dustontoddblog

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this past weekend i had the pleasure to sit and chat with Melissa Niu, the lovely host of [FRAMED] and the their saturday’s show titled [F]RAME YOUR BEST SHOT.

a little about [F]RAME YOUR BEST SHOT…each week the followers of the show are able to hear from different photographers, learn of who they are, see their work, munch on some healthy Q&A, and all with the hopes that these personalities are incredibly dapper, entertaining, and maybe even inspiring.
the fun part to following the show is it challenges the viewers by assigning a new theme each week for the viewers to photograph. these themes steam from the photographer of that particular episode so it’s a great opportunity to soak in the soup that they deliver and then grab your camera and get to work. once the viewers have their winning shot from their homework they can then submit their work for a chance to win nifty cool prizes! the upcoming show will then spotlight a new photographer and that photographer may possibly review the entries and choose the final 3 winners…quite fun if you asked me.

week 13′s topic to photograph: self
it is a challenge to all to sit back and look within. set down the camera for a second and think about who you are, where you come from, what makes you tick, what moves you, what do you hope for, what haunts you, what do you love, what do you question…”our personal growth can fuel our photography and our photography can fuel our personal growth” – brooks jensen.
learn more about yourself and photograph it. photograph this weeks topic, self.

about the [F]RAME YOUR BEST SHOT contest:

HOW DO YOU WIN?
1. Grab your camera, and give us your best photographic interpretation of “SELF”. Be creative, have fun, and think outside the box.

2. Upload your chosen “SELF” shot to our [FRAMED] Facebook Page. (www.facebook.com/framedshow) Go to the wall and upload your photo.

3. Once you’ve uploaded your photo, viewers can vote by clicking “like” on your photo to cast their vote for you to win. Photos with the most votes will be put into the top finalists Friday morning. The winner will then be picked and judged by a group of [FRAMED] photographers for quality, creativity, and composition. If you don’t want to participate this week, be sure to add your valued opinion and vote for your favorite!

Good luck! Winner’s name and photo will receive the credit it deserves and will be shown on next week’s [F]RAME YOUR BEST SHOT episode!

click here to share the url link to [F]RAME YOUR BEST SHOT: Week 13 Duston Todd

listen up!!!
this is the first deal of this magnitude that duston todd photography has ever launched. 2011 has been an incredibly growing and learning year for many of us, (personal workshops and solo artist gallery showings, flexing some serious creative muscles, and worldwide economic and natural disasters to name a few), and in the spirit of all this we are launching one hell of a killer deal!*

*if you have been waiting and holding out for THAT one opportunity…now is the time.

to learn more about the end of 2011 killer price deals on family sessions and weddings, contact duston ASAP!
email: duston(at)dustontodd(dot)com
phone: 801.635.6071

www.boxonfire.com
box on fire is a look inside my head.
it is a collection of my concepts, themes, people, places, and things.
it has polite manners and bathes regularly. it is straight forward without all the flowery foo-foo and it knows how to speak it’s mind…in this box the images speak for themselves.
a box thinking, a box talking, a box burning, it’s a box on fire.

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wading out in knee deep flooded grasslands, setting up fold-out tables to create islands to hold gear and props, murky water with bugs everywhere…and these are the images as a result. many thanks Brooklyn for toughing it out.
model: brooklyn ashy
assistant: stephen phung

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every morning before i leave for work i get to witness this beauty, this grace, this peace, this heaven in the home.
it is moments as these that i see evidence of a loving god.

model: macy chapman
hair and make up: danielle carlsen

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if protecting ourselves could only be so rudimentary and visible.
the top image is an homage to one of my earliest inspirations, keith carter.

Thomas Aaron, a long time friend, artist comrade, and past college peer, recently had contacted me to take his portrait…i was flattered. i have always deeply respected Tom’s work, his perspective, his ability to express and explore, and his inhuman ability to grace any form by his touch.
Tom recently was accepted as a member artist of the New American Paintings, and the images i created for him are to be used as part of his portrait that accompanies his stunning art. keep your ear to the ground for when the publication featuring his artwork will be available to the public.
portraits were taken in his studio in downtown slc.

getting real.
facing myself, my real reflection.
tearing down my walls.
awakening.

this is my chest. this is my heart. and it is open. it is open to the licks of life’s salty tongue.
this is truth at its vulnerable core.
this is life changing.
this is empowering.

so what moves me to create such an image?
i have been shaken by several forces. i have realized i need to change. this is my journey to healing and understanding. perhaps through my art will come the answers.
not typical of my other work? i know.
recently watching “water for elephants”, a line in the movie is stated that life is “nothing but talent and illusion”. i have consciously known for years i have nearly perfected this thought. take my website as an example, what does it speak to you? order, reason, balance, harmony, cleanliness?…i can tell you my life, as well as all others is never this ideal. life is chaotic, it gets messy, it is cold, it punches you when you’re asleep. (yes, for professionalism sake i will continue to offer plate fulls of healthy portions of talent and all mixed with illusions)…but briefly i share with you a doorway. this image is about getting real, honesty, and opening up. “to know thyself”. “this above all; to thine own self be true.” …”own now”.

i sincerely thank those in my life that embrace me for who i am.
i thank those that help me to be a better person, a better husband, a better father, a better friend.
also, i sincerely thank Mark Andersen of Andersen Studios for seeing my potential, opening a doorway, providing all the toys necessary to bring heart, mind, and work together (yes, the fake blood is even at my fingertips whenever i need it.) a very sincere thank you again….now, i got this image out, time to get back to work, and shoot some lighter material.
lastly, many thanks to Matt McDaniel for racing to the studio to help me whip this image out, very much appreciated.

“i’ve got this soul. it’s all fired up” – interpol

beauty lies deep in the broken. love is found in the wound. truth is present in pain. our bruises, our scars, are pages to our story, it is these pages that make us who we are. we need not hide our words behind labels of perfection.