“The Cayman Assignment”

Travis and I were on our way to a job when I got the call.  It was a girl’s voice and she sounded pretty excited. “Nate! Please tell me you’re not booked on the 24^th of March!”  She obviously knew me because she called me by name. I had recently changed phones and many of my numbers were lost, but I soon recognized the interrogator as our good friend Skylar Reese, a fellow photographer based in Austin.  I looked over at Travis, “We got anything on the 24^th?”  Travis quickly used some state-of-the-art satellite cloud technology crap to check our calendar.  “We’ve got a few holds, but nothing solid.”  Back to Skylar, “Seems like I’m open, I’ll take the assignment… now, what is it?”   “I need you to help me shoot a wedding in the Cayman Islands,” she says.  “Hmmmm, sounds dangerous” I say…  “And I like the sound of danger.”

Once in a while Travis and I are asked to come on as 2^nd shooters for someone else when we’re not working together. It’s generally a decent paycheck without all the hassle of editing afterwards, and if we get to travel, bonus!  So wheels were set in motion, tickets booked and with passport in hand, I rolled my camera bag and carry-on through security at the busiest airport in the world.  Note: If you learn to navigate the maze of terminals in Hartsfield-Jackson International smoothly, any other airport you ever visit will seem like a cakewalk.

My mission had begun. It was a quick jump up to Charlotte, customs, then on a plane towards international waters.  Whoever booked my ticket apparently had some pull; I was Zone 1 all the way and had preferred treatment with my baggage. I took my aisle seat next to a little girl. Next thing I know, a very large man leans over the seat in front of me staring me down and nods at the seat I’d just taken. “Is this yours?”  I ask, gesturing to the kid beside me.  “Yeah, mind if I sit by her?”  It didn’t really sound like a question, so to be cordial, I agreed to trade seats.  Turns out the man was in business class, seat A1.  Winning!

Wearing a white linen shirt and some hip 70’s sunglasses I felt a little like Johnny Depp in the Rum Diaries headed into unknown tropical territory. As the plane circled the island and approached the runway I could see the white beaches, sail boats, and crystal clear waters all up and down the coast… this is gonna be tough. I glide through (like funny quote?) customs and the next thing I know, I’m in an old beat-up van with a taxi sign screwed on top. Irma, my driver, had one good hand and the other looked as if it had been gnarled in an unwarranted gator attack. But she whizzed through the traffic circles and back roads of Grand Cayman like nobody’s business; I had to use both hands to hang on. To add to the surrealness of the moment, traffic flows on the left side there. With many quick left turns and the feeling of being on a crash course with every oncoming car, I decided to just relax and trust Irma. After all, she was a professional.

I checked in to the Sunshine Suites, a beautiful little hotel on 7 Mile Beach, a block away from the ocean. Bag still in hand, I walked into the Sunshine Grill and sat down at the bar next to a drunk Irishmen. (No stereotype or redundancy intended) After a few introductions, the Irishman sized me up; called the dark beer I ordered “sissy water” then demanded a round of whisky. My contacts, Skylar & Brice (the videographer), wouldn’t arrive for a few hours so since I had some time to spare, I figured this was the best way to waste it. Turns out my new pal was some infamous back room brawler with fists the size of grapefruits. Obviously the black sheep of the family, he was here with his 97 year-old disapproving dad, and they were making amends.  We traded a few war stories then I notice the frail old man sitting out by the pool, “Daah, he just doesn’t respect me, calls me a bad Christian” I looked back the Irishman, and it could have been the whiskey taking hold, but he was deeply disturbed and his eyes began to water up. “Well,” I said, “Who’s the sissy now?” Then I challenged him to arm wrestle. We were pals.

Skylar and Brice soon arrived, we got our rooms and the next morning we hit the beach. On the way out, I noticed the little old man sitting again by the pool. The brawler was sitting beside him… passed out.  The only assignment we had for the day was to shoot a ‘White Party’ at the Tiki House that night.  The beach was beautiful and the water amazingly clear.  We befriended a resident who loaned us some fins & snorkels, so Skylar and I swam out to a small reef to check out some (fishy) locals.

Back on task, we tracked down the coordinator from the Ritz Carlton and arranged transportation. (I didn’t suggest Irma.) The White Party made for good photo ops. The bride’s parents had rented out the place and there were close to 100 guests all dressed in white in a beach-like cabana setting. I expected a rowdy crowd, but it was obvious that many of them had also spent the day on the beach, and the sun had taken it out of them. Nevertheless, the food was incredible, the steal drum band impeccable, speeches were made and everyone left drunk and happy.

