Kevin Morris Photographer

Houston Trials

2012-01-23T07:04:00.000-08:00

Deena Kastor, Olympic medalist and dominant marathoner for last 10 years, after finishing 6th.

Shalane Flanagan, the new "queen" of American distance, heading for victory.

Meb Keflezghi knows he's got it in the bag with quarter mile to go

Abdi Abdirahamn makes a bold move to push the pace mid-race, leading Ryan Hall, Meb and Ritz

FIrst mile as the elitest of the elite get away fast. Half of the race was through downtown skyscaper-lined streets, and the other half along a river bikepath.

10:24AM - BRUNSWICK, MAINE:
I took a complete "winger" last week and grabbed a flight from wintry Maine to sunny (but chilly) Texas. It was a speculative freelance photo-assault for me, but also just a chance, as a fan, to be at the heart of the action in what was promising to be an epic showdown in the marathon.
The Trials to determine the team representing USA in the marathon were held last weekend in Houston, Texas. For the first time the USATF had combined the men and women not only same location same weekend, but they ran them in the same race with a 15-minute stagger. Wow, bold move. As a spectator is was great, as they ran 3 laps of an 8-mile loop and you could see the race pass by at least 8 times by walk from one block to the next. Very cool.
Except, the good times all caught up with themselves when the men were trying to finish, and the leaders, all within a handful of seconds of each other and vying for those coveted 3 spots, had to dodge packs of women runners who still had 8 miles to go.
In this picture of the winner, Meb Kheflezghi, it looks like he's winning a race against women (actually not an easy thing. I would have got dead last in the women's race - on my BEST DAY!!)
when actually Ryan Hall was only seconds back, and Abdi Abdirahman and Dathan Ritzenhein desperately digging for the last seat on the plane to London.
All in all a spectacular weekend (I sadly didn't stay for the Houston Marathon and RunningUSA convention afterwards) of distance running.
We are at the threshold of a resurgence in elite running in the USA. The next few years are going to be very exciting to be distance running fan.

Soldiers and Marines

2011-06-01T19:21:00.000-07:00

It seemed an appropriate time to feature this story I shot as an email promo that I sent out to a big list of potential clients today with this grid of images and a link to www.sudsdiving.org where people could take a look at this amazing program to train injured soldiers and marines returning from the battlefield with life-altering injuries as open-water scuba divers, giving them another challenge and reward in what must be, without exception, a difficult transition into a new life.
Hopefully one or two were even challenged to support the SUDS efforts with a donation.
This group of images was edited down from a thousand, and sums up my time spent with them in the Keys.
Luke, Kent, Tim and Greg "The Colonel" Gadsen.
Heroes.

We Have a Winner!

2011-05-10T12:51:00.000-07:00

Turns out a fellow musician from many years back recognized Jonathan Edwards right away. So the grand prize goes to Joe Deetz, who also happens to be the mastermind behind Visual Magnetics, which you can read about just a few blog postings down...... www.visualmagnetics.com
Jonathan Edwards, nicest guy in the world, came into my studio a couple weeks ago to have a rare set-up photo done for a Nashville music mag that was doing a feature story on him: M Music Mag
Quite a coup for me after hearing his current schedule: traveling to gigs, dropping a new album any day, and other very exciting developments you'll hear about soon...... www.jonathanedwards.net
Never know by looking at him, but this must be the hardest working dude in show business!

Not fade away!

Who is This?

2011-04-23T09:37:00.000-07:00

CONTEST!
I shot this portrait in my studio this week for a..... magazine (can't tell you which one since that would give it away). Thought it would be interesting to see if you can I.D. this guy. Here are some clues: He's a hitmaker, always on the road, recently relocated to Maine, a veteran in his field, got his share of groupies, huge in Europe............
Another clue: While he looks intense in this image he's usually totally chill and easy-going. Almost as though he's just been laying about the shanty getting a good buzz on.
If you know, leave a comment.
The grand prize for the first correct response is....... the satisfaction you'll feel deep down just knowing you're right!
More images from the shoot in next post - along with the correct answer.

