APAD Front 4/15/13 — Seattle editorial photographer
APhotoADay.org is an amazing community of photographers from all backgrounds who share their daily photographs. It’s a chance to get feedback on new work and projects, or to compare notes on topics like freelancing. Every day, one of the thousands of pictures shared on the discussion list previously is displayed on the front page of the website. And today, one of my favorite pictures from BunnyCon was featured, and that just kind of makes my day. Don’t forget to browse the archives, it’s full of stunning work.
Thanks for looking,
Daniel
City redevelopment for Cityvision Magazine | Seattle editorial photographer
Auburn, Wash. has worked to revitalize its downtown through a program called Storefronts, where local artists’ work is displayed in unoccupied commercial retail spaces, such as the creations of Julia Haack. L-R, Storefronts director Matthew Richter, artist Julia Haack and Auburn Mayor Pete Lewis stand outside a space at 1st and Main Street across from City Hall Tuesday, July 2nd. Photo by Daniel Berman/www.bermanphotos.com
Auburn, Wash. has worked to revitalize its downtown through a program called Storefronts, where local artists’ work is displayed in unoccupied commercial retail spaces, such as the creations of Julia Haack. L-R, Auburn Mayor Pete Lewis, Storefronts director Matthew RIchter, and artist Julia Haack, stand outside a space at 1st and Main Street across from City Hall Tuesday, July 2nd. Photo by Daniel Berman/www.bermanphotos.com
Auburn, Wash. has worked to revitalize its downtown through a program called Storefronts, where local artists’ work is displayed in unoccupied commercial retail spaces, such as the creations of Julia Haack. L-R, Storefronts director Matthew Richter, artist Julia Haack and Auburn Mayor Pete Lewis stand outside a space at 1st and Main Street across from City Hall Tuesday, July 2nd. Photo by Daniel Berman/www.bermanphotos.com
Had an assignment last month to photograph two stories on city redevelopment projects for Cityvision Magazine. The first shoot was a last-minute one on Auburn, Washington’s efforts to redevelop unused commercial spaces into art galleries. A sweet idea, especially when you have art like Julia Haack’s to fill the rooms. They looked great from the street, too. Wish we could have had more sunshine to really make the art pop but alas, it was a gusty overcast day. You can tell the wind is blowing if you look at her hair, but all things considered, I was happy with the way the shoot went down. And we did it in under the time allotted which is always great!
I was very pleased with tearsheets that came from these shoots! This was one of my first full-page magazine portraits, so that’s pretty special. The second shoot was way north in Mount Vernon, Wash., to photograph Mayor Jill Boudreau and Public Works Director Esco Bell. The city is redeveloping the promenade into a cool multiuse commercial space and making the waterfront a more attractive place for the community to hang out. I liked the view of the bridge and Skagit River — not everyday you get to have those in an environmental portrait.
Mt. Vernon, Wash. Public Works Director Esco Bell and Mayor Jill Boudreau have been essential to a flood protection plan that transform a parking lot running along the Skagit River into a pedestrian promenade maintaining safety and allowing for expanded business redevelopment in the area. Officials have completed the first of three phases scheduled to be completed by late 2013. Photo by Daniel Berman/www.bermanphotos.com
Photo by Daniel Berman/www.bermanphotos.comMt. Vernon, Wash. Public Works Director Esco Bell and Mayor Jill Boudreau have been essential to a flood protection plan that transform a parking lot running along the Skagit River into a pedestrian promenade maintaining safety and allowing for expanded business redevelopment in the area. Officials have completed the first of three phases scheduled to be completed by late 2013. Photo by Daniel Berman/www.bermanphotos.com
Thanks for looking,
Daniel
Seattle medical marijuana for The Daily Telegraph of London
Seattle medical marijuana photos for The Daily Telegraph of London. Photos by Daniel Berman/www.bermanphotos.com
New Approach Washington Campaign Director Alison Holcomb, who heads the group seeking to legalize, tax and regulate marijuana in the state of Washington through Initiative 502, stands on the roof of their headquarters in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle May 22, 2012. Photo by Daniel Berman.
