The Dancers

This past Sunday I started a personal project that I've been thinking about for some time now. Dancers can be a favorite subject of photographers. I think it because of their grace and classic curves. I wanted to get away from that - having them in poses that seemed unnatural or "unclassic". I wanted attitude and unflattering jumps, but with a touch of grace.
Here are a few. I'll show more in the coming days.

Collaboration

This past Friday I had the pleasure of not only taking photographs of one of the leading consultants/lawyers in America, Elizabeth Birch, but to also work with art directors Neal and Brian Ashby. What I really love about photography is collaborating with talented people who have a vision. Most creative people do have a very vivid imagination, but to be able to translate that into words can be quite rare.
The photos taken of Elizabeth are for her web site, which Neal and Brian are designing. They wanted the photos to evoke a feeling of relaxation, familiarity and engagement. To do this we had Brian stand just off camera and listen as she told some amusing stories, which brought laughs from everyone on the set. We caught some great expressions and reactions. Below are some of the photos.

Personal Projects

I think what really keeps me going in photography (blood flowing, that type of thing) are personal projects. They are vital in helping me stay fresh and excited about photography. For the past month I have been working on a few - some are being shot as we speak and others are in the works.
I've been working on one of the projects for a while now and thought I would share some of the latest images. I am taking portraits of high school students. It started about ten years ago with my photos of students writing their thoughts on a blackboard. Now it's just the student against a white background - similar to the style of Richard Avedon.
To see more of my personal work click here
Below are some of my favorites.

What Do You See?

During a photo shoot this week one of the items to be photographed was a candle. Fairly simple item to shoot, but being black caused some problems with reflections. But my assistant, Rachael, and I worked it out. Where my creativity was really sparked was when we blew out the candle. The puffs of smoke that rose from the candle was mesmerizing. We just had to take a few minutes to play. Here are some of the results. The shots were taken moments after the candle was blown out. The more I look at them the more I see - letters of the alphabet, faces, a horse...
What do you see?

Characterizations

The portrait is a wonderful thing. Probably my most favorite assignments are portraits. The photographic possibilities are endless. You can shoot in the studio, in a chosen environmental, get close or pull back. Revealing the character of a person is what it's all about. Being able to capturing their mood or showing an emotion inspires me to keep shooting.

Fortunately many of my assignments are portrait related. The wide range of personalities and the variety of advertising concepts produced by clients keeps it all fresh. There's always a different way of portraying an individual. Capturing the character of a person is what keeps me in photography.

A Time to Explore

"If a day goes by without my doing something related to photography, it's as though I've neglected something essential to my existence, as though I had forgotten to wake up." -- Richard Avedon

This is how I feel most days. There is always something to photograph, something to explore. That's why this past summer has been one of personal projects. It was a great opportunity to work on new lighting techniques (at least new to me) and to get out of the studio and away from the computer. From shooting with the 30ft ladder to photographing horses the summer forced me to find projects to shoot. Now with fall approaching, I'll to find new opportunities, new projects to work on.
To me, being a photographer is not only working for clients, but exploring and creating work that helps me grow as a person as well as a photographer. It's about creating a style that matches my personality.

It's in the Details

This little point-and-shoot camera - my trusty G-9 - continues to amaze me. Here are three images taken during my week long stay in a cabin on the New River is southern Virginia. All taken in different types of light, they show the G-9's ability to capture detail in the earliest morning light (photo of tree), the fog coming off the New River and a spider's web (using the macro setting). All images were taken straight from the camera with only minimal Photoshop work (some levels and curves) and no sharpening.
I think it's pretty amazing for a small point-and-shoot!

The Ladder

We have a huge 20ft ladder in the studio that I have been itching to use. I would love to take it to a open field and take photos of it, but it's so large I can't put in on top of my car (I would surely get stopped by the police).
So I took it just outside my studio and had my trusting intern Hanna climb up. It was a beautiful day - clouds were great and there was a slight breeze. Making it absolutely perfect for what I wanted to do. Got some great images for stock use.

