Must confess that I wasn’t all that familiar with the X-Factor, but I was blown away by LeRoy’s story and his own career in music that encompasses writing songs for the likes of Elton John and Teddy Pendergrass, along with fronting his own band – LeRoy Bell and His Only Friends.

If you’ve got five minutes, you should check out the embedded video below (click here if embed doesn’t work) to see a performance and to catch a glimpse of how soulful he is.

At 60, he was the oldest candidate on the X-Factor, and in my opinion, the most down-to-earth and real guy there. Life experience, perhaps yes?! It’s evident that LeRoy feels every lyric he belts out, and it was an absolute honor to have the opportunity to spend time with him in his home north of Seattle.

If you’re looking for a hot ticket on New Year’s Eve, you should check LeRoy out at the Moore Theater. Run by his Twitter page to keep abreast since I suspect you’ll be hearing a lot more from him in the coming months. Either way, look for LeRoy in the Seattle Weekly out now!

More always,

Clinard

He and his wife, Ha, were visiting Seattle on vacation from Massachusetts back in July of 2008. They were taking the ferry over to Bainbridge with their two kids when I encountered Ron feeding the seagulls pieces of bread from his hand. This seemed kind of Superman-ish to me b/c I’d worry about them nipping at my fingertips, but Ron was unphased by it.

Ha informed me that Ron passed away from cancer last year, and the news absolutely broke me up. Through their blog, I learned so much about the man so many cared about, and the resiliency he and his family showed until his eventual passing.

My best friend died at 19 from leukemia which was was devastating. The first instance really that I — and my friends — realized we were not invincible. A lot of folks, me included, sweat the small things that really don’t matter all that much, and Ha’s message really grounded me back down to the reality of what’s important.

With that, I ask two things of anyone that happens to be reading this:

1) hug your wife/husband/domestic partner/boyfriend/girlfriend. Squeeze your son/daughter/mom/dad/friend today. Tell them how much they mean to you.

2) give blood any time you have the opportunity to as this saves lives.

Ha asked if I had any pictures of him from that day, and I did which brought great satisfaction to me knowing that she had more images of the man she so deeply loved. Better still, I had one piece of footage from that day.

If you get a sec, head to the clip on my server here or here (won’t work on mobile) OR see Ron in all his glory from that day below on Vimeo. . .

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

Quick prologue: after my return from NYC in November 2010, the first thing I did was to reach out to Benjamen and Seattle Met Magazine.

It’s my opinion that he’s single-handedly up’ed the editorial design cred’ here in the Pacific NW since his move here some two years ago from Las Vegas.

**Do yourself a favor and check his ideas behind shooting screen grabs of his computer along with an epic push to get the December 2010 issue of the mag out — an issue currently up for a regional award in magazine design excellence (click the images below for links to the posts).

The story on how I came to work with Benjamen is pretty much like this: I reach out with interest in sitting down for a portfolio review. Sometime thereafter, we’re chatting over the book; he loves my branding and finds it a nice complement to my quirky, conceptual style. As we’re wrapping up, I express my thanks for him taking time out of his busy schedule to see me as we shake hands and finish things up.

Not two hours later I get a call and it’s Ben. He says ‘hey man, I loved the book: probably the best I’ve seen in a long time and I want to put you on something right away. . . a feature. . .’

Amidst my speechlessness, he and I proceed to spitball the approach of showing the subjects in profile and how those around them are kind of oblivious to the ‘full-on’ yoga poses as the story is about people incorporating the practice into their everyday lives. If you haven’t seen the story, check out a couple tears below along with the ever-flexible Dawn Jansen of 8 Limbs Yoga. . .

Present Day: I’ve since done a couple more interesting projects with Benjamen and Seattle Met, but I should take this opportunity to congratulate him on all his hard work here in the Pacific Northwest. WHY?

Because he’s making the move to NYC where he’ll be taking the reigns as the Creative Director of Men’s Journal! In fact, he’s literally driving cross-country as I write this. I mean, it’s no surprise: he’s a hustler and an example of how hard work and passion for one’s craft pays off.

Good luck, Benjamen! Super appreciate you giving me my first shot.

Below is a 30 second snippet of Dawn doing her thing along with a couple funny outtakes during my scout depicting just how incredibly difficult it can be for the average person to arch one’s back 90 degrees.

More always,

Mike

Me shot by friend and colleague, John Keatley in early February.

That next week of February, I was out on Capitol Hill doing pre-pro for a job and came across this gent looking at an amoebic shape, that or the hole in his chest.

Around the same time, I photographed Jenna’s father’s law firm: Montgomery, Scarp, MacDougal.

In the middle part of February, I stabbed myself in the neck in my haste to do something. “The untold dangers of wearing pens in the collars of one’s shirt,” taken by Lionel, Mr. iPhone.

Also did a two-week truck shoot, and all I managed was this camera phone pic by Lionel, Mr. iPhone in a dimly-lit Pacific Grip and Lighting.

Straight from the truck shoot, went aboard an Adidas job happening over on the Olympic Peninsula and in Seattle proper.

Was in Props/Art Dept. on this one.

Had the great fortune of working with Mr. Dominic Muller of Gus Creative.

The bare necessities, part 1.

The bare necessities, part 2.

My muse.

A stylist’s handbag.

Finally got my custom-made specs from dear friend, Scott Urban of Urban Spectacles of Wood.

Me in Urban Spectacles shot by Tommy Clark.

. . . 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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

‘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. . .

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.

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.

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

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.

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!

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

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.

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