PHOTOGRAPHY

If I had the patience for darkrooms when I was younger, I might have shot more, but I didn’t. I do like to shoot things as a way of understanding the subject at hand, or for proof of concept.

Or … because sometimes I do pretty good.

DARN TOUGH VERMONT

For the most part I hired Peter Cirilli to shoot the Darn Tough Mill where they make the socks that are guaranteed for life – unconditionally. That’s very real. Once or twice a year he’d come down, and in between I shot what I could. Also an easy way to get to know everyone that worked there, and that just meant when Peter did come down, we could turn the place inside out.

This is the best photo of Ric and Marc Cabot you will ever see. DTV owners.

I did not shoot this, Peter did. But when I said “turn the place inside out” I wasn’t being smug. Vermont’s own, Steve Mull, getting time to skate on a factory floor during a visit from the Worble.

I always liked these test portraits, and yes, the last one is me (remote or delay, either one). Goal here was to create a mobile set, with a small footprint, that would work in nearly any environment. It was the evolution of “Staff Picks” which I’d shot traditionally on the Mill floor - which always works.

We’d also started shooting the brand’s athletes they same way, and had traveled with the set successfully. Besides knowing we could get more personality out of the staff this way, I liked the idea that we would photograph them the same we we photographed our sponsored pros. Staff makes the socks, and they have to be good enough that they don’t return on warranty.

And your average person doesn’t have a nice photo of themselves and was always happy to share.