27 Apr Tunnel Vision
Variety, it’s a huge perk to a few lucky photographers out there. I’m happy to say that I feel like one of them. It’s really fun looking back to see where my camera has taken me. A few places my camera has seen this last year – Alaska, Maui, all over the PNW, and coming this late June, Arizona. But sometimes the fun stuff is right around the corner, or in this case, right down the tracks.
Good friend and P-51 Pictures video director, Andy Lahmann, is always helping out my photo biz when he is available and within a reasonable proximity to my photo shoots. So when he asked me if I’d take some photos for his movie poster design, I was happy to answer the call.
Sitting down with Andy and his graphic designer, Ryan Scott, we hashed-out the visuals we wanted to accomplish with the photography for the poster. Stage one was capturing the train tunnel, an integral part in the movie. Later on in the design, we will photograph subjects with flashlights and other details, and all of the elements will come together in a final poster design. I really like doing things like this. I’d never call the final poster design a “photograph” by any stretch of the imagination, even though it will be a culmination of a number of images. I honestly don’t know how other photographers do call practices like this photography. Anywho, the reason why things like this are fun is because of the goal in mind for a design. The steps, forethought, and vision that goes into a project like this give my tasks direction yet a creative flexibility. Shooting each stage with the other stages in mind, so composition, angles, perspective all come into play, so it’s not just shooting from the hip.
These images were shot in Bellingham. I used to spend a lot of time on hikes and little adventures in the wooded areas which are bordered by the bay. The train tracks are no different, never further than a stones throw away from the water. Spending time out there was easy, calming, and always a joy to photograph. I’d shot a few photos in the train tunnels a few years back, and I had the itch to go take more ever since. The extra bonus this time around was the resulting photos would be put to good use right away.
Stay tuned for more imagery on this poster design! Like I said, this is just stage one, I’m excited to shoot the next elements for the design.
