BryCox.com – Celebrity Style Imaging, Inc.™

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

Last week when I was teaching at the photographic workshop in New England (see my last blog entry), I had the honor of meeting painter Jeremy Sutton (JeremySutton.com).  He too was there to teach a course at the workshop, but his was on painting.

As both of us were instructors, we arrived a day early to get set up and have dinner together and with the other instructors and the NEIPP staff.  I had never met him before, but knew his name and had seen some of his DVDs years ago.  I was excited to finally meet him.

As we talked, we were both excited about the fact that we both had the same fresh approach and philosophies to creativity.  Though we use different mediums and have different terminology to explain it, it was fun to find that they were so similar.

I’ve dubbed my creative philosophy and style, “Jazz Photography,”  based on me being a jazz musician before becoming a photographer, and using the same approaches from playing jazz to creating photographs — that is having a high technical background but being able to block the technical thinking, allowing that part to function perfunctorily in the background in order to really be able to improv and be creative.  

Jeremy, being a painter with a strong technical background, uses a similar approach, pulling on his love of jazz music and his background of swing dancing, relating it all to his individual brushstrokes.  He even listens to jazz and talks about dancing as he paints.

BryCox - Sutton painting 1

Jeremy had an idea of combining our groups one night for about 30 minutes in order to talk about the similarities of our creative processes despite the differences in mediums.  He decided that doing a live portrait would work best for this, and I was honored to have him chose me to paint. This image above is Jeremy painting me live.

BryCox - Sutton painting 2

It was quite an experience to be painted live.  As you can see from this image above, he lit me with some consistent and directional light (the lamp) and is working digitally with a digital pad and pen (called a Cintique’, $2000) that is pressure and directionally sensitive. His work can be seen on the projector behind us.

BryCox - Sutton painting 3

He worked very abstractly, laying down colors and shapes that didn’t look like me or a person at all, but instead were swirls of color and shape, both positive and negative.  The entire process only took 20 minutes, and near the end it began to come together where we could all see the face emerge from the abstract.

I am extremely pleased with the painting.  Here is the final result:

BryCox - Sutton final canvas

I absolutely love this!  As an artist, I find it incredibly interesting and very artistic.  I love the use of color, the shapes, and the loose feeling of the brushstrokes as well.  This was not created from a photo reference, but live, right in front of me.  It was an incredible gift!

Being a musician, I love to write and record in my free time.  This to me looks like an album cover for a future CD!  I think I have a new project on my hands.  :-)

As my current clients know, I’ve offered painted portraits on canvas for many years using a portrait I create as a reference.  Some of these can be seen in past entries on this blog (here is one example, or type “painting” into the search bar near the top of my blog to see more examples from the past).

However, I am hoping to learn and incorporate more of Jeremy’s style and techniques into my work to be an even better painter artist.  I’m excited for what that will bring to my work.

Thank you Jeremy!

Until next time, America!
– Bry

BryCox - Gateway Wedding Show

This Saturday, I’ll be at the Gateway Wedding Show, located in the Grand Ballroom next to The Depot at the Gateway.  The show goes from 10 am to 4 pm and it should be a lot of fun.  I’ll be bringing some new albums and some new beautiful samples to show.

Bridal shows are a great way to see and compare different photographers and other wedding vendors very quickly, and I’m excited for you to come and see me and what I do, and to compare the quality and value against anyone else.

If you’re getting married, stop by and say hi.  It’d be fun to see you.

Until Saturday, America!
– Bry

Well, my Portland job is finished. It went really well. I fly home today and should have flown out a while ago, but I got bumped and am waiting now at the Portland airport for my next flight.

One thing I’ve always liked about the PDX airport is that it is one of the few airports that has free and working WiFi. That is a nice service for sure, so today I’m taking advantage of that and thought I’d put up a few more images from my coastal road trip I took earlier this week.

Bry Cox - Heceta at a distance

This image above I created on my long walk up to the Heceta lighthouse (on Day 2).  It was such a serene moment to come around the path and have it open up to this scene!

Bry Cox - Looking off Heceta

This image was taken from the lighthouse looking down.  The mountain in the distance is where I photographed the lighthouse during the day time on Day 3 from a distance along with the image of myself.

Bry Cox - Heceta Panorama

Here is a pano of the lighthouse before the sun set that night.

And earlier that day I photographed an entirely different lighthouse on the way to Heceta.  This lighthouse is called Yaquina and I used my friend Bryan Welsh’s long lens to get this from a distant beach. 

Bry Cox - Yaquina Lighthouse

Well I’m getting tired of sitting here in the airport and need to walk around, stretch and maybe get some food.  I hope you all like these images.  I know I had a great time creating them and am very excited to see them printed.

