After moving to Wilmington 9 years ago, I’ve had the opportunity to work with some amazing entrepreneurs. It’s really cool to watch their ventures grow. One of the Port City’s most successful companies is N2 Publishing. There is a lot of buzz about these guys. Inc. magazine reports N2’s growth at 474% over 3 years. That’s pretty incredible. Their CEO wanted to share the hearts of some very smart people who have joined their ranks. We decided to keep the videos simple and shoot them in B&W to let the story shine. This is one of the most-watched series of videos that we’ve ever created. Does your brand have a story to tell? Let’s tell it.
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Peeking In On K&BDS
Love it when a long-time client’s name shows up in the inbox again. Such was the case recently when my good friends at Kitchen & Bath Design Studio reached out for some fresh photos. They had a rebranding project that required some updated images for their website. So we scheduled my arrival to coincide with a weekly staff meeting, allowing me to capture them in a photojournalistic style, recording their business in action. See our post from a few years ago with the same flavor, Financial Faith. That’s what a potential customer surfing the web likes to see — people at work who are actually working! We’re excited to be shooting K&BDS’s latest kitchen and bath installations next. Special thanks to Tonya and her team for trusting my approach.
Here is the client’s review of my services on Houzz…
As a small business owner I am responsible for marketing of Kitchen & Bath Design Studio and showcasing the work of our professional Designers. In the past, I have hired Chris Davis Photography to produce a television spot and to photograph some of our projects. When I needed to update our company images due to a company rebranding, I knew exactly who would be the best photographer to capture those images. As expected, Chris nailed it (again)! Chris Davis is amazingly creative and he is very detailed oriented; a combination that consistently yields great, high-quality results. I feel like Chris is my “secret weapon”, but I know that I have to share – I can confidently recommend Chris Davis Photography for any photo or video project. – Tonya Nesselroade
Ariens
Back in December, I had the opportunity to travel to Brillion, Wisconsin — population 3,186. Coming from a small town myself, I had a pretty good picture of what I was going into. What I wasn’t familiar with was the weather there. In Brillion, just south of Green Bay, it got down-right cold. Like negative-degree-wind-chill cold. Mercifully, the assignment for Ariens Company had us working inside their comfortable factory. Ariens is famous for their snowblowers and lawnmowers. They are a lean manufacturing company, which means they make the majority of the components themselves. You can follow a flat piece of steel all the way through the factory and see it in its final state. My job was to capture the lifeblood of Ariens, their workforce, in action. I was super impressed with the process, the warmth of the people and the pride in their work. And on a December day in Brillion, a little warmth goes a long way.
Great Job, Mom
A neighborhood friend was attending a charity silent auction and learned that I had donated a kid’s photo shoot. She won the bid, and I suggested one of my favorite locations — the Arboretum. I gave her the standard wardrobe instructions: no black, no white, no logos, etc. I always suggest bringing options. Well, this mom got it right. Really right. Wardrobe is a huge part of any portrait shoot. It needs to be comfortable, but more importantly it needs to work within a color palette. In this case, I love the mix of prints and solids among the kids’ outfits. Repeating the blue in small doses looked great. Do kids care what they’re wearing? Not really. Do they get dirty while we are shooting? Sometimes. Does it make or break the shoot? It can.
Saving Westbrook High
Is your kid’s school worth fighting for? The parents (and staff) of Westbrook High think so. Their fictional story begins with a devoted dad who moves heaven and earth so his daughter can attend the best school in town, only find out that it’s in jeopardy of being shut down. Their struggle, along with a superb cast including Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Esai Morales and Coby Ryan McLaughlin, makes for a great family-friendly film. I was tasked with shooting the poster art, unit and behind-the-scenes photos. Saving Westbrook High was shot on location in Davidson, NC (north of Charlotte) and was directed by Gary Wheeler.
Music Man
With over 250 feature-film and TV placements including Dawson’s Creek, One Tree Hill and MTV’s The Real World, songwriter Lee Hester has found his groove. Working with a wide range of Wilmington’s finest musicians keeps him very busy, along with regular trips to Nashville and LA. Lee’s passion for his craft is obvious to everyone who meets him and I’m honored to call him a friend. Check out his work on iTunes – https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/lee-hester/id137292075 and follow him at https://www.facebook.com/leehestermusic
Redline Video for PC3
Another new series for Port City Community Church caught my attention. “We’re gonna be shooting a pretty nice car. Wanna help out?” asked the media director. My resounding YES was almost as fast as the car they secured for this shoot—an Aston Martin “Vantage.” The church brands most every Sunday message. Redline is about channeling your ambition in the right direction. The car theme was a good fit and the red line of the tachometer made a nice visual analogy. So my task was two-fold: assist with the video production and capture stills. Photographing a moving car (or a still one) is no walk in the park. My goal was to get as much motion as possible in camera. And 95% of it is. Working tirelessly with church staff and volunteers, we were able to get the whole car portion of the video in one afternoon. Here are some of my favorite stills from the shoot along with a link to the approved video for PC3.
Redline – video for Port City Community Church directed and edited by Joey Connolley
New Horizons
Leaders are born every day. But do they enter the world a leader, or are they shaped into becoming one? When I found out that the mission statement for a local private school was about forming young leaders, I decided to make it the theme of their branding video. The fine folks over at New Horizons Elementary were very cooperative and listened to my suggestion not to “set-up” shots. Instead they let me blend into their environment and capture the kids doing what they do best — being kids. With no crew, no lights and minimal gear it was easy to keep the intimidation factor down. The results were authentic and pure. Paired with a simple yet powerful script, the piece was very well received and will be used to attract future leaders to this growing school. Special thanks to Donna and Wendy for trusting me with your vision.
The Perfect Summer
The phone rang and on the other end was Swirl Films’s executive producer – Eric Tomosunas. And within hours I was being introduced to another Eric, veteran actor Eric Roberts. He was in town working on the locally produced family-friendly flick called The Perfect Summer. It’s a story of a single mom, who along with her teenage son, has to move back in with her dad until she can get back on her feet. He lives in a little shack right on the beach. A young surfer girl enters the picture, stalked by her over-bearing old boyfriend. Dad decides to teach his grandson how to surf in order to blend in, and catch her eye. Throw in some awesome sun-rise surfing scenes and just like that, you have all the ingredients for a fun movie. So if you’re landlocked, but need your beach fix, check out this movie on the UP network. No sunscreen necessary!
Found Time
The other day I was asked to be a part of a camera test for an upcoming film to be shot locally on the beach. The beach presents an interesting set of challenges to a filmmaker, but I digress. Long story short, the test got cancelled due to weather. Well, I already had my gear in the car, so I used this “found time” to do a little camera test of my own. The short piece below was released later that same day. And be sure to check out the album – Love & War & The Sea In Between by the very talented Josh Garrels. Got any negatives you can turn into a positive?