I am excited to be teaching in Italy this August. The workshop is called: Art and Commerce: Keeping Personal Vision in Commercial Work.

Here is a short summary of the program…

This workshop is for commercial photographers who would like to revamp their portfolio, and give more strength to their work in order to get more focused assignments. It is also designed for young photographers with a strong personal vision entering the business world, and that would like to keep and apply that vision while working in the commercial field.

You can get all the information at the Toscana Photographic Workshop website. I hope to see you there.

Erica Shires

In January, we went out to San Antonio, TX to work on a project with Greg Sylvester of VSA Partners. With Greg we always produce great work as well as have a good time along the way.

Paul’s producer Leasha with Greg Sylvester

Leasha flies with the Commemorative Air Force

Late night out!

______________________________________________________________________

Upon returning from San Antonio, we jumped on another airplane and headed out to Southern California to work with Steve Mignogna from Sequel Studios on the Yum! Brand annual report.

Paul with Laura Melillo, Steve Mignogna, Leasha, James, Brian and Megan Sluiter

James and Brian in Louisville, KY

Currently we are participating on a pro bono project that benefits children suffering from cleft palate. We are photographing Chicago notables using the lenticular process for the finished art that will be sold at an upcoming charity event. If you are interested in learning more about the cause, log onto, www.SmileTrain.org

Ciao!

Paul Elledge and crew

We’ve had a busy winter and we wanted to take some time to share a few finished projects that we have worked on.

More updates to come soon…
Ciao!

Paul Elledge and crew

IEEE Spectrum does an annual section on “Dream Jobs” for engineers. This guy works for Garmin, is a triathlete, and designs gps devices for runners and cyclists. We didn’t even get in trouble for spilling water!

Please join us!

Graham Brown had an opening of his personal work at the Farmani Gallery in Los Angeles, late last year. Candace, who is now operating full-time out of her San Francisco office, was able to attend the show.

Brandi Dalpian, former virtu employee and currently the hottest producer on the block, and Ryan Boblett, rockstar art director, were married Labor Day weekend at A New Leaf in Chicago. Never ones to shy away from a celebration, three parts of the virtu crew got decked out in their finest duds to celebrate with Brandi and Ryan (and take funny photos in the photo booth). Congratulations Brandi and Ryan!

Wanted to share the great news that Paul received The Graphis Gold Award for the Graphis Photography Annual 2008!

We recently traveled to the 9000 acre HF Bar ranch outside of Sheridan, Wyoming to shoot some wranglers for Ariat. The idea was to shoot authentic wranglers, which I now know is a type of Cowboy that, wrangles. Imagine that….First and foremost the HF Bar ranch was the most incredible place to shoot. The staff said nothing but yes, and lent a hand in any way they could, including driving crew to the airport at 4:00 AM and fedexing gear (and paying for it!), so if you have to shoot on the open range, you should head there, you’ll meet some great people see a 1000 lb pig and after the shoot wraps you can do a western triathlon, horseback riding, fly fishing, and target shooting, otherwise known as RIDE, CAST and BLAST.

The setup;

The image

Just another view of the horrible location we had to work with……

So upon returning we, and as if we had had enough of shooting with horses, we had to shoot with PONY, which I now know has nothing to do with horses, but rather shoes. It seems the smart guys from Nike and Adidas have gotten together to relaunch the brand and we were chosen to do the first in a series of ads featuring the old and new of the brand. We shot Wilson Chandler from the New York Knicks and came up with some pretty cool shots.

At this point I can not really show the images, but I have to throw in this one.
Here is an outtake from a shot with one of the talent. The campaign should be pretty interesting…..

One a side note; It seems that since having the a Chicago bears helmet surgically removed from my head the doctors thought it would be a good idea for me to sport a wig. Thanks to my mom for getting just the right one…I think it suits me…

So as if that was not weird enough….Check this out….something you don’t see everyday…..

HUMMMMMM…..

In July we did a five-day shoot with 50,000feet, Inc. for Motorola.

The first portion of the job took us to Navy Pier and then we shut off a Chicago street intersection for a “chemical spill” shot.

Paul giving direction to the talent at Navy Pier

Paul getting a better look at the chemical spill

The second portion of the job took us to the Gary/Chicago International Airport, a shipping port and to a dispatch center.

