Category: Portraiture

Experimenting with natural light in a new environment.

Beauty, Portraiture, Soft Lighting


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.                

Barbie revisited.

Beauty, Humor, Portraiture

So what ever happened to Barbie? The work hard but play harder role model for little girls everywhere. The woman who launched a million Paris Hiltons and Linsey Lohans. The girl who spent years trying to convince herself and the world that her boyfriend Ken was not the poster boy for the “Don’t ask, Don’t tell” generation. Years of part timing on the runway and bouncing from job to job did not fulfill her dreams of one day becoming anatomically correct. Oh and we can forget the all night binges at the Play House in Malibu. Or the numerous times she crashed the sports car after a night of cocaine and meth binges. Some people just don’t learn. While others were sobering up and moving on to new and better lives. Barbie was still being spoiled with shopping sprees for new clothes, jewelry and accessories by little girls around the world. It was too much too soon for Barbie. For her life was a never ending party. She didn’t foresee that there wasn’t much of future in plastics and her years of retirement would be spent naked in a crowded Salvation Army bin with He-Man (Also gay) or even worse, a Staten Island land fill. I decided to tak a before and after look at Barbie and maybe give a Lindsy and Paris a look at what their future holds. Hope you enjoy.

My day at the gallery

Portraiture, Studio Lighting, Uncategorized

On Superbowl Sunday while most of my friends were glued to the TV watching the Jets lose their shot at getting to the Superbowl. I was sitting at the gallery with fellow gallery member Nandor. Nandor is currently having a spotlight show at the gallery while just a few feet away one of my images hangs in all it’s glory. I’ve been a member of SOHO Photo Gallery for about two years now and display my work their regularly. Unfortunately, it is very rare when I actually have any in depth conversations with the members there. Sure, many of them are very nice, engaging and talented in their own right but for whatever reason, perhaps age.  I always feel like an outsider there.                 However, as I sat with Nandor I felt comfortable and even entertained.  He told me about growing up in Hungary and how the combination of cold weather and Communism make for hard and sometimes bitter people. I had mentioned how as a teen and into my early twenties I worked in areas of Brooklyn and encountered many people who came from Eastern Europe. I had met my share of gypsies, thieves and people who made their living off the misery of others. Though the subject matter may seem pretty dark. We spoke in good humor about our experiences.                                                                                Later in the day we went through one another’s work and immediately developed a mutual admiration society. I sat nervously as he poured over my pictures. It’s one thing to have someone you know and love praise you or tell you they are not impressed by certain images, concepts or ideas, But to have someone who’s work may be on your level or even better is different. I was both happy and relieved to know he liked my work but what blew me away was his knowledge of lighting. As he went from image to image pointing out the source and direction of light I sat in awe. Over the last year or so I have really become an apprentice with light. Not only seeing it but directing it and using it for dramatic purpose. I find I have tendency to go a little too dark sometimes. When I look back at the work I was doing between 2006-2008 I see a tremendous difference. I’ve added a lot more drama and I like that. But sometimes I do admit missing the days when I would just flood the studio with light. It may not have been as creative or ballsy but it was a little more conventional. Not that I want to go back to that style on a regular basis. But I don’t think I’d mind revisiting it every once in a while.

