With a name like Satchel B. Moore, how can you not be an interesting person in this town? For those of you who aren't familiar with Satchel, he is part of the team at Black Blue, a great shop in St. Paul. More than that, Satchel is crazy passionate about good, quality denim. I had the pleasure of photographing Satchel for MPLS / St Paul Magazine for the current issue and for this portrait, we were invited into Satchel's home. This dude really takes customer service to a whole other level. He cares so much about his clients that he personally hems their jeans in his home for them. I think that is pretty cool. Make sure to check out Satchel's full article in the October issue, which is on newsstands now. This space was soooooo cool that I just had to share a few more portraits that didn't run in print. Enjoy!
MPLS/St. Paul Magazine // The Beer Issue
It's October and you know that that means - everyone is in the mood for a good brew. This month's issue of MPLS / St Paul Magazine is on newsstands now and I am SO proud to have been a big part of this issue. There are a few stories that I was invited to photograph, all that I will be sharing, but I wanted to start out with the big story - beer. This story took me to Fulton, 612 Brew, Indeed Brewing, Schells Brewing and even a stop to the Better Beer Society University. I have always loved the beer culture in our city, and it was great to learn even more about it! The story revolved around the sense of community that the tap rooms bring and is full of information!
Tara LaTour // Juxtapose // 2014 Collection
Every year, I am so grateful to be invited back to photograph the newest collection by bridal designer Tara LaTour. Tara and I have a beautiful working relationship and friendship, and I remember last year when we were at Bridal Market, she was already planning this year's designs. For this past year, she stuck to her vision and her 2014 collection has stayed true to her brand's roots, while pushing the limits in the details. The dresses have elements of fringe, separate pieces, and cropped tops, which is something I just adore for the world of Bridal. A few of her dresses, in my opinion, are also red-carpet-worthy. As usual, Tara included her classic ombre and color dyes to the line. On a personal note, I am totally and completely honored to have a dress named after me!!! This is one of those moments in life where I am completely humbled that she felt a dress was inspired by my personality. That is truly amazing.
For this year's look book, we went into the studio for a more editorial and monotone look to the images. Amber Rose gave her talent to the hair and makeup - and even went so far as to give our model hombre hair, which I absolutely love and think it fits the Tara LaTour brand absolutely perfectly. Each year, Tara and her team put their heart and soul into creating this work, and it is such a wonderful thing to be a part of. I am currently sitting in NYC in the midst of Bridal Fashion Week, where Tara is debuting this collection. I felt it was the most fitting time to share it all with you as well!
Of course, a shoot like this would not be complete without some fun behind-the-scene images! Thank you so much to our entire team for all of your amazing work!
dschwen//
David Schwen is most definitely the most clever dude I have ever met. I am lucky enough to call this guy a friend, but the more I see his work, the more my jaw drops in that "Why didn't I think of that?" way. David is the mastermind behind his design brand dschwen. He is a bit of an instagram/pinterest hero to many of his followers and mostly because his ideas are both inspiring and fun, yet simple. If you haven't seen his work yet, you must check it out. These are just a few portraits I took of the man-behind-the-talent for Urban Bean Coffee's I ♥ MPLS blog! If you want to learn more about dschwen, head on over and read his interview!
Mpls St Paul Magazine // Burger Feature
Sometimes I take an assignment that is totally out of left field, just to challenge myself. As we all know, I mostly concentrate on photographing people. Whether that be environmental portraits, fashion or ad campaigns - people are usually the main focus of the work I create. When MPLS St Paul Magazine approached me about photographing their burger feature for the August issue, I couldn't help but say yes. I'm a GIANT foodie at heart and it was a challenge I was happy to accept. There are overall 20 pages devoted to burgers in this issue and we had the pleasure of photographing 17 different restaurants for this article! I brought along some help for this shoot - our all-star-intern Melissa and our awesome-video-dude, Chris. Chris was our resident burger-eater when we needed someone to really dive in, but he also offered his talents for this sweet behind-the-scenes video! I also learned that I can shoot one mean burger...
Burger// Minneapolis St. Paul Magazine from Chris Wegner on Vimeo.
Dogwood Coffee // Stephanie Ratanas
Stephanie Ratanas says it best on her profile for Dogwood Coffee. She is 'concerned with all things coffee'. It's clear after meeting her for just a few moments that the entire process of creating a cup of coffee is her passion. Stephanie is quiet, soft spoken, but a powerhouse behind the scenes of this roaster. For Urban Bean's new blog, called I ♥ MPLS, I was invited to go into the offices of Dogwood, where they roast & package their product, as well as work and train their staff. Dogwood is SUCH a cool company and I've always enjoyed every single person that I've met who's associated with this brand. For this Friday, I thought you might enjoy a little behind-the-scenes imagery of what goes in to making Dogwood so brilliant. You can also check out the full interview with Stephanie on the I ♥ MPLS blog!