At the port setting up for the evening shoot

We had a great time working with 50,000feet, Inc. and Motorola.

Between the 1st and 2nd half of the Motorola shoot, we shot for the agency Hiebing and their client, Great Lakes Higher Education. We shot for three days on the North Shore campus of Loyola University.

Art Director Peter Bell giving Paul some “assistance”

Paul w/ Peter (AD), Heather (art buyer), and Steve the client from Great Lakes Higher Education

As many of you know, Leasha and I teach a photography workshop every summer in Santa Fe, New Mexico for the Santa Fe Photography Workshops.

We had a full class that was really fantastic to work with. We even had a few repeat students which is always nice.

Santa Fe Workshop Summer 2007 Class Photo

We will be returning next summer. If anyone is interested in joining us, the dates are August 3-9, 2008!

More updates later…

Check out two new finished pieces we just received!

Wheat Thins Ad with Art Director Ann Pearson from JWT Chicago

CD Cover of Measha Brueggergosman with Fred Münzmaier from Deutsche Grammophon

There have been a few things we’ve forgotten to share with you lately, first and foremost Paul gave the commencement speech at Southern Illinois University in May. SIU was his alma mater, and being asked to do such a thing was a real honor.

And, Paul is always up for some weekend fun! Here he is on his dirt bike during a recent weekend getaway.

Ciao!

Its been a busy few weeks. In late June we went Alabama to shoot print and packaging for Ubisoft’s Xbox game called America’s Army. Hotter than hades we put two US Army Green Berets through there first shoot, well at least the first one without live fire. I could not resist the opportunity to gear up and get this shot for the scrap book.

We then went off to Reno, Nevada to shoot the richest rodeo in the west. Over three days we destroyed just about every piece of equipment we own capturing portraits of Cowboys for Ariat.

Someone had the great idea that shooting an Ad campaign would be best when you have to work around 20,000 people and countless heads of cattle. Not to mention July heat in the high desert, and dust.

We then shot a few billboards for Newcastle Brown Ale through Virtorobertson. In one day we captured a high fashion campaign and an extreme sports big wall climbing expedition all without leaving Cardiff by the Sea.

And last but not least….we went off to Chicago to shoot Greg Olsen, the new rookie tight end from Da Bears for a Pepsi promotion. Everything went smoothly until Tim got Greg’s Helmet stuck on his head, Tim was rushed to local hospital, where the doctors decided that it might be best just to leave it on, so now Tim, even though a staunch Raven’s fan, will be force to endure wearing the brain basket until the elements wear it down and it break up. Who knows when that might be?

Check out the new website with new work www.colbylysne.com.

Dan shot this Summer Campaign with DDB for Safeway Grocery Stores.

They had a great time shooting on location at Glenview Golf Course in Cincinnati

and Lake Geneva. The final ads were composited by Giannini which was an

amazing collaboration and proof that a great team can accomplish anything!

Dan, Ashley Johnson and Laura Gaines rolling down the hill at Glenview Golf Course.

I was interviewed for the fresh face section of the “Illustration Annual” issue of Communication Arts. It was an especially great issue to be in because of the beautiful cover, and a cool story about the Wooster Collective and the Spring Street Art Project. Thanks to Communication Arts for the honor.

These 3 books are the most recent installments I shot for the Williams-Sonoma New Healthy Kitchen series. I worked with a great team of people, we had a lot of fun and ate some amazing food. There were even a few mornings when I was caught eating “lambsicles” for breakfast!

I think this is an amazing video for anyone interested in photography and technology.

Enjoy.

Sometimes going to work feels more like coming home. Boulevard is a brewery that started here in Kansas City and has become one of the largest kraft breweries in the US. Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat (with a lemon wedge) is what you will be served if you come to visit our town.

I was on assignment for INC. Magazine photographing CEO and founder John McDonald.

Greetings,

For those of you who were unable to make it, Leasha’s lecture at the Apple Store was a huge success! Thank you to all of those of you who were able to make it and show your love and support!
Before the Memorial Day holiday, I did a photo shoot for Deutsche Grammophon for the upcoming album for recording artist Measha Brueggergosman. She was absolutely amazing. Not only was she great to work with, she joined the Paul Elledge team to go support Leasha at her Apple Lecture!

