It was with real sadness that I learned of the passing of Gert Boyle this week. Not only has she been an Oregon icon as the owner (and public face) of Columbia Sportswear, but she was a feisty and generous woman that I had the privilege of working with on a couple of occasions.
Several years ago, during the Knight Cancer Challenge, I photographed Gert for OHSU’s fundraising campaign. Not only was she fun to work with, but right in the middle of our photo shoot, she handed an envelope to Cancer Center director Brian Druker. While I was standing there (actually, kneeling on the concrete…), she made a huge donation to the fundraiser to beat cancer. It was a special moment I’ll never forget.
We were privileged to have Gert in Portland, and we’ll be reaping the benefits of her generosity for generations to come.
As part of the campaign, the art director had me recreate Gert’s famous “One Tough Mother” ad, but with the addition of Brian Druker, head of OHSU’s cancer research. The main challenge: Gert was short and Brian is tall….
I recently had the privilege of photographing 9 brilliant women in the studio. They are doctors, surgeons, researchers, mentors, program directors, all of whom work in the field of cancer research. And each one has a fascinating story to tell about how they came to be scientists, what new discoveries they’re making, and how it may affect the diagnosis and treatment of cancer in the future.
As Mary Stenzel-Poore, chief of research operations at the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute, says, “Having a diverse workforce that includes these very strong, really brilliant women truly makes us better as an organization, and increases the odds of making significant breakthroughs that can and will stop cancer in its tracks.”
Telling people’s stories through powerful photographs: that’s what I love to do. Especially when the stories are about kids who defy the odds…and win. These stories are about more than the kids, of course. The doctors, nurses, parents, friends, and family all work together to beat the odds for these kids. It’s a privilege to work with all of these amazing people, and to tell their stories.
Want to know more? View the stories of Bennett, Jordan, Penelope, and Lola here: www.onwardohsu.org/kids
We were pleasantly surprised to see one of the images from this series of ads featured in New York City’s Times Square. At seven stories tall, I’m pretty sure it’s the largest use of one of our images yet.
We’d love to tell your story. Contact us today and see how our team of photography and video experts can help you defy the odds, too.
Every year I have the privilege of working with the talented artists at the Jefferson Dancers to create their spring show poster. It’s always a fun collaboration, with a lot of creative freedom. This year I wanted to capture someone upside down, to show the energy and strength of the amazing dancers. So we did, and here is this year’s poster.
This past month I flew to Vegas to photograph for a political campaign client. They focus on Latino voters in markets across the West Coast, which suits me well. I’ve spent a lot of time in Latin America and can get by comfortably in Spanish.
These campaigns always focus on real people (not actors or models), usually in their businesses or homes. It’s fast-paced editorial shooting, and I have to be quick on my feet to come up with good shots in short periods of time. I flew down early on a Thursday, shot 4 setups, ate a fabulous dinner at Zuma on the Strip, photographed 3 more locations the next day, and flew home that evening. Whew!
Some of the highlights of this photo assignment:
Photographing at the Havana Grill. This Cuban-owned restaurant (we also photographed the owner at their sister restaurant on the Strip) is a venue for both food and fun. When we arrived, the manager we were supposed to photograph didn’t show up. So we pivoted. We asked the hostess if we could work with her, and she agreed. After hair and makeup touchups, I started working with her at the bar, and discovered quickly that this girl, unlike most of the folks on this assignment, was very comfortable in front of the camera. I discovered that she’d modeled in Miami since the age of 7. It was my lucky day. Her presence in front of the camera, along with the bar scene and window light, created one of the stronger images of the assignment.
The Llantera. Every time I photograph for this client, we end up shooting stills or video (or both) at a Llantera (a tire shop). It seems to be an integral part of Latin culture. While these guys at Michuacan Tires look gruff, they were actually very hospitable, as we worked around the shop in 100-degree weather.
