"It's one of nature's ways that we often feel closer to distant generations than to the generation immediately preceding us." ~Igor Stravinsky

Upon a rare dig into the archives of some of my earliest images I discovered a sheet of negatives from a shoot I remember and look back on with fond memory.

While I don't have any "got my first camera when I was eight," stories, I do remember a mid-90's visit to my Grandmother's house in the St. Anthony Park neighborhood of St. Paul, MN. On any given spring, summer, or fall day you'd find Grandma in her backyard, sitting on her back porch swing, glass of lemonade with book or magazine within arms reach. Never in a hurry, always having plenty of time to genuinely listen to whatever topic surfaced; a quality she possessed that seems evermore valuable in today's time and space.

On this particular visit I arrived with a bit more zeal than was typical, my latest camera purchase at the hip- a new 85mm portrait lens ready to try out with a subject I knew would be more than willing and happy to oblige.

I am often asked about what steps or influences shaped my decision to tread upon this path and profession. My Grandmother on my mother's side, Garnet Rice, was the person most likely to have camera on hand, at the ready. She traveled near and far including multiple trips overseas. If I remember correctly she proudly stated she'd been to all fifty states, which for a woman of her means and her era, was quite a feat. There were always piles of 4x6 picture packs laying on her dining room table- she always ordered "double prints" so family members could take home their favorites.

Here's to being inspired by those before us; no doubt my work has a thread of my past woven into it. The road has gotten easier in many ways, yet more difficult and sometimes unnecessarily more complicated in others it often seems.

Grandma Garnet passed close to 10 years back - a vibrant and active woman of 93 years of age. A favorite person who still inspires, encourages, and smiles upon me. For this I am thankful and humbled...

While capturing video footage is the talk of the industry, we've learned quickly that any footage is only as good as the edited, final viewable product. Without a solid editor, colorist, and a person equally skilled with audio, most footage would remain just a series of clips stored on a hard drive never to see the light of day.

Over the course of the past year and a half I've been working to hone my video capture skills and have had the opportunity to collaborate with variety of editors. The process is always an intriguing one as it always adds more shape and voice to the content than I anticipate. We all have a vision when we set out to create new work, and in the video realm the aforementioned partners are essential to really make these ideas come to life.

This latest video piece is an augmentation of the still project shot for McDonald's over 4 days in Houston this past February. The crew and I worked to capture video clips in a variety of places, between shots, once our still needs were met. John Fontana also gathered ambient sound amid each of the stores we visited. To add to the look and feel we used a prototype glide track manufactured by Humble Monkey Productions which added a nice element of movement to each scene captured.

After wrapping the project in Houston, I got in touch with Adam Duguay of Elemental Motion Media Inc. in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. We had been talking for a while and through conversations I became really interested in his approach to merging stills + video in an edit and just as important his ability to color grade video to match still imagery. A few weeks after shipping him a drive of select stills, raw video and audio we received the first edit which left us here at JCP in high spirits of what had been achieved. With a solid edit taking shape and continued dialogue between Adam and I, we were able to further refine and match up the stills and video content quite nicely.

Enough about our process. Take a look and I hope you enjoy- it's been a long time in the works. In addition to the blog it'll be featured at the JC|P Motion section of the site.

Our clients at McDonald's couldn't be happier with the final joint still / video rendition. With iPad in hand I was psyched to share this and other JC|P video projects at the recent AtEdge Face-to-Face event in Chicago last week, as well as several agencies in the following days. The estimate requests that are coming in are a sign that people are really excited about the merging mediums and are looking for ways to integrate both options on projects, large and small.

Thanks to all involved on this and other projects. Lots in store on the horizon and I look forward to continued collaboration...

Inundated by data these days, it's hard to imagine where any of us would be without a way to process and store all the 1's and 0's that have become a part of everyday life.

The Minneapolis based Compellent: a company devoted to finding effective storage solutions for companies all over the world, recently held their yearly conference, C-Drive, which put us on location to capture formal portraits of various patrons attending the event. We had a small space to set up our lighting and backdrop which encouraged a more personalized experience with subjects and crew alike. Over the course of two days, we met people from all over the world and heard a few good stories about their hometown or their favorite outing while here in Minneapolis.

With art direction being a bit more moody and dramatic, the portraits are a departure from my typical daylight based approach and style. I am pleased with where they ended up and could see this project as a catalyst for future photo endeavors.

This past January we entered a few images in the American Photography 26 contest- shots from a shoot for Purina via Colle+McVoy. A recent e-mail notification came through announcing the above image had been selected for award.

Out of 8000+ submitted entries only 132 photographers were chosen to showcase their work on the American Photography 26 site. Congratulations to all my peers who made the selection for 2010.

Off to Chicago next week for another project for the N.M.D.P. followed by the AtEdge "Face to Face Chicago" portfolio showing event where I'll be meeting with creatives from both Euro RSCG and Abelson Taylor.

