iSpy With My Little iPhone - 1

An image made entirely with my iPhone.

Radisson Blu Mall of America. Bloomington, Minnesota.

Ray Frigard: Inventor, Designer, Sculptor, Author, and Educator

       There are times when I will meet a person and know immediately that SOME DAY I will photograph them. Ray Frigard was one of those guys. It was not until four or five months after meeting him at the Polaris headquarters in Medina, where he works as a clay modeler, that I finally followed through with it though. I spent quite some time at his home in Mound. He shared with me some of his many creations ranging from various sculptures, toy inventions, and a book he wrote on creative problem solving called: Arthink. I had first entered his home with the idea that I would photograph him in his studio, which is where all the magic happens. However, due to the size of the space and the amount of stuff in it, I found it difficult to make a visually pleasing composition. As a solution, I decided to simplify things  by incorporating Ray into one of his abstract sculptures, which I felt better portrayed his artistic style anyway. Below is the final image that I decided to edit, as well as a small contact sheet of other angles I shot from during our shoot. I introduce to you, Ray Frigard: inventor, designer, sculptor, author, and educator. Enjoy!

Ray Frigard. Mound, Minnesota.

Contact Sheet of Unedited Images

SCULPTURE INFO

Title: Adagio

Materials: Copper, brass and wood

Date: June of 2005

Concept: The form was originally developed by messing around with a 12 gage wire. Ray generally likes to portray figures in abstract form with various materials. Although Ray enjoys the open interpretation of his artwork, he feels that this sculpture suggests the slow musical movement of a dancer. Hence the title of this piece: Adagio. 

ARTIST BACKGROUND

        Ray Frigard has an extensive creative background in the following areas: invention, design, sculpting, writing, and education. He has patents on original inventions and designs for rollerblades, cameras, boats, toys, and games. As an industrial sculptor, he has worked in the design studios of Ford, Chrysler, BMW, and Tonka Toys. Currently, Ray works at Polaris Industries where he sculpts scale and full size models in clay. He is an artist-in-residence at Our Savior Lutheran School, where he teaches art and creative problem solving K-8. He also gives workshops on creative problem solving to educators and presents at national conferences. Ray has won multiple awards in juried and non-juried shows throughout his 40 years of experience in sculpting in clay, wood, metal, plaster, bronze, and ceramics. 

        Thank you, Ray, for reaching out to me and giving me a highly informational and inspiring tour of the Polaris headquarters. Also, thank you for having me over and sitting for a portrait session. I greatly appreciate your time and efforts!

A Beautiful Calm

A view from a side road in Farmington, Minnesota. 

TWSnow - Spot Check

        I had my wisdom tooth taken out today. What an odd experience it is to wake up from anesthesia for the first time! I'm sucking on a bloody cotton swab now. Mmm...

        When I got home, I opened my new Transworld Snowboarding magazine and was pleasantly surprised to see my photo ran for a Powder Ridge "Spot Check". Congratulations to Yusaku Horii for being published in a photo of a small Minnesota ski resort after flying all the way from his home base - Japan. He is such an entertaining rider to watch and has one of the best looking method grabs I have ever seen. Thanks goes to Michael Weiner and the people at Powder Ridge for making this photo shoot come alive. Finally, thanks to Chris Wellhausen, Photo Editor of Transworld Snowboarding, for giving me the opportunity to shoot this assignment. I appreciate all of your help!

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 Transworld Snowboarding | Volume 26 - March - 2013 | Pg. 116

Yusaku Horii. Gap Method to Backside Lipslide. Powder Ridge. Kimball, Minnesota. 

Artist Initiative Grant

      I am pleased to announce with you all that I am now a recipient of the FY 2013 Artist Initiative grant for the Minnesota State Arts Board. I cannot begin to explain how grateful I am. This grant will work as a huge stepping stone for my photographic career.

      I will achieve the following with the help of this grant: purchase lighting equipment and a computer, continue my environmental portrait work on the Iron Range, and showcase my work in a solo exhibition in the Twin Cities.

      A special thanks goes out to all of my photography instructors from AI for all their support and encouragement. I wouldn't have a clue on how to write grant proposals if it wasn't for Becky Olstad's Specialization class. Thanks to, Colleen Mullins, for her support and willingness to fill me in on notes from the review panel. Thanks to Anthony Marchetti and Caroline Houdek for their support and input on my Iron Range work. Thanks to all of my friends at AI for your critique and support. Thanks goes out to my grandparents, Francis and Velga Robertson - the foundation of my Iron Range work. I love you guys. Thank you mom and dad. Thank you, Sara. Thank you, Jesus.

      Expect to see in-progress blog posts of my Iron Range work throughout the year. For those of you unfamiliar with my Iron Range work thus far, visit my website at www.brandonlepasti.com. Thanks a million!

Uptown Stroll

     Here is a photograph that I have been meaning to make for a while now. The opportunity arose while on an Uptown photo adventure with my friend, Tyler Pomroy (www.tylerpomroy.com), back in mid October. Enjoy!

** Click on photo to view larger. 

Van Dusen Mansion Wedding

     Here are a few of my favorite images from a wedding that I assisted for on September 28th (shows how I am blowing it when it comes to blog updates) at the Van Dusen Mansion. Thanks goes out to the bride and groom for having Matt and I photograph their special day. Thanks also goes out to my friend, Matt, for having me as his assistant / second shooter. I look forward to the next opportunity! Check out his wedding photos at www.sepetaweddings.com. Enjoy!

     It was funny comparing the two atmospheres of the men and women while getting ready for the wedding. While the ladies frantically apply makeup and do their hair, the guys lounge around in the basement of the mansion playing video games on the big screen TV. The difference in preparation time was probably: ladies = 1.5 hours and guys = 15 minutes. Here we have one of the bridesmaids applying eye-liner (or something?) to the bride, Gaoxue. 

The groom, Alex, waits at the bottom of the mansion staircase before the first meet.

     The ceremony was held in the mansion courtyard, which was later transformed into a reception space with cocktail tables. For the left photo, while entering the building to get the window shot of the bride and groom walking down the aisle, the main door was very squeaky, which attracted a lot of attention toward me. I felt pretty embarrassed.  

One of the groomsmen. I think he was feeling pretty good about his mustache. 

     Thanks again for stopping by my blog. I apologize, once again, that my updates have not been as consistent lately. Take care!