andyBATTblog

I’m a commercial photographer, based in Portland, Oregon. Portland is a great place to be–amazing food, arts, culture–and a great place to live. My studio is located here–inside I have a gigantic softbank, a huge black duvetyne sweep, and all the resources I need to make amazing photographs. Oregon is where I do a lot of my location work–it’s an amazingly varied state–I’ve got access to deserts, lava fields, glaciers, oceanscapes, suburbs, cityscapes, rivers, trails. About the only thing we don’t have here is a subway. For that, I’m in NYC where we produce both location and studio work. And I’ve been as far as Rio de Janeiro to create photographs. 

I like to photograph interesting people and dramatic sports moments. For me, photography is all about the visual storytelling–it’s the thread that connects my interests. If I’m photographing a soccer (fütball) player I’m going to show the peak moment of action, where that bicycle kick is fully engaged, and you can feel the wind blow past the camera from the speed of that ball. If it’s a portrait of someone, I’m looking for a different peak moment, one where the subject engages with the camera, or relaxes and lets their real personality come through.

Like all photographers, I photograph a lot more than just the subjects and styles I’ve chosen to market. I think photographers are all generalists: we choose what to develop commercially, but we’re still interested in the rest of the world. I carry a camera most of the time, and shoot the world around me–often it’s a graphic composition, or a strange alignment of elements. I make these photographs for myself, and am always surprised and pleased to find that others enjoy them as well.

My clients are some of the best advertising agencies, corporate design teams and editorial publications. I’m also working in the motion world: I’ve created several sports related spots, and was the DP on the independent shorts “Stella’s Flight”, “Overdrawn” and the webseries “Animus Cross, Season 2”.

I also teach and lecture about photography. I enjoy the opportunity to pass along my knowledge to my community. The act of teaching forces me to sharpen my own skill set. I need to be able to demonstrate and explain what I’m doing and why, and not just go from instinct and experience. Every time I teach, I’m rewarded with fresh insight into the how and why of my practice. 

I’ve taught numerous lighting workshops at the Newspace for Photography, as well as lecturing to photo and design students at Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland State University, Mt. Hood Community College, Chemeketa Community College, and the Art Institute of Portland.  I was an original member of the Lucie Foundation’s E-pprentice, and had the pleasure of mentoring a remote photography student in Miami. In 2010 I was brought in as an Adjunct Professor for the School of Visual Arts, in the Digital Photography Masters program. I’m teaching an online course in the Materials and Processes of Digital Photography.