Digging through the many thousands of the images that I have captured and that I have used to fill up so many externals hard drives it is impossible to for me not to be blown away by the feeling of being satisfied of being able to see all the bridges that I have crossed…
In this case I had the pleasure of work working with one of the largest manufactures of furniture; I was assigned to photograph Mr. Gene Moriarty President and CEO of Brown Jordan International.
I was told do a simple portrait of Mr. Moriarty I was requested to shoot him in his office and in front the building but for me a simple shoot is not so simple. I took it upon myself to provide my client with options… Since the corporate office is located in the same building of the manufacturing plant I had an idea… Now I had to sell it to the CEO.. The assemble line or work stations were situated along or by a conveyor belt that covered over 100,000 sq ft. At each of stations workers were responsible for painting, sanding, gluing and finalizing each piece. They test each piece prior to it being wrapped boxed and then sent to the showrooms or a clients home.
Now the CEO, Gene Moriarty was thinking this is going to be a quick shoot at his desk and then a quick shot of him in front of the building …. 20 minutes tops…
Well lets say that both shot are a good idea and the industry standard but I wanted something that would separate this shoot for all others.
So a few jokes later we were all in the warehouse workers were diligently working as I ask Mr. Moriarty to step up and onto the line… the Line is moving, chairs, tables, umbrellas were being moved around the warehouse to each of the stations.. I asked to have the belt stopped so Mr. Moriarty could saddle himself on one of his newly finished chairs. The 100 plus team of employees that are responsible for all of the product were shocked to witnessing there CEO climbing on the belt… (BTW He had never been in the plant, He had never met any of the employees and now here he is going around and around on the conveyor belt)
After the shoot! I got the call.. My clients loved the idea they loved the images to this day it is still one of my favorites assignments------------------------ I am sure that this story was told and then re-told by over a 100 times by him, by his employees…
Cheers to Gene Moriarty for allowing me to be creative, for him allowing me to me.
Since 1945, Brown Jordan has designed luxury leisure furnishings and accessories that transcend time and liberate the senses. Established by Robert Brown and Hubert Jordan in Pasadena, California, Brown Jordan was the first company to create furniture for full-time outdoor use. The first of these innovative designs, constructed of tubular aluminum and vinyl lace, was fittingly called “Leisure” and marked the birthplace of outdoor furniture.