Saturday was a mad rush of extremes, but Skylar, Brice, and I were on point at every turn; this wasn’t our first rodeo. Rule #1 about wedding photography, “Be prepared, anticipate the moment”. Things never go according to plan, but if you’re ready, some pretty amazing moments can be created in the chaos.  The wedding was beautiful, the food again was amazing, and as we went deeper and deeper into the night, the rowdy crowd came out. It was perfect. If I were a different man, blackmail photos from receptions could be my retirement plan.

Recovery: Sunday we laid around at the Sunshine Suites pool licking our wounds and piecing together the different events of the night. I guess that’s why we were hired to document this whole crazy event.  We planned to stay a few extra days to recover, & why not? We were through working.  My friend Liz flew in and the next day we chartered a boat out to Stingray City.  If you go to the Caymans, you must go there.   Capt. Jake and his one-man crew were great hosts and they motored us out to a shallow sandbar in the gulf. Standing in 4ft deep water, I felt like I was at a dog park in the city… except I wasn’t in the city, I was on an island. And I wasn’t on land, I was in the water… and I wasn’t surrounded by dogs looking for treats, I was surrounded by stingrays looking for treats.  It’s all about the treats. The stingrays blew my mind, their dark reputations and misunderstood nature couldn’t be further from the truth.  These “Devil Fish” were incredibly tame and just looking for a squid handout: we were able to feed them, pet them, and even hold them.  Certainly one of the most surreal experiences I’ve ever had. (“Sorry, Irma.”)

Lil’video put together by Brice:

Bags packed and images secured, the mission to the Cayman Islands was accomplished; I have pictures to prove it. I’d certainly recommend going & spending more than just a few days. There was so much we didn’t get to see; so much trouble we didn’t get in.  As I waited for my taxi, I looked over and saw the Irishman and his dad having breakfast together. The brawler was obviously sober and just as charming. There was a small crowd gathered around them as he told his stories, and the little old man was smiling.

When I first considered becoming a professional photographer/videographer, my lofty dreams immediately went to Annie Leibovitz, Terry Gilliam, and photographing girls on the beach.   Granted, I’m no Gilliam or Leibovitz and shooting girls on the beach is not as dreamy as it seems… Though they do make for pretty pictures and it’s still better than photographing carrots on a government-run industrial farm (no offense to you carrot shooters out there.)  But I digress…

Of the many video projects I got to work on this past year, this jeans shoot was certainly one of the more eye-catching ones. In conjunction with Tommy Crow Studios, we were hired to create imagery for a startup company that is making designer jeans with college logos embroidered on them, not a bad idea.  This company went through several name changes and logo designs before settling on All American Cotton, and after 4 or 5 photo shoots and some strategic marketing, they seem to be up and running.

So finally here I am, shooting girls (and some dudes) in jeans on the beach.  Have I arrived?  Well, I guess that answers changes from moment to moment, within DornBrothers Productions, we don’t generally shoot this kinda thing, but with this career path, you gotta be a little flexible.  The job called for me to create a promotional video that the company could display on their website and promote their ‘hip’ new designer jeans to colleges around the country.  The shoot was a bit trying at times, a little hot, (temperature wise) and involved a lot of ‘sun chasing’ looking for the “perfect” light for our subjects. The video was shot in this gorilla, run-n-gun type style, where Tommy Crow would set up the models for the stills then I’d jump in a direct some action for the video.   This made the editing of the video a little challenging, kinda like creating your own puzzle, by making and finding pieces that would fit together in a cool and cohesive way.   In order to make this spot fresh and hip, I had the opportunity to experiment with a bunch of colors, textures, and light leaks. We do this a lot already with our still photography, however, attempts to get the same effects on moving images is a whole different ballgame.   Like Photoshop, Final Cut Pro is a beast of a program with what seems like endless ways to put something together.  The more you use it, the more you learn and with a project like this, the more you play the more you can figure out what’s possible.

We shot most of this over a period of 4 or 5 months down in Rosemary Beach Florida.  Tommy Crow has a gallery down there and he was able to gather some of the local “talent”, many thanks to you lovely ladies (and dudes).  This was a really fun job to take on, fingers crossed for the next one.

