May 4th, 2012 
thinkpierce 
Jonathan @Fashion Meets Art
Check out the photos from The Fashion Meets Art event that happened this past Sunday. This year, Thinkpierce was a proud sponsor. Fashion Meets Art holds a bi-annual event that showcases local artistic entrepreneurs and designers. There will be another one this October. Don’t miss it! Learn more at www.fmaok.com. Thinkpierce, Something new Every Weekday!
Posted in Photos 
Tags: Behind the scenes, entertainment, friends, life, photos, Stories, Tulsa Historic Places 
No Comments » January 4th, 2012 thinkpierce 
Enjoying the Hot Dogs
It was the Saturday morning event I had been looking forward to all month, a special gathering where the guys and I could just relax over a meal straight off the grill. After slicking back my hair with Palmolive, I ran over my checklist to make sure everything was packed for the big outing. Hot dogs; check, egg crates; loaded, party grill; packed, hair combed; done, ironed shirt and crimped dress slacks; ready. Yep, I was ready. I thundered up my limited edition Grand Marquee, and swooped up Paul and Spencer. You know how a huge 4 door family car looks when it’s being pushed to its limit taking the type of extreme turns that cause the weight of the vehicle to grind on the street? Well, if you do, then you know exactly what it would have been like to see me behind the wheel that day. Words can’t describe how special it was for us all to be road raging again, heading to our favorite stomping grounds. We cranked the stereo and stuck our heads out the car windows, screaming with excitement just like in the movies when characters are “acting crazy on a cool road trip with their friends”.
Paul & Jonathan
Finally we pulled in to the city dump entrance. We drove up on to the scale to get weighed, put on our dark sunglasses and played it cool as we waited for the green light to signal us forward. A few tense moments passed then finally the light granted us access, “Score!” we all murmured under our breaths. Even though the only reason for the delay was because the landfill attendant was distracted from the TV show he was watching, it still always made us feel like we had just “sneaked” by a gate guard in an undercover operation. Once the land fills mobile office was in our rear-view, we put pedal to metal, ripping and roaring up the dirt road leaving a tornado of dust behind us. Was that additional act of road rage really necessary? No, but boy did it feel great. Once we made it to the top, the excitement set in as I realized we were about to partake in our monthly “guys afternoon out” ritual: a business casual, grilled lunch on egg crates at our favorite landfill.
Paul, Jonathan & Spencer
I brought the vehicle to a screeching halt creating the type dust storm that only one vehicle could create; you guessed it, my limited edition Grand Marquee. We grabbed some ballpark franks and fired up the grill. This was our moment to relax, kick back on an egg crate and just be ourselves. Sure there was the occasional trash truck that always seemed to intentionally prolong the dumping of the load just to annoy us. Or the homeowner with a truck full of left over garage sale items that gave us a pretty intense stare down. But we had learned that if we were going to hold our gatherings at the city land fill, then those were just things we were going to have to deal with. But the truth is, even with the occasional distractions we always got plenty of time up there to chow down on a great grilled ballpark frank and have some great conversations. Some people might say one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, but in our experience one mountain of trash has been another man’s treasured gathering place to eat a great hot dog with a couple of friends. Thinkpierce! Something New Every Friday.
Posted in Photos, Stories Tags: entertainment, friends, life, photos, photoshoots, props, Stories, Tulsa Historic Places No Comments » December 15th, 2011 thinkpierce 
Lumberjack Mcquack
I don’t know what it is about laying eyes on a snow covered back alley that would make someone consider setting up an amp guitar combo and do a photo shoot in their long johns, but if your name happens to be Jonathan Pierce at that moment, it’s basically a no brainer. That’s pretty much all it took to inspire this “heavy metal meets lumber jack Mcquack” snow shoot. Daniel Sutliff manned the camera as I proceeded to take the photos of my life. But don’t take my word for it. Deep-sea dive in to the new “Lumberjack Mcquack” photo shoot and see for yourself. Thinkpierce! Something new Every Friday.
December 8th, 2011 thinkpierce 
Jonathan the Trucker
This mixture of redneck themed photos leaves you wondering what’s next with every click. All bets are on as redneck roulette delivers a winning combination of hillbilly viewing experiences you’ll not soon forget. But a photo shoot like this doesn’t just shoot itself. It all started one day when I decided it was time to capture some good ol’ boy moments with a Thinkpierce spin. Representing an inspiration all their own, I came up with a variety of scenarios that paid homage to the spirit of redneck-ism. Sometimes it was just a location that caught my eye, and other times it was like divine hillbilly intervention.
