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This week we’re blogging as we go, traveling and shooting throughout the western United States. Chris is on a seven day editorial project and we’re going to take you deep behind the scenes and share what it’s like to live life on the road, before during and after the shoot. All content posted from previous day.

chris crisman behind the scenes west adventure

6/18/13 – You can spend days producing, prepping, and planning for an important day, but it’s the things your can’t plan for that you’re always going to remember. It doesn’t really matter if they are positive experiences or if they are something you’d like to forget. Today was one of those days that turned out better than expected and the strange surprises made it just right.

chris crisman behind the scenes west adventure

chris crisman behind the scenes west adventure

We were dreading today’s shoot a bit. The projected high temperature was 110 degrees. We knew we’d be working hard, and moving quickly for at least 8 hours. We were prepped with gallons of water, a toxic amount of sunscreen, and outfitted my favorite shooting camoes. No matter how much the sun wanted to beat us down, we were ready.

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chris crisman behind the scenes west adventure

In an uncalculated turn of events, I forgot that we’d be shooting in the mountains – about 7500 ft above sea level. Although the sun was strong, the temperature never broke 85. It was wonderful.

The project we’re working on has us photographing some unique people that put in some very valuable work for our country. Part of my process in going into a shoot is trying to understand a person as much as possible before I actually meet them (I don’t recommend this for everyone, it’s just the nature of our brief exposures with people). To meet someone who you have great expectations for and then be further impressed isn’t something I run into very often. Today was just one of those lucky days.

chris crisman behind the scenes west adventure

Did you know that Ladybugs have nests?If you step on a ladybug nest and aren’t aware because you’re completely focused on finishing a photograph, did you know that the Ladybugs will rapidly race up your bare legs like lemmings rushing for the cliffs. I learned all about this today.

Questions? Comments? Let us know below or @Crismanphoto or /Crismanphoto on Facebook. Cheers!

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This week we’re blogging as we go, traveling and shooting throughout the western United States. Chris is on a seven day editorial project and we’re going to take you deep behind the scenes and share what it’s like to live life on the road, before during and after the shoot. All content posted from previous day.

chris crisman behind the scenes west adventure

6/17/13 – Mondays are always tough. I’m on the road quite a bit and when a get chance to spend time at home, I like to shut off work as much as possible. Being that this past weekend included Father’s Day, transitioning back to work was particularly unfriendly. Couple that with a 6:00 AM call time trip to the airport, and I just had to take a deep breath and shuffle along.

chris crisman behind the scenes west adventure

We travel so much now that we’ve developed a system for every part of the process. We have to pack the right numbers of bags right up to the 50 pound limit as to not get hit with one of the big over the top fees that the airlines would love to charge you. We know the area of the parking lot to head to in order increase our chances of finding our car in a week. There are a few other things that aren’t worth mentioning, but you probably get the idea. We take pride in making the airport transfer process a smooth ride. (For a bit more technical approach to how we travel, you may want to take a look at our blog post on the subject.)

chris crisman behind the scenes west adventure

In our time of unlimited wireless connectivity, I still have a very hard time keeping up with my email. If I’m shooting more than 3 days a week, it is impossible to keep my inbox at zero. The flights are usually my best opportunity to get caught up and also keep my mind organized for what lies ahead of us. However, unending shooting also creates a backlog of other work processes to keep up with.

chris crisman behind the scenes west adventure

Today’s flight was an editing day, a mental prep day for this week’s shoots, and then a chunk of time being spent on overseeing the post production coming out of our studio right now. That said, if anyone reading this was expecting an email from me, I’ll advise you to email Robert this week if you need something quickly. (He’s not kidding. studio@crismanphoto.com is always available for emails).

chris crisman behind the scenes west adventure

chris crisman behind the scenes west adventure

This is one of those weeks that I feel more like a trucker/traveling salesman/wifi hotspot and less like a photographer. We’re going to hit 5 states in a week and most days we won’t have time to sit down and have a meal with the unique people we’re going to meet. There is a certain pace to things these days that is just what you have to do to make it all work.

chris crisman behind the scenes west adventure

This post may sound like I’m complaining, but don’t be fooled.  I am grateful to be here, and there, and everywhere, doing exactly what I’m doing.

Questions? Comments? Let us know below or @crismanphoto or /Crismanphoto on facebook. Cheers!

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chris crisman landscape photography washington state

After blogging about Chris’s recent shoot with author Lauren Kessler where he traveled to the coast of Oregon, I was reminded of a previous trip to the pacific ocean, almost three years ago. In the fall of 2010, Chris visited Olympic National Park and the Hoh Rainforest to create a portfolio of stunning landscape images.

chris crisman landscape photography washington state

Olympic National Park offers an incredibly diverse landscape, everything ranging from sweeping and rocky Pacific coastline, to glacial mountains, arid forests, and even one of the largest temperate rainforest in North America.

chris crisman landscape photography washington state

chris crisman landscape photography washington state

Chris shot for days, hiking through the landscape and photographing the different climates and scenery the park had to offer.

chris crisman landscape photography washington state

Although we’d shot a few landscapes before, this trip really kicked off the start of our landscape portfolio. Ever since visiting the Hoh Rainforest, we’ve made a point to search out places that can offer similar natural beauty in our travels.

Make sure to take a moment and see more shots from this portfolio as well as other landscape imagery in their full-sized glory over at crismanphoto.com.

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chris crisman weekly wrap up editorial advertising editorial tra

What day is it? Seriously – it’s kinda hard to keep track at this point. I think it’s Friday and therefore we should probably write a wrap-up and bring you all up to speed on the craziness that has been the last few weeks. We’ve been down in San Antonio Texas, shooting pieces for the monster project that has us busy all month long. From Seaworld to the zoo, the golf-course to Texas Hill country, it feels like we’re slowly working our way through every single piece of the city – meeting new faces, having unique experiences, and of course making photos all along the way. We’ve got a ton more to share from the past week, keep reading to see what we’ve been up to…

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chris crisman weekly wrap up editorial advertising editorial tra

What a week. We’re sitting here in the Phoenix airport, getting ready to head back home to Philadelphia and this is the first time I can really look back on the past few days and how crazy they were.

An amazing editorial assignment brought us to the southwest for a week, shooting all over the state of Arizona. An equally amazing force of mother nature threw a wrench in our plans in the form of a state-wide snowstorm. What did we do? What we always do – we made pictures. Keep reading for the full story…

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chris crisman wired uk virgin galactic spaceport america photos

Up.

That’s all you need to say. Last November, we took on a project with Wired UK magazine to photograph Richard Branson’s latest venture in attempting to conquer the final frontier: Space. We spent the good part of a week in the deserts of New Mexico and California, photographing the spaces and places, the infrastructure, the people, and ultimately Sir Richard himself.

chris crisman wired uk virgin galactic spaceport america photos

We’re starting off our behind the scenes coverage with the first part of the shoot – photographing the Virgin Galactic Gateway to Space. We were granted unrestricted access to world’s first commercial spaceport. Still under construction and still very much under-wraps, we had the day to explore and make photos of this incredible piece of architecture. Keep reading for the full story…

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After our trip to Florida in 2011 to shoot our first lifestyle portfolio, we knew it would only be a matter of time before we made moves and setup another opportunity to make a portfolio of lifestyle photos. Back in the summer of 2012, Chris and I started to concept a fall camping lifestyle shoot. A few months later we had nine models booked, a fourteen hour day scheduled, and a mission to make as many amazing photos as we could.

There’s more to come, but for now keep reading to see the first of our finished shots from last fall…

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