Organic Alcohol Company

We traveled to Ashland, Oregon to do an on-location shoot for the Organic Alcohol Company, who sell 190 proof certified organic alcohol for industrial use—tinctures, perfume, body care, etc. We’re in the middle of a complex redesign of their website involving a lot of phone meetings, so it was fun to finally meet everyone in person.

For this project, we wanted to focus on making them stand out from other industrial alcohol companies that have a very sterile, corporate look. While staying professional, we wanted their photos to convey a sense of place, process and of the people that work there. 

As well as photographing it, we used their purpose-built warehouse, distillery and office building as a photo studio. We took their product shots in the distillery area, making use of their polished concrete floor as a base, and stainless steel distillery equipment as a backdrop, rather than shooting on seamless. We shot their group and individual portraits in their upstairs meeting room.

We also visited their organic persimmon farm, tucked up on the hillside outside of Ashland. We shot some photos and video footage of the persimmon harvest for a PBS documentary they are being featured in. 

The last thing we needed was a photo to give a larger sense of place, and give the business a context within the beautiful landscape of Ashland. After scouting out several locations—and even climbing on the roof—we found a good spot north of the freeway to shoot down into the valley. We got up at the first light of dawn to grab a photo of the early sun lighting up the fall foliage and the mist just rising off the valley.