I am blushing 😳😳, but excited to share that Lürzer’s Archive Magazine have just released their Annual of Creative Excellence in which I have been named one of the Top 10 Photographers in the US + Canada! 👀
I can only say that the work is always a team effort, and my crew and agents are what make it all possible – Thank You!
A wonderful way to wrap up the year… We took home both a Gold and Category Winner of the Year award at the New York Photo Awards for our image entitled “Practice”. This was a wonderful collaboration with Luminous Creative Imaging. We are in the process of working on some new visuals with them and hope to be able to share them soon! But in the meantime hop over to the NYPA website and check out all of the other great awarded imagery! Thanks NYPA!!!
Thrilled to be teaming up with Image Rights and Artists Management Association to discuss Copyright Registration and IR’s Lightroom Plugin for simplified registration. Join us on Tuesday November 14th, 2023 at 2:00pm (Pacific) for this informative panel discussion and demo.
UnitedHealthcare (UHC) has always been dedicated to helping people live healthier lives and making the health system work better for everyone. They serve millions of people anywhere from early years to retirement and on. When it came to digital collateral and advertising, the UHC team lacked a comprehensive selection of imagery for advertising, direct marketing, internal communications and digital media assets and called in the Dana Hursey team to help.
Effective & Efficient
With UnitedHealthcare’s needs in mind, the ultimate goal was not only to have them walk away with added-value and flexible assets that could be used across various marketing mediums, but also to have the images be effectively and efficiently produced within a two-week production period.
No “I” In Team
Through the production process, the Dana Hursey team worked closely with various ad agencies conceptualizing the project, refining the shot lists to maximize output, and prioritizing tasks that needed to be accomplished to complete the job with excellence. The scope involved juggling multiple scenes, locations and talent pools— all of which culminated in providing a multifunctional bank of imagery that could have the flexibility to be recycled for years to come.
Relationship Is Key
Although a big feat to be completed in two weeks, our team did not face any difficulty when it came to working with UnitedHealthcare. Their vision was clear and they knew how to communicate it well. The true glue, however, was the relationship our teams built together. We truly felt like partners throughout the process with UnitedHealthcare, helping them to “package” the production in the most versatile way so it could be utilized in future campaigns. UHC put their full trust in the Dana Hursey group to get the job done and deliver the results they needed.
Next Level Results
With all hands on deck and productivity at its maximum, the project was sealed and sent off by deadline with flying colors. We gave UnitedHealthcare an incredibly elevated collection to showcase the versatility, value, and the accessibility of their offerings and services that spoke directly to their target audience.
In It For The Long Run
Since the initial project, UnitedHealthcare has repeatedly returned to the Dana Hursey team for over a decade with confidence in our ability to deliver whatever subject they throw at us. We have produced thousands of images for their marketing efforts including assets for direct mail, their website, social media, as well as digital image libraries for both internal and external use.
Thrilled that my image of an Old Fashioned has been selected as a Silver Award Winner in this year’s TIFA’s (Tokyo International Foto Awards). There are some really wonderful images in this years selection! You should absolutely take a moment to check out the full Winner’s Gallery!
Old Fashioned
Oh my.. Now I am just blushing… 2023 is starting off with a big win.. Our image of an iconic Old Fashioned was just awarded a Graphis Gold! Graphis is an institution among publications and it is a HUGE honor to be included in this years Annual.
I created this image with stylist Alice Arato (along with a few other cocktail images) and am bowled over by the numerous accolades it has garnered.
You can soak in all of the other winning imagery over at the Graphis Website!
Last month I was Thrilled to find out that my personal project “Practice” had been honored yet again , this time by being included in the American Photographic Artists – San Francisco Chapter’s Juried Exhibition – “Something Personal”. Over 800 images were submitted and 100 were selected for the final exhibit. A multi-location opening night took place at several SF studios as well as a virtual component online. You can view the Top Winning Images as well as the slideshow of all of the selected photos here.
Thanks Much to APA-SF AND of course the generous jurors!!!
“Practice”
In September of 2021 I was invited to give a presentation as part of Frank Meo’s “Projections” series. Frank has been running theses for longer than I can remember, though they originally started as in person events in NYC. These days they are virtual events, which of course allows for a wider participation and results in an amazing archive of incredible interviews. Be sure to check out the vast wealth of presentations on his YouTube Channel!
