There has been SO much happening lately! Team Photogen Inc has been on the road a lot and all along the way, we've shot TONS of film! I'll share more of that with you when the film rolls come in, but for now, here are a bunch of fun images from our Instax camera!
The instax camera is like crack for me! It's been a really awesome tool for me to document my life this past year.....I have a bit of a personal project going on with it, which will simply need some time to shape.
In this post, some awesome people make appearances:
Tara LaTour's amazing dresses
The OH-SO-AWESOME Sara Montour
Mr. Daniel Chin
Insta-Friend Dan Miles, who inspires me now on a daily basis
B-Funk
Melissa O!
The Cornjadi's and their epic wedding - congratulations you two!
The Traveling Photo Booth's awesome booth
Yeah for living the dream!
LOVEe
The instax camera is like crack for me! It's been a really awesome tool for me to document my life this past year.....I have a bit of a personal project going on with it, which will simply need some time to shape.
In this post, some awesome people make appearances:
Tara LaTour's amazing dresses
The OH-SO-AWESOME Sara Montour
Mr. Daniel Chin
Insta-Friend Dan Miles, who inspires me now on a daily basis
B-Funk
Melissa O!
The Cornjadi's and their epic wedding - congratulations you two!
The Traveling Photo Booth's awesome booth
Yeah for living the dream!
LOVEe
1 comments so far
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Our life through an Instax!
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I am soooooo excited to share these images with you! Like, little kid-jumping-up-and-down excited!
A few weeks ago, I received an e-mail from a girl named Tara. In that letter, she asked me to photograph her final Collection for her graduate program at Parsons (yes, like project runway Parsons...only real students are even more bad-ass!) The hitch was that she was in NYC, I was in MPLS and her deadline was in a week and a half. She sent me a link with some cell-phone-shots of her dresses and my jaw dropped. I knew that I needed to do absolutely everything I could to photograph this amazing pieces of art! The universe came together for us and it just so happened I was going to be in NYC that coming weekend, so we started planning our last-minute shoot!
The best part about my job is this sense of collaboration I get from working with other artists. It's amazing to just create with other amazing people who also have a vision. Tara really gave me free reign at the shoot and everything just simply fell into place! Before the day was done, I knew I wanted these images to be shared with the world and be published . 1) I wanted people to find/know/experience Tara and her beautiful collection. 2) I think these images are fucking amazing and I am way too excited about the whole project to NOT share this with you!
Through our conversations, I really began to respect Tara even more. She is on a mission to 'Revolutionize' the wedding industry and I absolutely believe she will do this!
A special THANK YOU to the Wedding Chicks for publishing this spread on their blog and sharing this with the world! Check out their review + Post HERE! (And we would love to hear your comments on the spread + designs overall!)
Here's a look at all of our original spreads! Please head over to the Wedding Chicks blog to see more photos + behind-the-scenes sketches from Ms. LaTour!
Here's to being remarkable!
LOVEe
A few weeks ago, I received an e-mail from a girl named Tara. In that letter, she asked me to photograph her final Collection for her graduate program at Parsons (yes, like project runway Parsons...only real students are even more bad-ass!) The hitch was that she was in NYC, I was in MPLS and her deadline was in a week and a half. She sent me a link with some cell-phone-shots of her dresses and my jaw dropped. I knew that I needed to do absolutely everything I could to photograph this amazing pieces of art! The universe came together for us and it just so happened I was going to be in NYC that coming weekend, so we started planning our last-minute shoot!
The best part about my job is this sense of collaboration I get from working with other artists. It's amazing to just create with other amazing people who also have a vision. Tara really gave me free reign at the shoot and everything just simply fell into place! Before the day was done, I knew I wanted these images to be shared with the world and be published . 1) I wanted people to find/know/experience Tara and her beautiful collection. 2) I think these images are fucking amazing and I am way too excited about the whole project to NOT share this with you!
Through our conversations, I really began to respect Tara even more. She is on a mission to 'Revolutionize' the wedding industry and I absolutely believe she will do this!
A special THANK YOU to the Wedding Chicks for publishing this spread on their blog and sharing this with the world! Check out their review + Post HERE! (And we would love to hear your comments on the spread + designs overall!)
Here's a look at all of our original spreads! Please head over to the Wedding Chicks blog to see more photos + behind-the-scenes sketches from Ms. LaTour!
Here's to being remarkable!
LOVEe
5 comments so far
danielchin. says:
It was such a gift to be able to witness this shoot as it unfolded. Nothing but love for your crew and Tara. I can't wait to say "I knew that girl before she was FAMOUS!".
