a nationwide collaborationWould You Recognize Me?
One of the largest photographic collaborations is spreading the nation!
lēafless diaries is teaming up with a single, hand-selected photographer from every state to create the visual representation of those that fill our nation.
Each of the 50 chosen photographers are selected on a wide-range of criteria including style, experience and background. So not only are the models each so unique, but the photographers are as well!
Who are our models?? Anyone who lives in the state or is there for a large event can be! We want to showcase those who fill our nation, and that could be you! Not only could you be part of the nationwide project, showcased online in The 50/50 Project gallery, in exhibits around the nation when the tour is complete, but your picture may even be printed in the published book! You can even purchase prints of your portrait to take home and frame or give away as a gift!
Want to see the growing collection of The 50/50 Project portraits?
Check out our interactive gallery!
Want to be a model? View how!
Up And Comings
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30 September | Oregon’s Photographer has been Chosen for The 50/50 Project!
We would like to congratulate Fritz Liedtke for being chosen as his state’s representative in leafless diaries’ photographic collaboration.
Fritz began photographing as a youth, carrying his 110 Instamatic around on a US tour with his father at age 14. Twenty-five years later, he continues to explore the world, camera in hand, creating images that are both beautiful and meaningful.
In the intervening years, he has acquired a BFA in photography, won numerous awards and grants for my work, has had photographs published, collected, and shown in galleries, published articles and essays in various magazines, and has balanced both commercial and fine art practices. He finds that pursuing personal fine art projects keeps his commercial work fresh and alive. ”I am constantly looking for new ways to approach the world through photography,” he tells us.
From environmental portraits to documentary projects, Fritz’s work has taken him around the world. He’s had the privilege of photographing aid workers bringing hope to tsunami victims in India; covering the tumultuous Olympic Torch Relay in London; exploring immigrant populations in Europe; delving into the culture of adolescence in the US; documenting the opening of new homes for African AIDS orphans; capturing the joy of the wedding day from Taiwan to Napa Valley; experiencing the biking culture of Budapest; creating portraits of Pacific Northwest artists; and telling the stories of anorexia and bulimia sufferers battling for control of their lives.
Images Fritz has created has appeared on the covers of magazines and in the pages of beautiful books, hang in homes and grace the world wide web. His approach to each project is inquisitive and inventive; “I’m always excited about creating the next great image.”
He is based in Portland, Oregon, in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, where he lives in a 102-year-old house with his wife and no pets. “In spite of the rain and darkness half of the year, I am proud to say I am a native.”
You can view Fritz’s work on his various websites: Wedding, Portrait, Editorial, Travel Photography, and Fine Art Photography.
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If you’re interested in being a model showcased in The 50/50 Project for Oregon, visit www.leaflessdiaries.com/be-a-leafless-model to find out how you could be chosen!
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03 September | Washington’s Photographer Has Been Chosen!
leafless diaries would like to congratulate Keith Daigle of Washington to be the most recent photographer to join The 50/50 Project
Keith Daigle is a photojournalist and wedding photographer based in Seattle. He has shot weddings all over the U.S. as well as internationally. He graduated from Western Washington University where he studied photojournalism. When he’s not shooting weddings he photographs assignments for the West Seattle Herald and the Highline Times.
To view the work of Keith Daigle Photography, visit www.keithdaigle.com.
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If you’re interested in being a model showcased in The 50/50 Project for Washington, visit www.leaflessdiaries.com/be-a-leafless-model to find out how you could be chosen!
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27 August | Montana Joins The Team!
Kristine snapped her first photo on her mother’s old manual Canon SLR at the tender young age of 9, and from the moment she saw the resulting print of a tree swallow frozen in flight, she was hooked.
Today Kristine Paulsen Photography is the work and love of Kristine Paulsen, a Montana-based photographer who helps tell the story of spectacular people and their beautiful lives.
She truly delights in meeting and visiting the great variety of people and places this world has to offer us, and is honored to help document it.
Kristine holds a BA in English from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, and an MA in Photojournalism from the University of Montana.