Video Below:

Watch Video Here:   Sundancing_high_res

Atlanta based film director and good friend David Bruckner was asked to participate in a horror anthology (VHS) this past fall with a few other like-minded filmmakers from around the country. With a quick rush of inspiration, Dave and Nicholas Tecosky banged out a script, called in the local indie talent (all our friends) and with a shoestring budget cranked out a brilliant little horror flick. Next stop, the Sundance Film Festival.

I didn’t have time to help out with the making of the film much other then lending some gear and popping in to be an extra, but I did go to Park City for moral support and to experience firsthand all the magic that surrounds Sundance. So with a house of 18 people, 2 feet of fresh snow, and a whirlwind of events to attend, we hit the streets. Now I’m sure it’s one thing to go to Park City and watch all these experimental and amazing films, but to go with a group of creatives whose film became all the buzz and hottest ticket in town is quite a different experience. To be standing in line and hearing random people talk about VHS, then looking over at the restrained smiles of Victoria Warren (Cinematographer) and Elizabeth Davidovich (Stunt Double & Coordinator) as they lean in to hear more while trying to hide their obvious eavesdropping is certainly a different experience altogether. Things like “Holy Sh**, have you seen VHS yet?”.. “I’m not going to be able to sleep for weeks”.. “Did you hear someone fainted while watching the film?”.. the trip became very surreal and extremely exciting.

David Bruckner

The film itself falls in the Found Footage genre (like The Blair Witch Project) where much of the film is shot from the point of view of one of the actors, so there’s a lot of kinetic camera movement and ‘home movie’ feel. This type of shooting, while a little hard to watch, makes the movie seem more organic and real. David’s short “Amateur Night” was the first of 5 in the anthology and seems to have the most punch out of all of them; Of course I’m a little biased but it certainly seemed to be the most written-about in the reviews. What was really cool about the whole film is that, none of the directors shared any notes or had any conversations with each other about their particular part of the film.. in fact, the premier was the first time that most of them had ever met, and yet the movie seemed to flow really well. I won’t give anything away, but the beauty of every section was its unpredictability; it’s not what you might expect.

IFC.com called VHS “Sundance’s scariest film” and singles out Amateur Night as “sexy, scary and solid”, while describing the audience reaction as “going ballistic”. The reviewer himself had to turn away more than a few times, only to see one of his “veteran colleagues with his knuckles in his mouth.”        You can read the entire article at http://www.ifc.com/fix/2012/01/vhs-review-sundance-horror

Slashfilm.com says VHS reinvents the horror anthology and singles out Amateur Night as the highlight.  The whole article is here, complete with slightly amusing link: http://www.slashfilm.com/vhs-reinvents-horror-anthology-movie-terrifying-footage-sundance-2012/

Dreadcentral advises its readers to “see this as soon as you can, and treat yourself to a great piece of work from the gleefully twisted minds of the many talented directors”, but be wary before reading this article since its full of spoilers and doesn’t warn you in advance.

Local Atlanta Love from ‘The Loaf’ ”Sundance has been good to Dave Bruckner”

Indy Wire: “Bruckner’s “Amateur Night,” the standout of the bunch, opens the anthology with a frat party night gone very wrong”.

David Bruckner & Victoria K. Warren

Film in Atlanta has certainly changed over the last couple of years and in a big way. When asked where we were from the responses have been overwhelmingly positive and full of curiosity. So many things are happening here. We’ve been fortunate enough to be a part of a collective called Studio Outpost, a collection of amazingly creative filmmakers, producers, writers, animators, and post house that can pull together to make something like this happen. We are so proud to be a part of this group and very eager to see what will be brought to the table next. Currently, VHS  was sold to Magnolia after a late-night bidding war that involved three prospective buyers. Magnolia bought it for over $1,000,000 and is scheduled for VOD as well as theatrical release in the fall, exciting time!

Amateur night Credit list includes:

-David Bruckner, director/writer/editor
-Nicholas Tecosky, writer
-Victoria K. Warren, director of photography
-Linda Burns, producer
-Raymond Carr, art director
-Blake Myers, fx supervisor
- Michael McReynolds, after fx/ post
-Elizabeth Davidovich, stunt coordinator/creature double
-Gene Smith,  AD
-Lisa Carter & Fawn Ortega, hair/make-up/fx support

Cast featuring
Hannah Rose Fierman
Drew Sawyer
Jas Sams
Mike Donlan
Joe Sykes

More Photos on DornBrothers’ FaceBook Page:

Matt Brohammer & Blake Mires

Elizabeth Davidovich (Lizzie Bee)

Soren (The Space Cowboy) & Michael McReynolds

6am hike to get tickets.

