would have been 100 years old this year. There are tons of celebrations and centennial tributes taking place throughout the world, but one local tribute caught my attention at the beginning of this year. It also spawned a tribute project of my own.

A local music writer named Scott Allen first piqued my interest by posting Guthrie’s now famous list of “New Years Rulin’s” on his blog, pointing out that if readers hadn’t made any resolutions of their own they could do far worse than Guthrie’s. Soon after, fellow scribe Robin Wheeler joined forces with Allen to launch BoundForGlory100.com – a blog that encourages folks to read Guthrie’s memoir and post their thoughts on the book. I soon was in touch with Wheeler about adding some photos to the project, and originally I planned to simply recreate some classic portraits of Woody Guthrie featuring several local folk musicians. But after some thought I decided to instead create a photo to illustrate each of the 33 Rulin’s. I figured it would be a nice tribute to a man whose work (and work ethic) I admire as well as a unique challenge to myself.

Fast forward to now. I have completed almost all of the photos and in the process the project has become far larger in scope than I ever imagined. The original goal remains the same, but I have encountered so many amazing people and received such an enthusiastic response that I am now planning to host a photo exhibit and concert in Woody’s honor. On the night before his 100th birthday.

Unfortunately, large format printing of 32 images (I combined 2 of the original 33 rulin’s into one photo) costs an arm and a leg so I implemented a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the exhibition. The response has been incredible, and while the goal is not yet met I am confident that we’ll get there. In fact, I hope we exceed the original goal so that I can do some good in the world, Guthrie-style.

On July 13th, at a great St. Louis venue called Plush, I will be exhibiting all 32 photos for one night only. The exhibit opens at 6pm and is free to the public, and at 8pm we’ll kick off the musical festivities. A bevy of Guthrie-inspired local talent will be performing and the incomparable Mark Bilyeu (of Big Smith fame) will be performing a unique set of Guthrie tunes to close out the evening. As you can see, I’m encouraging everyone to help celebrate Woody’s legacy in a creative and fun way.

Much more on this project will be unveiled over the coming weeks, including a series of blog posts detailing what went into each photo. Trust me, there is a great story behind every single one of them. In the meantime, check out what the Riverfront Times said about the project and if you want be a part of the exhibit, consider donating to the Kickstarter campaign.

Stay tuned!

For this episode of the series, I opted to literally shoot the shooter while he worked. Jay Fram was shooting a series of images for a local university and invited me along to shadow him on a pair of setups on the same afternoon. While the weather was less than optimal (read: pissing rain, blustery winds, constantly changing light) I was thrilled to be able to include him in the project. And as usual with these STS sessions, I was forced outside my comfort zone as I had to shoot strictly with natural light so that I didn’t interfere with Jay’s work.

Jay is a true pro, doing high-caliber work for commercial and editorial clients ranging from ginormous hospitals and universities to ad agencies and private companies. And he occasionally hires me to assist him on shoots, which is how I met him. And while I welcome the income, I learn something about the photo biz every single time I am around Jay.

Here is some of Jay’s stellar work. You can see much more on his web site.

One trait I have noticed in watching Jay work is his patience and meticulous methodology behind the camera. I don’t claim to know what’s going through his mind or how he sees, but I often see him make a test exposure then stand for several minutes, brow furrowed and hand on chin, as he calculates his next move. He seems to waste nary a frame and my hunch is that this process is influenced by his penchant for shooting film, particularly large format such as 4×5–something he still does in his personal work.

Other things I have learned from working with Jay:
- Dynalites are pretty cool. And hard to blow up.
- Klieg lights are also pretty cool. And pretty hot when you don’t have gloves that fit.
- Be careful when working with a 12′x12′ silk. It snags easily on big feet like mine.
- It’s perfectly acceptable to stop on a busy bridge to unload equipment.
- Capture One sucks compared to Lightroom. My opinion, not his.
- Discretion. Loose lips sink ships.
- Pre-visualizing and planning ahead both pay off.
- So does improvising.