Welcoming the New Year

Beauty, Portraiture, Studio Lighting

In case you haven’t noticed we’ve entered a new year and decade. I’ve been feeling particularly creative as of late and have my eyes on new projects, new adventures and new avenues for exhibiting my work. As the new year rolled in I signed up with a few networking sites and groups including Smug Mug and Model Mayhem. I mention these important networking tools because this week I had my first face to face experiences with both. Attending my first Smug Mug workshop at B&H and working together with my first Model Mayhem contact Diana. My first experience with Smug Mug and Rob ‘Ninja’ Nicholson was excellent. Entertaining, informative and completely reassuring at the same time. Listening and watching Rob made me better understand why people join cults and believe in alien abductions. I wanted to stay and meet everyone but there’s something about crowds that sometimes give me overwhelming anxiety. The room was so packed that all I could think of was fresh air and how close I was to the door.                                                                                                   The very same week I had my first meet up with my very first Model Mayhem contact Diana Lo. What drew me to Diana’s profile was the simple beauty of her pictures on the site. A lot of the work I had seen on the site was a combination of sex, raunch and endless hours of Photoshop. Her photos stood out to me. After a couple of emails and a phone call we chose a date and time. I’m always a little nervous before a session. I admit that after all these years I still get the butterflies before every session. Working with someone and trying to capture their essence five minutes after you meet some one for the first time definitely has it’s challenges. But Diana and I had instant chemistry. During our phone conversation she told me how much she liked the location work I had done. So I promised her we’d visit some of my favorite spots before we went back to the studio. She had never been to Hoboken before so I was more than happy to give her a tour.                                                As we talked and took pictures Diana became more and more instinctive. I almost immediately noticed that the pictures on her profile, although beautiful, didn’t even scratch the surface. I meet a lot of beautiful, unique and special people in my line of work. Diana however took it to another level. She reminded me of someone who was very special to me a child. Someone who opened my eyes to the beauty the world has to offer. Whenever I think of that particular person I have so many special memories. To this day I get choked up just thinking about her.      As we went from one spot to the other Diana would thank me for showing me these new places, explaining my approach to each photo and making her feel included. She told me about growing up in Hong Kong and living in Manhattan. What was scheduled to be a two hour session went past five hours and I can honestly say that not a minute was wasted of forced. We both loved the shots we took and enjoyed the whole process. Sometimes I forget how lucky I am to be doing what I love. I’ll go back to this session and this blog post whenever I need a reminder.

Something different

Beauty, Portraiture
As of late I’ve been wanting to break away from the more traditional portraiture I’ve been working on for the last year or so. Nothing drastic but something to break from the norm I guess. I’ve always had numerous ideas and visuals that I wanted to work on but it’s not always easy to find the right person who shares your ideas and visions. I few months prior I met and photographed Maria. For two people who had met only minutes before our shoot we shared incredible chemistry. As we took pictures and talked she mentioned her interest in theatrical makeup and some very artistic concepts including something more gothic. At the time I kind of shyed away from the idea. I think I had  just become so comfortable  with the style I had been trying to perfect for so long. But as time passed I was getting a little bored and wanted to try something a little different. I got in touch with Maria and over the next week or so we started bouncing ideas off one another. I was getting a lot of strong visuals about what I wanted to accomplish and Maria did more than her part in relaying her ideas and visions. I’ve been trying very hard to bring some of my ideas and concepts to life. Sometimes taking something from the imagination stage to and actual creative work flow takes time but I think we got off to a pretty good start. There are a number of projects I hope to work on with Maria and others. I really look forward to bringing them to life.


Friday Session: Edwige

Beauty, Portraiture, Studio Lighting

IMG_9823
IMG_9865IMG_9877IMG_9886I was dropping off a print at thegallery today when I saw this beautiful woman in the hall. I was scheduled to meet todays session there around the same time and though she barely resembled the picture that had been sent to me. I felt I had to ask. Cautiously I asked “Are you looking for someone in particular?” When she said “James” I smiled and introduced myself. In all honesty the picture she had emailed me did not even come close to the beautiful woman I was talking to. After a short introduction we jumped in my car and headed back to Jersey. Everything seemed to be going smoothly in the beginning. We shot some pictures under the overpass and headed over to the Monroe Center. She had big, beautiful eyes and a soft voice. She told me about her home in East Africa and how she missed the small things. How her first year of school had it’s challenges both academically and socially. I was eager to get back to the studio and work on some creative lighting. As much as I love working outdoors in natural light I have become more and more comfortable in the studio. I was also eager to work again with the strip box I picked up last week. She had told me earlier that she would get frustrated when she felt she wasn’t taking direction well and I felt that maybe our communication was off a bit. As we were taking the first shots I felt like I wasn’t achieving the lighting I had hoped for. Posing had also been somewhat of a challenge. All of the sudden it seemed as if we hit a wall. She looked somewhat drained so I asked if she wanted to call it a day. She said she was fine. Just a little tired. I told her to chill out for a bit (yeah, I say that sometimes) and offered her a drink. She opted for a Coke and “Pow” before you knew it we were back on track. In a short time we got some of the best pictures of the session. The dress she had brought was worn for the last few shots. I recall she had picked Duran Duran out of my CD collection to listen to and during the last few minutes was actually dancing. She really seemed as if she was in a good place. And for that I’m happy.IMG_9842

