Graphic artist and designer Michael Strassburger co-founder of Seattle Design Studio Modern Dog needed a new head shot and I was tapped for the task. How do you impress a modern dog designer? Not sure but he liked this look made 100% of natural light. It was a little intimidating since Strassburger is one of the powerhouse designers behind Seattle based Modern Dog. “Their heady mix of intuitive design, cheeky humor and punk rock aesthetics has made them unique among design firms, and a hell of a lot of fun. Their work is often seen in the rock poster arena, but they cover a much larger social terrain and their clients include K2 Snowboards, Blue Q, Coca-Cola, Swatch and Nordstrom.

Portrait Photography by Seattle photographer Daniel Sheehan creating portraits for publications and a Seattle Wedding Photographer with an artistic photojournalist style.

It has been a while since I also made a portrait of Ema and Jana,  so while we were out on the cruise on Lake Union last weekend, I made this one of the two of them. Ema is now at 13, taller than her mom.

Portrait Photography by Seattle photographer Daniel Sheehan creating portraits for publications and a Seattle Wedding Photographer with an artistic photojournalist style.

Brian Heaney has a new group, Ask The Ages, that he wanted me to photograph so we made a series of informal individual and group portraits outside his house where the jazz group were rehearsing the other day for an upcoming concert on  Thursday, July 15, 2010 7:00pm – 8:30pm, at Egan’s Ballard Jam House, 1707 Northwest Market Street Seattle, WA 98107 Pioctured above left to right are:

John Seman, bass, Greg Campbell, drums, Brian Heaney, guitar and Matt Reid, trumpet.

Portrait Photography by Seattle photographer Daniel Sheehan creating portraits for publications and a Seattle Wedding Photographer with an artistic photojournalist style.

Portrait Photography by Seattle photographer Daniel Sheehan creating portraits for publications and a Seattle Wedding Photographer with an artistic photojournalist style.

Last year around this time, I was out at a bar in Seattle having a beer at the High Dive in Fremont, watching “The Buckets”, a local band my friend Michael plays guitar in. When the show was done I headed towards the door and saw these Zombies at a table and photographed them and wondered why they had been let in to the bar dressed like that. Then I hit the streets and it looked like the Zombies had taken over the city. I started taking photos as they walked by. There were thousands of them around. I did make it out of Fremont ok. It turned out that more than 3 thousand people participated that Friday night  in Fremont in an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for most people in a zombie walk.

After the walk the zombies went for a viewing of some outdoor movies, Shaun of the Dead, and playing of Michael Jackson’s Thriller for zombies to dance to. More than a thousand zombies danced to Michael Jackson’s Thriller. The event was scheduled before his death, and so it turned into a tribute to him.

As it turned out, Fremont broke the world’s record for the most zombies in one place with the new official record of 3,894 zombies. Then England stepped in and took away the record. So this Saturday is the second annual Red, White & Dead event. Seattle can then lay claim to the “Zombie Capital of the World” once and for all in the “Dead” Center of the Universe. The goal is to outdo the Brits, who hold the zombie walk Guinness World Record through the Big Chill Music Festival in England. From noon to midnight Saturday at Fremont Outdoor Movies (3501 Phinney Ave. N.), there will be an attempt to beat Guinness Book of Records with most “zombies” in one location. 3,575 are expected. From 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., zombies will dance and walk on sidewalks in Fremont, with North 35th Street closed from Phinney Avenue North to First Avenue NW. his year also marks the “Year of the Zombie” and Seattle seems to be the center of attention, as 2010 marks another first for Seattle with ZomBcon, the world’s first Zombie Culture Convention infecting Seattle on Halloween weekend at the Seattle Center and Experience Music Project with over 100 Exhibitors, 10 interactive fan workshops, panels, a SIFF-curated film series, and Halloween Masquerade , Zombie Prom party. We plan to have a collection of experts, authors, filmmakers, historians, celebrities and all the gear and fan fare for the Quintessential Zombie fan. Here are some pictures from last years zombie walk.

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Editorial photography by Seattle photographer Daniel Sheehan, who shoots corporate and editorial photography and portraits for publications and Seattle Wedding Photography with an artistic photojournalist style.

I just found out that the July/August issue of  Seattle Homes & Lifestyles Magazine is running my architectural photography of the Madrona Modern home I photographed for Seattle interior designer Robin Chell of Robin Chell Design and  architects David Bennett and Kim Lavacot of Bennett Lavacot Architecture. In fact they have chosen the above picture for the cover of the magazine. It was a beautiful and sophisticated house to photograph with a quiet, simple elegance. Read the story here: Seattle Homes & Lifestyles

Architectural photography by Seattle photographer Daniel Sheehan, who creates architectural photography and portrait photography for publications and Seattle Wedding Photography with an artistic photojournalist style.

Bill Charlap and Renee Rosnes were wonderful. This was my first time to photograph a piano jazz duo, and it was delightful.
“Husband and wife, Bill Charlap & Renee Rosnes, team up for select performances of impassioned, eclectic, and extraordinary piano duets.
Renee Rosnes is one of the premier jazz pianists and composers of her generation. Having toured and recorded with many of the world’s greatest musicians, her resume reads like a who’s who of jazz. As a leader, Ms. Rosnes has released a series of nine inspired recordings on the Blue Note label, which have collectively garnered four Juno awards, the Canadian equivalent of a GRAMMY. She is also a founding member of the all-star band, the SFJAZZ Collective.
For more than a decade, pianist Bill Charlap has been forging a solo career characterized by swing, eloquence and a romantic musical sensibility. Twice GRAMMY nominated, he has released five superb albums for Blue Note records – CDs celebrating the American Songbook tradition, with songs of Hoagy Carmichael, Leonard Bernstein, and George Gershwin and others – that have afforded him an increased visibility as one of jazz’s foremost pianists.”

