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The Story Behind Michael Phelps and More Olympic Athletes for VISA

Posted by Workbook on 05/16/2012 — Filed under:  FeaturesHeadlineMusing OnPhotography
By Poby


When do you have a photo job that gives you goosebumps and chills? Even after all my years in this business, photographing Olympic athletes is very, very special for me. Olympic athletes dedicate their entire lives for just those few weeks when they compete on the highest level possible against the very best athletes from around the world. Only a few people can imagine what the experience means physically and mentally. After the last Winter Olympics, TBWA/CHIAT/DAY and the creative team around CD Gage Clegg gave me the opportunity to photograph the VISA campaign for the upcoming Summer Olympics in London. All athletes have individual stories of successes and failures during their careers--this is what forms them. Even I have some stories from when I used to play water polo as a pro. It was amazing to meet MICHAEL PHELPS and see how dedicated and focused he is. This is a guy who won 8 gold medals in just one Olympic Games. Are you kidding me? We shot in, under, and outside the water. What more could I ask for than to spend a day with this guy in the pool? The shoot with Michael Phelps was one of the true highlights of my long career.



(Read more)

Niklas Asker: The Deal

Posted by Workbook on 05/16/2012 — Filed under:  FeaturesHeadlineIllustration
Niklas Asker is a 30-year old painter, graphic novelist and illustrator. In the last couple of years Niklas has worked with everything from illustrating the advent calendar for Swedish television in 2009 to working on a graphic novel for the worlds largest book publisher, Random House Books in New York.

In 2009 Niklas first original graphic novel, Second Thoughts, was published by Top Shelf Comics. Since then the book has been translated into Italian and Dutch. The Swedish version is being published in September by Optimal Press.

Niklas is continuously working with both comics and painting, letting the two complement and inspire each other. In September 2009 he had his first solo show at Galleri Silfverberg, Silfverberg & Silverberg in Malmö, Sweden. Blood Is Thicker Than Rope at Carina Björck Gallery is Niklas second solo show.

Niklas has studied at Örebro Art School and the Comics Art School in Malmö and is always searching the perfect balance between the concrete and the abstract, both in his comics and his painting.

Below is Niklas' cover the May edition of The Deal magazine.



Elvis Swift for Rib Whip

Posted by Workbook on 05/15/2012 — Filed under:  FeaturesHeadlineIllustrationThis Just In...
Elvis Swift of Joanie Bernstein Reps created the new logo for San Francisco Rib Whip Food Trucks.



364 Food Photographs over 15 Days

Posted by Workbook on 05/15/2012 — Filed under:  FeaturesHeadlinePhotography
By Norman Maslov

One hundred and eighty-four plate shots over nine shoot days on three sets with three styling teams, plus one hundred and eighty ingredient shots over six shoot days on two sets with two styling teams for Kraft Salad Dressings. That’s a lot of food and one huge production from Sue Tallon and her pretty large band of brothers and sisters.

Scroll down to view just a few of these images, plus some wonderful testimonials from the amazing creatives from TBWA\Chiat\Day, who brought this project to Sue Tallon.







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Workbook's Latest Additions

Posted by Workbook on 05/14/2012 — Filed under:  FeaturesHeadlineNew Talent
Continuing our weekly spotlight of the new additions to the Workbook roster, here are seven talented new photographers, illustrators and production specialists:

ALICEBLUE




Jim Starr

Jim received his BFA from Carnegie Mellon University in 1982. He gained valuable illustration experience at Eucalyptus Tree Studios in Baltimore, from 1984-1988 and has been self employed ever since. Today, Jim primarily illustrates electronically, but also continues to work in traditional techniques. %u201CMy goal in every assignment is to work closely with the designer/art director to come up with a conceptually strong and well designed illustration." Jim has worked for a wide range of clients needs including logos, icons, package design, editorial, corporate, portraits, event posters, and web graphics. Jim works in many different styles including graphic, scratch board, airbrush, woodcut, pastel, paintings, watercolor, pencil, and pen and ink.  His work has been accepted into Print magazine, the Society of Illustrators Annual, and the Washington DC. Illustrators Club Annual Exhibit. Jim is a member of the Pittsburgh Society of Illustrators, and the Washington D.C. Illustrators Club.