John Kraus // Patisserie 46
The last couple of months, I have been super busy with a lot of different projects. One of my favorite works of collaboration is the new website for Urban Bean Coffee in Minneapolis. This is definitely my favorite coffee spot in town, and I am very excited to be asked to photograph the new content for their new website. In addition, I am SO excited for the new I ♥ MPLS blog, which is part of the new UB site. This has been a great opportunity for me to just do my thing, have some creative freedom and photograph some sweet environmental portraits. For this first shoot, we headed back in the kitchen of Patisserie 46 with chef John Kraus. Here are a few images from our time together, but I encourage you all to check out the full blog post + interview with John over at I ♥ MPLS.
MAGDALENA//
I love personal work, test shoots and collaborating with other fabulous artists. A few years ago, I struck gold with a NAHA submission and learned a TON about the hair & makeup industry, along with what-it-takes to submit to this prestigious competition. NAHA stands for the North American Hair Association and the awards they give out are like the 'Grammys' of the hair+ makeup industry. When Amber Rose approached me about wanting to submit, I was absolutely 100% in. This girl had her concept down to be a dark, high fashion shoot, and incorporating certain accessories - bones, long, creepy nails, a nun wimple and veil - you know, the usual. We brought in the fabulous designer + art director, Liz Gardner, to help us with the layout and along with clothes from Emma Berg and Cliche, the team was complete. Julie Lam assisted Amber Rose with the hair + makeup and Agnes Xiong was our model. We are all incredibly busy people, so this shoot had to happen in our 'off' hours. I think we wrapped close to midnight or 1am? Either way, totally worth it. We actually didn't make the cut to be finalists in this competition, but I am a believer in submitting to competitions, whether you win or lose - the work is always a win.

Twin Cities Business Magazine // Train Feature
I love getting back to my documentary roots as a photographer and going on assignment. I've had a few gigs now with Twin Cities Business Magazine and this last story I photographed was awesome and I absolutely loved every last minute of it! The story brought me all the way out to Glencoe, MN to photograph the men on the railroad. My favorite subject was a man named Kenny. This is the only job he has ever had in his entire life and the quiet pride he has for this job is very telling when you meet him. Sometimes, we dream about 'making it' and 'following our passion' and it always seems to be doing something big and ambitious. For Kenny, his passion lies on this railroad, in this community and it's simple. Here are some out-takes that didn't make the spread, enjoy!


2013 LAVENDER Wedding Issue // Minnesota Marriage Equality
The latest issue of LAVENDER Magazine is officially on newsstands and I am SUPER happy to have been a part of this shoot! This issue is the 2013 Wedding Issue for the magazine, and I was chosen to collaborate with some AMAZING people to really elevate the presence of gay marriage in our city and photograph the fashion editorial. Obviously, same-sex marriage is a hot topic at the moment, and a movement that I really believe in. I was over the moon with the idea of creating imagery to promote marriage equality and I hope you are as pleased with the outcome as I! Below are images from the LAVENDER Online Issue and you can grab a copy in print - literally - all around town! The issue is only on newsstands for a few weeks, so check it out before they are all gone! Of course, no shoot happens without an amazing team behind me. This was a major production, with two days of shooting, in two very different locations. We photographed the women at The Union Depot in downtown St. Paul and then moved the crew back to Minneapolis at The Bachelor Farmer to photograph the men. Style Architects put together the wardrobe and set styling, which featured some fabulous companies, including: Ignite Models Inc., Gateaux Inc, Martha's Garden, L'atelier Couture, Realia by Jen, On Solid Ground Vintage Rentals, Roe Wolfe, BeThings, Saima Says Design, Heimie's Haberdashery, Martin Patrick 3, Hammermade and more! In addition to the photographs, Chris Wegner also came along to create two amazing behind-the-scenes videos for you to check out:
LAVENDER Wedding Shoot // Day 1
LAVENDER Wedding Shoot // Day 2





































































































