Kevin Von Qualen » photography

BIOGRAPHY: Photographing author Rory Noland in Chicago, Illinois.

kevinvonqualen — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 19:23:17 +0000

I want to share just one photograph from my time with Rory Noland. We spent the day producing the promotional images for his book, Worship on Earth as it is in Heaven. While you can find more images on Rory’s blog, his Twitter, in Worship Leader Magazine, and his bios all over the web, I want to share the dialogue behind this one photograph.

———-

Kevin: Rory, look at your wife and smile.

Rory: Oh, that’s easy.

———-

Biography sessions take place in homes and places of meaning. When place and story is injected into a photograph, the value of that image rises beyond just what a person looks like. My one regret for my time with author/speaker Francis Chan was that that although we have great portraits in Neue Magazine, we were far from his California home in Pittsburgh and the setting was not a part of HIS story.

Those are Rory’s books, that is Rory’s sofa, and Rory is looking and smiling directly at his wife. That is a photograph with meaning.

Pam & Scott’s wedding in Boulder, Colorado {Part II}

kevinvonqualen — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 14:03:08 +0000

The dreary skies parted and the rain stopped allowing us some sunshine to photograph at their reception at Chautauqua Park. Timing could not have been more perfect. Everyone ate, shared stories, and danced into the evening.

Thanks Pam & Scott for choosing me for your wedding. Thanks Kerinsa Marie for photographing alongside me.

Click here to view Part I

Pam & Scott’s wedding in Boulder, Colorado {Part I}

kevinvonqualen — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 13:36:02 +0000

When I showed up to Pam & Scott’s wedding in Boulder, I was expecting Pam to be understandably upset that the previously sunny day had dropped an unusual 30 degrees. Snow was melting from the ground and it was raining steadily. But Pam was more happy and excited than I’d ever seen her, not letting anything ruin her day. Despite having to stay indoors the entire day, we got great images because of their great spirits.

When the ceremony was over, we walked outside and the rain had stopped and the sun was trying to come through the clouds. Patience paid off, and we had a great 10 minutes in the sun at Chautauqua Park, coming up in the next post.

Pam & Scott’s ceremony took place at the historic First United Methodist Church of Boulder in the gorgeous downtown at the base of the Flatirons.

Click here to view Part II

RJ & Krista – Engagement session in LaPorte, Colorado – the photography

kevinvonqualen — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 14:15:57 +0000

This shoot was full of good friends, great scenery, and minor trespassing. RJ has been a friend for years now and is a crazy talented photographer in his own right. His talent and his ENTHUSIASM inspires my work and motivation daily. Krista was new to my world, but upon meeting, her easy personality made us friends right away. Also along on this talent filled evening to add more smiles was Rachel Olsen, sister-in-law to Krista, and another talented photographer. Still following? Good.

These b&w images were meant to compliment James Christianson’s color work that evening. He mostly shot on medium format with the Contax 645 & Pentax 67, check out his sick images here. James has been a close friend for years now, and shooting alongside him is a dream. I shot these images on the Canon EOS 3 with Ilford Delta 100 using my 35mm f1.4. Coming in the near future, a Super 8 film of their engagement, also entirely in black & white.

BIOGRAPHY: Photographing Boulder, Colorado ceramics artist & surgeon, Pat Ting. {Part II}

kevinvonqualen — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 15:15:46 +0000

Pat - It’s one of those things that, I played piano so much when I was younger that, you know if you think about it, you’re gonna screw it up.

While I was photographing Pat’s ceramics, he began tinkering on his wife’s piano, seeing if he could remember prior years of piano lessons. It was the perfect background music while viewing his work, so I began recording. You are listening to Pat playing the piano as I photographed his ceramics.

BIOGRAPHY sessions move beyond the digital medium to sharing stories and presenting work in a traditional analog manner…the book. Books are made for each BIOGRAPHY session containing photographs, quotations, and the story.

Pat’s website: http://www.tingteas.com

Click here for Part I

BIOGRAPHY: Pat Ting – Boulder, Colorado surgeon & ceramics artist {Part I}

kevinvonqualen — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 18:51:13 +0000

I’ve been photographing Pat’s work for a few years now, and we’ve become friends in the process. In exploring these BIOGRAPHY sessions, I wanted to record his story within one of his elements…his home. In our interview, Pat shares about inspiration for his designs, how proceeds benefit people in Indonesia, and how his day job of being a general surgeon relates to his ceramics hobby.

Click ‘play’ below to hear the entire 6 minute interview.

Pat - There is a lot of leeway in surgery that you just don’t get in the visual arts…If I was, for example, a professor and had to train residents, I would really require them to take some kind of visual arts course…With visual arts, you pick up on things, you see things, that we’re not trained to see as surgeons…Some of the real details with putting tissues together and looking for abnormalities, I think those visual cues you can actually develop in painting or doing sculpture or woodwork. So I would really want my students to do that.

Pat’s website: http://www.tingteas.com

Thanks to Pat for sharing twice, as I forgot to hit ‘record’ the first time…

Click here for Part II

BIOGRAPHY: Our time outdoors for Georgia & Josh’s engagement photography in Denver, Colorado. {Part II}

kevinvonqualen — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 15:51:32 +0000

Then we moved outside to their alley and switched to some Fuji Pro 160S. Big congratulations to Georgia & Josh as they just had their wedding (I was already booked!), and on their upcoming move west to California.

Click here for Part I

BIOGRAPHY: My time indoors with Georgia & Josh in Denver, Colorado. {Part I}

kevinvonqualen — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 15:02:37 +0000

Georgia & Josh are dear friends that were all about having a different biography: engagement session. They invited me into their home where we spent a Sunday morning photographing.

The gritty and exaggerated grainy look was done in camera by shooting Ilford Delta 3200…an incredible high-speed black & white film.

Click here for Part II