Alex Landeen

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Business as Usual

June 16, 2016 by Alex Landeen 2 Comments

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Roughly two feet tall and eight feet long, the pile of magazines slowly grew and collected dust on a low concrete shelf surrounding the cold fireplace in the southwest corner of the converted master bedroom. An addition to the house sometime in the mid-seventies, the roughly 600 square foot red-brick room has served pretty well for my photographic purposes, even though it is not plumbed for either heat (hence the im-my-opinion-totally-useless fireplace) or for cooling (hence the 70’s era wall AC unit that makes strange noises and once tried to kill me with fire).

“One of these days I will get around to cutting all my work out of those damn things.” I would say, usually following someone pointing out the stacks with a raised eyebrow. Early this year that day came, and ended up be a slightly more massive project that previously anticipated, but it was neat to be able to walk back through time and see the progression of the magazines themselves, as well as how my photography grew with experience and gear. The early switch from continuous lighting to strobe, as well as the adoption of a PCE (tilt-shift) lens being probably the two biggest noticeable points. To see all that work in the clean plastic pages of the ITOYA 11×17 Portfolio binders was well worth the effort, and the weight of the combined pages gave a physical presence to the decade-long effort to create good looking, competitive artwork.

January marked ten years of photographing guns and law enforcement related subjects for Harris Publications, and the morning of April 28th seemed business as usual. I woke up to editors copying me on gear and product requests, issuing work orders, and the general hectic banter of email chains that seem to accompany any communication business. The main project needing attention this morning was regarding a feature piece for a new magazine called ARMED. The feature was going to be called Threads, where I would take a model and outfit him with clothing and gear that followed a common theme, similar to building an avatar for a game character. I was working with a dozen companies to get gear and accessories for the initial project, which accounted for about half of the emails on this particular morning.

At 10:47am, everything ended.

The letter was simple enough. On company letterhead and addressed “To Our Valued Partners” the letter quickly announced the closing of the Harris Publications, blaming the “rapid ascendance of digital media, changing consumer content preferences, magazine wholesaler struggles, and consolidation in the supply chain.” And further saying they have “tried mightily to persevere against these forces, but have been unable to overcome these challenges.”

Obviously it was a shock, but I felt mostly for the employees. Editors, assistants, layout designers, and all the other people that had become my friends over the last decade, people who had just had their financial throats slit and given 24-hours to clear out before the doors were locked on 1115 Broadway, New York, NY.

In a freelance or independent contractor situation there is always the potential for the work to end without warning. That is just the way it goes, and I have experienced it before with publication companies in the past. People get shuffled around, the art direction changes, one photographer shoots a style someone thinks is more appropriate for a certain publication, or an editor gets a note to “tighten the belt up a bit,” so no more soup for you. At least, until they find an empty spot on the worktable for you to occupy. That is just the way it is. But this was unexpected, to say the least.

But I would be lying if I said I hadn’t seen some writing on the wall. Two years ago, there was a pretty large cutback in work orders, and the decline was especially noticeable at the big party Harris throws to all their vendors, advertisers, and supporters at the SHOT Show in Las Vegas. However this last year everything seemed back to business as usual and the work resumed, increased, even. I can only attribute that to the theory that the powers that be at Harris wanted to keep the pretense up as long as possible, keeping even their most senior people in the dark. Also, when I met Stanley Harris’s predecessors at the SHOT party last year, I got the impression that these people (his son(s)) had little interest in the publication business, let alone anything regarding guns. However this is only speculation and assumptions on my part, and like Sgt Schultz, “I see nothing, I know nothing, I was not here, I didn’t even get up this morning.”

Consider this a belated shout-out to my people; Nino, Mike, Linas, Shirley, Cara, Richard, Rory, and all the others who appreciated and approved work orders for my blackhawk rides, tactical excursions, silly opener layout concepts, Rio Grande gunboat lounge-abouts (working on my tan), mountain ranger treks, felony warrant ride-alongs, and the countless product projects that ran through the studio. I would be less without your appreciation and direction.

But the show must go on, and it does.

There will be more on this, as one landed editor has already reached out from the ether looking for a familiar face.

-Alex who enjoys the company of good people.

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Note – It is currently 2:50am, which already disqualifies me from keeping to my own timeline, but hey, whatcha gonna do.

Filed Under: Firearms, Opinions, Photography

#BlackandWhitePhotoChallenge

December 3, 2014 by Alex Landeen 3 Comments

For the last five days I have been taking part in the black and white photo challenge on Instagram.

