For the first time ever, almost all the professional sound designers in Minneapolis gathered together in one place—at my studio! I decided to spotlight them all, literally. You can view the full set on Minnesota Playlist.

Lighting info: The main light was an Elinchrom monolight with a 20-degree grid. The back light was a Canon 580EX II with a Honl 1/4″ grid, which I intentionally left visible in the background.

Last month I spent several weekends on different film sets shooting a photo essay for Minnesota Playlist.

View the photo essay: Reel Live: The photographs

Much of the shooting was done outside in freezing temperatures. This is a super flattering picture of me after almost 4 hours in temperatures near zero degrees:

Thanks to everyone involved in the films who gave me access to shoot: The Curse of Yig, TRIUMPH67 and Potpourri.

The above photo (taken with a Sigma DP1) is one I took in October, which is the last time I thought about blogging. I could say that I’ve been busy, which I have been, but I have no good excuse. To be honest, I get paralyzed with anxiety about blogging. I’ve let so many ideas and photos go unposted that I feel like I can’t catch up. I’ve decided that I need to let that go and start over from scratch. I’m not sure what direction I’ll take just yet, but I’m going to start by simply posting photos on a more regular basis.

In other news, I recently bought a Mamiya 645AFD. It’s technically used, but was basically new in the box. Even the strap was still wrapped up and sealed. I only have a film back at the moment, but may rent a digital back for a weekend to play with.

The setup for this shot was simple, just two fluorescent work lights hanging from light stands.

I know I’m not the first to do this and the catch lights in the eyes remind me of what Martin Schoeller has done with his Close Up series and what Eric Schwabel is doing. Even so, it’s a fun setup that gives a unique look.

I’ve used this setup with a few people in the past and sometimes the intensity of the lights can be an issue. I had one model who simply could not tolerate it and her eyes were watering so uncontrollably when looking toward the light that we had to abandon the idea.

Check out Pearson on Facebook for cool behind the scenes stuff from New York Fashion Week.

Once in awhile I like to walk the staircases and look for interesting markings. A few weeks ago I peeked behind a door and found these amazing old safety posters. I especially like how dark and creepy the first one is.

I’ll keep looking around and post what I can find!

The scene outside the State Theater.

About to walk the red carpet.

Lifetime Achievement award winner, Dudley Riggs, hams it up for a photographer before the IVEY Awards.

You can view selections from Jens’ career by clicking on the English text on his home page.

I was fortunate that he took time to meet me for coffee when I was in Copenhagen two years ago. Meeting him was special not only because he’s an incredibly experienced photojournalist and an extremely nice guy, he’s the photographer who took what may be my favorite photograph.

I can’t put it into words, but this picture does it for me. I never tire of looking at it. He sent me a scan of the negative earlier this year and I couldn’t get it printed fast enough. It’s now the only photo hanging in my living room.

Unmoved: Passing the time while a squatter’s demonstration passes by in Copenhagen, 1987. Nikon F3, Nikkor 24mm f/2.8, Kodak Tri-X film. (Photo by Jens Dresling/POLFOTO)