When Opportunity Knocks...

...you answer!

A few weeks back I saw a posting on a forum for a second shoot opportunity...and it was local...well, kind of.  I very quickly put together an email and ended it with the hope that I'd hear back.  As I'm sure you've already guessed it, since I'm writing this post, I did hear back in a favorable way.  A few days later, I met Mike (the primary shooter) at lunch in the city and we discussed the couple and the details of the day.

I'm still making my way through the images but this is one that I really like from that day.  More to come soon...

It Takes Two To Make It Outta Sight

I heard the song on the radio that has this phrase and it reminded me that I needed to write about a recent shoot I had with Anna.  I met Anna through another photographer friend of mine, Lou.  They're both from the same country, Madagascar.  Anna came to a meetup style shoot a few years ago where you have a bunch of photographers, models, and make-up-artists get together for the sole purpose of everyone working on their portfolio.  Once in a while, I like to pull together a really simple shoot to accomplish the same goals...keep the portfolio fresh with new material.

Anna has - uh - a few things going for her here.  First, she's super nice, speaks French, which is always fun to listen to, she's easy on the eyes (stating the obvious), and she's totally professional; show's up on time, no drama, respectful, etc.  She mentioned she was able to be an extra in an upcoming feature film.  I'm hoping she'll remember our work when she's famous :-)  Oh, and I forgot to mention that she makes my job super easy because she just magically falls into these great poses without me needing to guide much at all.  Love it!  This particular shoot was pretty short (setup to breakdown was probably 60 minutes).  There were less than 100 photos taken.  Enjoy a few of my favorites.

 

And a few more...

 

Cutest Girl(s) at the Party

A good friend of mine that I used to work with was organizing a family gathering at a country club for people from his church.  The goal of the night was to have fun, relax, and be entertained all in the spirit of good family time.  He offered me up as the "official photog" at this event...and I jumped at it.  I'm always up for shooting and even though one of the things I provided was the posed family shots, what I tend to really get into shooting are the candid images.  There was one little girl that I knew I would be taking lots of pictures of as soon as I saw her.  What a doll!  Most of the children were so engaging and well behaved.  So nice to see this at a big event like this. 

The venue was this great, old, country club/resort called Timber Point.  Its out in Long Island which isn't exactly around the corner from me plus, because I knew I was going to attempt to market and sell that same night, I needed help.  I picked up another friend in NYC on my way from NJ to Long Island.  Thanks Avi.  Couldn't have done it without you!  Needless to say, this turned out to be a long day.  I tend to follow and read about things in the photography industry and something I read recently that I can identify with is the sentiment that unless you love photography, its hard to get past some of the negatives.  Long hours, little and sometimes inconsistent pay, etc.  The thing that keeps me coming back is the interaction with people and always striving for better and better images.

 

New Logo

Recently, I worked with a co-worker to iterate through an updated and more appropriate logo for my website.  Its done!  It was a fun process and nice to be on the client side, for once.

Without further ado, here it is: 

If you're curious, we started with the concept, moved onto fonts and ended with some color options.  The brackets around the 'de' are meant to represent the "framing" of a picture.  Nice thing about this is I can use the whole logo or just the 'de' with the frame as an icon, etc.  Hope you all like it.

Kate & Jeremy's Engagement

And if you're diggin what you're seeing here, I've posted a few more in the Gallery. I'll have a slideshow video to share soon as well. Stay tuned.

New Ventures: Stock Photography

Hard to believe that a few weeks have gone by since I've posted anything.  I have to be better about posting quick, little things.  Lots of new and exciting things happening but one that I want to share now is about becoming a photo contributor for a company that I now work for - Shutterstock.

Stock photography is an industry that's relatively new and its setup to allow for customers (people like ad agencies, designers or other creatives) to use "stock" content for their advertising.  Because there's both photo and video, this could be for something like a print ad or possibly a television commercial.  What the stock house (e.g., Shutterstock) does is license the use of the media (photo or video) to the buyer.  There are a few competitors in the space and probably the best known is Getty Images.

So, shortly after I started here I attempted to create an account and become a contributor but....I was rejected.  10 out of 10.  Not even one got through.  Hmm.  Okay, plan B.  I met and became friendly with the content manager and asked him to sit down to take a look at some of what I consider to be my good work and it turns out I was just submitting the wrong stuff.  He helped with what to submit and after I obtained a few model releases to grant permission from the subject of the image to sell them, I resubmitted new content and was APPROVED!  Yay!  When you get a chance, check out my images for sale on Shutterstock.

