November 10, 2011 Thursday

THE DOCTOR IS IN -

"So Mary have many Surfrider calendars to you want?"

"I'll take two, no make that three."

That's Mary and I in the above photo being models for a photo shoot for our surf buddy Walt the photographer. We had to make small talk while Walt and two other guys snapped off hundreds of shots of us. I (the Doctor) pretended to demonstrate to patient Mary how the Boa Technologies' super new closure system functions on back braces.

Last week after a surf session, Walt asked me if I could help him out on a photography gig. Something came up and he had to act fast. He said that his client, Boa Technologies of Denver, CO, had called with an urgent request. They had planned an outdoor shoot of their new products, but a series of snowstorms in Denver cancelled their plans. Time was critical, thus they decided to shift locations where the weather was good - like the Bay Area. They called their buddy Walt for help. Walt managed to line up two locations, a public park in Mill Valley for outdoor shots and a doctor's office in Oakland. He also talked two older, healthy friends, Mary and I, to play models for a day.

At 9 am I was there at the park, Walt was setting up, Mary arrived and, the crew from Denver was unloading a ton of equipment from their rented van. The shoot was suppose to demonstrate how Boa Technologies' knee and back braces gave super support and didn't restrict movement. I wore a knee brace and Mary a back brace. We walked back and forth and threw a ball to Walt's dog in the grass field while Walt and the Denver crew snapped pictures. A small child and her caretaker showed up to play in the park and the Denver crew quickly talked them into participating in the shoot. Mary ended up pushing the little girl in the swing while wearing her back brace.

In the afternoon we drove to a medical office building in downtown Oakland for the doctor's office shots.

"Let's put a white coat on Loren and have him be the doctor." The leader of the Denver group, Clint, suggested to his companions.

"What? I thought I was going to be a patient." I objected.

"Loren, you'll be perfect. You look the part." It must be the gray hair.

A nurse loaned me a white lab coat and a stethoscope, and everyone commented that I definitely looked like a real doctor. After a long set at time, Mary and I faked doctor and patient for twenty minutes while Walt and the Denver crew took endless photos.

Afterwards, Mary commented how relaxed everyone was. She used to be an art director for a major corporation and conducted several of these kinds of advertising shoots. She remembered how stressful they were due to deadlines, tight time schedules and the expense of renting locations, equipment and hiring models. Today's crew was laid-back and easily went with the flow of things. At the end of the day everyone felt good about how things turned out. Later I asked Walt how the gig went. He said he turned over 200 photos to Boa Technologies and they loved them; it was just what they were hoping for.

Mary also mentioned how comfortable the back brace felt. Boa Technologies' product was its closure system - a new technique to correct the deficiencies of laces, buckles and Velcro straps. It consisted of a knob, spool and lace that allowed one to fine-tune or dial-in the correct amount of tightness. The company has teamed up with leading shoe and boot manufacturers to incorporate the Boa Closure system in ski, snowboard, hiking boots as well as running shoes. They were expanding to include their technique in knee and back braces, thus the urgency to get the advertising rolling. Mary, Walt and I felt they had a good product.

To sum up, I met a crew of good people, got to watch some professional photographers in action, helped out my friend Walt, got a free lunch and received a small stipend. It was a good day.

Maybe I should have been a doctor.