Images: INSPIRED!

Supermodels have it so easy...

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 21:00:00 -0800

I warned you. Dog pictures. Our dog. Not some famous photoshoped pooch doing amazing stunts. Not dressed up like people. Just a black lab bored to tears sitting while his ridiculous human points this long black thing at him.

Yo. Toss me a bit, will ya...

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 21:00:00 -0800

And here he is, in all his canine glory... Jack. Have a Great Day of Thanksgiving.

Don't forget to toss the pooch a bit.

Cold & Wet Part

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 21:00:00 -0800

He can smell the turkey in the air. Really.

Live wild turkeys that stroll through our backyard. And whitetail deer.

They drive him absolutely nuts. Especially at night, when he knows they are out there in the darkness.

Our normally quiet, oh-so-cool hipster pup turns into Wolfy The Critter Slayer. And he barks his ass off...

Maniacly.

My apologies to the neighbors.

You don't know JACK!

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 10:03:52 -0800

Happy Turkey Day Week. We should just make the whole damn week a vacation as nothing worth anything ever gets done anyway. Why kid ourselves.

So today I wanted to introduce you to Jack.

Jack is our ~20 month old Black Lab. Amazingly I have not really spent anytime photographing the furball since his arrival in July of 2007. Yeah, some point & shoot snaps, but never with the big guns. So Saturday I gave it a whirl, with moderate success. He is way too fast to try to direct him AND shoot him. Next try is with my wife to direct his attention.

Meanwhile I will entertain you with some of the successful images…. Note: You can see the photographer in his eye, if you look close enough, have a big enough screen, and have the eyes of a teenager...

More procrastination...

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 12:43:33 -0800

So my free time has been consumed with assembling the Blurb.com book containing a greatly edited portfolio of a decade at the Cathedral school in Portland, Maine. Over 5,000 images culled to 204. All in 120 pages. The first printed book should arrive in about a week. I can’t wait.

Till then I am posting this. It’s from the good old days of FILM. Color Infrared Film. Camera mounted the bar of my Suzuki. 14mm lens. It was taken on a road trip from Maine to NYC and back… I even have a stop from a Connecticut State Trooper documented.

Survivor.

Fri, 7 Nov 2008 07:40:16 -0800

It's been a busy week.

I am posting this up here to remind myself to keep working on my book project.

I am planning on publishing through Blurbbooks the photos from the local school I have been visiting almost annually for a decade now.

It stands in stark contrast to this hallowed (!) institution where I was educated from K through 8, in Brooklyn, NY.

Vote early, vote often...

Mon, 3 Nov 2008 10:12:18 -0800

Ok. I am so sorry, but it has been not a weekend, but a week AND a weekend. Why do I feel like I am 10 years old again going into the “confessional”….

“Bless me Father for I have sinned… It has been 10 days since my last BLOG entry. In that time I have repeatedly thought of great new things to write, but failed to do it…”

“For your penance Son, you shall have to write thrice weekly (does that mean three times?) blog entries that are goodly, and are accompanied by even more goodly photographs…”

No - the priests from the ‘60’s in Brooklyn did not speak that way. Looks cool here though.

So to back up to my last entry: I took only the G6 and barely used it. So no photos of NYC. Since then I have been back to NYC yet again… and no photos. But more on that later in the week. For right now I present this photo which I took last week of one of my studio neighbors which has a timely and pertinent message.

Go to it folks. As the Deep South Republicans used to say: “Vote early, Vote often!”

Off to the Old Hood

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:50:48 -0800

There's nothing like a little rant to get my fires going.

This image is from a series I did a few months back (ok, almost 10 months!) back in the old Brooklyn ‘hood. Well, at sunrise tomorrow, or perhaps an hour or two before if I can drag my lazy ass out of bed, I’ll be hitting the road to take a bite out of the Big (Cr)Apple. I’m heading down to PhotoPro Expo to partake in the displays of the latest and greatest gadgets for the working pro as well as attend an inspirational seminar or two… catch up with some old friends, grab lunch as often as possible at Manganaro’s on 9^th Ave, and maybe even make a few photos. I am still not sure what will come with me: the G6 p&s?, the D60IR?, the 5D and a small kit? Or the whole bag of tricks! 1DMkiii and oodles of glass…. I will have to decide in less then an hour… and you may see what I grab next week. Or not.

See ya on Monday!

As the cold weather arrives, another heart warming... RANT!

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 20:00:00 -0800

Things I HATE.

I always tell my kids, “never use the word hate”. It has bad juju. Whatever juju is. I hear them correcting themselves in my presence. “I just hate that teacher… oh, well, I don’t hate her, but I sure don’t like her very much!!!” I know when they are texting or IM’ing (are they official verbs yet?) their friends, "hate" is probably being used in full force. Someday it will sink in, the meaning, not just the speech pattern.

So I will heed my own warnings…

Things I Greatly Dislike.

Primarily… marketing, advertising, and otherwise selling MYSELF. I have a pretty good business head. A dozen years in the corporate world of NYC set me straight. If I have something I really believe in, I can go on and on about it. Believe me - just look back through my old rants on this blog if you have doubts. Now here comes the irony, the dichotomy, the living contradiction… I really believe in my photography. I just can’t stand to sell myself. Now this is not some new, wild and crazy problem that only I struggle with. I am willing to bet that a large majority of creative individuals who are self-employed struggle with this. If anyone reading this can relate… drop a comment to support my thesis. Or not if that is your case. When the economy is racing along, and work is falling off of trees, it really doesn’t matter. Minimal efforts result in a reasonable return. Think of real estate agents 5 years ago. But now as the market slows (which it has been doing for the last 4 years, but no one seemed to have mentioned it to our politicians until their investment funds were about to take a hit - but that’s another rant&hellip the work is still out there, you just have to work harder to find it. And that means - SELLING ONESELF!!! If I made wooden furniture that might be easier… no wait, furniture may still be too personal… if I was a sheetrocker / drywaller… that would be easy. You either can do it well or you can’t. [Real life - I can’t - I always leave ridges on the joints] Nothing personal about it. But photography is art, and as such it is subjective. Even the most mundane product shot is open to interpretation by the viewer. So with each photo we display - on this blog, my website, promo materials, and of course, all the client uses - out there goes a little bit of our ego. It is out there for the world to see, or maybe not even notice… or worse, not like! And now I have to go out and convince buyers that my work is fabulous!!! I can handle this and that… I make that and this… blah, blah, blah… WHY CAN’T THEY JUST LOOK AT THE PICTURES AND SEE IT?!?!? And then call me with that wonderful assignment! I need to go have dinner right now… [note: procrastination is the enemy of all creatives!!!] More on this in the next post… I will leave you with the motto of the Procrastinators Club:

“Never put off till tomorrow today, what can be put off till tomorrow tomorrow!!!”

At the board...

Sun, 19 Oct 2008 20:00:00 -0800

Another from the school...

(shhssshhh!!!)

The Class

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 20:00:00 -0800

Another view of the young ones...

Simple images...

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 20:00:00 -0800

This school is the classic red brick two story bunker of a school house. Yet the inside is dancing with colors. I love shooting in this space. It was an overcast (even rainy) day so the light was low, but the big windows combined with the high ISO performance of the Canon 1DMkIII still made so much possible.

All the images were made available light, and most with only window light. When possible, I would enter a room and turn off the overhead fluorescents. In many cases the light was real low, but the camera/fast lens combo did its magic.

More simple pleasures

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 20:00:00 -0800

Ok, so how many of you can admit to doing this with the ubiquitous pretzel sticks?

When I was her age (and, regretfully, much older) I did this and much worse…

The Simple Pleasures of Life.

Simpler Times

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 12:35:19 -0800

Exactly one year after the Dow Jones Industrial average hit its all time high, we have a five year low. It has been one crazy week on the little blue orb we scurry around on. In weeks like this it is nice to pine for the innocence of childhood… when “what toy to play with next” or “will the kid next door get his homework done in time to come out and play before the sun sets” were the most troubling things on our simple little minds. So with that in mind, I will post some photos from my latest visit to the local school. It is my annual pilgrimage to the young & the innocent, as seen through the filter of a Catholic Grade School. Enjoy the memories of when you were this age!!! You should know that some who are close to me never forget to remind me that on more then a few occasions, I still act this age…

Another View from the Top...

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 20:00:00 -0800

I just thought I would post another View from the Top... this one from One Penn Plaza in NYC. I took this while on assignment there a few months back.

I think I was 50 stories up - just about midway up the ESB - and on the roof.

It was a tad windy...

View from the Top...

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 06:47:57 -0800

Why do I spend the time here?

I guess it is to share my images with you (whoever you are!) in a more personal way. I create every week. Most photos end up in some commercial application, uncredited. - sent off to the great media ocean like so many unnamed sailboats. Yes, it is how I make a living, and I am very grateful for that, but the rapidly devaluing dollar is not why I chased this dream. If it was about the money, I would have stayed in NYC on the treadmill of Banking & Finance. Maybe I would be getting some of your tax bailout money!

The fact is: I love the satisfaction of making a truly engaging image. Some are deeply intimate portraits with loads of human emotion. Yet images like this one are sometimes just as fulfilling. This image is from the top floor (#4!!! Hah! I had garbage piles taller than that in Brooklyn!) of a new office building in South Portland, Maine. The real estate firm (Ingallscommercial.com if you need new space!) wanted to highlight the expansive views from the space.

Anyway… I like what I created… a total of 15 frames were used to make this. The high rez is about 28” wide @ 300ppi. The interior was composited using HDR (Nod to Mark F) five exposures each of three views. Window view is straight, and then the files combined in photomerge.

I also threw in an exterior view of the building for reference.

Give

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 13:38:35 -0800

From my office window, I can hear (and feel) the approach of the hospital's Life Flight helicopter. It's the same helicopter I used for the prior photo - I just rebranded it to "Mountain Adventures".

That sound always means some one is in dire need of medical care. It is always a sobering sound. Two just landed in the last 10 minutes. Even more sobering.

So this photo has NOTHING to do with what I am rambling on about today.

The photo is of my amazing wife in a snow storm on the beach.

Holga Plastic camera, 120 color neg film, and some photoshop.

I love this photo. Mostly because I love my wife.

And that leads me to my point. On Monday I spent part of the day photographing, pro bono, a young couple and their toddler daughter. It was pretty routine. We found a nice outdoors open shade area. The weather was beautiful. The two year old was, well, a two year old. And she was reluctant to nap. You know the story.

I made some nice photos. They haven't seen them yet, but I am happy with the results. I know they will be satisfied too. Especially since this may be the last photoshoot of them as a family. Dad has an advanced life threatening illness.

So now I preach. I am aware that quite a few professional photographers may peak at this blog. Or you may know a pro. Pass the word on: Donate your talents to folks like this.

You have a gift that can really make a difference in someone's life.

Go for it. I dare you.

Getting off the box now...

The Making of...

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 09:45:32 -0800

Once again for Port City Life magazine, I was asked to shoot the fantasy photo of "In Another Life..." This month's subject wanted to be an extreme heli skier. Now I am all for travel for the sake of the shot, but alas, the local mag did not quite have the budget to fly the subject & crew to Patagonia or New Zealand for the shoot.

So below is the solution... Concepted, shot, assembled, and delivered print ready in about 4 hours. Snow is off a PhotoCD scan of a 35mm transparency dated 1994. My assistant didn't know what a PhotoCD was. I am getting old in even the new technology.

Pouring the Mold....

Fri, 5 Sep 2008 13:28:50 -0800

Its Friday...

And I should be home by now.

I will be traveling till next Thursday, so I thought I would leave with another image from the Foundry...

Enjoy the week...

Another little bit of East Africa in Maine...

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 20:00:00 -0800

And here is another from that shoot...

Enjoy...

The International Flavor of... Maine.

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:24:15 -0800

So I just returned from a shoot in Lisbon, Maine that took me thousands of miles away.

We (my wife Sharyn & I) were asked to shoot video and stills for the most amazing new online magazine: http://www.flypmedia.com

This is a new venture. It is operating with seed money for a while then will work in advertisers - on its terms.

We were covering a story on immigrant farmers trying to make a go of it in the US. We encountered the most amazing folks. The majority of them were either Somali or Sudanese refugees who have resettled to Maine to try to make a new life for themselves.

For now, just enjoy some of the pictures.

In a week or so you can see the story on Flyp.

As predicted...

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:00:00 -0800

Here is another from that series...

But to change the subject - check out the Nikon D90.

If you remember a few weeks back I ranted on about the Casio DSLR / Video camera.

In that rant I predicted Canon would bring one to market in short order...

Well, Nikon has beat them to market with a ~$1k DSLR / HD Vid camera.

I can't WAIT to see what Canon has in store for PhotoExpo in NYC in October.

Hot Soup

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 05:39:35 -0800

This is one hot vat of soup.

I was inching closer to this vat - slowly and paying attention to the ambient temps. There was a large garage door open just to my left, with a strong breeze keeping the temps tolerable -

until the breeze suddenly stopped.

The air temperature immediately jumped at least 30F.

Probably a hell of a lot more.

My temperature gauge became the fine hair on my fingers - if it began to singe, I was a bit too close.

That high heat might damage my lens!

Another "Hot!" photo...

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 13:40:10 -0800

I just thought I would throw this one up. The guy in the back is clearing the sludge off the top... sort of like how grandma would scrape the fat off the turkey gravy.

He is supposed to get it into the drum, but alas ... don't invite him over for Thanksgiving dinner...

And watch your toes!!!

The Bronze Age

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 14:33:08 -0800

Sorry once again for the absence... It's been a busy week or two.

This image is from a shoot today. A last minute assignment to photograph the casting of a piece of artisan bronze.

Lot's of VERY hot items, and some mysteriously so...

It was an industrial photographer's delight... lots of dark spaces with red glowing objects...

More later this week!

The Eldest...

Fri, 8 Aug 2008 11:23:02 -0800

So more kids… this time my own. Here is the oldest of the pair. She leaves in 2 weeks for college. So what does that have to do with a photo business blog?

Clients: Send me more assignments. She is off to a private college.

Meanwhile we prep for a three day video shoot next week and two still shoots. I will be busy. Then the wife / video director / editor gets REAL busy… with more exciting projects on the way.

Still Thinking...

Tue, 5 Aug 2008 13:19:26 -0800

Sometimes I just need some time to think.

Maintaining a blog doesn't seem to bubble up to the top of the brain tank for some reason.

So until my clouded head clears up...

I'll just keep posting some more kids thinking...

or daydreaming...

I guess it depends on your perspective.

Left, Right, Left, Right, Right, Right........

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 07:00:38 -0800

There are days when I long for the regular biweekly paycheck of the company job. Thankfully, those days are few and far between. They do usually appear around this time of the month as rent, mortgage, etc appear…

Of course I would rather stick pins in my eyes than do that route again. After 18 years self-employed it would be a difficult transition. No, make that impossible.

Ironically I have been very busy over the last month or more… the dilemma is always cash flow. Ask any self employed person what they would like most to help their business and the almost universal answer is: a bank account with $100k in it. Interestingly they never ask for more. This perplexes me - if it is “anything you want” sort of hypothetical question, why not $20Mil? I’ll answer that: because they LOVE what they do. Give me $20mil and I just might not have to work anymore… and that would be sad. The $100k just takes the impending cash flow crisis we all drift in and out of over the course of a year and once and for all puts it to rest. Then we can concentrate on what we do best. In my case, create imagery.

So short of hitting a small lottery, we creative types need to be better business people. But not TOO much of a business person. Balance. Ying/Yang and all that stuff.

So I propose (for myself, at least - if you are in a creative profession, try your own variation and let’s share results) to dedicate one day per week to generating new work. And one other day a week to generating new work. “WHAT?!?” you say! Is this the Department of Redundancies Department?!? No - one day for generating new business work, and one day for generating new personal work.

Tuesday for the Right Brain. Thursday for the Left Brain. I could never remember which side is which. That fact alone tells me I am more of the Right Brain (creative - I just Googled it) Go to this site to see which one YOU are!!! http://tinyurl.com/LeftvsRight/

I am definitely right brained…

So today’s photo is just an inspiration for myself - It’s Tuesday - go create!!!

PS - For you geek photo types, that photo was shot in available light at 1000iso on my 1D MarkIII. Is that just amazing?!? Today I love technology.

As always, thanks for listening, and sorry for the gap in posts.

Holding page

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 12:40:45 -0800

Blogs take Time.

Last week, and in the early part of this one, I seem to have an acute shortage of Time.

The good news is that the shortage is caused by assignments.

So just to keep those dedicated thousands that keep checking into my blog satisfied, I am posting yet another IR image for your viewing pleasure.

And, Mark, I chose the IR just for you.

More ramblings and images on Wednesday...

Luddite: To Be or NOT to Be...

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 20:00:00 -0800

This post is about technology. And change. Progress. The photo is appropriate. It is taken in a paper mill built over 75 years ago, that until recently had been constantly tweaked with Yankee Ingenuity to make state of the art paper. The mill was shut down last year.

Every once in a while I get on a rant about how "If I were King..." I would declare a moratorium on new things. Everything (ok, except medical for critical care). Back in the day, I would buy a camera and it would last forever if I treated it with respect. A good bicycle would last similarly. So would that Sunbeam Blender in the kitchen. Ok, maybe the plug would need to be replaced every 20 years.

Now we get new cell phones every year. Why? Because the new one does this and that. Oh, and we no longer support that communication protocol. We need new computers to handle the new software for the new cameras for the cleaner images or better auto focus. We need new cars to replace the old cars. Why? They have more safety features to protect us from the now inevitable accidents caused by us trying to use the new GPS or iPhone or computer controlled coffee maker in the dash while traveling at 80+mph. Oh, and this new model Corolla will get - are you ready for this - 35 miles per gallon!!! What progress!!! [My Dad’s ’75 Toyota Corolla got 42mpg. Really.] But my rant may digress…

Forced obsolescence.

That’s what I really wanted to carry on about today. Forced Obsolescence. The industrial designers call it “Planned Obsolescence”. It’s much more passive that way.

But, alas, as I was planning to rant about that - and I have been sporadically ranting on the subject to anyone who will at least pretend to listen - for a few weeks at least, I now have changed my mind. Why fight what you can not change? So, instead I will embrace it. I admit I love gadgets as much as the next 4 guys combined. It is the cost of the gadgets that has me going ape shit. So - I now will simply find ways to create the income that will allow the required gadgets to enter my life. Paid for.

Things come together in strange ways in this life. We all have strange stories to share I am sure. I know I have more than my share. So as I was preparing to go ranting about forced obsolescence, I have been presented with many clues as to the true direction I need to go… The last step arrived today in the form of a newsletter from an old friend Ian Summers, creative consultant extraordinaire. It should end up on his blog soon. http://heartstormingnews.blogspot.com/

The subject: Diversifying is an early 21st C. Imperative. Yup. I have a REALLY talented wife. She has such an amazing sense of timing and storytelling in motion pictures, it amazes me. She also has the ability to get folks to relax on camera incredibly well. The days of just being a talented still photographer are numbered. See this new Casio camera - it says it all: http://exilim.casio.com/ Look at the EX-F1. In 3 months Canon will probably announce one just like it but at a Pro level.

So… I need to go now, and you should stop wasting your time reading my ramblings and get back to work/family/life. But meanwhile, know that great new exciting things are in the works for KBPHOTO, WONDERDOGFILMS, and those we choose to surround ourselves with…

As Ian has said for years: GROW OR DIE!!!!!

I am off to grow now. Bye.

More of #1...

Tue, 8 Jul 2008 20:00:00 -0800

Here are a couple of more images from the same Annual Report. I shoot this AR every year - (and I do appreciate it so much Mike!) - and we usually work in a strong #2 (see the previous post) style. We set up lights, position our subjects, and control every aspect of the image. This year was a departure [though as I think about it I shot it this way in ’99 or ’00 too]. These were all taken with practically no direction from me. I was present on these client meetings as an observer and documenter. Running from situation to situation, getting white balances on the fly (sometimes only after getting the shots - I always shoot in RAW format), is a challenging put very rewarding way of shooting. I love it. So all you clients out there, throw me some more work like this!!!

#1 or #2?

Mon, 7 Jul 2008 20:00:00 -0800

A few months back while making an editorial photograph of two young girls (sisters) one asked about what I DO on my job… now I am at her home with lights and cameras etc… my first thought was: “Open your eyes for a second!”

But as I thought about it I understood her inquiry. So in my explanation to her I told her there are two ways I can do my job.

In the real world of commercial assignment photography, I am entrusted by a client to come back with an image that tells the story needed for them. I can either:

Find the story with images that are already there. Like grapes on the vine waiting to be plucked. My job is to find them, hiding under the broad leaves of the common place, and being sure they are ripe and sweet when taken.
Create an image starting with a blank canvas. Add lights, subject(s), props, and a heavy dose of imagination. This is where the interpretive powers come to play. There is what I call “The Red Couch” syndrome. I say “Red Couch”, and you immediately have a mental picture. I’ll bet you a winning lottery ticket it is not the same thing that I am seeing in my cranial theatre. So my job as image creator is to define the “Red Couch” so the two visions begin to align.

Interestingly, when I first came to photography I did most of my work in style #1… and over the years it evolved into style #2. Now, over the last 12 months, I am moving towards a balance between #1 & #2.

I love them both, and they are VERY different.

These images are from an Annual Report I just finished for an insurance company, all shot in Style #1.

Do Unto Others...

Wed, 2 Jul 2008 06:00:00 -0800

Warning: I feel a rant coming on… and after all isn’t that what BLOGS are all about? Those who know me are aware of my rants… especially my loving wife.

She has repeatedly heard me rant on about such things as the peculiar habit of the Maine Traffic Planners (hah!) to create lanes on a roadway, only to remove them – suddenly and with scarcely a heartbeats advance notice. But that is for another time…

Or perhaps the declaration by motorcyclists (of which I am one and have been riding longer than driving a car) that it is OK for them to ignore noise ordinances and have open pipes because it is safer. People can hear them when they can’t be seen. BullSh*t. Sound travels away from the rear of the bike not forward (perhaps they should retake that basic physics class) and as such they are only heard when they are in front of vehicles. Attention bikers: Get a powerful horn, keep your eyes open, and oh, maybe wear a helmet?

But that’s a rant for another time…

Ok – so I got the mini rant out of my system – for the moment. Someone remind me in a week or so to get back on the rant train and explore the two above, and a few more… perhaps even on the topic of photography. Like how folks with cameras aren’t always photographers. Click the shutter enough times and play long enough in Photoshop and sure, almost anyone can get art. The difference is making art ON DEMAND. When the client wants it. Communicating the client’s message. Starting with a blank slate.

So please remind me to rant on about that in the near future….

Today’s ramblings are focused on an issue much more relevant then any of the above.

GIVE BACK TO YOUR COMMUNITY.

I just did, and it was a fabulous feeling. Last Wednesday I, and a wonderful group of volunteers, managed to take portraits of 38 children & their families in the space of 4 hours at a beautiful lakeside summer camp. The camp is for children with life threatening illness & their families. For some, this may be the last time they will ever be photographed. Others will see the photographs as a celebration of a deadly battle won. We will not know. We just came to give them the gift we bring – beautiful photographs of the beautiful children.

It started for me when working with my wife, Sharyn, on a video for the Maine Children’s Cancer Program. [You can see her work here: http://www.wonderdogfilms.com . The MCCP video is not on the site yet though] I saw just what these kids were going through, and how amazing they were. And how incredibly heartbreaking it is.

