Shades of Havana, an oasis in the desert………….

Nestled in the middle of the Arizonan desert, amongst the urban sprawl, is a tobacconist shoppe that has risen from the ashes like the Phoenix and has been reborn with the name Shades of Havana. The new name and redesign of the shoppe needed publicity to further promote itself to its current customers and reach out to cigar aficionados unfamiliar to the treasure trove of premium hand-rolled cigars. Brothers Eric and Sean Parkinson contacted me at 423 Photography to work with them to provide photography for an ad that would run in the June/July issue of the Arrowhead Life magazine.

Our three-hour photo shoot produced many great images from which the final five made the cut for the ad.

Along with the unveiling of the new name and redesign of the shoppe, Eric and Sean are excited to roll out a one-of-a kind cigar, available only at Shades of Havana! The Scorpion, by Camacho Cigars, is proudly débuted for the world, who is invited to come and try a bold, unique taste.

Working with Christian Eiroa, the President of Camacho Cigars, the idea for the Scorpion was conceived and made into a reality while the brothers were in Honduras visiting the Camacho Cigars plantation. Topping off the culmination of the release of the Scorpion was Christian’s visit to Shades of Havana, his only appearance this year to any of the scheduled Camacho Cigars’ events.

Visit the brothers at Shades of Havana or better yet, find a retreat from the sun and visit them at their shoppe located in Peoria, AZ on the corner of 75th Ave. & Paradise Ln.

CareScape, a tall order.......

I recently finished a shoot for CareScape, a landscape management company based out of Surprise, AZ, who had contacted me, at 423 Photography, to do photography for their marketing. Naturally, I was thinking landscape shots, but the objective in this case was to capture the work crews, management, and vehicles used by CareScape. Within the course of our discussion it was agreed that a scissor lift would be needed to get the right perspective and several hours would be needed to roll everyone and the vehicles on and off the field. Lunch, scouting the location for the shoot, and throw in some talk and we were set to make history. Now, it’s one thing to know that I’ll be shooting from a 49ft. scissor lift, but it’s another thing to see it delivered on a flat bed eighteen wheeler!

Orchestrating the photography for 200+ people (feel free to count, I’ll take their word on it) and the vehicles was quite a task, but fun, nonetheless……………… walkie-talkies and an assistant are very helpful (thank you, Angela!)

Preparing to shoot the candid shots of the crew and managers flashing the thumbs up sign (part of the company logo), while atop the scissor lift, was an amusing challenge......... I had to call people out making the bunny-ear hand sign over a co-worker’s head. Guess it doesn’t matter what your age is, it’s still the photo shoot stunt to pull!

Please don’t e-mail me with comments from things you see in the photo of the crew doing or wearing……… :- )

I’ll turn the photo into a “find Waldo” shot!

At long last.......

423 Photography is up and running on the World Wide Web! After two months (give or take) I’m more than happy with what I’ve published. I’m especially excited about the Before & After link on the Home page because this will help show the difference, but more importantly the value, between a snapshot and photography. As I like to say, “My camera is a tool; the photography is my palette for your vision!” Thank you for visiting 423 Photography and taking a look around the website. Feel free to drop me a line and tell me what you think about my work. If I can provide you with the unique kind of service you’re looking for, let’s explore together what we can create. Check back on the Blog periodically to see what’s going on in my world, what new projects I’ve done or am working on.