Category Archives: Jeff Schmieg

Handcrafted video for a handcrafted company

If you are one of the lucky ones, you are blessed with fond memories of swapping stories and tall tales around a crackling campfire after a camping, fishing or hiking adventure ‘Up North’. How then, in our busy lives surrounded by technology and the constant state of connectivity, can we find more of those simple and carefree times?

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Frost River, a Duluth MN based maker of hand crafted leather and canvas soft goods, gets to share these types of memories and tales every day with long time customers in their workshop and storefront on West Superior Street.  In order to bring the story of their company and its heritage products to others, long time partners Frost River and Gamut One Studios collaborated to produce a video that recounts the history of their company and its enduring, generation-proof soft goods.

Videographers, Dewey Koshenina and Jeff Schmieg couldn’t have been more perfect for the job.  From multiple wilderness locales, filming the true beauty of the land and the leather and canvas products in action to Frost River’s workshop, where Dewey and Jeff captured the Frost River artisans carefully crafting each piece into what would soon become a family’s cherished heirloom.

We invite you to relax with a fresh cup of coffee or a frosty mug of beer and experience the tale of Frost River as told through the eyes of Gamut One Studios. You will quickly see how something new can become a tradition-rich favorite, full of experience from generations past and present.

G1 Studios and Frost River from Gamut One on Vimeo.

Be sure to check out our friends at Frost River for yourself the next time you are in Duluth, MN.

2015 Project Highlights –

Bill Bartlett Embraces the Cold!  Exterior Shots in Extreme Conditions

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From his mild mannered and gracious disposition, you‘d never guess that Bill Bartlett is G1’s go to guy when we need a tenacious, unshakable shooter with some spectacular photography (and meteorological) skills.

Again proving that there is no such thing as ordinary in his photography, Bill tackled dynamic “landscape” images for Guardian Energy throughout the Midwest.  Fingers numb in blasting arctic winds and below zero temps,  Bill managed to snap awe inspiring shots during early morning and late evening hours to maximize the existing interior/exterior facility lighting and dramatic sky scenes.

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As if the weather and early hours, weren’t enough, Bill was hoisted high on a scaffolding precariously waiting to catch just the right angle and lighting for the perfect shot.  And, as you can see from the photos, Bill scoffed at the conditions and pulled out some amazing shots in spite of it all.

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Who doesn’t love a cute animal photo? Gamut One Studios’ Greg Kamin taps his ‘animal’ side to capture the shots.

Social media sites are constantly flooded with cute, funny and sweet pet photos that keep us smiling, make us laugh aloud or at least give us a break from our daily doldrums.

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Which is why it is always a treat for Gamut One Studios to shoot  both four legged friends and human subjects for Patterson Companies, a market leading dental and animal health company based in St. Paul, MN.

While those adorable and hilarious social media pet photos are a blast for blowing off real work, professional images of animals are a whole ‘nother game of fetch.  After working with Patterson Companies’ animal health division for over 15 years, our own resident animal whisperer/photographer, Greg Kamin, is a master at capturing images that convey the quality and professionalism Patterson delivers for their customers.

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While on location in Chandler, Arizona, Greg photographed Andrea Stickland DVM, the staff, and a host of fuzzy felines and canines for Patterson Vet magazine.  Sounds like cuddly good fun but, did we forget to mention the iguana?

 

Dewey Koshenina’s Take on Video:  Did You Just Ship Your Prospect an $80,000 proposal?

Consider the infinite number of times each and every day that videos are seen on You Tube, Vimeo and other channels around the world.  What would it cost to reach those same viewers with a printed and shipped version of the same content? $80,000? $100K? Fortunately, Gamut One Studios’ videographer extraordinaire, Dewey Koshenina has a better way to reach your prospects.

With a recent video shoot at Meier Tool, a manufacturing facility in Anoka, Dewey and his team were able to communicate more than just the capabilities of the company.  With passionate Meier employee interviews and cleverly captured facility shots, G1 produced a video that showcased the company’s culture and its number one asset— its people and the pride they take in their work. In addition to visually featuring Meier’s people, culture and capabilities in a succinct and effective video, nobody had to spend $80K to send the message.

And, for the record, Gamut One Studios has produced stunning, high end videos as well as cost-efficient ones, too, but we’ve yet to be Oscar-nominated or bill $80K for one video.  Of course, we are open to either option!

Dodging Darts & Drones: How Jeff Schmieg’s ‘Dad’ Experience helped to Corral the Chaos on the Hovertech FX shoot.

When Marketing Architects brought their Hovertech FX shoot to Gamut One Studios, we knew Jeff’s calm, cool and collected manner would be the perfect match for capturing the action with a gaggle of boys shooting dart guns and piloting drones throughout our studio.