Until next time, America!
– Bry

Yesterday was day three of my Oregon Coast Photo Safari.  When I’m on a photo safari, for some strange reason I think it’s fun find and stay in some classic motels…that are clean of course.  This is the motel where I stayed between day 2 and 3 on the safari.  It was in a small coastal town right across the street from the place where I ate dinner.  And yes, it was clean and cheap and the biggest thing that impressed me was the fact that they still used real keys instead of swipe cards.

Coastal Motel

So after checking out, I headed back north, taking the slow and scenic way to Portland, and found a little meandering road called Mercer on the way.  That’s where I got this panorama.

Bry Cox - Mercer

Because only locals drive the road and they all know each other, I had a few local people stop and watch me to make sure I didn’t need any help or to see what I was up to.  I loved this scene.  The trees are fantastic!

From there I continued more north passing the lighhouse again and this time stop and created some images from a distance rather than up close.

Bry Cox - Heceta Head

I like this angle because it shows the cliffs below the lighthouse.  Such a great location.  This was right off the road and didn’t require any hiking, so other cars were pulling off too to look.  After setting up my equipment, I found someone to take a photo with me in it.  I never get any photos of me when I’m on a trip, so this is a real treat!

Bry Cox - Bry at Heceta

I got into Portland by early evening yesterday and began working all day today.  I work again most of the day tomorrow too, and then I’m done here. 

Here in Portland, because I’m working, I was put up in a very nice hotel.  I’ve stayed in a lot of nice hotels, but this has to be one of the biggest rooms I’ve ever had.  It is the size of a three room apartment and I love it.  It’s so nice to stay in a nice place after staying in a cheap place the night before.  The contrast really makes me appreciate companies like this that put time and effort into creating an atmosphere of good taste, and style, that is beautiful and comfortable to live in.

Ok, well I’ve got to go prepare for tomorrow.  I’ll get more images up when I get a minute.  Until next time, America!
– Bry

I made it just as planned to my favorite lighthouse at exactly when I wanted to arrive, just as the sun was beginning to set.  This is one of the most photographed lighthouses in the world and I’ve won some great awards myself with images of this lighthouse that I created some years ago.  It is called Heceta Head, and pretty much every art book on lighthouses has Haceta Head on the cover.  

Aside from the lighthouse itself, the location is absolutely gorgeous and serene.  It puts me in an introspective and creative mood just being there.  The air was perfect and fresh and I loved the sound of the very large waves crashing into the rocks below us.

I created a lot of images here tonight, but here are just two for now.

Bry Cox - Oregon Photo Safari 4

The lighthouse is about a 1/2 mile hike from the parking area.  Once reaching the lighthouse, I hurried to make this image just before the sun dropped below some clouds on the horizon.

Bry Cox - Oregon Photo Safari 5

Once the sun had dropped out completely, I created this image with the help of a photographer friend of mine, Bryan Welsh (MIT Studio) who came along with me.  He helped me paint the side of the building with a flash during a long 30 second exposure, a technique called “painting with flash.”  It came about once the sun had dropped out and in trying to figure out how to get the twilight image I wanted, found out that he had two hand-held flashes in his bag.

Painting with flash means that while the camera is on a tripod and open, we run around in the frame flashing the areas we want lit.  The flashes have to be in the right locations and at the right settings, and you have to constantly run to avoid ending up in the photograph yourself.  A very fun way to make a photograph!  :-)  I think we were laughing after every 30 second exposure.

There are more images from this location, and hopefully soon I’ll get some more up on the blog.

Today was such a fun day.  I loved driving down the coast, seeing small towns, eating in fun little diners, hanging out with my friend Bryan, and photographing this lighthouse.  This particular lighthouse was the main reason I wanted to come back out to the coast on this trip and I think I got some great images.

Well that’s it for tonight.  I should get to bed now.  Until next time, America!
– Bry

I’m out in Oregon for a job I have coming up in a few days, but I came out early to take a road trip down one of my favorite roads in the country…the Oregon coast. Here are some images I created today.

Bry Cox - Oregon Coast Photo Safari 1

I love this!  This building is will be 100 years old next year.  I had a nice talk with the care-keeper today while photographing it.

Bry Cox - Oregon Coast Photo Safari 2

This is overlooking Haystack rock in the distance.  The next image shows Haystack better.

Bry Cox - Oregon Coast Photo Safari 3

Some nice waves almost got me while creating this image.

I’ve had a great day and had a lot of fun seeing some of these places again.  It is so pretty out here!  Tomorrow I’ll be heading south and working my way further down the coast.  I’m planning to arrive at my favorite lighthouse late in the day so that the sun will be in the perfect spot to make the lighthouse look spectacular.

If I can get a hotel with reliable internet tomorrow night, then I’ll get some images of this lighthouse up.

So until tomorrow, America!
– 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

Here’s the order I’ve been working on today.  It’s for Dan, a missionary who’s getting ready to head out to Colombia, South America for two years.  Below is the composite I created for him.  I love how it shows different personalities and feelings, and will be a great piece for his family to enjoy at while he’s gone.