New Approach Washington Campaign Director Alison Holcomb, who heads the group seeking to legalize, tax and regulate marijuana in the state of Washington through Initiative 502, stands on the roof of their headquarters in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle May 22, 2012. Photo by Daniel Berman.
In a sign of what has increasingly become a new niche for my editorial photography in Seattle, I got an email from The Daily Telegraph of London asking if I would like to photograph a story on medical marijuana.
For two days, I worked with the Telegraph’s U.S. Editor Peter Foster, based out of D.C., to tell the stories of a handful of people to whom this issue is so important. In Washington state, medical marijuana has been legal since 1998 — but remains illegal under federal controlled substance laws.
Muraco Kyashna, founder of The Green Budha medical marijuana collective in Seattle, Washington, poses for a portrait with pet Moluccan cockatoo, Big Bird Bubba, May 22, 2012 alongside volunteer Layla Bush, center. Bush was shot and injured in the 2006 Jewish Federation shooting in Seattle, an incident claiming one life and wounding five others. The bullet remained lodged near her spinal cord where intractable pain continues to plague her, requiring use of a crutch. Photo by Daniel Berman.
Layla Bush, a volunteer at The Green Buddha medical marijuana collective, vaporizes cannabis in a dedicated room of the shop in Seattle, Washington May 22, 2012. She said it is her preferred way to medicate because it is quickly felt and isn’t harsh on her lungs the way smoking is. Bush was shot and injured in the 2006 Jewish Federation shooting in Seattle, an incident claiming one life and wounding five others. The bullet remained lodged near her spinal cord where intractable pain continues to plague her, requiring use of a crutch. Photo by Daniel Berman.
A pro-marijuana legalization poster is seen hanging in a back room where vaporizing cannabis is allowed at The Green Buddha May 22, 2012 in Seattle, Washington. Photo by Daniel Berman.
A cannabis patient in a well-to-do suburb, about a half-hour north of Seattle, tends to his medical marijuana crop growing in his home garden May 22, 2012. Photo by Daniel Berman.
A cannabis patient in a well-to-do suburb, about a half-hour north of Seattle, Washington, tends to his medical marijuana crop growing in his home garden, May 22, 2012. The single plant of the Blueberry strain is housed in his upstairs bathroom tub, and can be expected to produce at least one pound of cannabis. Photo by Daniel Berman
A cannabis patient in a well-to-do suburb, about a half-hour north of Seattle, Washington, tends to his medical marijuana crop growing in his home garden, May 22, 2012. The single plant of the Blueberry strain is housed in his upstairs bathroom tub, and can be expected to produce at least one pound of cannabis. Photo by Daniel Berman
Peter wrote a nicely nuanced piece on the likelihood of cannabis legalization occurring across the U.S. Please check it out: Is the Prohibition of ‘Pot’ coming to an end in the US?
I did not have long to work on the story, but was fortunate enough to meet and photograph the owners of medical cannabis access points, people heading a legalization initiative in the state, and even patients and vendors at a daily cannabis farmers market in Seattle, and an older patient north of there, whose identity remains anonymous due to the sensitivity of his professional life.
That is the reality of medical marijuana in this state. It is used for a variety of reasons by people from every walk of life, yet remains castigated by the federal government and law enforcement — it’s a challenging line to tow, but these patients live it every day.
Steve White volunteers at The Green Buddha medical marijuana collective in Seattle May 22, 2012. Both White and Bush have been medical marijuana patients for four years now. Below are a couple dozen different strains or types, in small bagged amounts. Photo by Daniel Berman.
Muraco Kyashna, founder of The Green Buddha medical marijuana collective in Seattle, Washington, with her pet Moluccan cockatoo, Big Bird Bubba, May 22, 2012 at the access point. Photo by Daniel Berman.
