Jeremy Cowart

Workshop Date Changes

2009-11-09T17:04:51Z

So 2 things happened that aren't too surprising. The November date was way too quick for everyone and there was an big response to the January Date. So that being said, I took down the November date and added an additional January date bookmarking the backend of Imaging USA in Nashville. So here are the final dates. Please register below asap, they really are filling up quickly...

Also, FYI, I'm getting REALLY excited about doing this. Can't wait to meet everyone!

December 4th-5th

January 8th-9th

January 12th-13th

Workshops

2009-11-04T21:23:20Z

Jeremy Cowart Workshops

So I've decided to finally host some workshops! I've been hesitant to do it for many reasons but after a lot of encouragement from industry friends and many of you on Twitter and Facebook (Yes, peer pressure), I've decided it's time. Plus I enjoy helping others so it's a win-win for everyone.

The goal for doing this is to move you forward in your pursuit of photography. I understand the feeling of not knowing where to go or what to do next. I've been there. We all have. So we're really going to target those questions over the course of the 2 days as well as teach you as much as possible about planning, shooting on location, composition, lighting, post production and whatever else we can cover.

Details:

When:

I'm offering the same workshop 3 different times to allow different people to participate, but also to narrow our focus each weekend to make sure each of you get some good one-on-one attention.

November 13-14, 2009

December 4-5, 2009

January 8-9, 2010 (Just before Imaging USA in Nashville)

How many spots? 15

Where? At my studio at the Factory in Franklin, TN

(20 minutes south of Nashville)

Format:

Friday Night - 7-10pm:

• Casual Meet and Greet / Dinner (Provided)

• Q&A / Discussion Time in the round

• I'll share my story, work, slideshow

• Overview of Saturday's Schedule

Saturday: 9am-6pm

This list is rough. These are things we'll definitely cover but hopefully more throughout the day.

• Casual BFast/Hang time (Light Breakfast Provided)

• Pre-Production

• Location Scouting

• Composition

• Shooting in Natural Light

• Lunch (Provided)

• Shooting with Strobes

• Jeremy Cowart Live On-Location Shoot with subject

• Split into groups for On-Location Shoot with each other

• Group Critique Session

• Post Production - Techniques, When to use, when not to use, etc.

At 6pm Saturday evening we will wrap and go grab dinner together (Optional).

Light Breakfast and Lunch are provided in the cost. Dinner is a separate cost.

Cost: $585

If you're interested in registering, just email me for now at jeremy at jeremycowart dot com (with the subject of "Jeremy Cowart Workshop") and be sure to let me know which weekend you're interested in and I'll send you the rest of the details. In the future we'll have a fancy place for you to sign up and pay, etc.

If there's anything you think I'm leaving out that you would like to see covered, please leave a comment below and let me know!

Looking forward to it!

- jeremy

Brandi Carlile

2009-10-12T22:30:54Z

I recently decided I should start showcasing CD Packages that I've been a part of on my blog. Unfortunately CD Packages aren't being seen as much these days thanks to our changing technology but it still NEEDS to be seen in some cases.

Below is the new packaging for Brandi Carlile. This is the 3rd shoot I've done with Brandi and I kind of still can't believe I know her. She is just overwhelmingly talented. If you ever get the chance to see her live, you'll know what I'm talking about. She's a legend in the making and this new record is proof of that. I seriously can't believe I got to be a part of this project.

Package Design by Michelle Holme

Hair/Makeup by Robin Geary

Styling by Amber Lehman

Photography by Me

Photo Critique (Live from NY)

2009-09-08T17:55:05Z

So recently my friend Andy Davis hopped online with his camera and was broadcasting live on Twitter. He just stumbled upon it and tried it out to see how it works. Within a few minutes he had almost 200 Twitter followers online staring at him. He didn't know what to do so he started playing some songs live... an impromptu live Twitter performance if you will... or a Twerformance... or a Twoncert. (Sorry I couldn't resist mocking the ole TW-added-to-every-Twitter-related-word trend). Anyway, the result was fascinating. Broadcasting live is nothing new but to integrate it with Twitter is something I hadn't seen before. We knew it was coming of course but it was pretty rad to see it happening. Plus Andy is an amazing performer so that certainly helped.

