In a past life I worked as a freelance photographer for various clients.
Many of my portrait photography projects can be viewed on my website www.halephoto.com. The projects listed on this page showcase my design process as well as illustrate my experience working on extended projects.

Find Me!

Find Me! is a children’s book I illustrated for Chronicle Books, which challenged young readers to find certain hidden items in each busy double-page spread. Each book pressing was specific for the reader, using their photos and unique text elements on each page, as well as the book’s title.

I created all 12 photo-illustrations for this book, sourcing props, building sets and designing graphic elements. I also retouched the final images in Photoshop and worked closely with the Creative Director to ensure the publisher’s goals were met and that each layout met these unique printing parameters.

Stuck Up: 100 Objects Ingested and Inserted in Places They Shouldn’t Be.

Stuck Up is a book I created photo illustrations for, published by St Martin’s Griffin Press. The publication includes over 100 original photo-composites of actual x-rays, combined with photos of various household objects. The final result gives the illusion that they were produced during late-night emergency room visits when these objects being irretrievable.

These final x-rays accompany written vignettes that humorously speculate how these objects may have ended up “stuck up” where they did.

Hella Damn Squirrels

Hella Damn Squirrels is a blog that matches my photos of Oakland’s wild squirrels along with witty and unique captions.

Started in 2012, it has grown from an original Facebook Page into accounts on Instagram, Tumblr and Twitter, as well as having its own hosted web site. I have also taken it into local galleries, libraries, festivals and cafes. To this day the squirrels continue to thrive online with their continuous, nutty feed.