The Family. Family is also a hugely important part of Latin culture. I had the privilege of working with this hard-working couple and their kids in their neighborhood in Las Vegas. In one direction, over the roofs of the homes, we could see the towering casinos of the Las Vegas Strip, and in the other direction, the hills in the distance. Working during the golden hour, we crafted some lovely portraits of them. And I loved working in the dryer climate with its different hues and textures that are so very different from Oregon.
We were excited to hear that an ad campaign we photographed (above) received 2 Gold Awards this spring! Both the Aster Awards and the Healthcare Ad Awards awarded it a Gold medal.
Thanks to our friends at Gard Communications for excellent art direction, and for submitting the project! And thanks to our friends at the Doernbecher/OHSU Foundation for the chance to work on important projects like this. It’s an honor and privilege.
Read more about Kya’s fight for survival on our blog.
On the cover of OHSU’s magazine Onward, Dr Julie Graff. She treats patients and leads a research study that has provided the first-ever evidence that immunotherapy can slow life-threatening prostate cancer.
We photographed Dr Graff in the infusion room at the Knight Cancer Institute, where her patients receive their treatment. She had this to say about her clinical trial and its results:
When we started the study, we had no idea if this treatment would work at all. So it was exhilarating when our first patient went from having PSA levels of 80 to undetectable. (PSA stands for prostate-specific antigens, which become elevated in men with cancer.) We thought, this is a fluke. And then it happened four more times. It’s been amazing and the patients are extremely appreciative. I am grateful to the men who agreed to take a chance and participate in our clinical trial.
Read more about Dr Graff’s groundbreaking work with cancer and immunotherapy here and here.
I get to meet some very interesting, very talented people as a photographer/videographer. While photographing for the Portland Makers series at ADX Portland, I met metalsmith Harlan Whitman, grinding away in his booth.
Actually, he’s more than a metalsmith. His main work is as a fabricator for Universal Studios in LA.
Harlan has a degree in Industrial Design, and you can find him making custom knives at ADX, fabricating sets for Universal Studios in LA, or racing his custom-built SinCycle gravity bikes around the US. (He’s broken several downhill speed records with his innovative cycles.) Harlan continues to fabricate weaponry, bicycles, and puppetry, and is enthusiastic about tackling any design project his creative clients can dream up.
Check out his beautiful knives, slingshots, and other beautiful items on his website Ooake Forge, and see for yourself!
Kya Blake was struck by a sneaker wave, buried under a log…and lived to tell about it.
Here’s what my client, Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, had to say about Kya’s story:
Nothing stops Kya Blake. When she was seven, an ordinary trip to the beach almost killed her. A sneaker wave buried her under a log. Kya’s skull was fractured, her heart stopped and her lungs filled with sand. First responders described her as lifeless.
But nothing stops OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital either. When Kya arrived by life flight, a world-class team of doctors and nurses flew into action. After ten days, the 7-year-old girl who wouldn’t quit opened her eyes, beginning the road to recovery.
Telling stories that inspire others to give…this is what we live for.
May 2018 Update: I’m honored to have received 2 Gold awards for this advertising campaign, from the Aster Awards and the Healthcare Ad Awards. Many thanks to Gard Communications, ad agency for this project, for submitting to these awards, and congratulations to the entire team for the recognition of the hard work put into it!
Did you know there’s a portable machine that can perform the function of both your heart and your lungs, and that it’s about the size of a breadbox? And that it costs about as much as a Mercedez? And that very few hospitals have them?
Let’s say you have life-threatening heart and lung problems, and you’re at a small hospital in Alaska. And you’re not going to make it. What do you do?
Well, you hope your doctor has watched our video. In it, he’ll discover that an OHSU doctor and nurse will fly to Alaska on LifeFlight, hook you up to their ECMO machine, and fly you back to OHSU in Portland, where they’ll give you the treatment that you need. It’s that simple.
I love telling stories like this. Being able to help save lives, and work with incredible people, to create a video and stills is super rewarding. Especially when it involves working in an airplane.
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