skating at Rosa Parks Circle

Saturday was awesome...chilly and very sunny. I took my daughter Maddie and her buddy Clare to Rosa Parks Circle in downtown Grand Rapids to do some ice skating. We ended up staying 3 hours!

What I love about Grand Rapids is that there are many pleasant and simple things to do in heart of the city. You can't skate outdoors in the midst of beautiful architecture in the burbs!

The Great Marvin Sapp

Pastor Marvin Sapp has taken gospel music by storm the last few years by winning a Grammy and several other major industry awards. 

The man has a gift. 

He makes Grand Rapids proud.

a calm before the storm

In Grand Rapids we're currently in the deep grips of a brutal winter but I've been keeping plenty busy with both still photography and film projects.

I'll always be a photographer, but over the last 3 years I've had the opportunity to expand my creative horizons into the medium of film as a director/producer/cinematographer. Watch for big news on Feb. 5 of a very public premiere of one of these short film projects...it's one that will have a high profile around town. It also will have a nice impact on our community.

I know 2009 already holds more major film projects for me...one begins shooting in early spring...the most ambitious one to date!

Art Installation - Nucraft Furniture - 2

Art Installation - Nucraft Furniture

Any photographer would probably agree I just completed a dream job for Nucraft Furniture. I was commissioned to create an installation of photographs for their beautifully expanded corporate offices. Nucraft's new space is fantastic; it was conceived by architectural firm Via Design (another fantastic client of mine).

Basically, I was given free reign for a couple of days to shoot whatever I wanted in Nucraft's production facility...playing with shapes, textures, raw materials, heat furnaces and duct work...you name it...shooting nothing but abstracts. 

I worked closely with Chris Pike at Nucraft...he helped me select images...and also kept the project on track...he even helped me hang the art.

The scale of these photographs are some of the largest I've ever produced and I couldn't be happier with the results. It truly was an honor to tackle such a unique project and work with such trusting clients. Thanks Nucraft and Via Design!

portraits on Good Morning America!

I photographed Ed Dobson yesterday in my studio for an upcoming book he has coming out with Zondervan...he's an inspiring man and I'm lucky to call him friend.

To my surprise Ed emailed me today and asked if I could send a few shots off to a producer at Good Morning America...for possible inclusion in his appearance on the program tomorrow morning (1/4/09). Tune in to ABC, my understanding is that story is running around 8:15 am EST!

It's just like Ed to shoot him for an hour on Friday and not mention that he was appearing on national television on Sunday morning...instead we chatted about Obama, abortion rights and the major dust up caused by this article about him in the Grand Rapids Press.

I also shot Ed this summer as part of an ongoing documentary project I'm working on. Here's a taste of that photo session at his home in Grand Rapids:

Frey Foundation - Farmland Preservation

I'm currently wrapping up some imagery for the Frey Foundation's annual report. In October I went up north to the Grand Traverse Bay area to help illustrate Frey's efforts in funding initiatives around Farmland Preservation. 

This region is one of the most beautiful in the world and protecting pristine orchards from sprawl and unnecessary residential development is a noble endeavor indeed.

Plover

I've been spinning this new album by Plover a lot lately. Plover is a wonderful side project/band featuring Glen Phillips, Garrison Starr and Neilson Hubbard.

Here's another song...the whole album seems perfect for scoring a film...hmmmm.

Grandma's 90th

Grandma Kelly turned 90 in August...we had a great party at her place in Danville, Illinois.

She is an inspiring woman...words can't really express how strong and sweet she is.

We had a quiet moment together to chat and take some pictures...I'll never forget it.

Jose Narezo

(photo of Jose by The Grand Rapids Press)
Jose Narezo, a fantastic painter and educator passed away Wednesday night. 

Jose's work was as colorful as his personality. He had a big heart.

I considered him a friend.

My thoughts are with his family and wife Kathy.

fresh photos

This has been an incredible year. I've had the opportunity to shoot a TON of awesome projects for a very diverse client base. Today I put a lot of new photos up on my portfolio web site:

www.briankellyphoto.net

Feel free to snoop around and see what's new!

film set shots

Shooting on the film set today in downtown GR...I'm working with Creo Productions to produce a short film for a very cool commercial project.

Filming is now wrapped and we'll be in post-production for a couple of weeks. I can't wait for this film to be released.

film shoot - still image

Part of the photo shoot to be integrated into the film I'm working on...to be released in 2 weeks or so.

Glen Phillips Concert Photos

I'll miss the concerts more than anything else at the gallery...what a blast!

Thanks again to Glen Phillips and Jonathan Kingham for being so gracious and putting on a very memorable show.

the NFL and tilt-shift lens effects

I caught part of the Dallas/Pittsburgh football game tonight and was both intrigued and slightly horrified when I noticed that Fox Sports was using effects on some highlight packages that had a Tilt-Shift lens look to them.

As some of you know, I'm quite fond of that visual effect in still photographs. I guess if Joe NFL 6-Pack is being spoon fed some visuals other than Cialis and Hummer commercials....my work here is done.

Winter Grillin'

I'll grill through any blizzard...

The Last Concert

We went out in style for the last concert at The Photography Room...it was an amazing show. We had a good turnout of people on a very snowy night in Grand Rapids.

