recently shot: BTS at Jill Draper Makes Stuff

Just out-of-the-dye-vats yarn in Jill Draper Makes Stuff studio!

Here's Jill dyeing. If you want to know what her work day is like, check out her profile on Etsy's Quit Your Day Job feature recently. When I was contacted to photograph her for it, I was thrilled.  You want me to spend the day behind the scenes with one of my favorite artist dyers and see how the magic happens? Yes, please! 

Of course, I know it is hard work, not waving a wand.  It's her eye for color, and choices about yarns and her overall vision that is magical. It's running a business, and figuring out inventory and ordering and marketing and shipping and planning what turned out to be a stupendously popular open house in October, and juggling all the balls. Despite our photo shoot needing to happen in the week leading up to her biggest show of the year, Jill was a wonderful subject.

It's invasive to have a photographer and her assistant in your face- and personal space- all day. Setting up lights, climbing up ladders to get a better view, asking you to ride your bike down the street a thousand times for the camera...when all you really want to do is get back to work for real.

Recipe book. These kinds of peeks into how others spend their days is the thing I love about my job. No surprised that my favorite book as a kid was Harriet the Spy.  On days like this one, where my subject is also someone I love to work with (and be a customer of, I mean, really, you need to look at her shop if you are not familiar with her yarn and fiber), well....I have to feel pretty lucky. 

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Jill is also a client of mine, have you seen her Rural Renewal collection of designs? Later this month I'll do a BTS on shooting that collection for her last summer. I've got plans for this daily blogging thing. Stay tuned!

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If you enjoyed thepost, check me out occasionally on my knit blog She Shoots Sheep Shots.

the wait

A few months ago--6 to be precise- I was in Minneapolis for a few days photographing for a new book of knitwear designs.  It was a joy of a shoot.  And it's a beaut of a book.

Working with the Wear With All creative team was what the joy was all about --from the big concepts, to the marathon photo shoot, to the very last detail.  Not to mention the post-shoot celebratory local beer and tater tots dinner.

 

detail from Stole by Theresa Gaffey

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More  photos of wooly subjects over on my website , in the She Shoots Sheep Shots portfolio.

tooting my horn: Best Books 2011!

When I was thinking about starting my first blog, way back in 2005, I asked a few people what they thought about this new form. "Nerdy." "Needy" "Really narcissisistic", were the replies I got.

(Not that I heeded them).

Anyway, I'm going to be a nerdy narcissist and announce, proudly, that we made Amazon's Best Books of 2011 list!

3  students- from Knitting for a Cause section

In my defense,  some of the content in the book is about making the world better and helping others. Here's a free excerpt with knitting pattern (value! added!) on the subject.

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actually I shoot for many non-profits--see some of that work on my Gale Zucker Photography website