Category: Beauty

The Beauty of Tanu.

Beauty, Portraiture, Studio Lighting

I don’t get to work on many morning sessions these days due to conflicting schedules and the fact that most of the models I’ve met are not exactly morning people. This was not the case with Tanu . When we first exchanged schedules for the week, she suggested 9:00 AM. “Whoa, I said. Perhaps a bit too early for me to be at my best. We settled on 10:00 Am agreeing it would still give us plenty of time to get things done. When I met her at the PATH my first impression was her pictures didn’t even come close to conveying her beauty or personality. Tanu was awesome and our session conveyed it. Her expressive eyes and lips had me  pausing to catch my breath. An absolute professional and a pleasure to work with. We stopped here and there but for the most part, we never really got off course. Tanu was born and raised in New Delhi India and lived in Brooklyn, NY before moving to Long Island City.

I hope to be doing a lot more morning sessions in the future. We’ll certainly see. I can’t think of many better ways to start the day.

Me, I Love B&W.

Beauty, Portraiture, Studio Lighting

I just love shooting B&W. I love the mood and the contrast. I’ve been getting a lot of headshot work lately which calls for color. I find myself switching to monochrome in between shots. Later, when I show them the results. They often agree that the monochromes are the best shots and portray them in the best light.

Roksolana invades New York City.

Beauty, Portraiture, Portraiture in natural light, Soft Lighting

My shoot with Roksolana (Lana for short) was both fun and heartfelt. As we were sitting in the office talking she told me about her recent move to Brooklyn from the Ukraine. Her love for modeling, art and New York City. There was a certain warmth and ease to her personality. I told her about my current town of Hoboken which she knew very well, being that she has been working with an artist there. I was very engaged. In speaking I couldn’t help but notice a pronounced scar on her chest. When I asked her about it she openly spoke about having been fitted with a pace maker. Something that seemed insane at such a young age. She told about the issues she had from a very young age. I immediately identified considering what I went trough with having a brain tumor at a very young age. It wasn’t as much as sad exchange as it was a triumphant one. Both of had overcome and adversity at a very young age and were living happy, full lives. As for the session that followed. She was so natural and instinctive. Few of the shots were posed. It was just the two of us conversing and exchanging stories. Exchanges like these are a major ingredient to why I love what I do. Here’s to you Roks.

P.S. Lana, if you read this. The reason I didn’t photoshop the scar out of the picture is I thought is was an important part of the story, your beauty and your experience,

The People you Meet

Beauty, Friendship, Portraiture in natural light, Soft Lighting

Photography has always been my way to meet the world. To introduce myself and  get ot know people I may not be bold enough to otherwise. To say things I would never be able to say with words. One of the reasons I started this blog in the first place was to tell the stories about the unique people I had been meeting and to tell the stories behind the images. Photography and portraiture has allowed me the opportunity to meet the world.

Thursday I met a woman whose cultural background was as diverse as the places she’s traveled. A recent transplant from the West Coast Suzanne is a mix of Arabian, South East Asian and European. Not to mention that she speaks a number of languages including Cantonese, Mandarin and Russian. I learned so much in the short time we spent together. Being around people with such diverse backgrounds and experiences is so important to me. We talked about our favorite destinations and how I dreamed about my next possible travel spots. Places like Vietnam, Cambodia and Morocco. I may not have been able to go there yet but I’m happy to have met and photographed people who have.

Keeping it Fresh.

Beauty, Location Shooting

As noted in previous posts I’ve been doing my share of work at the gallery in downtown New York City. A great opportunity that offers it’s share of rewards and challenges. One of the challenges is when the themes and backgrounds all start to look and like and it starts to get mundane and repetitive. When you find something you love. Whether it be a person, place or thing. You tend to wear it out. Something I hope to avoid if at all possible. Aside from the gallery I’ve had similar finishes to sessions. Heading in the direction of Chinatown and using the same streets and alleys. Yesterday I tried a few new angles at the gallery and instead of heading East towards Chinatown I explored the surrounding streets of  Tribeca just to the West. 

At the Gallery.

Beauty, Portraiture

I’ve been a member of SOHO Photo Gallery for about three or four years now. Displaying new work month after month alongside the many talented photographers that belong to a COOP who’s membership spans worldwide. Though I hate meetings and may not have learned a whole lot from the folks that were doing this before I was born. I have taken full advantage of the opportunity. Early this year I decided to take advantage of the amazing space and light gallery has to offer. The buildings white walls, old architecture and little nooks and crannies give me lots of inspiration. Not to mention the surrounding streets of Tribeca and Chinatown. I’ve been conducting shoots while the gallery is closed on Monday and Tuesday. Thus far it’s worked out extremely well. I’ve been entertaining the idea of booking night sessions in the future. But for now it’s working out pretty well.

Tuesday afternoon I met up with actress/model Janet before heading uptown to a pre meeting with next Tuesday shoot. Janet is twenty six but her look skus much younger allowing her to take on younger parts that call for more maturity. Though she was very business minded and serious. I was able to get some really good smiles and even a few silly images. As for my meeting later that night. I can’t say enough. The sample images she had sent earlier did no justice to her beauty or personality. Looking forward to our shoot.

A Day on the Farm.

Beauty, Canon lenses and equipment

This Saturday Kayuri and I took a trip up RT. 80 to Chester, New Jerssey to go apple picking at Alstede Farms. I’m really a city boy at heart but I always wanted to try things like apple picking, and camping for instance. I just never imagined myself doing it in ninety degree heat.  The day was really hot and the sun was pretty intense, but we had a great time and got more than we expected. Not only did we pick a couple of dozen apples of different variety. We also found peppers, zucchini, pumpkins and tons of other veggies and fruits. There’s really something special about seeing it on the vine and picking it yourself. It really makes you appreciate the food on a whole new level. After a long and fun day of walking, picking and enjoying the beauty of nature we headed over to town and had a delicious dinner at Publick House Tavern. Thanks to my friend Mandy for the recommendation.

Extras from my Shoot with Tara.

Beauty, Canon lenses and equipment, Humor, Portraiture, Studio Lighting

Once we were done with getting the head shots she needed.      Tara asked me if I could take a few of her in her leather jacket. I could immediately tell that the clothes she had brought fro the shots didn’t fit her or her personality. Once the jacket went on the real Tara came out. It was a pleasure to see. Such an amazing personality and fun person to work with. We were literally rolling on the floor with laughter.