Category Archives: Popular Culture

My portrait of Sean Penn

Written by admin. Posted on July 20, 2011. No comments.

Or rather the back of him. . .

He seemed like the nicest guy as I stupidly blurted out ‘Hey Sean Penn,’ meatballs billowing from my agape mouth. It was honest and without airs. He grinned and said, ‘hey man’ and threw his forefinger up thus allowing me to continue devouring the bucket of food in my lap.

I could’ve run over and got a picture with him, but there’s so much of that stuff. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted to, but respect people’s space and respect the swagger. He’s a dude just like me, and it was enough to be able to see him in the flesh.

I guess it’d be like seeing a dodo bird OR hanging out in Jurassic Park all day taking pictures from the safari van.

I’ve met a fair amount of ‘famous’ types, and each time I think to myself ‘you look nothing like X.’ Robert Downey Jr. is in fact 4 feet tall. Sarah Palin is ‘human’ and not a fire-breathing dragon as many suggest. Sean Penn on the other hand looked exactly as I’d expect him. . .

I feel like the image above is fitting as he’s just walking the Earth - working for the cause while high-fiving folks along the way. Then on the weekends, he just kicks ass on the silver screen.

More always,

Clinard

Photographed President Obama

Written by Michael Clinard. Posted on October 22, 2010. No comments.

Was making my way home yesterday morning after wrapping up a quick editorial job and was confronted with traffic barricade after traffic barricade in our little neighborhood of Wedgwood.

Jokingly, I asked a stander-by if the President was in one of those houses to which she calmly replied, ‘yes.’ In a move straight of Nascar, I angled the car into the first available spot and joined the droves of anxious-ites willing to brave to the cold just to get a peek of the man himself and the baby elephant he was attempting to corral for a homeowner.

Below are a couple photos. It’s my hope that one day I’ll be closer than 30 yards away when capturing this stuff. . .

IMG_1688

With a baby elephant on the loose, many folks showed up to catch a glimpse. They’d heard President Barack Obama was around, too.

IMG_1695

People photographing the ‘Baby Elephant Containment Unit of Greater Seattle’ on NE 75th St and 40th Ave NE in Seattle.

IMG_1717

The press junket was there looking ‘just so’ showing off this year’s must have item: laptop in transport to wherever you’re walking.

IMG_1739

Mayor McGinn was in attendance and pulled out a Larabar he had in his biking shorts.

IMG_1733

Gov. Christine Gregoire tried her best but was rushed away when her husband lobbied her for the Denny’s ‘all-you-can-eat’ breakfast buffet that ended at 11am.

IMG_1746

President Barack Obama decided he’d come out and handle it. In fact was told later by a friend, that his exact words were “hold up, I got this.”

IMG_1750

With the baby elephant back in it’s baby elephant sleeping quarters at the Foss residence, Obama decided he’d caravan over to UW’s HecEd and give a speech just for the ‘Hec’ of it.

IMG_1758

People losing their minds over the President’s ability to handle baby elephant corralling.

IMG_1759

Everyone disheartened by their inability to capture any photos of the baby elephant. Thankfully, they got a couple of the President ‘gettin’ it done.’

I shot this Sunday.

Written by Michael Clinard. Posted on October 14, 2009. No comments.

cake_face_brian_hbsw_web

. . . among other things with a local rock trio by the name of Happy Birthday Secret Weapon.

Saw the gents play at the Sunset Tavern in Ballard a few months back in support of Levi Fuller’s ‘Ball of Wax’ project and was blown away by their performance.

the_album_cover_hbsw_web

We got to talking about influences, and two came up: 1) Hella and 2) The F*cking Champs.

The image above had us laughing on account of it’s remarkably sublime homage to the snarky, self-mythologizing album covers the Champs were known for.

3239-iv

With titles such as ‘Nebula Ball Rests in a Fantasy Claw’ and ‘Thor is Like Immortal’ or ‘I am the Album Cover,’ the Champs had a pretty good sense of humor much like the gentlemen of Happy Birthday Secret Weapon.

In addition to our image above, the guys helped me with a triptych concept that I’m still working hard to complete, so that I may get it up on the blog and soon-to-launch website.

In the meantime, you should go out and give their music a listen.

More always,

Mike

Collateral: First Press Check

Written by Michael Clinard. Posted on October 9, 2009. 1 Comment.