 

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Sure enough, the multi-day shoot for Marketing Architect’s newly launched retail website, was both crazy and fun.  Jeff proved once and again that his keen photographer’s eye and ‘child management’ skills worked well together to capture both the boys’ bona fide grins and rapid pace of flying darts and drones!

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Then, taking a full 360, Jeff completely changed up the studio’s wild and crazy atmosphere to set the stage for Marketing Architects’ Bright Eyes shoot featuring adorable ‘bright-eyed’ stuffed animals and sweet little girls. Lights were dimmed and dreamy bedroom sets in candy colored pastels made for some incredibly cute photos of girls and their Bright Eyes stuffed animals.

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Just like the Boy Scouts are always prepared and the National Guard is always ready, always there, experienced Dads like Jeff make extraordinary photographers!

An Old Holiday Favorite, In a New Light

At this time of year, holiday traditions centered around food often ‘consume’ much of our time and energy.  This year, Gamut One Studios wanted to spotlight the problem of hunger in the Twin Cities.  Cans of green beans, cream of mushroom soup and fried onions were cleverly shaped into a Christmas tree for our annual holiday card, by our own food-savvy photographer, Jeff Schmieg.  With help from the crafty hands of stylist, Laurie Goeman, and G1’s builder-extraordinaire, Myron Wolf, they created a wonderful image that will hopefully warm up the holidays in more ways then one.

While it would be fun to grab our can openers and whip up a super size casserole, this work of art is a small part of Gamut One Studios’ gift to the Groveland Emergency Food Shelf (GEFS). Started in 1975, GEFS is located in the basement of the Plymouth Congregational Church in South Minneapolis. They serve over 1,500 households every month with a mostly volunteer staff.

Gamut One Studios is proud to support their much needed work with a donation on behalf of our clients.  The gratitude expressed by the GEFS volunteers and their clients was incredible and confirms the validity of ‘It is better to give than to receive.’

If you are looking for a way to give back this season, GEFS accepts food donations of all varieties in person and gratefully accepts cash donations through their website at www.grovelandfoodshelf.org.  It’s amazing how they can leverage their food dollars in ways that consumers can not with a normal grocer.

Gamut One Studios will continue to support the Groveland Emergency Food Shelf with a fundraiser and food drive at our 4th Annual Super Bowl party in February.  We look forward to seeing you all there!

Feels like it’s been around forever…

Campbell’s Green Bean Casserole recipe (using their cream of mushroom soup) was developed in 1955.

That’s a lot, but they need more…

Groveland Emergency Food Shelf buys 70-80% of the more then 30,000 pounds of food they distribute every month.

Did you know? Green beans are also called snap beans because of the sound they make when being broken. Green beans can also be called string beans because many varieties used to have a long string that ran along the seam of the bean.

Extending the reach…

The Groveland Food For Youth program was the state’s first food shelf specifically aimed at helping homeless and at-risk youth to age 23 with food and referrals to other organizations.

Happy Holidays from Gamut One Studios!

Food Photography on the Fly

Recipe for Success

If you’ve been to the Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport lately, you know that the Minneapolis Airport Commission (MAC) is pulling out all the stops to keep travelers entertained, well-fed and happy. Gamut One Studios’ Jeff Schmieg, our food shooting specialist, has been part of that project for over fifteen years now.  MAC’s most current promotion is a bi-monthly coupon book called Eat, Shop, Relax. Each cover of this book is an entree image shot by Jeff from a MSP restaurant, such as French Meadow Bakery, Ikes, Axel’s BonFire Grill, TGI Fridays, and more.  Working with Kate Dougherty from MAC Marketing, and food stylist, Laurie Goeman, Jeff uses his years of food photography experience to create mouth-watering images for the featured restaurants with such detail that visitors and travelers can almost taste them!

Food Photography CoversGreat ingredients

Of course, every project has different challenges and this is where Jeff’s extensive experience shines. Whether it’s planning a location shoot at the airport or trying to simulate the atmosphere of the restaurant in studio, there are issues and details that need creative solutions.  Props, backgrounds and table top surfaces are cleverly chosen to enhance each image aesthetic and theme as well as addressing height and size challenges like a horizontal product needing to fit the Eat, Shop, Relax book’s narrow, vertical layout.

“Their creative, professional and detail-oriented approach always produces gorgeous looking photos. One thing that sets Gamut One Studios apart, aside from their vast amount of experience, is the extensive prop and background collection that is available.”     ~ Kate Dougherty, Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport Marketing

Food photography on location

Food related issues are worked out as Jeff, Laurie and Kate communicate with
the restaurants to learn the specific details of each entree and how those will affect the shoot. Is the entree going to arrive par cooked or does it need to be created fresh on set? Do we need some fresh cilantro to top the dish? Working with a flexible and experienced crew helps in creating a tasty and successful image.