The single biggest thing I have gleaned from watching Jay work is how to deal with people. Both the ones in front of the lens and the ones looking over his shoulder. He has an infectious, ebullient demeanor and works incredibly hard at drawing forth genuine responses from his subjects. I’ve seen him make grumpy CEOs giggle and make nervous professors feel as at ease as supermodels in front of his camera. He made me realize a long time ago that people skills are just as important as technical ability.

Yet again, I learn something from this series. And from Jay.

042712 jay fram – Images by Corey Woodruff

Whatevs. I’mma do it anyway.

The truth is, while I have been shooting like a wild man lately, I can’t really show you much of what I have been shooting yet. Editors don’t dig it when you scoop their publication, and I am working on a huge personal project that I am keeping under wraps for just a bit longer. I know that you are rabid fans of my spectacular work, but you will just have to quell your excitement for a while more.

In the meantime, here is a wedding portrait I did recently. Yes, I said ‘wedding’. If you are stunned that I do weddings, you aren’t alone. And you should read this post. As you can see, I don’t do traditional wedding photography. Congrats to my pal Allyson and her new hubby Brandon!

This should go without saying, but it behooves me to do the best possible work on every single project I shoot. The client hires you, then you should bust your ass to knock it out of the park so that they feel they got what they paid for, right? Duh.

But the larger picture, the Big Plan Of Business, dictates that I push myself so that not only is the client satisfied, they are motivated to recommend my work to others–friends, colleagues, even competitors. Marketing nerds call this “exceeding expectations” and “referral marketing”. In my past life, I worked as a sales pro and way back in the Dark Ages I earned a degree in marketing, so this stuff is pretty ingrained in my psyche. Which is fine, since it benefits me greatly in my new profession as a business owner. Oh, you just thought I was a “photographer”? Wrong. I’m a businessman. Or as Jay-Z would say, I’m a business, man.

As usual, there is a point to this excessively rambling intro. My musician pal (and repeat client) Ryan Spearman, who I have mentioned numerous times here before, happens to be married to lovely lady named Kelly that is quite talented in her own right. And when it came time for her to procure promo photos for her band The Lulus, she came to me because she liked the work I have done for Ryan’s various projects in the past. While this may come off as crass braggadocio, my point is simply that she could have chosen to work with any number of talented photographers in the area, but she came to me. She liked the work I did for her husband, and his experiences working with me indicated that she would have similar success. Simple, right? If Ryan’s photos had sucked, no dice. If Ryan liked my work but I was a dick to work with, no dice. If anything about any of the multiple projects I had done for Ryan didn’t please him, no dice. That’s why every single project I work on is taken very, very seriously. Even the not so serious projects.

OK, enough business talk. The Lulus are a fiery quartet of ladies that entertain audiences with music from a bygone era. In their own words:

Old Time, Bluegrass, Classic Country, Strong Vocals, Tasteful Harmonies, and Independent Women combine to make The Lulus a musical experience that you won’t soon forget. These women tell it like it is with their blend of southern and mid-western sass. The Lulus meld an array of instruments with a unique repertoire of little known songs that you’ll want to hear again and again. Come fill your glass up to the brim.

The primary goal for this shoot was to create a solid group photo for promo use and a possible album cover. My idea for the shot was to group the ladies around a microphone in the same way I have seen them perform on stage. Originally, I wanted to light them from above with a huge softbox, but since it was so breezy on the day of the shoot I opted to keep it on a stand so as not to decapitate anyone. More lighting details in the NERD ALERT section below, as usual.

Once we had wrapped the initial shot, I decided to shoot some individual portraits of the ladies as well as an alternate group shot. Given the amazing, golden light of a late March afternoon and the swampy grasslands of the park we were shooting in, I ditched my usual M.O. of dark, moody lighting in favor of a warmer, airy look that would better complement the vibe of the group. Sure, we could have gone all film noir on these ladies, but they are a folk group, not a goth-punk outfit.

I could have done this shoot with natural light, but I don’t think it would have looked right. Sure, it would have been easier to just show up with a camera than to haul all our gear through the weeds and mud. But that’s why I (think) I get called to do this stuff in the first place. The Lulus love the photos, which is awesome. And with luck, they will send a client or two my way in the future. All because I worked with the intention of exceeding their expectations.

