My good friends own the amazing Sawtooth Hotel in Stanley, Idaho that has been awarded one of the top “Breathtaking Boutique Hotels” in America. They needed a new shot of the hotel for their travel award issue and I needed the excuse to see them and refuel my soul in the fresh mountain air. With the studio cranking and a week long shoot in Oregon around the corner, I snuck out- grabbed my boys, jumped in our truck and jetted over the mountain pass…
The boys are always psyched to assist on shoots and this was a perfect one to involve them in. They thought the evening scout session and lift were great… however, committing to a 5am call time hit a little hard! They were baffled by the waiting game… waiting for light… getting it right… shadows and layering… exposure… lots of questions… lots of quiet stillness… lots of quality.
We were rewarded with a grubbing breakfast at the Stanley Baking Company. The food is incredible, and just what you dream it will be when you’ve been up since 5am thinking about it. (NOTE: people trek an hour over the pass in the summertime just to fill their bellies at the Stanley Baking Co…if you are ever close to within 100 miles it’s worth it!)
Afterwards I took the boys to check out Shot Gun rapid on the raging Salmon River… “after all”, a river guide once told me and I passed the wisdom on to them, “green water makes you strong…”
After some redesign with our marketing dollars for 2011, we decided to give Wonderful Machine a try… the cost is reasonable and the focus and attentiveness is remarkable! It seems they offer great variety of exposure and we have enjoyed the crew- so far so good!
Aside from being in the spotlight this last month, they included snip-its from a recent Kiel interview in their blog…check it out here.
We have had a fantastic time shooting for SPM out of Chicago and just wrapped our 4th TV commercial…
Fortunately (despite the weather forecast) we had sunshine! The temperatures were arctic but the cyclist was a stud and figured after rebounding from a massive stroke he could handle it. His story of triumph is worth checking out and our 30 second spot should be up mid June. Keep checking our reel!
If you haven’t seen or heard of Trombone Shorty, it’s only a matter of time. With Lenny Kravitz producing his last album and a stream of famous musicians entering his studio, this kid has it all- except maybe enough time to sleep.
I took time out from Jazzfest to shoot portraits of him for Garden and Gun… watched him jam with Kid Rock, fill tents of his own, and honor the memory of one of his great teachers along with fellow musicians.
Whether we were side of stage for Lauryn Hill’s coming out debut, thumping with Kid Rock and Trombone Shorty, bluesing it up with Greg Allman and Eric Lindell or simply enjoying our pilgrimage from a funky neighborhood bar called Liuzza’s, the long weekend was as good as it gets.
Grab a group of great friends… get there.
The CDC’s Tabacco Free Zone/ Healthy Eating campaign is bringing forth awareness across the nation… we love seeing our work contributing to such a great cause. You can check out all the tear sheets along with our other campaigns… click here!
Although we can’t post any images from the shoot until the article is published, I wanted to thank the travelers that made the experience so memorable… Richard French, Charles Gaines, and Ethan Hawke… and give a shout out to Garden and Gun Magazine for a great trip!
Cheers to an amazing adventure with a quality crew…
Currently on assignment in Havanna for his favorite southern magazine…
Aside from being the #1 hot sauce on the planet, Tabasco has a phenomenal family at the helm, generations of families as employees, laughter that spills into work each day, and an island in the south to call their own.
They practice sustainable farming and have contributed millions to restoring the marshlands after hurricane Katrina. Their story is unique and unsurpassed – we are learning fascinating history of the McIlhenny family, Avery Island and how Tabasco came to be.
It is an honor to be documenting their story of today.
Team Kiel spent a fast and furious 2 days on Avery Island shooting our ongoing project with McIlhenny Company and look forward to our next production scheduled for August!
Took keeps us on our toes with impromptu tasting challenges and rites of passage ceremonies… not to mention the constant humor that keeps us all smiling (if not outright belly laughing)!
NSSO of the NSSS Initiation!
Here is some of my personal work from Hawaii… loved every minute of it!