Paul preparing to begin shoot

Paul and Measha Brueggergosman

After the Measha shoot, we went to Orlando, FL with Tim Bruce of Lowercase, Inc for our TriZetto client.

Then later that week I shot for the Ad agency J. Walter Thomson. The shoot was for Wheat Thins. Below are some “backstage” shots. To top it all off, we had a great variety of Wheat Thins to snack on!

Paul, his producer Leasha and digital tech Brian Eaves
setting up for the Wheat Thins shoot

Paul, Art Director Ann Pearson & the rest of the team review shots

I have also started working on a collaboration with Edward Ebel, a top Chicago hair stylist. This will be a unique ongoing project. Stay posted for more behind the scenes as the project unfolds!

Edward Ebel and his crew start the transformation of the model, Kelly Schmidt, for the shoot

Paul bonding with one of the models, Ping

Edward trying to convince Leasha to be an understudy

Paul, Edward and his crew

As the team and I were working on this years Graphis Photo Annual 2008 submission, we finally ordered our 2007 Photo Annual book. Take a look at the spread that made it into the 2007 Book.

This is a reminder that Tim Bruce and I will be giving our joint lecture at the Michigan Avenue Apple store on Monday June 18, 2007. Hope to see you there!

Ciao!

Greetings!

In addition to having worked with Michelle Williams from Destiny’s Child, I am currently working on a new album package. The album is for the new band USSA featuring Paul Barker (Ministry & Revolting Cocks) and Duane Denison (Jesus Lizard &
Tomahawk).

Leasha and I traveled to Nashville to photograph the band portrait as well as shoot some live rock images. We had a great time and the show was fantastic! If you get a chance, you should check USSA out!

I also just recently completed a project with a long time client, Publicis Mid-America for the returning client Curves. The shoot was for their 2007 campaign.

There was great energy on set and the entire crew had a blast working on this project.

Upcoming in May, Leasha will be speaking for the first time at the Michigan Avenue Apple Store. We are very excited and hope you can all come and join her on May 21st at 7:00PM!
http://www.apple.com/pro/sessions/apa/?cid=WWW-APA061218-TS3N0
Ciao!

On Thursday, April 26th, I will be speaking at Columbia College in Chicago. If you happen to be in town please stop by 600 S. Michigan Ave., 1st floor theater at 7:00 pm. I will also be meeting with students and looking at portfolios on Friday.

I also just photographed a 12 page dress story and my first cover for NY Magazine. Here are a couple of outtakes.

It is the Summer Wedding issue, which is on stands now.

Greetings!

I would like to start off with a bit of good news.

A couple of weeks ago we received the information that my website has been selected into the PDN’s (Photo District News) Photography Annual Website category! The website will appear in the 2007 May Photo Annual Issue as well as online at www.pdnonline.com

The last week of March we photographed the cover story for the magazine “Time Out Chicago.” As of today (April 12th), the magazine has hit the newsstands!

The story is on Michelle Williams (from Destiny’s Child) as a person as well as her role performing in Oprah’s theater production of The Color Purple.

Michelle Williams is playing the role of a sultry blues singer so I decided to take the photographic style in that direction.

We had a great time on the shoot and Michelle was absolutely fantastic to work with. For those of you who live here in Chicago, you should definitely check out the article. For those you who do not, you can always check in out online at http://www.timeout.com/chicago

Ciao,

Paul

You have to check out this feature titled “Class Action” for Readymade Magazine! This couple (of artists) bought 4 schools in rural Kansas to live/work and turn into an artist colony. He (Ron Miller) is a tattoo and recording artist that paints and she (Nikol Lohr) creates and knits burlesque costumes (www.disgruntledhousewife.com). Props to writer Lisa Selin Davis for cultivating this gem, to Deborah Kozloff Hearey (PE), and George McCalman (AD).

Greetings and Happy New Year!

After the Mexico Workshop, which was really fantastic, I started working on an Annual Report project with Hornall Anderson Design Works.

The project has had me traveling all over the United States as well as Hamburg, Germany and Vienna, Austria.