This was the final performance of the 4 day Bellevue Jazz Festival. I have photographed a lot more of the concerts and will post photographs from them over the next week or two.

I really enjoyed so many of these performances and was happy to have been photographing this festival and happy with many of the pictures I was able to make thanks to the Bellevue Jazz Festival. Hope you enjoyed the festival.

Jazz Photography by Seattle photographer Daniel Sheehan, who photographs jazz performances, and creates portrait photography for publications and Seattle Wedding Photographywith an artistic photojournalist style.

Terence Blanchard put in a wonderful set Saturday night backed by a group of young and up and coming artists.

Sunday June 6th is the final day of the Festival. For tickets and more information go to the Festival website; Bellevue Jazz Festival

A world renowned trumpeter, composer, band leader and Blue Note recording artist, Terence Blanchard is the most prolific jazz musician to ever compose for motion pictures. Blanchard was born and raised in New Orleans where he studied with the Marsalis brothers at the famed New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts in 1980. Blanchard originally began performing on Spike Lee’s soundtracks, including “Mo Better Blues” in which he ghosted the trumpet for Denzel Washington.

Blanchard has established himself as one of the most influential jazz musicians and film score masters of his generation, a member of a jazz legacy that has shaped the contours of modern jazz today. With more than 29 albums to his credit, as a musician Blanchard is a multi-GRAMMY Award winner and nominee, winning in 2008 for his instrumental solo for “Be-Bop” on Live At The 2007 Monterey Jazz Festival. In addition to receiving the award, Blanchard performed live on the telecast along with other New Orleans artists including Lil’ Wayne, Allen Toussaint and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, who were all joined on-stage by singer Robin Thicke. Also in 2008, Blanchard won a GRAMMY for his CD, A Tale of God’s Will (A Requiem for Katrina), a beautifully haunting and impassioned song cycle about Hurricane Katrina and the ravages incurred upon the City of New Orleans and its residents.

As a film composer, Blanchard has more than 50 scores to his credit and received a Golden Globe nomination for Spike Lee’s “25th Hour.” In 2008 he completed the score for Lee’s “Miracle at St. Anna,” as well as the soundtrack for Darnell Martin’s “Cadillac Records.” Other film music written by Blanchard includes Kasi Lemmons’ “Eve’s Bayou” and “Talk to Me,” Oprah Winfrey’s “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” Tim Story’s “Barbershop” and Ron Shelton’s “Dark Blue.” He is currently working on the score for George Lucas’ “Red Tails” and has already completed musical contributions for the score on Disney’s “The Princess and the Frog,” set for release this fall.

As Artistic Director of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, which he was instrumental in relocating from Los Angeles to New Orleans, Blanchard works with students in the areas of artistic development, arranging, composition and concert programming. He also participates in master classes around the world as well as local community outreach activities in his beloved hometown of New Orleans.

Jazz Photography by Seattle photographer Daniel Sheehan, who photographs jazz performances, and creates portrait photography for publications and Seattle Wedding Photographywith an artistic photojournalist style.

The Bad Plus drummer David King was all over his drum kit Friday night at Theatre at Meydenbauer Center as the Bellevue Jazz Festival continues. What a great show they put on. David King was outstanding as was bassist Reid Anderson, pianist Ethan Iverson.

For tickets and more information go to the Festival website; Bellevue Jazz Festival

Forget categories and catch phrases. The sound of The Bad Plus is distinctive, eclectic and formidable. The Bad Plus have exploded all notions of what a jazz piano trio should sound like, whether at outdoor rock festivals, jazz clubs or symphony halls.

The Bad Plus is a collective made up of bassist Reid Anderson, pianist Ethan Iverson, and drummer David King. All three are from the Midwest and they have known each other since their teens. Nonetheless, with the exception of one unimpressive meeting in 1990, it is only after spending their formative 20s apart — King as member of the seminal indie jazz group Happy Apple, Iverson as the musical director for the Mark Morris Dance Group, Anderson as a prominent up-and-coming player on the New York jazz scene — that they reunited in late 2000 to play a weekend club date in Minneapolis. The chemistry was immediate and obvious. They planned a second gig and a one-day recording session for the indie jazz label Fresh Sound and The Bad Plus was born.

The Los Angeles Times ranked the trio among the leaders of what might be called the Nu Jazz movement. Newsweek declared their 2005 release Suspicious Activity? to be “among the freshest sounding albums of the year”. And according to Rolling Stone, “by any standard, jazz or otherwise, this is mighty, moving music, hot players with hard-rock hearts”. In short, a diverse array of music lovers has been seduced by The Bad Plus and their earnest, dizzying musicianship.

The Los Angeles Times ranked the trio among the leaders of what might be called the Nu Jazz movement. Newsweek declared their 2005 release Suspicious Activity? to be “among the freshest sounding albums of the year”. And according to Rolling Stone, “by any standard, jazz or otherwise, this is mighty, moving music, hot players with hard-rock hearts”. In short, a diverse array of music lovers has been seduced by The Bad Plus and their earnest, dizzying musicianship. Jazz Photography by Seattle photographer Daniel Sheehan, who photographs jazz performances, and creates portrait photography for publications and Seattle Wedding Photography with an artistic photojournalist style. See more work from this Seattle Photographer.