(04.15.10 @ 01:45 PM)
Anonymous says:
G. O. R. G. E. O. U. S. - make a bitch wanna get married and shit!
(04.16.10 @ 07:54 AM)
leonie says:
oh.my.god. this is indeed gorgeous. photos, dresses, everything. just wow.
(04.16.10 @ 10:37 AM)
Spencer says:
LOVE THESE! Your solid white back lighting is so sick! Seriously how do I get a brain like yours! AMAZING!
(04.16.10 @ 01:15 PM)
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Tara LaTour + Photogen Inc = The Shit!!!
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Taking time for myself is a very precious thing that I haven't done enough of lately. My days are filled with taking care of my clients, mentoring my crew + the community, editing, sending images off to art directors, planning, shooting, grocery shopping, cleaning, cooking, dog-walking, loving, WHEW! Some days I feel like I wear multiple hats, all of which I absolutely love. About a month ago, I really felt like I just needed some time. Time to myself, to totally disconnect from my everyday environment and away from the daily grind. I also felt like I needed to step away from my digital camera for a bit.
My work is my passion and I know that I am SO lucky to do what I do. However, at the end of the day, taking photographs is still my job and even though I LOVE what I do, there are moments when I really just don't want to pick up my camera. I feel like it is my responsibility to bring myself back to why I am a photographer and why I am an artist.
My way of 'finding' myself again through this wee bit of a rut is to be in a new space and shoot film. Many of you know that I adore film and to be honest, it is the one element of photography that brings me back to why I take photographs in the first place. I love the process of film, but especially, the unknowns.
In this digital world we live in, everything is so fast, predictable and controllable. You know from the instant you take an image what it will look like. To be quite frank...I've become bored with it, which is why I have needed this time.
I chose to come to Seattle, for two reasons. 1) I love the Pacific Northwest. 2) I have some lovely friends up here who continue to keep me grounded and uplifted as an artist. You might have heard of these two ladies Sara Montour and Sarah Rhoads. I spent some brief time with both of these girls and it was absolutely renewing for me. I laughed harder than I have in a long time and have had some of the best conversations about love, life, and the pursuit of being the artist I know I can be. I am so lucky to have friends like this in my life who I know I can always count on to be real with me.
I have a couple days left here in Seattle and then we'll be back to our normal programming...in the mean time, here are some fabulous photos, courtesy of Ms. Montour's cell phone!
Here's to life and doing what you love!
LOVEe
My work is my passion and I know that I am SO lucky to do what I do. However, at the end of the day, taking photographs is still my job and even though I LOVE what I do, there are moments when I really just don't want to pick up my camera. I feel like it is my responsibility to bring myself back to why I am a photographer and why I am an artist.
My way of 'finding' myself again through this wee bit of a rut is to be in a new space and shoot film. Many of you know that I adore film and to be honest, it is the one element of photography that brings me back to why I take photographs in the first place. I love the process of film, but especially, the unknowns.
In this digital world we live in, everything is so fast, predictable and controllable. You know from the instant you take an image what it will look like. To be quite frank...I've become bored with it, which is why I have needed this time.
I chose to come to Seattle, for two reasons. 1) I love the Pacific Northwest. 2) I have some lovely friends up here who continue to keep me grounded and uplifted as an artist. You might have heard of these two ladies Sara Montour and Sarah Rhoads. I spent some brief time with both of these girls and it was absolutely renewing for me. I laughed harder than I have in a long time and have had some of the best conversations about love, life, and the pursuit of being the artist I know I can be. I am so lucky to have friends like this in my life who I know I can always count on to be real with me.
I have a couple days left here in Seattle and then we'll be back to our normal programming...in the mean time, here are some fabulous photos, courtesy of Ms. Montour's cell phone!
Here's to life and doing what you love!
LOVEe
5 comments so far
sara montour says:
It's been SO great having you here. I've been missing the MPLS community, and the people that I can 100% relax with. You're such a great friend and I love you a ton! My stomach seriously still hurts from laughing so hard. LAAB GAI. And broccoli will never be the same.
See you tomorrow!
(04.13.10 @ 04:13 PM)
anda says:
okay -- so i totally saw you at jesh derox's concert in seattle (i was there for his workshop). you were sitting right across from me and i thought you looked familiar. now i put it together -- i visit your blog here & there -- via emily steffen's blog :) anyways -- wish i coulda met you! maybe some other time. love. your. stuff.