Visual Magnetics stills + motion

2011-03-17T08:32:00.000-07:00

A recent project for an amazing company that supplies high-end large-scale graphics for the retail industry combined a stills shoot with video, and I'm here to tell you it's a beautiful combination, but nothing is simple in videoland.
It takes me about 4 people to make a great shot, takes them about 24!
This concept called for the video crew to bring my fashion shoot to life by recreating the hero image and animating it. Giant prints were made of my still image, and then the models in the shot walked into the video frame and rolled themselves right off the wall - way cool.
Credit to Barnaby Jackson, creative director at Hero Machine - What goes on in his head I don't want to know too much, but what comes out is brilliance!
Visual Magnetics, based in Mendon, Mass, has been the dream client, which makes sense when you talk to the President, Joe Deetz, about his past life which included several years in the photo industry building sets, props and models for the advertising industry in Boston when it was booming - a very creative guy who just makes big stuff happen.
animal studio was the production company, based in Providence, RI, and the collaboration between my fashion images, and their special fx video world is right now in the process of bringing an exciting new branding to the client.
Oh yeah, the models, Jasmine, Ariella and Rich, proved modeling is glamorous but hard work, and they were all amazing to work with.

Esther and Kevin get married in Kona, Hawaii!

2010-12-03T17:36:00.000-08:00

almost 5000 captures on this destination wedding. Needless to say it was an editing challenge - so many great pictures.
almost 5,000 captures at this destination wedding made for a challenging edit - but very rewarding, and one that I'll go back to several more times to rearrange and look for those treasures that didn't make it in the first go-around.

We had 30 minutes after the ceremony to race to the shoreline for sunset pictures. Moving fast, but having fun taking amazing pictures.

When a couple are so obviously in love and totally comfortable with each other it makes shooting the pictures that much better. The love you get is equal to the love you make ... or something close to that anyway. (John Lennon?) My version: If you show the camera some love the camera will love you back.

Can't argue about anything related to a week-long wedding on the Big Island. And having a beautiful bride and cool groom made it a photographer's dream job.

Michelle and Sam get married!

2010-10-12T09:58:00.001-07:00

Michelle, such a gorgeous bride, gets ready for her big day - but where's Sam?

She met Sam on the beach in Pine Point where he was waiting for her. This was his first look at Michelle in her vintage wedding dress, and he was obviously blown away.

After a stroll on the beach on the soft hazy day, they came back to the venue where preparations were under way for the ceremony and reception to follow.

Family pictures and bridal portraits were taken outside amidst the stunning fall foliage.

A gentle breeze and a veil always makes for really fun pictures.

The ceremony was held outside in the garden, where the sunlight streamed through the trees from behind.

The woods also provided a fun place for the bride and groom to wander through together for some beautiful pictures, and hang out with the bridal party before being announced at the ceremony.

The Landing at Pine Point was a stunning location for the grand celebration. Enormous vaulted ceiling and a spaciously open ballroom made for an evocative setting.

Sam and Michelle's first dance together as Mr and Mrs Irish was followed by a delicious - and social - dinner.

Then the fun began in earnest.

Dana and Kent get married!

2010-09-18T07:22:00.001-07:00

Dana and Kent Ryan's fabulous wedding at Sebasco Harbor Resort

A big weekend, with perfect weather, an amazing event.....

The day before the day was packed full of great stuff: golf, pool & spa, and a wonderful lobster dinner with gifts and toasts....

on their way to a glorious day of celebration

in the sunshine

and kissing on the rock with the entourage

a-n-t-i-c-i-p-a-t-i-o-n....

beautiful Dana approaches the ceremony where her man waits for her

the ring is Kent's symbol of love and devotion

and the kiss seals it!

couldn't ask for a better place and more lovely day to celebrate with your loved ones

Dana and Kent are in love

now that it's official, time to hang out in the sunshine

a brief, intimate moment alone in between the festivities

what a setting!

a sweet moment to themselves, high up in the cupola overlooking the ocean

bridesmaids with Dana, getting ready to make their entrance

bride and groom make a grand entrance amid a cheering throng of friends and family

Dana's sister and maid of honor dances with hubby

a very special moment

a crowded dance floor all night

a beautiful night on the Maine coast

JBS 1982-2010

2010-04-11T18:15:00.001-07:00

When I was just starting out and interested only in capturing the running world I was immersed in around me (hey, it was without question the glory days of distance running and I was in mecca) I stumbled down to Hayward Field for the Nike OTC marathon on a typical Oregon Sunday morning. As you can see it was a miserable and rainy day, but Joan Benoit (not yet Samuelson) didn't care as she blazed to what was then an American Best in 2:26:11.

