New Garmin Marine work!

Garmin Marine GPSMAP16x3 in Italy

The GPSMAP16x3 chartplotter and a Garmin Marine reel. This was a treat to head to Italy and shoot around Portofino. An absolutely stunning location on beautiful boats with the Spanish based production company Let’s.film.

North Carolina was a gem, too, albeit not the most ideal weather for shooting. All-in-all, these are the moments of full appreciation for what I do and who I work with. Thank you Garmin Marine team and for all involved! Watch here: Garmin Marine GPSMAP16x3 (https://www.cameronkarsten.com/Motion/2)

Directed by Cameron Karsten

Shot by Leo Phillips and Tyron Waas

Edited by Luke McJunkin

Produced by Let’s.film

Represented by The Gren Group

Garmin Marine reel – Seattle to Italy and in-between

Lastly, after three Garmin Marine campaigns in 5 locations, from sailing in Seattle, speed boating in Miami, to walleye fishing in Minnesota and cruising in Italy and coastal fishing North Carolina, my editor Luke pulled together a stylish Garmin Marine reel. Take a look and enjoy the water: Garmin Marine reel (https://www.cameronkarsten.com/Motion/3)

Unveiling Authenticity Through the Lens: An Interview with Cameron Karsten

The Vodou Trail in Haiti exploring the ceremonies and rituals of Haitian Vodou – © Cameron Karsten Photography 2015

This original interview was posted on Production Paradise’s website. It is always a pleasure to sit down at an interview and reflect upon my career, where I’ve come, and ultimately where I keep striving to get to. It is a constant development, creating something new, fresh, enduring, and most importantly, something entirely me. See below for the full interview:

Cameron Karsten is a photographer [and director] who seamlessly melds authentic moments with artistic brilliance. In this interview, we delve into Cameron’s unique approach, where the art of preserving authenticity harmonizes with visual aesthetics. From creating profound relationships with subjects to harnessing light and shadow, Cameron shares insights into his creative journey, highlighting the essence of genuine storytelling.

Based on your work, I can see you like to seamlessly incorporate candid and authentic shots with the products you’re shooting. How do you strike a balance between creating visually stunning images and preserving the authenticity of the subject or moment?

‍When going into a scene, a situation, a job or project, I do my best to really first observe and listen to the environment, surroundings, people and talent. I learn as much as I can from where I am and who I am working with and start by creating a relationship. This creates trust, something beyond just work. It’s a commonality, which then allows things to unfold naturally, authentically.

The Discovery Channel and Dish Network photographing Capt. Wild Bill for The Deadliest Catch – © Cameron Karsten Photography 2019.

As a photographer, you have a unique ability to capture the small details that make a scene come alive. Can you walk us through your thought process when scouting a location or setting up a shot, particularly in terms of how you select and emphasize those captivating details?

I love to create depth, and almost 100% of the time shoot wide open. This allows me to isolate the scene and tell the story with varying layers of foreground, middle and background. Revealing the story in front of me is what I strive to do, almost like a fly on the wall, or an out-of-body experience – something to ponder, observe and listen to.

The interplay of light and shadow is a prominent feature in your work. Could you share some insights into how you approach lighting in your photography to enhance the overall impact of the image and evoke specific emotions?

I went to school for photography and spent the hours inside a studio playing with continuous and strobe lighting. Once I felt confident, I took these outside the four walls and intermingled it all with natural light. That’s the ultimate trick utilizing the natural light, then adding light subtly enough to not make it look so. As I’ve developed in my career, I’ve come to appreciate the harder shadows, similarly portraying a scene as an act revealing and or hiding. 

Garmin’s new Livescope XR in Millie Lacs Lake, Minnesota – © Cameron Karsten Photography 2022.

How do you think your unique process and style separate you from other photographers?

I’m a firm believer in paving your own path. I look at others’ work and appreciate it, but keep using my intuition and inspiration to make it my own. It might not necessarily be new, but it is wholeheartedly from my source of creativity and desires. And understanding that I’ll never stop developing my work and career helps push me farther down this path when it gets difficult or stagnant.

You have had the opportunity to work with renowned brands such as Camelbak, The Discovery Channel, and Patagonia. How have these collaborations allowed you to merge your creative vision with the brand’s identity? Can you share an example of a project where you felt particularly fulfilled in bringing your artistic vision to life while representing the brand effectively?

Every client is different. They want something from you that you provide, and knowing this, that they didn’t come out of nowhere, builds a sense of confidence in my own brand and what I can bring to the table. When on these projects out in the field, it starts with a relationship and ends with a relationship… all the while we are creating together or “working”. In the end it does not feel like work. It feels like each member of the team being themselves – the popular adage You Do You.

Shot in Monterey, CA for CamelBak – © Cameron Karsten Photography 2022.