Paul, with his producer Leasha and his assistant Jason, prepare to take off with Michael Connors from Hornall Anderson Design Works.

In Vienna, Austria

Paul with Michael Connors on location in Wildeshausen, Germany

Paul and Jason with Michael Connors trying his hand at assisting!

During the holiday’s, we had a small break to spend time with family and had a great time.

New Year’s Eve took us to Chelsea, Michigan to photograph celebrity and musician Jeff Daniels for an editorial assignment. He was wonderful to work with and it was a great way to ring in 2007.

Paul with Jeff Daniels at the Purple Rose Theatre in Chelsea, MI

That’s all for now.

Ciao!!

Lars Topelmann shot the “Bahamavention” advertising campaign this fall for Bahamas Tourism. After shooting scenic images in the Bahamas Lars photographed six studio portraits in Portland. These scenic images were enlarged to provide a tropical background. The concept was to celebrate “the mall studio portrait”. Many examples of 1980s portrait lighting and posing were studied. The client flew all the way from the Bahamas to sit in a studio for three days and witness the photographic hi-jinx that Lars is famous for. The campaign is running now in Vanity Fair, Entertainment Weekly and In Style. Click here to check out The Bahamavention website to see all six ads.

Lars giving direction in his favorite orange shirt.

Assistant Matt Obrian and Producer Chris Hornbecker hang a stuffed seagull.

Writer Ryan Peck, Art Director Scott O’Leary, Producer Chris Hornbecker, Stylist Katherine
Ross, Digital Guru Anthony Georgis, Client Stephanie Toote and Art Buyer Kim Witczak are amazed and delighted.

The aerial group shot.

The close up group shot.

Lars swims with the fishes.

I was lucky enough to be invited to a party at 11 Spring St. in New York, by Marc and Sara at Woostercollective.com. For those not familiar with this amazing project, please check out all the info here, and some great photos here. There is a cool video of the line from Sunday here. This was truly an inspiring project. Here is a small description from the guys at Wooster:

“The exhibition, a three celebration of 30 years of ephemeral art, will take place for three days only, and then all of the artwork will be destroyed.

The artists who’s work will be showcased include: D*Face, Shepard Fairey, Judith Supine, Maya Hayuk, WK, Above, Blek Le Rat, JACE, Bo and Microbo, Lister, Prune, JR, RIPO, Thundercut, Skewville, Elboe-Toe, Jasmine Zimmerman, You Are Beautiful, Dan Witz, Rekal, Gore-B, FAILE, The London Police, Swoon, David Ellis, Cycle, Lady Pink, Speto, JMR, John Fekner, BAST, Momo, Howard Goldkrand, Borf, Gaetane Michaux, Michael DeFeo, Will Barras, Kelly Burns, Abe Lincoln, Stikman, MCA, Plasma Slugs, Diego, The Graffiti Research Lab, Txtual Healing, Mark Jenkins, Iminendisaster, Rene Gagnon, and many other surprise guests.”

Rolling Stone+Tina Fey+Nathaniel Welch = The perfect recipe for a great picture right?? Right! Of course there’s a catch, as always………The concept for the picture was to go down to the set of Tina’s new sitcom, 30 Rock, and do a portrait of her in her dressing room. Nothing fancy or conceptual, just try and show her and the character that dressing rooms have. Kinda sterotypical stuff like directors chairs, makeup counter and mirror, and maybe some personal stuff like pictures or some sort of funny prop, even a script. Of course, being last minute there was no time to scout before, or even talk to Tina about what her dressing room looked like. I get there at 11am, I have an hour to scout and set up, and an hour to shoot. The publicist takes us to her dressing room and guess what? You got it, complete nightmare. No makeup counter or mirror with lights or set chairs. Nothing. The room was about 15 x 20 feet, a bad ikea couch and coffee table, white walls with 2 framed store bought cheesy prints on the white walls, a television in the corner on a table, basically, it looked like the living room of a very un-interesting person just out of college. It could work if it didn’t have to look like her dressing room, otherwise the reader would think we did it in her living room, her ugly boring living room. I’m not dissing Tina, because it sounded and looked like she almost never was in this room, but…….. I hid my panic from the publicist pretty well, but she was pretty shocked also. She knew it was a nightmare for us. After pleading for another location and being told “NO” 20 times, I turned my panic into ideas, and thought “maybe a rack or wardrobe that she can be hiding in”. The publicist took me up to wardrobe where I begged and pleaded the manager of the wardrobe room for a rack of clothes for an hour. He was very accomodating and even filled it with clothes that she wore on the show. Rolled it back down to her room, set up the lights, did some polaroids and honestly was so relieved to finally have a decent picture out of a horrible situation. Tina got there, she’s exactly like she was on SNL, dry wit, self deprecating, smart and sexy. We had a blast making the picture. The one thing that you can’t see is that she’s wearing a pair of house slippers that were the shape of ducks. They were in the room when we got there but she didn’t have any idea whose they were or how they got there. Another day at the office……..

