Micah Kvidt Photography

Couple shots from MN

2011-06-27T16:19:00.004-05:00

I just got back last week from spending some time up in MN. It felt so good to get back to the home state and see some friends and family again. Fortunately, I went up for work, so I had all my gear with me. Since I was back, I decided to do a couple test shoots during some down time to keep things rolling. Below are a couple of shots from one of the test shoots.
www.micahkvidt.com

Curacao 2011

2011-05-31T20:35:00.005-05:00

Jenna and I just got back from our long Memorial Day weekend trip to Curacao, and MAN, was that an amazing experience!! We climbed to the highest part of the island, which was 1,200+ ft to Mt. Christoffel's summit, dove 40 ft. deep amongst some of the richest coral on the island, and jumped off of Playa Forti's 40 ft. cliffs into the ocean. It was incredible!

Curacao is the southern most Caribbean island, and is only 30 some miles from the coast of Venezuela. They say that on a clear day you can see Venezuela's coast from the top of Mt. Christoffel. Unfortunately for us, it wasn't the clearest day, so we weren't able to see that far. However, the clouds did help keep us cool on the climb up. And when I say climb, I literally mean climb. The path was made up of boulders, vines, and fallen trees. The last 50 feet from the peak, you literally had about 4 feet of space in some spots between the mountain side and no more birthdays...

Our scuba session was a trip! If you ask Jenna, she might tell you it was more of a treasure hunt, but you'll have to ask her for more details on that... The reef, named Alice in Wonderland, was rich in sea life, and we saw everything from parrot fish to eels, and even an octopus. The cool thing about this reef is that after you got out about 100 yards from the shore you swam over a giant wall with an enormous drop off. it felt like you were flying!

Playa Forti is a beach that wasn't too far from where we were staying. The beach was surrounded by 40 ft cliffs that had a bar/restaurant right along the side of it. Next to the bar there was a square platform that you could jump off of into the ocean. It didn't look that high until you were the one standing on the platform... Check out the film below to see some of the cliff jumping action.

The actual town was cool but definitely not a place where you need more than a day to see, at least in my opinion. It had a uniqueness about it and a lot of cool history, but again, you can see it all in an afternoon. The island is best known for it's reefs and rich sea life, and that's where you want to be. However, there were some cool things about the town. Curacao is a Dutch island and therefore the Dutch influence on it's architecture is huge. Walking through the town was like being in Europe. The town is split in two by a canal that runs through it and a floating bridge connects the two sides. Below is a really short time-lapse for you to check it out if you wish. They also have a slave museum at the Kura Hulanda Hotel and Casino that was very interesting as well. Surprisingly enough, some of the best things to do on the island are really cheap and lots of fun, so we really didn't spend much at all, which is always a plus. Now we still have money to put go-go-juice in our gas tanks back in the U.S.

Anyway, this blog has been way too long and if you want to know more about Curacao, just go, you'll love it!! Hope all is well and enjoy some of the pictures and videos below.
http://www.michakvidt.com

Sitting on top of Mt. Christoffel

Base of Mt. Christoffel

The path to the top...

Another shot from the top of Mt. Christoffel

Willemstad (the town...)

One of the antique dolls at the Kura Hulanda slave museum

Dominican Republic 2011 Slide Show

2011-04-18T13:49:00.003-05:00

Below is a slide show of images I captured while I was on my trip to the Domincian Republic. I went with a mission group, who went to build a basketball court for one of the schools in Consuelo where children went that weren't able to get into the public schools. I was asked to come along and document the trip for the crew. It was a great time and can't wait to go back and see the people again. The video is kind of long, but I hope you enjoy the images!
http://www.micahkvidt.com

Where's Me Treasure?!

2011-04-16T22:48:00.004-05:00

Below are some more shots from my Pirate concept shoot. After I got the shot I wanted, which is the first photograph in this blog, we decided to play around with other ideas. Towards the end of the shoot, we had to end going out like rock stars, so we made sure to get a shot of Charles slamming the homemade metal detector into the ground. This photo shoot was so much fun, and we all had a blast! Huge shout out to Charles Milling for being the pirate, and to Nicole Patterson and her assistant Dawn, for doing all of the make up and styling at the shoot. Enjoy!
http://www.micahkvidt.com

The Escape

2011-02-28T14:58:00.002-06:00

More Time-Lapse Goodness...

2011-02-24T15:02:00.004-06:00

Made a couple more time-lapses today and thought I'd post them up in a blog. I also made a screen-lapse to show the process of making the time-lapses. Nothing too exciting, but it was fun to make...
http://www.micahkvidt.com

Red Reef Park : Time-Lapse

2011-02-22T13:58:00.002-06:00

This is a time-lapse I made yesterday while hanging out at the beach. I have made a few time-lapses now and am thinking about taking it to the next level. I'm planning to start story boarding the time-lapse videos in hopes to make a more scenic visual instead of a stationary view. Until then, enjoy the music by CAKE and pretend like you're at the beach...
http://www.micahkvidt.com

Night shots in Delray Beach

2011-02-15T12:49:00.002-06:00

In Delray Beach, just north of Atlantic Ave, there's a whole line of these really cool sailboats just hanging out on the beach. They really make it a fun place to hang out by. Last night was a great night to be out as well. The temp was in the lower 70's, a very slight off shore breeze, mostly clear skies with lots of stars, and just amazing. I could have slept there and have been a very happy camper. Below are some of the shots I got from last night's little photo adventure. You can also view these, and more images, on my flickr page! Enjoy!
http://www.micahkvidt.com

Eddie Figueroa, and his brother Carlos...

2011-02-14T08:53:00.007-06:00

Last night I did a photo shoot with Eddie Figueroa, and his brother Carlos. Eddie is the founder of Dreamstreams Inc., and is also the guy who set up the L*Spade shoot awhile back. Anyway, Eddie, and his brother Carlos, have recently formed a music project together made up of Contemporary Latin Pop styles and plan on releasing their music soon. Last nights shoot was for that specific project.

To see the pictures in higher quality, as well as other pictures of musicians I have photographed, please check out my Flickr page! As always, I hope you enjoy!
http://www.micahkvidt.com

Beach in Delray

2011-02-08T14:22:00.001-06:00

Winters in South Florida are AMAZING! To all my friends and family in the "great up north", if you need a break from the cold, just give us a call!

Red Reef Park

2011-02-08T09:32:00.004-06:00

The beach that we probably spend the most time at down here is at Red Reef Park. It is an amazing beach with hardly any traffic, it literally feels like your very own private beach. Yesterday I went out with my camera, just to play around a bit, and was wondering why I didn't do this more often. Anyway, below are some shots from the beach. I'm excited to get back out today with my camera and just explore. Hope all is great!
http://www.micahkvidt.com

Swimming in February

2011-02-04T22:22:00.004-06:00

Tonight, I decided to do some test shots with a good friend of mine, Debra Titkemeier. It was strange how we got from what we initially had in mind, to where we ended up. But, I feel good work can come out of that, and you never know what you might get. Anyway, below are a few shots from tonight. Enjoy!
http://www.micahkvidt.com

iPhone Pictures -- Take 3

2011-01-19T10:58:00.007-06:00

A Day with Madi!

2011-01-10T21:59:00.004-06:00

This past Sunday, I went out with my cousin, Madi, to do some test shots. I wanted to get some shots that I could come back to in post and really mess around with textures. I have always loved using textures in my photographs, and it was something I did a lot of when photographing musicians/bands, so, I thought it would be fun to incorporate that element of post production in with a more lifestyle type photo shoot. Anyway, I'm kind of diggin' on how the images turned out. I have also attached another photo to this blog from a different shoot I did this past summer with the same type of post production that I used on the shots of Madi. To me, the texture really gives the images more of a nostalgic feel, and, well, I like that. It's almost like looking through your grandparent's old postcards or maps. They're all great memories, and for the most part, that's just what pictures are: memories.
www.micahkvidt.com

L*Spade - Continued...