Clockwise from left: Rebecca Grant, Art Streiber, Dana Hursey
We’ll be heading down to San Diego on the 12th to participate in Untitled 2022! Please join us to celebrate the artists at the one-night-only exhibition on Saturday, November 12th, 2022 at Bread & Salt Gallery in the Brick Room. The top three (3) images will be announced and awarded prizes. See all competition entries shown in a rotating slideshow, sip craft beer, and support the photo community. Our APA chapter will donate 20% of the contest entry proceeds to The Gordon Parks Foundation in support of their Arts & Social Justice Fund.
To preview this year’s winners visit UntitledShow.org
Thank You to our jurors:
Katherine Ware, curator of photography at the New Mexico Museum of Art; Photography consultant and curator, Julie Grahame; and Photo editor, researcher and founder of the non-profit, Free Juice, Allison Retina Stewart.
When:
Saturday, November 12th, 2022
6 – 9 PM
Where:
Bread & Salt Gallery
1955 Julian Ave.
San Diego, CA 92113
We were once again tapped with a couple Honorable Mentions in this years International Photography Awards. It is always such a privilege to be recognized in the company of so many great creators and in the midst of such stunning imagery!
One of the HM’s was a personal piece we just recently completed.. entitled “Practice” it is a backstage peek at a late 1800’s era tightrope walker practicing her routine, late at night in a secluded corner of the big top.
The other is a series / campaign we shot for the Newport Beach Film Festival entitled “Everyone Plays A Part” having fun with how folks, who are passionate about a certain character from a film, might start to take on that persona in the midst of everyday life… In Newport Beach of course.
Once again we are super grateful to the IPA’s and the judges for this recognition and hopefully you’ll get the opportunity to check out ALL of the winning images over at PhotoAwards.com !
Okay, I guess it is nice to see that even after years and years and years, you can still set new records for yourself. Last week we officially shot in the smallest confines of my career (so far… 😂).
We were tapped to shoot a rebrand of a mobile food provider and had to catch them on the go in Los Angeles, as they were about to leave town. The challenge? To photograph their entire menu on location with the facilities provided. Specifically a 7’x15′ container – THANK GOD for air conditioning!
It ended up being me, the food stylist, and ONE assistant (because there was not ROOM for a second or a Digital Tech!!). And everything we were not actively using in the moment needed to stay outside. But once again… we pulled it off and the client was thrilled with the final imagery.
What we had to work with
One of the MANY visuals we produced
I have of course heard of the Council on Aging. What was news to me until a few months ago was that the Southern California Council on Aging has, for the past few years, had an annual photo competition entitled Aging as Art. What a fantastic theme! A friend of mine who is in healthcare forwarded a link to coasc.org and alerted me to the competition for 2022. I opted to submit one of my favorite photos from my 14 Days in Great Britain Documentary Series. As with many competitions.. I submit.. assuming nothing, and move on. To my genuine surprise, last week I was notified that my image had been awarded Second Place in the Professional Category! It is ALWAYS thrilling to be recognized, and this one was particularly rewarding because of the theme and content.
Hop over and see all of the winning images that celebrate who and what we are as we get older and wiser!
A Day In The Park
The bulk of my personal work starts with an image that just pops into my head. I may be having a conversation with someone about a random topic, or see some out of the blue object and “BING!” the finished image immediately appears in my mind. I have many of them cataloged there, awaiting their turn to be materialized. More often than not it is one of three things that prevent me from extracting / exorcising them from my brain; 1. time, 2. budget ( VERY FEW are inexpensive 🙄 ) 3. team availability ( I usually am rather intent on working with specific people to execute each image or series).
Eventually though when the stars (or the three things above) align, I get to stretch out and have some fun creating. Such was the case for this project. Over the course of several months I connected with my go-to wardrobe guru Holly Copeland. We talked about several concepts and how we could efficiently accomplish several of them in a single day of shooting. I always try to get at least 3 or 4 new pieces out of any test day. Holly and I both have a couple of series that we have been wanting to execute together, and we were able to coordinate shooting 4 shots in one day that would serve to forward two different series.
