Seattle Photographer

The Azadeh Ensemble with guest artist Negar Booban, (standing left).

The Azadeh Ensemble consists of Sahba Motallebi, Laya Etemadi, Sahba Motallebi and Bahareh Moghtadaei.

I had an assignment to photograph a group of wonderful women musicians from Iran last week.

After shooting some pictures during their sound check I made some portraits of them. After a break they went onstage at Town Hall and I photographed them in performance.

The Azadeh Ensemble consists of  four outstanding virtuoso Iranian women musicians who formed in summer, 2009 in response to the political events in Iran, and the prominent role women have played within it, in their Northwest debut on Friday. In Farsi, the language of Iran, Azadeh means liberated. Azadeh Ensemble is one of the few all-female ensembles playing classical Persian music. Their exciting interpretations combine centuries of musical history with modern concerns of individual freedoms and the female voice.


Their vivid repertoire draws from classical Persian music, speaking especially to the concerns of individual freedoms and the female voice. As a women’s group, the Azadeh Ensemble is truly a rarity in Persian music, bringing these traditional forms into a dynamic contemporary context. Heading the ensemble, all of whom were born and trained in Iran but now live in the US, is the remarkable tar (a lutelike instrument) player Sahba Motallebi celebrated for the vigor and clarity of her playing on this stringed instrument, joined by the gifted vocalist Sepideh Raissadat, virtuoso kamanche (a Persian fiddle) and viola player Laya Etemadi, and Bahareh Moghtadaei on the tombak (drum). In the secod portion of their performance they were joined by joined by guest artist Negar Booban, of the Teharan Conservatory of Music, on the oud.


Not being familiar with Persian music it was enchanting and exotic: it was delightful and uplifting and also spiritful. At times I heard strains of the some traditional American blues and at other time their music brought to mind some old Irish folk tunes between the strings and drums. But most of the time it was as graceful and transporting as it was unfamiliar.Knowing their story and how they came to play together was inspiring. It is hard to believe that they can never play in thier home country together like this. I feel sorrow for them and even more for their fellow countrymen. I hope one day they may go and perform such as concert in their homeland.
As Motallebi said before a recent performance, “”[We] will be there as Persian women musicians who suffered a lot for the art and music in Iran. We have so many things to say and feelings to share for our women who want freedom … Our concert will be dedicated to [them].”
Read more about them: Pittsburgh Post Gazette
All photographs on this website are Daniel Sheehan © 2010. All Rights Reserved. Please inquire for permission to use.
Photographs by Seattle photographer Daniel Sheehan who covers music performances, and creates portrait photography for publication and a Seattle Wedding Photographer at A Beautiful Day Photography, wedding photographers with an artistic photojournalist style

Emperor Akihito of Japan

I was going through some old files and I came across some photos I forgot I had taken. In 1994 on a news assignment, I photographed Emperor Akihito of Japan who was on a visit to New York. It was at a reception at the Metropolitan Museum of New York and all of the New York social and political elites came out to meet him. It was an interesting evening to witness. Here the Emperor was applauding a toast New York Governor Mario Coumo has made I believe. Akihito is the current Emperor of Japan, and the 125th Emperor according to Japan’s traditional order of succession. He acceded to the throne in 1989, and is the 20th most senior monarch or lifelong leader. He is the world’s only reigning monarch whose title is customarily translated into English as “Emperor”.. Photographs on this website by Seattle photographer Daniel Sheehan © 2010. All Rights Reserved. Please inquire for permission before using. In addition to editorial and corporate assignments, Daniel is also a wedding photographer and was named the best wedding photographers in Seattle by the Wedding Photojournalists Association.

We are going to try and take a little time off but we will be back soon. Daniel, Jana, Ema and Claire, wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We were lucky to get our picture taken by a photographer’s photographer Michael Craft. Photos for this holiday’s posting are from the Studio of Michael Craft. Editorial Photography by Seattle photographer Daniel Sheehan who specializes in people, portraits, and places. Seattle editorial photographer Daniel Sheehan shoots assignments in a photojournalistic style that is real, straightforward, subtle and unobtrusive.