She has worked as a staff photographer intern at several newspapers, most notably the Seattle Post-Intelligencer in Seattle, WA, one of the great photo newspapers of its time. She has also learned from and assisted high-end wedding photographers as a second-shooter, before setting out on her own to run her business.
Today she works as a photojournalist who applies her training and experience to editorial, wedding, portrait, commercial and event photography not only in Montana, and across the U.S., but worldwide.
She is a member of the Wedding Photojournalist Association (WPJA), an international organization that “represents the most discriminating talent around the world technically, creatively and visually.”
She is also a member of the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA), which “is dedicated to the advancement of visual journalism, its creation, practice, training, editing and distribution, in all news media and works to promote its role as a vital public service.”
In her freetime, Kristine can’t seem to put her camera down and relishes great photo adventures with friends and family.
To view the work of Kristine Paulsen Photography, visit www.kristinepaulsenphotography.com.
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If you’re interested in being a model showcased in The 50/50 Project for Montana, visit www.leaflessdiaries.com/be-a-leafless-model to find out how you could be chosen!
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12 August | Wyoming’s Photographer Has Been Chosen!
We want to congratulate Jessica Carter, owner of Hidden Creek Photography, for being chosen as Wyoming’s photographer for The 50/50 Project!
Jessica’s passion for photography began in high school when she was part of the yearbook staff. Coming from a small city, her school wasn’t awarded some of the benefits offered to those in larger areas. But with the aid of some great teachers, Jessica spearheaded an independent study for those interested in photography.
Her long hours working after school and weekends to hone her skill-set blossomed even further in college. However, financial constraints led her to change her major a year later.
But this was just a small road block for Jessica. After graduating with a different major, she still felt compelled to continue with photography and began to further her learnings on her own through books and online resources.
In 2009 she decided that she wanted to turn her passion into a career and opened up her studio, Hidden Creek Photography in Powell, Wyoming.
Jessica’s photography style is focused on capturing those real-life moments that aren’t set up or posed.
“I find that moments where someone is hugging a family member or offering a flower girl a coat to keep her warm at a wedding more interesting than those posed for a picture. I love the real emotion caught in photography like this.”
The past few years Jessica’s studio has flourished. She has been published in a table top book, Life’s Easel by the International Library of Photography and has no plans on stopping there.
To view the work of Hidden Creek Photography, please visit www.hiddencreekphotography.com.
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If you’re interested in being a model showcased in The 50/50 Project for Wyoming, visit www.leaflessdiaries.com/be-a-leafless-model to find out how you could be chosen!
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1 August | Kansas Joins The 50/50 Project
After a 15-year print journalism career, Lori Wood Habiger became a photographer through a unexpected series of events at her daughter’s dance studio. She works mainly as a child and family portrait photographer, but has a special love for photographing adults, particularly through maternity photography and sessions with professional dancers. Her style has been called “emotional” and “dramatic,” and her love of low-key lighting in her Shawnee, Kansas, studio has gained her recognition.
Lori is the mom of two children – both whom loathe being photographed (of course!); and she loves to spend time away from her suburban home on her family’s farm in rural Kansas.
She owns Center Stage Photography, a full-service portrait studio in the Kansas City area, offering on-location and studio sessions.
To view the work of Center Stage Photography, please visit www.centerstagephotos.net.
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If you’re interested in being a model showcased in The 50/50 Project for Kansas, visit www.leaflessdiaries.com/be-a-leafless-model to find out how you could be chosen!
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29 June | North Dakota is the Next State to Join The 50/50 Project!
Deborah Kates of Deborah Kates Fine Photography has been chosen as the honored photographer for the state of North Dakota! Her exceptional photojournalistic style, attention to detail and passion for her work is why we chose Deborah as her state’s representative in The 50/50 Project!
Deborah combines her background and training in art with a lifetime of skills and education in photography. The result is an unforgettable collection of images from your wedding day or portrait session. Deborah specilaizes in a photojournalistic approach which allows her to use her artisic talents in creating not just images but works of art as well. Her photo albums and DVD slideshows are testaments to her artistic & creative talents. As a result, Deborah’s unique wedding and portrait work has made her a much sought after photographer in both venues. In addition to wedding and portrait work, Deborah’s senior portrait photography has received outstanding reviews for it’s unique and creative approach.