This one is part of a Circus / Carnival series, and is entitled “Practice”. My vision for this, was peering in on a captured moment of a tightrope walker practicing elements of her routine late at night in a secluded corner of the big top. I wanted to place the scene in the late 1800’s with all of the character and mood of that era.
Given several limitations of when we shot this (late 2021), budget and prop accessibility made it a challenge to create the scene practically, on set. So I approached this knowing that the talent would be shot and then the scene in which to place her would be created later.
The day of the shoot, we were at Helms Daylight Studio, and photographed the talent, Anh Dillon – a wonderfully elegant dancer – from slightly below, in a wide variety of poses. Holly had really nailed the wardrobe and Evy Power joined in to bring her Hair & Makeup talents to bear. We lit the scene with my final vision in mind, single spotlight, but with a variety of warmer light sources that would exist below her. We also shot three other scenarios that day that will eventually appear in their own right.
After the shoot I set out to find the right people to produce the type of environment I was looking for. I checked out referrals from other photographers, my producer, my agent, and from industry directories. And then I happened upon a visual (while NOT looking for someone) that I knew was not real but looked realistic and did a little digging and figured out who had done the work. A company in Amsterdam called Luminous Creative Imaging. I reached out to gauge their interest in a collaboration and immediately connected with Fedde, the lead at Luminous. We had a couple of Zoom meetings where I explained my vision both for this and other images I was planning, and it instantly felt like the perfect fit.
We had a couple more conversations about environment, content and composition and then the team at LCI was off and running. The first order of business was a rough line drawing to set the scene and ensure we were on the same page… We were.
Simultaneously I was reviewing all of the imagery from the shoot to identify a hero frame. When all was said and done I decided to create a composite of two frames. I was in love with the body language of one image, but was not in love with where Anh was looking in that particular frame. So I opted to pull a head from another frame and marry the two.
I delivered the high resolution assets to LCI as they were developing out the scene based on some subsequent wireframes, and basic composition and lighting tests.
We really did not have that many revisions throughout the process, and those we did have were rather minor tweaks to add depth, realism, and atmosphere. This was a true collaboration as the team at LCI brought some fantastic details to the table and made their case as we refined the final image.
While creating a CGI environment is not the “cheap way out” the argument could be made that there are some economies to be had. AND you are not limited by “what’s out there”. It definitely makes for a more streamlined shoot day and you can take your time in post to finesse to your heart’s (or budget’s) desire.
We’ll be sharing more of these projects down the road and look forward to creating rich visuals like this for our clients. Reach out and let’s have a conversation about how we can create some magic for your next project!
The goal of the fatherhood.gov is to provide, facilitate, and disseminate current research and proven and innovative strategies that encourage and strengthen fathers and families through a number of activities and resources. A commercial campaign titled “Dance Like A Dad” was being led by Campbell Ewald and was already in the works for fatherhood.gov when CE reached out to us to produce a print campaign to pair with it.
Capture The Moment
The campaign tagline “Make a moment. Dance Like a Dad” is part of fatherhood.gov’s ongoing effort to encourage dads to play an active role in their children’s lives and we at Dana Hursey Photography had the privilege to capture the fun and joy of the project for print use.
Teamwork Makes The Dream Work
While another company produced and managed all the commercial aspects of the campaign, we were tasked with providing new talent, wardrobe, and makeup for the following day’s print shoot at the same residential location. The Dana Hursey team successfully worked with the commercial production company to ensure the desired set dressings were still in place for the print shoot. The communication and partnership with the commercial production team went so smoothly and the entire campaign was a winner!
Flexibility and Precision
Having produced many of our own large scale projects as well as having shot numerous piggyback campaigns, we were able to seamlessly work with the commercial team to efficiently move in after their production and effectively shoot three different scenarios in one day with ease. My team also continued to show our mastery in casting strong talent and all models gave above and beyond performances on camera.
Hit The Mark
The “Dance Like a Dad” campaign was a huge success and all partners were thrilled with the results. Since its release, the license has been extended multiple times, and the campaign has also won multiple awards like 1st Place in the 2021 APA Awards.
