Today Kayuri and I drove over to Little Ferry New Jersey to watch our friend Denise Keegan marry one Tom Frawley. I met Denise aka Spunky Denisha years ago while we were both displaying our photography at the Monroe Center for the Arts. Through the years she’s become a good friend and has helped me along the way as both as a test model and a photoshop wizard. A gifted photographer in her own right Denise has earned her Geek Badge collecting shot glasses and anything related to Kermit the Frog. I wanted to take a moment to congradulate her on her special day and show my appreciation for allowing me to be a part of it. Here’s to a long, happy and fun union. Love, James
Author: photogeek23
I'm starting this blog to share my work and experiences with friends, family and anyone who takes pictures or loves photography. Comments and insight are greatly appreciated.
Oh shit, has it really been a month?
Another month gone and I realize how much I’ve been neglecting this blog as of late. It’s not a case of nothing doing, nothing to talk about. I can assure you of that. This past month has given me it’s share of adventure, opportunities and challenges. My website UniteWebzine.com has kept me very busy. So much so I’m starting to look for contributors to lighten the load. I recently become the admistrator for SOHO Photo Galleries Facebook page and have become a contributer to Jersey Beat. Writing and photography have been my strong suits for some time now. As I find myself doing more and more of both I’m seeing a very strong connection. I’ve noticed that my approach to portraiture and interviewing musicans and such the same. Building a trust and slowly peeling away the layers. I know I won’t be able to get what I need unless I invest the time to really get to know the person inside. I see both my photography and interviewing style grow and evolve. I guess I’d like to become more of a story teller than just ask the random “So tell me about the new album and tour.” I find it easy gaining trust with the people I photograph. It’s a lot harder with bands and artists. I find the best interviews I’ve done were never at gigs. There’s just too much going on and everyone seems to be talking over one another. The times when I’ve really gotten to know the artist is when we were just relaxing over a beer, burger or burritto. Just as in my portaiture I’d rather do one in depth interview than ten random “What are your influences. What made you choose the bands goofy name?” That’s where I see myself and my work going. That’s my take on it.
Canon 50 mm 1.4 USM and goodbye to annoying flash.
Here it is Memorial Day weekend and Spring is finally starting to show itself. With the warmer weather comes more opportunities to get out, see friends and enjoy what we enjoy most “Live Music”. A lot of the bands I worshipped and became friends with as a kid are reuniting, playing shows and releasing new material. After a two-year hiatus I’ve decided to go back to working on my online Zine Unite. In a matter of a month or so I’ve managed to do a half-dozen interviews and line up stuff for the upcoming months. With every week bringing new shows and events I went out and picked up the Canon 50mm 1.4 USM. It’s a good sturdy lens that has allowed me to leave the flash (and the worries that go along with it at home. It’s given me some really great results. Being able to open the lens all the way to F1.4 and crank up that ISO. It can get grainy but gives it a nice look. There’s also the important bonus of not blinding the band or the crowd. I think I might however want to get a wider angle next time as 50 doesn’t allow me to get too close or too far away for that matter. the Canon 24 mm looks like a possibility. For now I’m looking forward to using it exclusively at shows and in situations that call for shooting is low light or situations where flash is off limits.
Mind, Body, Spirit
In the days prior to our session Rosie and I had talked extensively about the day we were to meet up. Usually when it comes to setting up a shoot things like money, time and travel are the key things covered. Rosie on the other hand was full of questions and interested in every aspect of what we were doing. She wanted to know everything from the amount of time we’d be shooting and how many pictures were taken in a session on average to how long I’d been taking pictures and what was the driving force in me wanting to become a photographer. She was quite the inquistive one and that made me happy. Rosie has been learning and practicing yoga for years and is eager to teach it. This was a big plus for me considering the pictures and concept are part of an ongoing series I mentioned in my last blog post. Through ‘Mind, Body, Spirit’ I hope to connect the things that elements that bring us closer to our core and our sole. Yoga, along with practices such as meditation, tai chi amongst others. I hope to continue learning and growing as this project continues. Thanks to Rosie for participating and opening her heart about something that means so much to her. If anyone is interested in participating in this project you can easily comtact me through the blog. Thanks, JD
It’s been a while.
