All images by Christopher Leaman

Funny segue from yesterday’s political post… Got to thinking about politics and photography…. Though it seems otherwise at time, politicians aren’t actually celebs. Sure, they get their picture taken at press conferences, but–especially early on in their career–they’re not really used to having a photographer take a portrait of them like a rock star. They’re most often power nerds and people who do a job that’s -either wonderfully or catastrophically- public.

All this is hyper-evident in this series of photos by Washingtonian staff photographer Chris Leaman, assigned to shoot portraits of few from DC’s incoming class.

The range is entertaining–anywhere from delight to terror. The crispness and high contrast harkens a classic image from decades ago. The only indicators that these “un-moment” images were taken within the past decade are accessories, like paper coffee cups.

Click through to see more of my favs from this remarkably-wonderfully-awkward image set via the above tabs.

[Here's the rest of the set, as well as Leaman’s work on his personal page.]

Yours truly pimping with Congressman Jay Inslee @ Seattle 100 launch - photo by pal Michal Garcia

The goals of creative expression are to make statements, to generate awareness, initiate reflection, feeling or action. We want the art to do work.

Such was the case with my Seattle 100 book & gallery exhibition. But, in truth, I had little understanding when I published the project how much or what kind of ‘work’ it would do. As it happened, the city appropriated the project as it’s own and generated a great bit of awareness on TV, radio – local, national, and all the proceeds went to charity. I thought the project was a success with simply that as the measure.

But today we’re celebrating a new milestone – something beyond my wildest dreams for the project… TheSeattle Mayor’s Office of Film & Music released a study that it has been quietly conducting for more than a year about the economic and cultural impact of the subjects of the Seattle 100 and their leadership by measuring the impact that art, creativity, and culture have on the economy of our city.

The results are very cool IMHO, having revealed that the personalities and their cultural categories we featured contributed more than $13 billion to the local economy as well as more than 170,000 jobs. While big numbers are impressive, what matters most to me is that it appears that results study of my creative project will directly inform, shape, and impact Seattle’s public policy. For, ultimately, the study reflects that creativity and culture drive business rather than the other way around – something that the Mayor has made clear that he will embrace in future decisions.

And while it’s not always–or even often–that art has such an obvious connection to social change, let the times like this remind us that creative toil is not lost.

From the foreword of the study…

The cultural identity of Seattle has long been appreciated for making Seattle a great place to live. But, as our economy has evolved over the years from traditional natural resource-based industries, our city’s cultural assets have proven to be an important factor in our current economic strength. This cultural identity now makes Seattle a great place to work.

As the Seattle 100 beautifully profiled leaders who are powering our city’s creativity today, I wondered about their measurable impacts to our region. Working to answer this question, I learned these individuals represent a substantial portion of our economy and form our vibrant identity to the world.

The Seattle 100’s impact demonstrates that innovation and creativity are Seattle’s new natural resources, fueling job creation and worldwide recognition. The results of this study position these cultural leaders in a new place, as an economic engine that drives our economy.
With this recognition comes an obligation to nurture our culture in order to continue enjoying economic prosperity. The result should be a commitment to understand and foster the value that the Seattle 100 and other cultural leaders bring to our city.

It is my hope that this uniquely presented information will be as useful to you as it has been to me in providing a heightened appreciation of culture as a true economic driver of the region.

James Keblas, Director
Seattle Mayor’s Office of Film & Music

In the even that you’re interested in reading the 52 page study, you can check it out here at the Seattle.gov.

The 11×11 inch, limited edition Seattle 100: Portrait of a Citybook is available here via Amazon while supply lasts.

Click thru the gallery images atop this page to check out the full story including some behind the scenes, or go here to the Seattle 100 microsite, or check out the S100 portrait gallery here on my main site.