Sean Moore, center, who operates the medical cannabis collective Vivus Vivandi, helps a patient calling himself Dragonfli May 22, 2012 at the NW Cannabis Market in Seattle, Washington. Moore, a medical cannabis patient for two and a half years, said he was motivated to help people at the marijuana farmers market after seeing his girlfriend, who has Chron’s Disease, deal with constant pain. Photo by Daniel Berman
Patients and vendors at the NW Cannabis Market in Seattle, Washington mingle and donate medical cannabis and edibles to each other May 22, 2012. The market serves a few hundred medical marijuana patients on a daily basis. Photo by Daniel Berman
A medical cannabis patient takes a closer look at large piece of medical marijuana at the NW Cannabis Market in Seattle, Washington May 22, 2012. The market serves a few hundred medical marijuana patients on a daily basis. Photo by Daniel Berman
Mario Richburg, who has been a medical marijuana patient for two years, smokes a cannabis joint in the medicating room of the NW Cannabis Market in Seattle, Washington May 22, 2012. A few hundred visit the daily cannabis farmers market, where qualified patients can network with others and obtain medicine, edibles and hardware. Photo by Daniel Berman
Medical marijuana patients smoke cannabis in the medicating room of the NW Cannabis Market in Seattle, Washington May 22, 2012. A few hundred visit the daily cannabis farmers market, where qualified patients can network with others and obtain medicine, edibles and hardware. Photo by Daniel Berman
My experience and previous access to those in the medical marijuana community was key to illustrating the piece, as was Peter’s guidance. He informed me of the level of knowledge surrounding medical marijuana in Britain, and how that differed dramatically from those living in the States, for whom this has been a newsworthy topic for the last few years.
One of the most interesting parts of the assignment was exploring the cannabis farmers market. The daily market boasts several dozen regular vendors, and patients are free to use their cannabis in a separate part of the facility. The entrance to the area notes: 15-minute limit. I joined them inside, and was drawn to how the community aspect of medical marijuana has increased over time. Luckily, once the patients got over the strangeness of a Seattle photographer shooting for a British paper, they opened up.It was a jam-packed schedule but I feel fortunate to be able to work with wonderful clients like The Daily Telegraph to tell stories like these.
Seattle medical marijuana photos for The Daily Telegraph of London. Photos by Daniel Berman/www.bermanphotos.com
Thanks for reading,
Daniel
Stanwood Mayor Dianne White for Cityvision Magazine | Seattle editorial photographer
The new issue of Cityvision Magazine is out and features a few portraits from my shoot with Stanwood Mayor Dianne White last month. The mayor has been instrumental in bringing Amtrak back to the small Snohomish County town about an hour’s drive north of Seattle. More than thirty years ago, Amtrak decided they would be bypassing the area, and with it, the ability of many in the community to travel to Seattle. Mayor White was generous with her time and the shoot could not have gone more smoothly.
Props as always to Cityvision, and writer Ted Tautaskas for another fine job on an underreported story! Props too to fellow NW photographer Mike Kane for his striking portraits in the same story on mayor’s changing their towns.
Stanwood Mayor Dianne White poses for a portrait at the Amtrak station in Stanwood. White was instrumental in bringing train service back to the area for the first time since the mid-1960s. Photo by Daniel Berman for Cityvision Magazine.
Stanwood Mayor Dianne White poses for a portrait at the Amtrak station in Stanwood. White was instrumental in bringing train service back to the area for the first time since the mid-1960s. Photo by Daniel Berman for Cityvision Magazine.
Thanks for looking,
Daniel
May Day protests in Seattle | Seattle editorial photographer
I was not present for the intense spouts of violence and property damage that shook up an otherwise fairly peaceful May Day in Seattle, as many of my colleagues in town have captured so incredibly. I went downtown to try and capture what I could.
