Website update: “Recent work” section, new folios debut

March 8, 2010 in behind the scenes | No comments

Two things…

I’ve thought a lot over the last few months about how to showcase my newest personal and commissioned work, and I decided to add a “recent work” section to www.adamryanmorris.com. It’s now the first listing in the “portfolios” menu.

Also, I’ve added lots of new and previously unseen work to the site, including these portfolios: moments, places, wire on white, Thomas & Murray (sunset street ’scapes from an intersection) and fashion (that’s “low-key fashion of a sort,” not high fashion).

Personal: Salt mountain

February 26, 2010 in landscape, personal | No comments

For me, it still takes a while for the size of this salt mountain at the Port of Milwaukee to sink in. It’s the juxtaposition with the two transport trucks that really knocks it out of the park for me. They look toy-size compared to that pile!

Tangle at 50mm

February 20, 2010 in behind the scenes, landscape, philosophy | No comments

In a previous post I talked about fixed-focal length lenses and a favorite creative exercise: leaving the house with one lens, challenging myself to make interesting pictures with whatever’s in front of me. (It really helps you see the world from a new, or at least different, perspective.) The frame above was made that way, with a 50mm lens.

Unlike a wide-angle lens, a 50mm starts to really allow a shallow depth of field. I like to find a tangle of branches, set a good baseline exposure, and lock focus, then look around via the camera. With a shallow depth of field, it’s amazing how many patterns — unseeable to the naked eye — reveal themselves.

Published: Horny Goat brew pub

February 17, 2010 in published, recent shoots | No comments

Somehow this photo from a 2009 Bay View Compass assignment never made it onto the blog. The Horny Goat beer folks opened a brew pub between downtown Milwaukee and Bay View, and I was there to photograph the food and atmosphere. I think the location could be a boon or bad news: It could draw heavily from the two distinct parts of the city, really pumping up business; or it could be forgotten. The vibe isn’t quite my style, what with the pinup girls (called the Horny Honeys) and all, but the owners have some interesting plans, including turning an adjacent lot into an entertainment center. I look forward to seeing how it all turns out.

The Dim Suns

February 16, 2010 in behind the scenes, recent shoots | No comments

I photographed Milwaukee band The Dim Suns at Bay View’s Club Garibaldi the weekend before Christmas. These guys have all been in major Milwaukee bands over the last decade or so. Franz Buccholtz, the drummer, is a multi-talented musician who also moonlights as half of the ambient duo Signaldrift, which has a new album on the way this spring. Club Garibaldi was a great spot for a show. Their stage is in a room of its own, and there’s lots of space for the crowd to sit or stand. There’s also a working disco ball, a smoke machine, and bright lights. I’d never been there before, and I was impressed. (With the music, too!)

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Weekend in Wyoming

February 15, 2010 in landscape | 1 comment

Our friend and freelance writer Julie Collins over at the Julie Tries blog was married in a small ceremony a few months back, and last weekend she threw a big bash for her friends… in rural Wyoming, her native turf. We flew into Denver and drove a rental vehicle north two hours to Laramie on Friday. Saturday, before partying it up at a saloon in Centennial, population 100, an hour west of Laramie, I hit the road with my camera. When looking out across wide-open fields, the words spare and sparse frequently came to mind. And beautiful. Definitely that, too.

Recent shoot: Eric W.

February 15, 2010 in recent shoots | No comments

I’ve had silhouettes on the brain lately, so I suppose it’s fitting that Milwaukee’s Eric W. and I shot several during our recent model test/portfolio shoot.

Three trees and one new camera

February 10, 2010 in behind the scenes, landscape | 1 comment

I’ve shot plenty with the Canon 5D Mark II since acquiring it last month, but not much with wide focal lengths. So last week on a rare free morning I drove to a favorite stretch of urban wilderness along the Root River Parkway for some exercise, both physically and mentally. I had been using a crop-factor camera for the last couple of years, so for example my 20mm lens was effectively a 35mm lens. It was time to reacquaint myself with how the world looks at 20mm.

I’m big on fixed-focal length, or prime, lenses and on challenges. Prime lenses force me to work for my shots, move around, wait for the right moment. It can be harder, but well worth the effort. With that in mind, now and again I like to leave the house with one lens and see how much I can push myself to create interesting photos out of whatever’s in front of me. On this day, it was the wide-angle lens and a jagged, snowy plot of land. I photographed a trio of trees, their messy branches pointing every which way.

Soon, I’ll share a frame or two from a similar exercise with the newly rediscovered 50mm focal length.

Published: Brandon Sanwick in Be-Mag

February 4, 2010 in blading, published | 1 comment


(CLICK IMAGE TO VIEW LARGE)

Finally, I can show this! Be-Mag’s newest issue features this photo as a two-page spread, and I couldn’t be happier. It’s amazing how after nearly 15 years in blading I still get so juiced to see a new skate magazine. Seeing my photos as part of it enhances that irreplaceable feeling. This time, there’s more in the mix: First, I didn’t think this photo was going to happen. But it did. Madison’s Brandon Sanwick really came through. Then, after finding a buyer in Be-Mag, the economic turbulence delayed publication of several issues, including this one. So things have finally come to fruition. And damn that feels great.

Published: Dallas Kilpatrick in ONE

January 25, 2010 in behind the scenes, blading, published | 1 comment

ONE skate magazine printed this photo of Milwaukee freestyle blader Dallas Kilpatrick in its latest issue. (For those in the know, here’s the caption: Soul grind on the bench, transfer to top soul on the wall.) Dallas and I discovered this spot during a low-key mid-day photo mission. We shot a few versions of this trick, but I prefer this frame because it emphasizes Dallas’ style and the split-second just before he fully locks the second grind.

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