Sister Madonna Buder, of Spokane, is an Ironman (World Championship) competitor who as a retired nun living in Spokane keeps a rigorous running, biking, and swimming training schedule to stay competitive. At the age of 84 she's an inspiration to all ages and isn't slowing down. She has forced several triathlon organizations to open up new age categories. J. Craig Sweat Photography has been an ally and friend in her efforts for several years including through several magazine stories, including the first for "Geezer Jock" magazine. Then a book was written about her and we photographed the cover and helped with inside photography as well. As commercial photographers this is great work for us and she has come to see us as her "photo people". She refers all photography inquiries to us, mostly because she doesn't want to take time away from her workouts. You will never meet a more kind and charming person in Sister Madonna, nor, apparently, a more motivated one.
The creative director at the Coeur d'Alene Casino asked us to photograph menu items for in-house and outside promotion. They have a very good kitchen (actually several and a new Chef. We had photographed Chef Steve Walk a few weeks before, as he came on board at the Casino. We ate lunch at the Casino before the photography the way the schedule worked and myself and Chris Thompson, our studio assistant (and a ravenous sort), ate our fill. The Casino and this Chef do seem dedicated to quality ingredients, well prepared and presented. From to-go, to buffet, to breakfast short order, to decidedly fine-dining, they have it all. The food operation is substantial at this resort. On this afternoon we did four dishes in a half-day session. Shrimp appetizer, chicken, pork cutlet and a beautiful fish steak graced our set. Work fast to shoot peak freshness is the rule with food work. It is a gift to work with a great chef and he understood that plating for photography is different than plating for service. Every tiny detail counts.
Coeur d'Alene Casino came to us to get some "lifestyle" images of their top-notch casino. They asked us to find talent and make-up services and go all-out for their gaming facility. They have used them widely in print and web dispositions. This was a great shoot for us- getting these fairly dark spaces and backgrounds lit for the right mood (not too dark and mysterious) and directing the talent for excitement and energy was the goal. The art director was real happy with the production and the results.
This casino has come a long way and is a very nice facility with several restaurants (good food- we've tried three of them), great hotel rooms, spa services, a beautiful golf course, meeting facilities, and just about anything else you might want at a resort property. It's remarkable how successful they are even as far out in the beautiful Palouse country as they are. It is the high quality amenities that bring folks here. The distance may even help: it feel like a real break from the everyday. I always look forward to our jaunts to the Casino. The drive is beautiful and the client is superb- appreciative and helpful.
Bouten Construction remodeled their offices with the help of the design agency helveticka. We photographed the result for helveticka's and Bouten's uses. It was a good exercise in interior photography- smaller spaces with mixed lighting (window, direct sun, fluorescent, tungsten, and some track fixtures). This is a common problem to solve with interior photography and there are several tools we use. Planning counts as some sources need to be isolated as we shoot, other balancing methods are done in post-production (editing). As a working office, we had to be a little careful with clutter and noise but the Bouten folks were great to work with, even helpful. Main lobby, entry hall, small and large conference rooms and a few details were done in less than a day. Bouten's projects are many and of usually of large scale. You can't live in Spokane without seeing and using Bouten constructed buildings. They are exceedingly good at heavy construction and have a reputation for careful, nicely finished work.
CK Anderson of helveticka came to us to photograph the various interiors at Rockwood Lane Retirement to help build their occupancy. These are all lived-in homes and their owners were good to us as we tried to represent what seems a very agreeable lifestyle. This is a well-maintained facility with everything from free-standing homes to small apartments available with a range of dining, support and nursing services on call. The folks I met seem real happy living there and the food looked great.