2011-01-01T15:03:00.004-06:00

Here are some of the other edits from the L*Spade shoot. It's been crazy busy lately, which has been awesome, But I found some time to post the rest from the L*Spade shoot. I wish you all a Happy New Year, and thanks so much for checking out my work!
www.micahkvidt.com

L*Spade

2010-11-22T19:19:00.005-06:00

This past Sunday I had a photo shoot with local South Floridian Hip Hop artist L Spade. I had such a blast with this shoot. The photo shoot took place at Eddie Figueroa's studio (Dreamstreams Inc.), which is sick to say the least, and I was really excited about the shots we got. We started out doing a basic "Hi Key" studio shoot to get some nice portrait shots, but it led to more and more. We ended up wrapping our shoot up in the recording studio were we decided to throw my lights behind L Spade and make a time lapse of him rapping into the mic. It got SOOO Hot in there with the lights going off. I think the time lapse that you see below consisted of 400+ shots in about a 5-10 mins span. None of us could see when we where done besides purple dots everywhere...at least that was the case for me.
Anyway, below is the time lapse video from our shoot, and five of the edits. Cant wait to get more from this shoot done! L Spade should be back in the studio soon to lay down his vocals over the track played on the time lapse. Once completed I'm sure I'll update the time lapse--I just got to excited to wait.
Hope you all enjoy the work!
http://www.micahkvidt.com

Kash Ten

2010-11-20T14:00:00.003-06:00

I just finished up a shoot with clothing line Kash Ten, who specializes in kids clothing. Their warehouse is filled with really cool and fun clothes for kids. If you're in the market and like what you see, let me know, and I can fill you in on how to see more and make a purchase. Enjoy!

http://www.micahkvidt.com

RIA - Album Release Party

2010-11-17T19:45:00.005-06:00

Last Friday I photographed an album release party for Miami's very own, RIA. It was a great time and the concert was held at the Delano Hotel in Miami Beach, FL. The hotel is AMAZING! Anyway, below are some photographs from the release party so check them out! If you're interested in hearing, or just getting more information on RIA, visit her website at http://www.riamusiconline.com. Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy the photos!

http://www.micahkvidt.com

Bolero Beachwear

2010-11-09T21:05:00.005-06:00

I just finished up a photo shoot with Bolero Beachwear out of Fort Lauderdale, FL. It was a really fun shoot, and I was able to meet and work with some amazing people! Patricia, the CEO and designer of Bolero Beachwear, has an awesome line of products and is so easy to work with. The thing I like most about Patricia is her positivity and motivation to start a company like this all on her own and do what she's doing. Seeing her work and talking to her has really motivated me to push myself even more in my business. I really look forward to working more with Bolero Beachwear in the future! Also, I want to Thank my MUA/Stylist, Lauren Whiteman. Having her with on a shoot makes everything so much easier and smoother. I go crazy thinking about what this shoot would have been like if she wouldn't have been there. So, thanks Lauren!

Anyway, below are some of the shots from the shoot. If you're interested in seeing more of Bolero Beachwear's inventory, or would like to inquire on how to get some of her items, contact me and I will let you know!

http://www.micahkvidt.com

iPhone Pictures--Take 2--"ShakeItPhoto"

2010-10-22T17:08:00.009-05:00

I started taking more and more photos with my iPhone since the last iPhone Blog I posted. It's the one camera I always have with me, and it's just fun to do. No production about it, just point and shoot. Not saying I don't take some time to figure out what I want shot first, but there something about it's simplicity that makes it fun. It's kind of nice being able to step away from producing a shoot for money, and just take pictures for the fun of taking pictures.
Anyway, a lot of these pictures were made with the "ShakeItPhoto" app for the iPhone. I really dig the feel of a polaroid. To me, the faded colors and contrast that the app creates, gives the pictures a warm feel that is just fun to look at. I hope you all enjoy!
http://www.micahkvidt.com

A Walk in the Park

2010-10-08T20:18:00.004-05:00

Today I did a test shoot with a couple models in the park area by my complex. I was hoping to get some fun lifestyle type images to round out my portfolio a little bit more, and I decided to do more of an athletic workout style of shoot. I don't have much else to say, but hope you enjoy!!
http://www.micahkvidt.com

iPhone Pictures--Take 1

2010-09-29T12:12:00.009-05:00

It's kind of crazy what you are able to do with a cell phone. We have come a long ways from the "Zach Morris" phone, or even the "bag phone", that a lot of people had in their car with a huge antenna suction cupped to their roof. You're a liar if you didn't think that was the coolest thing in the world at the time... Now, you can check your e-mail, post some tweets, catch up on facebook, check your fantasy sports team status, and take pictures and video all on a tiny little device that fits in your pocket. I know that this isn't new to anyone, since it's been around now for quite sometime, but I, like a lot of other photographers, wanted to share some photographs that I have made with my iPhone. Hope you enjoy!

http://www.micahkvidt.com

Birthday Shoot

2010-09-27T20:10:00.003-05:00

Last night was a really fun shoot, and I was able to work with some amazing people. The model, Elizabeth, was given a photo shoot for her birthday from her husband, and fortunately enough for me, they choose me to be the photographer; I was really stoked!

Any way, the bedroom scene was a difficult one to light. By the time we actually started shooting the bedroom scene, it had already been dark for about 2 hours. So to give it an early morning feel, I placed two lights outside, with soft boxes, shooting in through the windows. This worked out great for the fact it opened up so much more free space in the room, and no one could have been able to tell that this was shot at 9:00 at night. I had just the right amount of room to have my third light with me in the bedroom with a shoot through umbrella on it. It turned out to be a fun little challenge.

I had a lot of great help on this shoot as well. Lauren Whiteman was the make-up artist/hair stylist of the shoot, and did a great job on directing the shoot as well. She does an amazing job working with the models and making the models feel comfortable in front of the camera, even if modeling isn't something they are use to doing. Joy Groover also came along with the shoot as an assistant, and she was also a huge help. From lighting, to her ideas and input, and even her energy made the shoot very fun and easy to be a part of.

Anyway, this Blog is becoming longer than I had planned it to be, so I'm going to stop...

Time-Lapse...After Dark

2010-08-31T22:44:00.002-05:00

I wanted to go to the beach tonight to take some long exposures, but due to the very high winds, the photos didn't really turn out. So, after about a half an hour at the beach, I decided to head home. However, when I got to my car, I thought it would be interesting to see what it would look like to make a time-lapse of my journey back home, at night. So, 750+ photos later, this is what came out.

Shop-Melou.com

2010-08-19T21:59:00.006-05:00

Last Sunday I did a photo shoot down in Fort Lauderdale, FL for an online botique store called shop-melou.com. It was a really fun shoot, and the stylist, and make-up artist got really creative with the model. It was nice not setting the shoot up for once. I got there, everything was ready to go, and the crew was great to work with. Anyway, below are four of the photographs I edited and that are my favorites from the shoot. I was thinking about putting one of them up on my website, but was going to see if you, the reader, could help me select one of the four. This might let me know how many people actually read this thing haha! Anyway, check them out, and let me know what you think!
http://www.micahkvidt.com

co-founder/art director - Louise Lanorias
make-up artist/stylist//hair- Jaclyn Milford
model - Rachel Clark

Photo Shoot w/ Caroline Albertelli

2010-08-07T15:06:00.003-05:00

Last night I did another photo shoot, but this time it was with model, Caroline Albertelli. It was a fun shoot, but we had to deal with a lot of obstacles. The weather became a huge issue with on and off rain, so we ended up clamping a rain umbrella to each light. Kind of a shady set up, but you gotta do what you gotta do...
Anyway, much thanks to the Make-Up Artist and Stylist of the shoot, Lauren Whiteman. Again. I couldn't have done this shoot with out her. She's great at what she does, and has a great vision herself, which helps when it comes to directing poses.
So yeah, below are some shots from the shoot. Enjoy!!
http://www.micahkvidt.com

Photo Shoot w/Miranda Khan

2010-07-28T22:05:00.005-05:00

I Just finished up editing the shots from Monday's photo shoot with Miranda Khan. She's great to work with, and I had a great Make-Up Artist/Stylist(Lauren Whiteman) to help out with the shoot as well. So, check out the shots, and let me know what you think!

