Hoboken – Page 4 – Photogeek Blog

The Beauty of Tanu.

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.

But Sometimes they Love Color.

Beauty, Canon lenses and equipment, Friendship, Portraiture

She loves color and there’s no doubt that her personality and energy call for it.

Jenifer Convertible? Are you fucking kidding me?

Jenifer Convertible, Maxwells, Music, Stuyvesant

When I heard Jenifer Convertible were getting together to play the Dromedary showcase I was pretty psyched to say the least. During my time living in Hell’s Kitchen I saw them about a half dozen times and loved them. Their Maxwells set did not tarnish my fond memories in the least. In fact they renewed them. I don’t know if they have plans for more shows. Judging from this one. They certainly haven’t missed a step.

Stuyvesant brings mirth and merriment to the CMJ Festival.

Maxwells, Stuyvesant

I’ve known Brian for quite a while now but it’s only recently that I’ve been listening to his band Stuyvesant. A couple of months back I sat down with the band and inrterviewed them for my website. Friday night the band was in top form representing Dromedary Records at Maxwells for the CMJ Festival. Brian wore the Elmer Fudd hunting cap and Ralph was his usual nutty self. Check out my interview with them here.

Upcoming Dromedary Records Showcase at Maxwells.

Maxwells

This Friday night Dromedary Records will be representing the CMJ festival at Maxwells here in Hoboken. It’s an all Dromedary bill featuring Jennifer Convertible, Shirk Circus, The Mommyheads and of course Stuyvesant. I’m really excited about the show and happy to be covering it for JerseyBeat.com. In the meantime I thought I’d post some images of Stuyvesant. They just recently invaded Maxwells for their record release on Dromedary.

Accidents will Happen.

Canon lenses and equipment, Responsibility

I was the last car that had turned from Kennedy Blvd. onto the ramp that leads to 495. Looking dead ahead at the congestion caused by the onset of rush hour and the construction being done. I suddenly felt my skull rattle from what turned out to be the car that hit me at full force from behind. The force of the crash had sent me into the car in front of me. As I sat there partly in shock. the drivers of the vehicles that I was sandwiched between jumped out to inspect whatever damage had occurred and seemingly place blame. The older gentlemen in front of me (He looked as if he had just come off the set of a Grey Poupon commercial.) pointed to the non damage to his bumper. “Look at this!!!” he proclaimed. All while the man who plowed in to me raced to see if I was alright. I was shook up pretty bad. My skull and jaw felt as if they were vibrating out of my skull and for the moment I was barely reacting. As they exchanged information I slowly stepped out of the car. It was my first accident. They both looked at me and said “Maybe you should sit down. You don’t look so good.” I wasn’t bleeding but I was clearly rattled. It wasn’t like I had imagined it. No tow trucks or police cars magically appeared. Though I may have seen a few Geckos they were all imagined figures brought on by tons of steel deciding to act like Rams. We exchanged information and the one man explained what had happen and soon enough they drove off. I thought to myself “What the hell am I going to do?” “Wait here until a cop comes to berate me a write me a moving violation for something I didn’t do?” So I slowly pulled back into the lane and tepidly drove back home. What was first thought to be a slight concussion turned out to just be an. As I write this a few days later I still have some pain in my back, shoulders and leg, but I’m in one piece and it could have been a lot worse. It really makes me think of how careless we are with the things we should be focusing our attention on. People driving while talking on a hand held device. Ladies putting on their make up or better yet, texting. The average car weighs around 4,000 pounds. If you can’t be responsible and pay attention to driving. You should take the wheels off your damn vehicle and turn it into the office, movie theatre or beauty parlor you seem to think it is.

Disclaimer: None of the beautiful cars pictured were harmed in making this post.

Don’t let Evan Dando near your Bandwith.

Friendship, Humor, Maxwells, Music, Uncategorized

This morning while checking my email I noticed there was one from Ben Deily of Varisty Drag (also known for being co-founder and at one time shared vocal duties in the Lemonheads.). I got to see the band and meet Ben and his wife Lisa. After the show we talked and doing an interview in the near future for Unite came up. He told me he’d be sending me some of the bands albums when they got home. A few days later I emailed him to say hello and remind him to send said package. Good thing becuase he forgot. A week passed but nothing. So I sent a second reminder. What followed was one of the best and funniest reasons it had gone unsent. “Me getting laid out with the flu for 3 days (I’m just back at work for the first time all week this AM)…the last of which coincided with a visit from Evan Dando, which took up all my limited remaining bandwidth… :-D” All I can say in response is “Damn you Evan Dando.” Here are some pictures from their set at Maxwells. Thanks to Ben and Lisa. They were incredibly nice. It was a pleasure to meat them both.

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.

Rooftops, power lines and what not.

Uncategorized

Whenever I’m driving on 1 or 9, the New Jersey Turnpike or the Garden State Parkway I get the urge to pull over and take pictures of all the interesting things that I’m speeding past. The lights coming off the airport, the smoke billowing from the factories and industrial parks, the bridges and of course the power lines. I always think of taking the next exit ramp to explore and see what good stuff I can find. With my portrait sittings being almost non existent this week I decided to do just that. In the midst of getting some strange, dirty looks, yelled at, lost and pulled over by the fuzz. I got some cool shots. I brought my new monopod along with me which not only gives me a steady base for long exposures but makes people think twice about getting in my face. (Those things make for a wicked weapon when needed.) I also managed to get on a couple of roofs tonight at the perfect time. Enjoy, there’s more to come.

In case you missed it. Naked Raygun & Paint it Black @ Maxwells

Music

After attending Mondays amazing show at the Court Tavern I realized that I hadn’t posted any images from the Naked Raygun/ Paint it Black show at Maxwells. I’d been listening to Naked Raygun since the original release of their second album “All Rise” so many lifetimes ago. seeing them again along with a great band like Paint it Black was pretty damn sweet. So here are those pictures. Enjoy and for Christ sake… leave a comment.

Both bands played mind blowing sets. The crowd was both enthusiastic and physical. It’s not often you get to see bands like P.I.B. at Maxwells. Dan was going off to every song and it seemed the stage could hardly contain his energy. Seeing Naked Raygun made me feel like a kid again. They are such a iconic band and I was in awe. Jeff did not look good. He performed well but moved slowly and was shaky. After the show someone told me had contracted Parkinson’s. I don’t know if that was the case but I wish him all the best nonetheless. It was great running into so many old friends and seeing all those familiar faces. A big nod to Jim Mc Dougal who drove all the way from Boston for the show and then turned around and drove home. Good seeing you brother.