{Alagar Kovil}
In between capturing scenes for our forthcoming documentary, GIVE ME YOUR HUNGRY, our very kind hosts have been spoiling us with visits to Tamil cultural sites within and nearby Madurai, India – in which we have our minds blown daily. We’re on Day 3.
These are scenes form our journey up to a small temple village known as Alagar Kovil. We wound our way up through the Alagar hills to find hundreds of Tamil pilgrims visiting the temple and where a holy spring known as Noopurangangai is perennially sprouting up at the top of the hillock. To the locals, this is a truly holy place. To us, it’s a world we never knew existed.
{Living With the Land: Stephanie Williams}
“I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the true blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes.” ~ e.e. cummings
Stephanie Williams takes time with the earth. And it is with her great care and thoughtfulness that she taught us about the abundance that surrounds us yet is often overlooked. Stephanie is a wild edibles forager and is connected to the earth in a way that challenges preconceptions about how our human energy shapes our natural environment. We spent one beautiful and memorable day with her, roaming the forest while filming for another segment of Living With the Land – a thoughtful and soon to be finished documentary series from Reel Nomad Productions.
{Manny’s Deli}
The things that hot corned beef and matso ball soup can do to a man’s soul on a cold November day is the stuff that remains unspoken but hangs thickly in the air of the 70 year old establishment in Chicago’s South Loop called Manny’s Deli. The fellas operating the slicer and busing your dishes have all been here for twenty or thirty years. There’s a very specific rhythm they’ve developed and a tradition that no one is even thinking of altering. And why should they? The regulars know what they can expect and take comfort in the food and the faces they’ve been enjoying consistently for three generations. This is soul food. And these are the faces that carve it fresh daily.
{Tegucigalpa}
It’s quite easy to take a great many things for granted here in the United States. Often it’s a journey to another place and what feels like another time that reminds us what we have and what others do not. Jen and I found ourselves in Tegucigalpa, Honduras last week as we’ve been given the opportunity to tell the unforgettable story of a very unique organization. Hope for the City is an organization that locates corporate surplus (food, medical equipment, basic staples) and delivers it to those who need it the most. Many of these items would otherwise be destined for the landfill, despite the fact that what’s being cast aside is far from garbage. We followed the story of a container of medical equipment (beds, CT scanner, incubators) through Hope for the City’s program and into Hospital Escuéla in Tegucigalpa. Along the way we met some unforgettable people and saw some things that refreshed our perspective on a great many things, including how truly fortunate we are to not have to choose between food or medicine. Not everyone has that luxury. As is often the case when returning from an international trip, we find ourselves looking around our home and daring ourselves to live more simply. We feel fortunate to have returned with images of a beautifully vibrant city and a remarkably hopeful people.
{Big Sur Nesting}
After a few days shooting some branded short film content in San Francisco and Monterey, California, Jen and I decided to do some exploring down one of the most dramatic coastlines in America – Big Sur. A place of a counter-cultural revolution in the 1960′s and still home to the mind-expanding Esalen Institute this coastline is as beautifully eccentric as the people who call it home. I had done a little research on the area and discovered a one of a kind accommodation – The Human Nest at Treebones Resort. This artistic creation is half driftwood sculpture, half nomadic treehouse and presents the human inhabitants an unforgettable, gnarled wood-framed view of the Pacific ocean, complete with elephant seal choir and enough moonlight to read Kerouac, Miller or any other literary Big-Sur enthusiast. Enjoy these moonlit shots of the nest and the rugged Big Sur coast.
{Signs of Life}
“And yet this great wink of eternity.” – Hart Crane
For my grandfather, Richard Mueller. Onto your next horizon, April 23, 2011.
{Northwoods Hospitality}
My wife Jen and I found ourselves traveling North with my parents for Thanksgiving to a little town called Minocqua, Wisconsin. My dad’s sister has called this outpost home for many years. The area has a visual language all its own. Enjoy!
{Living With the Land: Matt Mattson}
Meet Matt Mattson. A naturalist, scholar and true Renaissance man. What he’s wearing and firing were both crafted of his own hand. These images are from Part 4 of a new documentary series I’m shooting for Aleshia Mueller of Reel Nomad Productions about Minnesotans who are exploring ways to live with the land.
{The Sweet Science}
These images are part of a new series for Otto Bock Health Care, telling the stories of patients with unique and inspiring circumstances. This shoot took us into one of the most historic boxing gyms in America – Gleason’s in Brooklyn, New York. We are also assisting ETS Pictures in the creation of video vignettes as part of a larger campaign for Otto Bock’s new technology. Stay tuned for more on this unique brand storytelling project.
{Resurrection Bay}
We had the opportunity to spend some time on the water with Puffin Charters just outside of Seward, Alaska before shooting a video for Exit Glacier Guides. This was Seward’s first day without rain in 31 of them. Amazed with our luck, we were absolutely ready to try our hand at landing some halibut. We’re proud to report a full freezer back home.
{Living With the Land: Alis Olsen}
These images are from Part 1 of a new documentary short series I’m shooting for Aleshia Mueller of Reel Nomad Productions about Minnesotans who are exploring ways to find a balance with their environment. This is Alis Olsen, an environmental artist who finds poetry in trees.
{Clowning Around Williamsburg}
“A day without laughter is a day wasted.” ~Charlie Chaplin
I’ve been having a blast making short films with physical comedian and Cirque clown Wayne Wilson for a couple of years. We were able to spend some time together in Brooklyn this weekend after I finished up a shoot for Sprint in midtown Manhattan with Jonathan Chapman. Wayne is always up for letting the moment take us where it might and I think we may have captured some of that in these images. You can view our first short film collaboration here and even catch a preview of our latest silent comedy epic on the big outdoor screen in Steven’s Square in Minneapolis on July 21st as part of Cinema & Civics.
{Independence Day}
“There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America.” ~William J. Clinton
{Harriet Dusk}
“Lost, yesterday, somewhere between sunrise and sunset, two golden hours, each set with sixty diamond minutes.” ~Horace Mann