Jonathan
One photo shoot location in particular comes with a great story. At the time my hair was looking pretty interesting and it deserved a backdrop that was just as unique. I drove up and down a few streets of choice until stumbling upon a house that met the need. Did I know who lived there? No. But I was just gonna grab some quick photos and the whole thing probably wouldn’t take more than 5 minutes, right? I set up a time with Marshall Baker and we pulled up and starting snapping photos. A few minutes in, the residents who left nothing to the imagination came out and asked what we were doing. In my casual, “oh this is the most normal thing ever, just the ol’ taking photos in front of your house ” tone, I somehow explained what I was doing. They said as long as we weren’t the cops then it was cool. That immediately made Marshall and I feel great and served to me as a confirmation that doing this had been a great idea. But we were already there, and leaving abruptly would at this point would just be even more awkward than the situation already naturally was. One thing that I have learned is that pretty much no matter what situation you’re in, as long is you smile really big and talk in a tone as if everyone was having a great time, you can pretty much get people to go along with just about anything. They just kind of hung out on the porch as we took photos as if the situation was perfectly normal. After we had grabbed some shots we thanked the woman for letting us take photos on her porch, bid our farewells and left.
Jonathan
The ironic half of the story happened 6 months later. At the time I was living in my “totally stereotypical downtown apartment for creative types”. During my six years there, I went through 4 downstairs neighbors. One of the things I had learned about my current neighbor at the time was that he enjoyed his fair share of female interaction. On one particular evening he had “company” over which, through the paper-thin floor, sounded like another guy and two women. It didn’t take me long to guess what the cause for occasion might have been since there were a variety moments when the women stopped talking and the guys sounded like they were somehow having the time of their life. I was editing some video at the time, so I just turned up the volume of the music to minimize the soundtrack below me. Then after some time had passed, I heard a knock at the door. I looked through the peep whole and standing there was a woman who looked strangely familiar. I opened the door and she asked me if I could give her a ride home. She didn’t recognize me, but I immediately realized that this was the same woman that had been at the house I had taken the photo shoot at! Somewhat caught of guard, I graciously declined. It was one of those moments where after you shut the door, you stand there for a moment in silence with your head slightly turned up in total confusion and think to yourself, “Did that really just happen?”
Thinkpierce Fridge
A while back I had driven by the house, only to find that it had been torn down. Looking back, I don’t know if there is a moral to this story but it just goes to show you that you should always be polite to people that live in the houses you randomly take photos in front of because one day, the tables might be turned and they may walk up to your front door and ask you for a ride home. Thinkpierce, Something New every Friday!
October 27th, 2011 thinkpierce This week I will let the pictures do the talking by introducing the new “photos” tab. In addition to showcasing all of our previous photo shoots, this week also brings another to the collection. This new photo shoot shows some of the hands on work I’ve been doing to create some of the motion graphics content that will be used for the credits of an upcoming independent film. Next week be on the lookout for phase two of the motion graphics work update. In the mean time, check out the new “photos” tab and relive some crazy Thinkpierce moments. Thinkpierce, Something New every Friday!
Posted in Photos, website Tags: albums, Behind the scenes, entertainment, Movies, photos, photoshoots, website No Comments » September 22nd, 2011 thinkpierce 
Jonathan & Brian
This week’s entertainment proves that there really is no method to the madness when it comes to Thinkpierce photo shoots. In this case, it all started with an arctic drive through downtown Tulsa one day in January. As I half drove and half slid through the black ice, I came upon a snow-covered patch of land that had a great view of downtown Tulsa. I decided I needed to check it out. After sloshing in to a nearby parking spot, I walked around the space a bit and started to realize what was about to happen… a new Thinkpierce photo shoot. In that moment three things came in to focus in my mind, an old school TV, lawn chairs and RC Cola. But items like that couldn’t be celebrated alone. Oh no, a photo shoot like this demanded a dynamic duo. It wasn’t difficult to decide who would be the perfect person to call either, Brian Spratt of course.
Snow Tv 2
Brian was a long time friend, and also one of the few people that knew when my name popped up on their cell phone, that there would be no way of predicting what was waiting for them on the other end. This phone call was no different. Brian was immediately invited to join me in the snow for an upcoming photo shoot. I explained that we would be sitting in lawn chairs watching tv, downing popcorn and RC Cola having the “hang out & tv watching ” experience of a life time. There were a couple a laughs and then came Brian’s response, “Sure”. I’ve known Brian so long, that there isn’t even really a “You’re gonna do what!??” reaction involved, it’s more of situation where he just wants to know what all he’s agreeing to by being a part of it… and if you get a phone call from me, that is a very smart question to ask. Let’s just say Brian knows me well.
