Everything I Know I Learned From ASMP (and Spiderman)

April 5, 2017 0 Comments read Blog

This week I was honored to have my work and an interview published by the ASMP (American Society of Media Photographers) on their blog, Strictly Business.

I’ve been a member of the ASMP since 2007. That was a big year of transition for me, as I built my commercial and editorial business in a part of the country in which I was a relative newcomer. I had decided to quit my job as Assistant Managing Editor at the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram, ending a 13-year career in newspapers. One month later, I did just that. I had been a freelancer, a “stringer”, a staff photojournalist, a chief photographer and photo editor. I’d covered stories in places as varied as Hong Kong, Russia and Sedona, Arizona. I’d been embedded with troops in Iraq. I’d won lots of national and regional awards.

It was a complete and total blast.

Then, it was over.

Ultimately, I left newspapers because I wanted to photograph and create content again. I felt that doing so as an independent professional would give me greater flexibility, control and creative freedom to tell the types of visual stories that I wanted to tell.

Of course, with greater freedom comes greater responsibility, or so says Spider-Man.

As I contemplated building my new career, I knew I’d need help. Help to understand how businesses talk and what they need. Help to navigate the contracts and licensing that would keep me in business and my clients protected and happy. After a career in newspaper photojournalism, I knew two things about business: jack and squat. While I still have much to learn, I have a successful business working with brands I love–and it’s due in no small part to the tutelage and assistance of the ASMP and the help of many talented photographers.

Behind the Curtain with Maine Freemasons

March 15, 2017 3 Comments read Blog, Recent Work, Showcase

Maine Freemasons

Having a camera is like having a Golden Ticket into the lives of others. It’s opened doors on people, experiences and places that otherwise I’d have never met, done or seen.

It’s an honor to be allowed into peoples’ lives, and it’s a trust that I hold very sacred. That’s why I was so excited that my camera recently opened another door: one that led to the Freemasons of Maine. I was chosen to produce an initial set of images for a website redesign the Grand Lodge of Maine has been planning for some time.

I should note that my sum of knowledge of fraternal organizations stems from brief visits to my father’s Elk Lodge as a kid and a long-ago viewing of the movie National Treasure. I’m pretty sure neither qualify as research. I was eager to meet real Masons and photograph some of the actual ceremonies in Portland’s gorgeous Masonic Temple.

Freemasonry has a long and storied history in Maine, with roots going back to the first lodge, chartered in Falmouth in 1762. Portland’s Triangle Lodge 1 still has their original charter, signed by Paul Revere in 1796 (yes, that Paul Revere).

The Masons still attract men—young and old—drawn by the many traditions and looking for camaraderie, connection and brotherhood.

You might not have suspected as much, looking at the Maine Masons website, which was in need of a redesign and new visuals. Most images they had showed members in tuxedos, wearing Masonic aprons in a formal lodge setting. Although I did photograph some of these same things, one important part of the project I’ve done so far with them is a portrait series of Masons in Maine, both in and outside of the lodge setting. Work is ongoing, but I’ve had a great time so far meeting with the members and learning about the organization–a peek behind the velvet curtain, so to speak.

What I found was a thriving group of individuals of all ages who are devoted to each other and to their community. I plan to be able to add additional images soon.

Maine Freemasons

A Portrait Of Martin’s Point Healthcare

March 8, 2017 0 Comments read Blog, Recent Work

healthcare

I can’t think of any other industry that touches everyone’s lives at one point or another like the healthcare industry does.

Not surprising that one of the constant themes of my work over the years has been photographing doctors, nurses and first responders. As a journalist I covered endless procedures, including open-skull brain surgery, in-home hospice and spent nights at hospitals and with paramedic crews.

Now I work for agencies and healthcare providers directly, creating imagery that increasingly focuses on patients and on desired outcomes (instead of showing doctors, show the healthy lives enabled by quality healthcare). It’s a fun challenge. That’s why I was excited to take on a more editorial-style project about Martin’s Point, a Maine based care center located right on Casco Bay.

Instead of focusing on patients, I would focus on the “story” of Martin’s Point–a series of images that speaks to the experience of being there, the environment and the mood of the main clinic. I did photograph some procedures and patient care, but my focus was on the feel of the place, on the caring interactions of providers and even behind-the-scenes images of places where patients don’t normally go. A multi-faceted portrait of healthcare in Maine.

The project was a step back to my editorial roots and a lot of fun. Please check out the complete story on my site to see all of the images.