"I admire bull riders for their passion and the uniqueness each one of them has." - Chris Le Doux

A call came through recently from Preston Kelly looking to commission an image of a bull rider being thrown from a bull for an ad for a national health insurance company. If this were Texas I'm sure it wouldn't have been too hard to locate, but here in the Midwest, it wasn't quite as easy. After reaching out to many folks in the local Minnesota bull riding and rodeo community, as well as producer Bobbi Peacock and some local scouts, we managed to secure a location and an event to capture the desired rider image as well as some additional still + video content for personal / portfolio use.

About an hour southwest of Minneapolis in Henderson, MN sits High Island Arena where the annual Friday and Saturday evening rodeo event was scheduled. Having secured full access to roam amid the event we found an unused horse stall which couldn't have worked better to set up a small portrait area. Once the Kino Flo Diva Lights from Cinequipt were in position for still + video portraits we set out to capture some behind the scenes shots, as well as scout the ideal position to capture a rider being thrown off a bull.

The rodeo was no doubt a true slice of Americana, steeped in rich tradition and history. It was certainly a visual place to spend a few hours and we had a great time working with all the people that keep this sport alive and well.

The photography business is in a constant state of flux and the merging of the world of still and motion seems near the forefront of what is being discussed in terms of new creative content.

Over the past year, we have worked to evolve visually and have been a part of several video based collaborations. As time marches on and projects come and go, a whole new set of work has emerged. An update to the website seemed obvious and became something we worked hard to get underway between projects.

We didn't feel the need to reinvent from scratch, but rather take on a solid refresh of everything that was good about the old site, along with new additions to spotlight fresh work and our recent ventures into the world of DSLR video. We once again tapped Nathan Strandberg and Katie Kirk, of Eighthourday, for the redesign / update which now features larger portfolio images, a sleeker, cleaner appearance, and a new section entitled "JC|P Motion;" dedicated entirely to our video and interactive based projects.

Take a moment to look around the renewed JCP site and be sure to spend some time with the new section JC|P Motion where you’ll find our newest piece "La Vie..." based on the still imagery of the Runner shoot produced near the end of last year.

Grenada may seem an unlikely place to establish a medical school, however, St. George's University was founded on this Caribbean Island over 30 years ago. The medical school currently boasts nearly 8,000 graduates practicing medicine worldwide.

This recent project for St. George's University was in fact my second - both this and the first were in collaboration with The Halo Group out of New York. For this campaign our backdrop was a Minneapolis area hospital which offered up some amazing access to the realistic medical environs we were seeking. With our talent in place and the various scenes lit, it felt a bit like being on the set of a fast paced medical drama. After trying a couple of lighting options, we realized the lighting from our modeling lights (kicked into umbrellas) actually had a more natural look. With some minor gelling we were able to achieve the desired look + feel while pairing with the existing fluorescent lighting.

Thanks goes out to Bobbi Peacock for producing another seamless project, as well as Janna Chin our wardrobe / prop stylist, and of course Ashlee Ellert our expert on hair + make-up.

The only thing missing was a visit from George Clooney- a'la early E.R...

'What doesn't freeze us makes us stronger.' - Tommy 'Hurl' Everstone

A recent shoot for Bicycling Magazine had us catching up with four "bike-centric" people / places in the Minneapolis metro-area. The story hails Minneapolis as the No. 1 bike city in America!

Considering we are a land of frigid temperatures, icy roads, sandspit, and boiler-plate ice, for part of the year, the elements do not take pity on the lone two wheeled bicycle. The fact that Minneapolites ride in these conditions at all speaks to the passion and dedication of riders here in the metro. The Twin Cities have nearly 130 miles worth of bike paths and bike lanes in the streets with over 8,000 individuals using them to commute to work. We were fortunate enough to photograph a few of the many prominent bikers and bike shops/cafes Minneapolis has to offer.

The last shoot for 2009 took place in Burnsville, MN for McDonald's at a newly remodeled store, which led to one of the first shoots for 2010 in Houston, TX. Under the golden arches once again, the main difference between the two shoots, aside from location of course, was a greater focus on what happens behind the scenes as a crew member. In particular, our aim was more directed at capturing a day in the life of crew and managers who play a vital role in the day to day operations of a McDonald's restaurant. We were granted access to all of the behind the scenes areas which allowed us to float around freely capturing images + video of all the elements working together to make a successful operation.

Whenever the opportunity arises for an in depth look behind the curtain, we usually come back with a greater appreciation of the people and the effort that goes into producing the end product; after four days and 7 restaurants, McDonald's is no exception. From the kitchen staff, to window washers to the shift managers, everyone's role is essential for the golden arches to continue to stand tall upon a solid foundation as one of the most recognizable brands in the fast service industry.

Once again we were able to carve out time to capture some video - this time using a beta glide track type dolly system courtesy of our friends at Humble Monkey Productions. I look forward to sharing this final edit in days ahead.