This post serves as what I expect to be a multi-installment blog segment regarding the upcoming collateral materials that I’m having done at a local letterpress studio here in Seattle.

press_check1_web

That said, I was rang up by my guys to swing by the studio this past Wednesday to see the trademark plate on the press and to get an idea on how our color treatment was interpreting.

press_check4_web

Decided to go with Pantone 426U which is about a 90% black to help support the direction I’m going toward on the website and other supporting collateral materials. When our color choice interpreted a little differently on our ‘thick-as-a-brick’ Cranes Lettra 220lb. stock, I wasn’t surprised.

press_check2_web

In addition to the color issues, we’d developed some ghosting around the trademark, so we decided to turn the plate in an attempt to reduce this effect.

press_check3_web

After getting that bad boy turned 90 degrees and getting it back on the presses, we inked up the rollers, and BAM! We achieved our desired result: nicely punched, boldly printed head trademarks that will serve as the foundation for the beautifully designed business card that I can’t wait to showcase.

press_check5_web

You’ll have to stay tuned for further updates as we continue hammering things out. Some point soon, I suspect I’ll have a sneak peek of the completed business card and those other pieces of collateral. Outside of this, continue tuning in for exciting new updates regarding the website and current projects I’m tackling.

More always,

Mike

It’s about to get more interesting’er up in here

Written by Michael Clinard. Posted on October 5, 2009. 1 Comment.

When I hear so Mike, are you ever going to blog again, in my buddy Bill’s upper Michigan accent, then I know I’ve been neglecting my duties at the International Outpost for Consistent and Sustainable Blog Entry. Or there could have been the subtle cue, when on my Facebook page, I recently got this message from a ‘friend’* regarding my lack of posts. It went something like this:

‘Hey Man, what with not posting to your blog in over a month and a half. . . I beseech you. . . Kindly, ‘Friend.”

On the serious tip, I’ve been quite busy, and that’s a very good thing. But it sure doesn’t mean that the Office of Michael Clinard, General Photography Train hasn’t left the station. In fact, it’s well on it’s way to making it’s final stop. If it were a ship: coming to port. A loaf of bread: baked. Humans: evolved. . .

studio_steak_outtake1_web

So what’s new: I’ve been flexing the creative membrane. In fact just this week, I jumped into the studio with Amanda Johnson to hammer out some ideas: One concept is still being finessed, but I finally did get around to shooting that glass of water that’s been sitting around for a couple of months.

steak_114_web

Outside of this, there’s the website which is ever-so close to completion that I can hardly wait. Of course, I still need to get a host of images sized/res’ed to spec and up on the servers. In fact, was up until 5am pulling images in anticipation, but I thought I’d give you a taste of the home page, oh loyal readership.

tomcgp_website_web

Here’s a look at an individual image as seen through one of the galleries, in this case: Portraiture.

gallery_look_website_web

There are other exciting features that will soon be live. When the site launches, I’ll be sure to make a note of it here on ye olde blog. Then, when you catch a moment, you’ll have to visit, give it a looksy and tell me what you think.

In other news, I’ve created my first new video piece in over four years. What with all the updates today–and as a thank you to my readership–I cut this together in celebration of the Brand Identity and to mark what feels like coming out of a near four year hibernation.

Interesting’er from Michael Clinard on Vimeo.

I could tell you what’s going on here, but it’d ruin the ambiguity.

Feeling very cicada-like,
Mike

*that ‘friend,’ I’m speaking of is one, Lucien Knuteson. You’ll have to go and check out his new blog when you’ve had all you can handle here.

Late Breaking News from the Office of Michael Clinard. . .

Written by Michael Clinard. Posted on August 7, 2009. No comments.

It’s being reported that some of my images are featured on the Behance Network!

behance_screen_grab_web

I got an email a couple hours back saying that the editorial team selected my project from the several hundred that folks post everyday. Pretty neat being that a couple days ago I decided to pull some images together that I’ve shot over the last year or so in anticipation for the new site that’s being developed. Figured I’d give folks a preview of some of the visuals to expect, and here it goes getting some neat attention!

_MG_1924

I suspect that project will drop from the front pages after a week or so, but in the meantime, feel free to visit the gallery and let me know what you think. Hope you enjoy looking at them as I had a great time creating them. Big shout of thanks to all the nice folks that sat for me!

