“Interesting pictures capture a curious or unusual thing. Excellent photographs, on the other hand, capture a thing in a curious or unusual way.”
Steven Doyle, Principal and Creative Director at Doyle Partners & Communication Arts Photography Judge

The photography studio at Hanson Dodge Creative is a hidden gem in Milwaukee’s creative community. A rarity in the agency world, where photography is generally outsourced, HDC boasts a fully equipped state-of-the-art, 1500 sq. ft studio. This is where, for the past ten years, photographer Bradley Rochford has captured images of bicycles and kayaks, fitness equipment and athletic wear for the catalogs, ads and websites of HDC’s active lifestyle clients.

This year, Brad’s work has been recognized by arguably the most prestigious and influential journal in the creative communications industry, the 49th Communication Arts Photography Annual. A nationally representative jury of distinguished designers, art directors and photographers selected Brad’s stunning photographs of the new Trek Madone bicycle from more than 10,000 entries for inclusion in this year’s Photography Annual, which will be published next month.

In 1997 Brad joined HDC as a freelance photography assistant. In 2000, he moved to a full-time role as photography coordinator and studio manager, and in 2003 he was made the studio’s photographer.

According to Ken Hanson, HDC partner and chief creative officer, “Brad is a remarkable and highly creative shooter. He understands the role of photography in delivering a fully realized brand experience. Our investment in maintaining a top-flight studio and a full-time photographer of Brad’s caliber continues to pay off by making our client’s products look better and sell better.”

Brad wanted to show millions of people a huge product launch in a whole new light—literally. As he says, “Trek gave us the freedom to use lighting to sculpt, to define. Ultimately, in a way, we rebuilt this very important bike…with light.”

A good photograph, according to Brad, has its own voice—it tells you something or asks you something. The artistic strategy behind his award-winning shots of the Madone was to create desire. Clearly Communication Arts thinks he succeeded.

About Communication Arts
Since 1959, Communication Arts has published the absolute best in visual communications from around the world. To find the best work, Communication Arts sponsors juried creative competitions that recognize the finest talent in the industry. Winning entries are published in one of five Annuals: Interactive, Illustration, Photography, Graphic Design and Advertising.