Sports Illustrated Cover Shoot with Andrew Luck of the Indianapolis Colts

Yesterday marked a career milestone for me.  I had my first cover for Sports Illustrated.  And, even better, the subject I got to photograph was Andrew Luck of the Indianapolis Colts.   He was a class act, just as I suspected, and he was great to work with.  These type of shoots can be stressful because you are only given 10 minutes with him, so you have to be set up and ready to go as soon as he walks in the door.  I had done lighting tests back in the studio a few days prior to get the lighting just the way I wanted.   I did make one last-minute change to the lighting and it ended up being the version that was chosen for the cover. This is one of the single most proud moments of my photographic career.  I've had cover shoots before, but none quite this big.   Below is the cover shot and some production stills.  To see the online article click here. 

 

  

Please keep me in mind for any upcoming projects you have that require photography for advertising, magazine, corporate or personal use.  I would be happy to put together an estimate.

Whether it's a product shot, a portrait, an architectural assignment, a video, or any other thing you can dream up, I can make it look great.  If you need to see samples of my work that are not on my website please send me an email and I will get those to you. 

Cheers,

John

John Bragg Photography 

317-972-8171 Studio
317-679-5646 Mobile 

john@johnbragg.com
 
www.johnbragg.com

www.europeanfinephotos.com 

 

Snoop Dogg (Lion) is in the house

I love the variety of experiences I get as a photographer.  This particular evening I had the opportunity to be on stage with Snoop Dogg.  He wasn't in normal performance mode, but instead was acting as the DJ for the evening.  This was an event put on by Adidas and I was hired to document the event.  Snoop creates an energized party atmosphere and plays a range of music that spans different genres.  While most of his music was hip-hop, rap, and R&B he also snuck in some more mainstream pop music to round it out.  He's got a pretty good sense of humor too and got me laughing pretty hard at some of his unexpected choices like Cindi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun".   The opening act was DJ Baby Chino who is dubbed as the world's youngest DJ because he's been DJ'ing since he was 5 years old. Most of what HE was playing was hip-hop from the 80's.  I should go now so I can find my shell-toe Adidas shoes and my Run DMC cassette tape.  

 

Reason #782 Why I Am Anxious For Summer: 'Cause it Ain't Winter

It's cold, folks.  Miserably so.  In case you hadn't noticed.  Ever the optimist, however, I have combed my recent projects in search of the perfect images to help conjure the essence of growth, warmth and sunlight of summer.  Because believe it or not, summer is right around the corner.  Sort of.

I photographed the below sunflower field on a perfect, sunny, 80-degree day in August last year.  Located in Franklin, Indiana, the J.P. Parker farm is known for its annual crop of more than 300,000 sunflowers.  Established in 1986, J.P. Parker Flowers has retail florist shops in both Franklin and downtown Indianapolis.

As you peruse the images below, go ahead and take a minute to pretend you are standing in the sunflower field, your upturned face feeling the warmth and light of the summer sun.   Remember that barbecue, shorts and flip flops weather will be here before you know it.  Until then, just keep repeating this mantra...

Old Man Winter, don't go away mad.  Just go away.   

   
 

 

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

If you have flown out of Indianapolis lately, you may have noticed the newly constructed field of solar panels adjacent to the Indianapolis International Airport.  The IND Solar Farm project, when completed, will boast 74 acres of more than 41,000 solar panels and will be the largest solar farm on airport real state in North America.

I had the pleasure of documenting this exciting development during the summer.  Over a period of two months, I shot over 12,000 photos of the solar farm construction with the help of two strategically placed time-lapse cameras and multiple visits to the site.  The fun part was piecing these images together to create a three minute time-lapse video that demonstrates the work and time that went into building this vast energy generation facility.   Click on the link below to take a peek at my 90 second "director's cut."


Director's Cut of time-lapse video of IND Solar Farm construction and installation
from John Bragg on Vimeo.

P.S.  See if you can spot the shooting stars during the sunset.  I was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time to capture them. 

Beautiful girls

A big part of why I love photography is that I am constantly presented with opportunities to stretch my creative muscle by shooting new subjects in different ways.  I recently had the pleasure of teaming up with makeup artist Kiralee Hubbard for a beauty shoot to showcase her upcoming makeup line.

I conceptualized the lighting style to accentuate both the models' features and their makeup.  The result is dramatic and glamorous, yet simple.  

