Chicago

     Sara (my fiance) and I had the wonderful opportunity to explore Chicago this last weekend! Sara's older brother, Josh, and their friend, Alex, went to the Iron Maiden concert at Tinley Park... and so we came with just to hang out and tour the Windy City. Illinois had a heat blast while we were there with temperatures peaking over 100˚. I read articles later stating that the heat was to blame for Chicago's recent increase in crime. During our short time there, we witnessed a guy steal a full bag worth of items from a Dollar Tree. Pretty hardcore... I know. In other strange occurrences that went down over the trip - a lady apparently had a seizure (at least that's what we assumed) and began biting Alex's arm at Millennium Park. Zombie Apocalypse? I have been watching too much of The Walking Dead lately... Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the few images I posted below. Thanks for looking!

The first two photos above were shot from the Terrace at Trump (16th floor) - facing South / SW.

Part of the Wrigley Building as seen from The Terrace at Trump.

Cooling off at the Crown Fountain in Millennium Park.

Evening congestion.

Chicago Chinatown.

     We began our last day looking around Chinatown. It was interesting seeing all the strange and unusual foods available in the markets. You can purchase shark fin for something around $450 a pound. Perhaps the most disturbing (at least to Sara), were the giant slabs of turtle meat that hung inside one of the markets. After poking around some of the stores in Chinatown, Sara and I spent the rest of the day lying out on the beach and swimming in the great Lake Michigan... a perfect ending to our trip!

     Thanks goes out to Josh, Karina, Alex, and Sara for an amazing trip! Please check out more of my photos at www.brandonlepasti.com. Thank you.

HCSC Photo Workshop

     I was given an incredible opportunity to participate in the High Cascade Snowboard Camp Photo Workshop in Government Camp, Oregon. Throughout the workshop, I experienced shooting at Studio Nemo in Portland, snowboarding and making photos on Mt. Hood, as well as some amazing lectures and slideshows by professionals such as: Trevor Graves, Tim Zimmerman, Chris Owen, Aaron Blatt, Kari Rowe, Chris Wellhausen, Scott Serfas, Andy Wright, and Christy Chaloux. Of course, I met a handful of aspiring snowboarders and photographers on the way as well. Check out the official session 1 recap video below to get a feel for what went down on the mountain over the last week!

     **Note: I did NOT film or edit the videos below.

HCSC 2012: Session 1 Recap

     Also, check out the edit that the video workshop guys made with help from Joe Carlino and Justin Meyer from Videograss!

HCSC x VG Video Workshop Edit

     Finally, take a look at some of the photos I made one sunny day out on the mountain. I will explain a little bit of each. Enjoy!

Lunch Break. High Cascade Snowboard Camp. June 2012.

     Every morning, before breakfast, we would pack a sack lunch back at camp. Which is why you don't want to miss breakfast or else you'll starve on the mountain... unless you want to ride all the way down to the bottom to eat at the chalet (which then you would miss out on all the fun). I forgot to turn my phone off vibrate mode this particular day and missed out on breakfast (and lunch)... it sucked. Luckily, we had a BBQ up on the mountain that day. Anyway, my friend, Eddie (orange face mask), stands out amongst the crowd during lunch break.

Seth Hill. Handplant. High Cascade Snowboard Camp. June 2012.

Kyle Fischer. Method. High Cascade Snowboard Camp. June 2012.

     The two photos above / below are from the "night shoot", which was actually a sunset shoot. Either way, the light was gorgeous and overall, it was a phenomenal experience. 

Louif Paradis. BS 180 Method. High Cascade Snowboard Camp. June 2012.

     This is a photo of the largest jump they had for the first session. All the people and gear on deck are from the photo workshop. While most everyone was getting their wide-angle shots, I enjoyed stepping back from the chaos and incorporating more of the environment. This turned out to be my favorite shot from the day. 

     Thanks again everyone, for checking out my blog! If this is your first time here (or even if it isn't), make sure to check out more of my work at www.brandonlepasti.com. Also, check out these other websites of professionals and companies relating to the workshop:

- aaronblatt.com

- andywrightphoto.com (site under construction)

- chrisowenphoto.com

- christychaloux.com

- chriswellhausen.com

- karirowe.com (site under construction)

- scottserfas.com

- www.timzimmerman.com (site under construction)

- www.trevorgraves.com

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- highcascade.com

- studionemo.com

- transworldsnowboarding.com

- vgsnow.com

Internship

     Over the last 2-3 months, I had been interning for Conor and Larry Callahan at 514 Studios, located in the historic warehouse district of Minneapolis. Larry (Conor's Dad) has worked as a commercial photographer for over 30 years and is the owner of 514 Studios. Conor is a man of many jobs. Not only is he the studio manager at 514, but he also works as a freelance producer, photo rep., and owner of Pavlv - a company that helps market for photographers and other artists. Both Conor and Larry are extremely knowledgeable in the field of photography and I am very grateful for the lessons and experiences I had gained throughout my time there.

