Director of Photography Reel_2015

I finally finished my reel for 2015, with all new clips from this past year.  It’s a welcomed chance during the slower winter to take a step back and look at all the work done in the hectic spring/summer/fall of the previous year.  It’s really helpful for me to see where I’ve grown as a technician and artist, and (more importantly) where I still need to keep honing my craft.

The biggest change I see from comparing last year to the year before, is how most of the work I did was as a Director of Photography, and not just a camera operator or assistant.  I’m really proud of this growth, and am really looking forward to more DP opportunities this year, as well as learning from other talented DPs while operating/assisting.  Bring it on, 2016- let’s get some great work done!

Jim Boyle Campaign Ad

This was another Maine State Senator campaign ad I DP'd this Fall for Projects by CD2, this time for Jim Boyle. 3 interviews with supporters and some supporting b-roll, all outdoors which made for simpler setups on a beautiful fall day.

DP: Theron Powell

Produced and Edited: projectsbycd2.com

Theriault Campaign Ad

This was a really fun spot to DP, way up in Allagash, Maine (as far north as you can go, ~5 hours driving north of Portland).  Louis is the main character in the spot, whom we spent the day with watching him at work cutting wood.  He's been a lumberjack for over 60 years.  I feel like he should be in every LL Bean ad.  I got to put my Red Epic's slo-mo to good use on this shoot and I'm glad everything turned out as nice as it looked in camera.  

DP: Theron Powell
Produced and Edited by: projectsbycd2.com

Interview setup inside Louis' work shop.  

On Set- Blackstone Veterans

Two weeks ago I had the pleasure of producing a great piece on Blackstone and its Veterans Initiative- a commitment to hire 50,000 veterans within its portfolio of companies in the next 5 years.  They are 15 months in at this point and have already hired over 15,000.  

This video focused on the veterans and their stories, to give a personal face to the numbers.  This was a p3 production with Morgan Myer directing and shooting, me producing, and Justin Lacroix doing sound- a small 3 man crew.  We spent the week in NYC speaking with veterans at their places of employment - a Michaels store, the Hilton Central Park, a La Quinta Inn & Suites in Long Island, AlliedBarton and Blackstone headquarters.  

Some of the highlights...

Artichoke Pizza.  Morgan doubted me.  Then ate our whole pie.  One of my must haves in NYC.

Interview setup in the Hilton Central Park, one of the oldest hotels in NYC.

Damage from getting rear-ended while stopped 6 cars in from a light.  Took 2.5 hours for cops to show up, whom never did, but finally the third passing cop we flagged down actually stopped to write the report. Thankfully no one was harmed in the making of this photo.

Anything to get the shot.  Thankfully (again) this happened after our accident, not during.  Candidate for shittyrigs.com.

A discounted stay at the Waldorf Astoria.  Here are doors to one set of elevators.  

Waldorf lobby.  Different world.  Drinks here start at $18/per.  Yay, Priceline!

September 11th, filming on the Brooklyn Bridge for a few shots.  

 Morgan did an incredible job putting this together and took the best moments from our interviews and footage to tell a strong story about why these men and women deserve consideration for employment for a wide range of jobs.  One of the struggles veterans face in returning to the civilian workforce is explaining how the skills learned in active duty carry over to civilian jobs on a one-sheet resume.  The least we can do is give them the opportunity to do so.

On Set- Reverie Gallery shoot

Earlier this week I had the pleasure of working with the wonderful women at a Reverie Gallery- Erica Powell (my sister-in-law) and Caitlin Diggles (my beautiful wife)- on their photo shoot with Bliss Celebrations magazine.  Reverie Gallery is a wedding vendor/inspiration guide, launching in September.  

Sarah and Amy from Bliss Celebrations, along with Caitlin and Erica from Reverie Gallery getting ready for the shoot. 

The shoot was at the University Club in Providence, R.I., our old stomping round once upon a time. The shoot was gorgeous and all the work that Reverie Gallery and Bliss put into organizing and planning it made my job easy.  From the talented models to the amazing floral designs and decoration, all the sets looked fantastic. 

It was also a pleasure to meet and work with the incredible photographer, Ben Verley, who happened to be another Syracuse native!  I learned a lot just from watching her work with the models and seeing how she took the beautiful settings to another level through her direction of the models.  

I will be posting some screenshots and a few videos from the shoot after the magazine publish date in February.