Downtown Office Space for Lease

If you are looking for downtown office space (or know of someone that is), I have some available for lease.  The specs are below and if you want to see it in person I'd be happy to give you a tour.  It is on the east side of my building and does not include the garage/studio portion of my building.   

720 sq/ft of ground floor office space.  3 blocks from Lilly corporate center and Lucas Oil Stadium.  Across the street from Iozzo's Garden of Italy and 1 block from Shapiro's Deli and Greek Islands restaurant.  Great interstate access.  Two individual offices, kitchenette/break area and private restroom.  Private/separate entrance. Utilities and security system included in the lease price as well as 2 parking spots.  Perfect for two or three person operation.  No garage access available.  $ 850/ month.  

Pass this info along to anyone you might know who is looking for office space, or contact me if you are interested!  Thank!

John 

john@johnbragg.com
johnbragg.com
317-972-8171 Studio 
317-679-5646 Mobile 

Happy hour at John Bragg Photography

A finely crafted cocktail is only as good as its ingredients.  A distinctive pre-Prohibition era cocktail mixed with a hand-made, naturally-infused elixir?  You had me at distinctive.

That's the idea behind the Wilks & Wilson line of natural, small batch simple syrups.  Inspired by the fine cocktails of yesteryear, co-creators Zach Wilks and Greg Wilson developed these flavored elixirs to enhance the nuances of such cocktails as the Sazerac and the Old Fashioned.  Not only does each elixir have a distinct flavor, each has its own unique story.

I got the opportunity to shoot the Wilks & Wilson products in my studio recently; as you can probably guess, it was a fun project.  Not only did I photograph the elixirs themselves, Zach Wilks was on hand to mix up his historic-yet-modern cocktails for the shoot.  The photos you see below, which depict each cocktail's transition from shaker to glass, are my favorites from that day.

What happened to all of those cocktails when the shoot was over, you ask?  Let's just say Wilks & Wilson now has a faithful following at John Bragg Photography.

Simple Mai Tai Get the recipe here.  El Diablo Get the recipe here. Sazerac Get the recipe here.

My interview on Farming Stars

I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Aaron Douglas of Farming Stars about my passion for European Travel.

You can click on this link to hear it http://farmingstars.com/john-bragg-is-passionate-about-european-travel-20130405

John Bragg is Passionate about European Travel

John Bragg makes a living as a commercial photographer in Indianapolis, but his not-so-secret passion is traveling throughout Europe. Whether its meeting the people, consuming the food, or enjoying the fine art photography, John’s thirst for the European experience draws him back year after year. He is not terrified of Eastern Europe.

My photos of Nick Walker's graffiti art at The Alexander made the Huffington Post

 Check it out here --->   http://huff.to/11IIt1D  via @HuffPostArts

SNEAK PEEK: An artfully curated hotel puts Indianapolis on the cultural map

I recently had the opportunity to photograph the new CityWay development in downtown Indianapolis. Located on the near southeast side and right across the street from Lilly's corporate campus, CityWay will offer dining, apartment living, a boutique hotel and retail locations upon completion. 

The Alexander, Cityway's boutique hotel, has partnered with the Indianapolis Museum of Art to place contemporary works of more than twenty artists around the property.  I was commissioned to document the installation and creation of some of the artists' work.

Scroll down through the images to get a sneak peek at this amazing contemporary collection, and then check it out in person when The Alexander opens on January 21st.   

The artists at work...

Artist Paul Villinksi, a New York artist whose work frequently re-purposes discarded materials, has created a bird-themed sculpture from cut-up vinyl LPs.        Pittsburgh artist Kim Beck creates her art using architectural and landscape images.  Her inspiration for this installment comes from indigenous plants. New York City painter Adam Cvijanovic is known for his large-scale views of city suburbs and landscapes.  His commissioned piece is expansive and realistic.   Brazilian-born Artur Silva, is a digital media artist who lives and works in Indianapolis.  His dynamic mural is inspired by the Indiana State Fair.  Portland, Oregon artist Damien Gilley is an interdisciplinary artist working in installation, sculpture, and drawing.  His piece at The Alexander was inspired by architectural elements he discovered while exploring downtown Indianapolis. Nick Walker is one of the world's best known street artists and a forerunner of the British graffiti phenomenon.  His work is displayed throughout the parking garage for The Alexander and CityWay.       Acclaimed artist Jorge Pardo, a 2010 recipient of a MacArthur Genius Grant, designed the Platt 99 cocktail mixology lounge including 99 unique handcrafted light fixtures.