May Day protests and rally in Seattle, Washington May 1, 2012. Photo by Daniel Berman/www.bermanphotos.com
May Day protests and rally in Seattle, Washington May 1, 2012. Photo by Daniel Berman/www.bermanphotos.com
May Day protests and rally in Seattle, Washington May 1, 2012. Photo by Daniel Berman/www.bermanphotos.com
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Medical marijuana for Cityvision Magazine | Seattle editorial photographer
Lydia George and husband Jake George founded Greenlink Collective in Issaquah in 2010. They worked with the city to create a medical marijuana ordinance after an initial dispute that resulted a citywide moratorium on access points. The Georges hold containers of medical marijuana inside Greenlink. Photo by Daniel Berman/www.bermanphotos.com
A lot of amazing coincidences all had to line up for the scheduling that enabled these shoots for Cityvision Magazine to happen. They landed in my lap right in the middle of a bunch of other gigs right before New Year’s Eve — and, as you can imagine, getting ahold of people around this time can be a challenge. In the end though, Lydia and Jake George, founders of the Greenlink Collective in Issaquah, and State Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, made time for me from their busy schedules.
One important lesson I got out of my shoot with the Georges is that sometimes, you go set up all your lighting and then realize the best shot could happen if you turn them back off. That’s what lead to the huge lead image on the first spread! I liked the fluorescent lighting fixture above the small marijuana plants, and with my lighting, they weren’t coming out the way I wanted. So I turned off my umbrella and softbox, and shot natural light — exposing for the highlights near the bottom of the fixture. The result is very dramatic and a more interesting approach I think.
Favorite News and Feature Photos of the Year
I know it’s more than a few days into the new year but I still wanted to highlight some of my favorite frames of 2011. Most of this was shot on assignment for one client or another, but many remain unpublished — that’s half the reason I want them here 
My goal on every assignment, whether it’s for a newspaper, magazine, website or university, is to make a unique picture. I try not to shoot from the pack. I try and make something different, and unexpected — a pictorial moment within a news situation. Of course, I will get the safe shot, but when time allows, I am looking for a me photo. A different vantage point, a unique angle, better access — anything to find something unique, and apart from the pack. Sometimes that works out in my favor. The risk pays off. Every shoot is a teachable moment, and it’s only a mistake if you cannot learn from it. This was a successful year but every year is a learning experience and this one taught me that in a lot of ways. You have to hustle. You have to really want it. Onward and upward in 2012, my friends.
Daniel
2011 Portraits of the Year — Seattle editorial photographer
Hello folks,
I know it is a few days into 2012 but I wanted to share some of my favorite portraits from the past 12 months. Portraiture is something I really enjoy because it can be such an intimate experience — or, in contrast, something very fleeting. It’s a total dance photographers do with their subjects. We are trying to elucidate a story visually, and make a connection with people. We want that glimpse at soul. Sometimes it is a delicate thing to do — but I love it.
It’s always a thrill to set up my lights (or recognize great natural light and rock that instead!). You’re trying to turn an unknown environment into something storytelling.
I have been fortunate enough this year to work with some fantastic new clients, such as DataSphere, the New York Post, Cityvision Magazine, Financial Advisor Magazine, The U.S. Department of Energy and Northwest Leaf and Seattleite. My assignments represent a huge gamut of subject matter, but I love thinking on my feet and bringing my own photography style to whatever I shoot — that’s part of the wonderful challenge of working with clients.
And to that end, I wanted to share a little bit of the back story behind my favorite portraits this year:
DataSphere, a Bellevue-based internet advertising firm, hired me to make portraits for their website. The client wanted to showcase their fun, unique corporate culture, for recruiting and marketing purposes. Along with my faithful assistant Mark Malijan, I photographed more than a dozen setups in a day all across their expansive three-floor office. It was a rush but a lot of fun to take my style and apply it to the client’s needs. I don’t think I will ever get the chance to set up an employee shot like the guys at the arcade one again. It was such a blast and definitely stands out as a very memorable assignment, this year and in my career as well.