     Below is a portrait I made of Larry standing next to his old mono stand in the back corner of the studio. Thank you, Larry, for having patience to stand for my photograph even though you had so much going on that day while preparing for your trip to New York.

Lawrence J. Callahan. Commercial Photographer. Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

     Check out the following websites to learn more of what Conor and Larry are all about:

- callahanandco.com

- 514studios.com

- clreps.com

- pavlv.com

     Thanks again for looking at my blog! Make sure to check out my website to view more of my images! www.brandonlepasti.com

amorphous

     First off, we had a great turnout for our group exhibition at the Northrup King Building last night! Thanks goes out to everyone who made it. Another huge thanks goes out to everyone's hard work who was a part of the show. It was a fun night!

     There is another photo exhibition this coming Thursday, June 14, at the Art Institutes International Minnesota in Downtown Minneapolis. A few of the same photographers will be there from last nights show, but there will be a lot of new ones as well! Check below for info.

Time: Thursday, June 14, 2012. 6p.m. - 8:30p.m.

Location:
Art Institutes International Minnesota
15 S. 9th St.
Minneapolis, MN 55402

(Click on names to view websites)

Photographers:
Heather Bartlett
Jatten Daniel
Molly Dougherty
Spencer Falls
Kyle Frederick
Ge Khang
Brandon Lepasti
Lillian Mohs
Kim Pechter
Ally Wurts

Website: amorphous2012.com

nin[9]

     Join us for "First Thursdays" at the Northrup King Building in North Minneapolis on June 7, starting at 6 p.m.! Nine emerging photographers (including myself) from the Art Institutes International Minnesota will be holding a group portfolio exhibition, where each person will have up to 7-10 prints hung and more. Check below for details!

Time: Thursday, June 7, 2012. 6p.m. - 9p.m.

Location: 
Northrup King Building
1500 Jackson St. NE
Minneapolis, MN 55413
Suite 332

http://www.northrupkingbuilding.com/firstthursdays

(Click on names to view websites)

Musical Guest: Native Slang

Photographers:
Ashlee Bennett
Jatten Daniel
Molly Dougherty
Kate Engelmann
Brandon Lepasti
Lillian Mohs
Tyler Pomroy
Alexis Tepp
Ally Wurts

     Every first Thursday of the month, artists at the Northrup King Building open their studios to the public to view/ purchase their work. I find this to be a fun and relaxing way to spend an evening. Before or after checking out our photos, you'll get to see numerous other artists and their work! Stop on by! We would really appreciate it.

     A special thanks goes out to our photo instructor, Sarah Whiting, for being a huge part of providing the space for our show!

TWS - Your Turn Photo Contest

     Roughly a few months ago, I entered an image of Dan Liedahl into Your Turn Photo Contest - an amateur photo contest held by Transworld Snowboarding Magazine. There were four categories to enter in: "Ultimate Jib", "Into The Dark", "White Room", and "Pipe Dreams". My image won the "Ultimate Jib" category. Now we are down to the four finalists of each category. The winner receives a free trip to High Cascade Snowboard Camp to be a part of the photography workshop they hold there. This would be a huge opportunity to make some photographs and to make some great connections. Check the link below to see the photo I entered, as well as the other three finalists.

TWS - Your Turn Photo Contest: Finalists

Portfolio Round 2

     I'm way overdue on posting these photos. Lately, I have been preparing for graduation and a couple upcoming portfolio shows I am participating in (one of which is my graduation show). I will make a blog post on the events soon. For now though, here are a few images I turned in for the second round of photos for my portfolio class.

     Thanks goes out to Marlene for inviting me into her home to photograph her. Thanks also goes to Bob and Irene for having my grandma, my mom, and myself over for snacks and photos. This year marks Bob and Irene's 60th Wedding Anniversary! What great inspiration they are to us all.

** To clear up any confusion, the two people photographed below do not know each other in any way (just in case some of you mix up the names Marlene and Irene). 

Marlene Doheny (Photo/s above and below)

Robert F. Lundberg

     A special thanks goes out to, Christopher Broll, for his assistance in post production of the last image. It's amazing what he is capable of in Photoshop. www.christopherallen.ph.

     Finally, thanks to all of you for visiting my blog! For more work, check out my website at www.brandonlepasti.com.