Archive for April 2012

Did you happen to pick up Thursdays Style section of The New York Times? Or even glance over it? If you did, you most certainly saw the beautifully shot little ladies that graced the full page "above the fold". Lee Clower spent a fun day at Shoot Digital a couple of weeks ago working with Cathy Horyn to put together this beautiful designer children's wear feature together.

Here it is, if you missed it:

Happy Friday to all!

This week we are simply thrilled to have stumbled upon (thank you twitter) this awesome tumblr: Humans of New York.

Brandon Staton, creator of Humans of New York captures precisely what it's title states. The project is an "effort to create a photographic census of the city of New York, with an eye toward creating artistic portraits of strangers on the street". He's already gathered over 4,000 street portraits and they are wildly interesting. Once he shoots the portrait, he adds a candid anecdote from the shoot or some one liner describing the image and setting the scene. To read more about the goals of the project, click here. Here are a selection of the ones that we like best. Warning: it was tough to only choose our top 3, with their captions.

"Colors are becoming to anyone. Even a little puppy, when it has a coat on, it's very nice. Now go get me a peice of pizza, I mean it. Go."

"Keeping the thrill alive."

"Seven words I love to hear, 'hold on, let me get my parrot'"

Something fresh for friday! We recieved these awesome landscape images from David Sykes just a few minutes ago. Never fear, he will continue to shoot those thoughtful conceptual shots you know and love him for. But it is always great to see the new and exciting directions our photographers are heading in!

This morning we got to visit Lucy Schaeffer on the set of her shoot this week! You may remember a couple of months back we wrote a blog post about the Cookies for Kids Cancer Cookbook that Lucy did all the photography for.

Well, she's at it again! Gretchen Holt-Witt wrote a second cookbook and Lucy was asked to be a part of the team again. Walking into the shoot location, it was cookie central. Here's a shot we took of Lucy in action! Check out those pecan squares! You should really go out and get the first Cookies for Kids Cancer Cookbook and pre-order the second...we can attest to the fact that the cookies are delish! We've been eating the treats that we snagged from set all day! (Classic Chocolate Chip and the Pecan Squares, yum!)

In this months travel issue of Bon Appetit Marcus shot a story featuring some of the world's most iconic dishes! The "Seven Wonders of the Food World" story set out to uncover secrets and techniques that give these classics the extra kick that makes them special (and wonderful)! Is it lunch time yet?

New York: The City That Never Sleeps.

We've all heard the catch phrase that really does accurately describe New York. Love or hate it, this fine city has a distict "hustle and bustle" which is recognized worldwide. Plopped between Port Authority Bus Terminal and Penn Station, the JMI office is located in the heart of what is often considered "tourist central". While it is quite a convenient for a commute, this morning I found myself overwhelmed (more than usual...) with the amount of tourists! I observed that there were more tourists flooding the streets than usual for that time of the morning, making it nearly impossible to even walk on 7th Avenue!

Thinking about the nubmer of people all the way upstairs to the office, imagine my excitement when I arrived at my computer and looked at The New Yorker Photo Booth blog which featured a post from a few days back entitled "Beautiful Tourists"! 15 glorious images (and descriptions..) from a variety of projects and photographers all who had thoughts and observations on tourists! Be sure to look at the entire post here but I included one in particular which I thought was great taken by Lucian Perkins.

Happy Friday!

We know the change in temperature makes everyone a bit more conscious about getting "beach bod ready" but we strongly suggest you put down the dumbells and pick up a copy of this months Town & Country. Featured in the "Out & About: Culture, Leisure and Other Pursuits" section is a story of the "stylish pixie from Atlanta" owner of Cacao Atlanta, Kristen Hard. The "self-taught chocolate-maker [Hard] is one of the few chocolateiers who starts with beans that she personally procures, and then roasts, grinds, tempers, and molds." Pretty cool stuff!

T&C asked Lee Clower to return to his homestate of Georgia to shoot Ms. Hard in the back of one of her three Atlanta shops. We had a chance to catch up with Lee a bit about his time back in the "peach state" and what it was like to spend the day with the chocolate visionary.

JMI: First things first, did you get to eat chocolate?

Lee Clower: Yes, all day.

JMI: Lucky you! From the article it sounds like Kristen is a pretty awesome lady. Tell us about her!

LC: Kristen is very elegant and Southern. In fact, she is four of my favorite things in life: elegant, Southern, hot AND she makes chocolate! I had trouble deciding which I preferred more, Kristen's elegant demeanor and appearance, or her chocolate...so I shot both!

JMI: Tell us about the store/ shoot environment? And how was it to be back in Atlanta shooting? We know your southern roots are very important to you!

LC: The environment of the shoot was appropriately "upscale Southern" which was perfect for Town & Country! And It's always nice to go home, especially when I get to work with people who are also from the south. Always nice to return to my roots!

Check out the shots:

We will for sure be heading to Cacao Atlanta next time we head down south!

Check out Mikkel Vang's ads for IKEA that are running in Europe now! I hope we can get some of that great outdoor furniture in our own IKEAs soon!

Happy Monday! Starting the week off right with a beautiful image shot by Lucy Schaeffer for the latest issue of House Beautiful. We love the colors and flowers especially on a day like today!

We recently came upon the photography website Pictory, which calls for submissions based on a theme for each showcase. The site asks photographers to submit their best image and short description that applies to each theme, and then compiles the selections to make a visual story. The result is a group of images that is at once varied and similar, and always emotionally poignant; a truly unique way to look at how not only photography, but human experience, unites us. One of the most recent themes was The Best of Small Town America, which gives you a glimpse into places so familiar to the photographers. Click on the image to see the full story.