Urban Tulsa Weekly >> "30 Under 30"

Urban Tulsa Weekly‘s annual “30 Under 30” issue hits stands this week, and I was lucky enough to be assigned some pretty interesting small business owners; many of whom are emerging into their markets and made great conversation about where they want to go. The cover shot (below) features John Hill, an eight year old (definitely under 30) who’s website, Family Pet Search Organization, helps lost pets find their way home. John showed up to his photo shoot wearing his father’s oversizes suit and shoes, which made for a fun session.

PICTURED BELOW:
John Hill [Family Pet Search Organization], Licia Zampino + Shelly Harris [Boston Ave. Grill], Quintin Franklin [Sooner Recon], Brandon Autry [Full Scale Guitar], Kristen McCormick + Ginger Fast [Recycling Revolution], Patrick Cuningkin [I’m Delivered], Shari Alexander [Presenting Matters LLC], Sloane Merrick [Sloane Merrick Art Gallery], and Gabriel Bernal [Big Daddy’s Glass Company].

I will have some more bigger posts coming soon, including coverage of Tulsa mayor Dewey Bartlett and local politics, colorful local shows, and some upcoming projects that have me convinced that 2010 is going to be one of my first break-out years.

Stay tuned.

William the Artist

Here are some hand-picked highlights from a shoot I had with Tulsa-based artist William Franklin. William specializes mainly in mural paintings,  but you have likely seen his work in print – especially his commercial work for Tulsa International Mayfest for past years. He is also the vice president of TulsaNow, and, more exciting, is the organizer of an in-development Tulsa art deco muesum project Decopolis. I caught up with William on location as he worked on an Art Deco mural in a midtown home.

>> [see more photographs @ flickr]

William was all too willing to take a break and have some fun with our session, so we propped a chair on top of his scaffolding set-up and spent some time grabbing some light-hearted shots that showcase him with his work.

Stay tuned!

Urban Tulsa's "Hot 100"

Here are a few hand-picked highlights from some of the portraits I shot for Urban Tulsa‘s annual “Hot 100” issue (view online here or in print on newstands).

PICTURED ABOVE:
Dr. Bob Blackburn (executive director, Oklahoma Historical Society), Macy Snyder (sales director, Mayo Hotel), Tony Henry + Greg Hughes (owners, In the Raw, Full Moon Cafe, and the upcoming Wolfgang Puck restaurant), Miranda Kaiser (owner, Cosmo Café), Jamie Jameson (partner, The Village Builders), and Tom Dittus (owner/developer, upcoming Blue Rose Café).

Phew! What a group. From here I depart to work on UTW‘s small business issue, so work will be more hectic still for the next couple of weeks. I have some cool ideas in development for many other shoots as well, so hang in there with me as we get 2010 kicked off with a bang.

2009 Retrospective >> Part V: People

Back through looking glass, 2009 was a mammoth year in productivity for me. I started the year as a semi-professional photographer and finished as a professional freelance photographer. I found the brass balls needed to quit my day jobs and pursue a career I really care about, and I’ve found validation through the wonderful relationships I’ve created in the scene and the showcasing publications I work for.

Anyway, I promise to keep these posts short on words and heavy on photographs. Here are some hand-picked highlights from my portrait work this year.

Happy holidays!

2009 Retrospective >> Part IV: On Assignment

Back through looking glass, 2009 was a mammoth year in productivity for me. I started the year as a semi-professional photographer and finished as a professional freelance photographer. I found the brass balls needed to quit my day jobs and pursue a career I really care about, and I’ve found validation through the wonderful relationships I’ve created in the scene and the showcasing publications I work for.

Anyway, I promise to keep these posts short on words and heavy on photographs. Here are some hand-picked highlights from my assignment work this year.

NORMAN MUSIC FESTIVAL

[April 25th]

PICTURED ABOVE:
EL PASO HOT BUTTON, OTHER LIVES, GENTLE GHOST, ALI HARTER, MAN MAN, STARLIGHT MINTS, and OF MONTREAL.

TULSA TOUGH

[June 4th, 5th, & 6th]

DFest

PICTURED ABOVE:
OTHER LIVES, DELTA SPIRIT, CITIZEN COPE, THE BLACK CROWES, GOGOL BORDELLO, RA RA RIOT, ROONEY, METRO STATION, BLUE OCTOBER, and CAKE.

U2 360° TOUR

[October 18th]

PICTURED ABOVE:
U2 and BLACK EYED PEAS

WINTERFEST

Stay tuned. I have more posts ready to go leading up to New Year’s!

Happy holidays!

Photo Study: Arvest Winterfest 2009

Here are some highlights from a series of photo shoots this month during the BOK Center’s Arvest Winterfest 2009. Now in it’s second year, Winterfest has provided one of the only ice rinks in the area to festive skaters who either glide under the lit-up skyline (like my room mate below – who knew?!) or to the fun-loving yet accident-prone crowd who bust their asses in front of crowds of many. No offense to those readers – I’m in that circle, too.

Here are some highlights from the photo study:

Many of these shots were published in Urban Tulsa Weekly‘s December 16th cover story, “Skating in a Winter Wonderfest” by Kelli Kickham. Click here to read the story online, or see the whole shebang in print on news stands around town.

As usual, stay tuned.

"Coloring Outside the Lines" >> Urban Tulsa Weekly Cover Story

Last week’s Urban Tulsa Weekly featured my work in “Coloring Outside the Lines”, Holly Wall’s cover story about Tulsa Public Schools’ support of arts education. The article presented itself with multiple opportunities for shooting, including the dedication of a new mural at Tulsa Zoo & Living Museum with special guest [Miss Oklahoma 2009] Taylor Treat (pictured at bottom). Also featured are TPS art program coordinator Ann Tomlins (below) and several students of Booker T. Washington High School’s art program who were cool enough to let me sit in on one of their classes with my camera.

Check out Holly Wall’s article here, with highlights from the shoots below (click to enlarge).

Stay tuned! I have some cool projects that are almost ready to see the light of day.

"Hail to the Cheif" >> Urban Tulsa Weekly Cover Story

This week’s Urban Tulsa Weekly features my work in “Hail to the Chief”, writer Mike Easterling’s cover story about incoming OSU Tulsa president Howard Barnett. Check out Easterling’s story here, and some highlights from my session with Barnett below.

Stay tuned.

Save TWENTY FIVE PERCENT on Your Portrait Session!

Print off this coupon and bring it to your portrait session to save TWENTY FIVE PERCENT on all booking and session fees! Sessions can include senior, child and family portraits photographed either on location or at my studio space (Loose Leaf co. in downtown Tulsa).

I can be reached:

BY PHONE
918.850.0544

BY E-MAIL
michael@cooperphotog.com

BY SNAIL MAIL
Michael Cooper
328 East 1st St.
Tulsa, OK 74120

DJ ROBBO

Here’s a highlight from a recent session with T-Town spin jockey DJ ROBBO, who’s hand in many cool projects (including the now-famous robot dance group RECORDER and his community website Electrocore.com) have earned him national recognition.

You can catch DJ ROBBO at his regular gig “Mix Tape” nearly every Wednesday (including tomorrow night, November 17th) at Crystal Pistol (417 N. Main St.). Check it out – “Mix Tape” is a fun show with fun regular guest spots by other T-Town spinners.