Thursday, February 9, 2012

Still Music: Top 5 Photographers

I hope this post finds everybody well.
It's a cold and dreary morning in Portland.
Which is unusual considering how sunny this winter has been so far!

I want to take the time to plug some of my peeps.
I got peeps that are talented and amazing.
Like, they blow my mind.
And inspire me.
Inspire me to be better.
At least, inspire me to want to be better.

Some of these people I'm really close with, and others I just respect.
They work hard and their hard work shows.
These are the top photographers in my life, cuz they impress me and cuz we have the same good people in our lives.
These are the people I forward my clients to when they want recommendations. 

So, please enjoy browsing and reading about...


Top 5 Photographers Close to my Heart:
A List by Still Music
(In no particular order of excellency)



Eric Turner Photo


Eric reps the hillbilly woods of Sonora, CA where we were both raised. Turner and I have known each other for a while. And we've been best friends for a while. We've always shot together. We shot together for his first wedding... that we did for free. Of course, now he's so good that he can't afford to shoot weddings for free, so don't get any ideas. Turner was one of my 3 best mans in my wedding; so he's pretty important. He's also about to be a father! There are many obvious reasons I love shooting with my best friend. Who wouldn't want to work with their best friend doing something like wedding photography? But the other reasons I like shooting with Turner is because he makes me a better person. Turner's a people person, even when he doesn't feel like it; and being a people person is one of the most important things about being a good wedding photographer. You have to be extra friendly, you have to be extra goofy, extra outgoing, extra patient, and extra understanding. And Turner is all of these. So if shooting with him makes me able to do these extra things extra, then I'm a better person.






Casey MacKenzie Photography


Casey is a sparkling, bubbly, and energetic-borderline-hyper talent hailing from the East Bay. Her energy can be nushelled (a friend just coined this term last nite in a conversation so I'm using it) into one word: passion. Whether its photos, working in Haiti, relationships, coffee or karaoke, her heart's all in. Casey impressed me initially with her no-bs badass attitude and Holga full of 120mm film. Casey MacKenzie has a unique style; like a dark-sexy-image-of-a-fashionable-model-for-a-cologne-ad style (I picked an image that best represents CMP in my mind). But what I admire about Casey's work is that she adapts to every different type of shoot to capture her interpretation of what she wants felt. So her wedding stuff is way different than her editorial stuff, but still has that MacKenzie style slathered all up on it. I also admire Casey's work because I could never imagine being able to capture that dusky, sexy, fashionable style very well. With her background in fashion design and her ever-changing hairstyle experimentation, Casey has an eye for things that will forever be beyond my artistic grasp. As someone who is trying to find any sort of consistent and unique style, I gotta respect my girl for that.






Emily Agenjo Photography

(use that link until www.emilyagenjo.com is back online)

Emily is my newest sister, thanks to my beautiful wife. So obviously I have to rep my kid sis. But there are some pertinent reasons why her talent will round-house kick you in the heart with beautiful images. Emily has come a long way fast. She went to school for journalism and discovered her natural talents in photo journalism and consequentially, wedding photography. She's been surrounded by good photographers and has absorbed like a sponge the techniques and knowledge she wants to create her own name in the game. In Southern California Emily was writing for Utterly Engaged, and was working for Bay Bella Publishing until last year. Now sis is working Pro Image Studios as Lead Round-House Kicker of Beautiful Images. She's even shooting a wedding in Sonora, CA at Union Hill where Erin and I were married!! She also took amazingly sexy boudoir pictures of my wife, and for that I am eternally indebted to her. I'm going to look at them now. Em is very much a people person also and is a blast to work with/for and its easy and motivating to feed off of her energy. Props, sis. And gentlemen, Miss Agenjo is gorgeous and temporarily single, so if you resemble Ryan Gosling, she'll be waiting for your call.






i love that glove


i love that glove is comprised of the ever impressive Oralia "Lia" Cecaci and her collection of digital and film cameras. Lia has been in the game for some time and has payed her dues; it shows in her design work and in her images. Lia has one of the most memorable 'creative eye' of any photographer that I've ever come across in my to-date 5/6 years photo. It makes me jealous, she's that good. When your images are making other seasoned photographers think "I wish I thought of that," then you know you're ahead of the rest. Well Lia's ahead, and from where I'm standing, she's a tiny speck on the horizon. She designs and photographs independently and juggles two other photo-related jobs (I have 3 jobs also, but only one is photo-related. In the past I've juggled 3 photo-related jobs, and I was burned out to the point that it was showing in my work. There is no evidence of burn-out in Lia's shining work.) Lia works at ultra-spective photography and at Las Positas Community College in the photo lab. So basically, she's killing it. I believe with her continued dedication and hard work, she can cultivate her talent to be one of the Bay's, state's and/or country's most talented photographers.






Kelly Boitano Photography


I've never had the giddy pleasure of working with Kelly. But I know her. If you hire her, I imagine your wedding day overflowing with giggles, skipping, puppy dogs and rainbows. I'd be surprised if she doesn't offer a wedding package that includes puppy dogs. She's non-stop fun and cuteness. Still, Kelly's an old soul. She's just stuck in a fleshbag of effervescent, warm friendliness. If Kelly had never picked up a camera in her life, she would be a good photographer just for these relational traits. But she has picked up a camera or two in her day, and she's murdering it in the giggle/puppy/beautiful photos department. I respect Kelly for her talent and also because I always get the sense that she really cares about what I'm saying when we get to chat. She's a very good listener and she's very humble. Kelly picked up and left her everything in the East Bay to study at Hallmark Institue of Photography in Mass. I don't know what her background was before school at Hallmark, but I, the "seasoned photographer", skeptically wished her luck before she threw up the peace sign and left for the Right Coast. She came back wayyyyyy better than me, punching my ordinary talent with her extra, humbling me and putting me in my place. And she's blowing up all over the Bay Area, so I'd advise you book soon so she can blow up your wedding.



There you have it, people. 
These are the best photographers that I know.
I hope you spend lots of time dreaming of your wedding, past or future, and want them there with their cameras.
You probably understand now why I love the work of these talents.
It's quite obvious they're people to admire.
Hope you admire them also!
Refer them to your friends!
Thanks...

This was fun, I'm gonna do more posts like this.
Stay tuned... big love.

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