‍Establishing a connection with your subjects is a vital aspect of your photography process. Can you describe how you connect with people during a shoot to bring out their authentic selves and create powerful, emotionally resonant images? Additionally, how do you handle challenging situations when trying to establish that connection?

It’s all about creating a relationship by asking questions and listening and then finding the commonality. I think humor and humility bring a lot to the table too. However, sometimes it feels like hitting your head against a wall and on those rare occasions, you just have to keep being YOU and have a clear knowledge of “how to read the room”.

Can you tell us about one of your favorite memories from working on a campaign shoot?

One of my favorite memories was with one of my first clients on the first big campaign. We flew to Norway, Guatemala, Florida Keys and the Pacific Northwest. I remember thinking,“Holy shit! This is amazing that I am doing what I absolutely love to do, and someone is paying me to do this!” And then my next thoughts were similar to, “Don’t fuck this up, Cameron!”

I see you like to do a lot of traveling, taking lots of photos along the way. How does exploring different locations and cultures influence your creative process? Could you describe a specific instance where a travel experience significantly impacted your photography and led to a unique discovery or insight?

I started out by wanting to be a writer and write about my travels through various cultures around the world – a young Paul Theroux in the making. I spent six years backpacking around the world on the frugalist’s budget, writing stories as I went. I carried a film camera with me and would ship rolls of film home. Around this time a small consumer digital camera came on the market and having that in my pocket on my travels with the ability to share the image on the back of the camera with the subject changed my life. I loved seeing how their faces lit up, the joy and the unending smiles. I instantly wanted to tell their stories with pictures instead of just words.

Reddington fly rods in eastern Washington – © Cameron Karsten Photography 2023.

When photographing in diverse locations, how do you balance capturing the essence of a place while incorporating your personal creative touch? Are there specific techniques or approaches you employ to ensure your images convey both the authenticity of the location and your unique artistic perspective?

‍When walking into a new place, there is an instinct in me to just observe with all my senses and take it all in. It’s a meditative experience, letting the eyes dash about the scene without any judgement. When I come into a place with the idea of taking photos, I allow this to happen and then at some point start to move around the scene, learning more whether it’s a structural scene and its’ angles, or a person filled with personality, or a natural landscape with sun, clouds, flora and fauna. I then find the right moment to press the shutter.

Do you have any upcoming projects you can share with us?

‍I have a doozy of a project in Italy, that keeps shifting due to the availability of the boats we’ll be utilizing. I just purchased my tickets for me and my camera op, but just had to cancel them since it all appears to be a moving target. There are less than two weeks until production begins, and still no one knows where we need to be and what we will be on… (postscript; the shoot in Italy went off without a hitch, the whole team making the seemingly impossible perfectly possible – see post here).

We extend our gratitude to Cameron for offering us a glimpse into their world of photography. His insights and artistic journey have been an inspiring revelation, and we look forward to witnessing more of his captivating work in the future. Too see more work, visit www.CameronKarsten.com.

Reflective Layering: Winter

Lake Chelan, WA – New Years 2023 © Cameron Karsten Photography

I think about seasons as temporary transformations of emotion, physicality and the obvious surrounding environs. To me, winter is dark, cold, unforgiving, and often turbulent. A time of rest, thick socks, hot wood-burning stoves, and dark beers to ease my moodier outlook of the external world. Being from the Pacific Northwest, winter is more or less all those things, but milder with intermittent wind storms and snow that lasts a day or two before melting into a brown slushy soup that you can’t help but wish away sooner rather than later. Back to the rain.

However, as a father with two daughters, it is a season of new adventures and explorations. Getting the young outside to discover is no easy task. The layering, the timing, the coaxing with gallons of hot chocolate… It is never for naught, but an opportunity to expand the horizons and see the new; the soft tones of grays, whites, blacks and muted greens, with the occasional shocking blues. And it is a time to go within, to be still and watch the passing clouds and the water drops fall from the eves. In the PNW the sun is forever low on the winter horizon, if it appears at all, and the shadows always long, creating the ever contrasted frames of intrigue. Wherever you look, there is a place to go and train your eye.

I love when the light pierces through the canopy. I love when patterns and symmetry line up. I love when a tree stands out, tall like a monolith, a representation of the ages still strong, still remaining, like a wise sage oblivious to it all. I love when it all comes crashing down: When the light is flat and the waters still. When the forms shatter and chaos creates the creative imagination. When there is busy-ness infused with light and darkness. I think this is what makes the world go round, the brain taking in all the senses every waking hour and the heart making sense of it all through one simple thing – a feeling.