A Different Take on a Foot Massage

Earlier today I had a photo shoot with John Ho and Yvonne Le. You've probably not heard of them, but I bet you've heard of what they offer - Dr. Fish Massage. Through their day spa (visit here) they offer the opportunity for you to soak your feet in a few gallons of water as little fish (imported from Turkey) nibble on your toes. They are not, as some think,
piranhas but little inch long silver fish that gently nibble on your feet. Now the big question is whether they get full. After a long day of "working" (at least 20-30 people per day try the 15-30 minute massage) I would assume that they get tired and somewhat bloated. Heck, after a big meal all I want to do is sleep. I can't imagine how they feel. But all kidding aside, this is very popular. People from as far away as Sweden have come to try this. They've been featured on NPR, CNN and numerous morning shows and it doesn't look like the ride is going to stop soon. They are even thinking about adding a full-body Dr Fish Massage and I would imagine that they will be lining out the door to try it.

I haven't had the pleasure yet to try this - they said I can come back anytime. I plan to take them up on it.

All Fun & Games

Here are some more outtakes from the Olympian photo shoot.

Michael Weiss doing some flips. I was so close I could feel the vibrations on the ice as he landed. After being that close, TV just doesn't do it for me any more.


Want to feel like a giddy 12 year old again - skate with Dorothy Hamill. And there was no way I was going to try the one legged thing...so don't ask.


Dominique Dawes asked me if I needed help getting up on the balance beam...I ask her where the spring board was. No she is NOT holding me up! Okay, I did need some help though.


Here's a collage of the individual shoots I took of each athlete. This was taken during the group photo session.

The Olympic Spirit

The Washington Post just published my story about local Olympic athletes in their Sunday magazine. This is something I have been working on for a year now. I thought I would share some insight and photos that were not published.

First here are some of my favorite photos that were not used. I have no misgivings at all - just wanted to show some outtakes.






This project was first envisioned in June 2007 when I met Crissy Perham (the Olympian above with the American flag, standing next to the pool). She won two golds and a silver in the '92 games and I was fascinated to know how it felt to be the Very Best at something - something I know very little about. We chatted about other athletes in the area and if they kept in touch. I was amazed to learn how many former Olympians were living here. Some of them I had heard of (Tom Dolan, Dominique Dawes, Michale Weiss) and other I had not (Lacey O'Neal, Arlene Limas, Charles Jenkins). I wanted to find out what they were doing now. So a project was born - Portraits of local Olympic athletes called "Glory Days".

Arlene Limas, it turns out, is the DC Olympic Chapter president. I contacted her, told her about my idea, and asked for help in locating athletes. We made a list of about 12 athletes that were willing to participate in my personal project. I took some photos of Crissy, Wendy Weil and Lacey O'Neal and went knocking on doors to see who might be interested in publishing the project. Not as easy as it seems...
First stop, The Washingtonian Magazine. They loved the idea, but after they found out that not all the athletes I had contacted were medal winners, declined the project. Now, even though I can, somewhat, understand their position I thought it was a little shortsighted (which I told them). I guess it's just not good enough to be in the Olympics... I told them there were some amazing stories that needed to be told - ie: Lacey's experience in the '72 Munich Olympics (read it here), or Michael Weiss's battle with injuries (read it here). But they were not convinced.

So I asked the Washington Post Magazine if they were interested. They loved the idea, but were also a little worried that not all were medal winners. After hearing some of the stories they became convinced that this would be a perfect piece and lead in to the summer games in China. They assigned a writer, Christina Antonaides, and off we went. I can't tell you how important it was for Christina to be a part of this project. She did loads of research, contacted Dorothy Hamill (who I had not known was in the DC area), but most importantly it gave me credibility when I called either the athletes or their agents. Try calling Dominique Dawes and tell her you are a photographer and would like to take their photo - you won't get far. Once the ground work was set everyone was more than happy to participate. The only one we could not take photos of was Michael Phelps. He agreed to the interview but did not have the time to get photos taken - completely understandable. Maybe we could do a follow up with him after the Olympics.

Taking the photo of these athletes was a truly amazing experience. Honestly not a prima donna in the bunch. Everyone gave more of their time than I asked, were very open about their experiences and even gave me some personal time - skating with Dorothy Hamill after our shoot, being able to walk on a balance beam with Dominique Dawes and taking some photos of her with her two dogs, having Michael Weiss perform some flips for me (at his insistence). I'll show some of those photos in my next posting.

