Lyle Tuttle, a portrait

Posted on September 12, 2012 by Nicolle

I’ve spent the past couple of days going through an old hard drive of mine, and came across a couple of portraits I shot of famed tattoo legend, the man who practically started it all, Lyle Tuttle. You wouldn’t know by this portrait, but Lyle is literally covered in tattoos from the neck down. He is the original badass.

“Tattoos aren’t meant for everybody and they’re too goddamn good for some people.” – Lyle Tuttle, tattoo artist, author, and lecturer.

I love beer (photography).

Posted on September 6, 2012 by Nicolle

The Fall issue of Beer West has finally hit the newsstands and I am really excited to share with you the assignments I had the opportunity to work on with art director Amy Johnson.

A couple weeks before the photo shoot Amy and I sat down to discuss possible cover concepts, as well as the front-of-book opener and the final full-page closer. All-in-all I was hired to shoot the cover, FOB and BOB, and a full-page product shot. Needless to say Amy and I really enjoy working with each other. She’s a very talented designer, and I’m always really pleased with her layout skills and concepts. We are currently in the process of a very exciting (and long-awaited) personal project collaboration- I will be handling the portraits/photography for the project, and Amy the layout, copy, and design. We hope to have this project ready for the world by the beginning of 2013- so get ready to be blown away!

For the food issue of Beer West we tossed around a number of cover ideas and both decided the packaged-meat “EAT” was easily the most fun option. We spent the whole day in studio with my good friend Brian Cannarozzi styling the food for all three shots.

Art Direction: Amy Johnson
Food Stylist: Brian Cannarozzi

The studio shot of Jon (James Staton) was a lot of fun for everyone- especially him because he got to munch down on a delicious Fir Burger (from the infamous Doug Fir restaurant in Portland) while the crew was working hard and being hungry. The final dessert shot had it’s immediate rewards, as we all had a chance to eat some of the meaty dessert as soon as we got the shot. Devon Chase, head-chef at Oven + Shaker (located in the Pearl District in downtown Portland) was kind enough to make a special dessert of baked berries and prosciutto, heating the berries in a wood-fired oven until they burst while simultaneously crisping the meat. She then tops the dish with house-made vanilla gelato and biscuits, and garnishes with fresh mint. Her goal is for people to eat this dish and leave loving savory desserts as much as she does. “When the dessert is fresh, it’s a mixture of temperature, texture, savory, and sweet” says the chef.

Thanks to the whole crew: Devon Chase, Brian Cannarozzi, Jon James Staton, Ashely Anderson, and Amy Johnson!

Z-Life Magazine, Portland Monthly Trail Shoe Guide and More!

Posted on August 3, 2012 by Nicolle

Z-Life Magazine // Fall 2012 Issue
Art Director: Sarah Russin

A couple months ago I had the opportunity to photograph 3 local Zumba instructors for Zumba’s trade magazine- Z-Life. We shot on location at Refuge PDX in inner southeast Portland. These particular instructors specialize in a nightclub-esq Zumba dance class which involves a DJ and hella crazy stage-lighting. They were really great to work with.

A week after the Zumba shoot I was hired to shoot Portland Monthly’s summer issue Trail Shoe Guide. We handled this whole shoot in the art director’s backyard. The opening shot (with the shoes hanging from the branches) was a little tricky getting the perfect balance (visually and literally!) but made for a great spread! I love shooting product and have recently been approached more and more for my particular style of product photography. I approach most of my product shoots as “product portraits” as opposed to simply capturing an image of an object. Giving that object a bit of personality!

Portland Monthly Trail Shoe Guide // July 2012
Art Direction: Kate Madden

The Monthly had also commissioned me for a couple fashion-related shoots the past two months for their Prét-Á-Portland feature:

Portland Monthly // Prét- Á-Portland // August 2012
Art Direction: Kate Madden
Styling: Eden Dawn

Portland Monthly // Prét- Á-Portland // July 2012
Art Direction: Kate Madden
Styling: Eden Dawn

Last weekend we wrapped up a great shoot for the Fall 2012 issue of Beer West magazine. I have a handful of conceptual studio portraits in there, plus the cover, and a couple product shots. It hits stands later this month and I can’t wait to share the tear-sheets with you! Stay tuned…

Fabio visits Portland- and loves Beer West!

