Montana

3, originally uploaded by Tyson of Habein Studio.

Available as an 11x14 inch digital print. Edition of 25. $100.

Runway Branch

bigger blue, originally uploaded by Tyson of Habein Studio.

Available as a 8x10 (approx.) digital print. Limited to an edition of 25, signed and numbered.

$100

Poster/email image

RMHC-MT_FallPoster_12x18 copy, originally uploaded by Tyson of Habein Studio.

I did a donation shoot for Ronald Mcdonald House of Montana charities. Using your own children as models saves on model fees ;)

The poster will go out in most of the McDonald's across the state as well as several other locations.

"We have it all!"

"We have it all!", originally uploaded by Tyson of Habein Studio.

I was feeling nostalgic, so I took out my Grandmother's old point and shoot Fuji and ran a roll of cheap drugstore film through it. Horrible optics and bad film lead to fuzzy images with funny color shifts.

The ones I uploaded are all unedited.

a 2 page sample from the book.

a 2 page sample from the book. , originally uploaded by Tyson of Habein Studio.

From Flawed Machine.

"There are times in any large group, that the moments of revelry, slide roughly up against moments of vulnerability. Those moments when we find our minds elsewhere, our hearts not in the festivities."

Nouveau Nostalgia's first book

awww, snap! available for pre-order, originally uploaded by Tyson of Habein Studio.

Is now available for pre-order.

I'll be shipping out the first of the basic edition (limited to 20 copies) early next week.
The deluxe edition (with unique print and personalized note, limited to 5 copies) will go out the following week.

$5 plus $3 shipping for the basic.
$8 plus $3 shipping for the deluxe.

Email me for payment options.

Now available to order via Nouveau Nostalgia

Street Photography

This video contains an excellent explanation of why "street photography" is one of my favorite things to shoot.

Matt Stuart on street photography

Why I do what I do

Why from the website Permission to Suck

The above is something that resonated with me as of late. I think, by in large I get caught up in the what I do, and I then translate that into presenting a vision of the value in what I do to clients.

Perhaps my thinking on this is backwards. Perhaps, my clients would prefer to know the "why" of what I do. If that's the case, here it is.

I make images because I can't not make images.

As a small child I loved to draw, just like most small children. As I grew older I fell in love with comic books and drew my own single issues. I never stuck with one storyline or one character because to me, the world was too big to stay in one visual and artistic place for too long. I've always been obsessed with exploring the world around me in the form of imagery. I love a bombastic, visual, emotional, spiritual, gut punch of an image. I love the type of image that makes you suck in air sharply, as if you'd been holding your breath your whole life and only now can you properly breath.

That sensation of freedom that one can get from imagery, that's why I make images. There are a million and one things that I will never be able to do or experience in the world. There are a million and one places that I will never go. But imagery can take me there, if not in person, then at least on an emotional level.

I think the value I try to explain to clients is related to this. It's related to what I love about images. While I may push the idea that I think well on my feet, and can solve just about any problem with calm creativity and professionalism, I think maybe that's not why a client should hire me.

Maybe a client should hire me because they to want that sharp intake of breath. They to want that moment of feeling like your lungs can finally fill with air for the first time in your life.

I believe that technical specifications and perfection are not so important in an image as an emotional resonance that can only be achieved by an image maker who holds an unparalleled passion for the act of searching for that explosion of visual freedom.

I make images, because I can't not make images.

I make books because I love a fun little item to hold in my hand. I want something that I can look at again and again and feel the weight of the pages as I turn them.

I write because I can't not write. There are too many ideas and thoughts boiling over in my brain to not put them down as a sort of release valve.

I make images because the world around me is beautiful and sometimes pointing isn't enough.
I make books because the world around me is beautiful and sometimes pointing and taking a picture isn't enough.
I write because the world around me is beautiful and sometimes pointing and taking a picture and printing it out isn't enough.

I do these things, because I can't not do these thing. I am these things.

Flawed Machine cover

Flawed Machine cover, originally uploaded by Tyson of Habein Studio.

I've started a tiny book imprint. This is our first project. It's a small book of a body of work I completed in both Spokane, WA and Great Falls, MT. The book is entitled Flawed Machine.

As you can see, we are in the midst of assembling the books. They'll be available for order later in the week.

Flawed Machine pages and tools

Flawed Machine pages and tools , originally uploaded by Tyson of Habein Studio.

I've started a tiny book imprint. This is our first project. It's a small book of a body of work I completed in both Spokane, WA and Great Falls, MT. The book is entitled Flawed Machine.

As you can see, we are in the midst of assembling the books. They'll be available for order later in the week.

