#doug levy

[douglaslevy]

Last week I received an email from my friends at Harvared Business School asking if I was available to photograph their new Live Online Classroom. 

Now, I’m always excited to work with the team at Harvard (and not just because the knowledge from eavesdropping on classes makes me smarter), but because they’re always innovating with ideas like this. I spent a little less than an hour in their new classroom space (which can be described as essentially a tv studio for online learning), and once again left uber impressed. Sadly the teaching was staged for the shoot, so I didn’t pickup any business gems this time, but I am incredibly grateful for clients who are pushing the boundaries of innovation during this stressful mess.

[douglaslevy]

Last week, as part of my ongoing series of photos of New England Craftsmen, I traveled to North Adams (all the while wishing I was making the drive during peak foliage) to visit Karen King and her Scout Millinery.  Karen is spending the year in North Adams as part of a Mass MOCA grant program, and we spent the morning chatting about all things hats and dogs - one of which I knew a little about, the other of which I now know a little about. 

For the uninitiated, millinery is the art of making women’s hats. In Karen’s case, she creates gorgeous handmade pieces from straw and felt. During my time in her studio, I photographed her working with both materials and couldn’t have been more impressed - plus she’s just great company to spend a morning with.

If your travels lead you to the state’s northwesternmost corner, I highly recommend paying a visit to Karen’s studio (plus she shares the space with a few other amazing artists as well). I promise it won’t be a day wasted - and stay tuned for some more craftsmen over the next few weeks, including a visit with a company that handmakes baseball bats on Cape Cod.

[douglaslevy]

A couple of months back, as part of my ongoing series of photos of New England Craftsmen, I spent a morning with the folks at Acton’s WM.S.Haynes, maker of flutes since 1888. After we wrapped that shoot, Katy introduced me to Samantha at their sister company, S.E. Shires.  Last week, I spent the morning with the Shires team, watching and photographing the process of some of the world’s best trumpets and trombones coming together. From initial part fabrication to final testing, it was a pleasure to watch their Shires team work, and they couldn’t have been more welcoming. 

Know someone making something from scratch anywhere in New England? I’m always looking for the next addition to the series. 

[douglaslevy]

New work for the October issue of Northshore Magazine - developer Joe Faro, photographed at Tuscan Market in Salem, New Hampshire. This has been an interesting year, and with the lack of childcare most days, I’m bringing my 2-year-old Dylan with me to shorter shoots like this one. He did tell me that the light should be “higher” - and I guess he was right, the resuilts speak for themselves. 

[douglaslevy]

One of the things that this year has largely put on pause is one of my favorite things - personal work, and with that my New England Craftsmen series. I’ve been doing a half dozen or so of these shoots every year, for almost a decade, so when I had the opportunity to spend a recent morning Neon Williams I couldn’t have been more excited. Thank you to Dave, Lynn and the entire team at Neon Williams for inviting me into your world for a morning and gifting me with a little sense of 2019. 

[douglaslevy]

New work for the new issue of Northshore magazine, from the last shoots of 2019. First up is my monthly backpage feature with Janelle Monteiro, photographed at her gym in Middleton. We spent most of that shoot chatting about chasing small children around and the perks of owning small businesses. We dropped this one her fairly last minute (two days before Christmas!), but Janelle couldn’t have been more accomodating. 

Next up, perhaps the opposite of a morning spent at a gym, was an afternoon at the newly open Great Marsh Brewing in Essex. It might be funny to say both of these shoots were right up my alley, but I’m both a gym junkie and beer lover, so both of these assignments were right in my wheelhouse. I will say though, the highlight from this one wasn’t the beer, but the everything bagel pretzel, and all the vintage video game memorabilia that adorns the brewery. 

[douglaslevy]

A few weeks back I noticed a small (almost like a realtor would use) sign near the highway exit for my house. It was simple, and just said, “Play Polo! Boston Polo.” I had no idea anyone even played polo in the Boston area, so knew I had to reach out to the folks at Boston Polo about doing some photography. 

Cut to last Saturday, and the folks at Boston Polo in Georgetown couldn’t have been more welcoming - and I spent the better part of 3-hours wandering their barns and property, photographing the riders, horses and atmosphere as Boston took on India (Boston won). For the uninitiated novice fans, they piped running color commentary during the match over a set of loudspeakers so we actually knew what we were looking at. We’re already making plans to return this summer on a purely spectator basis. 

[douglaslevy]

Back in April we headed up to Amesbury to spend a morning with Alison Hardy - aka the Window Woman - for our friends at Boston University. The full story is live here - https://www.bu.edu/today/2018/window-woman-of-new-england/ but we photographed Alison and her team in their workspace while they worked to restore 300 or so windows for BU’s Castle. 

Many of the old windows are being kept (in whole or in part) which meant that new pieces had to be fabricated from scratch to replace old or broken ones. On the day we were there many of Alison’s team were the lead that lines the windows (the top left photo), and we also photographed her in their storage attic where dozens (hundreds?) of partially repaired windows await their moment.