Composite

And here is a treo I created for him too.  Three images of Dan in his suit and his scriptures.

Treo

A couple years ago I photographed Dan’s brother for his missionary portraits, and now Dan is going out for his mission.  It is a great thing that he’s doing and I wish him much success.

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

 
I just flew back from Phoenix and am glad to be home.  I love flying and traveling because I tend to be more introspective than usual, being away from my daily routine.  But now I’m home, and glad to be able to work again and get stuff done.

My trip started out a few days early by seeing my friend Collin and doing some work for him.  He is an amazing cosmetic dentist and I do a lot of the ‘after’ portraits for him after he fixes someone’s teeth.  I started off by photographing his staff, his office and then doing some fashion images for his upcoming brochure.

The next day I photographed his family and his little kids at their Ahwatukee home.  He has such a beautiful family and has adorable and cute little kids.  It had been two years since I’d last photographed them, so the kids had forgotten me.  It was fun to win them over, all over again.

I haven’t made my studio picks yet, but here’s a sample of images from the family session.

BryCox - Collins Family

Here’s their family above,…

BryCox - Little Leyton

…their little boy, Leyton, who is amazingly smart,…

BryCox - Little Emi

…and their little girl who has the cutest laugh.
 

PPA
After seeing Collin for a few days, I headed off to the national photography convention for the next few days, called the PPA convention.  

9000 photographers from all over the country as well as many other countries were in attendance.  This is where photographers go to see the newest and greatest changes in the industry.  Last year I spoke at PPA, and this year I received a free pass because of an award that I’d won.  I also received a second award that I’m very proud of: a ‘Loan’ for my image of Joe McQueen.  The Loan Print is the highest award a photographer can win, and the image will now go in the PPA Loan Book art book.

Last PPA I released my second book for photographers and this year I received a great compliment from a great photographer, Clay Blackmore, an industry legend.

While passing in a hall, he said, “Bry, your book is the best book on photography I’ve ever read.”  I asked if he wouldn’t mind writing me a testimonial and he said, “That’s your testimonial.  Write that down…the best book on photography I’ve ever read!”  That really made my day to say the least.

I also love seeing all my photographer friends from all over the country. I should have taken more photos with everyone, but here are a few from the last couple days.  A quick note: photographers where their credentials around their neck at events like this.  It’s a way to quickly tell what rank everyone is.

PPA 2009 - Lori Nordstrom

My good friend Lori Nordstrom just came out with a new line of fashion camera neck straps that are very cool.  I got one of course.

PPA 2009 - Jackie Palmer

Jackie Palmer assisted me at one of my workshops a few years ago and is now a good friend of mine.

PPA 2009 - Awards Ceremony

And here is a group of photographers in my MasterWorks group just after the awards ceremony where Karen received some new credentials.

If any photographers see this, I want you to know that it was great seeing you all.  Seeing my friends at these events is what really makes these gigs fun for me.  Take care and I’ll see you all at the next event.

Until next time, America.
– Bry

It’s the time of year when we all look back on the past year as well as looking forward to the coming year to make plans and also wonder what’s to come.

In that line of thought, I own a lot of poetry books and love to read them, mostly because of the influence of my mom who was a renown author back in the day.  My favorite poetry books I bought used after a lot of searching through an enormous used book store in Salt Lake called Sam Weller’s.

The artist in me gets inspiration and clarity from these books and I’ve been reading them even more intently over the last few days.

Here’s one poem in particular, called Survival by Margaret Moore Meuttman asking what will be remembered in 1000 years.  Here’s just a piece — the last stanza:

Perhaps a prayer, perhaps a song,
Fashioned of love and tears,
But only beauty,…only truth
Will last a thousand years.

I love that last line, “only beauty, only truth will last a thousand years.”  It’s hard to describe how much work goes into creating just one image, even though I work hard to make it look easy.  Nevertheless, an enormous amount of time, talent, and love goes into every project so that you can enjoy your custom portraits now, for years to come, and also by future generations.

Over the holidays, many clients called me later to thank me again for their orders.  That really meant a lot to me.  I also want to thank you all again for hiring me as your personal family artist in 2008.  I love what I do and appreciate that fact that you all love what I create.

I am so proud of the work I was able to do this year.  I feel it was my best work ever, and I know I will create even more spectacular images for you all in 2009.

See you all soon!

Bry Cox - Mountain Tops

Because of the introspective nature of this blog entry, I thought it appropriate to post this image I created of the Salt Lake Temple, titled, “Mountain Tops.”   The title is a reference to the Old Testament use of mountains as a symbol of the temple — thus the phrase, “Mountains of the Lord.”

Well that’s it for now.  Until next time, America!
– Bry