NERD ALERT

The group shots were lit with a single Alien Bees B800 strobe in a 50″ Westcott Apollo softbox. The swamp we were shooting in was not equipped with power outlets (is that up to code?) so we powered the light with a Vagabond II battery pack. It was pretty breezy, so my assistant for the day, Jarred Gastriech kept a steady hand on the light stand. Typically, I would shoot with the fastest shutter speed possible (1/200 sec) in order to reduce the amount of ambient sunlight in the photo, but I went the other direction on this day. 1/30 of a second allowed the sunlight to pour into the exposure, resulting in a nice warm vibe. The big softbox simply filled in the shadows of the ladies’ faces.

I used a similar approach when shooting the individual photos, but instead of a strobe I just had Jarred bounce the sunlight into The Lulus’ faces with a collapsible reflector. Simple, fast and effective. Honestly, I don’t know why I don’t shoot that way more often.

Now check out The Lulus’ website!

My pals at R&R Music Labs are cooking up another batch of their STL LOUD music series and among the artists featured on this edition is the power pop trio Peach. I’m a fan of the band and have worked with them in the past, so I was happy to come be a fly on the studio wall for their afternoon recording session last weekend.  And since I’ve been enjoying the new website Self-Assignment.com lately, I figured I would share some thoughts on why I constantly shoot personal work like this.

Busy = Good

This may be a bit of an understatement, but I am pretty active in social media. And while I frequently crack lame jokes on Facebook or tweet about food, I have two ultimate uses for these platforms: sharing my work, and cultivating real world relationships. Social media has been invaluable to me, and when I run into online acquaintances in “meatspace” (as my friend Julie refers to the physical world), they frequently comment about how busy I seem to be. They see all the photos I post and the projects I work on so they figure I must be busting my butt. I usually smile and tell them, “Busy is good”.

While I don’t spend every waking second with a camera in my hand, the truth is that I really am busy. I figure that if I don’t have a client assigning me work, then I better be shooting something on my own. It’s the only way to learn, grow and improve. If I want to improve my food photography, I will assign myself a project that challenges my weaknesses (styling, composition). When my portraiture feels stale I will find someone to shoot with and work on my posing and lighting techniques. When I worry that I’m not prepared to take on a magazine assignment I’ll dream up some project that forces me to think like a photojournalist and go make photos that tell a story.

The biggest benefit of self-assigned work is that it forces me to think like the clients I am marketing to.  For example, it behooves me to ask myself what a potential agency client would look for in my work. Why would they hire me? Why wouldn’t they? Does my work jive with their clientele and aesthetic? Am I equipped to handle anything they might ask of me? If not, what can I do? It’s a matter of being prepared to meet their needs with my product. Can you see the remnants of my past life in marketing and sales bubbling to the surface here, folks?

My Editor Is So Demanding

What’s the point of all that heavy stuff? Well, I have shot several of these STL LOUD sessions. And while each band is radically different, since they are in the same setting the photos can look a little stale. So I decided that this time I would try a completely different approach. So I gave myself an assignment, as if I were an editor at a music publication (a type of client that I frequently market myself to). The imaginary brief read something like this in my head:

• Shoot the band Peach at their STL LOUD recording session
• Try to capture details to convey the mood and the recording process.  Tell a story.
• Keep the aesthetics in line with the “gritty, edgy” look of our publication

Hmmmm…OK, mister editor.  No problem.  And thanks for the assignment!  Where do I send my invoice?

I usually shoot wide open at high ISOs with no flash, but in this case I went for a grittier “low fi” look.  I popped a flash on the camera (all my lighting nerd friends just gasped audibly) and attached a Honl Speed Grid to it.  I’ve mentioned these doo-dads before but it’s essentially a device that focuses the beam of light from my flash.  It’s why the photos have a small circle of light in the center and darker corners.  That’s not some vignette added in post, kids.

To further change things up, I shot from different angles than I usually do and photographed lots of closeup details of stuff in and around the studio.   Hands, amplifier knobs, closeups, etc. all in the name of telling the story and conveying the mood.  The final touch was processing all of the photos in black and white, because to me that screams “gritty” and “edgy”.