AND OMG… We shot MOTION for them as well!
Daddy’s Chicken Shack is a local SoCal favorite with a big and bright future. Their consistent commitment to simple, high-quality ingredients that tastes oh-so yummy is what sets them apart from their competition and what is the driving force behind this Pasadena-based company to expand. With this expansion plan on the horizon for Daddy’s Chicken Shack, it became apparent to the owners that there was a need for photography of their entire menu. From there, the Daddy’s Chicken Shack owners reached out to us to make it happen.
Taste the WOW Factor
Daddy’s Chicken Shack’s goal was to walk away with a library of bold and rich imagery that visually captured the quality and yumminess of their products with the secondary goal of elevating their brand to the next level from a single-location business to a national-wide franchise.
Obstacles Overcome
With a tight budget and limited time, we opted to host the shoot at their local Los Angeles area restaurant. Their indoor space was tight and not ideal for a photo shoot but we were able to troubleshoot and nimbly set up an outdoor studio at the restaurant’s adjacent patio.
Attention To Detail
During the shoot, we employed a high-tech process to create HIGHLY detailed visuals that gave the photos the flexibility for a wide range of uses across digital and print assets alike. The imagery captured surpassed the quality of the big players in the industry and set Daddy’s Chicken Shack up for success as they launched into growth mode.
Rich Results
Daddy’s Chicken Shack was THRILLED with the results. The imagery exceeded their expectations and they have successfully rolled out an entire rebrand of the company, facilitating a large franchise launch campaign.
Marie’s is dedicated to making salad dressings with real, premium ingredients and since 1959 they’ve kept their promise. Marie’s agency, High Wide & Handsome connected with us to produce a new print and motion campaign titled – “Unapologetically Marie’s”. The campaign called for 4 print scenarios and a matching video component for each.
Bold Boasts
The mission for this campaign was to showcase how unapologetically awesome the Marie’s products are. An American favorite, Maire’s dressings are full of robust homemade flavors, freshness, quality, and variety.
Ready, Set, GO!
At Dana Hursey Photography, we pride ourselves on working with the needs of the client.
For this campaign it was necessary to execute four different scenarios all in one day to stay within budget.
Efficient & Effective
High Wide & Handsome trusted us to produce this project in the most efficient way. The Dana Hursey team was able to secure a single location that met all the creative needs for the different scenes for the shoot to save the client both time and money. We also made the strategic decision to shoot both the print and motion assets with continuous light sources so that the look and feel across the entire campaign was consistent. This saved enormous amounts of time not having to re-light the same scene for print and then again for motion.
Unapologetically Amazing
The finished product wowed the agency and the client and all partners left the day with smiles on their faces. The High Wide & Handsome team later remarked “Always amazing to work with you, Dana. Thank you for overdelivering once again.” and “Once again, Dana hits a home run with a seamlessly efficient set and gorgeous images!”
Lowe’s is the leading name when you think of home improvements and since 1921 they’ve been committed to helping homeowners, renters, and Pros improve their homes and businesses. Lowe’s approached us to create eight unique scenes to illustrate their “Movers” campaign. Through this campaign, Lowe’s aimed to emphasize to their customers that regardless of whether they are buying a home, selling a home, or renting, Lowe’s is there to help make any move-out or move-in process successful.
Prominent & Pronounced
The goal for Lowe’s and this campaign was to create imagery that was vibrant, humorous, quirky and distinct to their brand and to the messaging around making any move a breeze. We needed to help their customers feel seen through the stressful and sometimes comical moments of a move through the creative.
All Hands On Deck
The shoot needed to take place in North Carolina near Lowe’s corporate headquarters and had to happen within a short time frame without compromising the delivery of the number of photos required. We also had to be effective in creating consistent but not monotonous assets that spoke to the message of the campaign.
Go Big Or Go Home
The Dana Hursey team managed the production and was able to source a large local stage that housed 8 separate sets that could run simultaneously over the 3 day shoot. The team managed the project efficiently and made the campaign a home-run even when the non-pro animal talent was having “issues” on set. Dana used his expertise to analyze the situation and decided to make magic happen in post-production with the few ‘usable’ shots he captured of the little guy.
