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. 
Category: Studio Lighting
My day at the gallery
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
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.
Friday Session: Edwige
I 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.
Learning, growing and giving thanks.
About a year ago I got a My Space message from my friend Justine in Boston. She told me she had always liked my work and enjoyed keeping up with my new pictures and adventures. BUT, yes there is always a BUT. She said the lighting in my studio shots seemed predictable. Had I ever thought of going darker and maybe adding more drama? Hmmm, she was right on target. My lighting was predictable and to be honest boring. It all came down to one thing, Fear. When I worked for other studios the lighting was either set up for us or when I was setting up and taking down the studio every day there was blueprint I was expected not to stray from. If there was ever a problem there was someone in the studio (a manager or owner) to fix it. When I went on my own I had no backup. No one to call when things went wrong. There was a certain fear of failure involved. So I never strayed far from the blueprint. When I got that email from Justine I really started to think. Why let fear of failure ever stop you from learning and growing. I really wanted to take the kind of pictures I saw my favorite photographers taking.
So the next time I had a model over to the studio I told her. “We’re going to try some new things today. We’re probably going to make some mistakes. Hopefully they’ll be good ones.” The results were great. She loved the shadows, contrast and overall dramatic effect they created. It was like being reborn. I started experimenting with different configurations. Moving the lights around and using one light instead of two, three or even four. I’ve been really happy with the results and I see a lot of growth and progression in my work and even confidence. I’ve gone from being afraid of making mistakes to looking forward to making and learning from them. It’s also helped me in gaining confidence in the studio. Something I lacked since deciding to go on my own. Thanks Justine, you gave me the little kick in the ass I needed.
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