surprise the designer

One of my favorite parts of my current job is taking photographs, and at the brewery there are no shortage of subjects. For every new beer that comes to market, we take context photos (aka 'beer on bar') and studio photos for our website and advertising needs. If you've come to a Harpoon festival ( Harpoon Fest is right around the corner), there's a good chance I've asked to take your photo. We organize photo shoots for promotional campaigns, create content to support programming like Harpoon Helps, and, sometimes, are asked to take headshots for events and/or news articles. Photographing people can be a challenge, but it's also hugely rewarding. A well-done headshot of a colleague helps show them—and the company—in the best light possible. I like to position people very close to a large window so they are lit by natural light and the background can more or less fade away. At the brewery, a pint and the taps imply the company connection. Keeping the su...

I spent this past weekend working  Harpoon Fest and the 5 Miler , slinging a camera through both events and documenting everything from beer pouring to beer drinking to road racing (and all the things that happen in-between.) Before the start of the race on Sunday, a security guard got my attention. "I have a question for you," she said. Anticipating an inquiry about how to get to the nearest bathroom or where to find a bottle of water, I walked over. And she caught me off guard. "How do you get into your profession? ...into photography?" My answer was far from straightforward because I never really considered shooting photos at a professional (really, semi-professional) level until it became part of my job description. That was a fortuitous collision of hobby (photography) and career (design), fueled by persistence. I took photos almost every day through college, before I owned either an SLR or iPhone. Over time, I started seeing the world as a se...