Heineken Product Shot

2010-07-09T11:19:00.003-05:00

Being from a product-based city, and interning with a product-based studio, one would think that I would also be a product photographer, but I’m not. It's not that I don't like it, or cant photograph it, I just don't find myself doing it. However, I have been meaning to do some test shoots that included the use of a product, just out of the studio setting. For example, shooting a product on location with models and a concept behind it to fit more of my style of photography. Although, this is what I am intending on doing here soon, I decided to give it a shot and just set up a pretty simple table top set up to see what I could get. I only had three lights; so, already I kind of laughed at myself. Only two of them were used for this specific shot. In my history with assisting product photo shoots, I knew that more times then not, it wouldn’t be uncommon to see a photographer use up to 8 or 10 strobes on an iPod mini. So, again, me just using 2 strobes, on a bottle of beer, made me shake my head and laugh at myself a bit and think, “what am I about to do”...

After interning with a product studio, especially at the place I interned at, I felt very intimidated to even think about shooting product. Larry Callahan , the photographer I interned with, is hands down the BEST product photographer that I have ever seen. He is amazing at being creative with the simplest products, and I encourage anyone who is thinking about photographing product to check out his work!

So, this all being said, I still went on and gave it a shot, literally, and did a simple table top set up using two lights...This is what I came out with.

Engagement Session

2010-07-06T20:40:00.004-05:00

We haven't had the best of weather these past three days, and it also lead to a rainy fourth of July, which was a bummer. So, when it was raining the day of a scheduled Engagement shoot, Jenna gave me the idea to run to Target, pick up a couple umbrellas, continue with the shoot, and try to make the best of it. I was pretty excited on how the photos turned out, given the rainy circumstances! The couple was great to work with, and we had a lot of fun. I felt bad for Jenna because she had to make sure I stayed covered so my camera didn't get soaked while out shooting; thanks Jenna! Anyway, below are some of the photographs that I made. Once again, on some of the photographs, I decided to play with textures and tried to stray away from the "cliche" engagement shots, in hopes to mix things up. Let me know if it was a good choice or not, my feelings wont be hurt...I hope, haha ;)

Soccer w/Jesse

2010-07-02T17:36:00.003-05:00

This is going to be pretty short and sweet. Yesterday was HOT! But, none the less, my good buddy Jesse, and I decided to go out to a soccer field to take some shots and try stuff out. I haven't had a lot of opportunity to do "set up" action shots like this, so it was pretty fun. I also wanted to play with texture in these photographs, to give them a more gritty and intense feel. Hope you like!
http://www.micahkvidt.com

Miami Photo Shoot

2010-07-01T18:49:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I did a photo shoot just north of Miami to kind of get out and try some new stuff and to just continue to shoot. It was a very fun shoot, and I worked with some great people! My wife, Jenna, came and really helped a ton!! But, I also wanted to say thanks to the model Bee Simone, and the make up artist Paige Nicolaou for helping out as well. Anyway, below are some of the shots from the night. Hope you all enjoy!
http://www.micahkvidt.com

Shots from Hawaii

2010-06-26T22:02:00.004-05:00

So it's been about a year and a half since I was in Hawaii, and I just now started looking through my photographs from the trip. I'm blown away why it took me so long to do so!! But none the less, I finally did it. It was kind of cool doing it this way though; it reminded me just how beautiful of a place Hawaii is - it's unreal! Anyway, below are some of the shots I edited from the trip. I hope to get out there again in the near future. Wish plane tickets to paradise weren't so much, but what do you do? Hope all is well! http://www.micahkvidt.com

Promo Video marketing Band Photography

2010-06-02T09:04:00.003-05:00

Moon Rise

2010-05-27T20:58:00.003-05:00

Tonight was a full moon, and I have never in my life seen a full moon like the one I saw tonight!!! Watching the moon rise up over the ocean is just AMAZING (even if it was a little cloudy)! It is enormous, and looks like a ball of fire rising up from the horizon. We got to the beach at sunset, and once the sun finally set and it got dark, the moon came up from the horizon bigger and brighter than I have ever saw in my life.
Living in Minnesota, prior to Florida, we saw the full moon come up, but it was always blocked by trees and other things in the way, and you really never saw it until it was pretty high up. Here in Florida, it was just unreal! Below is a photograph of the moon I made tonight. I was pretty excited about this one! Nature at it's finest.

Time Lapse - Boca Raton

2010-05-23T20:35:00.003-05:00

"Time Lapse" has been something that I have wanted to dabble with in photography for quite sometime. The only thing is that it takes a lot of patience. This 25 sec video is made up of 2.5 hours of continuous shooting. I think I took about 197 photos to complete this sequence, and really that's not a lot. All though it may be time consuming, it does open up a door to a ton of multi-media opportunities. You can do so much with a simple time lapse. It also gives you the opportunity to view things that you wouldn't normally get to see due to how slow the environment actually changes. It's like watching grass grow, but at a rate of 30secs instead of days. It's pretty cool!

Photoshop Brush-Up

2010-05-19T23:25:00.004-05:00

I was out photographing some architecture recently and was just going to post a before and after photo of the shot. Just for fun. Short and sweet this time. Hope all has been well!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Beach Football

2010-05-18T21:43:00.003-05:00

So once again, I grabbed my camera bag and headed down to the beach to find some inspiration and photograph. While walking along the beach, I found this randomly placed coconut. I started playing around with different angles and what not and noticed it had a similar shape to a football. So, after making some basic edits on some of the shots, I decided to play around with the football idea. I've found that it's better to give it a try and keep things interesting than to just stick with the usual. Hope you enjoy! www.micahkvidt.com

The line Between Shooting and Promoting

2010-05-17T17:37:00.004-05:00

I've seemed to fall victim to this thing we all like to call "Social Networking". Don't get me wrong, it's a GREAT way to network, connect with people, and market yourself, but there is a line that photographers, including myself, need to be aware of so that you don't find yourself addicted to online marketing and forgetting about what you actually do, take pictures.

I was at a book showing earlier this week, and the photographer was talking with me about how he was still trying to decide whether or not it would be beneficial for him to get involved with the whole social networking world of photography. He couldn't help but think that it could be a waste of time, since you stay stuck inside instead of actually bettering yourself by going out and shooting. He made some really great points, and thinking about it, I found that lately a lot of my time has been spent looking at a computer screen, rather than looking through my lens. I really admired everything he had to say, and it really motivated me to get out and go shoot even if it meant photographing things I wasn't necessarily used to photographing. So, I grabbed my bag, headed down to the beach, and started making photographs again, and it felt great!

So, Although social networking is a great thing to be a part of, I have to keep reminding myself that in order to improve, I need to continue to shoot every day!

Now in Florida!

2010-05-10T17:35:00.003-05:00

I am now in Florida, and the move went great! I'm starting to get the ball rolling down here, and am trying to build myself a strong network. During the moving process, we decided to take a little break and head down to the keys for a little R&R. By one of the beaches down there, I saw this tree and thought it was a very cool looking tree. So, I tried playing around with different angles. One thing I forgot about was the humidity... My camera had been sitting inside an air conditioned room prior to this photograph. For that reason, the second my camera came out, it started to fog up. Anyways, below is a shot from that trip. Hope you all enjoy, and be sure to keep in touch!

