Hard days and Honkey-tonk nights

Remember that John Travolta film, Urban Cowboy where he plays, Bud Davis, a mechanical bull riding champion who's over protective spirit prevents his girlfriend, Sissy from learning to ride the bull?

Me taking the bull by the horns.

Well, Sissy defies Bud and takes lessons in the daytime while he works at the oil refinery and eventually rides the bull with much fan-fare. Sissy almost sleeps with Buds bull riding nemesis, Wes Hightower and Bud actually does sleep with some white trash, not helping things at home.

You can create this drama in your own life at Hogs 'n Honey's where I shot the cover for Time Out Chicago and where EVERYONE rides the bull.


My producer- Stephanie Foyer

Second Assistant- Maia Harms

Getting high with Henri Cartier-Bresson.

Yawn! I woke-up at 4:30am today to meet Energy BBDO at the side doors of the Art Institute of Chicago. I was shooting an print ad for the new Henri Cartier-Bresson and the Art of Paris show.



Clockwise bottom left: Neil Burger (digi-tec), Todd Hoffman (Sr. Art Director), Katie Rahn (Art Inst. Marketing),
Laura Ricardo (Art Buyer), Jessica Campbell (Art Director), Mike McQuade (Writer). Unseen is Alan Rovge (assistant)

This is the second occasion I've been asked to shoot an ad for the Art Institute recently. Both times I was honored to be considering the works of very influential artists in my life. Previously I created a magical ad for the Edward Hopper show.


Explaining my "vision" to Todd. Top secret!

Here are more production photos from our morning.










Me doing Neil's job. He can't bear to look.

The Country Life. I can almost stand it.

The Spanish Dog and me freaking out in the quietude with my new tent

If I were a Midwestern state, I'd have to choose to be Wisconsin. It's home to some of the most stunning places you can get to in 1/2 days drive from my home. The rocky south,western part of the state is agricultural and hillier than you might expect. While Chicago was flooding from record rains, Molly and I escaped (most) of it's wrath by packing up the Subaru and went camping. We explored Ontario, WI, the Kickapoo River Valley and Wildcat Mountain State Park; Places I've wanted to visit for many years.

Wisconsin spares no expense on outdoor media buys.

There is a sizable Amish community there and they don't seem to care if you stare.
We took the dog on his first canoe trip down the Kickapoo River. It's boasted to be the world's most crooked river. The beagle can attest to that because I steered us into a tree and he fell in the water.

Just moments before the dog fell out

We hiked on some nice rugged trails and enjoyed the warm serenity of the forest.

These trees almost looked planted


Rescuing the the beast. He goes up, but not down.

The park had a fantastic grove of apple trees. There were at least 4 varieties to taste, and taste I did.

No special fx

Molly took her time and picked carefully for to make a Wisconsin wild apple pie.

How pastoral?

Before we left town, I had to stop in downtown Ontario and try on some hats.

Admit that you've always wanted to do this.