It was an interesting process, pouring through Lightroom and looking for images that had the right feeling, the proper “gravity”, I suppose you could say. It was more difficult than I would have expected but I felt it was deserved. Anything worth doing, and all… Also, I found that listening to Raidohead’s album Hail To The Thief helped get me into the proper mindset. Sail to the Moon is an awesome auditory accompaniment to anything in grayscale.

The five:

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Dads first fist bump.
When I think about my favorite BW images this one always comes to mind. Did a shoot for a buddy of mine after his son was born, and his wife Jayme had this idea. I smile every time I see it.

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Wine Scientist
Day two takes us into the bowels of Maynard Keenan’s home laboratory. A hand on his OneoFoss analysis unit — which is used to obtain an infrared spectrum of absorption, emission, and photoconductivity of a sample of a solid, liquid, or gas, in this case a few drops of one of his wines — as he waits for the sample to finish testing. I find it interesting as I dig through my archives for this challenge that all the images that I am considering have already been processed into black and white. Is this because they already exist in a desaturated state and stand out amongst the color images? Any photo can be a black and white, but some want it right out of the camera, they need it, they yell from the screen, “this is not me, all this silly color! Remove this hindrance, this distraction from my being. Hark! My story must be told in grayscale.” I believe this to be true. Then again there is no better cure for color balance issues than just removing said color. Little from column A, little from column B, I suppose. Also, maybe I need to see a doctor about these voices.

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Photonic Nightcap
Hex triplet – #FFF8E7
sRBG – (255, 248, 231)
CMYK – (0, 2.7, 9.6, 0)
This is the color of the universe. A while back a team of astronomers at Johns Hopkins University set about to determine the age of various galaxies and star systems. In 2002, published in The Astrophysical Journal their paper, “The 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey: Constraints on Cosmic Star Formation History from the Cosmic Spectrum” reported that after a survey of all light in the universe the calculated resulting color added up to be a “slightly beigeish white” and was subsequently named “Cosmic Latte”. Cosmic Latte. Delicious. Now, I know what you are thinking. “But Alex, this is the Black and White photo challenge, so whats with all the color talk?” Well, yeah. I thought about that. And you know what? Who cares. Life is in color and this stuff is interesting. Now, please, for your own health and the good of those around you — next time you have a chance get out and take a nice sip of the cosmic latte. Dr. Alex is writing you a prescription for mountain star gazing. It’s good for the soul. Getcha some of that old light, maybe capture a few photons, shake their hands. This light has been traveling for a long time, it would be rude not to say hello occasionally.

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Night Shots
Participants of the Gunsite Pistol 250 course takes turns on the line practicing flashlight techniques in the cool high desert night. This was neat as a long exposure because the shooters did not fire all at once — One at a time from left to right they would draw, illuminate the target, take two shots then holster before turning off their light. So while watching the drill you only see small parts of the berm and a few targets at a time but when exposed for the whole line it gives you a look at the whole scene. A note about long exposures at night – the focal length of your lens determines how long you can expose before getting (noticing) star trails (movement of the earth causing the stars to become elongated and not neat little pinpoints of light.) This was taken with a 10.5mm fisheye which will allow 30 second exposures while keeping the stars neat and tidy.

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Dropoff
The sargent leaned forward in his seat. The motion of the helicopter and the weight of the helmet made his head bob up and down as he spoke. “You see the river”, he pointed out the open door without looking. His low and gravelly voice made tinny through the headset. Outside the brown and yellow Texas landscape slid past cut by a winding snake of water the same color as the dirt. I nodded. “The border patrol use of force policy is a little different from ours.” He said, leaning back. “We can handle threat situations down here a little differently.” He repositioned his LaRue Tactical OBR 7.62 rifle between his legs, the suppressor down between his tan boots. The dull grey-blue metal looked cool in the desert heat and indifferent to the struggles of man. The drone of the engines changed pitch and slowed as we approached the LZ. I stared out across the Rio Bravo into the haze of Mexico.

-Alex in living color.

Filed Under: Firearms, Fly Fishing, Photography

The pro-selfie comes in handy…

July 24, 2014 by Alex Landeen Leave a Comment

…when you need a SWAT guy, and don’t have one in your pocket.

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Business on top, party on bottom.

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-Alex who secretly wants to be a tactical fashion model.