Writers David Bruckner & Nicholas Tecosky

Producer: Linda Honey Badger Burns

Actress: Jas Sams

Victoria & David at the sold out midnight screening

Drew Sawyer

Oh orphans.  Those loose ends, mistakes, those leftovers we find after all is done and it’s time to sweep up.  What do we do with them?  Where should they live?  Where should we place these renegade creations?

These are questions we asked ourselves after looking through our archives and seeing years of unpublished/unprinted test shots, neglected experiments, and discarded portraits.  Much like abandoned children, we felt that our creations needed a home so we came up with the “Orphaned Images” series.

As one might expect, this grouping is seriously disjointed and sporadic.  As individual, stand-alone pieces, the portraits range from delightfully beautiful to sadistically deranged (the basic building blocks of our art).  However, when presented as a body of work, there seemed to be a strange symmetry to the series, something we didn’t expect.

Occupy Wall Street

Winning with Josh Wilcox

We hope to put the Orphans up in a few places, but their first stop was Carroll Street Café for the month of October. For fun we decided to name each piece on the night of the reception.  That in and of itself became more of a challenge then expected and taught us a lesson in ‘not thinking too deeply’ about the subject.  Stream of consciences can be really tough if you let thinking get in the way of it.  Though sadly many of the titles were lost by the end of the month, it was a fun little game to play.  However, it was more like “a happening”, you had to have been there.

With any craft one has to work really hard to perfect it.  The art of photography is no exception.  It seems the more we learn the more we realize how much we don’t know. There are so many techniques, so many tricks, and so many directions to go that it’s hard to ever really stop working and learning.  And as of the last 5 to 10 years the technical part of photography has literally been turned on its head, everything has changed.

For us, many of these “Orphans” represent hours, days, and weeks of practice.  We’ve tested and experimented with ideas on light, composition, composites, and retouching.  The “Jellyfish sandwich” piece was especially challenging and worthwhile.  I knew I wanted to try some underwater shots and wasn’t sure exactly how to go about it, so we literally just had to jump in and start shooting (with a little preparation, of course).  With the help of Emily Norman, we got 2 models, put weights in their pants and threw them in a pool to start shooting.  A few months later I was in Monterey, CA and there were literally thousands and thousands of jellyfish in the bay.  I had my little underwater camera and from the pier I just held it underwater to get the background shot.  The results are pure magic.  Another shot Travis worked on was something the band Dead Confederate asked him to do for a possible album cover.  Their lead guitarist had a vision that he couldn’t quite clarify, he just said something about a doll.  So, Travis simple yanked the head off a toy and went to it. It was certainly one of our stranger Orphans.   The “Occupy” image (below the surface shot with dropped coins) was also a bit challenging. We used a 8×4  1inch thick piece of plexiglass that we got off a Nike shoot for our models (Bobb Lovett & Autumn Tobin) to stand on while we shot from underneath. The illusion of shooting beneath the street and showing that perspective is not something you see everyday, so all the more reason to try it!    The only piece that was actually shot for the show was, “I will not cheat Death” with Victor, it was an idea we had a while back and were never able to connect it with any other projects.  So, we thought it would be a good time to get it done.

So many things have changed in the photography world, and change has come at a rapid pace. It seems everyone has an amazing camera and access to great editing programs and the industry has been severely watered down, but at at the end of the day it’s still the professionals that have consistent style, composition, and know how that should stand out.  This discipline include years of practice and for us, that means “Orphans”, expect many more to come!

View more Orphan Images Here

http://dornbrothers.photoshelter.com/gallery/Orphaned-Images/G0000EL8Ri0C3dW0/

I will not cheat Death

RoadKill the Clown

Man-Day, RELOADED

The LA Premier of “Ghost of Old Highways” would be pretty hard to top, but we brought it home to Atlanta where Christopher Campbell (DP) negotiated a few venues then led the charge to The Midtown Arts Center’s Landmark Theater!  Over the years the Landmark has been a great supporter of local filmmakers and artist, they also are host to the Atlanta Film festival, which attracts talented storytellers from all over the country, they were awesome to work with!  So, wheels in motion, The Dorns would get the whole lobby for the prints and the short film would get 2 theaters! (One for the film and one for the behind the scenes and other groundbreaking Lovett videos).The Lobby was big, but not a whole lot of available wall space for this type of show, we thought in order to create a “gallery like” feel, we would just have to make our own display walls, so we did.  One of the things we’ve enjoyed about our careers, as photographers/visual artist is, all the things we get to learn along way, some carpentry skills being one of them.  So after constructing two double sided, eight foot tall, freestanding “ T ” shaped displays and a eight by twelve foot side wall complete with trim, stain, and a gallery lighting system in place, we felt like the lobby had become a proper place to hang our work. (Special thanks to Bobb Lovett & Chris Campbell for the help, those things were heavy!)