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And even with all the preparation, Jeff knows better than anyone that photographing food almost always involves some ‘tricks of the trade’.  Keeping that bowl of soup or mug of beer looking like it is fresh and ready to be devoured can take tricks ranging from food replacements (hint: marbles hiding in the soup) to fast hands bringing in a new batch every few shots.  Gamut One Studios creates top-notch food images with help from food stylist, Laurie Goeman.  Laurie’s eagle eyes and quick hands work their magic while Jeff perfects the lights, angles, and focus for achieving the ultimate fresh food image that fits perfectly into the layouts.  In addition, partnerships with clients like MAC’s Kate Dougherty whose hands-on approach and upbeat attitude, help move a time-sensitive and demanding photo shoot along.

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After all that goes into the photo shoot, the final result is an appetizing photo that draws customers into the restaurants. Next time you’re at the airport, pick up one of the Eat, Shop, Relax booklets and see for yourself how Jeff’s food photography looks good enough to eat!

Corporate Portraits: Your Best Image

Crooked tie, shiny forehead, high school yearbook pose … we’ve all seen some unflattering corporate headshots that do no favors to the subject or company. But, since very few people actually like getting their picture taken, and even fewer are naturally photogenic, how does one get a great headshot?

At Gamut One Studios we know that a great portrait is a powerful tool in building a strong image for you and your company.

Gamut One Studios always goes the extra mile to create extraordinary client headshots in a convenient, budget-friendly manner.

And to deliver those easy-going, yet professional shots, trust the unparalleled experience of our four photographers.

We can offer every possible type and style of corporate portraits or headshots. We’ll share our secrets with you on how to combine the subject’s profession, corporate brand image, and usage requirements to get the picture that speaks more than a thousand words about you or your brand.

Convenient Scheduling

Recognizing convenience as an important piece of the puzzle, Gamut One will help you design a schedule depending on how many employees are going to be photographed and their availability. With four full time photographers, we do our best to accommodate your first choice for time and scheduling date.

In Studio

Some clients like the look and structure of photographing on a set in our studio while others will want a specific background such as their corporate facility as the location. Either way, Gamut One Studios will scout all location options and work with you on a suitable plan.

Your Location

Some clients will want to schedule a drop in photo shoot where employees come to the Gamut One studio to have their portrait taken. For other clients, we may go to their offices and schedule employee time slots during the workday.

Do you ever wonder why some people just seem to take better pictures than others? That’s also part of our plan – the Gamut One photographers are experts in putting their subjects at ease to get the most impressive and natural photo possible.

Group time slots

Some companies have to schedule just one-person-at-a-time photos due to time constraints or a preference to photograph new hires immediately. In these situations, we will use a pre-approved set up and employees will stop by our studio, or we meet them on location.

Cost Concerns: In all types of photo shoots, we are conscious of your budget and end goals. The greatest cost savings comes from scheduling multiple people for the same day.

Once we’ve chosen a time and location, Gamut One Studios will also help you consider the ‘little things’ that make a portrait stand out. Your subject’s profession, corporate brand image, and usage requirements (such as annual report, website, etc.) are all taken into consideration and we will design and facilitate the best look for you.

Retouching?

Of course. Photoshop has become a verb. Retouching always makes it better. Whether it’s tired eyes, shiny forehead, or not the right shade of lipstick, we will take care of it. Left your suit coat at home, but need it for the photo? We have even “shopped” that in for a customer.

Our shooters, Bill, Dewey, Greg, and Jeff are also all Photoshop wizards and take great pride in every image to deliver you the best.

When you need a professional portrait to compliment your company or brand, Gamut One offers a clear advantage in portrait photography. Whether updating your website, creating a new sales brochure or just have a new company hire, we will work with you to deliver the best images for your company’s success.

Halloween meets Winter Olympics

What do clowns, cowboys, Twinkie the Kid and even Donkey Kong all have in common?
They were among the over 450 participants that raced in the Bedrace for Bridging event on Saturday, March 2nd, 2013. The 15th annual fundraiser at Buck Hill was another huge success and Gamut One Studios was there to capture it all.

Bridging, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization serving the greater Twin Cities, is the largest furniture bank in North America. Providing furniture and household goods to families and individuals transitioning out of homelessness and poverty, Bridging gives hope–and for many–a leap toward financial stability for the first time.

The 15th annual Bedrace for Bridging brought in $80,000 which will greatly help local families and individuals in need!