3 color process

3 color process, originally uploaded by Tyson of Habein Studio.

This is an old photograph of Andrea and Pete processed in a new (old) way. It's Nouveau Nostalgia, if you will (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nouveau-Nostalgia/151906458162639?ref=ts)

The first color photographs were shot on black and white film. 3 images were shot using red, blue, and green lens filters. They were then combined upon printing to create a color image.

We can do that today. We can even do it from the same image, if shot in raw format. We don't even have to use real life filters. This is a result of that same process done entirely digitally.

I'm a fan of those moments where you are allowed to combine the old and new technology for a unique effect.

I realize the majority of viewers aren't going to notice a difference, but I think often times, we as artists do things simply for ourselves.

Shiloh again

Shiloh again, originally uploaded by Tyson of Habein Studio.

Back by popular demand. Another sample of the quick little shoot with Shiloh from the other day.

An Evening in Downtown Great Falls 3

An Evening in Downtown Great Falls 3, originally uploaded by Tyson of Habein Studio.

I don't spend enough time just walking around downtown taking pictures. This fall, I aim to remedy that. If you see a bald guy with a beard wandering around taking pictures, say hi.

Shiloh

Shiloh, originally uploaded by Tyson of Habein Studio.

We had a quick 10-15 minute portrait session with my niece, Shiloh in the front yard. She's a super cute kid and that smile is totally contagious. There were lots of good shots, but these are two of my favorites.

As a native Montanan, I feel somewhat conflicted about this image...

3, originally uploaded by Tyson of Habein Studio.

... this sort of image has almost become a cliche in the state. A truthful one, but perhaps cliched non-the-less. Sunday I spent a portion of the day driving around Great Falls. This was taken on a dirt road south of the city.

Old Pentax equipment and some cheap CVS drugstore brand film.

Check out the other shots on the Flickr Stream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/yellowhousephotography

I thought they looked like feeding dinosaurs...

5, originally uploaded by Tyson of Habein Studio.

Sunday I spent a portion of the day driving around Great Falls. This was taken on a dirt road south of the city.

Old Pentax equipment and some cheap CVS drugstore brand film.

Sara and her new haircut

Sara and her new haircut, originally uploaded by Tyson of Habein Studio.

Sara (my wife and business manager) got a haircut today. I think she's pretty.

The Scott Kelby World-Wide Photo Walk

woodwork, originally uploaded by Tyson of Habein Studio.

Great Falls edition.

We met at 8:45 am and walked for around 2 hours. It was nice to meet some fellow photographers in Great Falls and the farmer's market downtown was excellent. If you're in Great Falls, I highly recommend it.

Click through to my flickr page for more photos from the photowalk.

room key

room key, originally uploaded by Tyson of Habein Studio.

The room key to my room at the lovely Stardust motel in Wallace, Idaho.

Stardust

Stardust, originally uploaded by Tyson of Habein Studio.

I hit a deer. It punched a hole in my radiator and I spent the night in Wallace, Idaho. This was my residence for the evening. Not the spaceship, the motel it's in front of.

The Move

So the family and I have officially arrived in Great Falls. We've been here a little over a week now and are starting to settle in. Great Falls has always struck me as one of Montana's underrated cities. Certainly, Billings is bigger and Missoula is an arts mecca and some of the Northern reaches of the state by Glacier are some of the most gorgeous places in the world but Great Falls has a little bit of each of these things.

It's growing. It's got a community backing it that seem to be interested in getting everything they can out of truly being a community. That's something that a lot of larger cities often forget. While they may have more going on, they appreciate it less. Great Falls is cool in that way.

In the future I predict that Great Falls will become an arts and culture hub for Montana. That's one of the reasons I'm excited to be setting down roots here.

I'm now going to be officially making myself available for commercial shoots, weddings, and portrait work all over Montana. In a few weeks I hope to be in talks with some local places about hanging my work. And July will be the first issue of Electric City Creative. We're going to do things big here. Because we, like Great Falls, like it when things are happening.

Soon, we'll be moving everything over to the Habein Studio domain and business name. This blog will stay put, and the website for YellowHouse Photography will redirect for a time after the switch. New home, new name, new clients, new fun.

Speaking of which,I've got my first client booked for a big family portrait session on the 8th. I'll put up some preview shots after that happens. Until then: appeciate what's going on in your city.

A sample of the Brittany images from Thursday

Here's a small sample. We ended up with a boatload of keepers from this shoot.

My sincere apologies to anyone on dial-up. ;)

A Little Preview

... of yesterday's shoot. It was super casual. Brittany was a trooper despite it being fairly chilly still down by the river.