Three Generations of Dorn

Landmark Manager, Kevin Ward, was super accommodating and equally excited to have this kind of take over in his theater.  Our man, Ben Lovett was bouncing around the room, even signing a few autographs along the way, Captain Dan Bush stood by his directors statement, subtly pointing at it if anyone had any questions as his wife Caroline the amazing wardrobe stylist, quietly avoided eye contact with the mannequin that had defeated her earlier in the day and steady cam Campbell just played it smooth as always. We’re not sure of the actual headcount through the night, but our dad, (Man-Dorn 1) was guessing around 3 to 400. The film ran every 15 mins for a little over 3 hours and there were almost always 20 to 75 people in the seats. The lobby had several moments of being overcrowded and as disgruntle solders and flirtatious, drunken, hussies worked the curious onlookers it was obvious that again, we (The Highway Crew) created something special.

Capt. Dan kicke'n back in the theater.

It was especially cool to see “Ghost of Old Highways” on the big screen, this was the first time that most of the crew actually got to see it and they were blown away, there might have even been a few tears shed. Considering all the talent, sacrifice and hard work that went into it, projects like these are few a far between, and project like this that are good are even fewer. It’s certainly a film to be proud of.

More Atlanta Event Photos Here:

 

Part 2

Ghost hits the Highway:

 

Satellite Gallery

 

The homecoming wouldn’t be complete without going to Asheville NC where a majority of the project was made.  So a few weeks later, we packed up the show and headed for the hills (sans our custom built display walls).  Anyone who knows Ben knows that he doesn’t like to do things small and being that Ben currently lives in Asheville only made the ante that much higher.

Ben had arranged for the Satellite Gallery to host the show.  Like the Carmichael in LA, the Satellite was a beautiful space with great lighting; our work seemed to almost jump off the walls!  The owner, Bill was also phenomenal to work with, a really strong supporter of ‘all things cool’.

So, to the best of my recollection, this is how the night went down.  Ben started off with a private screening at Moog Sound Lab and then Lovett and his hand picked band played most of the songs from The Highway Collection live.  And this when it gets really cool.  After the last song and a few announcements, tambourines, drums, and other noise makers were picked up and marched out the door into the street and up towards the art gallery, pauses were made for the band to jam on the corners and to sing to a restaurants patio.  The Lovett parade picked up a decent amount of followers and certainly turned every head within earshot.  We landed safely at the Satellite and had another amazing crowd pile in.  Again, we had a great deal of compliments and questions about our work; we even sold a few prints!  Somewhere along the night, I indirectly hired an intern to take a few hundred photos, thanks to whoever you are!

 

After a few hours at the Satellite gallery, the parade moved on to the Lexington Avenue Brewery, aka “The Lab”, where Ghost of Old Highways had a public screening that gave way to a late night old school dance party with Ben leading the charge.  I’m tempted to say, Lovett was in rare form, but knowing the commitment and energy that he puts into everything, was actually right in his element.

It really was an amazing night in Asheville and “Ghost of Old Highways” has had an amazing run.

More event photos from Asheville on our FaceBook Page:  HERE!

NEXT!!!

The Photography part of the show is STILL in Asheville at ‘Over Easy’ and big portion of the images will be opening up in Atlanta for SNAP!  A photography show at the Kai Lin Gallery in Buckhead!  Oct 28th – Dec. 3rd!   Join the Dorn Brothers for the opening this Friday, the 28th!

Ben Lovett at Moog Sound Lab

More Photos on our FaceBook Page

Your Comments are welcome! (bottom)

Click to watch the Trailer!

