Mist and Shadow

It was 1 in the morning. I was bored, fidgity, and mad because it was REALLY foggy outside and I wanted to take pictures in it. Everyone was either going to bed or thought I was joking, it was 30-something degrees and you couldn't see 50 feet in front of you in the fog.

Finally I get a hold of Max Gleason and he agrees to the idea of him out in the fog wielding a giant sword getting good silhouettes.

I head over to his house which takes extra long because you cannot see ANYTHING. His brother Jay and Mike Reeves turn out to be there as well and get down with the idea. So now there are three, and Jeff Yenzer lets us borrow his broadsword. Jay and Max had fashioned a Final Fantasy sword so we brought that along as well. We drive all the way out to El Reno, get out on the land, and have to drive very slowly because cows are out there. It was so difficult finding exactly where we wanted to shoot because of the fog, and as we were driving maybe 4-5 miles per hour we see the silhouette of the entire herd in front of us. It was epic, I would have taken a picture if I had not been driving!

Finally we get to our location, and we spend the next few hours trying different setups, ultimately lighting the shots only with our car headlights. The end result was quite epic.

After a few hours in the cold and breathing in the fog I got so sick I was bed ridden for almost a week! I think it was worth it though!

Emma Jean Schwarz

My niece was born January 5th, 2010. All of our minds were blown by how awesome she was. I'm not big on babies, and this baby is AWESOME. So enjoy these pics.

The hospital wouldn't let more than five people see her so it was difficult for me to get in there and shoot. We figured something out though...

This is her nursery, with her name on the wall. Cutest kid.

Broken Shoot with Amanda Herd

Two months ago I was speaking with a good friend of mine, a fellow artist named Amanda Herd. Amanda and I went to the same school and became friends supporting each other through our respective arts, with hers being ballet (and my GOD is she amazing).

We talked about doing a shoot but could never come up with something to incorporate her ballet into that would be really interesting.

She then told me about how she was recovering from a relationship with someone who seemed to be poisoning her, trying to convince her to stop seeing her friends, to stop DANCING, essentially, to stop living. He is in the army serving in the middle east and after several 2 a.m. talks with her I asked if she was interested in doing a shoot about her relationship for to me, what would be two good reasons.

1. It would be a great project.

and 2. It could be therapeutic and would be great creating something beautiful out of something so terrible to her.

So here is part 1 of a 2 piece collection featuring Amanda in a fragile state. She made a costume of tattered ballet dress pieces, we smeared her makeup, and went to a construction yard with lots of dirt and debris to try and make it resemble the middle east as much as possible.

Amanda is one of the most genuinely sweet girls I have ever met, and has a very big heart. Which is why it was difficult for me to ask her to bring up painful memories of her recent past to really bring out the emotion of the shoot. But she did it, and it shows.

The shot above shows several bullet casings as she holds her stomach in pain. The idea of using fake blood was blown as the fake blood was being... uncooperative. However I feel this works just fine as it conveys an internal pain. A physical gesture describing an emotional pain.

It was difficult to shoot her like this because it was somewhat chilly outside, and getting her in the muddy water was severely chilling for her. But it was a light hearted moment as we laughed about it and had fun with the situation.

All said and done, this was the first part of what will be a two part set. The second is about how she pulled herself together, and found the strength to recuperate after this devastating relationship, and started dancing again. The next set will be full of beauty and life, two of the best words I know how to describe my friend Amanda Herd. Keep an eye out for them to come soon.

the rest of this album can be viewed on my flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dougwantsrevenge/sets/72157623104959677/

David Williams Calendar Shoot

David Williams is the owner of a Fitness Together in Oklahoma City, and his girlfriend wanted a calendar of him for Christmas.

He had several ideas including some with his car, and holiday themes for Christmas, Halloween, and Valentines Day.

the coolest thing about this was how different the pictures are. we have the holiday ones which go from bright and cheerful to downright creepy.

these are my personal faves from the shoot.

it was awesome to be in several locations, everywhere from his fitness studio, to the rooftop of a parking garage downtown.

hope everyone has a happy and safe new years!