“To examine oneself makes good use of sight.” – Chuang Tzu

Mammoth Lakes, CA – 2022-2023 winter’s historic season, one atmospheric river after another. © Cameron Karsten Photography

This is my winter monologue; an exposé of images, thoughts, examinations, feelings and wonderment. It is a time of cabin fevers and extreme endurance. A place of stillness and wild abandon, often digging deep to remain true to oneself or simply to remain alive per the elements. All outcomes are a possibility.

CAMERON KARSTEN PHOTOGRAPHY

Active, Lifestyle, Portrait | Photographer + Director

Represented by The Gren Group | SEATTLE • LA

www.CameronKarsten.com | 206.605.9663

The Forgiven Seasons – Walk on the Wild Side

Watching your child grow is a masterclass in many things: obviously patience, but equally wonder, humility, happiness, frustration, the shouldas and the wouldas… and the yins and yangs of one’s own personality. It is to be active and inactive. It is to be protective yet withholding any fears. It is to be a teacher and a student at the same exact moment in time.

The Forgiven Seasons is an ongoing visual witnessing of youth as they grow from isolation into a limitless world limited by the constraints of yesteryear’s residuals. They grow from a singularity into a fevered exploration of what is what. In this journey, they step into the moss-laden forests to use their imaginations of young and old, discovering the nooks and crannies of old wood in search of faeries; a Walk on the Wild Side.

For more visit www.CameronKarsten.com

GoatBox Co – The OP Hunt

Creative Director John Idle reached out to me late last year for a last-minute campaign featuring a new product made by GoatBox Co out of Texas. We were looking for a hunting scenario, and immediately my mind began to tick. Being a small production with minimal budget, I called up a couple of friends, told them the what, when and where, and started scouring Google Maps for a close location.

Within less than two weeks we were dialed in on a beautiful day, out shooting on the Olympic Peninsula with a badass truck, a cooler fitting for the occasion, and all the props necessary to pull off an early morning deer hunting scene.

Besides the hunting scene, the client also was seeking a fishing scenario and a general lifestyle, product shots. Being the middle of winter and resources limited, John, my two talent models (who look way better on camera), and myself pulled off the impossible to make winter look like a late afternoon fishing outing during “warmer months”.

For more, visit www.CameronKarsten.com. Represented by The Gren Group

CamelBak Chronicles w/Oskar Blues Brewery

CamelBak approached me with this killer idea to shoot a outdoor lifestyle stills and motion campaign with a number of different brand collaborates. Without hesitation, I jumped onboard. So far with 4 projects under our belts, were looking to 2023 to bring on a new line of radical adventures and super cool talent.

With Oskar Blues Brewery one of the companies working with CamelBak, my team and I flew down to Austin, TX to meet with the all-too-stellar Producer/Creative Director Grace H.. We scouted, discovered and began a narrative about Matt – lead Cellar Manager at Oskar Blues and how he creates and assesses his product throughout a continuous brewing cycle and once off-duty ventures into the outdoor wild playgrounds with colleagues and friends to let loose and re-energize.

From the brewery grounds to the reservoirs of Austin, we see Matt let loose in his natural surroundings, all the while incorporating the CamelBak ChillBak to bring the necessary 24+ cold Dale’s Pale Ale beverages along the journey.

Shot and Directed by Cameron Karsten

Motion shot by Leo Phillips

Edited by Luke McJunkin

Creative Direction by Grace H.

More available at www.CameronKarsten.com

Garmin Marine Tearsheets

Always a joy and a reward to see finals presented in their absolute forms! From Seattle to Miami, with a stop in upper Minnesota…

How to Shred the Gnar

There’s a first for everything, and as a primary water sports enthusiast, I haven’t introduced my kids to the art of snow sports yet, until the 1st of 2023! They have begun their journey Shreddin’ the Gnar. But first a look at the hills shrouded in snow just south of Chelan, WA. This edition is available for purchase up to 50in x 19in showcased over a beautiful wall space. Contact for details.

We spent two days at Echo Valley just north of Lake Chelan. With only 3 toe ropes and a minimal field of Jerry’s, their experience was beautiful. After an 1.5hr ski lesson from a young shredder himself, they were hooked.

http://www.CameronKarsten.com

2022 Director’s Reel

Work shot throughout 2022. Thanks to Leo and Daud for the amazing camera work. Luke and Sam for the killer edits. And the clients featured here, and others that are not, for believing in our vision and efforts.

www.CameronKarsten.com

A Day For Ice

For one day in the Pacific Northwest, everything frozen.

Looking at my Tacoma was a detailed spectacle.

From the truck, I grabbed a sheet of black foam core and wandered around the garden.

Placing the black background behind the frozen elements helped isolate the subjects and make the ice pop.

Then with an old camera, and an even older lens, I returned to the truck to photograph the macro world of ice encapsulating the Toyota Tacoma.

They each look like a study of ice, or a picture of a frozen planet far out in the galaxy.