Ghost of Old Highways Creative collective:

-Original music by & starring:  Ben Lovett

-Director:  Dan Bush

-Director of Photography:   J. Christopher Campbell

-Photographic art/stills:  The DornBrothers

-Costume Designer:  Caroline Dieter Bush

-Production Designer:    Jessee Clarkson

-Producer:  Jason Piccolo

-VFX Designed:  Michael McReynolds

Watch 

A Conversation with Ben Lovett: Making \”Ghost of Old Highways\”

Here

Culver City, California, just outside downtown Los Angeles:

It’s ten till six in the afternoon at the Carmichael Gallery and people are starting to line up outside.  Inside the gallery, the crew is still working on last minute details.  Dan Bush, Ben Lovett, and J Christopher Campbell are fine tuning the screening room, (looking for missing cords and plugs) the Geisha Girls (minus the one who got lost) are nearly finished with hair and make up, the solders are dressed, armed, and starting to sweat in their wool suits, management is busy with a last minute media blast and Caroline Dieter Bush and I are fighting a mannequin that doesn’t want to stand up.  All in all things are actually going pretty smoothly.

When the doors open, the “Ghost” crew relaxes and shifts into social mode.  Wave after wave of people enter, eager to discover exactly what this “Ghost of Old Highways” event is.  Music, art, film, props, and images of the behind the scenes magic filled the space to capacity.

“We’ve never really had anything like this before,” stated Seth Carmichael, the gallery owner, and certainly not at this level.  Everything fit seamlessly, from seeing the art, to watching the film, to hearing the music, and back to viewing the art again.  It all had a beautiful sense of camaraderie and a certain rare dynamic that could only happen when the right combination of image makers, musicians, and story tellers come together to create a singular vision.  It was pretty cool.

The film itself is intense and I feel there is no single way to describe it.  As it is said in the art world, “you can never own the meaning of your work” and this film certainly challenges the viewer to personalize and interpret what is meant by this journey.  The film is a 12-minute emotional dreamscape that has little to no dialogue and it may just be that lack of a spoon fed narrative that makes this short so powerful.  Driven by quick cuts, amazing visuals, and a compelling score, “Ghost of Old Highways”  is a story of a man at war with himself (this is my collective interpretation).  It’s a struggle with regrets, choices, outcomes, and the idea that even if you could change the past, would your life be any different?  Any better?  Or would you be the same person in just a slightly different reality?  Certainly one can say, we are the products of our choices, but I would submit that we are not always the products of our realities.

Ben Lovett, “Our Man” in the film, displays an incredible range of emotion as he struggles to find his way from one point to the next.  Lovett, also responsible for the score and the original song, “Ghost of Old Highways” from which the film based, is extremely close to this project and is the core motivator for the entire show.

As Travis stated in our last post, we got involved with the project because of our friend (the director) Dan Bush, who is the kind of person that seems to be at his best when times are the toughest.  It’s Dan’s vision, direction, experience and demeanor that really held things together during the filming of ‘Ghost’ and I think he may have even surprised himself after he sat down to watch it for the first time, complete with the score, claiming, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it.”

We were really motivated by the passion of everyone who worked on this project.  The music, the props and period costumes, the dynamic visuals in the film,  and all the talent and time put into it has been a labor of love that is paying off.   Of all the congratulations, comments, and dialogue sparked by this project, the resounding question I heard all night was, “How?”  “How was this photo made?”  “How much did this project cost?”  “How did you do this?”  “How many hours did it take?”  “How did this happen?”  The answer of course being, “If you surround yourself with creative, driven, and passionate people, you can do almost anything.”  This “Ghost of Old Highways” show is certainly a testament to that.

Capt. Dan & His lovely Caroline

We want to thank The Carmichael Gallery and crew for hosting our show on the first leg of this tour, You guys were awesome!

Truly looking forward to the Atlanta, Asheville, and New York Shows!

More Photos on our FaceBook Page

Your Comments are welcome! (bottom)

Click to watch the Trailer!

Ghost of Old Highways Creative collective:

-Original music by & starring:  Ben Lovett

-Director:  Dan Bush

-Director of Photography:   J. Christopher Campbell

-Photographic art/stills:  The DornBrothers

-Costume Designer:  Caroline Dieter Bush

-Production Designer:    Jessee Clarkson

-Producer:  Jason Piccolo

-VFX Designed:  Michael McReynolds

See More Photos on our FaceBook Page

There’s a pretty cool independent film scene going on in Atlanta which we’ve been privileged to be a part of over the last several years.  One of the guys leading the charge is Dan Bush and when he asked us to help him on a music video for Ben Lovett, we were more then willing.  In doing this, we got to be behind the camera filming, acting in front of the camera, provide wardrobe for some of the characters and in the interim, take innumerable still photographs.  Dan’s music video also turned into a short film.

