My blog is moving. I have decided to move the blog so I have more creative control over the design.
You can find the new blog at blog.mccoryjames.com.
If you are a subscriber to this blog, you will need to resubscribe at the new blog.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Balistreri Winery
I photographed John Balistreri, owner of Balistreri Vineyards, in Denver for Luxe Magazine. The location was kind of a crazy one in the middle of an industrial area, but I guess as long as you have a cellar you can make wine anywhere. They purchase their grapes from growers in the Grand Valley Viticultural Area located in Western Colorado. They are a small winery producing 4500 cases per year. One unique aspect to their wines is that they are fermented on their own yeast, unaltered by sulfites, unfiltered, and aged in American oak.
We set up the shoot in the cellar of the winery where many of the wine barrels were stored. It was rather challenging at times getting our lights to hit where we wanted them while you had huge stacks of barrels in the way. Luxe selected the first shot to be used in the magazine.
We set up the shoot in the cellar of the winery where many of the wine barrels were stored. It was rather challenging at times getting our lights to hit where we wanted them while you had huge stacks of barrels in the way. Luxe selected the first shot to be used in the magazine.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
DoubleButter for Luxe
I photographed two furniture designers, David Larabee & Dexter Thornton, that work together as DoubleButter for a story on them in an upcoming issue of Luxe Magazine. DoubleButter designs some great modern furniture with some very creative twists. You can see more of their work on their website at www.doublebutter.com.
The shoot was a fun one. I had Ryan and our new intern from the Art Institute of Colorado, Derek, assisting on the job which really allowed me to spend the time talking and getting to know David & Dexter. They both had great personalities and were easy to work with. They also had great exposed brick in their workshop, which worked well as a background.
Here are some of the best photos. The first photo is the one that was selected by Luxe for the story.
The shoot was a fun one. I had Ryan and our new intern from the Art Institute of Colorado, Derek, assisting on the job which really allowed me to spend the time talking and getting to know David & Dexter. They both had great personalities and were easy to work with. They also had great exposed brick in their workshop, which worked well as a background.
Here are some of the best photos. The first photo is the one that was selected by Luxe for the story.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Another Day, Another Afro
One of my recent afro shoots was with James, a 13 year old with a lot of hair.
Here is a little background on how a shoot like this goes and how I get what I want out of my subjects. With this shoot I photographed James for awhile and got some great laughing photos...
...but I wanted something a little more stoic. To give him a break for a few minutes I photographed him and his brother together.
In that photo, he gave me exactly the look I wanted but couldn't get earlier. I asked his brother to step aside for a second and asked him to keep that same look on his face. He held it perfectly and I got exactly what I wanted. I think one of the keys to being a good photographer is knowing what you want in a photo and know how to achieve it. I love the feeling of clicking the shutter and knowing that I just captured exactly what I wanted.
You can see that if you just remove his brother from the above photo, it is exactly the same as the one below. I love the peaceful but confident look on his face.
Here is a picture to give you an idea of our "huge" set for these afro photos. I bought the piece of metal from a scrap yard and it is pretty thick and heavy. It was also the largest we could fit in my Jeep Cherokee without tying it to the top. It can be somewhat limiting at times, but has been perfect in achieving the look I wanted with these photos.
Here is a little background on how a shoot like this goes and how I get what I want out of my subjects. With this shoot I photographed James for awhile and got some great laughing photos...
...but I wanted something a little more stoic. To give him a break for a few minutes I photographed him and his brother together.
In that photo, he gave me exactly the look I wanted but couldn't get earlier. I asked his brother to step aside for a second and asked him to keep that same look on his face. He held it perfectly and I got exactly what I wanted. I think one of the keys to being a good photographer is knowing what you want in a photo and know how to achieve it. I love the feeling of clicking the shutter and knowing that I just captured exactly what I wanted.You can see that if you just remove his brother from the above photo, it is exactly the same as the one below. I love the peaceful but confident look on his face.
Here is a picture to give you an idea of our "huge" set for these afro photos. I bought the piece of metal from a scrap yard and it is pretty thick and heavy. It was also the largest we could fit in my Jeep Cherokee without tying it to the top. It can be somewhat limiting at times, but has been perfect in achieving the look I wanted with these photos.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
New Orleans
I recently traveled to New Orleans to capture the culture of this amazing city. From the graveyards to the jazz to the great cajun food, New Orleans has a lot to offer. You can view all the photos here. Below are a few of my favorites.
Bourbon Street at dusk with Maison Bourbon Jazz Club in foreground.
A local New Orleans artist, Reggie Ford, in front of one of his paintings.
Jazz band playing at the historic Maison Bourbon Jazz Club.
A musician, who goes by the name Sparrow, playing guitar on a city bench.
St. Louis Cathedral and Jackson Square with a colorful night sky.
A statue of a girl mourning on a grave at St. Louis Cemetery.
Detail of fence surrounding Jackson Square.
Bourbon Street at dusk with Maison Bourbon Jazz Club in foreground.
A local New Orleans artist, Reggie Ford, in front of one of his paintings.
Jazz band playing at the historic Maison Bourbon Jazz Club.
A musician, who goes by the name Sparrow, playing guitar on a city bench.
St. Louis Cathedral and Jackson Square with a colorful night sky.
A statue of a girl mourning on a grave at St. Louis Cemetery.
Detail of fence surrounding Jackson Square.Wednesday, November 26, 2008
November
Things slowed down a bit during November, but I still managed to stay pretty busy. The month was full with some new marketing campaigns (which are starting to pay off!) I will start blogging again regularly in December and you can see some of our latest projects. Have a great Thanksgiving!
Monday, September 29, 2008
Lucas' Afro
My most recent afro project photo shoot was with Lucas, a high school freshman. Lucas had quite the ball of hair! Enjoy the photos below.
I have been working on marketing efforts recently and included this definition of an afro with some of my marketing, which I think is pretty funny.
Af·ro, [af-roh] –noun
1. A hairstyle in which the hair is allowed to grow naturally and to acquire a bushy appearance and extend out from the head like a halo, cloud or ball. Sometimes called a "natural" or shortened to "fro". An afro requires very curly hair and can grow to several times the diameter of the head.
I have been working on marketing efforts recently and included this definition of an afro with some of my marketing, which I think is pretty funny.
Af·ro, [af-roh] –noun
1. A hairstyle in which the hair is allowed to grow naturally and to acquire a bushy appearance and extend out from the head like a halo, cloud or ball. Sometimes called a "natural" or shortened to "fro". An afro requires very curly hair and can grow to several times the diameter of the head.
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