Snow Tv 3
A quick visit to the thrift store and Warehouse Market took care of the props. Next up was getting a photographer. Marshall Baker had been working with me on a variety of projects and this “Snow TV” photo shoot was about to be added to the checklist. Marshall was the go to “media man” running his own mixed media business, which continues to this day. Whether it was recording your album, shooting your video, or taking your picture, Marshall was doing it all. I edited the final pictures in a very gritty style, which he will probably slap me for, but to get the full Marshall Baker experience you should check out his work for yourself. Not only is he still at it years later, he’s really taken it to the next level. See first hand by visiting his website, redcrowncompany.com. I hope you enjoy the new “Snow TV” photo shoot and I highly recommend viewing it while downing a fist full of popcorn followed by a power slurp of RC Cola… and if you’re feeling really crazy, do what we did and throw a couple cans of Diet Rite in to the mix. Thinkpierce.com…Something new every Friday.
September 15th, 2011 thinkpierce 
The Crew
It’s not easy to be an informant in the medieval realm of Thinkpierce, but someone’s got to do it. That was the job of Jeff Phillips who played the role of Sidias in the newest short film from Thinkpierce titled: The Informant. The whole idea started with me thinking it would be funny for two guys dressed up in medieval robes to be engaged in a ridiculous conversation between a cracked door. It later evolved into a cast of four and included barbecue turkey legs, a beheading and ridiculous medieval attire. Once the idea clicked in my head I started to brainstorm as to where I could find a location that could pull off a “medieval feel.” I was driving around with my wife Rhona one day when I remembered a unique piece of property that had a cave-like house built in to the side of a cliff located on Charles Page Blvd. near Downtown Tulsa. Before we even got there I knew it would be perfect for the shoot. I drove up hoping I could find something on the property that would allow me to contact the owner. I laughed out loud with excitement when I walked up to the front door and found business cards for “The Cave House” in an envelope hanging right on the front door. I shouted to my wife Rhona, “Not only did we get the number; there are business cards for this place right on the front door!”
Behind The Scenes
Now that I had a location in mind, it was time to throw it all together. I contacted a talented friend Josh Mitchell to see if he would be up for running the camera. When he jumped on board, I knew we would have something great. I then e-mailed Linda Collier, the owner of The Cave House. I gave her a brief run down of my idea and crossed my fingers. I will never forget her response. The next day I opened my e-mail to her three-word reply in all caps, which read BRING IT ON!!!!! Next it was time to gather some actors. I called three people who I thought would be a good fit and then the inevitable happened; one of them couldn’t make it. That’s when I randomly ran across Dalton McNaughton at work. He kept making me laugh and I began to envision him in the role of Zarious. I then told him about my crazy short film idea and wondered if he would be up for playing the part. As long as I could shoot his scene by 5:30pm so that he could attend a dinner party later that evening then he was all in: it was a deal.
On Location
I then contacted the number one resource for doctoral robes, royal gowns and over the top decorative costumes that include lots of bead work: a church. Luckily my dad had some connections; I got access to some ridiculously awesome robes and selected the cream of the crop. Andrew DeClue “The Evil Liege” however came on board with an evil robe and sword of his own, which worked out perfectly. A few days before the shoot I planned out the upcoming evening of filming like clockwork. I was the first to arrive on a Saturday evening and we started knocking out scenes one by one. Linda Collier, owner of The Cave House was awesome and made sure everyone got a tour of her unique historical property. For anyone interested in getting a personal tour of their own, The Cave House is open to the Public! Bring a friend or make it a group activity. Visit The Cave House’s website to learn how to schedule a tour and enjoy some great cave house stories. I want to give a special thank you to the entire crew who made the shoot possible including J.P. Moorman & George Altidor for running sound and props, Matt Minor and Ethan Pierce for capturing some great photos, Linda Collier for the use of her awesome Cave House in Tulsa, the media magician Josh Mitchell for running camera and applying color effects, and our awesome actors, Jeff Phillips, Andrew Declue and Dalton McNaughton. To watch Thinkpierce’s newest short Film project, The Informant, click on the videos tab and enjoy!