Kim Lowe

Kim Lowe is an art director turned editorial-commercial photographer specializing in children. She's also a happy momma, a gardening fanatic and a loyal yogini that drinks her weight in tea.


Follow the link below to read an interview POP's Alison McCreery did with Kim. But be warned -- you may feel like flying a kite afterward or giving someone you love giving a noogie http://tinyurl.com/popkimlowe


William Geddes

William's interest in the visual arts began at an early age - photography and lighting design for school theater productions.


A versatile editorial and commercial photographer, Geddes enjoys working with a wide range of subject matter, from intimate still-life and interiors to lifestyle assignments. William also received an MFA in Photography and Related Technologies from Parsons - The New School for Design. In addition to his assignment work, he pursues projects and exhibition opportunities whenever possible. Recent awards include Canada's 2008 Northern Lights Award for travel photography.

William lives with his wife and two daughters in the Hamilton Heights section of northern Manhattan.



Amy Wummer




Margaret Hurst



Studio 1342

Studio 1342 is a 3500 sq ft  bow truss building and boutique daylight studio with gated privacy.
It also features a newly landscaped 5000 sq ft garden area offering many options for shoot, events and locations. A true daylight studio, it has 40 ft of SW facing scrimmed windows, large skylights and full blackout capability. There is a 16 ft wide cyc wall, full kitchen, makeup/dressing area and client lounge. A 10x10 frosted glass rollup door leads to a back patio, an outdoor stage and the landscaped gardens. Amenities include wifi, stereo system, AC/heat and 300 amps with Bates
stage pin. We also offer an onsite equipment manager and equipment rental. Centrally located on La Brea just north of Pico, the parking lot can accommodate up to 15 cars with ample street parking


Dirty! Dirty! Dirty!

Posted by Workbook on 05/11/2012 — Filed under:  FeaturesHeadlineMotionPhotography


Michael Lavine worked with Neo-beatnik, post-gonzo author and whiz-bang raconteur, Mike Edison, to promote his new book DIRTY! DIRTY! DIRTY! – OF PLAYBOYS, PIGS, AND PENTHOUSE PAUPERS, AN AMERICAN TALE OF SEX AND WONDER. Mike is a great writer and spoken word performer who tours with a back up band called “The Interstellar Rendevous Band.” This particular line up includes Jon Spencer from The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Mickey Finn from Boss Hogg and Dee Pop from the legendary Bush Tetra’s. Even though the video is chaotic and crazy, the devised formula was fairly systematic in its structure. But who really cares about that? Its just fun to watch!


Mike Edison from Michael lavine on Vimeo.

Hedge Graphics: Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, Candy Perfection and Cottonwood

Posted by Workbook on 05/10/2012 — Filed under:  FeaturesHeadlineIllustration


How many of us as school kids were awed by the fantastic monuments of the old Mediterranean cultures? Hedge Graphics' Mike Reagan, longtime North Carolina map artist and much more, is midway through a HarperCollins project (map, featured above) that includes separate illustrations of the seven "Wonders", and lots of hand lettering, compass rose, mileage bar, and other details. Art direction called for a borderless map. Mike has finished the Colossus of Rhodes and will start the other six soon.



Bonnie Hofkin, the Da Vinci-inspired medical/technical/food illustrator represented by Hedge Graphics, energized agency BBDO Worldwide's successful M&Ms print and web campaign for client Mars, Inc. The illustration depicts the candy's character as Da Vinci's "Vetruvian Man" along with compatible lettering, product package, and background. The campaign was art directed by Soomin Baik and coordinated by art producer Betsy Jablow.



Tony De Luz, longtime Sedona AZ artist and designer represented by Hedge Graphics, won Copper Quill Awards for illustration and design for Northern Arizona University in the In-House Design category. His work included the design for a documentary movie poster, "A Thousand Invisible Cords", and an illustration ("Cottonwood", featured above) to depict how genes effect their ecosystems. The awards are given by the Phoenix chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators who recognize communications professionals in publishing, design, illustration, writing, and web design.

View Imaging's Super Bowl Gillette Campaign with Oscar and Grammy Winners

Posted by Workbook on 05/10/2012 — Filed under:  FeaturesHeadlinePhotography
View Imaging worked with Andre 3000 of Outkast and actors Adrien Brody and Gael Garcia Bernal for Gillette's latest campaign which premiered during during the Super Bowl.