Odd Man Out

2010-04-10T13:40:00.005-05:00

Here's a new photo I made earlier this week. It's a bit of a metaphorical piece just about being the odd one out amongst others, haha. Just trying some new things and having fun with it I guess. Hope you enjoy. This may be the last one shot in Minnesota for a while. Only two more weeks until the big move to South East Florida, pretty excited! Anyway, I hope you enjoy the new photo. By the way, there have been some new updates on the website, check it out if you have a sec! http://www.micahkvidt.com

Changing a light bulb

2010-03-07T19:43:00.006-06:00

So this weekend I spent time at my moms in Sioux Falls, SD. I had my lights with me in hopes to shoot while I was there. Unfortunately, it rained most of the weekend, so shooting outside was not an option. Although the weather outside was not the best, it made me force myself to work with what I had inside. I always love challenges like this. I encourage others to try the same challenge as well to always push your self as a shooter and thinker. Anyway, my sister Ali, and her best friend Brigitt, were home and they volunteered to help me out with some of my photos. Of course I kept my idea a secret when I asked them, as you'll see why, haha, but they were good sports about it.

So like I said, I had no idea of a photo concept to shoot inside my mom's house. I looked down a stairwell and saw a ladder and next to me a home improvement book. I thought it would be funny to construct an image of Ali and Brigitt trying to change a light bulb using the ladder and the instructional book. Below is what turned out from the shoot.

Andy Santamaria : Conecting Me To You

2010-02-26T12:32:00.002-06:00

Yesterday was a great day at the Internship at the Callahan & Co. studios in Mpls. Andy Santamaria was there who created Conecting Me To You. CMTY started out as a blog that covered small businesses in the Twin Cities. In a short time, it’s become a platform for launching ideas and exploring how business can make sense of the ever-changing web. Be sure to check it out; Great stuff!

Anyway, since Andy was at the studio, we decided to do some test shots with him for his site, which also gave me some more time shooting in the studio. Always a good thing. Below is one of the shots from the shoot.

Magic Kingdom

2010-02-24T23:11:00.006-06:00

I spent this past weekend, back home, in Pelican Rapids, MN. I had some photo ideas running through my head that I thought would be perfect for this setting, plus I had the perfect person to model in it for me. My idea was to construct a photograph of a boy making a snow fort with a warm orange-ish light coming from the inside of this entrance to the snow fort. The idea behind this was that when you're younger and you build forts, they're no longer piles of snow, or even blankets on chairs, it becomes something much more than that -- It becomes this ginormous, magical place that only exists in your own little world, and a mind/imagination of a child; The good ole days. So with that concept in mind, I made this photograph. Hope you enjoy! Be sure to keep checking the website as well! http://www.micahkvidt.com

Ok...Who's The Wise Ass

2010-02-06T12:21:00.004-06:00

So you may or may not know, but I have been Interning with Conor Lawrance and Callahan & Co. since around this past December. It has been a great time and an outstanding learning experience. Conor is always pushing me to keep shooting and is always trying to get me to think forward.
Yesterday, Conor booked the studio for me so I could come in and take advantage of my time Interning with them and use their space. That was Huge! The experience that is, the studio is huge to...haha
Anyways, below is one of the shots I got from yesterdays photo shoot with my dog Izzy. I hope you enjoy!

Video Blog w/ Venus On Fire

2010-02-03T15:11:00.003-06:00

Hey guys, Thanks again for checking out my blog to see what's new. Last Monday I had another photo shoot with Venus On Fire and we brought the video camera along for the ride to show you all how it all went down. Check out the video below! Hope you enjoy it!

KS95 "Live 95"

2010-01-24T15:10:00.004-06:00

It has been way to long since the last time a blogged. I guess I fell into a little bit of a blogging slump. Things are continuing to keep steady and big things are in the future; I'll fill you all in later when details are certain.

But in the meantime, here is a slide show of images I shot for KS95 of their Live 95 event that took place at The Varsity Theater in Dinkytown. The line up of artists consisted of Theory of a Deadman, Uncle Kracker, and Colbie Caillat. The show was GREAT, and they had a record attendance at the show -- 600+ people came to rock out and have a great time. Check it out!

Thira

2009-11-12T00:23:00.007-06:00

So, last night I had a studio shoot with a Heavy Metal band called Thira. They were an awesome group of dudes! It always surprises me how amazingly nice heavy medallists are. I always have this vision in my head that they just want to rip me apart, but more times then not, they are some of the raddest and nicest people to work with, although the pictures may seem so otherwise, haha.
Anyway, here are a couple shots from the shoot. It was really cool because they had somewhat of a vision for the shots prior to the shoot, which is always a huge help. They came up with the idea of smearing black face paint all over their bodies and clothes for the shots. I was stoked because most times you have to really convince people to get into the photos like they did. Anyway, Pif, the lead member, had more emotions and personalities to capture than most I have ever worked with, and I had a blast working with him and the band. I hope for more shoots with the group in the future. But yeah, below are a couple shots from the session. Hope you enjoy!

Ball and Chain

2009-11-03T22:01:00.002-06:00

So the day after Halloween, I ended up spending some time at the Halloween and costume stores soaking up the discounts. At one of the stores in Minnetonka, I came across this ball and chain. I thought it would be fun/funny to put it to use and take a portrait of a couple with the ball and chain around my male models ankle. I also wanted to go a little retro on this photo and give it an older feel. To do this, I went out and got the proper wardrobe for the shoot.

I used three profoto lights for this shot. I had a medium size softbox camera right and half power, and then a I had another soft box camera left on a quarter power. I had my third light shinning on the background with a 10in grid on it to show a little depth between the models and background.

The dog was an accident. Izzy, my puppy, got a little attention hungry and walked over and sat like that, like she wanted some shots for her portfolio. Crazy dog, haha. Anyways, this is what turned out, so I hope you enjoy!

I have three variations of this session. I'll probably get the other 2 shots up here soon as well.

Time Zone

2009-10-20T21:58:00.004-05:00

Just incase there was any confusion...

MWMag

2009-10-02T11:28:00.012-05:00

Today, the very first issue of MWMag was released! MWMag, also known as the MidWest Movement's online magazine, is a very intense, in depth look, at some of the best bands in the Mid West region. You need to go and check this out for yourself! Follow the link and be sure to download your FREE, that's right, I said Free, copy today! I'm so stoked to see that one of my photos of the band, Attention, made the very 1st issue of the magazine from their show at the Myth in Maplewood. Collectors Edition? I say Yes! ;). Be sure to download your copy today and stay tuned for the next MWMags to come!
HUGE shout out to Brad Gunnarson for making this all possible!

To download the issue to your computer (recommended):
http://midwestmovement.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/mwmag1.pdf
To view online:
http://issuu.com/midwestmovement/docs/mwmag1

Venus On Fire

2009-10-01T18:35:00.003-05:00

New Video Blog of the same Venus on Fire shoot, but I thought I'd give it another try...

San Francisco

2009-09-27T18:40:00.009-05:00

So like I stated in an earlier blog, I missed out on my New Orleans pressentation because I was out in San Francisco that weekend. So, I thought that I would post some photos from my time in San Francisco on my blog in case anyone wanted to check them out. I have four photos below and I think there are plenty more up on the facebook page.

As of right now, I feel like I can finally breathe. It's been a very busy past few weeks, and now I have some much needed time off. I hope to blog some more about some of the photo projects I have been busy with. Keep on checking out the blog for more photos, videos, and updates!