Pittsburgh: Our answer to Hurricane Irene

Every year, we take a family trip out of town for our anniversary at the end of August.  This year, it coincided with Hurricane Irene.  We originally planned to go to Ocean City, MD however, this was directly in the path of the storm and made a decision to go elsewhere.  So, the day before we were supposed to leave, we canceled our trip to Ocean City and that evening we had to plan for a new location.  We knew the destination had to be: 1) Out of the storm's path, 2) Drivable in a day and 3) Has a mix of kids and adult things to do.  After an hour or so of looking, we landed on Pittsburgh.  

Neither of us had been before so our expectations were low.  We did some additional research in the car using our iPhone, something that wasn't even feasible not so long ago.  We packed several things into the trip for such a short time (we were there for 2 full days, not including driving time).  We went on a cruise that had a pirates theme.  As you can see from the picture above, Emersyn was into it!  We also went on an inclinator up a large mountain to get some great pictures (that's where I got the pano at the top of this post - its about 15 shots stitched in Photoshop).  Finally, we took a ride around the city on a "ducky tour".  Pretty fun time and we made it in and out of the water on this "boat" without a hitch.

6 hours drive in, 2 days there and 6 hours back to fortunately find our house in the same condition we left it in after the storm.   Sweet.

Mom's Visit

Its always nice to have grandparents in to visit, especially when its not for a birthday or holiday.  It allows for some quality time.  We didn't have a ton of 1:1 time with "Grandma Sharon", as she's known, and Emersyn but I managed to get a few good pictures I wanted to share.

Piano Anyone?

You'd think I have to go looking for this stuff but not here! Here's a person playing piano in the street on a Tuesday morning in lower Manhattan...

Lights, Camera, Wall Street

Everyday can be an interesting day when you commute into lower Manhattan.  There's been extra activity around Wall Street lately with the media and the focus on the economy.  Here's a quick snap-shot of what I walked through this morning...

People Watching: How People Take Picture

Something that might turn into a series here on the blog, since I now have access to LOTS of great people watching, is various takes on things I see each day on my commute.  First up is my observation of how others (mostly tourist) take pictures in NYC.  As you'll notice from my collage below is that there are a variety of ways people approach the basic snap shot.  Some get in what seem to be very uncomfortable positions.  Some focus the lens with their hand from the top, others from the bottom.  Some try to emulate the expression they're hoping to get from their subject (like a smile) others don't appear to have their eyes open.  Some count down with their fingers.  Some hide behind objects.  The collage shows a pretty diverse selection of tourists.  Old and young and people from all over the world.  That's NYC for ya.

One interesting fact behind this mini project image is that I probably spent more time putting this image together than it took to take all these pictures.  I took these on two separate days and probably spent 10 minutes on each day snapping away.  There are lots of tourist to choose from and what I found fun and interesting at the same time is that people are so focused on the picture they're taking they hardly paid attention at all to the fact that I was taking a picture of them taking pictures.  :-)

 

My Commute is like a Scrum Project

I like to draw parallels between different things sometimes just for fun. I have a new commute now and it got me thinking that I can see a lot similarities between my commute and running a Scrum project. Check out this link for a longer explanation but it's essentially a way of approaching problems (like with software development) in an iterative way where you have short blocks of time to deliver something and after each time boxed iteration you think about what you could do better next time to improve.

In my commute I'm bound by very specific timelines. I have a train to catch and things to get done at work so every minute counts. So here's how I think of it. See if you see the similarities....

My requirement or "story" would read something like, "As a commuter, I want to make my train each day with minimal delay so that I can accurately predict my arrival time and maximize my work time." Some tasks that might fall under this story are things like:
- research paths from train to office
- research paths from office to train (can't assume they'll be the same)
- understand average elevator time on the office building during rush hour times
- know range of walking times during different weather
- know the time table for the train from NYC to Hoboken which is my connection to the NJ commuter train home (how long and when does it leave)
...you get the idea

I've done this commute for a few weeks now and it sounds like a lot to think about...and it is, at first, but you get to know all the variables pretty quickly and once the process is repeatable an predictable, you're on your way to being successful. Got to make something like commuting challenging and fun!

A Wedding To Shoot

One of my bigger goals this year was to shoot a wedding.  Actually, to second shoot.  Its a pretty big difference between the two as the primary shooter is on the hook for really delivering the goods to the bride and groom.  The second shooter duties vary a little but for the most part, they are there to help the primary shooter in any way they need to make the day better for them and ultimately for the couple.