In the end, it was another self-assigned project that taught me some things and further enhanced my abilities by forcing me out of my comfort zone.  Sure, it looks completely different from many of the things I shoot, but that’s what my editor wanted.  And the editor is always right!

By The Way…
Peach are as kickass as ever.  The tune they cut for the upcoming STL LOUD release is pretty epic.  Muscular drumming, killer riffs, and a stellar vocal performance (as usual)  from Melissa.  Their new bassist Pat is fitting in nicely and you can catch the band at Blueberry Hill on March 24th.  I recommend that you do just that.

Peach @ STL LOUD 3.12.2012 – Images by Corey Woodruff

I like jazz. To me, it’s an elevated art form similar to painting or sculpture–something I know that I will never be able to fully comprehend or master, yet I can appreciate its beauty as an outsider. One particular aspect of jazz that has always fascinated me is the element of improvisation. To watch a group of musicians tune in to what each other is doing and make instantaneous adjustments that complement and elevate the collective performance is to witness art as it is created. It’s the closest thing to a miracle that I know of.

In the 26 years that I have been playing music, I have relied heavily on the art of improvisation. It’s something that’s difficult to teach, since it requires a combination of technique and taste; without technique you cannot play what you think, and without taste you will make questionable musical decisions. It took me a while to soak that in, but now it’s second nature. That’s not to say I have mastered either facet of my playing (just ask my bandmates). And when I took up photography in 2008, I instantly saw parallels between it and my musical background. My point in all of this is to say that my ability to improvise has saved my ass on many occasions, both musically and photographically. My most recent STS session is a perfect example of that.

The hunky gent you see pictured above is Bill Sawalich, a truly badass shooter whose work covers a wide gamut of material including portraiture, still life and even architectural work (the modern generalist lives!). I met Bill way back in February of this year, not even a month prior to the writing of this post. He had hired me to me to assist him on a big commercial shoot, and I apparently didn’t screw up anything too much because when I approached him a couple weeks later he agreed to participate in this series.

Here is some of Bill’s stellar work:

As usual, I wanted to photograph Bill in a way that illustrates what he does in his work. Since he teaches a studio photography course at a local university, he suggested that I come shoot him during a class. He also mentioned that his students would dig talking to me about my career since they are “dying to know what it’s really like out there”. Uhm, OK. I figured I would be shooting Bill as he lectured, then at the very most offering some truthful insight gleaned from my not-so-lengthy career. Wrong.

When I arrived, I quickly learned that my shoot was the class for the evening. Instead of sniping shots of Bill while stalking the perimeter of the classroom, I would be composing, lighting and shooting at least one portrait of Bill while the class looked on. Uh, OK. Improv. I can improv. No problem. I have done it in front of 8,000 people from behind a drum kit so I can certainly do it from behind a camera in front of 6 college students (and a seasoned professional photographer). Right? Right.

I didn’t panic. I just told myself, “don’t suck”.

Since the classroom is essentially a giant white box of a studio, my first instinct was to shoot Bill in front of the whiteboard. When I asked the class to suggest some “Bill-isms” to write on the board they were all too eager to cast their professor under the proverbial bus, and after Bill added a few more we had a backdrop for the shot. With visions of Wired Magazine and Fast Company covers dancing in my head I knew I couldn’t just prop him in front of the board and fire away, so I added some color by shooting in tungsten white balance with 1.5 cuts of CTO gel on my main light. See the NERD ALERT section below for more lighting details.

This shot prompted a discussion about color correction and white balance among the class, and while I setup the next shot I gave them a brief rundown on my life as a professional photographer. Discussions about the merits of Taco Bell followed, then we shot a portrait of Bill “lecturing” the class in front of a wall of tearsheets. The primary goal of the photo was to shoot Bill interacting with his students but I also wanted to illustrate the blending of ambient light (the track lighting illuminating the wall) and flashes (the rest of the lights–see NERD ALERT below).