One of my most high-profile shoots of the year came completely out of nowhere: photographing Gennette Cordova for the cover of the New York Post, back in June.
The cover image – I guess I am okay with all the text all over it
My friend Stephen Brashear referred the job to me and over the course of a week, I managed to make contact with Gennette and make her picture. This was my first shoot for the Post and I was totally blown away to see it on the cover. I got an email from the picture editor at midnight the day it was to come out. “Berman cover” was the subject line, and I just about screamed. It was my first national cover.
Cordova, you’ll recall, was sent a lewd photo by former Congressman Anthony Weiner (D-NY), in a scandal that became known as Weinergate. Ugh. Name aside, this was a really exciting shoot and to see the cover floating around national media sites like Gawker was another experience altogether. The Post hired me a few months later to cover Amanda Knox’s arrival in the U.S. — but more on that in my news photo of the year post coming up.
I have completed eight or nine assignments for Cityvision and it is just so rewarding to be working with them regularly. They run really interesting, informative pieces, that shine line on complicated issues in a relevant way. They do a great job, and my assignments have involved photographing politicians, mayors, and state senators, for stories discussing their governance work. It’s neat to meet people with power and try and make the same kind of connection I would with anyone else, to make a compelling portrait.
This was an interesting shoot because it all hinged on access to water — visually it would be tough to photograph a water story without it — but when I arrived, the fountain was turned off! A quick call from the Mayor’s PR staff to the control room staff for the arena helped get it turned on just in time. Remaining calm was key, and the mayor was a good sport about waiting for a bit to begin the shoot.
I also photographed more stories on water and on cities being inundated with public record’s requests.
My assignment was to photograph Saturna Capital’s Nick Kaiser for Financial Advisor Magazine. Saturna Capital has become renowned for their Amana Mutual Funds, which invests according to Islamamic law — and has done very well from their unassuming offices.
Nick Kaiser of Saturna Capital poses for a portrait at their downtown Bellingham offices October 24, 2011. Photo by Daniel Berman/www.bermanphotos.com for Financial Advisor Magazine
I worked with two Alien Bee 800s firing into a simple 40 inch umbrella and a bare 7″ reflector, plus some nice afternoon sunlight fill, to make most of the pictures.
Nick was really generous with his time and worked with me to make some pictures the client and I were happy with. More from this shoot in my recent post: Nick Kaiser for Financial Advisor Magazine.
Seattleite
I also did a shoot this year for Seattleite, an online cultura and lifestyle magazine that started in 2011. The assignment came courtesy a friend of mine, Erik Simkins, working as their photo editor at the time. My task was to photograph Jay Friedman for a story about his food lecture series, Sexy Food. He uses humor to make the connection between the things we eat and the stuff we enjoy. I wanted to make a portrait that captured that same fun quality. We shot inside of a beautiful old classroom on the University of Washington campus. No assistant for this one, like on most of my shoots, but atleast I got a workout dragging my lighting cases up three flights of stairs. No elevator. The new client was happy and I made some pictures I am happy with too, and that’s all you can ask for right?
I had an SB-800 firing into Photek Softlighter II up high and above him, with a bare sb800 firing for the rim-light in rear.
This is the one the mag ran online.
Sometimes the best assignments are the ones we take on for ourselves. It’s important to try out new ideas, test new techniques, and cover the events we want to cover — even if no one is footing the bill. Sometimes we are fortunate for a client to license personal work after the fact; but that’s not the goal. I do self-assignments to keep me sharp for when the phone rings. It keeps my portfolio current and lets me push new work out more than waiting for assignment work. It’s fulfilling and a big part of my personal goals for 2012.
The Emerald City Comicon was a self-assignment that ended up being licensed for SeattlePI.com. But before that happened, I bought my own ticket, rolled all my lighting gear through the concourses and hoped to heck nobody was going to ask me to leave. I set up in an empty corner of a well-trafficked area of the main room, and looked around for interesting people to photograph. There was no shortage. In contrast to most portrait shoots where I have between 5 and 50 minutes to photograph someone, I spent only a minute or two with most of these Comiconners. I think it kept them authentic. The hours I put into the shoot paid off because it was a great day.
