Merry Christmas

The Holiday Season is upon us - ready or not, it has arrived.

I hope you all have a peaceful Holiday & are able to share it among the loved ones in your life.

I am hoping for another wonderful New Year & the continuation of good health - Cheers!

www.ericschmidtphotography.com

Lost in Vermont

I recently spent a couple of extra days in Vermont after shooting a project in Stowe. On the first day I headed into Burlington to meet with a group of creatives at a slick agency & to share some of my work with them (had a great breakfast @ Penny Cluse Cafe). Anyhow, super nice people at the agency & fingers are crossed that I am able to collaborate with them down the road.

Later that afternoon I headed out of town - with no itinerary. Basically, I was just looking to get lost in Vermont.

So that's what I did.

For several years now I have been keeping my eyes open for a quaint baseball diamond... as I've had a particular image in my mind. Low and behold, I found it tucked away.

It's hard to explain the feeling I get after I photograph an image that has been pre-visualized for so long & it's an incredibly fulfilling feeling once it has been realized. Looking back, I wish like hell that I had a Canon 5D Mark II along for the ride as I would have loved to capture both the still image & the actual footage in HD. I have vivid memories of the surrounding sounds. I remember hearing the flow of a river on the other side of the trees - which was accompanied by the voices of two boys, a dog & the sound of the wind blowing thru the surrounding maples... all in perfect harmony.

There is so much about this picture that I like.

www.ericschmidtphotography.com

Bonjour parlez-vous anglais?

Just finishing up a project that I shot in Paris.

I was hired by GSW-Worldwide to create the photographs in a European campaign for the pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly. The product is called Humalog and it's something that many diabetics use everyday.

Anyhow, they needed pictures of "real looking" European patients holding cameras, maps, sitting at cafés... that sort of thing. They were looking for pretty straight forward imagery in a variety of settings that could double for various European regions (you won't find any shots of the Eiffel Tower as they wanted me to steer clear of anything identifiable).

I had the pleasure of working with Nico & Jérémie at Toolbox Productions - an awesome pair of attitudes & I will definitely call on them again when a project takes me overseas.

It was one of those jobs where you come home with a ton of great memories & some new friends too. That tends to happen in a location like this, especially when you are working with a terrific agency, client & crew (see below). A giant thank you is extended to Janet Oberg, Rod Smith, Michelle Snook, Marc Short & Catherine Johnson. I appreciate you having me be a part of your work!

One thing I miss already is driving through the streets of Paris like Jason Bourne... while listening to the Westside Rhymeslingers rendition of Changes. Crazy.

www.ericschmidtphotography.com

Small Town Southern Man

I went to Delbert Hopper's funeral today.

He just grew old, tired & was ready.

They say he moved into the neighborhood shortly after WWII. He fought in the Battle of the Bulge (served under General Patton), had a few children, loved his wife and lived a pretty simple life. His generation is slowly slipping away and it's terribly sad. At the service there were pictures of him sitting on military tanks, holding fish with his wife, pulling his kids on water skis behind an old scrappy boat, bbqing...

There were probably a hundred old and faded color snapshots from his past. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about - classic images from the 50's, 60's and 70's.

During the eulogy a woman spoke about how much he enjoyed his friendship with our children - especially with Sam. Since his passing, Sam has been sleeping with a picture of Mr. Hopper from his WWII days. He told me last night that "he was a handsome soldier, dad."

I am becoming a big sap and I blame it on country music. Speaking of... Mr. Hopper loved his country music - and as though the request line was open, they played Willie Nelson's version of Amazing Grace and then wrapped it all up with Alan Jackson's "Small Town Southern Man."

It was quite an afternoon...

www.ericschmidtphotography.com