Of all the odd jobs I’ve worked in my years on this earth, not one of them was a warehouse job. Sure, I’ve ventured through warehouses before. They’re usually very large and very dark. And they’re usually filled with contents that are piled high, forming a confusing array of aisles. And for the workers that have to navigate these environments on a daily basis, I’m sure it does get easier but I am quite certain it’s never actually EASY. Fortunately, there are people in this world that are highly passionate about streamlining the processes of working in a warehouse and making jobs much easier. A few of them are located in Northwest Arkansas and they call themselves OX.

There is no shortage of pizza establishments in Northwest Arkansas. And that’s a good thing, because while most people will argue all day about their preferred toppings for pizza, everyone I’ve ever met (and this is a true statement) likes pizza. Some people even love it. I know I fall into this particular camp. I have my favorite places too. And thanks to a recent editorial photography assignment for Arkansas Times, I can safely, confidently and wholeheartedly add Pizzeria Ruby to my list of favorite pizza joints. (click to read more)

Spend enough time in Northwest Arkansas and you’re bound to hear someone mention Fox Trail Distillery. They’ll probably mention that Fox Trail is the only distillery in this area. And in the same breath, you’ll also probably hear that their drinks are delicious. And this person would be right on both accounts. What you may or may not hear from this person however, are some other subtle details which in my opinion, make Fox Trail even more of an experience than just a place to “grab a drink”. (Click to Read More).

Last Fall, we celebrated the release of Black Apple’s Flagship Cider in…a super large can. Of course in order to PROPERLY celebrate this magnificent feat of engineering and deliciousness, we created a little stop motion video for the occasion. And today, we’re sharing it here on the blog. Enjoy.

Today on the blog: Semi-recent photography work for everyone’s favorite architecture/engineering/construction juggernaut, Crafton Tull. We’ve done a little bit of work for them here in NWA but for this specific job, we traveled to their offices in Little Rock to capture images of their day-to-day, in the office operations. As always, we…click to read more.

Today on the blog: More music photography goodness, featuring The War on Drugs and their amazing show a few months back on the lawn of The Momentary. Truth be told, this was another one of those music artists that I’d heard of but not really listened to. And of course just like last time, I found myself listening to them on the drive home. If you’re not familiar with them, here’s an essentials playlist to get you started. Cheers.

I always value my time working with people in the food service industry, especially Chefs. For a Chef to take precious time out of their prep work to accommodate a photographer in their own restaurant space is the kindest of gestures. And that’s exactly what Chef Rafael Rios of Yeyo’s did for me recently, when Arkansas Times hired me to photograph him and his space for a magazine article. Prior to the shoot, Chef Rios told me to “Come Hungry”.

(Click to Read More)

Today on the blog: Recent event photography for The Momentary featuring Japanese Breakfast. I (Philip) must confess, I had not heard much about Japanese Breakfast prior to this concert. Needless to say, I was blown away and I spent the car ride home blasting them out my windows. While going through the photos, I also decided to…(click to read more)

Christmas is coming. But for the students at the University of Arkansas School of Art, Christmas will come BIGTIME in January 2023, when the Windgate Art + Design Studio officially opens its doors. For years, the University’s Art Program has been expanding and as a result, the University has found all sorts of nooks and crannies in which to house and educate their students.

The Windgate Art + Design Studio is anything but a nook or cranny. This brand new building is a full-on multi-use center for a majority of the art students to call home. We were tasked with creating a short video to highlight the brand new building.

It’s been one heck of a busy season for us here at Novo Studio and for that, we are grateful. But we’re also tired and aside from a few random stories and update posts, largely neglected our blog and social media channels. In an effort to catch up and also to provide you all with some good reading/perusing material for the upcoming holiday, we’re going to be sharing some more content in the upcoming days.

Today, we’re sharing a recent photography project for local architecture firm, Buf Studio. They did an amazing job on Chef Matt Cooper’s newest restaurant, Conifer located in downtown Bentonville Arkansas. (click to read more)

A couple weeks ago, we had the opportunity to travel around Arkansas and work with an amazing crew of directors, camera operators, grip people, producers and talent. Of course on jobs like this, there are always plenty ty of behind the scenes images captured. Today, we’re sharing some. Many thanks to 360 Film Works for having us along for the ride.