It’s hard to believe I let an entire month go by without posting anything. It’s not that I haven’t been doing creative things with my spare time. It just seems like there is less and less of it. As of late I’ve taken on too many responsibilities and tasks. I’ve stretched myself thin and in a sense lost touch with the things that are most important to me. Who knows, maybe I’m just finding more things that are important. Perhaps my interests have shifted. I’ve started work on a new project called “Mind, Body, Spirit” which is very personal to me. In recent years I’ve been searching for that inner peace that has eluded me for most of my life. To love myself as much as I love everyone else and to find a balance in life. I’ve become a bit more spiritual. A bit more motivated to do more with my life. To be a person of merit and to make a difference in my community and in the lives of the people around me. This can be tough at times. It’s not hard to get caught up in the anger, indifference and carelessness that we encounter every day. Finding that peace and that core. It doesn’t happen in a day, a year or maybe even a lifetime. It’s continuos I guess. It’s almost 2:00 and I’m starting to go off track. The images posted in this entry are the start of the project. They were exhibited at Soho Photo Gallery during the month of May. Thanks to those who came down for the opening. That meant a lot to me. 
Holi- the festival of color
Last year around this time I was introduced to an Indian tradition known as Holi (The festival of colors). A few times a year the bosses of her company throw parties at there houses in the Hamptons and in Jersey. Showing appreciation for their hard work and dedication. On this particular day we were told to wear old clothes and be prepared to get dirty. As we drove towards the event Kay filled me in on what little she knew about the event. I was both curious and a little scared. Holi is a traditional Spring festival celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs in countries like India, Sri Lanka and Nepal. The tradition celebrates the coming of the Spring and the triumph of ‘good’ over ‘evil’. Participants playfully throw colored powder and water at one another. Soaking one another with colored water guns and even going as far as throwing participants into pools. All while consuming alcohol, dancing and signing. By the end of the day our clothes, hair, skin, my camera were all covered in the powder. Kayuri was worried about damaging my camera but I told her “I may never get to witness something like this again. So I’ll take my chances.” We had a really great time that day and enjoyed celebrating with friends. 
Couch trip
Few things bring us as much comfort as that old familiar couch. Back in my Hell’s Kitchen days I had this old green couch that was so long, two people could sleep on it comfortably without even being in the same area code as one another. These days I’ve got a nice brown micro suede couch that, though not as long, is quite comfortable and inviting. From time to time when I have a client over I break from the set and backgrounds and head for the couch. Most people take to it like they are in their own homes while others approach it rather gingerly. Perhaps thinking “What does he have in mind?” The results when lit just right are magic. I hereby dedicate this post to “The Couch”.
Better late than never is never a good excuse.
A long time ago in a galaxy far,
far away I worked fro a talent agency doing print ads and working on movies. While signing up with the woman told me the importance of being on time. “If you have a 3:00 appointment make sure you are there and fully prepared to start work by 2:45. It was a simple rule that made sense and it stuck with me. All my life I always made a point of not only being on time. But getting there early just in case.
Somewhere down the road I wish everyone got that same memo because people just don’t seem to have any understanding about what it means to show up on time. I used to hold a management position with one of the museums in New York City and had a staff of about five to seven people to work with. Two of the girls on my staff were showing up late on a daily basis. When I took them aside to note and remedy the situation one girl responded “I’m from the Bronx.” It was a term I was familiar with having heard it many times regarding various issues. Her point, dumb as it may seem, was that she came to work from a far away land where time hadn’t been invented yet. I suggested that if she was late everyday by about fifteen minutes she should set her alarm a half an hour earlier. This seemed to make no sense to her whatsoever. “Yeah, but I travel with my friend.” Her friend just happened to be the other girl who was constantly late for work. By that time I had convinced myself that there was a force field around the Bronx that kept people from being responsible and basically “Knowing shit”. Sometimes if you hear something enough times you tend to start believing it to be true. Hearing the term “I don’t know dat shit. I’m from the Bronx.” made me believe it was true.
This week I got to experience that feeling again. I met Antoinette while working at the gallery last week. We had talked on line and she mentioned she would stop by to say hello and talk further about our upcoming session. The day she came by we talked and talked for what seemed to be hours about everything from art to philosophy and the belief theory of good and evil. We set up an appointment and continued to talk online in the days that followed. The day before our shoot I confirmed for 2:00 p.m. which she agreed. I even spoke to her online the next morning in which she told me “I’m jumping in the shower and then heading out.” 2:00 p.m. came and went. As did three and four. At 5:00 p.m. I get a call. “I’m here”. I was and still am without words. Yesterday we were scheduled to shoot at the downtown gallery where we first met. Same time different place. I got a text telling me she’s on the train and will be a little late. Okay, bad but not too bad. That was until she called me and asked. “I’m here on 23rd Street. How do I get there?” I was without words. The gallery which she had just visited less than a week ago had not mysteriously moved from Tribeca to Chelsea while you were sleeping. Let me just say that Antoinette is/was a sweet, beautiful and sincerely apologetic girl. She even sat through both of my tirades where I basically tore her apart. But you have got to be fucking kidding me. I am often amazed at how some people manage to get through life, hold jobs, have families and even operate heavy machinery with absolutely no clue as to what is happening around them. In coming to a close I just want to say that I’m not dissing the Bronx or it’s residents. I’m sure KRS-1 was never late for an MC battle. I know for a fact that millions of people from the Bronx make it to work on time every day and actually “Know shit.”. I just had to get some things off my chest. Antoinette as mentioned before was a complete sweetheart who I enjoyed working with. I just don’t think I could ever go through that again. Plan ahead, know where you’re going and for Christ sake…… Get there on time.
