This past spring we did a shoot for a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, Depuy, who makes hardware for hip and knee replacements. Traveling all over the continent, we recorded the post-surgery lives of some amazing people who had experienced either double hip or double knee replacements.

Shooting alongside us was a film crew, helmed by Academy Award-nominated documentary director, Hubert Davis. Davis and his team were very gracious in letting my team (which consisted of my longtime assistant, Chris and tech guru, Ben, plus me) shoot stills during the midst of their motion shoot.

How’s this for a crazy travel itinerary: Salt Lake City to Paducah, Kentucky. Kentucky to Toronto. Toronto to San Francisco. San Francisco to Vermont. Vermont to Salt Lake City. Pretty insane, right? Just getting to our first shoot location was an adventure. After a tornado closed the St. Louis airport, we were rerouted to Memphis, arriving with just enough time for an Easter morning detour to Graceland.

That visual espresso shot (shag carpet on the floors, walls and ceiling?!) got us pumped up to drive through a severe storm over flooded roads to the Paducah dairy farm run by Lisa and her family. The lingering storm made for some very interesting mud (dairy farm mud is unique stuff, as slippery as glass.) But, the weather held long enough us to capture a full day in the life of Lisa, who handled the complete takeover of her farm with no fuss. I guess after two knee replacements, a pesky camera crew in your space seems like nothing.

From there we were off to Toronto, where letters of recommendation and an iron clad carnet allowed us to lug our mountain of equipment through Canadian customs. In Toronto we shot in an old hospital that is now only used as a location for film and photography shoots. With no patients, the abandoned hospital gave off a creepy vibe, but our cheery patient, Rebecca, put us all at ease. After her two hip replacements, Rebecca returned to her job as a nurse and for this shoot, worked with a team of actors who played additional hospital staff. I was so amazed that Rebecca, who had no experience modeling or acting, could be so comfortable and easy in front not just one, but two cameras.

After the hospital shoot, it was back through customs to San Francisco, California to photograph John, a double hip and knee replacement patient. Even though he’s now retired, John is super energetic and leads a very active life, including working as a volunteer crossing guard, attending regular ballroom dance sessions, and recently completing a fundraising bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles! John does not let his surgeries slow him down at all. In fact, he made us feel kind of lazy.

The last leg of the trip took us to the complete opposite side of the country, to the tiny town of Newfane, Vermont, where we met up with Bill, a forest ranger in the impossibly dense, primeval-feeling Green Mountains. A recent double-knee replacement had enabled Bill to continue in his physically taxing job, which includes felling and clearly trees in very rugged terrain. Bill is a masterful storyteller who did not shy away from the more dangerous or gruesome details of his work. Several of his yarns ended with the ominous line “…right to the head, dead instantly.” Needless to say, he had our full attention while we photographed him felling a 70-foot tree.

From Kentucky to Toronto, and from San Francisco to Vermont, the spirit of joyful perseverance and love of life exhibited by the people we met was totally contagious. Plus, it gave us something to think about during all those long hours in the air.

Because fashion retailers have to prepare a full two seasons in advance, we often find ourselves shooting far across the planet, in a climate that’s the mirror opposite of our own temperate, Northern Hemisphere one. It’s pretty hard to get a more direct contrast to the Utah mountains in the wintertime than the Bocas del Toro Caribbean archipelago in Panama.

For the past two Januarys, we’ve escaped the cold and dark to shoot in Panama for our longtime client, Athleta. Here’s what stands out most in my mind about Bocas del Toro: authentic and beautiful indigenous people, warm air and water, thick green rainforests, boats everywhere, bugs everywhere, too, and lovely sheets of warm rain.

During both trips, the crew and models for the Athleta shoot stayed at the enviably situated Tranquilo Bay eco-adventure lodge, which is run by two nice and helpful American families. This was a very involved shoot, with a large crew that hailed from all across the U.S.—from New Hampshire and New York, to Utah and Texas, to California and Hawaii—plus a couple of folks from Mexico. After a night in Panama City, we all caught an early-morning puddle-jumper to Bocas del Toro. I’ll never forget the initial vision of clear turquoise waters ribboned with emerald rainforest as we touched down on the dirt runway.