We took this photo in a quiet moment after everyone had left. From left to right is amazing singer Jonathan Kingham, me and my now infamous scarf, my lovely wife Kathleen and the great Glen Phillips.

Time now to turn to a new and exciting chapter. We are most grateful to Glen for coming back to Grand Rapids and playing the gallery one last time!

more body english

My mother-in-law Diane...the form is unusual...and the ball is all gutter :)

Body English

My daughter Hanna puts on some major body english at the lanes today.

A Letter Slipped Under The Door

Some of you may have read this week that my wife Kathleen and I have decided not to renew our lease on The Photography Room after nearly 7 years there...we're closing at the end of December. It is a wonderful space, we loved our time there and we have many accomplishments to celebrate.

But the reality is that I've always had a very busy schedule shooting commercial photography and making short films. But when push comes to shove, even I can't do everything...trust me, I've tried ;)

So I was feeling a bit melancholy this week after the press releases went out and Chris Knape from The GR Press wrote a brief but very nice blog entry. I've bumped into all kinds of people this week and they have been so gracious and kind in making a point of saying that The Photography Room will be missed and it was an important part of the art world here in GR.

On Saturday, I was grabbing the mail at the gallery and found the letter pictured above slipped under the door. Although I'm not exactly sure why it's anonymous, I certainly appreciate the time it took to write me and the effort required in hand delivering it...so to whoever wrote it...thank you.

So please join us on December 4 for a big celebration with a fantastic concert by Glen Phillips...it will be a very fun evening! You can order tickets here.

Glen Phillips Returns...soon!

Glen Phillips (formerly of Toad the Wet Sprocket) is coming back to play The Photography Room on Thursday, December 4. His last show in April was sold out and a big success...

This night will be extremely special (for a lot of reasons) and you won't want to miss it!

You can purchase tickets via this secure online link...it's very simple:

https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/43560

See you at the show!

film shoot-two

Ashley plays our lead...and she's doing a great job.

We have one more day of shooting to go...

film shoot

I'm working on a very cool short film project that I can't really talk about yet...but it will be made public in mid-December. I'm directing and producing the film along with Creo Productions for a very progressive thinking client.

These photos aren't exactly film stills but they'll find a way into the film one way or another...it's fun being cryptic.

Pile of Leaves

Autumn fun...Faith throws leaves at Hanna.

High Fashion and the Homeless - Heartside

On Wednesday I shot a fashion show at Rockwell & Republic; an uber hot restaurant/bar in the Heartside neighborhood of Grand Rapids. Heartside has seen tremendous revitalization over the last 3 years or so...and it's long been the base for many of the city's homeless shelters and food kitchens.

The obvious social contrasts of an event like this are interesting...and in between shooting models on the sidewalk in expensive clothing I chatted with the guy above...not really because I wanted to...but because he kept asking me for money.

I nearly always refuse panhandlers based on one simple principle; creativity. Their plea is typically based on needing a dollar (or two) to purchase a sandwich...and 9 times out of 10 we are both standing within a block of a food kitchen giving out 3 full squares a day. So I assume they aren't exactly being forthright with their request.

This guy asked me to take his picture several times...and each of his invitations stated that it was an opportunity to photograph "the real mother f-ing deal."

Hard to pass up...

GR Boxing - MLK Gym

I'm part of a small Leadership Grand Rapids team that has chosen to work on a special project for GR Box...an amazing gym located in Martin Luther King Park on the city's southeast side. 

In short, the volunteers at this boxing gym teach boxing skills to kids ages 7-19 as a way to help mentor kids, inspire them, be a friend, and keep them in school and off the streets.

Last night I met a couple of State champion boxers in the program...great kids. Our goal is to create a multi-faceted awareness program to help GR Box recruit more adult volunteers, and reach out to various after school programs and churches to let them know that this resource is available for kids.

I'll be shooting at the gym a lot over the next few months...it's an inspiring place that I feel quite lucky to be around.

and this one too

This gives you some idea of the scale...but it's probably only about 2/3 of the crowd.

ZOMBIES!!

Zombies in downtown Grand Rapids...there were thousands of them.

Rockettes make the cover!

It's VERY satisfying to see a result like this for my clients Madison Square Garden and Wondergem Consulting!

Thanks to the Revue team for making a fantastic looking cover!

The Rotunda

I had the pleasure of going with my daughter Hanna's exuberant 4th grade class to Lansing today to visit the State capitol. Although I've been to Lansing many times, I had never before been inside our Capitol Building.

It was a great tour. I was truly moved by the beauty of this building, its architecture, history and attention to detail.

I only wish our legislative and executive branches weren't so intent on polluting the process of serving the people of Michigan with personal politics and greed. The last 4 years have been an embarrassment to all that work inside this building...they've filled it full of gridlock and grand standing.

Shame on them...they don't deserve such a nice office.

back home

I drove over 1600 miles in 5 days...got back late Tuesday night. My trip to northern michigan and the U.P. was a blur of beautiful fall colors, historic downtowns...and bad hotels.

I once again was impressed by the beauty of our state and how vital our water resources are... everything possible should be done to protect them.