Cal Ecker

2009-09-24T16:15:00.006-05:00

So I took another swing at designing a website. I was asked by a musician, Cal Ecker, to build him a website that would work closely with his MySpace page; this is what I got. Nothing too flashy, but I think it does the trick. Check out the site at www.calecker.com

BarHopp

2009-09-21T23:12:00.004-05:00

Whats up guys? I recently did a photo shoot for a new company called BarHopp with one of their promotional girls Betsy. This is a great company and everyone should check out their website at www.barhopp.com. It's your one stop place on the web to find out what is going on in your city. I'd like to give a shout out to the BarHopp crew, Caleb Gilbertson, Nate Reimnitz, and Dustin Griess for setting up this shoot and for making this great resource for us, the public, to use. I was just told that BarHopp has now gone mobile, so be sure to download the BarHopp app to your phone and keep in touch.
BarHopp...What are you doing tonight

Venus On Fire

2009-09-16T01:15:00.000-05:00

Just finished up with a photo shoot with a local band called Venus on Fire. I started something new in my blog world. I'm going to be making these video blogs which you can view below to get more of an interactive expirience with myself and my work. Hope you like it. Below the video are some photos from the shoot that took place. Be sure to check out Venus on Fire at myspace.com/venusonfire

NOLA Book Now For Sale!

2009-09-10T08:26:00.002-05:00

After a long time of editing, image selecting, and sequencing, I was finally able to get my book made. Thanks to all of those who helped with the making of this book: the venues, musicians, teachers, and fellow students. I was actually supposed to be presenting this book along with my essay at the Minneapolis City Library tonight, but I will be flying out to San Fran in about 2 hours. Looking forward to the trip there though, and my time with a tilt shift lens in a great city!!!! Anyways, I'm running short on time and I'm sure there's more to say (maybe not haha), but I'm heading out. To all of my fellow New Orleans travelers that went on this nine day essay with me, I wish you good luck on your presentations tonight. And go check out my book at the link below!!

Music: A Common Bond

Hot As Hell

2009-09-05T22:21:00.000-05:00

Experimentation Work

2009-09-03T20:37:00.001-05:00

So I stepped out of my boundaries a tad on this photograph. I was requested to do a nude, or implied nude shot and had no ideas where to start. I have never shot nudes, and it's not something I ever thought I would do. However, luckily, I have good friends that are always willing to help. It made for a lot less awkwardness working with nude models.

I origanlly wanted to shoot this exact same pose in a old style drive up motel. I was thinking dark ambient light with some sort of a green light overcast. Its hard to explain, but it's also completely different then what I got. It ended up being a lil more classy. I still wanted to at least keep somewhat of a narative to the image.

It was getting pretty late, and the sun started setting sooner then expected. So, I placed large soft boxes with CTO gels outside shining through the window and the door. Then, I place another light with a 10 inch grid and CTO gel at the foot of the bed facing my models. This way it had more of an early morning feel.

So yeah, different then my original plan, but I think it'll still work.

Ritz Theater

2009-09-03T18:20:00.000-05:00

My Location class headed over to Ritz Theater over in North East Minneapolis today to do an "In Class" assingment. I wanted to involve an element of humor to this shot to keep these in class assigmnets some what intresting. So, we did The old suprise in the pop corn bucket trick. ;) ;) it was pretty fun.

We had a couple challenges that we had to deal with while shooting there. Unfortunately, they only had the main house lights on for us and not the theater style lighting, it was gross. So to make up for their lighting, I constructed my own. In front of my subjects I placed a large strip box facing them horizontally. Inside I placed a CTO gel and white balanced to that. The reason I did that was so I was able to place a light behind my subjects with a 10 inch grid on it, and it gave a blue cast to make it look as though it was the light coming from a movie projector. Thus creating somewhat more of a movie theater feel without it actually playing a film at the time.

KS95 Variety Show

2009-09-01T15:12:00.001-05:00

I have been fortunate enough to have worked with KS95 at their past Live 95 events photographing their national touring acts. It's been a lot of fun and am looking forward to their next event. Because of my previous work, KS95 came to me asking if I could film their Variety Show at the State Fair, and of course I jumped to the opportunity. I love working with this station!

I was asked to make a promotional video for a band called Casablanca Orchestra, which is an AMAZING party band here in the twin cities, as well as document the event itself for the station including their big $10,000 summer cash give away.

I knew I would need some help on this project to get what they want, so without hesitation, I called my good friend Caleb Gilbertson, one of the owners of BarHopp; Be sure to check it out. I can't talk him up enough he does amazing work! Below is a short video clip of the winner from the $10,000 summer cash give away. The winner almost trampled Caleb, haha!!! It was great!

Hopefully in the next few weeks I will have the final promo video from the show.
Keep checking back!

Location

2009-08-27T17:06:00.001-05:00

Below are photographs I have made at different locations for my Location class at School this quarter.

Saint Anthony Village

First Ave

Solera

Day in the Life of Michael Myers

2009-08-27T16:53:00.001-05:00

I made a series of work for my specialization class title "Day in the Life of Michael Myers". I wanted to include some humor in on the project, so I set up scenes to show the side of Michael Myers that not everyone knows about. I know people have this idea that he's just some crazy killer, but in everyday life, he's just trying to make it just like everyone of us.

On the spot shot

2009-08-27T16:46:00.000-05:00

So I got to class and we were given an suprise assignment. Never something to look forward to. We were given 2 hours to make a photograph to express our style and have it edited an turned in by the end of the hour. Here's what happened...

Wedding and Engagement Photos

2009-08-12T11:52:00.001-05:00

Below are some examples of my Wedding and Engagement work that I have done.

Artist Statement For My NOLA Photo Essay Book

2009-08-03T15:14:00.000-05:00

My grandpa inspired me musically growing up. We use to listen to old jazz 45’s on his turntable and talked about how music used to be. He would often sit and play traditional jazz numbers on the piano, and taught me how to follow his piano playing on his drum kit he later gave me. From then on, I became a musician myself, and I plan to pass it on to the next generation like he did for me. I think it’s truly amazing how music can live on and how everyone can relate in one-way or another through music. When given the chance to go to New Orleans for a nine-day photo essay, I new it would be my goal to show that in a series of work, and to successfully document the movement of music from generation to generation.
For this project, there was a lot of pre-work that needed to be done. People needed to be contacted, photo shot lists needed to be made, and deciding on what equipment was necessary for a nine-day photo essay in a place that felt like the surface of the sun. I was fortunate enough to have a friend that use to live in New Orleans and gave my some advice and some contacts to look up when I was there. One of those was Ben Jaffe, the bassist for the Preservation Hall Society Band. I e-mailed Ben about three weeks prior to the trip, but didn’t hear back from him until the night before we left to go back home. Even though, I was fortunate to meet up with Ben 2 hours before we needed to drive to the airport and did a quick photo shoot with him. Talk about your buzzer beater, and I was also able to get some of the best images from the shoot for my essay.
When coming up with a photo set list, I had a lot of ideas going through my head. I knew I wanted to capture some live shots, either in a venue or on the street, but I also knew that I wanted to set up some shots as well to try and stray away from your typical cliché band photo. I also felt that it would be important to show music without even having an instrument in the photo. I wanted to be able to construct an image that you could look at and just sense the feel of music, specifically jazz through that image. Incorporating my own personal style was important as well. Home in Minnesota, I’m tightly connected with the local music scene and photograph a lot of the Twin Cities local bands. From photographing them, I have developed a style that I like playing with deep shadows, contrast, texture and using a nice mix of clean and dirty to show off the characteristics of the band. Having that style, my goal was to tie that in with the photographs I was going to be making in New Orleans. So, I brought with me a 90mm tilt shift lens, which I used consistently throughout my essay, about 3 Canon 430EX Speed lights, and my Canon 5D for my project. It was a very portable set up, which allowed me to get in many different places very easily to construct my images.
Bourbon St. is where I spent most of my time shooting. The whole street was lined with Jazz clubs blaring their music through the P.A.’s. One venue that really intrigued me was Fritzel European Jazz Club. The bar had all the characteristics I was looking for, and the band and staff that worked there was so generous to me and allowed me full access to photograph in their club. Some of my favorite images also came out of that jazz club.
After the nine days were up, I felt confident that I was able to successfully document the movement of jazz through the different generations of musicians that where performing in New Orleans at the time. There was some shots I wanted to get but didn’t, and there were some shots I got that I hadn’t earlier planned on making. I think that’s the way it goes sometimes when making a series of work in a given time frame, but just like music was handed down to me from my grandfather, I hope that these images will also inspire the next generation and will keep this music alive.