In the meantime, enjoy the article in the magazine and take a look at the time-lapsed video of me while photographing the group shot in my studio.

The "B" Side

Do you remember when we could buy albums? I don't mean the large ones, I'm talking about the 45's. Two songs - one on the "A" side and one on the "B". What a great way to listen to new and inventive music (yes and sometimes - maybe often - bad music). The artist would record their "best" song and place it on the "A" side, and because they had to fill the other side, record a song that was just filler. How many great songs can you remember that came off the "B" side? Just for starters did you know that "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley was a "B" song?

In a round about way this brings me to photography. I just re-did my portfolio -including my web site (with a lot of help from Amanda Sosa-Stone). I gave her a few dozen images from which to choose. Now, what I've learned over the years is that never send what you think is the very best. Always send a variety of images - more than you think is needed and definitely more than the ones you love. It is amazing to me what gets chosen. Many of the images that Amanda chose are from the "B" side of my shoots, or list. Above are some examples. The first is from a shoot at Flint Hill School. This recycling photo was taken in the hallway of the school and a complete after thought. "Hey you're the recycling queen - lets have you sit on a bin". The image next to it is of Dominique Dawes. This was taken after a photo shoot for the Washington Post Magazine. She had her dogs with her and I asked if I could get some shots of her with them. She agreed...

The other two are outtakes from some model shoots. I was just trying to be a little arty, knowing they weren't going to beuse, or liked. But I just had to take them.
And guess what - they turned out to be in my portfolio.

Never forget the force of the "B" side. You WILL be surprised.

A New Perspective

Trying something new. On a recent visit to New York City Kate and I took a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. - my first time doing so. With my trusty Canon G-9 I decided to take a time-lapsed video of my walk from Brooklyn to New York City. Walking slowly, trying to keep the camera steady and avoiding both pedestrians and bikers - it all wasn't as easy as it first seemed. Got yelled at by a biker; which was going so fast you can't see him in the video - I won't repeat here what he said (there might be some youngsters reading). As you can see I did keep within my boundaries - welcome to NYC...

Enjoy!!

My Favorite City

I am not one to go on vacation where there is more people than where I live. I am not a big beach person during the summer months - especially in the Outer Banks where you have to shop at 2am just to avoid the crowds. That to me is not a vacation.
But I have to say, one of my favorite spots to visit is New York City - eight million people and counting. The variety of people, sights, restaurants and diners just completely fascinates me. For a photographer it is heaven on earth (yes I know you could argue that). The architecture alone can consume a photographer. The fact is that it has just about everything one needs - even open spaces. Central Park is a great place to relax and "get away from it all". Now all that being said, I don't think I could live there. Way too much cement and the noise can be a little too much.
But for a visit...I love it.

The photos above were taken at Balthazar and Pastis. Two beautiful restaurants: Balthazar is in Soho and Pastis is in the Meat Packing District. After spending about and hour taking photos from my table I was told the there was no photography allowed in the restaurant. Oh well - got some great shots regardless. It pays to be discrete.

Why I Love What I do

Just wanted to share with you one, of the many, reasons why I love what I do.
This past week saw quite a variety of assignments. First was still-life shots forGianna Rose, a company that makes very nice soap products. The second was of three Olympians - Dominique Dawes, Tom Dolan and Wendy Weil. These images are part of a story for The Washington Post Magazine about local Olympians due out on July 27th. The third was of Bruna Genovese, a model who wanted some portfolio shots. And the forth was portraits of a goat for a story about Pocket Meadow Farm.

God I love what I do.
Where can one meet and take photos of such a variety of subjects - and have FUN doing it!!

Boy it is so nice to get up in the morning looking forward to the day - really makes it all worth living.

Summer Adventures

It has been exactly one month since my last posting. That's very hard to believe!
I just had my first "free" weekend since and took advantage by going to New York City. Not a huge trip, but it was nice to get away and see friends!