The event is like Halloween meets the Winter Olympics — a fun, exciting event with everyone in costume racing down the tubing hill competing to be one of the three team finalists. A team is made up of four riders and you must stay on the mattress for the entire ride down the hill or you are disqualified.

There were 113 teams competing to take home a trophy, either for the race or the most coveted honor of “Best Costume.” Cities 97 radio personalities and producers cast the silent votes for the top 3 best Costumes. Brian Oake announced the winners.

Fran Heitzman, founder of Bridging addressed the crowd in the Buck Stone Lodge with an enthusiastic expression of gratitude. He told everyone that “when good people get together, we can do good things“.  Sara Sternberger, executive director of Bridging, is pictured with Fran and of course the Subway Sandwich dude.

The party continued in the Buck Stone Lodge with live music by Meatsauce and The Whalers followed by The Chris Hawkey Band.

G1 Studios’ photographers at this event were Greg Kamin and Jeff Schmieg.  Till next year… think about getting your bedrace team together and help support this great local charity.

Hangin’ with the Prez

Gamut One Studios had a brush with fame last Friday when photographers Jeff Schmieg and Dewey Koshenina had the unique opportunity to photograph President Barack Obama.  President Obama spent the mid-day touring and speaking at Honeywell while our swift and skillful photographers captured it all on camera.

The President has an extremely tight schedule, so when you are photographing him, you’ve got to be quick and on your game.   Gamut One Studios, a contracted Honeywell vendor, was brought in to photograph the President’s visit and provided Honeywell with over 400 press ready images within hours of the event.  Images were uploaded to a private web gallery where the Honeywell staff could quickly access and distribute images as needed for public relations, documentation and promotion.

Seeing how the whole White House machine operates behind the scenes was very interesting.  It was a complex process but most notably, a very well oiled machine that is highly choreographed for maximum efficiency and security.

As you can probably imagine, the day was full of protocol, politics and stoic secret service agents. That doesn’t phase Jeff, our ‘nerves of steel’ photographer who has smoothly photographed tactical response teams while expert marksmen pointed automatic weapons at him.  Provided with White House Press Pool credentials, Jeff followed the President as he toured parts of the manufacturing floor and met Honeywell employees.  Jeff was then allowed inside the rope-line to photograph the president up close during the speech.

Rubbing Elbows with the Associated Press and White House Staff photographers who cover the president every day brought new insight into the workings of this political operation.  Dewey photographed the event from the main press stage for another view point of the action.

Capturing the spark and excitement that people had when meeting President Obama made our job even better.  The kids (and many adults) in attendance were beyond excited… beaming with perma-grins as they showed off their autographs and photos while they soaked in the whole experience.

We got some cool press pool badges that make great souvenirs from the event.  I think Jeff and Dewey will wear them all week…you just never know when you may want to impress someone!

Robots, smoke grenades and paint bullets

It’s easy to stay passionate about a job when you work in vastly different environments each day.

Often, we’re in the studio lighting and shooting products, many times we’re on location in offices, factories and at events. And, sometimes we have tactical response teams pointing loaded weapons at us.

That was Jeff’s shoot out in Alameda County, California for Recon Robotics. He has been photographing their products in studio and location for the past five years. Jeff’s extensive knowledge of the product and close working relationship with Recon has now provided more unique location photography opportunities.

A recent assignment took Jeff to Urban Shield, a SWAT and Tactical Response Team training and evaluation event with teams from California, Israel and Jordan competing.

SWAT Team Photography

The event ran for 48 straight hours with 27 different scenarios.  Recon Robotics sponsored one scenario in which the teams could utilize the Scout XT Robot to be more effective.  Recon wanted photos of the teams using their robot in training situations and to build their corporate image library.

Jeff liked the fast-action shoot and seeing the teams from Israel and Jordan. He says, “Having expert marksmen pointing loaded automatic weapons at you will always make you think twice, even if it’s just paint.”

Gamut One Studios - On LocationAnd, sometimes the perks are nice too. Jeff got to ride in this $170K Tactical Response Vehicle, aptly called the BAT.

In the last few weeks, he’s traveled in and out of state to photograph several different uses of Recon’s products. He worked with the Minneapolis Bomb Squad photographing the robots being used to help identify and scout police scenarios with possible explosives.

The latest shoot took Jeff to Fort Ripley near Brainerd, Minn. with a National Guard Squad.  The military uses the Scout XT to help units with reconnaissance missions where they can remotely deploy the robot into buildings, around barriers and in the identification of suspected improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

The project was very successful.  We look forward to providing Recon Robotics with more great images while they build awareness of their great products.

 
 
 
 

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