So give it a second to load. then press the play button, kick up your feet and get ready to Rock!

Oh yeah… the first person to email me with the name of the song and the band who created it will get 10% off of their next (1) day shoot/photography rate.  Yep this is totally shameless now!

On a recent shoot for an area hospital, I photographed the face and hands of people who have been touched by the years.  During my short time, I was given a glimpse into their world.  I wondered what story each line, wrinkle, and age spot had to tell.  Were the stories filled with holding babies, were they filled with toiling in the fields of a rural area, or were they given to the task of helping to build a strong community.  I will never know the full story, but I know these people have a story to tell beyond what my cameras can ever portray.  Take time to savor the stories of the elderly people in your lives.  They might just know the foundation of who you are!

Shawn Nielsen

The joyous adventures of a boy!

Not too long ago I had the grand opportunity to create some images for an awesome company called http://www.jmcremps.com/  .  I have to say it is one of my favorite projects I get the opportunity to work on.  I got to think like a kid, act like a kid, and play with the kids.  Oh wait I do that anyway!  These images were created under the great direction of Matt Schnell of http://redbarncreations.com/ .

Enjoy the slideshow, give some comments, and check Matt out (his website) when you get a chance!

Best wishes on your day,

Shawn Nielsen

Fall harkens all sorts of feelings for people.  It is a time to harvest, hunt, and take in fall colors.  A recent shoot for a client yielded some shots I am proud to have created under the art direction of Kirk.  I am a passionate outdoorsman and I hope you see that come out in the images that are a part of this blog update.

Take some time this fall to take in the passage into winter.  It always goes out with amazing color!

Shawn Nielsen

Recently I had the opportunity to create images for Park Nicollet’s 2011 Giving campaign.  These images as I learned were to be black and white in their final use.  To me that was extremely exciting.  I feel that when people can be photographed in black and white it really creates a scenario where the eyes and the inner beauty of a person can shine through.  In a way, I feel like you connect one on one with the subject.  To conclude this blog entry I just want to say that I always look forward to working with the high level creatives at Park Nicollet.  Thank you Sarah for this opportunity!

Shawn

In response to demand for bug-defeating software apps that meet increasingly high standards for green technology, we proudly announce the launch of the fully mobile, bio-fuel iToad. This organic app is easy to install on your computer or smartphone (just plop him on there) and takes up absolutely no memory (has a brain the size of a pea). The fully automated app actively seeks and destroys bugs (up to 1000 per day). The app is equally effective against worms, but has been found to carry its own viruses.

*Note: Processing bio by-products may be used for medicinal purposes in some Asian markets.

**Users rate this app: sticky, slimy, bumpy, sometimes smelly.

Design: Matt Schnell of redbarncreations.com

Copywriting: Scott Whitman of MWICommunications.com

Recently I had the opportunity to shoot some shots of people who are patients of the Park Nicollet Health Care System, under the direction of Shelly K.  The images will be utilized in their “I Have” Campaign.  It was awesome to spend a few moments capturing on pixels the essence of each individual.  Each person showed such genuine personality and beauty.  In the end it was a shoot that changed me. Best wishes to you all!

Shawn Nielsen

The name for these photos just hit me, as I photographed the warty little guy.  Being inches away from a living creature is quite amazing.  I had the opportunity to look deep into its eyes, touch its bumpy skin laden with earthen hues, and watch as it breathed in the air from my studio.  Few people pick up toads.  I understand why.  They are squishy, pudgy, moist, amphibious creatures that are not all that pretty at face value.  However, when I began  to look at how delicately they are made,  I actually began to see a bit of beauty.  I mean, not the kind of beauty that is gonna win a pageant, but beauty that halts you to marvel at the generous brown tones of its skin, and finally peer into the psychodelically patterned eyes.

Mid June for the Nielsens meant a vacation on the North Shore of Lake Superior.  Taking in sites from Beaver Bay all the way to Grand Portage.  The coastal waters of the “Norwegian Riviera” are simply breath taking (which you will see next week).  Out trip took us to the awesome town of Grand Marais.  Home to Sven and Ole’s,  the best skippin’ rocks anywhere, and last but not least a Wooden Boat Festival at the edge of town.  These boats are works of art.  Made by craftsman employing techniques, rarely used, to form wooden marvels.  The images I created show the true warmth of the wood, and detailed craftsmanship. Even a birch bark canoe was displayed, made to the specs of the local Native American culture.  All in all our trip was fantastically filled with family time and memories.