Bethlehem College & Seminary / community over cost

Towards the end of April and into May, I spent a bunch of time observing and documenting student life at Bethlehem College & Seminary. My main purpose was to photograph real student life. What BCS lacks in fancy facilities they make up for with community. I like the phrase community over cost and think it accurately describes my experience on this project. I visited classrooms where students sit round table style, encouraging conversation and interaction. I visited a professors home and ate with all of the sophomore class that's invited for a monthly meal. I studied with seminary students at a local coffee shop, where a lot of other BCS students work, then walked to class with them and was deeply moved as they sang and worshipped in Hebrew. Freshman prayed for one another as the year drew to a close and later we grilled out. I observed studying at the nearby library as heavy construction equipment readies the city for the new Vikings stadium. One morning, a handful of students gathered to pray and worship in housing provided by the school. Afterwards, everyone contributed in helping make a meal we all enjoyed. There were times of teaching, encouragement and worship during chapel and church on Sunday. I chatted with many students from all over the country and world who ended up at BCS because they wanted an education different than the norm. They found this place and experience a closeness and community like no where else. For me, a lot of these images hold more weight because I know about the students themselves and part of their story. I'm really thankful to the faculty and students at BCS who helped on this project and let me photograph some pretty amazing stuff. Much thanks to Matthew Taylor for putting my work in front of the right people and helping me get this job.    

Bolduc Family / lego's, snakes, turtles, and nature walks

I got to spend a couple hours with the Bolduc family on their Grandparents property north of Minneapolis, recently. This session was a blast. The kids enjoyed hiking around and heard all about the outdoors from their great Grandpa, who happens to be a naturalist. Everyone just hung out and enjoyed a perfect Sunday afternoon together. We let the snakes out, fed the turtles, built stuff with Lego's and tended the garden. Nothing was off limits and candidness and just 'going with the flow' was the mood. Here's a glimpse of what our time together looked like. Thanks so much Bolduc family!   

Creed Interactive / St. Paul, MN Corporate Photography

Last Fall I had a sweet opportunity to observe and photograph a local business and its team members. This was the first time I've ventured into the corporate world with photography and I had a blast. Creed Interactive wanted a fresh look for their website and promotional materials. This was a pretty laid back, documentary style shoot in addition to new head shots. I decided to bring my polaroid and give all the team members individual photos of themselves on the spot. I  loved the actual space, which was thoughtfully designed and seemed like a great and inspiring work environment, complete with great views of the city, a company dog, wood walls and raccoon pillow. I would totally take on this sort of shoot again.