Deborah and her husband maintain a collection of motorcycle and related photography at Shooters Images. Shooters Images specializes in custom motorcycle photography and photography of the biker lifestyle and culture. Their photography has been featured in all the major motorcycle magazines: (American Iron, V-Twin, American Cycle Magazine, Hot Bike and many others. They recently began shooting for Harley-Davidson’s HOG magazine and Toyota, Inc.
Deborah believes in staying on the cutting edge of wedding photography and was one of the first wedding photographers to offer “fusion” DVDs (a combination of video and still photography) of weddings/engagements and senior portrait sessions.
Deborah belongs to and is in good standing with several well respected professional photography organizations in the industry including the Wedding Photojournalist Association (WPJA) and Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI). Deborah Kates Fine Photography is also a member of the invitation only groups of Grace Ormande Wedding Style, Best of Wedding Photography, International Society of Professional Wedding Photographers, Wedding Photojournalist Association, and the Artistic Guild of the Wedding Photojournalist Association. She has also won several awards for worldwide print competition in WPJA and AGWPJA, a really impressive honor.
To view the work of Deborah Kates Fine Photography, visit www.katesfinephotography.com.
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If you’re interested in being a model showcased in The 50/50 Project for North Dakota, visit www.leaflessdiaries.com/be-a-leafless-model to find out how you could be chosen!
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23 June | Minnesota Jumps on Board!
Shannon Porter of Shannon Porter Photography has been chosen as Photographer #2!
Within five minutes of conversation we fell in love with our chosen photographer from Minnesota. His eagerness to help, excitement about the project, and his amazing wedding and portrait photography is what won him the spot as Minnesota’s representative.
He introduces himself as ‘Porter’, “My wife & I share the first name, Shannon, and I have been referred to as just “Porter” since grade school.”
He is a completely self-taught wedding photojournalism and portrait photographer who began his career in 2002. He creates unique, one-of-a-kind portraits with a fresh & modern twist; striving to capture the emotion and blink of an eye moments that occur within his wedding coverage.
His gallery & studio, which is available by appointment only, is located in the historic downtown of Winona, Minnesota. “This is the city I call home with my wife and two children.”
Porter is also a part of the PPA, WPPI, WPJA & AGWPJA and has won several awards in the AGWPJA as well.
View samples from the Shannon Porter Photography collection on his website at www.portergraph.com.
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If you’re interested in being a model showcased in The 50/50 Project for Minnesota, visit www.leaflessdiaries.com/be-a-leafless-model to find out how you could be chosen!
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19 June | Iowa’s Photographer Has Been Chosen!
We are excited to announce that Sandra Dyas of Iowa City has been the very first photographer chosen to be included in The 50/50 Project! Sandra Dyas, of Sandra L. Dyas, Photography, is a prolific photographer who has vast experience in portraits and events in both traditional and video mediums. She has over 30 years of experience, has earned her BFA, MA and MFA in Intermedia Art, and has taught traditionally-based photography at Cornell College where she has been a lecturer at for over eleven years.
During the ’90s Sandra began two large bodies of work – The Lost Nation Photographs and photographing musicians. The second of the two projects was published in 2007 by The University of Iowa Press as a book entitled “Down to the River; Portraits of Iowa Musicians”.
Earlier this year Sandra created a music video for Pieta Brown called “The Making of One and All” – a promotion piece for her upcoming cd. View the video at www.youtube.com/user/sandyIowaCity.
On June 20th, Michael Werner of Two Way Lens had the honor of interviewing Sandra about her photography and her recommendations to emerging photographers. Read the interview at www.2waylens.blogspot.com.
To view the work of Sandra L. Dyas, Photography, visit www.sandydyas.com and also check out her personal blog “Picture This” at http://sandydyas.blogspot.com.
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If you’re interested in being a model showcased in The 50/50 Project for Iowa, visit www.leaflessdiaries.com/be-a-leafless-model to find out how you could be chosen!
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If you are a photographer and wish to represent your state, please contact us at photography@leaflessdiaries.com to inquire about volunteering.