All this to say, Andy's little experiment triggered an idea in my head for photographers. What if I did a live Photography critique? You all sent me links while I'm broadcasting, I share your photo with the rest of the crowd and discuss it live? I think the results would be interesting and would really help all of us in one way or another. I've never critiqued ANYTHING in my life but I'm interested in the process and helping others better themselves with photography. Plus I'm fascinated with social media and I've never seen or heard of this being done before via Twitter. It probably has but maybe not. And the idea of all of us exploring new territory with Social Media and Photography together could be an interesting experiment.

The only down side is you're going to have to look at me talk. AWKWARD. I wish you could only hear my voice instead of also seeing me but that's not how it works. Actually hopefully you'll be looking at the photos we're critiquing instead.

If all goes well today, I'd like to do this once a week. I think it will be yet another amazing step in bringing the Photography community together via Social Media.

So I'm in my crappy hotel room in NYC today. I will be hopping online at 4:30pm ET today to discuss your photos and answer any other misc. photography questions. Hopefully my internet connection will be able to handle it. Be sure to have a link to a specific JPG for us to look at. Don't send just a link to your website but a link to an actual jpg. Thanks!

Oh, and last thing. Be sure to follow me on Twitter and I'll post the link to the broadcast at 4:30.

Looking forward to speaking with you!

jeremy

#Truthursday = Better Hashtag

2009-09-01T02:52:19Z

So it's extremely nerdy and sad that I'm getting this technical but I thought tonight that #truthursday was a much better looking AND sounding hashtag. So save your thoughts for this coming Thursday... aka "Truth Thursday" aka #truthursday. Should be interesting! I've already had people tell me they'd sign up to Twitter JUST to be honest and vulnerable and to see others doing the same. How cool.

The Truth Will Set You Free

2009-08-31T21:47:37Z

I love Twitter. For so many practical and non-practical reasons that I won't get into for now. But one thing that sometimes bothers me is that it's so easy to paint our worlds as perfect or at least better than they really are. It's so easy to hide behind our usernames and our follower counts and only come out and reveal the parts of our lives that shine.

However I love when people sometimes get vulnerable and admit failures, mistakes, insecurities, imperfections. I find those far more interesting than the impressive stats.

So what if we took a day to celebrate that? We already have "Follow Friday" (#FF) and Music Mondays. What if we had "Truth Tuesday" or #truthday where we all admit the things I mentioned above. Sure, it will be difficult and probably awkward. Heck, it's even already awkward for me to think about doing it from my end. But what if it brings people together? Maybe you're not as alone as you thought you were with your issue.

And how fascinating will it be to admit something to all the people who, for one reason or another, are interested enough in you to follow you? It's somewhat backwards but could yield incredible results.

I know there's Post Secret and Secret Tweet where people can anonymously talk about their lives and problems but what if we owned up to some of it with our actual identities?

I'm in if you're in. Not sure what I'm going to post tomorrow but I'm going to give it a shot. We'll see how it goes. Let me know if you're in too.

I'll jump first.

Help-Portrait Logo Winner

2009-08-13T19:11:46Z

So after several submissions we have a winner! One of my good friends, Matt Lehman, submitted and it just summed Help-Portrait up right away. Below you can see his submission. I just wanted to send a HUGE heartfelt thanks on behalf of all of us that are working on this. Your time and efforts mean the world. It's cool to know there are designers that are willing to jump on this train with all of us photographers. I'm truly blown away so far by the minds that are coming together on Help-Portrait already... photographers, designers, my friends Kyle Chowning, Brad Henderson, Amy Lawlor, Matt Stanfield, and Jeremy Kennedy. Huge thanks to all of you!

