BryCox.com Blog-topia

Every year at this time, I give all my clients a Christmas CD with their orders, and this years album is absolutely fantastic!  I am excited for you all to get a copy.  I have not only finished the design work, but have the finished products back in my hands and love how they look and sound.

This is Wasatch Christmas, a Christmas CD that I design every year for one of my best friends, James Conlee, the producer of the project.  In fact it is a joint project of friends in many ways because the cover painting is by a friend of ours, James Christensen, a famous painter with Greenwich Workshops, and some of the tracks are by our other good friend, Ryan Shupe (Ryan Shupe and the RubberBand), as well as some tracks by James Conlee himself.

Here is how the album looks.  The name of the cover painting is, “Angels of My Village.”

BryCox - Wasatch Christmas 2009

Now there are other recording artists on the album, but my favorite tracks are by James and Ryan.

The absolute first thing I would do when you get this CD is to play track #7, Pie Jesu, recorded by James Conlee with the Prague orchestra.  It is a duet with James and an incredible boy soprano, and I believe that this is the last recording of this boy before his voice changed.  This track is so moving that it may bring tears to your eyes, and I am not exaggerating.  I find it to be emotional every time I hear it.  It is such an incredible recording and is so well handled, that it shows just how talented James Conlee is, not only as an incredible singer, but also with his producing abilities, bringing together so many talented people for one wonderful and moving piece.  For that reason it is symbolic really of the entire CD project.

If you don’t know James, he used to sing on Broadway, and is responsible for the yearly Wasatch Christmas concert series in Utah county.  This is now about the 10th album that I’ve designed for him including past Wasatch Christmas albums and his Sunday album — each one is so wonderful.  He puts his whole heart and soul into these projects and I’m very proud to be associated with him and to call him my friend.

So for all my holiday clients that are ordering this time of year, whether you get a large collection of wall portraits or even just reorder one small print, I am giving away a FREE Wasatch Christmas CD!  The cover painting is phenomenal, the music is phenomenal, and the whole production is worth owning!

See you all soon!

Last week I was hired to photograph Kenny Loggins & Jim Messina.  They were in town for an exclusive concert, and I was there to artistically document the concert and then create some studio portraits backstage.

Here’s one of the studio portraits of the two of them together…

BryCox - Kenny Loggins & Jim Messina

And here’s a few from the concert itself.  One of Kenny Loggins…

BryCox - Kenny Loggins

and one of Jim Messina.

BryCox - Jim Messina

It was a fantastic show and I was proud to be apart of it.  It was all apart of a great fundraiser to raise money for children needing dental work provided by the Caring Foundation for Children.

I do a lot of business portraits for people, but it was really fun to photograph my uncle, Bob Cox.  He has reinstated his real estate license (something he used to do many years ago) and needed some new business portraits.

A lot of people tell us that we look alike, which I always like to hear.  There have even been times when I’ve been stopped on the street and asked if I’m Bob Cox’s son.

Anyway, I really liked the suit and finished the image as a nice, classic business portrait.

BryCox - Bob Cox 1

With this finished image, I designed up and printed his business cards.  Here is the finished card design.  I opted for a more artsy look, bold and light colors on black rather than the stuffy and traditional look of black type on white.  I finished them as a glossy card 4/4, with an extra layer of coating for a nice tactile feel and some real punch.

BryCox - Bob Cox 2

I’m excited with how they look.  If you are a business person and need a new portrait, give me a call.

- Bry

Bry Cox (Sep 2009)

Tonight while I was dressed up, I did a new self-portrait of myself.  Some of my contacts for speaking gigs have asked for an updated photo, and I can also use a new image of myself on the professional photography forums that I’m a contributer for.

I specifically did a photo of me smiling this time.  On a couple occasions people have told me after meeting me, that they were suprised to see that I’m a happy guy.  Somehow they thought that my serious self-portraits meant that I was a  dark and brooding type of person.  That’s so funny to me.

Yes I do smile a lot, but tend to photograph myself serious.  So this time I made myself laugh for a real genuine smile, and this photo turned out to be my favorite.

As far as the blog goes, I’ve got a lot to tell you all, and will get some of the highlights up this week.

Until then,
– Bry

I recently did the cover photograph for Katherine Nelson’s new CD, called “Most Requested.”  It is a beautiful album, released with Deseret Book under the Shadow Mountain Label and contains 10 of her most popular tracks from past albums.

BryCox - Katherine Nelson CD

Many of you will know Katherine as “Emma,” in the LDS movie “Joseph Smith, Prophet of the Restoration,” as well as the followup movie “Emma Smith: My Story.”

Here is the entire image from the design.  This was created on my road, out in front of my studio, with the sun behind.

BryCox - Katherine

Katherine has a wonderful voice!  She has sung on a lot of LDS albums, sometimes as the lead and sometimes as backup.  I’m sure that if you do not at first recognize her name, that you would for sure recognize her fantastic voice as she has sung on many EFY CDs as well as for Kenneth Cope and other LDS artists.

It was fun for me too to see that she either wrote or co-wrote most of the songs on the album too.  Congratulations on the new album, Katherine!  I’m glad that you had me be a part of it.

A few weeks ago I posted a very unique image of the Salt Lake Temple which has caused a lot of excitement.  Many people asked it was available for purchase.  Well I have it now, ready for purchase as a custom 20×36 inch stretched canvas gallery wrap.  It looks absolutely gorgeous.

