erik koskinen, by jenn barnett

i first met jenn barnett last year some time.  i think the first time we actually spoke to each other was as i arrived at a church to shoot a wedding with her.  i had long since known about and admired her work and i was mostly familiar with her band photography, although she has quite a diverse portfolio.

jenn is an avid music lover and has done much to promote local bands and musicians.  local producer/rock star ed ackerson summed it up well when he said, “Jenn is golden, a huge asset for our community as a whole.”

you will no doubt be shocked (shocked, i tell you!  jk) to learn that it can be really difficult to make a living based purely on photography.  and what is even more shocking (yeah, right) is that it is equally difficult to make a living performing music.  i admire jenn because she is a full time photographer, she has her eye fixed on the target and she’s making it happen.  but, like many of us in creative fields, it sometimes takes the support of the community to make it through.

i recently learned that jenn’s camera had been on its last leg despite having undergone repairs.  and then it died completely.  her only option to make enough money to replace her camera body would be to sell prints – she couldn’t rely on the income from new shoots, because she couldn’t do new shoots.  panic! complete panic.  i just can’t imagine being without a camera – mine is never far from my sight.  i can’t live without it.  i wanted to help but i wasn’t sure what to do.  then i had an idea.

jenn has done *so* much for local musicians and helping to promote them, both through creating amazing images of their bands and telling people about their music . . . surely some of them would rally to help her replace her camera.  and they would! they are!  the bands i approached immediately embraced the idea of donating their time to help.

as of yesterday, we have the final lineup – although i’m certain that any of the bands on the bill would be willing to work in a cameo if anyone else wanted to get in on this.  i started calling it the Jennefit (because i’m hilarious) even though that’s basically painful in it’s dorkiness.  it’s super fun to say!  say it out loud.  do it!  jennefit.

here’s what we are going to do, and i TOTALLY need your help, if you are reading this.  we are going to the turf club on march 26th and we are going to watch these kick ass bands play until they make us all go home:

the honeydogs
ashleigh still
erik koskinen
ryan paul & the ardent
the mad ripple (jim walsh)

here’s what i need YOU to do.

1. tell everyone you know.  right now, go do it. tell them to write it on their calendars.
2. come to the show!
3. if you are in the media, um – contact me?  please?  and write about this.  for reals.  kthx.

ready, set, go.

last year we donated two photo shoot packages to raise money in silent auctions.  the first was for the hope for sweet emma benefit in waconia, to raise money for a little girl with an inoperable brain tumor.  we donated a full day wedding photo shoot.  the second was for the battered women’s shelter, and we donated an engagement shoot package to that.   in both cases we were approached by close friends who asked us for contributions to their auctions.

we are looking at our spring and summer calendars for this year, and wondering what kinds of contributions we can make for 2010, and so i wanted to put forward the question to you – if you know of anyone organizing a fundraising event and seeking charitable donations, and you think our services may be a match, please send me a message.  thanks!

what if i don't find the perfect swingset

this is a page from the original edition of perfect swingset – it’s a scan of the vellum over the photograph.   in the new book, the words and images are on opposing pages – if you follow the link to the place where you buy the book, you can do “preview book” and see some of the pages.

we got the proof copy in and the book is just right! we were originally going to make it available in only hardcover, but because it is a print on demand book, it costs a little more than if we’d run off 1000 copies and had boxes of them in our basement to sell.  which we just cannot do, for many reasons – so we wanted to make the softcover available too, so the book would be more accessible.

please head over to the blurb site, check it out, please write comments on our page, and please please tell all your friends nice things about our book.