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.