Justin Morneau Juvenile Arthritis Casino Night

In 2009 I had the honor of filming the wedding of Justin Morneau and his beautiful wife Krista. I met them through a good friend and very talented wedding planner Joan Nilsen of Ambiente. The wedding was spectacular! In addition to being an awesome guy, MVP, and wicked first baseman, #33 is also doing some great work to raise awareness and money for juvenile arthritis- last year Justin and Krista put together an amazing casino night to do just that. They are doing it again this year and a few weeks ago we went to Target Field to film a video for the event.

Here are some highlights from last years event. It was a blast! You get to hang with the Twins at the new stadium and raise money for a great cause. Get your tickets here - they are limited and will sell out.

iPhone/iPad Version

more photos on facebook

Surprise Mothers-Day-Gift Shoot

In addition to being an amazing musician, thinker, leader, I'm honored to say that Stefan is also a good friend. He called me last week and asked if we could do a last-minute photo shoot with his kids. These pictures would be taken and then given as a mothers day present for his wife (another totally incredible person). We had a blast and got some cool shots and from what I've heard she loved them!

This was a great idea and something I think we should all be doing more. I recently found out that at places like costco and sams club you can get same-day (in about an hour) huge prints up to 20"x30" for around $10. I know many photographers would cringe at the thought of having them do their printing but for last-minute gifts like this it is a great option. Here are a few samples of what we captured! More on facebook

Getting Ready!

I am so excited for the 2010 wedding season. I've recently had several final meetings with my couples to go over their day and to dream about new and unique ways to approach their film. In addition to weddings throughout the year I get the opportunity to work with a variety of cool clients on a range of projects, i.e. corporate, commercial, industrial, documentary, editorial, and so on. As fun as there are, weddings are still by far my favorite production to work on. I get to use all the toys, techniques, and creativity involved in other projects but then combine them with an emoiton-filled day and tell the story of two unique personalities who are starting a beautiful new chapter of their lives together.

If you know me you know I love our dogs, and because they are around, and because I would film them anyway, they are my test subjects when it comes to new equipment and techniques. Not everything translates directly into a "practical" wedding use but you never know. Maybe in 2010 there will be an underwater wedding.

Car Mount. Emma and I headed to Judy and Kaisers favorite place on earth Alimagnet Dog Park in Burnsville. It's one of the top 10 dog parks in the country for a reason! For about the last 10 minutes of the road trip the pups can barely contain themselves when they figure out where we're headed. This seemed like a good opportunity to try out an HD mini camera that can suction mount to a car. This could have some cool applications for limo/bus/trolley rides and more.

Underwater Camera. Like I said you never know. And knock on wood if we have a rainy day or any water-based event we will be ready. Also, is it just me or is watching dogs feet underwater hilarious?

Time Lapse. I could see some really cool uses of this technology - especially at the reception. A series of pictures is taken over an extended period of time and merged together into video. Emma and I were lucky enough to travel to Paris for our honeymoon, and of course I couldn't help but bring a camera. It's a good thing she loves this stuff or I might be considered annoying. 

Random. Here is a combination of some of the above techniques. Emma is just about half way through Nursing school. I've not personally tried it, but from what I've observed Nursing school is not joke. It's intense. It's like everything is a matter of life and death or something. Emma treats it as such and works hard, therefore when she has a break we make sure to vacation hard. Here is a ridiculous video from spring break 2010. My favorite part is when she demonstrates her karate. 

Nancy and Grady's Engagement Party

Two of my very good friends, Nancy and Grady, got engaged over spring break. They are two of the most amazing people I've ever met and more than deserve each other. They are planning a winter wedding this year that I have the honor of filming! As Emma and I were heading out the door to enjoy the celebration I thought I'd bring the camera along. Here are some highlights. A larger collection is here on facebook

A larger collection is here on facebook

Take me out to the ball game for Andrew's birthday!

My good friend Andrew Vick, and who many of you may know as one of the best photographers in the world, is having a birthday this week. His beautiful wife Janelle planned an awesome night of fun, food, and baseball at the new Twins stadium. I thought it was only fitting to turn the tables, or in this case the lens, on the birthday boy and document some of the festivities. Happy birthday Andrew!

New Site, New Name, Exiting Stuff!

When I ventured into video production over 10 years ago in 1999 (gosh I'm getting old) I had no idea I was on my future career path. Video editing had just gone from tape-to-tape (literally 2 VCRS hooked up to each other) to computers and cameras that were no longer the size of a small car. I was a senior at Rosemount High School (go Irish) and for some reason our semi-rural school received a grant for a video production studio. At the time we had state-of-the-art equipment; the catch, no one knew how to use it. Before I knew it I was running, filming, and editing our weekly news program Irish Update. I apologize in advance but you might get a kick out of this. Here are some highlights.

iPhone and iPad Version

From cheesy news reports and girls volley ball team highlight videos to just a few years later being able to travel the world and getting opportunities I never dreamed of, it has been a wild ride to say the least. As a young entrepreneur I was always eager for, and focused on, the next creative endeavor as opposed to the more mundane aspects of running a business; like coming up with a company name. Therefore John Hoel Weddings and John Hoel Productions it was. Don't get me wrong, I love my name, but I have recently felt it was time for something that reflected my approach, style and passion for what I do. Many names were thrown around but I kept coming back to Vibrant. For me this refers to more than color. Rather it is the mindset I approach each project with, desiring to capture something that is striking, bold, emotional, and resonant. And not to get too philosophical here but beyond video production there is a vibrancy of life that is too beautiful to pass up and should be sought each day in everything we do. 

More to come! Thanks for visiting.