It reminded me that, even though summer just began, it is way too short and we should take the time to relax and enjoy it. But sometimes that's hard to do. I will never complain about being too busy - but will always complain anyway.

All of this reminded me of two neighbors who are traveling this summer. One is moving, taking their Airstream up to Maine and then across country to Arizona. The other is spending three months in Ecuador. What an adventure for both families.

I'll have some "fun" photos from New York City in the next few days.

Kid Photography

I have to admit - I do not concider myself a family portrait photographer, or a wedding photographer for that matter. When people ask me what type of photography I do I reply, "anything but weddings" I lump the family portrait in that category.

But, every once in a while I will break down. Friends will ask if I could take some portraits - I have a hard time saying "No" (but please don't ask!).
And every once in a while I'm really surprised at the images I get. Kids are amazing creatures. I don't have any (that I know of) so it is always a treat when I get the chance to take photos of kids that are energetic and have lots of expression. Now I know why Jill Greenberg likes taking photos of kids - Always changing, never boring.

The Color Card Assignment

Before the start of any photo shoot I use a color card - as every photographer should. After two photo shoots this weekend (and going over the images later) I noticed that those images were very candid, and sometimes funny. I started to go through some past assignments and noticed that most of them were great, spontaneous moments that really could make a wonderful series of images.

This is what I love about photography. Anything can come from everything. You just have to be willing, and open, to see it. So from now on I'm not going to take these pre-assignment moments for granted. But instead shoot them as a personal assignment.

I'll have more to show in the future.

With A Little Help From a Friend

I'm working on a story about local Olympians and wanted to do some test shots so that I'm not wasting the Olympians time trying to figure out what to do - Especially a good idea if you only have a few minutes with them.

It's nice to have friends who are willing to sit, be patient and bossed around.

A Strange Ring of Reality

As we end this week I wanted to share two quotes that I find kind of disturbing. The first was from the early 80's - a time when we didn't have a clue, or was not taught, about the effects we have on our environment. The second is just plain funny - although it has a strange ring of reality.

"We've got to pause and ask ourselves: How much clean air do we need?"
— Lee Iacocca,

"When President Chirac gave [President] Bush a souvenir statue of the Eiffel Tower... Bush said 'This is great! A little oil rig!' "
— Jay Leno

What Have We Done

What have we done to our environment? Here are a few of my favorite photos along with two timely quotes.

"For 200 years we've been conquering nature. Now we're beating it to death."
— Tom McMillan

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It's not."
— Dr. Seuss

Mother Earth

We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. ~Native American Proverb





I'm digging into my achives, showing you the beauty of planet Earth.

Earth Day

What a week!
Didn't have too much time to take a lot of personal photos except for this past weekend. Boy, you know it's spring when we get weather like this - sunny one day, rain the next. Welcome to Mother Earth and her version of Earth Day.
I love taking photos in all kinds of weather. But I have to be honest that rain is my favorite. The quality of light and the subtle colors really make the photograph.
Here are two examples - one taken of Saturday, the other on Sunday.

Vision and Creativity

After posting an image per day for the last week I thought I would be more energized in taking photos. What I’ve discovered is that photography can’t be forced. It has to be something that just happens – at least for me. I like seeing things in a different light; in a fresh way, but it has to come naturally. Many of the photos from the past week have been from my archive. That’s not a bad thing, just something I didn’t expect. I wanted to take some new images, but the opportunity never seemed to present itself. Yes I did take my camera with me, but there was no real goal, no vision. I was looking at everything without really seeing anything. I felt forced to “produce” something.

Now I could have said, “I suck! I’ve lost all feeling for photography”. But this experience has helped me realize how I take photos and how my vision impacts my creativity. Vision should not get in the way of creativity. The two can, and should, go hand in hand. This is not something new for me, but it took a week’s worth of looking but not seeing to have it penetrate my conscience.



So, this past Saturday, I incorporated this new found realism into a photo shoot of two black labs owned my Karen Smith, a photo editor with The Discovery Channel. I had a vision of what I wanted, but didn’t let it get in the way of my creativity. If something didn’t look exactly the way I wanted, I adjusted my vision to compliment my creativity. I just let it happen.

Included here are some images from the shoot.