To kick it off, I’m offering the first 10 for $300 off, and am also including free local delivery or FedEx Ground shipment to the lower 48 states.

I know that by offering the first few at a big discount that many of your friends and families will see it displayed your homes and want one for themselves.

Bry Cox - Mountain Tops

This image is called “Mountain Tops” due to the composition and as a reference to the Old Testament use of mountains as a symbol of the temple.  Here’s how it looks from the side.

Bry Cox - side view of Mountain Tops

In getting “Mountain Tops” ready to release, I also decided to release and offer another image that has only been seen at my studio but has always created a big buzz — “The Sacred Grove!”  It’s amazing how great this looks close up!  It’s also been fun to have a religious piece of artwork that only certain people recognize as well.  Some have simply thought it was a beautiful scenic, but those who know, appreciate it on many levels and are stunned by it.

Bry Cox - Sacred Grove

This is available as a 24×36 stretched Canvas Gallery Wrap and I’m doing the same thing with this: offering the first 10 for $300 off!  This too also includes free local delivery or FedEx Ground shipment to the lower 48 states.

Both are available at my online store which is BryCoxART.com, or can be ordered by phone by giving me a call at 801-728-3317.

Call with any questions too.

Thanks, and until next time, America!
– Bry

I was very happy to create this portrait of Mr. Ron Micheli — the official portrait for his upcoming run for the Wyoming Office of Governor. 

Ron Micheli

I love creating great portraits of people.  One of the joys I get from being a portrait artist is creating from scratch using nothing but light, a two-dimensional image that not only captures how a person looks, but also the inner spirit, glow, and personality of that person.  I want people to look at my images and feel like they already know the person while having never met them.

Despite all the very technical aspects that go into creating a portrait and lighting someone just right, I actually think one of the hardest things to do as an artist is to capture a person’s true personality.  That’s why I love creating portraits, and I think that it is what really sets me apart in this industry.

That feeling of knowing a person’s personality in a portrait is crucial in an photograph like this, and this image has it!  It contains the warmth, kindness and thoughtfulness that Mr. Micheli showed me when I first met him.  I had only talked to him for a few brief moments before we stepped into the camera room to begin the session.  Though we talked nothing of politics, I could tell from his manner and his kindness that he would be a fresh and honest relief to the world of politics.  I wish him well!

Until next time, Amercia!
– Bry

I have a new portfolio DVD for 2009, and it is all finished and ready for you!  It is formatted for your large widescreen home theater so that you can view the images large and in the comfort of your own home.

Bry Cox - Portfolio DVD

This DVD includes specific slideshows on weddings, bridals, families, children, high school seniors, models, as well as some entire wedding albums so that you can see how I might tell the story of your day from start to finish.  You can order one for free right off my main website, here. (Click on Free DVD on menu.)

You can watch it on any DVD player or computer, both Mac and PC.  The music is amazing and was all written and recorded by my sister, Elise.  Each music score was specifically chosen for each slideshow to accentuate the mood of the images.  It is a wonderful DVD and I know you will all love it.

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Note to photographers: I can understand how other photographers may want to frequent my site, and I appreciate that. However, I received thousands of requests from photographers for my last portfolio DVD, photographers not wanting to hire me but to get ideas for themselves.

If you are a photographer, please understand that I spent a lot of money and time producing these DVDs and am happy to give them for free only to clients and potential clients. I cannot respond to photographers requests for free DVDs, but you can certainly order them for a cost (along with many other photographic items) in the store part of my photographic workshop site.  Thanks for understanding.
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And until next time, America!
– Bry

I recently photographed Keith Stubbs, a great local stand-up comedian and radio DJ for 101.5 The Eagle. He wanted images that are hip and different that he can use for press releases, gig posters, and his new website.  He came to me because of my credentials and the fact that I have the fashion and magazine style he was looking for.

We had a great session, and it was a lot of fun.  Here are some of my favorite images.

BryCox - Keith Stubbs (treo 1)

This treo is incredibly interesting to me and really shows his personality.

BryCox - Keith Stubbs (treo 2)

This treo is just cool.  I love the feel, the colors, and personality in each image and how the images all work together.

BryCox - Keith Stubbs (treo 3)

Here’s a treo showing Keith laughing with a mic in his hand.  This to me, represents him on stage performing and have a good time doing it.

I wish Keith luck with these new images.  I love them and know that he is very excited about them too.  If any of you reading this, need some new photographs for press or just for fun, let me know.  I’d love to create something like this for you.

Until next time, America.
– Bry

This month I was featured in two completely different photography trade publications.  I feel it an honor to be featured in just one or the other, but I think that it’s really cool to be in both in the same month.

Some time ago I was interviewed by a writer for WPPI, and the article finally came out as this month’s “WPPI Photography Monthly.”  The second article was an interview that I gave to LexJet’s “In Focus.”

I know that my clients don’t get these magazines or have the ability to read them, but at the very least it should make you feel proud of the work I’ve done for you in the past as well as confident of the work I will do for you in the future.

It means a lot to artists to be recognized by industry leaders on a national level and it should mean a lot to you too as my clients, to know that your artist is a leader in the industry.

Next month in November, I’ll also be featured in the PPA’s “Professional Photographer” magazine — the biggest photography trade magazine in the country!  I’ll have more on that when it comes out next month.

Well, until next time, America!
– Bry