Filed Under: Firearms, Photography

Things you don’t want to see

July 12, 2014 by Alex Landeen 1 Comment

Knock, Knock…

No, it’s not the pizza guy.

landeen_blog_swat-0153Phoenix SWAT.

Nice dudes, unless you are a bad guy.

Don’t be a bad guy.

-Alex who is full of good advice.

Filed Under: Firearms, Photography

Take Your Speedlight to Work Day

July 1, 2014 by Alex Landeen Leave a Comment

I have a problem.

And I have a solution.

Unfortunately, the solution is part of the problem. This, however, usually turns out to be a good thing.

If you said I was a lighting photographer, I would probably agree. I don’t remember the last time I took my camera somewhere and didn’t at least bring a couple speedlights. I guess I just feel better having them around. Like a safety net. Or a crutch.

“But why, Alex, would you consider that a crutch?” you may be asking. Well, I occasionally think that automatically going to the use of artificial light for subjects may cause me to miss a better (subjective) and easier setup using only natural light. Also, it usually means a few more pounds of crap to carry around and while I appreciate the muscle toning, usually lighter is better.

Now, that aside, I think that the combination of natural and artificial light is one of my favorite things in the world. Potentially on par with bacon. And that’s saying something.

Where the technique shines is in examples like the one below from a few weeks ago.

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landeen_TIA-7561-500 You can see in the image on the right that the natural exposure on this guy makes the sky look pretty colorless, which sometimes is exactly what I want, but generally I like some color.

Adding one flash and exposing for the sky did the job, and gave me the photo I had in my mind.

Which makes me happy.

-Alex who likes being happy.

Filed Under: Firearms, Opinions, Photography

Profile: AZ Knifemaker Bryan Bates

May 22, 2014 by Alex Landeen 4 Comments

landeen_blog_bates-5287A while back I had the pleasure of meeting knife maker and former Marine Bryan Bates for a set of photos to accompany a profile on his unique knife crafting process. Bates was brought to the internet’s attention after a cell phone video of him arguing with Senator John McCain over sending troops to Syria during a Tucson town hall meeting went viral. Author Mike Detty decided to pick up the story for Tactical Weapons Magazine, and I accompanied him to meet Bates at his home and shop located just southwest of Tucson.

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landeen_blog_bates-7331 Bates’s unique method may definitely leave some people feeling a little unsettled. From BatesKnives.com:

Bates Tactical Knives are not for the politically correct. Every blade is stamped with the word “Infidel” in Arabic. During the hardening process the red-hot blade is pulled from the forge and immediately quenched in liquid with pig’s blood added to it, completing the “Infidel” touch.

Regardless of how you feel about his process, after meeting the soft-spoken former Marine Rifleman, there is no doubt in my mind that Bates cares most about manufacturing a quality product to help the fighting men and women get their job done. It was a pleasure meeting him, and I thank him for his service. Bryan can be reached through his website BatesKnives.com

See a preview of Detty’s article at TacticalLife.com

To read the full profile, see the July 2014 issue of TACTICAL WEAPONS, currently available on newsstands.

Filed Under: Firearms, Photography

Sometimes you have to ask the police to do it one more time.

May 12, 2014 by Alex Landeen 4 Comments

But when 1000cc’s of Can-Am is involved, sometimes they don’t mind.

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Filed Under: Firearms, Photography

Why Blue Force Gear is the most awesome

May 1, 2014 by Alex Landeen 2 Comments

1) Terry Clauson

blue_force_tactical_raptor-6618It’s not that they have a Velociraptor. Or that they named him Terry Clauson. Or that they brought him to SHOT, or even took the time to make a website dedicated to the worlds first tactical dinosaur:

With a very high size to carnage ratio it poses a green solution to warfare. How does one stop a cold, calculating raptor running around wreaking utter havoc on the enemies of freedom? The Tactical Dino is equipped with the world’s most advanced load carriage solution. The ultralight, raptor-tough gear carries the necessary navigation and telemetric equipment in a low bulk, fluid setup that does not hinder slashing, gnawing, and mauling.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Firearms, Opinions

Texas BORTAC, aka BAMF

April 17, 2014 by Alex Landeen 2 Comments

Bad boys, whatcha gonna do?

Operator 1 – “Can we cover our faces?”

Operator 2 – “Please, [redacted] cover your face. This is for a magazine, kids might see it.”

True class.

Filed Under: Firearms, Photography

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