Posted in Films, Photos, Stories, Videos Tags: Behind the scenes, commercials, entertainment, film locations, Films, Movies, Tulsa Historic Places No Comments » August 25th, 2011 thinkpierce 
Jonathan
One day it became apparent to me that I had never really given the color lime green the attention it deserved. That realization birthed an idea for a new Thinkpierce photo shoot like none before. At the time I was living downtown in a 1-bedroom apartment that rented out monthly for the same cost of most people’s electric bill. Like many apartments in my price range, I had one of those unspoken agreements with my landlord that any repairs or upkeep in the apartment were up to me, which worked out great. I lived there for over 6 years and loved it. An agreement like that meant my apartment wasn’t in the best shape, but it also meant the creative control of the “updates and repairs” were up to me. This scenario was ideal because it meant that my living room could be transformed in to the location of my new photo shoot idea!
Jonathan
I’m always writing down new ideas, which causes me to always have stacks of papers lying around in various places and at the time I tacked them all up on the walls of my apartment. All I would have to do is clear off one of the walls and I would have the blank slate I needed to create my new lime green world. As the lime green photo shoot idea bounced around in my head, I happened to notice some green colored Jones Soda in a gas station one day… and without much effort on my part, my first prop had presented itself.
But that was just the beginning, I also had some cinder blocks that had been left behind by the previous apartment tenant, Nathan Gray who was then wrapping up his joint venture comedy show Beef Baloney and about to join the bluegrass band, Grass Crack.
Jonathan Reading
When I first moved in to the apartment, I noticed that Nathan had paired the cinder blocks with slats of wood to create a “shelving solution” like no other. It was quite something and I knew that the “passing on” of the cinder blocks came with great responsibility. It was up to me to breathe new life in to them and that’s exactly what I planned to do. Once they were painted lime green and stacked on top of each other, the cinder blocks would make perfect pedestals for the green colored Jones soda bottles. Next, I needed some type of chair or furniture piece to sit on. I settled on a coffee table from the thrift store that was just tall enough to do the trick.
Jones Soda Bottles
Now it was time to get to work. After testing out a few different shades of green from my local Home Depot, I found a winner and got the painting party started. I don’t know if the next idea was paint fume inspired or not, but I decided it would be cool for smoke to be rising out of the soda bottles in some of the shots. With some trial and error, I learned that if I broke the bottle at the bottom just enough to allow airflow, I could put a couple sticks of incense inside and create the smoke effect I was looking for. After I hung three cheap work lights at the top of my new lime green wall, I was ready to roll. I called up photographer Sarah McElravy who was ironically the little sister of the apartment’s previous tenant Nathan Gray and BLAM! It was photo shoot time! Thanks to Sarah and the color lime green, we ended up with some really unique shots. The last photo of the bunch provides a visual storyboard of what it took to create the set of this lime green photo shoot from start to finish. Enjoy! Special thanks to photographer Sarah McElravy.
Posted in Photos, Stories Tags: Behind the scenes, entertainment, photos, photoshoots, props 9 Comments » August 18th, 2011 thinkpierce 
Recently I joined forces with the one and only Garrett Wiendorf to film a scene like no other. I am in the process of recreating an independent film I made a few years ago and decided I needed to film an extra scene to help with the pacing of the story. The character I had created in my mind was somewhat of a tech guy who was into “gearing up” with all kinds of electronic devices…but not just any electronic device; old school stuff, like VCRs, Palm pilots, and telephone headsets. In addition, I decided the character needed to be totally in to “snacks”, having a “sea of snacks” covering his entire bed. I even nabbed an odd tray furniture piece at the thrift store that set beside him in the bed, acting as somewhat of a “snack trophy table” specifically designed to showcase the “top pick” snacks for easy access.
And whom did I want to play the character that this would all center around? You guessed it, the world famous Garrett Weindorf. I had seen Garrett perform in his band, Ghosts and he was always so hilarious on stage between songs. Two acquaintances of his, Matt Minor and Dennis Pagano had already been in the film so Garrett’s involvement would complete the triforce. After randomly contacting him on Facebook, days turned in to weeks, then before I knew it, Garrett had strapped on a telephone headset, and was waist deep in a variety of “knock off brand” snacks.
"Knock-off brand" Snacks
I was fortunate to have Andrew Declue as the cameraman, who also allowed me to use his bedroom to shoot the scene in. I had it in my mind that I wanted as many “knock off brand” snacks as I could get. For the sake of variety though I did end up getting some of the time-tested name brand snacks as well. To start, I hit all the places one would hope to find “imitation” food: Dollar General, Wharehouse Market, Big Lots, then finished it off at Sam’s and Wal-mart. In all I spent over $200 bucks in hardcore snacks.