Friday Session: Jazz Guitarist Tony Crisos

Music, Portraiture

IMG_9253IMG_9278IMG_9244I don’t claim to know a lot about Jazz as a whole. My first job while living in Manhattan was at a Jazz Label/ Floating Jazz Festival company. I also worked for a cigar smoking Jazz lover who ran a record store in the Village. I got the ins and out on Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, the many faces of Coltrane, Buddy Rich and a few others including my personal favorite Chet Baker. But overall  I am a novice when it comes to the genre . Enter my friend Tony Crisos. Both student of life and teacher/performer of Jazz Guitar. To hear him talk about “true jazz” you would think it was one of the seven wonders of the world. Tony came to Hoboken today to hang out, catch up and take some pictures. After a stop at the corner Tai restaurant for some good food and conversation about his recent trip to Greece. We got down to business. My usual M.O. when having someone over is to find some good music. This time around I was treated to a live set of Tony’s best offerings. I had some issues early on in the session including getting used to using my new strip box and realizing a little late I had not reset my ISO to 100 after my last concert. (It turned out I shot the first few shots at ISO 1600) The biggest challenge turned out to be keeping Tony seated the first couple of minutes. The man is so full of energy and ideas. I could hardly get off a shot before he was jumping up and wanting to move to the next thing. However, once he started playing that guitar it was sheer concentration. It reminded me a lot of my Father when he played piano. He just went into his own world. There was no getting through. Tony is a great guy and talented beyond his years. He joked that our friendship was the only good thing that came out of our time with the company Freeze Frame. Sounds right to me.

Histoire de Melody Nelson

Beauty, Nudes, Portraiture

IMG_8388IMG_8372IMG_8402I’ve been listening to Serge Gainsbourg for weeks now. Histoire de Melody Nelson is an amazing album that I am shocked somehow managed to elude my ears for so many years. This a perfectly crafted Pop album with a lot of dirty, sexy twists and turns. Now listening to this album may not make me a better photographer and it might not score me any points with my Punk and Hardcore friends but fuck it. Music is music and it comes in so many colors and flavors. Listening to it’s many angles and nuances also made me want to post some of the pictures from last weeks session with Steph. I’ve worked with Steph several times and she is an amazing woman. A mix of Japanese, Philippine and Spanish. She has a great laugh and a shy smile. We had a blast that morning and even though she was late we got some great images in a short span of time.

As for Serge Gainsbourg I am learning as I go. I’ve picked up two albums so far and learning a little bit about the man himself. It would seem he was quite the playboy back in the day. Setting Paris and the rest of the world on fire with his raspy voice, seductive lyrics, controversial record covers and smooth orchestral sound. I don’t speak more than a few words of French but I know damn well what he’s singing about. Serge, you’re a dirty, dirty man and for that I am forever a fan.

It’s all about the eyes.

Portraiture

IMG_0840IMG_0826Everyone has their own interpretation of beauty and rightfully so. For me it’s always been about the eyes. Last week I worked with a woman who completely reenforced that feeling in me. The chemistry between Maria and I was almost instant. For someone who had never had never worked with a photographer she was incredibly instinctive, natural and beautiful on so many levels. Maria had sent me a few pictures of herself prior to our meeting and I was moved by what beautiful eyes she had. Upon meeting her I quickly realized the photos were just a small sampling of that. Maria’s beauty coupled with her amazing personality and quick wit made my job incredibly easy job. Early on in the session I was posing her and making suggestions but within minutes I had basically become a bystander who just happened to be lucky enough to have a camera. I’m hoping Maria comes back to the studio soon with that pretty pink dress she was telling me about. That would be a fun session to work on together.