I spent the Thanksgiving holiday in Costa Rica with my family. While staying by Arenal, an active volcano, my brother and I went “canopying.” According to Lonely Planet, it’s supposed to be a great way to see wildlife in the rainforest. At 45 km an hour, the only chance of seeing wildlife would be if you ran head on into a bird. Nonetheless it was quite a thrill. The longest line was about a half a mile!

There I was, on the hallowed grounds of the Chicago Bears training facility in Chicago. I was there to shoot a cover for ESPN Magazine, of Brian Urlacher and Alex Brown, two of the Bears defensive stars. The theme was “woods” as in “does a bear ____ in the woods”. Only later did I learn the actual story tagline would be “does a bear hit in the woods?”, very clever indeed. The shot was actually taken in the woods behind the practice field. The director of publicity was a little worried about me taking them into the woods, as he didn’t want them to get hurt or bitten by a spider or anything that might sideline them or put them on the injured list. Imagine that, the teams defensive stars out because of a photoshoot. After assuring him things would be ok, the A.D. and I found a great spot that was in the woods, but clean enough for cover taglines.

The Bears were a little late, but they did arrive and we had them for about 20 minutes. Alex Brown went to the University of Florida, and I’m from Florida, so we had a lot to chat about. Both guys were really funny and obviously were friends. It was hard to get them to look serious and tough like we wanted, they kept cracking each other up. We got it though, and everyone is really happy with the cover. I’ve been working for ESPN Magazine for about 5 years now, and they are one of the few magazines that I say yes to before I even know what the assignment is. I love shooting for them…….

When not performing for Inchworm, working at virtu’, or knocking a couple back with his buddies, Matthew morphs into Bob Seger and brings his Silver Bullet band out on the town for some ol’ time rock and roll. This past weekend, Matthew, aka “The Seeg,” played shows in front of live, ramblin’, gamblin, screamin’ audiences for a Halloween show at Gunther Murphy’s in Chicago. It was only a one-time gig, but everyone was begging for more. As you can see, the resemblance is astonishing, but not shocking considering the fact that he’s known every word to every Seger song since he was a little tyke. Seeg, you rock.

topography of light
november 1 – december 23 2006

opening reception:
wednesday, november 1 from 6 to 8 pm

gallery sakiko
20 west 22nd street, suite 1008
ny ny 10010

Gallery Sakiko presents Topography of Light, featuring works by New York based artists Erica Shires and Kenji Kojima. Though they work in differing mediums – Shires is a photographer and Kojima a painter - they both share a keen interest in techniques of the past while adding a contemporary and highly unique twist.

On a recent shoot for Visa in the Bahamas with TBWA\Chiat\Day-LA I was discovered! The French talent scouts liked the way my speedo (aka “the neon dream”) fit. My vertical leaping ability must have been impressive as well. The folks at Lacoste want to start a new fragrance line called “Lars Essentials” targeted at bald men who are still sexy in their 40’s. I am honored to be representing such a fine product. It’s always been my dream to be a male model.

Greetings!
Check this out, I have been accepted in the Graphis Poster Annual 2006 Book. The image is located in the Music section and is the poster art for the album “The Power of Sound,” music of Jonny Polonsky.
http://www.graphis.com/annuals/poster.php

Leasha and I are getting ready to travel to Mexico to teach a photography workshop for a week. The workshop is through the Santa Fe Workshops. We have been teaching in Santa Fe and Italy for several years now and this will be our first time to teach in Mexico. We really look forward to it.
http://www.sfworkshop.com/
http://www.sfworkshop.com/photo/sanmiguel/06smhome.cfm

Ciao!