Shooting in Bocas is extremely technical, making me grateful for my talented crew and our extensive experience shooting in remote locations. A typical day there began with loading up the boats before sunrise and lighting out with the models for some far-flung and unimaginably beautiful destination. I think my very favorite spot was the Zapatilla Cayes, part of the Bastimentos Marine National Park.  I mean, look at this place! What’s not to love?

When we headed out each morning, we had to be prepared for anything. And when it rains in Panama, it RAINS. We had to be very deliberate about packing our photo and computer equipment and had to consider how to keep our lenses and other equipment from fogging up due to the high humidity. I cannot stress how critical it is to keep equipment dry.

In addition to the water, the other consideration was the bugs. After getting practically eaten alive the first year, the crew became scientific about keeping the bugs away. The second year, some crewmembers started eating huge quantities of raw garlic in the weeks preceding the shoot. Others slathered themselves with a greasy, strange-smelling local concoction, while most people went for that time-tested, toxic avenger: DEET. Personally, I covered myself from head-to-toe with lightweight clothing and actually considered a full suit made of mosquito netting, but whatever sense of style I possess just couldn’t allow that abomination. Really, the models had it the worst, since they were clad in nothing but bathing suits.

Despite the bugs, we’ve had two unforgettable shoots in Bocas del Toro, resulting in fantastic images and even better memories. One of my favorites of the latter was the befriending of my digital tech guru, Ben, by Rosando, a local 6-yr old boy. One day we were shooting on a sandy beach and Rosando appeared, curious about the commotion and totally fascinated by Ben’s computer. Shy at first, throughout the day he moved closer and closer to Ben until he had pretty much assumed a position on the crew. He especially liked when Ben pulled up some images of snow on the laptop. We all fell in love with this inquisitive little guy and were delighted the following year when he showed up on the beach again. I had brought along some toys in hopes we would see him, and as we left the beach that evening by boat, we saw Rosando and his friends playing in the sand with a plastic farm animal set.

For the past decade, cookie season has brought particularly poignant memories, and not just because my own daughters were both Brownies at one time or another. In 2000, my team and I shot the images for the Girl Scout Cookie boxes —the same images that are probably sitting in your pantry—or crushed at the bottom of your recycling bin–right now.

The shoot took place over four days in Kansas City and used real Girl Scouts, not models, as well as a local Kansas City crew. In terms of both usage rights and logistics, it was the biggest shoot I had ever done at the time. My longtime assistant, Ben, and I prepared for weeks. We photographed about 50 girls each day and I remember that there was a woman whose sole responsibility was making sure the badges and pins were placed correctly on the uniforms.

The girls ranged in age from seven-14 at the time of the shoot. I wonder what they’re doing today? Some may be in college, while others are likely young professionals. Some may even be married or have children of their own. If you or anyone you know was part of this original shoot, we’d love to hear from you. Please post a comment below to let us know what you’ve been up to since your image became an American icon.

There are over 200 million boxes of Girl Scout cookies sold annually, which means that shoot 11 years ago remains my most wide reaching campaign ever. Every March, when the hoped-for boxes arrive, I experience a rush of memory. And then I bite into a Tagalong and get back to work.

This was my first time in Thailand and I was totally bowled over, and not just by the heat and humidity, which were oppressive. The landscape was so shockingly green, especially coming from the dull tones of late autumn in the mountains.

It takes a long time to get to Thailand: a connecting flight to Japan, then another six hours to Bangkok, followed by road and sea travel to the island of Koh Samui.

Thankfully, the hospitality of the ridiculously lovely resort of Kamalaya helped us shake off travel fatigue pretty quickly. Everything at Kamalaya was so fresh, organic without even trying to be; it was definitely our most healthful shoot to date. We shot quite a lot on the resort grounds, which are lush and varied, and made for ideal backdrops to showcase Athleta’s product .

We also shot at a rustic Buddhist temple, passing by the more ornate, gilt temples in favor of this simple, authentic space. The friendly monks welcomed photos, but are forbidden from any physical contact with women.