Do you know how to load a roll of film?
Work a light meter?
Edit slides on a light table?
Scan film?
Color correct scans?
Track a photo inventory?
Submit photos to clients?
Work with a stock agency?
Make prints?
Pack a camera bag?
Ship equipment?
Set up lights?
Scout a location?
Drive on the left side of the road?
Order food in French?
Clean a digital sensor?
Work in Photoshop?
Create a workflow?
Edit a Portfolio?
Build a creative brief?
Create a composite image?
Shoot from a helicopter?
Work 30 days straight (with a hangover)?
Use a prototype camera?
Shoot and edit video?
Manage a huge equipment inventory?
Develop filters for a photo app?
Layout a book?
Film a TV show?
Write a magazine article?
Build a community?
Hang an art installation?
Survive in Manhattan?
Film a Live broadcast?
Write a blog post?

I didn’t. When I started working in photography as Chase’s assistant, I was a blank slate. I like to think I still am. Many of these skills have become obsolete. Others did not even exist when I started. Knowing how to do everything is not the goal. Knowing that you can learn is everything.

1. Cost. They cost roughly the same amount, and I use both on a regular basis, so the question is a tough one.
2. The Rode. I recently did a blog post about the Rode Mic a few months ago. You should read it, but to summarize; I love the thing for its straight forward simplicity.  It allows me to just shoot and not worry about sound, but…
3. The Zoom. …When I DO need to worry about the sound (such as an interview or a scene in a narrative film) I bust out the Zoom H4n. It captures better files that the straight camera – remember it’s sole function is audio.

So, while my preference is to have both, if forced to chose one, I would buy the H4n. Here’s why: with a little hack, spending a little more cash and buying one extra cable plus a hot shoe adapter you can turn the Zoom H4n into a badass on-camera mic. Here’s how:

First, get a hot shoe adapter like this one and mount your H4n on top of your camera.

Second, plug this line-out splitter into the headphone jack of the H4n and plug the male end of it into the mic input on your camera.  Now your camera will record what the H4n’s microphones are picking up and your H4n will record a high quality, AGC (automatic gain control) free backup file.

Third, you can even monitor what the H4n is recording with 1/8” headphone jack on the fancy new cable you bought.

Lastly, an important tip. Make sure the H4n is recording!  It’s easy to forget to start your audio recorder when the director just yells “Roll camera!”.

This is a little more of piecemeal one-man-band kinda setup than using just a microphone like the Rode, so make sure you’re familiar enough with your equipment to make it work properly without slowing down the production while you make adjustments.  You’ll probably be in the role of be being audio guy and camera guy, so make sure to practice to get good at both.

Here’s an enlarged image of the thumbnail above, highlighting the cabling. Keep in mind that these cables were purchased at RadioShack a while back just to test out my original hack job/experiment. If you buy the cables I linked to above from B&H, your setup will look much slicker than this first attempt pictured here.

Here’s a picture of my setup with cables purchased at RadioShack. If you buy the cables I linked to above, your setup will look much slicker than mine.

Sarah Burke would light up a room when she walked into it. Actually more than that, she lit up an entire sport, and was bound to light up the world in the forthcoming Olympics, before she succumbed to spine injuries sustained while training in Park City on January 10. She passed away yesterday. The world lost an amazing skier and a superstar human being.

I had the amazing opportunity to know and work with Sarah over the course of a decade. During that time I, along with so many others, had the insanely good fortune to watch her change the face of women’s skiing and simultaneously watch her inspire all those around her. The image gallery above is the tip of an iceberg of images I was able to capture of/with Sarah. This tribute isn’t her best work, or mine. It isn’t meant to be. It’s rather a humble historical look back – in some cases looking back more than 10 years – at her first Freeskier skiing cover, her first Smith Goggle ad, her practicing runs at the X-Games, and that amazing smile. Working with her was pure joy. And she will be missed dearly. RIP.

My manager, Christopher Jerard, knew her even better than I did, as he was the publisher of Freeskier and Snowboard Magazine for many years before coming to work at CJinc. Jerard and I got the news of her passing while we were together yesterday. He wrote these words below about Sarah that I think we can all live by. The theme is ‘step up’. Step up to the challenges in your life. Step up for your friends, step up because it’s human to do so….