There are a couple forums I watch on a regular basis to keep an eye out for postings from established photographers when they need a second shooter.  You'd think that in the NYC area, there would be a lot of opportunity for this but there are very few.  A couple months back, I was able to line up a second shooter "gig".  Not terribly local however, it was a great opportunity.

I exchanged many emails with Erin (the primary shooter) prior to the event and then made my journey up about 4 hours north the night before the wedding to be ready for shooting the next day.  My first task was to shoot the groom getting ready.  As I got closer to the house, I was waved on by a few guys sitting in the garage drinking beer and smoking.  Its 10am. 

They were very nice and invited me in. As I was approaching, I heard the groom say to the other guys, "I forgot the photographer was even coming by today".  Hmm.  Not sure what to think so far.  I proceeded into the garage and hung out for a few minutes as they said they were waiting for someone else to arrive.  I met the grandmother and the grooms son from a previous marriage.  He was about 8.  The other person they were waiting for never showed and time was running out so we proceeded into the house to start the prep.  The room was poorly lit, on the small side, and had a lot of distracting elements.  That's okay, its my first challenge and I was able to get a few images I was happy with before we moved onto the church.

I headed to the church and met Erin in person for the first time.  We talked quickly about what she'd like me to get and went to it.  She was so easy going and that helped me so much when it came to relaxing and focusing on the images.  The ceremony started around noon and felt like it went so quickly.  I said to Erin afterward that either that was a super fast ceremony or it was just the fact that I was so focused on capturing as much as I could that I lost track of time.  Either way, it was fast.

 

Onto the formal shots.  The weather wasn't cooperating so we shot most everything inside and I was there to catch the alternate angle.  One thing I noticed throughout the day was that I really needed to have a second camera body on me because there's NO TIME to change lenses. Next time, I'll have to rent that second body to help me with speed. :-)

For the reception, we setup some off-camera lighting that Erin had so that was fun to experiment with a bit.  From what she was saying, its a little unusual to have a second shooter that knows much about off-camera lighting so I was glad I could add that to the mix.  I got some table shots and a few of the toasts…and that's about it.  Actually, no.  One other interesting thing came up that I think is fairly common.  Toward the beginning of the reception, we heard that the groom was DONE with pictures.  Didn't want them anymore.  That was a bit of a problem considering we hadn't taken any "formals" of the bridal party.  I managed to kind of nicely talk them into a few pictures which helped Erin out since she really needed these shots and she needed to focus on some other things at the time I was getting these.  Hence, the value of a second shooter, right?  Anyway, because of the long drive, I had to leave around 3:00.  By the time I got home it was around 8:30.  Long day.

It took me a while but I finally went through the ~450 images I shot and narrowed it down to about 30 that I was pretty happy with.  From that, I've further filtered it down to about 8 to post here and add to my gallery.  Its true what many have said about this profession.  You really have to love it.  Its a lot of work, long hours, and often not much pay.  Even still, I'm looking forward to doing it again.!

Work isn't supposed to be like this…

Just the word "work" should conjure up certain things for you.  Everyone's job is different but for me, especially recently, I would think of words like "politics", "power struggle", "resistance", "complicated", "restrictions", etc.  That's not to say that it was all bad.  It wasn't.  It's more that if someone asked me what I thought of where I worked last, I would use these words first to describe it.  I just started a new job and for me, its a whole new way of thinking of "work".

Now, to be fair, this new gig does very nicely line up my personal interests (photography) with my professional skills (Agile Project Management) so that's a great step toward happiness.  My previous employment was in NJ (driving) and now I'm back in NYC on the train and for me that's a plus.  It allows me to get things done (like writing this blog) that I would have otherwise lagged for quite some time to finish. 

When I interviewed for this new job, I could tell that the culture was somewhat similar to where I was a couple years ago except for one major thing.  Big vs. small company.  All my previous employers have been for pretty large organizations.  I know that I'm still in the honeymoon period so I hope I don't eat my words later but so far, I'm lovin' it.  Things are just easier.  I'm thinking it may be difficult to work for a large company again. Time will tell. The other welcome change for me is being able to work on a Mac all-day-long!  This is huge for me. 

To summarize:
- Fun work focused on Photography and Video
- Work in cool setting in NYC
- Work on a Mac all-day-long
- Train time to get things done

I'm hoping to try out the well known phrase, "if you do what you love, its not work".