A big thanks to Shelly for the assist on this one. Feistyworks.com

There will be a whole bunch of shots to come from this one once the processing is done and Brittany gets her copies.

Infinitely Disposable

disposable fish pin-tyson8, originally uploaded by tyson@yellowhousephoto.com.

This shot has been getting some attention on Flickr lately for some reason. It's an older shot that came out of a disposable camera that I modified and then force fed film back through. Each roll out of the camera has a slightly different look.

Sunshine

Sunshine, originally uploaded by tyson@yellowhousephoto.com.

this is a processing technique I'm toying with. It's heavy on the yellow and made to look like faded film. Something Kodachrome-esque, but not quite.

Tim Thompson in SPOKE(a)N(e) Mag

Tim Thompson in SPOKE(a)N(e) Mag, originally uploaded by tyson@yellowhousephoto.com.

From the final issue of SPOKE(a)N(e) Magazine that I was editor of.

MONTH: A month of 24 hour artist residencies

The photos included with this post are from a shoot I did with a model in and around the gallery during our stay.


A while back my family was asked to take part in a residency for artists at the
Kolva-Sullivan Gallery here in Spokane. The residency was entitled "MONTH" as it would take place over the entire month of March. During the course of the month each artist would take up residence in the gallery for a period of 24 hours. During their 24 hours they were to create. There were no hard and fast rules as to how or what they were to create, they were simply to do what they did as artists.



I won't give you a mass of details about our stay in the gallery as others have already done that. Sara over at Glorified Love Letters and Tiffany PattersonWhat I will do, though, is tell you why something like this is important to me; and why I think that any artist who is given this sort of opportunity should take advantage of it.

The tendency of artists, like all people, is to segregate themselves. We step back from those of do things differently than ourselves and we tend to spend time in small groups of like-minded individuals. Photographers hang out with other photographers. Painters hang out with other painters. Musicians hang out with other musicians.

While I'm no different from most people in this regard, I have found that it is important for me to break that cycle every so often. MONTH was a spectacular opportunity for me to do just that. While I wasn't spending the 24 hours with artists from around Spokane directly (though many artists stopped by during our 24 hour stay) I was with them in essence. Their art was on the walls of the gallery. Literally on the walls. Artists were allowed to paint, draw, and generally create directly on the walls of the space. This turned the room itself into an art piece. To spend 24 hours inside that, inside of a space filled with the ideas and emotions and strengths and weaknesses of other artists, was a truly unique experience.

While Chris Dreyer's giant brain/eyeball with tentacles stretching across the largest wall of the room isn't something that I can directly transfer into a photo (at least not without some serious digital manipulation), it is something that can influence me. His use of contrasting color to create a semblance of texture in the brain matter is interesting.

While Thuy-Dzuong Nguyen's time machine and related text on the walls isn't going to go directly into an editorial, it will influence the way I look at my surroundings. The concept of lost words and the altering of human perception over time may end up informing a long exposure series in the future.



I guess what I'm trying to say is that it is important to surround yourself by varied influences. Both photographically, and from art in general. I can't explain how much the Pre-Raphaelite paintings are affecting my lighting right now. Comic books and movies were the origins of my visual style before I knew what a visual style was. It is all of our duties as artists to push ourselves by becoming informed of what has come before and what is happening currently. You don't have to be an expert on existentialist writing and post-modern sculpture, but you must surround yourself with art. But don't just surround yourself with other types of art, try your hand at creating them. If you're a portrait photographer who has never attempted to sketch a portrait, you've done yourself a disservice. Pick up a pencil and a piece of paper. Try it.



Every child is born with this need to create. It's why children love crayons. No one loses that need, some of us simply stop fulfilling it. Somewhere along the way we become too concerned with whether or not our creations are "good enough" based upon some arbitrary comparison. We need to stop caring so much. Certainly, we should always strive to be better, but we must remember it is ok to create for creation's sake alone. Surrounding yourself with art of different varieties can help with this.

While surrounded by all of the art at MONTH, I picked up a pencil and paper and sketched a couple of quick portraits for the first time in over 5 years. They weren't the best portraits in the world, to be sure. But they weren't horrible either. And more importantly, it got me to think about shadows and layers and light in the shape of someone's face.

Art is like food. You can't eat the exact same thing every day and be as healthy as possible.

Consume art, create art, consume art, create art. Repeat as needed, and it's always needed.

Awhile back I shot some Ilford for fun...

Like many photographers who dabble in fine art street photography, I have a deep wish to be Henri Cartier Bresson.

I took another walk downtown...

I was shooting some film. Portraits of strangers, mainly. Here is a small selection of a roll of Kodak 125px.



















then I played with reflections in puddles.