For my friend Sarah Burke – January 19, 2012

“Step up.”

I met Sarah when she was 16 years old shortly after I joined the staff of the brand new Freeskier magazine. She was already the “it” girl in freeskiing. Actually, in 1999 she was really the only girl in freeskiing. She was incredibly talented and fearless. And there was always that ever-present smile. She was shy early on -but before you knew it she was giving the editors at our magazine shots in the arm, still with that same great smile, and challenging us to get the shot, ski another run, or just have more fun. Her passion for skiing was evidenced by her athletic success – and her passion for life came through like the sun. She was a light for all of us. Just one of those people that is universally loved. For all of those who knew her only through the movies and photos – she was exactly as she seemed. Simply one of the best people you’ll ever meet. Pure love.

It’s impossible to deny, that by the time she was 20, she went from being a cute kid, to being simply drop-dead gorgeous. Suddenly she graduated from profiles in the ski industry standards Freeskier and Powder to being in Maxim, People and one FHM’s sexiest athletes alive. But she played it all off as no big deal with a humbleness rarely found at her level of success – an elegance and grace that was unique to her. And yet, even with all the beauty and the elegance, she was one of the toughest people Ive ever met. She once put me in a head lock. And I am not ashamed to admit I could not break out of it. And I tried. Hard. I think that memory would make her smile.

She could play with the boys. That is for sure. She had to for a lot of years in order to open up the sport for the women behind her. Her will and determination on and off the hill in this regard are legendary. Sarah was an innovator and a leader for women in skiing. Even as Sarah was an inspiration to so many people – but she was especially important for women athletes. She did more for the progression of woman’s freeskiing than any other single person – period. She was a founder of the Association of Freeskiing Professionals and was instrumental in helping to push the disciplines of skiing she loved, halfpipe and slopestyle skiing, into the Olympics for 2014. That will be a lasting part of her legacy forever.

She pushed her sport, her profession, to the next level. And even as she had to fight for women to be considered in competition with the men, when she took her hits, she always smiled through the bruise and the bang. Both on and off the hill. In 14 years of working with Sarah – I never saw her without a smile and a good word. Not once. Ever. No matter what. That smile on the podium, holding the X Games Gold four times? That was the same smile she would give 2 months later if you ran into her on the street in passing. So radiantly genuine.

Sarah will always be around us.Trennon Paynter, her coach and good friend to both Sarah and her husband Rory, sent a message out on twitter yesterday: “She’s in every snowflake, every ray of sunshine, every breeze. More than ever, now and always, #IBelieveInSarah.” She will always be there to remind us to “step up” and be better. No matter if it’s out skiing, at work, at the gym or remembering to smile and give your friend a hug. Do not hold back. Life is simply to precious and too much of a gift. Step up. Its such a powerful idea.

It was a dear friend of mine, Matt Harvey, the longtime Editor of Freeskier magazine, who reminded me of this playful challenge to step up that Sarah so often conveyed to her fans and those around her – with such obvious joy.

The news of Sarah’s passing hit in the middle of the work day and Matt was onstage hosting a Freeskier magazine sponsored event. He was a very close and personal friend of Sarah’s. To be in public and hurting, gutted with loss, was painful. But he remembered her words, “Step up.” She would tell him this, no matter if she was standing next to him on the hill taunting him to try a jump or rail slide or pushing him to go talk to the girl across the bar later that night – she was always nudging those around her to be better. And she led by example. So when it hurt and he wanted to hide – he smiled and remembered Sarah. He dug deep and stepped up. That’s what Sarah did when organizers told her that girls didn’t have a spot in competition and that’s what she did when she was battered from falls and that’s what she did when there was a line of little girls who wanted an autograph…hours after the last competition run of the day.
Sarah always stepped up. Always.

And that’s what we’re going to do to remember her. Step Up. Thanks Sarah. We will. And we’ll remember you’re smile when we do.

_____
UPDATE: Was just sent this beautiful video montage of Sarah being amazing. Worth the watch.

A Sarah Burke tribute video. from Downtofilm. on Vimeo.