Amanda
Recently, I made a trip to Los Angeles to visit and photograph my friend Amanda. Since I began photographing Amanda in 2011, she has become a very close friend and an incredible model.
Recently, I made a trip to Los Angeles to visit and photograph my friend Amanda. Since I began photographing Amanda in 2011, she has become a very close friend and an incredible model.
There has been a steady transformation from our first shoot until now. She's always had something special about her that was very evident from the beginning. Through all her significant life changes, Amanda has stayed grounded while maintaining an infectiously positive attitude. I was honored to create some images in this next chapter of her life as a new mother to a beautiful baby girl Nakano and wife to the talented actor Wilmer Valderrama.
I was fortunate to have my good friend and photographer Skip and the amazing make-up artist Ernesto on this shoot. Having a talented crew makes the difference between a good image and a great image. Working with somebody like Ernesto for make-up has transformed my images and pushed my work to the next level. Skip is much more than an assistant; his extra pair of eyes and collaboration frees me to focus on the moment, knowing everything else will be handled. Amanda and Ernesto have worked together several times, and he knows her style and always has outstanding ideas when working with her. I'm so fortunate to have Skip and Ernesto along, and I couldn't have done it without them.
An Afternoon With Chris Sullivan
I was very excited when Sacramento Magazine asked me to travel to LA to photograph Chris Sullivan from the TV show This Is Us.
I was very excited when Sacramento Magazine asked me to travel to LA to photograph Chris Sullivan from the TV show This Is Us. Taking production on location always has its challenges, which are magnified when you have to fly with your gear, making sure you have all the things you need while away. We ended up hand carrying our lights on the plane and rented stands locally in Los Angeles. Everything went smoothly, and Chris and his team were terrific to work with.
It takes a team!
Art Direction : Gabriel Teague
Publicist: Maria Candida
Stylists: Lisa Cera and Tyler McDaniel at Crosby Carter Management
For my crew, it was an all-family affair with my daughter, Savannah Engle, as 1st assistant and my daughter Victoria's brother-in-law US Army Infantry Officer Veteran Clayton Reagan as 2nd assistant. No way things would have been so smooth without their help.
Myself, Chris Sullivan, and my daughter Savannah
Visit With Mackenzie
On a recent trip to LA my production manager and I had a few hours before we flew back to Sacramento. So I used the opportunity to work with a friend of mine, Mackenzie Firgens. She and I became friends a few years back when she worked on a project at the Preston Castle in Ione, CA. Whenever the opportunity arises I love working with her. She is such a natural in front of the camera very beautiful. It makes my job so easy.
On a recent trip to LA my production manager and I had a few hours before we flew back to Sacramento. So I used the opportunity to work with a friend of mine, Mackenzie Firgens. She and I became friends a few years back when she worked on a project at the Preston Castle in Ione, CA. Whenever the opportunity arises I love working with her. She is such a natural in front of the camera very beautiful. It makes my job so easy.
The location for the shoot was The Garland Hotel. They had completed some renovations recently, and it was a very nice boutique style hotel. It had a lot to offer for location shooting.
Because time was short I scouted locations while Christine (production manager) worked on outfits for Mackenzie to wear. We pulled the whole shoot off in about an hour and a half.
For the most part we shot with existing light on the Nikon D810 with my 85mm. I did use the D4 and my 50mm with a flash on the last set of images in the room. I love the light when the flash is directly lined up with the lens.
I'm so fortunate to be backed up by Christine to watch the clock because I could have just kept shooting, but then we would have been late for our flight.
I'm really looking forward to our next visit to LA when we get to shoot again.
About Mackenzie: She made her feature film debut starring as Harmony in the underground hit Groove, which was an Official Selection at the Sundance Film Festival, and released by Sony Classics Pictures. Firgens originated the role of April in the film version of the Broadway sensation Rent, directed by Chris Columbus. As April, Firgens had the opportunity to create a new character for the classic musical, and shares the screen with Adam Pascal.
Firgens also starred in Quality of Life with Lane Garrison, which won a Special Mention Award at the Berlin International Film Festival as well as the Best Youth Film at the Stockholm International Film Festival. Additional film credits include Broken Arrows with Lori Petty and The Hamiltons with Brittany Daniel.
Firgens can be seen in David Carradine last film the action movie "Break" also with Michael Madsen and Chad Everett by the award winning director Marc Clebanoff. (Wikipedia)