Very little of it was actually opened, so I did the only logical thing a gorilla film maker would do who had just bought over $200 in snacks that he only needed for his film shoot…I returned it. Well, not ALL of it…(I mean if I could have I would have), but I was able to awkwardly return about $130 of it back to the stores I bought it from. As an aside, when you pull your car back up to a Dollar General store you purchased a bunch of snacks from the day before, you almost have to get in a certain mindset before you grab 7 sacks of snacks out of the back seat and take them in to the store to return them. Luckily, I have been blessed with that mindset.
But enough about snacks, another thing I wanted to focus on in Garrett’s scene was an old school palm pilot. I had purchased one on amazon.com but a few weeks after I got it, it stopped working. So I turned to Facebook to see who might have an old school palm pilot they wanted to donate to my movie. I ended up hitting the jackpot when a former co-worker, Haley came to the rescue. Not only did she have a palm pilot, but in addition she had a keyboard docking station and camera kit that went with it! Incorporating the “palm pilot keyboard docking station” in to the scene was like experiencing an act of fate.
The Props
It didn’t stop there though, backing up to the beginning of the scene, I had Garrett’s character pull out a VHS copy of one of the first movies I ever made called “Cai Chi”, which he watches on his “Daytron” brand TV throughout the scene. All together, the entire scene only lasts a couple minutes, but it’s packed with nostalgia and well, lots of snacks. I’m getting very close to releasing this movie and I’m super pumped! In the mean time, check out Ghost’s MySpace page. They are awesome entertainers that know how to keep you laughing & rocking. If you ever get chance to go to one of their shows, I highly recommend it! Photos by Andrew Declue.
Posted in Films, Photos, Stories Tags: Behind the scenes, entertainment, Films, friends, Movies, photos, photoshoots 2 Comments » July 28th, 2011 thinkpierce 
Jonathan & Daniel
Another product that will be available on thinkpierce.com in the future is original music presented with a unique twist. Music has been a big part of my life ever since 6th grade when I started playing drums on a practice pad. But I wouldn’t say it was coincidence. Since I was in diapers my father has worked as a college music professor and my mother as a private piano teacher. It would be an understatement to say that I’ve attended my fair share of orchestra and choral concerts. Those experiences allowed me to learn a unique and valuable skill that few people posses: how to properly read a classical concert program. The average concert attendee would look at a program that appeared to have 6 songs and think, “oh yeah, I can totally handle this. Six songs and we’re home free.” But what I learned the hard way as a young kid was that those six songs are actually six “movements” each packed with an onslaught of “booby trap” songs that keep the concert going on and on for hours!! Ha ha, I joke about it, but those moments helped shape an appreciation for music in my life that continues today.
Photo 2
One of my early musical memories was another childhood experience most people could directly relate to; being dressed in a Christmas church robe as part of a headlining act in the yearly church Christmas concert. That’s where the upper left photo comes in; that’s one of my best friends Daniel Sutliff and I getting ready to put on the Christmas production of a lifetime. Daniel shared a similar upbringing. We’ve known each other since birth and when our middle school years rolled around, we were both getting in to music at the same time. To this day, I’ve played more music with Daniel than anyone else.
Photo 3
One day I ran across this picture and felt a fifteen-year anniversary photo shoot was in order. Over the years Daniel had amassed a collection of various amps, and in my mind it was the perfect backdrop for a couple of modern day red bow rockers. I doctored up two bed sheets from the thrift store and purchased two giant red bows from a lawn and garden store intended for street lamp posts. A friend brought his camera over and we took care of the rest.
Photo 4
Since middle school, Daniel hasn’t let up for one moment and is currently working on releasing two albums. One of is his solo projects, goes by the name “Daniel(S)” and could be described as inspiring electronic music with live bass and guitar. Visit the Daniel(S) myspace page here. Another exciting project is the upcoming release of the recently mixed “And There Stand Empires” album, which Daniel plays bass for. Check out Empires myspace page here. Both soon to be released albums represent groundbreaking music that any music lover could appreciate and respect.
Also to come will be a music project currently in the making at the thinkpierce factory. For now though, I will refrain from sharing specific details. Until then, brace yourselves for what Daniel(S) and Empires have in store for you in the near future and enjoy these photos that celebrate two friends whose first joint music venture started with a timeless combination of white robes and red bows…
Posted in Music, Photos, Stories Tags: albums, entertainment, friends, life, music, photos, photoshoots, Stories No Comments »