Building blocks
I’m sitting here enjoying my second cup of coffee and admiring the shelf I put up last night. It’s a nice shelf I picked up at Ikea a few weeks ago. Thick black particle board with silver brackets. As of now the shelf is empty with the exception of the proudly placed level I left as a reminder of what you can accomplish if you plan ahead and put your mind to it. Putting up a shelf may not seem like much but it represents something important to me.
A few years ago when I moved into this apartment I asked a coworker if he could put up some shelves for me. He was a nice guy and a self proclaimed carpenter/handyman. I had two shelves that needed to be put up in the bedroom and a shelf to be installed in the closet. He asked for $10 an hour which seemed like nothing. Eight hours later he hadn’t finished the job and the work he had done was shoddy to say the least.
I learned a lot that day. What I learned most was “If you want something done right. Do it yourself.”. I always loved tools and carpentry. I’m a total sucker for those shows on HGTV and TLC but my fears of fucking up the job and putting a hole in the wall and messing up the measurement were overpowering. I’m a klutz by nature and don’t always go into things with a game plan. Over the past few years I’ve learned a lot about fear. Anyone can tell you I’m my own worst critic and my fear of failure had gotten in the way of a lot of my goals.
I’m on a path now. No more fear of anything. Everyone fails from time to time. Learning and growing from it is what’s important. In recent years I learned to DJ. I’ve become a much better cook and I’ve taken my studio lighting from dull and predictable to what some people have called “beautiful and elegant”. I like the work I’m doing now but I know there’s plenty of room for growth and there’s still so much to be learned. I’m using the gallery downtown to shoot during the early days of the week. The natural lighting is beautiful but it also presents it’s challenges. The walls are whiter than Barry Manilow and can all together wash out a subject and the success I’ve had in the early morning and around 2:00 pm only make the failures of 4:30 to 5:00 more frustrating. But it is far from insurmountable. I just have to figure it out and adjust. That’s what makes life great. Overcoming the challenges and making adjustments. Learning to deal with change and sometimes roll with the punches. In the future I’ll be putting up more shelves and getting to know and understand the tools that will hopefully bring me success. And when I fail I’ll try not to take it so hard and just learn from it.
Experimenting with natural light in a new environment.
Whenever I’m working at or visiting the gallery I can’t help but think what an amazing space it would be to conduct some photo shoots. It would sure take some of the pressure off working in the small space I currently use. The gallery offers the perfect location in downtown Manhattan and is surrounded by cobble stone streets and edgy nearby alleyways. The gallery itself is spacious with sky high ceilings and provides beautiful natural light. During the mid afternoon the galleries sky light offers one of the most beautiful, angelic glow I’ve ever seen. I thought about the idea of packing my lights and backgrounds to bring to the studio but realized it was completely unnecessary. I wanted to start scheduling some sessions for the beginning of the week but thought it would make sense to do a test run with my favorite new model Diana.
Diana and I met up at 2:00 and after giving her a tour of the gallery got down to business. Shooting at a gallery where every wall is covered with Photography can be a challenge but it turned out to be easier than I first thought. There was plenty of available space by the front and back windows and up in the loft. It felt good to have the space to breath. I felt less clumsy and more confident. Diana looked beautiful and elegant. She’s so natural and comfortable in front of the camera. I don’t even like to use the word “Work” when referring to the times we’ve gotten together. Her expressions in these images may seem a bit melancholy but we were both laughing and joking in between. I’ve worked with a lot of people like that. They can be fun and laughing one second but once that camera comes out they’re all business.
Needless to say the session was a success and I’m really excited to return. It’s always good to find a new spot that inspires you and allows you to try something new. This gives a lot of people an alternative to coming over to Hoboken from the city. It also gives me the opportunity to get out of the studio while allowing me room to breath. 
Photogeek Blog 