I also went down to Occupy Seattle and made some simple portraits of some of the protestors. I wish I would have been able to go back down, but other assignments and work kept me away. Even so, the windy, blustery evening I spent down there was informative and useful. I made some pictures I am happy with and can at least say I photographed a little bit of a very important movement, in my own backyard.
I also did a lot of assignments for a Seattle-based publication called Northwest Leaf that deals with medical marijuana patients and the industry. It has been so eye-opening to have the access I do on these shoots, and it pays off, because I am making images that are not being made anywhere else. I am getting a grounds-eye view of this burgeoning movement, and I am excited to see where it takes me next year.
This was such a simple lighting setup. Just a single 45″ Photek Softlighter II off to my left, in close to the subject, on about 1/4 power. No fuss, no muss, just nice soft light that let more attention go to the stuff in his hands…
2011 has been a great learning experience. I really pushed myself, fell some times and grew stronger from those mistakes. It’s only a mistake if you can’t learn from it, I feel. I just want to keep driving towards my goals and keep learning and growing with my photo family, as my buddy Pittsburgh photographer Jared Wickerham said so aptly. 2011 has been a great year, a fulfilling year and probably one of my strongest years. You have to really want it in this business, and I think about that everyday. I am so blessed to be doing what I love and know the amazing people I do these days in Seattle and across the country. The kinship and community in photography is like none other!
Thanks for looking, and if you made it this far, thanks for joining me on this journey.
Daniel
Nick Kaiser for Financial Advisor Magazine
Nick Kaiser of Saturna Capital poses for a portrait at their downtown Bellingham offices October 24, 2011. Photo by Daniel Berman/www.bermanphotos.com for Financial Advisor Magazine
The chance to work a few blocks from my home is a pretty rare opportunity. For the most part, I am schlepping my lights and lenses across the Northwest — so to have an assignment so close in downtown Bellingham was a real treat.
My assignment was to photograph Saturna Capital’s Nick Kaiser for Financial Advisor Magazine. Saturna Capital has become renowned for their Amana Mutual Funds, which invests according to Islamamic law — and has done very well from their unassuming offices.
Nick Kaiser of Saturna Capital poses for a portrait at their downtown Bellingham offices October 24, 2011. Photo by Daniel Berman/www.bermanphotos.com for Financial Advisor Magazine
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Kent Mayor Suzette Cooke for Cityvision Magazine
Kent Mayor Suzette Cooke has used past experiences as a recreational mountaineer to guide her decision making after two terms at the city's helm. Photo by Daniel Berman for Cityvision Magazine.
I am happy to share this recently published shoot!
Back in late October, I photographed Kent Mayor Suzette Cooke for one of my favorite clients, Cityvision Magazine. It’s a beautiful, smartly designed publication covering local governance and the decisionmakers in our community.
I was assigned to photograph Mayor Cooke, a former recreational mountaineer, for a story connecting her past experiences with recent success guiding the city. She was a great sport, and anytime I can make a business portrait either outside or in a unique environment, is a success in my book. I photographed her in the courtyard outside of Kent City Hall. The mayor’s boots, crampons and hiking axe were an interesting contrast to her purple suit — and made for some neat pictures.
Kent Mayor Suzette Cooke has used past experiences as a recreational mountaineer to guide her decision making after two terms at the city's helm. Photo by Daniel Berman for Cityvision Magazine. http://www.bermanphotos.com
Here is another tearsheet from the December issue.
Kent Mayor Suzette Cooke has used past experiences as a recreational mountaineer to guide her decision making after two terms at the city's helm. Photo by Daniel Berman for Cityvision Magazine. http://www.bermanphotos.com
Thanks for looking!
Daniel
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