Cheers.

Happy May Everyone.

This month is already proving to be an extremely busy one for us at the studio. And basically what that means, is that we’re really not in the studio that much except to charge batteries and switch out gear. However, our friends at Black Apple Hard Cider mentioned that they were going to be doing a special Star Wars themed cider release and they requested some promotional content to help advertise it.

Of course, we decided to do something quirky and fun. What originally began as a simple stop motion project turned into the writing of a short story, the addition of silly voiceovers and sound effects (courtesy of the aforementioned new audio recording gear in the previous blog post), and one big excuse to dig out the old childhood Star Wars toys from the attic.

During the production, we spilled absolutely zero cider, somewhat of a first for us. We did however break a cider glass. This however, was done on purpose and in a controlled environment (aka, plastic shopping bag). Little projects like this, while intimidating in the midst of a busy schedule, can prove to be some of the most rewarding and of course, the most humorous.

For more information on Black Apple’s May 4th Cider, visit their website, instagram or Facebook page.

And as always, May The 4th Be With You.

This week on the blog, we’re sharing some images from a project we’ve been working on for the past year. In the Spring of 2020 (you know, the one where the world completely shut down…), we were contracted by the NRCS to work on a book project for some of their grant recipients. Over the course of the last year, we’ve traveled around, meeting these grant recipients, spending some time with them on their farms and properties and documenting the ways in which they’ve utilized fencing, wells, irrigation systems, rotator crops, and animals to make food while caring for, protecting and even encouraging the development of their natural resources.

If you’re a photographer and you’ve had to work indoors in a building designed by Marlon Blackwell Architects, you can pretty much point your camera in any direction and make a good photograph. As you can imagine, the same could be said of photographing in their offices. With a website refresh on the horizon, they invited us to do just that.

Today on the blog: Recent Commercial Product Photography for Apollo Scrubs, a new apparel company who’s target audience is people in the healthcare industry. Marketed as “Thoughtful workwear you’ll never have to think about”, Apollo’s products are designed to be extremely functional and durable, yet so comfortable enough that you’ll forget you’re wearing them. And with thoughtful details such as moisture-wicking capabilities, antimicrobial protection and 4- way stretch fabrics, Apollos products are sure to be a hit with their target audience.

If you or someone you know is in search of some new scrubs, be sure to check out their products here.

Cheers!

For the past couple of years, we have been working with the University of Arkansas’s Center for Farms and Food (CAFF) to document and promote the work they are doing. CAFF was developed to strengthen and expand the area’s food and farming system, enhance local communities, and provide opportunities for farmers, food entrepreneurs and food system leaders. Combining traditional and experiential learning opportunities, their Farm School and Apprenticeship programs teach the production and business skills to develop resilient and sustainable businesses.

As Spring approaches and our schedules are once again getting filled up with photo and video work for CAFF, we thought we would share a few images from our work with them last year. For more information on CAFF or to apply for one of their programs, visit their website.

Enjoy!

Today on the blog: Recent editorial photography for Arkansas Wild Magazine. As it turned out, all three of the subjects to be photographed were available on the same day, so we scheduled the photoshoots accordingly. Of course, working for a chunk of the day at a computer, then driving all the way to Little Rock and doing 3 photoshoots in a row didn’t leave me much energy for driving back after the fact…(click to read more)

We recently had the opportunity to hang out with the fine folks from the Bentonville Water Utilities Department, thanks to a chance meeting with one of the higher-ups at a recent Vanarky in the Ozarks Event. Before long, we had a plan to meet for a day of photography + water utilities education. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again every time it’s relevant; One of the best parts of this job is learning about other people’s line of work. And for a major city’s water utilities department, there’s a lot to experience. And after a full day of photographing different scenarios, tools and departments, we came away with a library of images that clearly and thoroughly showcases many of the water utilities day-to-day responsibilities in visual form. Today, we’re sharing a few here on the blog. Enjoy.