Actual mummies from the Mummy Museum

 

Paul and Leasha are getting ready to wrap up their workshop in Mexico, but they still managed to find time to visit the mummy museum in Guanajuato.  As you can tell from the pictures, the museum was pretty amazing!  Mummification is an intense process, and to be able to see a human body long after it has "shed the mortal coil" is quite fascinating.  

 

The next several weeks look like they'll be busy ones for Team Elledge, as we will be traveling back and forth to NYC a few times for work, and we will even be heading out of the country again by the time November wraps.  The upcoming days will also cover Halloween, Dia de los Muertos, Paul's birthday, Leasha's birthday AND Brian's birthday!  For the record, Leasha likes chocolate, Brian likes old stamps, and Paul likes motorcycles.

 

Makes you feel like you're in an Indiana Jones film, right?

 

Speaking of Halloween, if you send us a picture (via the "contact" section at the top of our blog) of you in a creative/humorous halloween costume, we'll send you something in the mail.  Don't forget to include your address with the picture.  Currently, the best costume we've seen was from a friend who dressed up like Kanye and carried a sign that said, "Halloween, I'm really happy for you, but Christmas is the best."  Top that, and you can definitely expect something in the mail. 

  Rick Bayless

 

This week Paul and Leasha are teaching a workshop in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.  They both have a particular fondness for Mexico, as it holds one of their favorite vacation spots (we'd tell you where it is, but then we'd have to find a new one, so all we'll say is that it's somewhere on the coast - that should narrow it down for you).

 

Speaking of Mexico, the other week Paul and Leasha had a chance to grab dinner at Topolobampo; Rick Bayless' excellent restaurant here in Chicago.  Paul has been working on a project with Rick for a while now, which will be wrapping up in the near future, and we will be sure to let you know as soon as it is released!

 

Rick also recently opened Xoco, which is his concept of offering food prepared in a street-vendor fashion - you can read his excellent blog in which he describes what this means by clicking HERE (seriously, it's worth reading).  Xoco has been a bit of an instant phenomenon, and so far James is the only member of Team Elledge that has been able to spend 45 minutes standing in line for a torta and some chocolate (he maintains that it was totally worth it).  Hopefully the rest of our Team will make it in soon!

 

We almost forgot to mention that Rick, like Paul, has a Twitter feed that is worth checking out.  Click on their names to see what they are up to!

 

 

  iPhone image of wall made from reflectors

 

While "green" became the new "black" early on in 2009, we here at Team Elledge have long been fans of material reuse and conservation.  It takes a special kind of creativity to see through the obvious use/purpose of something that has already been made, and utilize it effectively for something else entirely.

 

This type of "creative problem solving" is actually a key component of making images, as we take ideas and elements from our surroundings and incorporate them into our final frame.  

 

With that in mind, here are a few links to things that were re-imagined and repurposed into something useful.  We hope you find them as interesting and inspiring as we did!

 

The mobile Puma store 

 

 

 

Video edited by Mike Ruggirello

 

Throughout the course of his career, Paul has shot motion consistently along with still images.  Since his creative vision has driven him to explore all elements of visual media, he has created motion pieces that draw from both disciplines - the latest of which is his series of "moving portraits."  This sample of The Post Family (a "family portrait" if you will), is part of that body of work.

 

This week we have been continuing to push forward with our goal of making compelling visual imagery as we have been shooting both still and motion for a client in our studio.  We have been working for months on this upcoming national campaign, and we are very excited to be nearing the completion of this project!  We'll be sure to let you know as soon as it is released.   

  The Derby Dolls in action...

 

Last year Team Elledge was out in California and our longtime friend Brooke hooked us up with an opportunity to photograph the L.A. Derby Dolls - both during a match and at practice the next day.  Well, needless to say, this was an opportunity that we just couldn't turn down.  As it turned out, the weekend we were with the Derby Dolls was also one of the first weekends that Drew Barrymore and Ellen Page were spending time with them in preparation for the recently released film, Whip It.

 

We thoroughly enjoyed working with the Derby Dolls, and getting to attend a practice session was really fun (Leasha actually strapped on skates and successfully raced on the the banked track - a feat none of the boys were willing to attempt).

 

As it turns out, there are actually TWO types of derby events that Team Elledge really likes, and the other one is (of course) demolition derbies!

 

Although we have all attended our fair share of demolition derbies over the years, Paul recently attended one in Wisconsin that not only afforded him some great entertainment, but also a few opportunities to take pictures.

A new axel, a little paint, and it'll be back to normal

Try to not get bit

 

From what we hear, the Kentucky Derby is quite nice - and if any of you would like to score us tickets for it some time, we would gladly go check it out - but in general you can't top women demolishing each other on a roller derby track, or people smashing into each other on a demolition derby circuit!