Quick recap on my tip to New Orleans

2009-07-01T23:54:00.000-05:00

So I made it back home! The trip was a blast and I met a lot of amazing people. I hope to go back someday and visit the places I visited and the people I met. One of the best parts of this trip for me would have to be going with my buddy Nick to photograph the fire fighters in St. Bernard Perish. Nick really got me to step out of my boundaries and try some new things. So Nick, I thank you for that. Be sure to check out his blog and check out some photos from our feast with the fire fighters.

One thing I didn't mention in my previous blog, Day 9, that happened later that day was one of the craziest parts of the trip. I scored a buzzer beater photo shoot with Ben Jaffe of Preservation Hall Society Band. I was some pumped! I tried contacting Ben about 3 weeks prior to our trip. Due to his busy schedule, I got an e-mail from him the last night of our trip. Ben was very generous and set aside some time for me to run down to Preservation Hall, and do a quick photo shoot with him, 3 hours before we had to jet to the air port! It was amazing. He was the one guy I really wanted to photograph my whole trip and I was able to make it happen. So much thanks to Ben for giving me the time to photograph him for my project. It was greatly appreciated.

That leads me to remember that my project wouldn't have been able to be completed without the mass amount of support and help I received from my fellow classmates, teachers, and New Orleans locals. So thanks you! and remember, if you ever go to New Orleans, you have to check out Fritzel's! New Orleans traditional Jazz band at Fritzel's Bar on Bourbon street; It's a must! as well as Preservation Hall. Great music, people, and staff. Thanks guys for allowing me to shoot you all!

As I sit at my computer thinking of the past ten days, I cant help but realize how much fun we all had. I'm very grateful and thankful that I was able to take this trip, and am very excited to have been able to capture my trip on camera to take with me and remember my time in New Orleans. I posted some photos below to give a short recap on my trip. There are plenty more, and I will be making a book of these images for my final project, as well as displaying some at the Grand Opening of Dunn Bros. in the Minneapolis City Library. Be sure to stay tuned to my blog for future posting and events. Thanks!

Kate Wimmer @ Fritzel's Bar

Ben Jaffe of Preservation Hall Society Band

Fritzel's New Orleans Jazz Band

@ The Mason Bourbon

Uncle Barry of Fritzel's New Orleans Jazz Band

Gale of We Are One Brass Band

Preservation Hall

Day 9

2009-06-30T09:08:00.001-05:00

It's about time to check out, so I'm posting one last and final blog before I pack up my compute and head out the door. Its been an interesting experience these past 9 days, and I finally got my pictures made. Now I get to go home and take a much need break. Excited for the up coming weekend to spend time with the family up at the lake.

For those of you who don't know, our project is not totally finished. From here, we edit and prepare to make a book of photographs that we made on this trip. We are also going to be having a gallery show of our work from New Orleans Sept 10th at the Dunn Bros grand opening in the Minneapolis Library. Unfortunately it was scheduled the same ay that I will be flying out of town to San Fransico, but A book of my work will be made, and I might be able to still get some of my photos up at the show for people to see.

But anyways, It's now time to shut down the computer and say good bye, for now. I don't know if i'll get another chance to make it back down to the Big Easy, but with the photographs I have taken from the trip, it will be hard to forget.

Day 8

2009-06-30T01:03:00.000-05:00

It's our last night here and I am really excited to get back home. It's been a long 9 days but I feel I was really able to get outside of my comfort zone and make some good photographs. I tried food I never thought I would try in my life, and met some people that really helped move my project along. We fly out tomorrow evening at 5:45 and are scheduled to land back in Minneapolis around 9ish. It's a short blog this time, but I'll sum it up by saying thanks to all of the people in New Orleans, especially Fritzel's Bar, for helping me out with my photo essay. It is greatly appreciated!

Day 7

2009-06-28T22:16:00.000-05:00

We are now less than 48 hrs. away from leaving New Orleans and coming home. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little excited. All though it has been fun, I'm anxious to get home and see some familiar faces and places.

Today, I took a well needed day off. Plus, Sundays aren't the busiest days in New Orleans for music. I woke up at 12 and didn't leave the hotel until about 8 p.m.. Mostly because of my sun burn. It is the worst sun burn that I can remember. I wanted to wait until the sun went down before I would even think about stepping out in this southern heat. So around 8, a friend of mine and I headed out down Bourbon St. to see what was up. There was nothing. If you ever want to see Bourbon St. completely dead, go on a Sunday night. I think I will have to see what tomorrow brings, and hopefully I can shoot again. However, we did manage to make it down to our favorite club in N.O., Fritzel's Bar, for a Coke and some good tunes.

I was a little curious tonight because on their website it said the Kotton Mouth Kings were playing tonight. I wouldn't have guess that a band like that would ever place at such a small venue, especially one that prides themselves on strictly only playing traditional New Orleans jazz. But when we got there, it was a jazz band that lost one of their members so they renamed themselves Kotton Mouth Kings. I wonder how long that name will be able to last.

Its another early night, but tomorrow I plan on shooting again and hope to take some photos of the bands outside of their performance. I'll cross my fingers for now.

Day 6

2009-06-27T21:51:00.000-05:00

Where do I begin? Well, at 9:00 AM we got up a drove to Bay St. Louis, Missouri and hung out at the beach on the Gulf of Mexico. It was fun to get away from our projects a bit, but I think we were gone for too long. Everyone, including me, got more red than the best looking apples at your local grocery store. I am writing this blog in pure pain, and am not too excited about it. I can't wait to see how I feel in the morning. Shower? probably not.

After we got back, we were all unmotivated to do anything. It hurt to even go outside, even when we were covered up. The heat was way too much on our sun burns. But, I wanted to try and make it to the Palm Court Cafe on Decatur St. tonight to try and photograph a trumpet player named Lionel Ferbos that I heard a lot of really good things about. I was really excited all week to photograph him because he would have fit perfectly in my project but unfortunately enough for me, the 97 year old trumpet player told me that the only way I could photograph him was if there was money involved. That statement to me seemed like it came out of left field. I was kind of shocked to get that response. I think I should just stick with Fritzel's Bar. They seemed to have the best traditional music, environment, and people by far in the entire city. Much thanks goes out to the Fritzel's Band and Bar staff for their generosity. I would strongly suggest, if you ever visit New Orleans, Fritzel's Bar on Bourbon Street is the place to be; Hands down.

We then decided to leave the cafe and bring my backpack back to the hotel so I didn't have to carry it around all night on sunburnt shoulders and back. We were only out for about a couple of hours, but then headed back to the hotel for the fact that the sun took everything out of us today. Sorry I don't have any images to post. It was just one of those days I guess. But without the bad, you don't get the good. Hope tomorrow goes better, but for how bad I got sunburnt, I think I want to stay inside all day. Minnesota, I miss you. See you all soon.

Day 5

2009-06-27T03:44:00.001-05:00

Today started out slow, but ended up being a pretty fun experience. I really stepped out of my boundaries and really enjoyed some new things. I was asked to tag along with a fellow student to help assist him with his project. We got to go to one of the fire stations in St. Bernard Parish, and hang out and photograph them, which I must say, Nick got some pretty amazing shots. click on his link on my page to check them out. Hopefully he posts them soon.