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Nicolle

Fabio with Beer West art director Amy Johnson. There’s something about Fabio holding my cover of Beer West that really gets me all romantic feeling…

Hunk-a hunk-a burning love.

Portland Monthly // Peter Zuckerman // June 2012

Posted on June 7, 2012 by Nicolle

Last month I was assigned to photograph local author/reporter Peter Zuckerman for Portland Monthly. Not only is Zuckerman an incredibly talented writer, but also one of the kindest, most out-going people I have met in a very long time. He welcomed me into his office and was open to all sorts of concepts and ideas for the shot. I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy of his latest work of nonfiction- Buried in the Sky (the extraordinary story of the sherpa climbers on K2’s deadliest day). He’ll be speaking at Powell’s Books in downtown Portland on June 13th at 7pm- maybe I’ll see you there! Until then, you can read his PM interview here!

Portland Monthly / Peter Zuckerman
Art Director: Mike Novak

Beer West // Summer 2012 // The Green Issue

Posted on June 7, 2012 by Nicolle

Art buyers have recently been hiring me for more editorial product shots. This makes me very happy. I love photographing people, but there’s something so enjoyable about working with still life and making beautiful images in-studio that I find very rewarding and relaxing. The three shots below are from the most recent issue of Beer West magazine (a west coast rag dedicated to beer loving and making). I worked very closely with art director Amy Johnson to nail these shots. The cover was based on the my “signature” style of product photography that Amy was really drawn to from looking through my product work (it’s always great to hear you were hired based on personal style and work). The other two images were clean, simple feature shots- with the Can Vs. Bottle shot being a lovely collaboration with local illustrator Taylor Blackwell.

May was a wonderfully busy month- I produced some fresh work for three new editorial clients (expect more new tear sheets in the next couple weeks), and was hired to shoot a couple other features outside my “standard” portrait work for one of my regular clients, with the help of a new (to me) art director. I’ll be able to tell you more about that in July! In the meanwhile, enjoy! :

Beer West // Summer 2012

: Versus // Can vs. Bottle

In Season // Herbal Beer

Dr. Peter Boghossian for the Portland Mercury

Posted on April 18, 2012 by Nicolle

Art Director- Suji Allen

Shot in studio at ADX Portland.

new tears for Portland Monthly

Posted on April 18, 2012 by Nicolle

Art Director- Mike Novak

Shot on location at ADX Portland.

Art Director- Mike Novak

Photo Assistant- Michelle Mitchell

Shot at Nong’s commissary kitchen in SE Portland.

Big Ass Sandwiches vs. Red Fang

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Nicolle

If you live in Portland and you haven’t eaten at Big Ass Sandwiches’ food cart (3rd and Ash) then you are missing out on a BIG ASS SANDWICH. Owner’s Brian and Lisa Wood have certainly found a foodie niche with their sandwich offerings. Imagine a sexy sandwich with soooo much meat, a large handful of fries (yes, on the sandwich, cuz everything needs to be in your mouth at once!), their infamous béchamel cheese sauce (drooooool), and a variety of other delicious/amazing toppings. My fav’s the breakfast sandwich, because breakfast should (and will) be consumed at all hours of the day. They have been popping up on the Travel Channel and a couple other foodie shows over the past year, and have also developed a celebrity following- with the likes of Patton Oswald and Brian Posehn stopping by to quench their hungry tummys (I recommend Brian’s sammie creation- Posehn’s Vuglar Display of Porkage: slow-cooked Carlton Farms Carolina-style pulled pork, bacon, homemade Serrano pepper coleslaw, and hand-cut fries.)

When the opportunity came around (via one of my favorite people/photographers William Anthony) to shoot BAS’s two-year anniversary party at the Wonder Ballroom I just couldn’t resist. My crew and I setup a mini photo-studio inside the venue and proceeded to take some amazing/hilarious portraits of the attendees. Oh- did I mention the party was a Red Fang show with Brian Posehn, Ron Fuches, and Ian Karmel doing comedy sets before the band went on stage? Yeah, it was awesome. Metalheads and comedy fans alike showed up ready to party… and party they did: