Todays image came at the very end of my last shoot. Roksolana came to the shoot wearing a pair of Doc Marten boots. As a teenager I owned a pair of ox blood Docs that I cherished. They really stood out from the standard blacks everyone wore. Towards the very end I had her put them on with her dress. As she began to lace them up I stopped her. “Leave them just as they are. They look great.” I’ll be posting more later of her and my other shoots. For now “Rox in Docs.”
Tag: Studio
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.
Happy Halloween Freaks!!!
My own worst enemy
I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve always been a little clumsy. I’ve had my share of slips, trips and falls. I’ve even broken a few things in my time. Having to work in a small place doesn’t help any. Before I went wireless I was always tripping over wires and getting tangled up. I’ve improved a lot by using simple common sense and analyzing the situation before taking action. Yet everyone now and then I have to go and prove just what an accidental prone dork I am. The other day I decided to trim one of my seemless backgrounds. Over the past week my white background had been walked on, stained and torn at it’s edges. Now I love working with the seemless backgrounds but being that they are basically made of paper does not allow for a longevity. Cutting paper might seem like a no brainer to most if not all. But if anyone is going to complicate the simple it would be me. Most of the time I use a scissor but it always ends up crooked and uneven. So this time I decided to lay the background down at the edge of the tile and use a razor. Fast, simple, straight and neat. So genius here is laying down that razor making a nice clean, straight cut when things took the slightest turn and Sliiiiiip…….. I cut my hand deep and the blood is everywhere. There was that initial rush of pain but what put me in fear was how fast the blood came. In a matter of seconds my hand was covered in blood. Blood on the background, floor, carpet and before long the sink. I was amazed how much blood I lost and how quickly. Luckily there was someone in the other room to bandage me up and stop the bleeding. I kept thinking of that scene in Goodfellas where Henry helps the guy who was just shot near the Pizzeria. Tuddy looks at Henry disgusted and says “You wasted eight fuckin’ aprons on this guy.” I really need to pay more attention to safety and the little things.
Something different
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.
Histoire de Melody Nelson
I’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.
Fridays Session
This past Friday I had a fun session with Denise and Kelly. I had asked Kelly if she would help me out on a little project I was working on and she was cool enough to indulge me. I might Kelly a few years ago through my friend Denise so it was a no brainer that she’s be coming along. As of late I have been using a black seamless background almost exclusively but sometimes worry that it might be a little too stark. I had seen a number of pictures of Kelly on her facebook page wearing some colorful dresses. That combined with her beautiful red hair would pop against the black and somewhat harsh background. I also wanted to get some cool, dramatic black and whites. Having Denise along for the session was great and helped add to the fun atmosphere. Towards the end of the session Denise snapped a few shots that were really nice. We’ve been debating which ones were actually hers but I’m willing to take her down for copyright. Thanks to both of them for making the beginning of the holiday weekend a blast.
The core of my heart.
Sebastianne came into my life at the age of three. At the time I had become close friends with her mom KC. Through the years KC and I remained good friends and I watched Sebastianne grow and mature. Even as a baby I was impressed and even amazed at what a smart and well behaved kid she was. She always seemed mature beyond her age. She was very special to me and along with her mom was there for some of the most important times in my life. As the years went by both KC and I moved out of Manhattan and saw less of one another. There were holidays and the occasional get together. They remained very special and loved throughout. A few years back I was having a special dinner with some friends on the lower east side and invited KC to join us. We were already in mid celebration when KC arrived with a friend. As I stood up to give her a hug I asked “Who’s your friend?” It turned out to be Sebastianne. In a short time she had morphed from a cute child to a woman. She was the same sweet, beautiful kid. I couldn’t get over how much she had sprouted. Fast forward to last week. I was in the middle of a session when the phone rang. I didn’t pick it up due to the fact I was in midst of photographing a beautiful woman. Later that night I checked my phone and didn’t notice the 914 area code. Once I checked the message I was still a little unsure. The message was very basic just mentioning her name and to call her back when I got the chance. When I did call back I realized right away who it was. My sweetheart Sebastianne. We talked and made plans to get together before she was set to start high school today. So yesterday I went up to Harlem and picked her up from the train. We went out for lunch at Gobo in the village and had a chance to catch up. She filled me in on her Summer and what she’s been up to. There are a handful of people in my life that occupy space in my heart. People you would do anything for at the drop of a hat without any questions asked. She is without a doubt one them. After lunch we headed back to Hoboken and did a laid back , impromptu photo session. Sebastianne is a really smart gifted kid. She loves to read, learn, writes, including her own songs. She’s beautiful but not the least bit self involved. A lot of kids her age hit that rough patch where they think everything is lame and stupid but she’s so balanced I don’t have the least bit of worry about it. Later that night we watched the movies I let her pick out at Blockbuster (Pink Panther I and II) and laughed ’til it hurt. This morning I drove her home and to her first day of High School. Sebastianne, I’d wish you luck but I know you’re going to synch it. Love you always.
When things go wrong.
The stars all seemed to be in line for todays session. Brand new roll of black seemless cut to the size I needed. Beautiful girl with a beautiful sweater and dress. I was set…. or so I thought. Just a few pictures into our session my sync cord stopped syncing. I checked to see if it was nice and snug. I unplugged and plugged it back in. I checked my lights. Nothing seemed to work. I’ve had this situation happen to me several times before as noted in a past posting. It seems as if I just purchased the newest chord a few weeks ago. Needless to say I was embarrassed and frustrated. In the past I would either take my sitting to the roof and shoot in natural light. Or maybe across the street to the park for some nice shadow and contrast. Being that it was the middle of the day, both hot and humid. I opted to just do what I could indoors. I am so sick of sync chords and their lack of sustainable reliability. First thing tomorrow I’m going over to B&H or Calumet to check out my wireless options. It might be a little more expensive but in the long run it will pay for itself considering how many sync cords I’ll end up buying. It will also give me piece of mind not tripping over wires. Especially considering what a clumsy, uncoordinated dork I can be. My first choice will be The Pocket Wizard II for which I’ve seen some video demos and testimonials. Thanks to Alex for her patience, being on time and actually liking the pictures.
Todays Picture
Today i had the pleasure of meeting and working with Mary. She’s a student and aspiring singer/songwriter with an infectious sense of humor. It’s always a pleasure working with people who make you laugh and can laugh at themselves. While out on the fire escape I opened up about my fear of grates and bridges. How I was terrified I would fall through the grates or the whole fire escape would come unscrewed and plunge us to our death. She continued to reassure me by rocking back and fourth while laughing uncontrollably. When I told her about my Olive phobia she nearly lost it. Prior to the shoot I decided to set up my muslin background as opposed to my seamless. Immediately afterward I decided on going back to seamless. Thanks Mary, I had a blast. Now stop laughing at me.
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