photogeek23

Beauty and the Heat.

Beauty, Portraiture, Portraiture in natural light

As the temperatures soared into triple digits I sadly had to reschedule my upcoming follow up shoot with Salley. After almost six months of scheduling issues and near misses due to everything from being buried in snowpocalypse 2011 to a broken ankle. We were able to finally connect for a quick yet awe inspiring session a few weeks back. After shooting some outdoor work that day we eagerly planned for some studio work. Being in the studio allows me so much more control over lighting and background. It also gives me more of a sense of mood. During the next week or so I’ll be working on a concept and vibe for our shoot. No matter the theme or wardrobe I’ll have one hell of a canvas to work with Salley is one of the coolest people I’ve worked with recently. Here are some of my favorite shots from that cool Sunday.

Happy 4th of July from the Photo Geek.

Beauty

Celebrate and have fun. Always! That is all.

New Day Rising

Finding your Zen

Unable to sleep the other night I walked down to the Hudson River to watch the sun rise over the Manhattan skyline. The morning air is so fresh and cool while that feeling of solitude before the day breaks is the perfect tonic for clearing the mind. As I stood there admiring the day in it’s infancy I noticed this man paddling north. The site of this solitude man looking up at a monster of a city was awe inspiring. It reminded me that no fight is too big. No task is to hard. We can accomplish anything we put our mind to. Here’s to a new day and taking on every challenge that comes our way.

The Pictures I’ve Always Wanted to Take at Shows.

Documentary, Editorial

As much as I’ve always loved concert photography and capturing bands as they poured every ounce of energy into each song. It was always the before and after that I wost most enamored with. As a kid I would pour through fanzines and books like Dance of Days and Banned in D.C. so engaged by the shots of the kids at the show or the bands just hanging out. “Oh my God. They’re like… real people.” These were the shots that really told the story of the friendships and intimacy formed through the music. I always wanted to take those kind of pictures. I always wanted to take the “UnBand” picture. The one where they were just being themselves and not (as the Agnostic Front song goes) “Not another character in a Hardcore handbook. This past Saturday some friends, old and new, gathered to see GO! and others play the final ABC No Rio matinee before the ball and chain rebuild the aging landmark. I did my best to capture some of the friends who gathered. Some of which live on separate coasts. Others I only see sporadically at events such as this one. All near and dear to my heart. These are the kinds of intimate images I always wanted to take. I did my best to get some unguarded shots but people have a way of spotting a camera and wanting to ham it up.

I Said Watermarking, not Waterboarding Part II

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The conversation and debate about Watermarking continues. I’ve been speaking with a lot of friends and fellow photographers since my prior posts regarding the subject. The overwhelming majority agree I need to take steps to protect my work from being used with permission or credit. Over the past couple of weeks I’ve found myself knocking my head against the wall chasing bands on Facebook. Having bands take shit of my website and even found one of my shots on a credible website with no permission or credit. (My email yet to be addressed after more than four days) From now on people can take my work and put it anywhere their heart desires because there’s going to be a big Fucking watermark on it. No worries, no complaints. Safe and sound. The End.

Grand Theft Photo

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The other night while uploading an interview and some new pictures to my music website I decided to add a disclaimer “All Photos Property of James Damion and Unite Fanzine.” I’ve been having a lot of people use my photos without permission or credit and it was beginning to piss me off. As I stated in an earlier blog post I’m not crazy about the idea of watermarking my images just yet. However I do find myself spending more and more time reminding folks that if they are going to use one of my images as their profile badge they should at least give me a photo credit. Well, only hours after loading the update I found some kid took the picture off the site and used it for his Facebook profile picture. No credit or notification. I was pissed, especially considering his bands shot was directly under the disclaimer. After confronting him I was still pissed and started watermarking everything. Pictures, records, my cat… You name is. I wanted my Watermarks to be large and obnoxious. I even tangled with watermarks that didn’t even have my name on them. “YourBandSucks”, “DicksDon’tCredit” and more insane ones too dirty to post here. Hey, I was pissed and Nasty Watermarking seemed like a better idea than spitting teeth. I’m calm and detached now and thinking that watermarking might be the next step for me. In the meantime…..

This Won’t Hurt a Bit.

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Believe it or not there are people out there that absolutely hate having there picture taken. The mere sight of a camera sends them into panic and hysteria. The most relaxed and chill person can fall into an anxiety ridden state with just the mere thought of the idea. I have seen this happen time and time again. Tuesday afternoon I was witness to such when Jenn came to have some headshots taken for her new business endeavor. As she rounded the corner she smiled and waved hello like a lifelong friend. As we met I couldn’t get over how beautiful and stunning her eyes and smile were. She was sweet, friendly and warm. In our initial phone conversation she told me how much she hated having her picture taken but I couldn’t possibly gauge what she meant until that time actually came. As I sat her down and began to raise my camera the cracks began to show…..and quick. Her shoulders stiffened and her eyes took on that of a dear in headlights. I tried everything under the sun to relax her but none of it came close to working. I had taken as many as five pictures when she called out “Are we done?” while reaching for her checkbook. I told her I couldn’t take her money if I didn’t actually do my job. When I suggested taking some shots outside it seemed to only make things worse. By all means she was one of the coolest people I’d come in contact with in a while. But when that camera came out, it was over. I was able to get some shots but nothing that even came close to portraying how truly beautiful this woman was. Surprisingly, Jenn contacted me later and asked if we could give it another try. I was more than happy to oblige and will have the pleasure of seeing her again on Friday. Jenn, if you’re reading this I’m just going to tell you something a friend told me a few days ago, “Chillax, it’s all good.”

“Take My Picture.”

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We’ve all been there. Your walking down the street minding your own business when a stranger asks you if you wouldn’t mind snapping their picture. Whether it’s tourists, a love struck couple or some random loner who wants to have their head pictured next to a monument or random crime scene. On most occasions I’m handed a phone or tiny digi-thing that I have no idea how to operate. I guess it comes with the territory. Walking around with a professional looking camera all the time is like wearing a bulls eye. The weird thing is when you’re at a random club or bar and a complete stranger asks you to take one with your own camera. The person usually does their best to make a sexy party face (looking like an idiot) or do something tasty, yet tasteless like licking their friends face or sticking their tongue down their partners throat. Then following up by not giving you their name, business card or number. Or saying “Dude, I totally want to see/buy those. All while never getting in touch. Here’s a series of pictures of random people who said “Hey, take my picture!” . Most of the people pictured were the exception to the rule. See if you can guess by the captions. Enjoy.

I Said Watermarking, Not Waterboarding.

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Watermarking is an essential tool used by photographers to protect their work from being used without consent. It’s something I’ve toyed with for years but never fully warmed up to. I post a lot of my work to networking sites such as Facebook and at one time My Space. Often finding myself answering friend requests from people who’s soul reason for friending me was to tag my work without even crediting me. I also have absolutely no issues with telling people/friends/bands rather nicely to do the right thing. I need all the publicity I can get. It’s my work and sure as shit I’m going to protect it. Like I said, watermarking is an essential tool for many. I just don’t think I’m one of them. I guess I’ll be watching with due diligence for those few who fail to understand the idea of giving credit where credit is due. Those that slip through the cracks will have to deal with their own bad karma.