More soon,

Mike

Ecuador is Over Here

Written by Michael Clinard. Posted on July 26, 2009. No comments.

Hi all,

It’s been a busy month for me: the website look is finally being hashed out and collateral material printing for the Office of Michael Clinard, General Photography is gearing up.

Outside of the recent happenings, I found some time to steal away and edit through the 1600 or so photos from the recent trip to Ecuador. I’ve gone ahead and put them up on Picasa here.

When you arrive, I encourage you to click the slideshow option to see them larger; from there, you can pause it to click through at your own pace or turn off the captions if you’d prefer.

79_ecuador_web

Above is an image shot inside the monument La Virgin del Panecillo which overlooks Quito–Ecuador’s capital. It’s a large monument of the Virgin Mary constructed of large steel plates, each one welded and screwed together as seen above.

When I finally stopped to appreciate it’s inner construction, I found myself standing in front of plate 79. Specifically important to me given that it was the year of my birth: 1979.

More soon,

Mike

Ron from Arkansas

Written by Michael Clinard. Posted on May 25, 2009. No comments.

Had the great fortune of photographing Mr. Ron Fulton for my Refugee project. If you’re unfamiliar with it, check out past explorations here and here.

ron_fulton_portrait_web

Met him a few months back after finding myself in a conversation about The South and Jimi Hendrix. We hit it off immediately: he telling me about Arkansas, his time serving in the military and his 40-year-old parrot, Sailor; myself talking about Bama and my quirky, conceptual portrait style.

Since then we’ve been chatting every other week or so about getting together to do a little colab in the studio, and a few days back we finally had an opportunity.

ron_fulton_playing_web

What a treat to hear Ron move with ease from Hendrix to Skynard to ‘Somewhere over the Rainbow.’ I found myself smiling and kind of zoning out, rapt in his guitar wizardry. This man has got endless amounts of talent, and a damn fine bird to boot!

ron_sailor_diptych_web

On this great Memorial Day, I wanted to get this post up to honor Ron and all the service men and women who serve or have served our country to give us the freedom we enjoy today.

More always,

Mike

Screenprinting Party and My New Brand Identity: The Office of Michael Clinard

Written by Michael Clinard. Posted on May 12, 2009. 2 Comments.

Had a little screen printing party at the studio over the weekend.

sp_jenna_web

Jenna, aka ‘The Boss’ (pictured above), made it happen. She engineered a low-cost, very effective way of making prints from a short list of supplies found at any Value Village, Goodwill or retail store. The list goes a little something like this:

1) Obtain a few frames from said store. These can be picture frames or those wooden frames that pre-stretched canvas comes on. You know, the canvases that you used to paint your high school masterpieces on. . . exactly, the ones that now reside at above-noted Goodwill store.

sp_lucia_joby_web

2) Find some very sheer curtain tulle that someone has discarded. Probably on the back wall, wedged between the quilts with the stains on them and the Saved by the Bell sweatshirts.

sp_ron_nicole_sonny_web

3) Rolls of Contact Paper. It’s probably the case the ones you find at Value Village are still tacky enough to affix to your tulle, but if concerned, feel free to go out and pick up a new roll.

sp_cynthia_web

Basically, you staple your tulle very taut to your frame as if making a drum. Affix your contact paper with design cut out and you’re good to go. I found a couple nice tutorials on the process here and here that pretty much break things down.

sp_mike_web

Above is my contribution. It’s the new brand identity I’ve been bringing into existence with the aid of a fantastic designer in NYC named Tim Lahan. I’m super excited to start the process of spreading the word and getting it out on market.

sp_trademark_web

That said, keep your eyes peeled for exciting new updates from the Office of Michael Clinard: General Photography.

Always,

Mike

Die Lichtung

Written by Michael Clinard. Posted on April 10, 2009. No comments.

art_wall_clinard_web

The Office of Michael Clinard is up and running!

grip_kit_web

I can’t say enough about how good it is to be back in studio. I’ve greatly missed the art of studio practice, having been on about a five year hiatus since my post-bacc days at the University of Iowa. I affectionately refer to this time away as Hibernation.

clinard_hair_web

I’m shedding that hairy exoskeleton as we speak.

More always,

Mike

Switch to our mobile site