01.19.12

MASTERCRAFT 2012_CATALOG SHOOT

Back in September, I had the privilege of working with Mastercraft Boats to shoot their 2012 line. It was a real game-changer for the boat industry and I’m proud to say that I was a part of it. It’s a great feeling when people take risks, step outside the comfort zone and create something to be admired and followed as opposed to falling in suit with everything else. We had Nemo on board for this one and they kicked some serious ass. They were essentially responsible for creating the lifestyle-heavy concept, bringing the vibe and executing the idea all the way through. Its so nice to experience creative people becoming infectious and pulling the best parts out of everyone on the team. We all “got It”….and it shows.

Huge thanks to:

Trevor Graves / Nemo Agency

Jay MF Floyd Art Director

Jason Boertje Mastercraft

Rebecca Hynes Producer

Ian Reid 1st Assistant

Jess Gruneisen 2nd Assistant

Matt Staker Photo Boat driver

All of the athletes and models involved. I really appreciate you going with the flow and making it fun. Its makes a huge difference.

11.08.11

RUNNER’S WORLD IN NSB

Back in July, I got a request from Runner’s World Magazine to shoot a sunrise running series on spec. It would potentially be used as a spread to open a section appropriately entitled “Morning Run.” It was a really quick turnaround time. I needed a runner, a location, and an idea. I personally like being in a time crunch. Like my man, Justin Stephens, always tells me… “with constraint, comes creativity.” So, I made a facebook post looking for runner, found a willing friend within an hour and I headed for the coast. Just before dark, I scouted this boardwalk that I’ve ran down many of times to go surf and laid claim on the spot. Our awesome runner, Caroline, and my cousin Justin met me at 5:30am the next morning, but the sun decided to sleep in. The biggest lesson in photography…let go of all expectations. This is the moment when becoming more than photographer comes in to play. You have to adapt, nothing is ever going to be like the sketch in your notebook. Adapt. It may not be what you thought, so make it what it IS. We shot for 2 hours, experimented, watched the sun peek out for a hot minute and packed it up by 9. In the end…we got the spread. Nothing comes easy. You have to go through the process. You’ve gotta do the work. Set your intention, reach out, build your team and adapt. Magical things will happen. Thanks again Caroline and Justin.

11.03.11

ALL NEW JOSHLETCHWORTH.COM BREAKDOWN

Yeah, this is really happening right now. Over a year of late night brain storms, sloppy notes, sketches, dreams, mind-changes, meetings, conversations, tweaks, revisions, reviews and whole hell of of lot of patience. I’m gonna let her fly. In short: New logo, new website, a newsprint promo piece and a new custom-bound portfolio.

Yes, I’m excited….beyond belief. I’m anxious for you to jump in there and check it all out. Read through the whole post here for a complete breakdown of all the website’s features. But first, I can’t go on another second without calling out the key players that really made this Brand overhaul a reality.

Amanda Sosa Stone. She’s an amazing photographer’s consultant that I’ve had the privilege of working with for the past year. if you’re looking for someone that can walk you through the entire process, breakdown your body of work with no personal attachments and make sense of the bigger picture…then she is your ticket. She dissected over 5000 images and challenged my every-last attachment I had to them. The result: Clarity and confidence for how I shoot and what I like to shoot.

Steve Hoskins. If you follow this blog, you’ve seen this dude. He’s got big hair and a mustache. In fact, I devoted an entire post to him that consisted of all the “stand-in” shots that I so torturously put him through. He’s one of the lead Art Directors over at Nemo. We spent well over a year straight with each other working on all of the Nike 6.0 campaigns. He did all of Branding and initial creative direction that gave this whole project a face. Thanks for the face, dude. It’s pretty. I like it.

Wilkie Birdsall. Mike and Jenn are the web developers that made the whole schematic visual in my head, a reality. It’s one thing to “think it” and completely another to make it all “work” with functionality, style and positive user experience. I came to them with a list of ideas and they would return with solutions and better ideas. The result: A website that will reshape the way I communicate and convey my work to clients.