Capt. Dan

A Quick back story: Lovett has been on a roll with some amazing music videos from his self-produced album, “The Highway Collection”.  Two outstanding notables: “The Fear”, directed by our friend Dave Bruckner and “Eye of the Storm”, directed by Christopher Alender can also be found on this album.  However, a most impressive point worth stating is that everything has been done on a low or no budget deal; just a bunch of creative people pulling together to make something cool.

The first scene that we could help out with took place in a brothel.  There was opium and liquor surrounded by whores and greasy man sluts (Nate & I were the later).  When we weren’t involved in the action on screen, we were busily snapping stills of the cast and crew and, in the moments where we had a little time, we would set up a nice “art shot” that would later serve as pieces for our show.

The week following the brothel shoot, we found ourselves on a road trip to Asheville, NC where we would be shooting the bulk of the film.  Dan led us to a place where he had spent many family vacations in his youth.  The place was amazing; it was like stepping back in time.  I wish I could say that I remembered how we got there because it was truly breathtaking (I believe Dan actually took us on some extra roads, across random rivers, and through unnecessary tunnels.  I’m pretty sure that none of the crew could even tell you how to get back there).  Tons of gear was hauled up the mountain and while the shot count began rising, Chris Campbell (The DP), made it look like a walk in the park as he was strapped down with his steady cam rig holding a giant RED camera.  He moved across the mountain like a lanky, one-armed octopus.   The scenery was just fantastic, and as the the filming commenced,  we snapped as many shots as we could between & during takes.

Premier and Art show opening in Los Angeles August 10th!!!

Atlanta, New York, and Asheville date TBA

DornBrothers Artwork will be posted after show opening! Check Back!

Your Comments are welcome! (bottom)

Click to watch the Trailer!

Ghost of Old Highways Creative collective:

-Original music by & starring:  Ben Lovett

-Director:  Dan Bush

-Director of Photography:   J. Christopher Campbell

-Photographic art/stills:  The DornBrothers

-Costume Designer:  Caroline Dieter Bush

-Production Designer:    Jessee Clarkson

-Producer:  Jason Piccolo

-VFX Designed:  Michael McReynolds

Pooped solders

JD

"Trust Dr.Jessee"

The Producer

Green on the Mnt

In the river

cold Ben

Dr.Jessie

Chasing Ghost

Running Solders

Group

Jenny Clark Memorial Golf Tournament

A little over a month ago I donated some time and photo skills to The Jenny Clark Memorial Scholarship Fund’s 7th annual Spring Golf Tournament in Augusta.  Now, I don’t golf much; not at all really, but I do have some pretty kick-ass golf pants that I scored off of a photo shoot last year and finally I had a chance to wear them!  Granted, that was not the reason that I volunteered; that honor goes to Emily Clark asking me to…and the idea of riding around in a golf cart all day with Emily taking pictures while wearing my kick-ass golf pants for charity just sounded right.

Mr. Clark and part of his support team

Mr. Fancy Pants

 

 

The golf tournament went well and was a lot of fun, there were some serious golfers out on the course… and, there were some not so serious golfers out there.  We saw a few clubs thrown and heard plenty of choice words on some of the more difficult holes, but the girls in the beer carts were always around to save the day.  Emily and I had a great time taking photos and just doing laps around the greens.  In the end they raised $2,400, the boys from LimeLite Café took the title and everyone was sunburned and worn out as they ate chicken wings and hotdogs.  I’m certainly looking forward to next year.  Heck, I might even play, I might even have some new kick-ass pants by then.

Lost Ball

 

 

Tough guys on the course

Clark Ladies

Balls in the woods

ZZ Top Impersonator

Tee it up!

LimeLite takes the prize

DornBrothers Photography on the cover of Augusta Magazine

Winter always seems like a time of regrouping.  Once the holidays have passed and the leftovers are digested; we’re left with a bluish cloudy grey funk that seems to cover everything.  This got me thinking about color a bit more then usual and I wanted to try something different.  I had a simple idea in my head: sky, field, model, balloons, and a slingshot.  So I met with Travis about it and we went through some scenarios and ideas and decided to set up a fun little fashion shoot.  Our photography is not typically fashion.  We tend to shoot either lifestyle or add our quirky, vintage touch to make it art.  So we knew this was going to be a little bit of a challenge. There aren’t a lot of open fields in Atlanta so we thought we’d look towards Augusta.  After a few phone calls we got the ball rolling.  A friend of the family had some acreage and two large field where she kept horses, Stella Salon jumped on board for hair and make-up, the Verge magazine said they’d be interested in a spring fashion story, and with a little persuasive talk, the Village clothing boutique said they would provide wardrobe.