(04.26.10 @ 09:05 AM)
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Where am I?
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WOOOO to the freakin' HOOOO!
Yesterday I hosted the first-ever (and first of many!) MINNe-SHOP! The topic was all about Tilt Shift Photography, which I feel is an area of shooting that many photographers want to learn more about and/or are curious about. The thing about using a Tilt Shift lens is that it is quite tricky. It's an all manual lens, but there are many, many more things to think about than simply just the technical function of the lens! When shooting with a T/S lens, you need to take your time and think about a few things:
1)Composition. Where and how am I going to place my images in a setting that is going to benefit from this lens?
2)Exposure. The light changes WAY often when using this lens. How can I nail this exposure?
3) Focus. How is this lens/effect going to benefit my image? How am I going to use this tool to draw in the viewer?
(And this is all before you even take the photo!)
It's super tricky, but absolutely stunning when you nail a good image! This lens takes nothing but time and patience to learn, hence the MINNeSHOP. I wanted to give our attendees an opportunity to use all of the T/S lenses available out there and just have time to play. There is a lot of artistic freedom with using this lens, but I think there is one MAJOR rule that all of us photographers really need to follow:
Every time you pick up your T/S lens, ask yourself, "Is this the right tool for this image? How is this lens benefiting the overall composition? Am I using it to really captivate and draw in the viewer or am I just using it to be trendy and cool?"
I must say, I was very impressed with all of the MINNeSHOP-ers! Some of them had never even picked up this lens and they got some amazing photos! We had an AMAZING turn out (one girl even came all the way from Iowa!) A special thanks to everyone who attended!
Emily Steffen
Jen Schultz
Jessica Newbauer
Emma Freeman
Alicia Struble
Brianna Kopka
Vickey Weiss
Bethany O'Day
Paula Charchenko
Shelly Anderson
Tom DeBruyn
A HUGE Thank-You to our super HOT couples who came out to model for us! Erick, Bri, Emily and Matt, you ROCKED it!
Here are some awesome images from the attendees!
The purpose of the MINNeSHOP is to educate photographers in the Midwest about specific topics of the photography world! It's also designed to be a very casual learning environment with some hands-on opportunities and bring people together! I'm hoping to be doing a MINNeSHOP about every 2 months, so please write in with any suggestions on topic that you would like to learn about!
eliesa@photogen-inc.com
Happy Tilting!
LOVEe
Yesterday I hosted the first-ever (and first of many!) MINNe-SHOP! The topic was all about Tilt Shift Photography, which I feel is an area of shooting that many photographers want to learn more about and/or are curious about. The thing about using a Tilt Shift lens is that it is quite tricky. It's an all manual lens, but there are many, many more things to think about than simply just the technical function of the lens! When shooting with a T/S lens, you need to take your time and think about a few things:
1)Composition. Where and how am I going to place my images in a setting that is going to benefit from this lens?
2)Exposure. The light changes WAY often when using this lens. How can I nail this exposure?
3) Focus. How is this lens/effect going to benefit my image? How am I going to use this tool to draw in the viewer?
(And this is all before you even take the photo!)
It's super tricky, but absolutely stunning when you nail a good image! This lens takes nothing but time and patience to learn, hence the MINNeSHOP. I wanted to give our attendees an opportunity to use all of the T/S lenses available out there and just have time to play. There is a lot of artistic freedom with using this lens, but I think there is one MAJOR rule that all of us photographers really need to follow:
Every time you pick up your T/S lens, ask yourself, "Is this the right tool for this image? How is this lens benefiting the overall composition? Am I using it to really captivate and draw in the viewer or am I just using it to be trendy and cool?"
I must say, I was very impressed with all of the MINNeSHOP-ers! Some of them had never even picked up this lens and they got some amazing photos! We had an AMAZING turn out (one girl even came all the way from Iowa!) A special thanks to everyone who attended!
Emily Steffen
Jen Schultz
Jessica Newbauer
Emma Freeman
Alicia Struble
Brianna Kopka
Vickey Weiss
Bethany O'Day
Paula Charchenko
Shelly Anderson
Tom DeBruyn
A HUGE Thank-You to our super HOT couples who came out to model for us! Erick, Bri, Emily and Matt, you ROCKED it!
Here are some awesome images from the attendees!
The purpose of the MINNeSHOP is to educate photographers in the Midwest about specific topics of the photography world! It's also designed to be a very casual learning environment with some hands-on opportunities and bring people together! I'm hoping to be doing a MINNeSHOP about every 2 months, so please write in with any suggestions on topic that you would like to learn about!
eliesa@photogen-inc.com
Happy Tilting!