Amy's Bat Mitzvah

A few weeks ago, we were able to make a family trip up to CT for a special party to celebrate Amy's 13th birthday; and in the Jewish religion that can also mean that you have a Bat Mitzvah.  Before I get too much further, Amy is my mother-in-law's, boyfriend's granddaughter.

The event was held at a country club that we had been to one other time (for Amy's sister's Bat Mitzvah a few years ago).  It has a nice area for eating, a bar, and a dance floor.  They also have some entertainment for the kids with a magician and DJ and a little candy booth.  Emersyn enjoyed the magic and I think she understood some of it :-).  Its fascinating to watch her learn and grow.  Check out the hula hoop competition pictures.  Emersyn gave it her best shot!

A little piece of [photography] history

There's so much information to consume these days that you have to be selective about what you choose to spend time keeping up with.  For photography, there are only a handful of photographers I follow on a regular basis.  One of those photographers is Chase Jarvis.  He's a commercial photographer that has done a lot to bring a sense of community to photographers around the world and oh, by the way, he take some pretty great pictures too.

A recent project was of interest to me to check out, especially since it's being displayed in NYC and now that I'm working again in the city, its pretty easy for me to get to. Yesterday at lunch, I made the trek to the Ace Hotel to check out the "Dasein: an invitation to hang" display.  Its a collection of snap shots from around the world, hand picked by Chase and placed in this gallery space for people to take it all in and contribute either in person or virtually.  To some extent, it takes on the next step to a "Best Camera" app his team also developed.  Fun stuff.

Here's a couple pictures I took of what the display looked like...

Grillin' it up

As we get closer to May, one thing I'm really excited about is getting back outside to grill.  I'm writing this as I'm sitting in Phoenix and it reminds me of the different mindset you have around weather.  Here, the weather is warm most of the year and hot the rest of the time.  By April, you can probably break out your shorts and keep them around until probably October.  For those that don't absolutely love 100+ temperatures, you'll try to stay indoor as much as you can during the summer and be outside to enjoy the weather the rest of the year.  

On the east coast, people tend to hibernate in the winter.  This particular winter brought us a lot of snow and cold.  Personally, I'm glad to be done with it and looking forward to being outside with a beer (Sam Adams, of course) and the grill fired up.

Photos are magical

One of the reasons I find photography so compelling is what you don't expect it can do.  It can bring people back to life.  Back to life in your mind during that point in time when they were physically in the same room.  When they were still here and you were able to speak to them and laugh with them.

This weekend I'm heading to a funeral for a childhood friend, Heather.  Its been a while since we've been in touch but not so long since she's been in my thoughts.  I have a 4 year old daughter that's about the age I remember being when I would play along side Heather and her sister Kelly.  Our parents were friends pre-kids and stayed in touch when we were all young.  I'll miss Heather and I'll treasure the memories we had.

Heather and her mom, Sharon

Some time with Brandy

Brandy is someone I met quite some time ago.  She's a good friend of my sister's and has recently moved to NJ to be with her husband and to invest her energy in attending auditions for NYC Broadway plays.  Exciting stuff.  She's spent a few years in Las Vegas in great performances and is now trying her luck in NYC.

When I first met Brandy, she was in grade school.  She's now all grown up and here to make her mark on the east coast.  She saw a post I did on this blog and sent me a note through Facebook offering to help out on a future shoot...I got to thinking and thought she'd be better in front of the camera vs. behind it.  I think I was right.  Check out a few of my favorites from our session.

Next up.  A shoot with her and her husband.  Stay tuned for that.

Vegas Baby

Okay, so this is a little out of order.  We made a trip to Vegas back at the beginning of February for a rather important birthday of mine.  It had been very cold and snowy lately in the North East and the whole family was very anxious to leave that all behind for a nice visit out to Vegas for some R&R and optional coats.

We arrived on a Thursday night and had a couple days to do some family time during the day and since we had both grandma's in town, they were gracious enough to watch Emersyn while several of us made it out at night.  Thanks Mom(s)!

Some pictures, of course.

One tangent.  So, we decided we didn't want to spend much on a hotel because we'd rather put that money into gambling.  We wanted to stay on the strip however, so we ended up at the Excalibur.  Wrong decision.  As soon as we walked in with our suitcase, someone approached us and tried to sell us stuff.  Go listen to our pitch on our timeshare.  How about a show?  Huh?  How about leave me alone!  How cheesy is this?  So if this wasn't bad enough, as soon as we checked in, someone tried to do it again between the check-in counter to the elevator.  They said this is the way they market their new properties, etc.  Wasn't working for me.