The first thing we did when we got there was eat. Nick told me ahead of time that they would be cooking for us, and it was going to be boiled shrimp. I was like...Crap! I hate shrimp, however, I later found out that it's only non-fresh-Minnesota-shrimp that I don't like. It was the most amazing meal yet! The firefighters cooked about 30 pounds of fresh shrimp, potatoes, sausages, corn cobs, and a bunch more and through it all into a bucket and boiled it. It was spicy and amazing; full of flavor. I was scared to try the shrimp at first because it came head and all. They had to show me how to tear of the head, then tear the shell, then slide the meat out; it was pretty insane, but tasted amazing! Who would have thought? We also got to go with on a call, which was kind of exciting to see. It wasn't anything too serious though, which was good. A Man was just having trouble breathing.

After his shoot was up, we headed back into town to work on my stuff. We knew the band I shot last Wed at Fritzel's Bar was playing again, so we had to check them out. Amazing musicians and we all had a blast! I posted a couple more pictures of them below, as well as one image from one of the cemeteries we visited earlier today.

Tomorrow we head out to St. Louis Bay early in the morning, so I'm going to head to bead and catch some shut eye. Catch you all later!

Day 4

2009-06-25T22:21:00.000-05:00

Today was a pretty relaxing day. Got to sleep in, and then I just kind of hung out for the most part. We had a critique of our photos with a guest critic, which was the director of curator services at Louisiana State Museum named Tony Lewis. We also took a tour of the Ogden Museum where I later returned to photograph a jazz band that was performing there.

After that, we just wanted to have fun. So, I grabbed my camera, some friends, and headed down Bourbon St. We ran into a Brass band named We Are One Brass Band. I talked with their trumpet player named Gale. Below are some photos from the band. I hope to catch them again while I am in town. Talk to you later!

Day 3

2009-06-25T01:02:00.000-05:00

What a day! It was another long one, but it has also been the best yet so far on this trip. We started the day off great by taking a tour of the Times Picayune, the local New Orleans newspaper with a photography staff of award winning photographers. We were able to split into groups and follow one of the staff photographers for the day. Me and two others got to tag along with Rusty Costanza. What a great guy, and he told us a lot good info along the way. One thing I will remember from Rusty is when he said, "Sometimes the best action is the reaction to the action". I thought that was a great piece of advice and made me really think about the entire environment of a shoot or place, and not just the main subject.

I have to say my favorite part of the tour was going to the New Orleans Saints training field to photograph some of the team with kids from the YMCA. Michael Lewis, from the New Orleans Saints, did an amazing job interacting with the kids and making the whole event a fun one for eveyone.

The tour ended by 4pm and we headed back to the hotel. I was a bit nervous for the fact I was lacking on photos for my project, however, after meeting up with some bar tenders on Bourbon St., i felt a lot more confident. Especially when they said they wouldn't mind me taking photos of the bands. I shot street bands, brass bands, but the best band by far for tonight had to be the Fritzel's jazz band at Fritzel's Bar on Bourbon St. The band was amazing and was packed with amazing musicians playing nothing but 100% New Orleans traditional jazz music. Below are a few photos from tonight. Hope you all enjoy, and I will be back tomorrow to post again. Until next time, peace!

Day 2

2009-06-23T23:47:00.001-05:00

Like Monday morning, today was yet another early one for the crew. We got up at 5:15AM for a sun rise photo shoot over in the upper ninth ward of New Orleans. It is insane on how much it looked as though Katrina just hit the city a month ago. Houses were abandoned, some torn all apart, and a lot still had spray paint markings on them from when they were inspected by officials in search for missing people. It was a short little hour long shoot until the sun light got too harsh and we headed in for breakfast.

After we settled down a bit from our early morning shoot. Me and three other students set off to meet with a man named Robert Green, who live in the lower ninth ward. Robert Green, a St. Olaf Alumni, talked with us, shared stories with us, and shared his experience with us about Katrina for the hour or so we were able to be there. His house was located right behind one of the major levies the broke due to a barge smashing into it. Robert, as of now, still lives in a FEMA trailer after 4 years of the disaster, however, his new home which was being built next door as we were talking with him, should be ready to go for him to move into in the next 2 or 3 weeks. Robert is one of the most interesting guys I have every spoke with, and I was bummed we had to call it quits so soon. I really hope to come back soon, and see Robert's new place sometime!

After our visit with Robert, I came back to the hotel and had a nice long break until my shooting started for my project. I met up with an amazing musician I met through a friend named John Rankin. I haven't heard a guitar played so well before! It was an awesome experience listening to John play at the Columns Hotel. He was accompanied by a clarinet and saxophone player named Tom Fischer, and that really gave the sound of the New Orleans flavor that you would expect to hear. It was a great two hour long set and I am looking forward to popping in John's CD and getting his music onto My iPod. John also was able to give me some great tips on other places to go in New Orleans for jazz, and also told me some musicians to look up. I'm hoping to meet up with more real soon and continue on with my photo essay.

For now, I'm heading off to bed. I get to sleep in a little tomorrow morning so I want to take advantage of that. We will meet up with photographers from the local newspaper in town, and go out and see places in New Orleans that would be good places to shoot for our projects. It's going to be a long day, so I'm going to catch some shut eye and I'll get back to you all tomorrow! Enjoy some of the pictures from our sun rise shoot for now!

Day 1

2009-06-22T17:15:00.000-05:00

2 Hours of sleep, 2 plane rides, 2 Advil's.
But you know what? I finally made it down to the Big Easy, and let me tell you, it is Hot!!!
I'm not going to lie, my first glance of New Orleans was not exactly what I had in mind. I cant really explain what I did have in mind, but to me, it felt different. Not in a bad way, but I just had a picture in my head from all the previous videos on New Orleans and created a different image in my head of the city; if that makes any sense.

Today has been a long day of traveling, and right when we got in, we got started getting to know this city we will call home for the next nine days. We Checked into the Country Inn just about a block or so from the french quarter and made Mother's our place to eat for some po boys. It was pretty delicious. We then got onto our greyhound bus and took a two and half hour long bus tour through New Orleans and learned more about the destruction and the times of Hurricane Katrina. It was one thing to see on screen, but to actually visit the city and get a glimpse for myself was so surreal.

We are now off to meet up for our first meeting to discuss plans on how we are going to go about our projects while we are down here. Although my contacts have been slim, I'm still very optimistic about my photo essay and looking forward to the people I will meet in the Big Easy.

When The Levees Broke

2009-06-04T00:32:00.000-05:00

When the Levees Broke, a Documentary by Spike Lee, follows the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It's a 4-hour DVD pact full with blood, sweat, and tears. The film goes right to your heart and you instantly want to get up and do your part to help in someway.

While watching this film, questions where constantly running through my head. Why did the President wait 2 weeks before heading to New Orleans? Where was FEMA? Why would the Corps of Engineers build a levee that they knew would be unsafe? Just to name a few. It reminded me a little about 35W and how the bridge collapse. No one paid any attention to the kinks in the construction of the bridge, until it collapsed and people died. Is that what it takes is people dying before fixing problems. They don't want to spend the money to fix something in the first place, but then spend billions more fixing the damages.

At first I thought to myself, people are mad at Bush for waiting two weeks before coming to New Orleans. Let’s say he came the day after, what could he have done? Well that’s easy; he could have shown that he actually gave a rat's ass about what just happened in our home country. A Tsunami happens in Sri Lanka and we’re there in a day, and when the Nations biggest natural disaster happens, it takes two weeks. What kind of country do we live in? The crazy thing is that I know that there are places in New Orleans that look as though Katrina happened yesterday.