I was assigned to make an environmental portrait of Seattle real estate agent Jan Sewell who also runs a successful staging business for other real estate agents recently for a magazine piece about her beautiful home in Madison Park. Her place is like a museum with incredible art on all the walls and sculpture scattered all around the place. She does decorate homes for a living after all, so it is no surprise her place is drop dead gorgeous. Making a portrait of her was more of a challenge as she like a fair number of people do not like to have their picture made. I can not tell you how many times I hear from subjects the” I can’t take a good picture.” and I respond that not to worry, I would be taking the pictures and they should just relax. That is what Jan did and all involved were happy with the results.

Editorial Photography by Seattle photographer Daniel Sheehan who specializes in people, portraits, andplaces. SEATTLE EDITORIAL PHOTOGRAPHER Daniel Sheehan shoots assignments in a photojournalistic style that is real, straightforward, subtle and unobtrusive.

Tim Narby and family in the winery of Nota Bene Cellars, Seattle.

It is the time of year when I get asked a lot to come and make family portraits for business and personal use. Here is Tim Narby’s family photo for the winery to send out to friends and clients. Tim makes some really great wine in the bordeaux style, blending the traditional varieties into a new world version of a classic bordeaux. Tim is the owner and winemaker at Nota Bene Cellars making some of the finest wine to come out of the best vineyards of Eastern Washington.

Just a note about this picture. I usually do not go into technical talk but I have been working with an old Hassleblad and black and white film and I really like the look of film. It has been a while since I worked with a film camera every day and I am getting the hang of it again. Last time I worked with the Hasselblad was more than 15 years ago. I gave them up and moved on to a Mamiya RZ 67 when I became tired of the square format. Lately I have been missing it so I got myself a new old camera, the lens was made in 1975 and the body in 1980. The lens is a beautiful 110 f/2 Planar. and it looks tack sharp even after all these years. I will be using it for as many kinds of assignments as I see fit from now on. It is back to the future with film. Family portrait by Seattle Photographer Daniel Sheehan an  editorial photographer who creates portraits for publications and corporations.

This past week I got another assignment for The Chronicle of Higher Education here in Seattle. This time it was a portrait of Rafael I. Pardo, an Associate Professor at Seattle University School of Law. The news article was headlined “Supreme Court Considers Case About Excusing Student Debt Through Bankruptcy” and it was about a case which is scheduled for arguments this week.  Professor Pardo teaches in the fields of bankruptcy, commercial law, and contracts. Much of his research explores the relationship between educational debt and financial distress, particularly within the bankruptcy system. His recent research has also analyzed bankruptcy courts and their institutional role within the federal judicial system. The case before the Supreme Court this week weighs federal rules for dismissing student debt in bankruptcy proceedings against the authority of a judge’s final court orders. Pardo has been working on the case, United Student Aid Funds Inc. v. Espinosa, and it highlights the complex and sometimes contradictory nature of bankruptcy law that makes student loans as difficult to excuse as court-ordered child support. Pardo says that the standard for applying “undue hardship” in loan repayment is inconsistent.

For more, read the article by Eric Kelderman in The Chronicle of Higher Education.

For an assignment for The Chronicle of Higher Education last week I photographed Sunil K. Aggarwal, above, who is in his final year of an M.D.-Ph.D. program at the University of Washington. They were running an article on him because of his efforts to convince the American Medical Association to help get marijuana reclassified as a drug with medical benefits.

” For more than 30 years, the federal government has classified marijuana as a highly dangerous drug with no medical uses, and for more than a decade, the American Medical Association has endorsed that classification. But this month, the association called on the government to reconsider the drug’s current status alongside heroin and LSD, and to consider its medicinal potential.” from the article by Katherine Mangan in The Chronicle of Higher Education.

A giant of photography Irving Penn has passed away. What an incredible gifted, hardworking influential master photographer.
“Irving Penn, one of the 20th century’s most prolific and influential photographers of fashion and the famous, whose signature blend of classical elegance and cool minimalism was recognizable to magazine readers and museumgoers worldwide, died Wednesday morning at his home in Manhattan. He was 92.
His death was announced by Peter MacGill, his friend and representative.
Mr. Penn’s talent for picturing his subjects with compositional clarity and economy earned him the widespread admiration of readers of Vogue during his long association with the magazine, beginning in 1943. It also brought him recognition in the art world; his photographs have been exhibited in museums and galleries and are prized by collectors.”
Continue reading the NY Times article By ANDY GRUNDBERG – Irving Penn, Fashion Photographer, Is Dead at 92

Executive portrait of interior designer Kerstin Williams at Robin Chell Design was made for use on their new website.