After moving to Maine a couple years ago, and having Joanie run up behind me on the roads, initiating a friendship and a continuing training partnership, I went through my old scrapbooks and there she was - three images I had snapped at the finish line of her victory.

And here we are 28 years later. I'm still snapping pictures of her (Runner's World magazine Heroes issue 2008) and she's still setting records.

ABOVE is the most recent picture I've taken of her, standing on an ice floe near her home in Maine - just down the road from mine.

Of course I missed the 26 years in between when she went on to an Olympic gold medal and world record.

TODAY SHE SET AN AMERICAN RECORD FOR 50+ WOMEN IN THE CHERRY BLOSSOM 10 MILER IN D.C. IN A BLAZING 1:00:52 (that's about 6:05 per mile!)

Wow! This is a great career I've chosen. Hers is not too bad either.

ANOTHER CONTEST

2010-04-05T12:57:00.001-07:00

These images were submitted to the PDN Curator Photo Contest, which looks for undiscovered fine art photography. The top prize includes a solo exhibition in NYC.

My challenge on this submission was to take a documentary project and present it in a way that makes it stand alone without the storyline. Well, after many, many edits and shuffling of images I found these six images of disabled soldiers in the SUDS scuba-diving program in Florida that worked very nicely together.

These were picked because I found I couldn't present a group of images from this project without honoring the story of their journey from near-death to new life, but my hope is that the pictures will tell enough a story without the need for accompanying text.

I did choose to "treat" the images artfully by presenting them as toned black and white images. This was designed to distill the content of the image without being distracted by color. The power of these pictures is in the faces and body language of each soldier, and the vividness of the environment takes away from that.

So, is this gallery of images 'fine art'?

Does it appeal to you purely on its aesthetic and emotional merits, or is is just another news story?

Let me know what you think.....

PHOTO CONTESTS

2010-03-24T08:39:00.001-07:00

This is the image I entered in a photo contest last week - the PDN Faces competition.

I've never been a fan of photo contests because, cynically, I thought they only ever served the organizers by giving them free images and what must be significant income from the high entry fees, which is why there are so many contests these days.

The big ones, though, are still very prestigious to appear in: CA, Graphis, the first PDN one, etc.

So now I feel it's a win-win: Everyone gets something useful and it's fun to compete.

I'll show you the images for the next contest I've entered next time.

Comments welcome.

This image is of Blake, an autistic kid I met on the on-going documentary film project with Joe Duley and Joe Brunette. This was a purely "walk-by" moment - unplanned, unpredictable, but instantly recognizable as a "moment". I'm outside the house, and Blake is looking up through the screened window. There was a big graduation party going on in the rest of the house at the time, and I think Blake was happy for some peace and quiet by himself.

photo © Kevin Morris

shower scene!

2010-03-23T20:42:00.001-07:00

My good friend, Peter MacMillan, used to be a set builder for the Seattle Opera. Now he lives near me in Freeport, Maine and manages the Audubon Bird Sanctuary, but he hasn't lost his skills. When I needed help - and fast - he came to the rescue and really made it happen. Him, and another good friend, Denis O'Brien, who supplied props, sumps pumps, and construction advice, but couldn't get away from his real job to be on-set.

The whole thing started when Maine State Music Theatre contacted me about shooting their ad campaign this season. It was their idea to shoot a guy singing in the shower, and the only way I could see it happening was to BUILD a shower stall that I could climb all over with my camera and lights.

The MSMT shot went great, but after it was done I still had this cool set in the studio - and no one to put in it.

To the rescue came Tobi Nichols, who runs Utobia Models & Talent. She got two fantastic models to come in on very short notice allowing me to shoot something for my own book, and of course, for stock too.

