After months of planning my friend Jordan Stead and I started The Emerald Collective. The best thing about working with Jordan is that the final product comes out better than I initially perceive. Lighting and overall concept are much easier to imagine when you have someone to bounce ideas off of. Here are a set of portraits we did of Western Washington University alumni at the Microsoft campus for WINDOW magazine. If you would like to check out some of our recent work please go to our blog.
Organizer Andrew Harbour, left, smacks Robert Daniel in the face after awarding him a trophy for the best pillow fighter at Western Washington University’s Red Square on February 14, 2010.
There was an organized pillow fight at Western Washington’s Red Square on Valentine’s Day. It was flash mob style, where people who wanted to participate just had to show up. I was working that day and found the event on craigslist. Thought it would be a hoot and invited Andy Bronson along. Everyone had a blast! You get to hit a complete stranger with a pillow, who wouldn’t enjoy themselves? Here are couple frames from the online gallery.
Our advanced visual journalism class went on a class field trip to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island this weekend. The assignment was to gather multimedia from an outdoor sculpture park on the island. I was with a great group and the actually traveling was the best part. It has been awhile since I got to ride a ferry. They are quite magical. Here are some random fun photos of the trip. Click on for more. Continue reading
Death Cab for Cutie played a Western student exclusive show at Mount Baker Theatre last week. I was asked to photograph the show for the school. Overall an amazing show, despite the incompetent staff at Mount Baker Theatre. Seriously, if you are going to give out press passes then they should have some authority as to where you can go. I had four different tickets to let me in and out of particular areas, painful to say the least. Always be early. End rant. Click on for more. Continue reading
Last week I photographed an art project by Western’s Communication & Sciences Disorders department. Faculty, students and patients gathered to commemorate and decorate their new Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic in the Academic Instructional Center at Western. Click on for still images. Continue reading
I photographed the 17th Annual Drag Show on Western’s campus about two weeks ago. I could only stay for the first half, but the performances I saw were quite entertaining. The shoes, costumes and performers were colorful and full of life. The LGBTA hosted the event and the proceeds went towards AIDS outreach and community support organizations; Sean Humphrey House and the Evergreen AIDS Foundation. Click on for more. Continue reading
I had the great opportunity to photograph the Vagina Memoirs hosted by Westerns Women’s Center. Press release:
The Vagina Memoirs is an important and powerful event of women-identified people sharing their personal experiences with our community. These are 13 local women who have spent the last few months exploring their identities, memories and moments of powerlessness as well as moments of power. Examining the subversion, status-quo, and wonders of gender, orientation, legacy and identity through personal journeys of self-actualization. This will be a space where personal, frightening, funny, taboo and generally women-empowering subject will be explored and examined.
This event has been dififcult to get permission to photograph in the past and the Performance Arts Center auditorium was filled to capacity. Big thanks to the coordinators at the center. It was an amazing performance by all the women, and I was truly moved. Click on for more photos Continue reading
-Mark
Another Klipsun shoot.
We had our first day of video class last Thursday and we were told to make a 30 second commercial in 15 minutes. I had no experience in video, but the point was to have fun. Weeee!
My partner and I grabbed my backpack to sell. A fitting choice to stir up the economy. We edited yesterday and this is what we came up with. Enjoy :)
-M