I had heard about an organization called Flashes of Hope that arranges photo shoots by ASMP photographers for the children. So I brought the program to Maine. It turns out they already had an interest in doing a shoot at Camp Sunshine in Maine. It was a perfect fit at the right time.

So we had four photographers: me, Jeff Stevensen, Jim Daniels, and Darren Setlow. Assisting were Scott Brouseau, Corey Fenders, Nathan Broaddus and Jessica Materna.

We also had Nance Trueworthy shuffling subjects to and fro, as well as three volunteers from the Boston Flashes of Hope chapter.

All these folks did this for nothing. Nada. Zip. Goose eggs.

No. Sorry that’s a lie. This is it. Real dialog between myself & a mom at the shoot:

Mom: “…so we will get to see some proofs and then what? Do we order prints from you? Is that how it works?”

K: “No. I will edit the shoot, and you will receive, in a few weeks time, a portfolio of two 8x10s, a bunch of 4x6s, and the files on disc”

Mom: “ Oh. So then we can order more from you?”

K: “No. You will have the files. Just take them to your local photo printer and away you go!”

Mom: “You’re kidding?!” So - what’s in it for YOU?!”

K: “THIS is what’s in it for me. Right now. This moment.”

With that Mom began to tear up, as did photog, assistant, and even the squirrels watching from the branches above…

Which brings me to the next point: while we all donated our time, some things can not be found for free. (Try getting the USPS to donate anything!) It cost about $1,000 to get the prints to the families, even with the lab donating the prints. I did a mass email (ok – is 45 people “mass”?) and raised $1,150. at last count. Now, in order to get the Maine Chapter off the ground, which will mean doing shoots at the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital in Portland, we need to get the number up to around $5000.

On Saturday July 12 (11am – 2pm) we are having a fund raising BBQ at Big Moose Harley Davidson (please don’t tell them about my previous mini rant! – yet&hellip through the Southern Maine Portland Harley Owners Group.

If you want to DONATE… come to the BBQ or go to Http://www.flashesofhope.org and select “donate” and choose the “Camp Sunshine – Maine” as the chapter.

Anyway… I have gone on and on today and must get to work! Look for more photos from the shoot on my website or this blog in the near future…

Thanks for listening…

Another... In Another Life

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0800

And another one… This In Another Life subject is Jessica Tomlinson, who is the Public Relations Director for the Maine College of Art. In this photo, Jessica wanted to be a woman from a Johannes Vermeer painting. So we chose this painting to match. The real kudos goes to Jessica's husband, who created the coat the night before. Oh, and did I mention that we shot this mid morning and it had to be on press that afternoon? My Wacom Tablet was smokin' that day...

In Another Life

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Now back to some assignment work…

My assignments run the gamut: from national advertising work to local editorial. For one particular magazine, Portland Maine’s Port City Life, I have shot consistently for them since their inception. Ok, actually before their inception as I shot the “spec” cover when they were trying to generate interest!

One particular feature that has been long running is the last page “In Another Life…” feature. In this we photograph someone relatively well known on the Portland “scene” portraying what they would be doing – in another life!

This image is of Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, Leigh Saufley. Ms. Saufley would have been a Private Investigator if she could do it all again. So… I created this photo of Leigh in the spirit of the '40 Private "I" movies.

The D60 IR #3

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0800

This is also from the same location – Somesville, Me.

I love this one…

The D60 IR #2

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 23:04:00 -0800

This image is of the northern tip of Somes Sound in Somesville, Maine. It is on Mount Desert Island and surrounded by Acadia National Park. This side of the park is the quieter side, and thankfully not so overrun with tourists and diesel belching tour busses.

With the Digital IR, it is not quite as simple as shooting with IR film used to be. A fair bit of finagling needs to be done in post to get the RAW images to look like they should. And quite a bit of that is trial and error, as every scene / exposure is unique. So please don’t ask how I did this or that… I don’t remember!

The D60 IR

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 08:00:00 -0800

So what does a techno-geek photographer do with his outdated Digital SLR?

Sell it? Nope. Not worth anything.

