I was privileged to visit India again this year. This country has changed me, my perspective, and my work. It has shown me that lack of money does not mean lack of dignity, or more important lack of value. These are beautiful people that have a beautiful importance about them, that is teaching me so much. This trip was a combination reconnaissance mission which means I will hopefully be able to go again. It was a partnership between Never Thirst, my church – The Church at Brook Hills, and Compassion International. We were there to see the way that the Child Survival Programs of Compassion International, that Brook Hills has sponsored, have positively influenced the lives of many mothers. The program’s goal is to reduce infant mortality through meeting physical and spiritual needs and nutrition and hygiene education. The faces you see here are mothers that are part of these programs. The goal for our being there was to see the possibility of partnerships of these quality organizations to release children and mothers from poverty in the name of our savior Jesus Christ. I am so honored to be able to be a part of work like this, and I hope that these images show you the dignity and hope that Christ provides in the midst of poverty, and it would move you to action.
There will be more images to come, I will link to them on my site soon.
They use that term in the film world when the lights are turned off, and no activity is happening. The blog has been dark for the past month and a half. But I assure you that it’s not for lack of activity. I use the time when the world of business (except for retail), seems to go dark from Thanksgiving to New Years, and this year living where I do, the college football National Championship. I actually care very little about that. I use that time for learning and planning. I have learned and planned aot, and am excited to start some new things that we’ll be talking about very soon. From that time I went into a 10 day trip to India, that I just arrived home from. So, you will be hearing about that and seeing images very soon too. Thanks for taking the time to look. I have determined my audience for this blog to be photographers. I am making some plans on that assumption, so be looking for some resources and eye candy for your viewing pleasure. Also, if there are things you would like to see, please get involved in the conversation with a comment or if you’d rather send me an email, jason (at) jasonwallis (dot) com. [In case you didn't know I follow the lead of several by spelling that out, so that spam bots don't grab my address and send me even MORE than the inordinate amount I already get]
My very first advertising job was with Lewis Communications, an agency that I have grown to respect greatly and love working with. They have accounts all over the country. This job was for UF and Shands hospital in Jacksonville, FL. The art director was Jason Bickell, always great to work with. Retouching by one of the best in the business, Andy Cargile. We shot this on several locations over the course of a couple of days. Weather didn’t always cooperate but we made it happen nontheless, as always due to the hard work and determination of the team I am surrounded by.
As the economy is crazy and things are changing every second, I am loving the ride. Thanks to technology also changing quickly, I have had the opportunity to work as a director of photography on a few recent TV commercials and other video productions. I am insatiably curious, and thanks to this wide world of imaging I have a whole new rabbit hole to look down. This is a spot for Brookwood Village Mall promoting all of the different shopping opportunities through the eyes of an elf on his day off. I worked with some great friends at BIG Communications, Ford Wiles and Brian Curtin, to see this project come alive. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did making it!
I love the experiences that I have being a photographer. I have met some of the kindest, most interesting people on my journeys. One of the many perks of the job is the opportunity to shoot food and the people that make said food. Shooting this month’s BBQ feature, in Thicket Magazine, certainly did not disappoint, as I am a huge fan of BBQ. The unfortunate side effect is the amount of weight I gain in the process of these stories. Being a Food Network junkie, it was great fun to meet Chris Lilly, champion pit master at Big Bob Gibson’s in Decatur. And it was equally fun going behind the scenes of the other legendary establishments around our state and sampling the southern delicacies that have made them each famous in their own right. We have a great heritage in our southern cuisine, so much that some have said it’s the last real American food left.
Rock and roll, that was pretty much the brief on this shoot, and I feel we knocked it out of the park. Our models rocked, and we had an incredible time shooting in a new hotel here in town, Aloft.
Make sure that you check out the most recent issue of Thicket Magazine!
The Sidewalk Film Festival spot, my first TV commercial! I guess I can add director to my card now. The whole idea of the campaign is showing the passion with which people pursue their art. I just read that the majority of films made today are made for under $30K, by directors who will do anything to see their art on the screen. We took one of our local directors to an old gas station which we felt was the perfect backdrop to the story of his filmmaking experience. Cinematic lighting is something that I have been curiously pursuing for a while. It seems that there aren’t nearly the resources for that as there are for still photography. So, I am taking as much of what I know with stills and applying it the best I can. This shot was actually done in full sun with a 12×12′ 1 stop scrim in between the subject and the sun. It’s probably some of the prettiest light there is.
We have a bright community of filmmakers and photographers in Birmingham. I got the chance to work with my friends at Scout Branding on the collateral advertising this year’s Sidewalk Film Festival. The crazy thing is that I got to not only shoot the stills, but shoot my first aired television spot. I love the idea of guerilla film making, using what’s available to make the best thing you can. It was a great experience, lots of fun, and I am really proud of the products. The print ran as posters and ads in various publications, and hopefully you had the opportunity to see the television spot while it was on air!
Friday night, October 2nd, will mark the opening of my first purely fine art driven show. As we make our studio, Second Row Studio, into a working gallery, the first official show will be a personal project of mine, examining the morality of food today.
Please join us:
2nd Row Studio
212 24th Street North
Birmingham, AL 35213