Home Run Victory
The “Movers” campaign turned out so well that Lowe’s opted to use the imagery in more markets than was originally planned. The Lowe’s creative team said it was one of the smoothest shoots they had EVER been on.
This is new for us. We’ve never been selected for an American Photography Award, so this was a real treat this week when we found out this super fun image from our campaign for the Newport Beach Film Fest had been chosen!
It was fantastic collaborating with the amazing creative team at The Garage who came up with this whimsical campaign! Hoping we can work together again down the road!
Feeling super honored to have snagged a couple of International Color Awards again this year! It is always so humbling to be included in such great company as all of these fantastic image makers. Here are the two images that were selected this year (in addition to two others that were also nominated ☺️). Make sure to check out the rest of the winning images at photoshow.colorawards.com!
Very excited to share a brand new campaign we did for Marie’s Dressings. This was a still and motion combo and we’re really proud of the results. This was a jam packed day with four scenes and covering them all with both video and stills. We always are super thrilled to work with the team at High Wide & Handsome, because the collaborate always results in some great visuals and days full of fun.
We just wrapped up a full menu rebrand for Daddy’s Chicken Shack. They are getting ready to start franchising and needed a refresh for the new endeavor. We actually shot the whole menu in one face paced day on site at their Pasadena location.
Guess what we had for lunch? 🤤
These were no “straight shots” but rather a multi step process that brings out every bit of detail and texture in each item. Which is why the finished product looks almost like you could reach out and grab it!
We’re excited for Daddy’s and their next chapter and hope to have the opportunity to collaborate with them again soon!
What?
Was surprised to have picked up FIVE Honorable Mentions in this year’s IPA’s (International Photography Awards)!! Three of them were for campaigns and two individuals. Feeling very humbled to be selected and included!! Check out all of the Amazing Imagery at www.photoawards.com
They’re Finally Running!
These are images I have been SO WANTING TO SHARE! And I FINALLY can. These three images are for a campaign we did for the Newport Beach Film Festival. The were connected by the Creative Team at The Garage. We shot all three images in one day on location in Newport Beach. We were of course granted perfect weather.. because… California. And the creative team was a blast to work with. A true collaboration! So why have I been so antsy to show these?… Because….
We shot them in February… 2020!!! These were SUPPOSED to be for the 2020 Film Fest and then we all know what happened next…. So we had to sit on these as the 2020 Festival basically got postponed a year. But it’s now 2021 and the Festival is back on! So here they finally are! Hope you have a chance to check out the Festival!
What?!
I have never picked up an APA Award and out of the blue took First Place in this years Lifestyle category. What a shocker and totally thrilling! Granted it was for this super fun campaign we did for fatherhood.gov. (#DanceLikeADad) Amazing Talent, Amazing Producer. Amazing Crew. Amazing Creative. It’s always a team effort! Thanks APA & Judges!
Today we were notified that we had been selected as one of Archive Magazine’s 200 Best Ad. Photographers Worldwide! This is some amazing company to be in and in my opinion, right up there with being in CA (Communication Arts). This is the second time in a row we’ve been selected and I am thrilled with the honor.. Gotta keep step-in’ it up!
This was a campaign we shot for Educational Insights and was Art Directed by Liesl Kadile. Along with some other images the campaign was all vibrant colors with kids taking an almost retro adult twist.
Okay.. where to begin?
THIS was a shoot! Once again we were on set shooting in tandem with a commercial production. They were shooting MULTIPLE spots and we were doing the print campaign. All in one day.. All on a tight sound stage.. All good! Right?! 😳
Snoop was in his space doin’ his thing…
Martha had some VERY kind words for us when she saw what we had shot on the monitor.
Camera time was minimal.. to be expected. But hey.. Agency and Client were thrilled with what we got considering the very ambitious shot list. All in a days work. Always amazing to work with a commercial production that plays nice, knows how to share, and realizes we are all after the same goal.
Were Bic Lighters used at the end of this production? 🤔
Always an honor to be recognized for recent work. This year we received two ICA awards!
You can see all of the other great imagery that won this year at www.colorawards.com
Check out the Behind the Scenes video on one of our recent Covid Safe Productions!