Now... here's the logo! And below are all the submissions... Thanks to Jeremy Kennedy, Anna Kern, Kyle Reid, Sarah Kern, Brandon Clute, Matt Lehman and Jeff Dolan for their time!

Help-Portrait Logo Contest

2009-07-29T22:28:12Z

Hey guys, so many of you know that I, along with a big group of photographers in Nashville, are working on launching a new Photography Movement called "Help-Portrait". I'm not going to go into too many details just yet but it basically involves wrangling the Photography community together across the country and hopefully the globe to spend one day this holiday season giving portraiture to the poor, the sick, basically anyone in need. It's a very exciting project and already we have people from all backgrounds volunteering to participate.

But before we launch this thing we obviously need to work on our branding. And that starts with a logo. So starting today we're launching a logo contest for graphic designers to submit a logo for Help-Portrait. Anyone can participate and submit however many ideas you want.

All we ask is that you submit your logos to me HERE and a panel of 6 Photographers/Designers will be voting and picking the final logo for Help-Portrait.

THE DEADLINE IS MONDAY, AUGUST 10TH, at NOON.

If your logo is not used you're still welcome to use it in your portfolio, whatever you want to do with it. This is after all, a Community effort. And we're not asking for spec work here. There is no money involved in any way with this project. This is simply artists coming together for a good cause.

(Oh, and sorry for posting this on MY website. This isn't about me obviously. But we don't have a blog or website quite yet so this is it for now.)

Follow Help-Portrait on Twitter HERE.

Here's our official tagline...

"Help-Portrait: Don't Take Pictures. GIVE them."

"12 Children" Art Show

2009-07-20T18:49:16Z

So we had the Nashville's Smallest Art Gallery opening this weekend and it was a blast. (If you missed the show you can still see it here). It was very awkward standing on the sidewalk for 2 hours as expected but still a good time. Many people were standing RIGHT IN FRONT OF the gallery and still didn't know where it was. People would say "so are we in line to go into the gallery?" I would say "Nope, this is it". They just didn't understand just how small the gallery really is. Other people got there early and walked up and down the street searching for it and didn't realize they were passing the gallery every time.

This was a great experience for me and very encouraging. I often feel like no one buys art anymore (especially during such a weird economic situation) and it's just throwing money down the drain. So I've just stayed away from it in the past. But I'm thrilled to say the show is almost sold out! But the good news is there are still a few left and these are limited edition prints on wood. Meaning if there's one you want but it's already sold, I can still sell you the 2nd edition. Each edition is the same print on wood but still different due to the painted textures on top. So let me know if there's one you want!

There will be much more personal work like this coming from me in the near future.

Thanks to everyone who supported this little show and came out!

Here's a behind the scenes look into the whole process.

A couple notes: The guy in the photo is my current intern Ian Bicknell. I couldn't have done this without him! He was a huge help. Also the last photo is a final art piece. It was still not dry when I took that photo so that's why you see the white gel stuff on the side. It's nice and translucent now.

Art Show

2009-07-15T17:27:34Z

So not many people know that I originally wanted to be a painter. I've always felt like that's really who I am. Somehow I've gone down the other paths of graphic design, web design and now photography over the years but the fine artist in me is always searching for a way to get out. Well this weekend that is finally happening. Granted in a very small way.

On Saturday I'll be having a little opening at Nashville's Smallest Art Gallery in Hillsboro Village. The gallery is more like a light box on the sidewalk. It's only 30x40 inches in other words. I'll be showing 12 mixed-media pieces at 6x6 inches. The pieces started with pencil and paper and sometimes marker, then taken into Photoshop where I added many layers of textures photos and more drawings. Occasionally I would also use my Wacom tablet as an additional drawing tool. Then I mounted each print to wood and painted on top of the whole thing. So even though each piece is technically a print, I could never exactly re-produce any of it. It's been a fun process and I hope this is just the beginning of my fine art explorations.

