MCA warmly welcomes Dallas-based photographer Will Graham to our team! Will has been shooting for commercial clients and ad agencies for 14 years, with a strong focus in action and athletics. From his very first photography job working for an NGO in East Africa, Will has understood that authentic images arise out of a photographer’s willingness to be in the moment with those they’re photographing. For Will, photography is about revealing a moment of presence—about being there.

MCA is excited to announce that photographer Sara Forrest has joined our roster! It’s evident that Sara is no stranger to movement. Her photographs for major clients—like Apple, Disney, Coca-Cola—show her innate understanding of how light, color, and expression come together to animate an image. Before Sara became a professional photographer, she studied both ballet and human biology, which together taught her about how the body moves in space and what forces move within it. Following the pull she felt after picking up her mom’s old 35mm Nikon, Sara launched a fully-fledged photography career that hasn’t slowed down in nearly two decades. She knows enough about movement not to stand in its way—instead, she just grabs her camera and steps into its flow.

I had to dig deep into the early blogosphere world to find my first blog, “mariannecampbellassociates.blogspot.com” to locate this post, but it was important to me to find it on today’s news of Elliott Erwitt’s passing. He is an absolute legend and I am honored to have met him as a part of this event. Apologies in advance for the bad photo quality, sacrilege!

The 2023 Annual Ace Hotel Art Producer Party is in the books, and what a blast we had. Heather and I started this tradition 13 years ago, in 2010 and with the exception of 2 down years due to Covid, not much has changed except that the community we’ve fostered continues to grow and evolve in ways we never would have imagined. Thank you to everyone for showing up for us and our artists - we are beyond grateful!

Wow, what a week! Letting photos speak for words on our amazing time with our beloved Los Angeles community. Can’t wait for the next visit.

RJ Muna is not only known for his gravity-defying shots of contemporary ballet dancers in flight—he’s loved for them. Last week, the Graphis Photography Awards announced Muna as the recipient of a windfall: eight awards in Platinum, Gold, and Silver, and his image for Alonzo King LINES Ballet adorning the 2023 Graphis Photography book cover.

“The backstage is more interesting to me.” Photographer Shaun Fenn is reflecting on his recent trip to Argentina where he shot a personal project a few hours outside of Buenos Aires in a rural community known best for its multigenerational involvement in polo. “There’s a whole human element behind the sport of polo. And that—feeling the hay and mud and horse manure and musty wool blankets and leather straps—that’s what draws me.”

Creating a record of loss is a highly personal pursuit, one that Margaret Lampert chose to follow from behind her camera during a six-month Photography Atelier workshop at the Griffin Museum of Photography in Boston. The project-based workshop was taught by photographer Jennifer McClure, and culminates in a group exhibition in May. Lampert had always been interested in the workshop because of its in-depth, long-term commitment. “The Atelier workshops encourage experimentation in terms of both subject matter and approach,” she shares. “Even the word ‘atelier’ is inspiring to me—by definition atelier means creating a space or room where artists make their work.”

“We have ideas, and they need to be implemented,” says a teenage girl named Marissa. Marissa is one of six subjects in Margaret Lampert’s new documentary short film, “The Art of Growing Up,” which offers an evocative glimpse into the hearts and minds of today’s youth. Divided into five loosely themed chapters, the film has all the Lampert signatures—lush lighting, bright faces, abiding authenticity—alongside the elements of sound and movement.

Anyone who’s found themselves out for cocktails lately knows that a mixed drink is much more than just a combination of spirits. Mixology has become an experiential art form that provides a little something for each of the senses—from the eye-catching glint of the glassware to the scent of aromatic garnishes and the unmistakable sound of the shaker. Even the bar itself—twinkling with candlelight or dotted with flowers—plays a part in the alluring ritual. Photographer Annabelle Breakey was in search of the sensorial when she created her latest round of testing: a series of photographs she calls “Kaleidoscope Cocktails.”

“I love making promos, it’s like making a record album,” says photographer Annabelle Breakey. She’s been in the practice of creating promos—printed booklets showcasing a series of photographs relating to a particular theme—for close to a decade. Some of her earlier promos, which are all under the title Plenty, are The Guilty Pleasures Issue, The Black and White Issue, and, in celebration of all things ovular, The Egg Issue. Her latest is The Latin Issue, which coheres a handful of colorful and purposefully messy images of foods from south of the border. “Promos let me explore a theme from every direction and then form it into one complete thought,” Breakey explains.

While many of us spend the winter months bemoaning the cold weather and counting down the days until spring, Minnesotans are playing pond hockey.

Huddling up on small, neighborhood ponds where the ice is continually undulating under foot to play hockey, northern communities know how to keep the winter doldrums at bay. And capturing the sport, a derivative of traditional hockey played at a smaller scale, had been on photographer Shaun Fenn’s project wish list for some time.

With new developments in AI technology, we’re all beginning to understand that not everything we see in a photograph comes from the camera. But commercial photographers have been using digital aids to create distinct atmospheres in their images for decades. Annabelle Breakey is an expert at the art of compositing, and was given the opportunity to highlight this craft in a new shoot for Peet’s.

Photographer Margaret Lampert’s portfolio is abundant with authenticity, showcasing her innate ability to capture the human condition as it emerges in the faces of professional talent and real-life subjects alike. In a recent job for a health care therapy, Lampert was able to work with the latter, photographing young people who live with a rare muscular condition.

Photographer Shaun Fenn loves sports, whether he’s playing, watching, or photographing them. So when Aristocrat Gaming—a digital casino platform that offers users a range of virtual experiences—hired him in partnership with the NFL to simulate and photograph a football huddle right from the field, he was game.

Every one of us has an archive of images stored in our subconscious, a library of visuals built from personal snapshots, advertisements, printed matter, fashion, the ceaseless news cycle, and—if we’re lucky—art museums. Tapping into those cultural touchpoints was the aim of agricultural herbicide company BASF, who hired photographer Randal Ford to turn a handful of art historical visuals into fodder for today’s weed-wary viewers.

Excited to share this fun collaboration between Randal Ford and Adobe! To see more of Randal’s work, head over to his site.

One of the country’s largest states, California is home to colossal redwood forests, thriving metropolises, high desert super blooms, cliffside bohemian enclaves, nearly the entire entertainment industry, and some of the world’s best food and wine. With a reputation as big and storied as all it contains, California needs no help attracting tourists. But what about when it comes to accommodating business gatherings?