Dad Time — Trathen Heckman

We had the best time out in Petaluma visiting with Trathen Heckman and his lovely daughter, Ella. Trathen is the founder of Daily Acts, publisher of Ripples Journal, and a backyard farmer. He educates and collaborates with communities, business, and municipal leaders to harness the power of nature in order to restore the health of lives and communities.

Blackberries, raspberries, edible flowers that taste like cotton candy, mulberries, and kale are just a few things growing in their incredible backyard garden. They are also raising chickens, so fresh eggs are a daily blessing. There's even an adorable kitten named 'Pudgy' that spends its days romping around the garden. In the front you can find artichokes, herbs, and fruit trees lining the edge of the garden. And Ella cannot resist the loquat tree that's growing just at their neighbor's house on the corner of their street.

After tending to and watering the garden, collecting eggs and making breakfast, Trathen and Ella showed off their scooting and skating skills throughout their neighborhood.

Gerchen Keller

There is nothing better than seeing clients use my photography in a bold, powerful way. Check out Gerchen Keller's new website and marketing materials below. Special thanks to the WSJ for the introduction — I actually photographed them many years ago when they were just getting started, and it's incredible to see how their company has really taken off. And kudos to Kerry Grady for the stunning design work.

YMCA USA's Afterschool Program

Back in March, we did a shoot to help promote the YMCA USA’s many after school programs. Using a combination of real life YMCA members and professional talent, we shot at a local YMCA in Evanston, Illinois.

Two scenarios we focused on were the ritual and getting started portions of their afterschool programs, where kids are greeted by their counselors and actively participate in choosing which activities they want to do that afternoon. We photographed the kids and counselors participating in reading groups, academic enrichment, arts + crafts, and STEM activities. This also included scenarios where the children clean up after their activities and help prepare and set up for another group’s activity.

Crew

Producer:  Trevor Power

PA:  Brian Gladkowski

Assistants:  Leah Fithian, Kevin Serna, Jon Wes, Will Hartman

DIT:  Brian Pietrini

Child Wrangler:  Meg Grunewald

Stylist:  Sebastian Toma

Hair + Makeup:  Lauren Frenden

Happy Father's Day

Last week we brought back some of our classic Dad Time dads to the studio.

From top: Lance Curran, Adrian Lemberger, Damian Thompson, Jake Nickell and Robert McGuire

UnitedHealth | corporate responsibility report

This past February, I was asked to shoot a couple of events to showcase the different aspects of UnitedHealth Group's corporate responsibility commitment. My assistant, Leah, and I traveled to Minneapolis and then to Gainesville, FL with the MN based team and created these images.

We also spent a couple of weeks in April shooting a new lifestyle library for UnitedHealth which brought us back to Florida for sunnier, greener scenery. We will post those as soon as they become available.

Dad Time LA

I am thrilled to share some of the images from our trip out to LA in February shooting a handful of dads for my project. Huge thanks to (in order below) Dave Osborne, Max Wanger, Thomas Ryan and Kenny Stevenson for volunteering themselves, their kids and their time. We are currently seeking dads in San Francisco and NYC for the spring and summer tour. Know a rad dad who would make a great feature? Email Leah: leah@callielipkin.com for submissions.

Follow along on instagram here as I am constantly posting new additions to this series.