The challenge for us was the tight quarters in the smaller apartments with the dense furnishing that happens when a person, or couple, tries to narrow down a lifelong collection of nice things to fit a smaller space. In one case, there was absolutely nowhere to put a light , so we lit first for the right half, then, being very careful around the camera, we re-lit for the left half, combining the halves later, with little problem, as we edited. Good lighting for each half with just a little added editing time. We spent a full day on the interiors and then a couple of hours on a sunnier day for some exterior views.
helveticka, a top Spokane design agency, brought us in to photograph a new look and feel for the new HollisterStier Allergy division website. Owned by Jubilant, this company is a great Spokane success story started by Drs. Hollister and Stier almost a hundred years ago. They have an international reach and uncommon expertise with allergy treatments. It is a deep site- lots of pages and a fair amount of technical information. It is designed for both physician and patient use. For us several location sessions were involved including real allergy specialists at their practices, nurses, practice managers, (and we hired two models for patients). This authenticity resonates well with the sophisticated audience who are this company's clients. A studio session for the "product" header image was part of the package. Photography of the R&D staff, the phone support group, as well as the entire national sales team rounded out the project. The challenge in a project like this is scale- the number of components in the site and the number of people who have input, normally a good part of the management team. Clear and concise communications are essential and the execution has to be flawless. helveticka proved up to the task and I hope we helped to make them and Jubilant HollisterStier look good and improve their services to the doctors and patients who they are here to help.
Clicke here to see the website: www.hsallergy.com
ALSC Architects asked us to photograph the new snyamncut Residence Hall at Eastern Washington University. It's a beautiful facility and the students who live there are lucky. Given a difficult to pronounce native (Salish?) name, I am curious what it might be nicknamed by now. Said phonetically, the "c" is pronounced like an "s". It was just opened and populated this last fall (2013). We hoped to get the exterior but the landscaping wasn't in place yet- too limiting. We covered the interior thoroughly with images of the great ground floor common areas, the entry, and upper floor study and kitchen areas. The client was happy with the result and we licensed them to Leone and Keeble Construction, as the contractor, as well.
Spokane design firm "helveticka" came to us on behalf of Avista Corp. to produce a print ad to express Avista's support and interest in the University District along the river in downtown Spokane. Avista Corp. has been instrumental, in fact a founding partner, in the development of the campus locus. Adjacent to the Gonzaga University Campus with elements of Eastern Washington University, Washington State University and other educational entities as partners in the location, it is already a beautiful and well used campus setting with a great future. Avista is rightly proud of their investment and the team's vision, which now lives in this superb addition to Spokane's culture. This was a way for them to express it. Happily, we had a beautiful summer evening to execute this image along with the cooperation of a group of our and helveticka's friends to populate the image. We needed to add just a touch of light to an otherwise natural scene and it all went according to plan. A very pleasant evening and we got home before dark. You should go down and walk the campus sometime- it is beautiful and has a great feel about it.
Read about Spokane's University District here: http://www.spokaneuniversitydistrict.com/avista.php
The lid is off, now we can say it: Clancy (Clarise) Pool has won the "Paralibrarian of the Year" award from Library Journal Magazine . This trade magazine has a circulation of over a hundred-thousand which is very respectable in the world of publishing and makes sense when you consider the number of people with library careers countrywide. This is a national competition and Ms. Pool, of St John, Washington, was judged to be the most stellar performer in the world of libraries as a paralibrarian. She has done some great things for the Whitman County Library system. She shepherded funding and support for the building of a new facility in St. John and has worked at and improved a number of the small rural libraries in their system. We were sworn to secrecy in this work, even as we went to St. John to produce the images. We dissembled when asked what we were doing there and stayed obscure in our explanations.
Clancy was a great sport as we put her through a lengthy session for a cover image and then photographed her entertaining and reading to kids, out on the main street of St. John (in bitter cold), and collaborating with other library folks. I'm guessing she slept very well that night. Commonly, one person runs this library- it's a small operation and she is often it, but it is more successful and of a much higher profile and much more used by the locals with her effort to build it up. The magazine has been released, so we can talk openly about her recognition- pretty good for a small-town lady of great charm. Read the article here: Library Journal Magazine