Bill’s class is pretty free-form on lab night, and while he is clearly a great instructor there is a fair amount of good-natured humor exchanged in his classroom. To capitalize on the easygoing relationship he has with his students, I asked him to strike his “visionary” pose again while his students expressed their sentiments in the background. I think the results speak for themselves.

While none of these photos is in danger of winning a Pulitzer, I am proud that I was able to walk into the classroom and come up with three viable photos on the fly, with students literally looking over my shoulder and firing questions at me the entire time. Not to mention the ribbing I took from Bill all night. As usual, I learned a lot from the experience and my subject(s), which is the whole point of this exercise. I had a blast chatting with the students too, further reinforcing the notion that I’d like to do teach someday.

I’ll put that on the to-do list.

NERD ALERT:

Each photo used three lights, all Nikon SB800 speedlights with one exception. In the whiteboard photo, I lit Bill with a 28″ Westcott Apollo softbox, using a 1.5 cuts of CTO (color temperature orange) gel to warm up the light. This was necessary to counteract the blue color cast from shooting in tungsten white balance. The other two lights used Honl Speed Grids and are ungelled: one is raking across the white board and the other is lighting the blue side of Bill’s face.

The “lecture” shot used one of the classroom strobes in a beauty dish directly above Bill, with a pair of gridded speedlights on either side of the group. The tearsheet wall is lit by overhead track lighting. I was able to blend the in-room ambient light with my flashes by using a slow shutter speed (1/15 sec, I think).

The final group shot was composed very quickly, so I had to go with very simple lighting. I used the softbox on Bill again (sans gels) and lit the group from behind with a bare speedlight and a gridded speedlight aimed at the wall (from behind Bill). As usual, if you want to learn more about this lighting stuff check out Strobist.com or get in touch with me.

Ok. Let’s just pause for a sec and consider the greatness of this band’s moniker. Seriously. Take it all in.

Now, ask yourself, “what are the chances that this is anything but an eight-piece funk band?”.

Nil, pal. Absolutely nil.

My buddies Ryan and Ryan at R&R Music Labs invited me to the band’s recording session last night, knowing that I am an enthusiast of All Funky Things. I’m glad they did, because it was a sneak peek at a killer band that will soon be blowing your face off at venues nationwide. The number they were cutting last night is a funtime jam of neo soul and retro boogie that is so bootylicious it could cause pregnancies from 50 yards away.

And the band is a blast to hang with. Every group has their class clown, but I am pretty sure there are at least half a dozen in this outfit. When they weren’t busy slaying each other with riffs in the studio, they were cracking each other up over dinner (lovingly prepared by their manager Alexis).

When you get the chance to see this band live, do it. They are the real deal.

Just be sure to wear protection.

Big Brother Thunder & The Master Blasters – Images by Corey Woodruff

Like oysters, every photo assignment has a silver lining. And after shooting this feature for Feast Magazine, on newsstands this week, I have some pearls of wisdom to offer.

Ugh. Those are the worst puns ever.

Don’t Be Shellfish, It’s A Team Effort

But seriously folks, this was a uniquely challenging shoot due to both the subject matter and the lighting conditions. I mean, oysters aren’t exactly photogenic in the classic sense–without the proper care they can look like deceased garden slugs drowning in a pool of slime. Luckily, we were shooting some primo specimens in a gorgeous setting (Demun Oyster Bar) with the assistance of their ace chef Brendan Hickham. To further boost our chances of success, Feast art director Lisa Triefenbach had supplied a detailed brief of exactly what photos she needed. With all of those factors working in our favor, I was confident that we could make these funny-looking little shellfish look tasty. If nothing else, they would at least look pretty.

East Side vs. West Side

The primary image for the article was for a 2-page spread displaying the twelve featured oysters in a sort of “clock face” arrangement, with the magazine’s gutter separating East Coast and West Coast oysters, presumably because they have “beef” from years of turf wars. Or because it made sense for the article. I’m not sure. You can see Lisa’s original sketch below.