He modifies it to replicate something else we used to do back in the day – shoot Infrared!

So my otherwise antiquated Canon D60 now becomes a creative tool in the arsenal.

And, with that in mind, I have a few images that I shot with the D60IR while up in DownEast Maine.

Great Expectations #3

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 03:00:00 -0800

The Final on Great Expectations

Here is the final from Brooke’s 8 month portrait session.

I always thought the first one was my favorite, yet each of these last two has a great quality too.

So – Lets have a vote on which one is the favorite!

They all look incredible in print using the R2400 Advanced B&W on DaVinci Fibre Gloss. These prints will definitely find some wall space in my office.

Great Expectations #2

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 04:15:00 -0800

More of the Great Expectations

As promised, here is another shot from Brooke’s 8 month portrait session.

I will post another tomorrow.

Promise.

The Brooklyn Series #2

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 20:00:00 -0800

Canarsie, Brooklyn, NY - Feb 2008

A little over 30 years ago I would slip through the horizontal bars on the left to gain complimentary access to the NYC subway & bus system. Those who know me now might find that hard to imagine.

I shot this and other Brooklyn images in February, while taking my two NYC Novice children on a tour of my home town. I just stumbled on the folder and decided to process out another today. For more on this series see my website and select the first "Project".

Enjoy!

Great Expectations

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 20:00:00 -0800

After a full day of various poses / setups / wardrobes, I am sure Brooke was thrilled to have this one be the last shot of the day. I am shooting from the second floor of my studio, through a hole in the floor cut just for this purpose. Of course, being the last set of a long day, I am a bit off from prime too. How did this manifest, you may ask... ? Well, I mistakenly left my not so petite Blackberry Curve in my shirt top pocket. So when I lean over to peer through the hole - swish... it slips out and silently tumbles downward. I am horrified as it is heading right towards Brooke. Miraculously it hits the sofa right in front of her belly... and bounces up, and over, to land directly behind her, where it once again bouces up and off... into the soft bundle of black cloth I used to cover the floor. No damage to Brooke (most importantly) nor the silly flying phone.

Back to the image: while it looks great on screen, it looks breathtaking on the new crop of "fiber" digital print papers. I have a 17" print of this on DaVinci Fibre Gloss that is just amazing. Beautiful tonal ranges that were once exclusive to a fibre based cold light darkroom print.

Finally, enough "progress" to achieve a look and feel I enjoyed in my first darkroom back in... 1973!

Sassy @ 90+!

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 20:00:00 -0800

One of the reasons I wanted to set up a blog was to share with the world (albeit a limited world) some of my experiences while on assignment. This is a perfect example. This photo was created for a retirement community. All three of the subjects are over 90. They are all avid swimmers. And at least two have medals from the Senior Olympics.

The fellow on the left was a major flirt. Behind us was a seniors' water aerobics class - a pool full of mostly female seniors splashing about. I practically had to tether this guy to our side of the pool.

The gentelmen on the right has some hearing and vision difficulties. Being in the pool required that both his hearing aids be removed. Add to this the already noisy poolside environment (remember the water aerobics?) and the boomy acoustics... and with his vision issues there was no way he could ever see me behind the glare of my lights. The woman in the center was a great sport, relating my requests to him by literally just pushing and pulling him into position.

In the end, we all had a great time and laughed heartily thoughout the shoot. Though the biggest laugh came when processing the final image. It seems that one of the man's fingers appeared to be wrapped around the edge of the woman's breast. I am sure it was just an optical illusion. Really.

Another shot saved by Photoshop.

Award Winner

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 13:31:17 -0800

This is the first entry on the new blog. Don't look for the old blog. It never existed.

This photo is currently on display in a juried gallery show at the Center for Fine Art Photography in Fort Collins, Co. I know for that for a fact as a new friend emailed me to confirm it. [Thanks Alix!]

You can read the story behind it on my website, by selecting the "Projects" tab. Its my home town - Canarsie, Brooklyn, NY.

Right now it's Friday evening... and it has been a long week.

Visit often as I plan on updating this regulalry!!!

really...

all the best,

kevin