Before watching this film, I knew Katrina was a horrible event that took place and thought about the people in New Orleans constantly after the storm hit the coast, however, I never had more sorrow in my heart than I did after watching this film. It really makes me feel thankful for what I have.

Hearing the stories of the people that survived the storm was like hearing someone talking about a horror film they just got done watching. I mean, does this really happen? Can this really happen? Stories about children finding their parents dead in their homes, and parent hearing about their kids being found washed up somewhere. What an awful thing to go through, and to just think of all the post dramatic stress these families will carry with them. It's an awful thing to think about.

After watching this film, you respect for the citizens of New Orleans increases, and increases, and increases. These people are strong people and show that nothing can take the spirit of New Orleans away from them. Not the government, not FEMA, and not even a category 5 hurricane.

The True Meaning of Pictures

2009-06-03T23:39:00.000-05:00

We were given the assignment to watch another film. This time, it was not about New Orleans. This time, it was a film titled, "The True Meaning of Pictures". It's a film/documentary about a photographer named, Shelby Lee Adams, and his series of photographs that he has taken over the last 30+ years with a family in Appalachia, and is a great example on how others may view or think about your work.

For years, Appalachia has been given the stereotype of being "hillbilly" country. Films in the past like Deliverance have given Americans a one sided view on how the people in Appalachia live. Making them seem violent, and a community built on incest. I feel personally that Adams had good intentions to try and turn that stereotype around for the better.

Throughout the series of images, and the film, I feel that Adams does a great job documenting the life style of the people in Appalachia. However, from an outsider looking in, I can see why people could get offended by some of his work. For instance, in one of Adam's shots, they practiced a traditional pig feast. They brought in a pig, shot it, gutted it, and cooked it. Now the thing that got me was that fact that this was something that was done in the past. Adam's had the idea to reenact this tradition, and by doing this, gave the impression of the stereotype these people already had.

The placement of his models also got me concerned a little. I know he had good intentions, and that he felt as though that he was just making a beautiful image, but when you know that most of your viewers are not of a lifestyle such as the ones in Appalachia, people are going to wonder, "Why would you place that beautiful little girl in front of a broken screen porch with a dirty old man staring at her from behind.” To them it's probably not out of the ordinary, however, I can see where people were thinking, "why couldn't he have moved her to a place that would really show off her beauty?”

All in all, this was a great film to watch, and really opened up your eyes on how others may view your work. It also makes you think about what messages your viewers will get from the images you release. I feel that Adam's is an honest man and is photographing people or a lifestyle that is close to his heart. He's received permission from his models for every photo released, and is accepted into their society, which I feel gives him every right to be accurately documenting the events taking place in Appalachia.

My Essay Topic For New Orleans

2009-05-13T15:47:00.000-05:00

Like I stated in my previous blog, I will be heading down to New Orleans with a group of photographers from The Art Institute International Minnesota to take my Photo Essay class. We were instructed to find a topic we were interested in and to document it while we were there.
Growing up, I was surround with music. My Grandpa, a jazz musician, always was playing tunes on the piano of Duke Ellington, Count Baise, and Even New Orleans’ very own Louis Armstrong. Jazz music has always been a huge influence on me, and is a style I take with me even now as a musician myself. Because of my grandpa and his love for music, I got involved with it at a very you age, and we would listen to old 45’s on the turntable and talk about his days playing shows with jazz bands growing up. One of the most mind-blowing things to me growing up was, that my Grandpa has been blind sense he was just a young boy in single digits. Although his sight was gone, he could see better than anyone I have ever known, and could paint pictures with his piano playing and drumming better than anyone I have ever heard.
Sense I got into photography; I always known the music scene was a great place for me to be taking photographs. That is why I have chose to follow and document the New Orleans Jazz scene; What better place? In some sense, it’s the foundation of my musical interests, even though I have never been there. But I feel by taking photos and following the New Orleans Jazz scene, I will be able to go back in time and learn even more about what my grandpa has taught me, and continue a common bound that the two of us have for over 20 years.

New Orleans Post1

2009-05-13T00:55:00.001-05:00

On June 22nd of this year, I will be heading down to New Orleans with some photo students from The Art Institute International Minnesota to study, research, and document what we see. Prior to this trip, we have been given films to watch so we have some background knowledge on the city we will be following. The first film given to us was called “American Experience: New Orleans” put out by PBS. This DVD was a great film as well as a very informative DVD. Not only did it cover Hurricane Katrina, but it also did an outstanding job informing us on the history and background of the city; How it began, as well as how it got to be where it is today.
In 1682, french explorer Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, and a small party arrive at the mouth of the Mississippi River. La Salle claims the region and names it Louisiana in honor of King Louis XIV of France. Later on New Orleans became the capital city o Louisiana in 1723. Then in 1803, the United States purchased Louisiana from France for about $15 million.
New Orleans has always been a widely diverse community and city with people from all over the world. It was a city like no other in the United States. People would come from all over the world to visit and New Orleans quickly became one of the top cities in the U.S.
The city of New Orleans founded some of the greats cultural traits of the U.S. including Jazz. The film stated that Jazz was one of the only styles of music that was purely created in America. The music scene is enormous in New Orleans and was a way of life for the city. From Jazz, to “Spazz Bands”, and Brass Bands, everywhere you could go in New Orleans you would hear the sounds of music being played throughout. It was also the home and birthplace to one of the greatest known jazz musicians, Louis Armstrong. Aside from the music scene, which is going to be my main focus while in New Orleans, the city is also greatly know for it’s food, and love for life. People love to celebrate life and some of the best ways to do it is with parades and meals of gumbo.
New Orleans had many ups in downs with race throughout its existence, as well as social classes and economics. One thing that I learned from this storm is that Hurricane Katrina actually pulled the community even tighter together than it ever had been before. Although the destruction was catastrophic, by watching this film, you feel a strong sense of pride for the people of New Orleans, and it opens up your heart to follow the great example the community and people of New Orleans has set for us. Although there are natural disasters that can take away our homes, they can never take away what New Orleans is, and the pride and love the people of New Orleans have.

Red Bull Get It On Record 2008 2nd Place

2008-12-04T15:01:00.001-06:00

This has been an amazing experience for me. I have met some awesome people, and have been given the chance to expand my photography on a whole new level then I have before.
this is the 2nd Red Bull "Get It On Record" Competition. Basically what happens is, Red Bull asks students from any campus in the Twin Cities to apply for the competition. They accept 10 Designers, 10 Filmer's, and 10 Photographers. Once they have selected the top 10 of each medium out of all of the applicants, they split us all up into 10 groups of 3 and then assign each team a break dancer. We were assign to "Dancin' Dave", and I couldn't of been more stoked. It was hard to capture his movement for the fact his style is Poppin'(robot style for those who are unfamiliar), but we got it done. Last night was the premiere at The Varsity Theater in Dinky Town, Minneapolis by the U of M, and our team took 2nd Place in the Competition! I was soooo stoked and can't wait to get more involved. Hope you enjoy my photos from this event!
Peace!

Alice in Wonderland

2008-09-19T21:00:00.001-05:00

So I got a crew together for a photo project I was working on and recreated my own version of Alice in Wonderland. I decided to go with a more non-literal take on this shoot, and made it a little more interesting. I wanted to make "Wonderland" a darker, more grungy, city environment, with the characters being everyday people that would live in that city, and this is what I got. Hope you enjoy! Peace.

Another Side Of "Micah Kvidt Photography"

2008-09-01T20:56:00.000-05:00

I created this Blog so that I could show examples of my work that are focused more on Weddings, and Senior Pictures/Portraits that are not shown on my website (http://www.micahkvidt.com/). Feel free to contact me if you like what you see, or if you would like me to shoot your wedding, take your senior pictures, or for any other photo work needed.