Anyway, I knew that I would need a great big platter for this so I picked up a cool stoneware one that had a copper-colored metallic edge on it — a perfect match for the distressed copper-clad bar at Demun. But the lighting dork in me got me thinking about using a clear glass platter for the shot, with the oysters atop a pile of ice, lit from underneath. “It will look gorgeous”, I told myself. Unfortunately, it looked more like the proverbial dog’s ass once we tried it at the shoot. If I had about 6 hours to perfect the shot, it might have worked, but ice melts and I was on a much more limited timetable. So we fell back to the stoneware platter. This is why I always have a backup plan. Here is the craptastic ice shot:

But even the backup plan had its issues. For one, I didn’t realize that the East Coast oysters positively dwarfed their diminutive Western cousins so it was a challenge to keep the presentation from looking too lopsided. Luckily chef Brendan created some tiny pedestals of salt that let us arrange everything just so. And when we realized that the center of the platter looked as empty as the Sahara, Hickham again saved the day by disappearing into the kitchen, emerging seconds later with a mixture of salt, white peppercorns and parsley that added the perfect amount of color and fill to the shot. That guy is good with salt!

Small Plates

Once we had the centerpiece shot, it was time to move on to the individual shots of each oyster. The assignment called for a side and top shot of each species but since there were twelve in all, I didn’t want to compose each photo exactly the same way. After all, this is a food magazine, not a Wal-Mart flyer. Thankfully, the natural patina of the copper bar presented a myriad of textures, and the light beaming in the windows from the setting winter sun was, dare I say, inspiring. So with the aid of a collapsible reflector, I shot all of the individual oysters with *gasp* natural light.

At this point, I had the shots I needed, but Brendan and I tried a few more with small groupings of oysters on a rectangular dish. Why? Because we thought it might look cool. Sure, I could have packed up and headed home but I felt like playing in the light. It paid off too, because one of those shots was chosen to open the article. The extra mile is typically worth the exertion.

022711 Feast Oysters – Images by Corey Woodruff

Here’s one for the ladies.  Some more work for the folks at MUS.  These are the fun shots we get to do after a grueling day of catalog photos on a static set.  And after 6 or so hours scrutinizing each image on the monitor, telling the merchandiser where to adjust the garments, and generally wearing out our model it’s a welcome challenge to strike the set and go play with the lights.

As always, much credit goes to stylist Danielle Shocklee, merchandiser Sarah Hayes and digital tech Alyssa Noe.  The images that run on the website generally get retouched by Alyssa, but you can see from these largely unedited shots that we are shooting as clean as possible in-camera. These shots are not without their own challenges though, since we typically have about an hour to shoot 4-5 different setups within the confines of the building we work in.

This recipe is attributed to my grandma, but I’m pretty sure it can be found on almost every package of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls. Not to diminish mamaw’s culinary reputation, mind you, but it’s not exactly a revelatory recipe. It’s still yummy though.

In any case, it’s a ridiculously easy dish to prepare. Seriously, I’m sure a one legged monkey with a limp and a learning disorder could make this.  Which comes in handy in the early morning hours, especially if you are a little groggy from the night before (not that grandma was a party animal).

INGREDIENTS

• 1 can of refrigerated crescent roll dough
• Toppings

I told you it was stupid easy.

You can vary the toppings at will. I kept things simple: scrambled eggs, sausage, cheese, a little green onion and red pepper flake. Other combos worth trying (with or without eggs):

• Chorizo, jalapeno, queso blanco crack a couple eggs on top?)
• Bacon, lettuce, tomato, mozzarella
• Broccoli, spinach, red onion, shallots, hash browns, sharp cheddar
• Sliced fuji apple, smoked gouda, crispy bacon

Preparation is fairly idiot-proof too.  Sorry, I meant “child-friendly”.

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• Press dough into an oven-proof skillet, pizza pan or cookie sheet.  I used my cast-iron skillet.  TIP: Use the wedge shape of the dough triangles to your advantage — arrange them as you would pizza slices to avoid weird gaps in the crust
• Prepare your toppings.  If using eggs or sausage, I recommend leaving them about 90% cooked so they don’t dry out too much in the oven.
• Top pizza.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.
• Eat.  After all, breakfast is the most important meal of the day.