Spring Fling Center Spread

Pulling her weight

The main shot we wanted was a girl in a spring dress being lifted off the ground by a bunch of balloons while another girl on the ground had a slingshot (slingshot not provided by The Village).  I wanted to have Emily Clark as our model because she was not only very beautiful, but she’s also quite athletic.  And this shot would require some strength.  After we nailed down the main set up, we moved Emily over to a tree and had her swing from a rope so that we could get some captures of her dangling for our composite.  Kudos to Emily for trusting us, I’m sure it sounded pretty strange as we tried to explain what we wanted her to do. “You want me to do what?”

Big thanks also go out to Lauren and Lynnsey Edmondson our other models who drove in from Georgia Southern that morning to be a part of the shoot, the archery scene with the apple on the head is a classic! We were also really impressed with Morgan Brecht (hair) and Erin Marty (make up) from Stella salon; they both had great energy, were really fun to have on set, and of course they made the ladies look absolutely beautiful!

Erin gets confortable on set.

DornBrothers Crew Shot

The Creator

Augusta Metro Sprit

Issue #22.27 :: 01/26/2011 – 02/01/2011

Think these two subjects are kind of odd ones to put together in a photography show? The Dorn Brothers don’t.

BY AMY FENNELL CHRISTIAN

AUGUSTA, GA – Photographers and brothers Nate and Travis Dorn have a friendly rivalry with each other over their ever-changing facial hair. So the subject of their latest exhibition naturally grew out of that.  “We’re good at growing beards. It’s a natural-born talent,” older brother Nate Dorn said recently. “We compete with each other. It’s kind of like having your own disguise all the time.”   So for the past two years, the two Augusta natives and Lakeside grads found time between the editorial and wedding photography that keeps their Atlanta-based business afloat to search out the manliest of men to participate in their often wacky shoots for the exhibit.   The result is The Chronicles of Follicles and Other Less Hairy Works, part of which hangs at Frameworks and Tire City Potters downtown.

Sometimes, Nate said, they didn’t have to look far for subjects. Shishir Chokshi, who owns Tire City, is the subject of a photograph called “The Creator.” Augusta native Walker Howle, a member of Dead Confederate, is “The Grill Master” .
All of the photographs feature the characters’ back stories, written by Travis Dorn.
“We have little captions and story lines for each character,” Nate said. “The idea was for a coffee table book, which still might happen. Travis is actually a very good writer.”
The story of “The Cult Leader,” a photograph of a naked man sitting at a desk and reading a Bible while his shotgun sits nearby, is especially funny.
“You don’t know what it’s like to be a conduit of God,” it reads. “It’s a responsibility and pressure you cannot possibly maintain. … The Cult Leader has a very tough job.”

Joe the Barber

That photograph, Nate explained, was nominated for a recent photography award in the nude category. So “The Cult Leader,” with its large bearded subject, hung along with the other portraits, mostly of beautiful women.
Travis may have written the stories, but when it comes to actually taking the photographs, both brothers share equal responsibility.
“We both come up with the idea and concept,” he explained. “And while one is shooting, the other is directing. We both sort of take turns in that respect.”
The show hung in two different galleries in Atlanta this past year in events that featured novel aspects such as the Beard Booth, in which participants could don fake facial hair and have their pictures taken. Nate said a smaller version of the Beard Booth would be available at the reception in Augusta this Saturday, and that both brothers would talk about their creative process.

And for those who think the exhibit may have a little too much testosterone, the Dorns are also including photographs from their flapper exhibit.
“After looking at all those hairy men,” Nate explained, “we thought people might need to look at something different.”

1920s Flapper Photo

Artists Reception: The Chronicles of Follicles and Other Less Hairy Works
Frameworks and Tire City Potters
Saturday, January 29
7-11 p.m.
Free
706-828-0334
tirecitypotters.com
dornbrothers.com

Beard-Booth Reception video

The Verge Artical on the Chronicles

The DornBrothers in The Verge Feb 2011

"The Outlaw"

"The Suberban Knight"