We'll be standing awkwardly on the sidewalk Saturday night from about 7pm to 9pm. Come by say hello and try to grab a spot on the sidewalk!

A Ballplayer quote

2009-06-15T15:51:24Z

Saw this quote on my brother's Facebook. Really interesting and very true. It really sums up our selfish American culture today. (Myself included in that categorization.)

"The difference between the old ballplayer and the new ballplayer is the jersey. The old ballplayer cared about the name on the tfront. The new ballplayer cares about the name on the back." - Steve Garvey

Hello again Flickr

2009-06-01T17:02:57Z

So I've decided to start using Flickr again. Why?

1. For the sport of it.

I've had so many conversations with guys about which they like better... College or NBA basketball. The common answer is college cause the guys aren't playing for money. They're playing for the love of it and the competition. Well I like to think photography is the same. I don't want to just pick up a camera every time I have a shoot. Not that that's ever been the case anyway. But I want to be more intentional about documenting life, the places I go and especially my family. Sometimes it's hard to pick up a camera when I get home from work. But hopefully that's going to change now. I've already been shooting a ton on my days off in the past week and also while I'm here in London.

2. YOU inspire me.

I'm incredibly inspired, especially lately at all the other photographers on Flickr. Even though I haven't posted in a long time I still browse it almost daily. And there's a vast amount of people out there blowing my mind.. teenagers, stay-at-home moms, everyone. These are the people that are really pushing me to keep shooting.

3. I have way too many images sitting around.

I hate the fact that I have thousands and thousands of photos just sitting on hard drives wasting space. I'd prefer they be hanging on people's walls and maybe someday that can happen once I start figuring out selling prints but for now at least some of these images can have a little life and be seen.

So here ya go. I'm back on Flickr.

Here's my photostream

London/Dublin

2009-05-29T12:29:55Z

So I'm headed tomorrow to London for 2 weeks and then a couple of days in Dublin. My wife will be joining me for 10 days of that trip for our anniversary. I've been to London but only for a couple of days. Any thoughts/suggestions as to what we should do as a couple? Thoughts as to some cool places for me to photograph? (Non-touristy suggestions please) I'm really anxious to see Dublin too and shoot some epic landscapes. Any suggestions there? Basically I'm open to hear any thoughts on either city. Thanks.

Carnival Goodness

2009-05-26T16:35:52Z

Last night my wife and I took our kids to the Carnival. I took my 5D MK II along with my 50mm 1.2 lens. I swear a carnival is the perfect setting for good photos, especially when you take a cute family on a nice night and shoot it all with that lens.

Oh. And isn't it crazy that I shot these photos and the Abandon video below with the same camera? That blows my mind that we can do that now.

Abandon Video

2009-05-26T15:03:00Z

I recently directed my first music video for Abandon. It was a simple performance piece video with a shoestring budget so we decided to use the Canon 5D Mark II. Overall it was a great experience and a big learning curve for me. I knew nothing about video and when I say nothing multiply that times 10. I knew nothing when I started doing photography professionally so I figured I'd go with that approach for video too. Sometimes it's cool to go into something not knowing any rules. And sometimes you just look like a fool (which I'm sure I did that day). The video was mostly shot handheld with a few tripod shots mixed in. The biggest problem was trying to keep focus while moving around in such low light with the band ALSO moving around like crazy. It was basically impossible to keep focus. But there's a few cool moments where the focus stars align. I'm definitely looking forward to doing a video with a DP who can pull focus. If anyone is curious about editing, a lady named Darla Koreiba did the editing in Avid. She did a really great job.

Overall I'm happy with the video and happy to have my first one behind me. I learned SO much and can't wait to do the 2nd one! Oh and if you haven't heard Abandon's music check it out! Really great guys. I mean we ended the video shoot with a breakdance contest. How rad is that?

Oh and be sure to watch the HD version!