Name: Andre 3000 Benjamin
Style: Van Dyke


What does style mean to you?
It's every person's unique fingerprint. Style is taking what you have and playing with it. Blasting it out to the world and saying, "This is me."


What is your biggest style accident?
When I was a kid, I would cut my own hair with multiple mirrors to see my whole head. Or so I though. I made a mistake and cut a gap in my hair. To cover it up, I used a black magic marker, but by the end of the day the marker started to bleed down my face. I have come a long way from that.








How important is facial hair to you?
It took me a long time to get facial hair, and when I got it, I didn't want to get rid of it. Facial hair frames my face and is an integral part of my personality and me.




(Read more)

Running (Unstoppable), an Incredible and Inspiring for the Canadian Paralympic Committee

Posted by Workbook on 05/09/2012 — Filed under:  FeaturesHeadlineMotion




The video tells the story of Canadian amputee and more importantly, Paralympian,  Alister McQueen. McQueen sprints past vignettes of his rehabilitation process and preceding car accident. The entire one minute ad was filmed continuously with no CGI involved in the entire process. Directed by Mark Zibert, a behind the scenes look at the video shoot is below.


MZ_Paralympics - Making Of from VAUGHAN HANNIGAN on Vimeo.

"Where the Wild Things Are" Author Maurice Sendak Dies at 83

Posted by Workbook on 05/08/2012 — Filed under:  FeaturesHeadlineThis Just In...


(Courtesy of Patricia Reaney for Reuters) - American writer and illustrator Maurice Sendak, whose children's book "Where the Wild Things Are" has been a standard bedtime story for at least three generations, has died at the age of 83.

Sendak died during the night at Danbury Hospital in Connecticut from complications from a recent stroke, a hospital spokesperson said on Tuesday. He lived in nearby Ridgefield, Connecticut.

"We are terribly saddened at the passing of Maurice Sendak. He was a glorious author and illustrator, an amazingly gifted designer, a blisteringly funny raconteur, a fierce and opinionated wit, and a loyal friend to those who knew him. His talent is legendary; his mind and breadth of knowledge equally so," Susan Katz, the president and publisher of HarperCollins Children's Books, which published his books, said in a statement.

"Every once in a while, someone comes along who changes our world for the better. Maurice Sendak was such a man," she added.

Playwright Tony Kushner once described Sendak "as one of the most important, if not the most important, writers and artists to ever work in children's literature."

"Maurice Sendak captured childhood in brilliant stories and drawings which will live forever," Richard Robinson, the chairman, president and CEO of Scholastic Inc publishers, said in a statement.

Sendak, who was born in Brooklyn in 1928 and was dubbed by one critic as the Picasso of children's books, illustrated more than 50 books during his long career and won a number of prizes for his drawings. The Queen of Sweden presented him with the Hans Christian Andersen Award for children's book illustration in 1970.

Sendak, who was a sickly child, spent much of his time indoors. He enjoyed books and drew throughout high school. He became a professional illustrator after working briefly as a window dresser at the F.A.O. Schwarz toy store in New York and taking classes at the New York Art Students League.

He illustrated his first book, "The Wonderful Farm" in 1951 and won international acclaim in 1963 with "Where the Wild Things Are" about a boy who imagines a world of toothy monsters. The following year the American Library Association awarded him the prestigious Caldecott Medal for his illustration in the book.

Dozens of other children's books followed including "In the Night Kitchen" in 1970, which is dedicated to his parents, and "Outside Over There" in 1981.

In 1996 then-President Bill Clinton awarded Sendak the National Medal of Arts.

Sendak also worked as a costume and stage designer for operas by Ravel, Mozart and others.

"Bumble-Ardy," the first book in three decades in which he did both illustrations and text, was released in September by HarperCollins Publishers.

Sendak worked on the book while caring for his partner, Eugene Glynn, who died of cancer in 2007.

"I have nothing now but praise for my life. I'm not unhappy. I cry a lot because I miss people. They die and I can't stop them. They leave me and I love them more," Sendak said in an interview last year on Fresh Air with Terry Gross on NPR radio.

"There are so many beautiful things in the world which I will have to leave when I die, but I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready."

The Original Article can be found HERE
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