Transitions: Strategies for the Young Working Photographer
September 26, 2006
School of Visual Arts Amphitheatre, 3rd Floor, Room 311
209 E. 23rd St., New York, NY.
Seminar: 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m./ Reception: 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Moderator: Holly Stuart Hughes, Editor, PDN
PDN’s 30 Photographers in attendance:
Anna Bauer
Jeff Liao
Mackenzie Stroh
Erica Shires
Creatives:
Tracy Doyle Bales, Photography Editor, LIFE Magazine
Candace Gelman, Photographer’s Representative, Virtu

Visit the Open Institute group photography exhibition, Moving Walls 12, to see Kike Arnal’s portrayal of the extreme poverty that exists in Washington D.C. The exhibition is currently open and will be on display through May 11, 2007, at 400 West 59th Street. It then moves to Washington, D.C.

What I find so interesting about these small black churches is their
wonderful idiosyncratic vernacular character. Often bordering on the
eccentric, these small churches provide a place of comfort and connectedness
for members who have to bear the burden of living in a harsh inner-city
environment crippled with drugs, prostitution, crime and broken families.
To me, these are simple places of worship, but rich with messages of
self-affirmation and promises of a better tomorrow.

There is an article on the Museum of Contemporary Photography website with more images from this project.

With the help of Keep Your Day Job and Bobby Gibbons we were able to shut down 21st street to shoot this. We brought in Kansas City’s own Marching Falcons Drill Team and the steppers from Alphi Phi Alpha to help set the pace for Bobby. The result was pure street revolution! Check out the images……and video.

Greetings!

I am very pleased to say that my new website has just recently launched and has had great response.

www.paulelledge.com

On top of having completed my website, I was happy to learn that two of my images will appear in the Graphis Photography Annual 2007. One photograph is that of Billy Corgan which is also featured in Communications Arts Photo Annual 2006 (scroll down to my first post to see image). The photograph below is from a personal project of mine featuring a portrait of Jason Robinette.

Please take a moment to stop by the new website and take a look! Hope you enjoy!

Ciao!

Check out the August 2006 issue of Communication Arts. We’re very excited that photographs by Paul Elledge, Heimo Schmidt, and Lars Topelmann were selected for this year’s Communication Arts Photography Annual!

I was honored to be chosen for PDN’s 30 emerging photographers for 2006. It was cool that they chose to feature this story in the editor’s notes…

“Then there’s Erica Shires. Over 17 years ago, Shires was about as far from the realm of photography as one could get. Working at a salon in North Dallas, she was a hairdresser and a single mother. She worked at the job for 11 years. Then, when she was 33, she decided to take a class at Collin Community College, a school not far from her home that had graduated another PDN’s 30 alum, Misty Keasler. This tale of a dramatic career switch would be noteworthy enough, but digging deeper into Shires’ childhood, her story is even more intriguing. Many photographers tell us that a gift of a camera from their parents triggered their careers in photography. Shires’ inspiration came from a slightly skewed version of that story. Her father, Bill Shires, was an illustrator who took Polaroids of people to help with his drawings. His models? His children, of course (that’s little Erica above).

‘My father graduated from Art Center in 1960 and moved to Detroit where he met my mom and worked with many ad agencies, illustrating the new car brochures for Chevrolet, Chrysler and Ford,’ says the now 41-year-old Shires. ‘After we moved to Chicago in 1966 he started doing more story-type illustrations in textbooks for publishing houses. All of my childhood images are black-and-white Polaroids of us kids posing for his stories as drawing references. I think that is where the idea for narrative in my work really comes from.’”

Read the entire story here.

There are more of my polaroids here.

Most people take their speed machine and some spare parts to the Salt Flats. I chose my fastest pair of boots and a spare camera. The salt loves all things metallic!
I was shooting Lexus with art director Joe D’Anna from Team One. I would love to tell you what the parachute is all about. Unfortunately I can’t do that quite yet.
Stay tuned!
mm