LOVEe
11 comments so far
shelley anderson says:
LOVED IT! LOVED IT! LOVED IT! i will be attending more of these:) very inspiring...
thanks for everything and for "giving back" in this way!
shelley anderson
(04.08.10 @ 08:10 AM)
Paula Charchenko says:
I had a BLAST, learned so much and met some awesome fellow photogs. I came away so inspired to push my images to the next [tilt] level. Thank you!
(04.08.10 @ 08:35 AM)
Alicia says:
I love how the group photos came out! great vision on that one. I had so so much fun meeting everyone and I learned so much. You're amazing! I can't wait for the next MINNeSHOP. It was definitely worth the drive.
(04.08.10 @ 10:11 AM)
Emily Konkler says:
Thanks for asking me and Matt to model for everyone! We had a blast :)
(04.08.10 @ 11:43 AM)
Jessica says:
You are such a rockstar! First the LOVEe Consult, and now the amazing Minne-Shop! Thank you for sharing your knowledge, and thanks so much for your inspiration! :)
(04.08.10 @ 08:32 PM)
Dave Le says:
Hey, I saw your photos on the wall at Normandale CC, I was very impressed, great photographs!
(04.13.10 @ 06:34 AM)
Matthew says:
Aaaaaghh, no, stop the tilt/shift gimmick, stop it now! I'm telling you! It's going to be like bad 80's vignetting!
(04.26.10 @ 09:41 AM)
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Tilt Shift MINNeSHOP!
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This past week, I sat down with the lovely Jessica of PhotoJessic for her LOVEe Consult! As artists, we talk a lot about our Personal Style. This also comes with many questions: What is my personal style? How do I find it? What if it changes, is that ok?
There's no doubt about it, finding your personal style is a process, but it must not be forced. Jessica and I talked a lot about how there is a big trend in the photography industry right now with the Vintage theme. Soft colors, leaning towards warmth and romance are everywhere. Jessica's major question was, "I don't want to be like anyone else, I don't want to be trendy, but I really, truly, love the vintage vibe...how do I stay original?"
The thing that Jessica didn't realize is that she has her personal style nailed down. When you walk into her studio space, the light is soft, her building is old, and she even has a vintage clock. Her favorite colors surround her and even the way she dresses is just soft and pretty. She exudes everything that is soft, pretty and vintage. Her images reflect her personal style, which is key.
Defining what your personal style is should be natural, because it comes from YOU and everything you are about. It is derived from your personal experiences, the kind of music you like, and everything you are attracted to in this world. Above all, by staying true to yourself, your images will be of things you are passionate about and ultimately they will be executed in a way that no one else can, because it is YOU. Your style will evolve, just as you change as life goes on, but there will always be core elements that will be timeless. Embracing the process of change will lead you to finding - and then realizing- what makes your images yours.
To learn more about LOVEe Consults and to schedule yours today, CLICK HERE!
Have an amazing weekend everyone!
LOVEe
There's no doubt about it, finding your personal style is a process, but it must not be forced. Jessica and I talked a lot about how there is a big trend in the photography industry right now with the Vintage theme. Soft colors, leaning towards warmth and romance are everywhere. Jessica's major question was, "I don't want to be like anyone else, I don't want to be trendy, but I really, truly, love the vintage vibe...how do I stay original?"
The thing that Jessica didn't realize is that she has her personal style nailed down. When you walk into her studio space, the light is soft, her building is old, and she even has a vintage clock. Her favorite colors surround her and even the way she dresses is just soft and pretty. She exudes everything that is soft, pretty and vintage. Her images reflect her personal style, which is key.
Defining what your personal style is should be natural, because it comes from YOU and everything you are about. It is derived from your personal experiences, the kind of music you like, and everything you are attracted to in this world. Above all, by staying true to yourself, your images will be of things you are passionate about and ultimately they will be executed in a way that no one else can, because it is YOU. Your style will evolve, just as you change as life goes on, but there will always be core elements that will be timeless. Embracing the process of change will lead you to finding - and then realizing- what makes your images yours.
To learn more about LOVEe Consults and to schedule yours today, CLICK HERE!
Have an amazing weekend everyone!
LOVEe
1 comments so far
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry:
LOVEe Consults: PhotoJessic!
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I just laughed so hard I snorted green tea at your faces (and chests???) on the photo booth pics. Oh goodness, I love you guys.
(04.27.10 @ 08:21 AM)