VMH 2009 A YEAR IN REVIEW
2009 was a year of building and streamlining while we continued our mission to capture the essence of companies, nonprofits and individuals through photographic image and/or film & video. The highlight was launching the new VMH website and the addition of cutting edge multimedia company Wild Collective.
*Wild Collective produces original, fresh content for broadcast or web presentations from concept to completion with Los Angeles’ finest, award-winning talent. They work directly with clients to establish a story or message, a pre-visualization of what will be presented, shoot the project, finish it in post-production and deliver in any format, from still image to full, broadcast HD.
Here are more highlights of the year in review for all the artists in Visionary Media House…..
Oh where to begin!?!
Print/Online
• The feature story, written & photographed by Ian in the Winter 2009 issue of National Parks magazine, reported one of the most epic stories as Ian was embedded in a National Park Service search & rescue patrol on North America’s highest mountain – Mt. McKinley, in Denali National Park, Alaska.
• Well-received release of his first book, The National Parks: Our American Landscape, a 224-page volume that showcases an energizing modern take on America’s grandest natural gifts – the National Parks, as well as his life-long passion of photographing in nature.
• Interviewed by the British Journal of Photography about multimedia and the future of the genre.
• Interviewed by Dennis Miller on radio stations across the country about his new book.
• Featured in Capitol Weekly & Sacramento Press.
• Ian Shive was featured in an ad for Lumiquest, the world leader in photographic flash solutions.
• Spring 2009 cover of National Parks Magazine with his image of McDonald Lake in Glacier National Park, Montana.
• Released Nature Themes for iGoogle. Nature Themes will allow users to not only personalize their iGoogle desktop with visuals of nature, but will also serve as reminders to nourish & celebrate the environment and world we live in.
Multimedia: Film/Video/Webcasting/In-Flight
• Launched a new multimedia, television and film production company, WILD COLLECTIVE. Together with co-founder and award-winning filmmaker Russell Chadwick, the company unites veteran Hollywood filmmakers focused on creating top-tier productions for the global community.
• WILD EXPOSURE, a series that chronicles the making of Ian’s first book THE NATIONAL PARKS: OUR AMERICAN LANDSCAPE debuted in August on the Emmy award-winning CURRENT TV, led by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and gets picked up by Current TV and is featured on all Virgin Airlines flights.
Activism
• Ian’s images were a part of a group effort by the International League of Conservation Photographers and other non-profits to lobby U.S. Congress to halt construction of the border fence along the US/Mexico border because the International League of Conservation Photographers (ILCP) launched another RAVE (Rapid Assesment Visual Expedition) along the US/Mexico border in an attempt to document some of the most rare and intact eco-systems in North America.
• Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Max Baucus hosted an evening of stunning images of our national parks by photographer Ian Shive on Thursday, November 19th in the U.S. Capitol. Shive shared his stories of traversing the National Park System, accompanied by his photographs and a new short multimedia film focusing on the challenges America’s most beloved landscapes face.
• Traveled to The Dalmatian Coast, Croatia to photograph.
Praise for Ian’s Works
• Lonely Planet Magazine’s August 2009 issue calls The National Parks: Our American Landscape the “best in print.”
• The National Parks: Our American Landscape hit the #1 spot under Amazon.com’s rankings for Outdoor & Wildlife Conservation Wildlife category.
• #2 spot in Wildlife Fauna magazine.
• #6 spot overall for Photography Nature & Wildlife magazine.
• Ian Shive featured on ABC News Los Angeles and Good Day Sacramento.
• The National Parks: Our American Landscape made the prestigious New Yorker magazine book list on October 12th.
• “Ian Shive goes beyond the usual nature images that we have seen all too often. Looking at his work makes you feel like you are seeing the world with fresh eyes.”
—Rob Sheppard, editor at large, Outdoor Photographer
• “This amazing collection of images is a great reminder that the concept of protecting natural treasures in national parks was born in America and is, to this day, our most noble export.”
—Cristina Mittermeier, Executive Director, International League of Conservation Photographers
________________________________________________________________________
SOJKA PHOTOGRAPHY:
Natalie Sojka started off the year with her photo of actress Noa Tishby featured in the commemorative President Obama issue of Esquire Magazine.
In April she traveled for the first time to Australia taking two months to work on various photo assignments across the country. Upon her return she shot for indie British band the Duke Spirit and continued to work on a variety of photo projects including shooting for Hurley and YMI Jeans. In November she shot actor Elliot James on the first day of the devastating station fires here in LA which you can see made for a stunning effect for many of the photos. Most recently she shot on spec with veteran stylist Brett McCall and celebrity make-up artist Luis Casco which featured the 2010 spring collections of designers Marc Jacobs, YSL, and Christian Louboutin, just to name a few.
_____________________________________________________________
Officially launched at the end of 09′, Wild Collective is a Los Angeles based multimedia, film and television production company which unites veteran Hollywood filmmakers focused on creating top-tier productions for the global community at an affordable price. The company brings together award winning editors, producers, cinematographers, writers, photographers, animators and composers creating dynamic and original content for film, print, television, and the web.
In addition to working with traditional businesses, WC will also bring in new levels of marketing and communications to the environmental and non-profit community.
In August WILD EXPOSURE, a series created by Wild Collective that chronicles the making of Ian’s first book THE NATIONAL PARKS: OUR AMERICAN LANDSCAPE debuted on the Emmy award-winning CURRENT TV, led by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and is currently featured on all Virgin Airlines flights.
In December WC produced a short film that takes a poetic approach to humanity’s reconnection to nature in a dynamic and fast-paced world. The film combines a variety of footage all shot by Wild Collective with a Sony HD XDCAM, Canon 5d Mark II and still images from a Canon 5D. The piece was produced specifically for a reception on climate change in the National Parks at the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C.
Most recently the talented team of Wild Collective put together this demo of graphic design and animation, original music composition and still photography for a 30-second clip called Explore.
Click here to view.
Stay tuned….
VMH News 