Here's a shot of Rebecca running into a little difficulty in the shower that Peter and I built in the middle of my studio... and below that is one of Paul sudsing up.

photos © Kevin Morris

NEW LOGO!

2009-05-28T18:04:00.001-07:00

A new identity for Kevin Morris Photographer is unveiling itself soon. Commissioned by Malcolm Grear Designers, of Providence, Rhode Island - http://www.mgrear.com/ - it represents a brand new direction and level of professionalism for me.

I am very proud of what Malcolm and Joel accomplished for me with this mark and typeface. It's amazing how something so simple can elicit so much discussion and open itself to so much interpretation. That's what good design is: Deceptive simplicity that solves a problem perfectly, seamlessly. Don't know how many hours went into this - I'm afraid to ask!

Without further ado, here is an advance look at the new design (and I'd love to get your feedback on it):

Nike store opens in Freeport

2009-05-16T19:12:00.001-07:00

Joanie Samuelson takes questions from the audience outside the new Nike store

2009-04-15T19:20:00.000-07:00

I'm producing a viewbook of this gorgeous property in Casco Bay in Maine for the owner, who hopes to attract renters this summer. It's the type of project that's becoming more and more desirable to my clients. It also a very cool island getaway!

This treasure has beds for 16+ people, a billards hall, a fullsize tipi, and much, much more. My book is over 40 pages and I'm working hard to edit it carefully, but there's a lot to show.

More importantly, I am also producing photo albums and viewbook for other projects, and this is becoming an integral part of what I offer: Photography, design and publication.

One-off professionally printed books are big right now in the world of digital photography, but there's a jungle of companies out there with varying degrees of quality, and with prices all over the place. It's really easy to be disappointed with the results of a first-time order. I've researched and tested many of them and will continue to refine my search for the best printer for quality and cost.

always carry your camera....

2009-03-02T17:22:00.000-08:00

Mixed light from the street lights and the evening sky creates a neon-like glow. This picture was captured on a grocery run, and I braced the camera on the bike rack of my car - the most I've used it since last summer.
Almost missed it because some guy came up to me and started talking about his son's tat parlor, and how he loved his old Minolta but can't afford the film and processing anymore.
I know what he means!

SUDS Photography Exhibit

2009-02-26T09:42:00.000-08:00

SUDS is a non-profit organization providing opportunities for disabled American soldiers returning from our battlefields to get certified as scuba divers, thus providing them with a recreational outlet and renewed sense of purpose and achievement.

It's an amazing program that you can learn more about at www.sudsdiving.org

I'll be participating in the SUDS Photography Exhibition next month with a gallery of my images which will be for sale at the show, proceeds benefiting the cause.

The show will open with a reception on April 4th, from 2:30-5:00pm, and continue to hang throughout April.

Here's the venue where the show and reception will be held:

Massabesic Audubon Center

26 Audubon Way

Auburn, New Hampshire

Hope to see you there!!

2009-02-25T13:41:00.001-08:00

Kevin will be opening his new studio next month in the Fort Andross Mill Building in Brunswick, Maine. It's a 1000+ sq ft space with lots of daylight and high ceilings - perfect for the lifestyle and portrait photography that is Kevin's specialty.

Here's a sneak peak at the studio, that overlooks the Androscoggin River:

PATRICK LIGHTS IT UP FROM DOWNTOWNNNnnn.......

2009-02-15T20:53:00.000-08:00

Postgame celebration - Patrick hoisted on the shoulder of fans and teammates .

After four years of being the manager for the team, and practicing everyday with them, Patrick Thibodeau, a senior at Greely High in Cumberland, Maine, started his first varsity basketball game last week promptly scoring the first basket for his team - a three-pointer. Patrick returned in the 4th quarter and once again lit it up from outside with another 3-ball as time expired. It was a fairytale kind of night - and one that he and the entire school should be proud of.

Video of Patrick reached a nationwide audience the next day as the Today Show picked it up, and YouTube was get hit hard with the video posted there.

A great story. Very glad to be there as a witness to it.

You'll see more of Patrick on this blog as I continue to follow him with my camera as part of Joe's Boyz (working title), a film project I'm doing along with Joe Brunette and Joe Duley, documenting the lives of two young men with special needs and challenging situations.

Stay posted.