One of my best memories from the trip was shooting from the back of an elephant. I grew up riding horses competitively, so felt totally at home on the warm back of this huge, lumbering animal.

The final images are part of Athleta’s Spring 2011 campaign and are currently on display in their two existing retail stores in San Francisco and Mill Valley, California, and should be up soon in the upcoming NYC store!

I’ve been working with Athleta since before 9/11, and so I feel really close with its awesome creative team, which on this shoot included art director Gregg, producer Rachel, stylist Amber, hair/make-up wizard April, and of course, the irreplaceable Jed. One of the best things about working with Athleta is that they select these unique, visually compelling places all over the globe to shoot. The locations provide such a candid setting for highlighting their products, that rarely do we need any props.

As is the case in all of our trips, the weeks preceding our departure to Croatia found my two longtime assistants, Ben Fonnesbeck and Chris Jameson, and I obsessivley planning our gear selection. After so many remote shoots, we’re very deliberate about packing exactly the gear we need without lugging along anything extra or unnecessary. Even so, a complex shoot like this one necessitates a lot of stuff. We are definitely those people at the airport that you do not want to be behind in the check-in line!

Ben, Jess, Chris and I flew into Split, a 4^th century city along Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast, a few days early for our own shoot. I totally fell in love with the blend of ancient and very modern that defines Split. So many smaller European cities get overlooked, but Split is one not to be missed. Thanks to the only talent agency in the city, we found a couple of lovely local models, one of whom claimed to be the number two male model in all of Croatia (a Balkan Zoolander?) and ended up with some fun shots that are completely distinct from our work for Athleta.

In addition to photographing amid all the history of Split, we spent a week shooting on the nearby island of Hvar. While the scenery and climate were both idyllic, what struck me most was the casual community interaction. The rhythm of everyday life is very different than our own, and the constant interaction between neighbors—relationships that have likely been going on for centuries—created this natural sense of community that is absent from the lives of many Americans.

Some shots of the crew in action

The final images and videos from the Croatia shoot appeared in Athleta’s Fall 2010 catalog and on its website: http://athleta.com/, but here are a few of my favorite out takes:

The next Athleta shoot took place this past autumn in Thailand, so I’ll be back to share some stories and photos from that experience soon.

I love my job.

That’s why I was so excited to tackle this dramatic track & field shoot. We had a few days between commercial shoots in Southern California and decided to use the time for some creative exploration at the University of California Irvine track.  We met up with my friend, Lauren, who is a heptathlete. Hepta as in Latin for seven—meaning that this incredibly talented woman trains for and competes in all seven of these events: 100m hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200m sprint, long jump, javelin throw and 800m run. Impressive, right?

My vision for the shoot was to capture high impact images exploding with action. I decided to shoot some during the daytime and others at night, with the common visual thread being dramatic lighting to stop the action at its most intense moment.

To pull off this result, we needed a technical set-up that would allow us a camera with a fast shutter speed sync, and a lighting system with a short flash duration. Macgroup, who oversees the distribution of Mamiya and Profoto kindly provided us everything we needed for the ideal set-up. The Mamiya DM56 medium format camera boasted 56 megapixels and a lightening fast flash sync with its leaf shutter lenses. And, the Profoto Pro 8A strobes performed so well that we promptly scrapped our old system and have been only using Profoto strobes ever since.

Our small team comprised of my longtime digital tech, an assistant and me, arrived on the UC Irvine campus with a van full of equipment, where we met up with Lauren and a few of her track & field buddies. These fantastic models, plus the great weather allowed us to shoot for one morning and two full evenings. To showcase the full breadth of Lauren’s athleticism, we shot six different events: high jump, long jump, sprinting, javelin, hurdles and middle distance running.

We were so pleased with the results of the lighting that we decided to spend one more evening photographing athletes, this time tennis players at the Racquet Club Irvine.

It was so freeing to be able to shoot without any parameters or client constraints. And, the images from this shoot remain some of my favorites ever. Squeezing in photographic playtime can be hard with a busy schedule, but it’s so important to create opportunities to experiment with equipment, lighting and my own style, and I know that personal projects always further my commercial work.