Thank you all so very much, I truly couldn’t have done it without you. I can’t say enough about building a team that’s right for you. Creativity, Ingenuity and Inspiration can’t survive on their own.

BIG IMAGES. As displays get bigger, so does our demand for viewing portfolios on a full screen. The site is fully scalable to meet the needs of any size monitor. From a tiny laptop to an energy-sucking, 60 inch LCD. Adjust your browser to your taste and dig in. My personal favorite is make the browser a panoramic which unveils more of the next and previous images in the gallery. LiNEAR FUNCTIONALITY. A highly suggested format from Amanda. All of the galleries function from left to right and allow for navigation either one at time or "scrolling" with your mouse. The main goal for the site was show as much work as possible, quickly and easily. My images tend to work as stories when grouped together and the flow of viewing the site definitely plays to that advantage.

LARGE SEARCHABLE DATABASE. There are over 1500, individually key-worded, images on this site. In addition to whats on display in the 6 unique galleries, there many more that exist only when prompted by search. I wanted a way to show more similar work if a viewer requested it and give a direct route to particular photo or photo set. Go ahead, search yourself. Maybe you're in there.

SOCIAL MEDIA INTEGRATION. There's no denying that social media outlets are a huge source of networking with friends, businesses and the unknown. Each image on the website is "shareable" on Facebook and Twitter with one easy click.

SEAMLESS BLOG DESIGN. Before, my blog was hosted elsewhere and I had always felt that it was disconnected from the portfolio site. Now it is integrated into the design of the new site. Every post that I've ever made is archived on there. The new layout is clean and is built to showcase a group of images smoothly. PDA COMPATIBLE. This is an obvious must these days. Practically everyone has a PDA and even though they may not do all of their web-browsing on it, the choice to visit a site should always exist. We streamlined the functionality and got right to the point with easy access to all of the galleries and the ability to endlessly scroll through all the images.

My good friend, Chad Crawford, produces a TV show called How To Do Florida Its showcases the state of Florida and all of the awesome things there are to do here. And, most importantly, its from a true Native’s perspective. This isn’t a show about Mickey Mouse and theme parks. Its about being outside, immersing yourself and your family in every little nook and cranny that Florida has to offer. Check it out, you will not be disappointed. I was born and raised in the state and have explored a fairly good part of it. I watch this show every week and discover some new little nugget that makes me wanna go there.

Last Thursday, we went out and spent the day in the arms of Florida. We watched the sunrise in a field of black-eyed susans and cooled off at Blue Springs around lunch. We shot a series of images to match up with the show and its exploratory nature.

Get out there. Nature’s not coming to you.

My wife and I went up to NYC to celebrate 12 years of marriage. We tore that city up.

Marriage is work. DO the work and be rewarded. I couldn’t imagine exploring this planet with anyone else.

I carried my Iphone and Instagram-ed the hell out that place.

I am fortunate to have found an incredible yoga community to be part of. I am even more fortunate to have had the opportunity to photograph them all. A huge thank you to Tymi Howard for creating the space that she has. We are all forever grateful.

Namaste.

Bottom line…this is how a wakeskate contest should go down. Definitely one of funnest weekends I’ve had in a long time. A huge thank you to the Horan’s. I would let them adopt me into their commune if they ever asked. Seriously one of the raddest families I’ve come across.

Here’s some photos. I shot some film and that was fun. My feet were really dirty and I think I slept about 6 hours total.

bear was my co-pilot. this was his camera and bag of stuff for the weekend.

the master of ceremonies

lake lion

who wasn’t smiling this weekend?

tad is rad

little balz

board to the head…and still smiling

bears and dragonflies share an affinity for film

my feet

dan’s feet

i miss taking b/w photos of this guy

leo and friends

nick should have quoted “point break” at this moment

people camped

water monsters

Josh Letchworth

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