Stowe, Vermont

They say that talent is everything. Well, I'm here to tell you that these two twentysomethings were real pros... enabling me to capture "real" moments between two complete strangers.

So thanks to the individuals involved - for making the shoot easy & a helluva lot of fun!

www.ericschmidtphotography.com

Memorial Day

"Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal."

Tell children about the true meaning of Memorial Day.

www.ericschmidtphotography.com

Going Coastal

There is something to be said about living near the coast...

A few images here - from a project where an ad agency was wanting me to shoot imagery (sans people) for a client who is located on pristine acreage along the California Coast. They sent me out with an art director/graphic designer who was an absolute joy to work with - always a treat. If you are looking to build your home here, you'll need pockets extending far past your ankles.

A few of my favorites that I'd like to share...

www.ericschmidtphotography.com

Wild Thing

We are in the thick of it here.

Those of you with kids know what I'm talking about when I mention the words little league. My wife and I are no different in that both of our boys have managed to fill-in the blanks of our calendar with baseball.

Anyhow, I definitely wanted to share a moment that happened the other day when I was watching my boy Sam through the lens.

His team was getting clobbered by the best team in the league when he was called onto the mound.

Here is how it all played out...

As usual, he was throwing the heat & had a couple of strikeouts.

But after walking two in a row, things went south as he hit the next three batters - all nice shots to the ribs too. My dad eloquently stated from the bleachers, "Well... that's one way to beat this team, we'll just kill them off one by one."  Nice.

The kid on deck looked like he was about to walk thru the gates of hell - but was spared the trip when they yanked Sam back into the dugout. They put a fork in him.

Obviously, Sam was pretty rattled by the whole ordeal and it didn't help the situation in having an umpire that was cross-eyed & blind.

I told him that it was alright if you hit a batter - but don't ever do it on purpose. He said "I didn't dad."  Of course, we all knew he didn't and I told him so.

I also told him that all of his pitches were spectacular... all but three.

www.ericschmidtphotography.com

Ben's First Fish

"In our family, there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing. We lived at the junction of great trout rivers in western Montana, and our father was a Presbyterian minister and a fly fisherman who tied his own flies and taught others. He told us about Christ's disciples being fishermen, and we were left to assume, as my brother and I did, that all first-class fishermen

on the Sea of Galilee were fly fishermen and that John,

the favorite, was a dry-fly fisherman."

- Norman Maclean

"A River Runs Through It"

Hey... you've got to start somewhere.

Nice job kiddo.
I love you more than you will ever know.

www.ericschmidtphotography.com

It's Going To Cost How Much ? ?

So I was hired by an ad agency in New York recently... to create a couple of images for an upcoming print campaign. A great way to start the year!

One of the images they needed was of a roller coaster (it was one of those "as per layout" assignments). We contacted Six Flags in California and found out that it would cost two arms + a leg to make the photograph... non-negotiable (I thought Six Flags was going broke - what's the deal). Well, there wasn't much to do other than break the news to the agency. Didn't seem to bother them too much so we pressed on. We rounded up a slew of extras to fill up the roller coaster (i.e. brother, nieces & their starving college buddies), loaded them up with ginger ale & Dramamine prior to boarding...

& then let 'er rip!

After capturing the image with two different cameras/angles during differing moments of early morning light, we called it a wrap.

I was hoping to capture some of the passengers with their arms raised, but the contraption that held them in their seat prevented that from happening.

Turned out nice & I'm looking forward to seeing the campaign in print (a huge media buy).

It was a real pleasure to finally meet the art buyer from the agency - had a couple of nice dinners together & I'm looking forward to crossing paths again. Thanks for the call Rich!

www.ericschmidtphotography.com

Heading Off To Jury Duty

I received a letter last summer - it was a summons for jury duty at the Los Angeles County Superior Court House.

I think it would be fair to say that it wasn't exactly something that I was looking forward to. When I asked them if I could reschedule the date because of a conflicting project, they obliged. And since January 4th seemed like it would work for me, we inked it.

The holidays came and went... and before you know it, my date for jury duty arrived.

So what exactly does this have to do with Frank Gehry's Disney Concert Hall?

Well, that's where you park if you are a juror. It's a wonderful addition to downtown Los Angeles...

and it's probably the most photogenic building on the west coast.

www.ericschmidtphotography.com