On location in Central Park with screenwriter Susan Marque.
April 4, 2012
Just found out that I’m featured as one of PhotoServe’s 10 photographers of the month. The series will be up for the month of April.
Here’s my portrait of a Sphynx, photographed this past January for Animal Planet.
February 23, 2012
Dahlia
Portraits of Egyptian actress Dahlia. Photographed in SoHo a few days before she flew to Egypt to star in a movie about the recent revolution.
January 31, 2012
TeachersCount
I don’t know many of the American Idol contestants. I rarely watch the show. But for some reason I had heard of Scotty McCreery. Not sure why – he’s a country singer (I don’t listen to that genre), he won last season’s American Idol (I didn’t watch it) and he lives in Garner, just outside of Raleigh (I’ve never been there). So, when I got the call to photograph him at his high school (Garner Magnet School) I was thrilled – I love new experiences. Photographed on location in the library of Garner High School for TeachersCount, we took portraits of Scotty alone and with his teacher/mentor Derek Goffena. I also had a little help from the high school yearbook staff and my assistant Elizabeth Larson and stylist Claudia Gunn. Here’s the poster:
January 3, 2012
The Metropolitan
What I love about photography the most is having the opportunity to learn about new things. I didn’t know very much about the Russian Orthodox Church here in America, so when they called and asked me to photograph The Metropolitan it was my chance to further educate myself.
Here’s some interesting info about the Church and Metropolitan here in the US:
- Started when, in 1794, eight Russian Orthodox monks traveled to Alaska (then part of Russia).
- By the late 1800′s, due to the large immigrant population from Europe and the Middle East, the Church grew and spread to other areas of the United States.
- There are now estimated between 27,169 to as high as 1,064,000 members of the Church in the United States. I’m not sure why the numbers vary.
- The Metropolitan is the head of all the bishops in the Americas (US and Canada).
- The metropolitan is elected by the Holy Synod at an All-American Council. There are no age or term limits for the metropolitan, and he may retire at any time, but usually does so only for health-related reasons. He is similar to the Archbishop in stature.
Other than lugging equipment through and on the Subway (always a fun ordeal…), there weren’t any obstacles to over come on this shoot. We shot at his residence. Rearranged some of his furniture and set up the lights. As with many official portraits of clergy, the Metropolitan stood with a very stoic look. He is, in fact, a very friendly and pleasant person. As I usually do after the shoot is finished I ask if he wanted any less posed shots. He said “I was just in Florida with alligators and got some shots with them.” I asked if he blessed the alligator before holding it. “No”, he said, “I blessed myself.” I don’t blame him.
The Metropolitan of the Russian Orthodox Church in New York
October 18, 2011
With Erin Currin
June 13, 2011
Tavis Smiley
Tavis Smiley and his 8th grade teacher and mentor Janet Oates on location at KCET Studios in LA.
May 10, 2011
Agency Access Portraits
You know their voices. Now you can see what they look like. For those of you who have a list with Agency Access, or have received calls from them, you probably have not met most of the folks who work there. I was asked to take some “formal” portraits of the staff and it turned into a day filled with fun and laughter. Keith Gentile has created a work environment where fun is encouraged. As these photos show, there was no lack of horsing around. That’s what I call a perfect shooting environment – some seriousness mixed in with lots of good old fashion laughter. I’ll post more portraits in the next day or so.
Jaime and Charles
Christie
Ron
Kayla
Catherine
September 17, 2010
Removing Inhibitions
One of the things I love about portraits is their power to capture a person’s mood – oftentimes in a very subtle way. But to have a stranger point a camera at you can be quite unnerving, which shows in the photograph. So there are times when you need to start by removing inhibitions. Here’s one technique I use to make people forget they’re being photographed: I start by asking the subject to look away from the camera and think about last weekend. Here are a few examples of portraits I’ve taken recently. It’s amazing what you can read in a smile or a look in the eyes.
What moods do you detect?
August 19, 2010
Figure of Style
I love looking through photography books – especially books on the history of photography. It’s a great source of inspiration. On a recent assignment we were shooting at a pool and just had to take a photo in honor of George Hoyningen-Huene. His 1930 photograph of couple by a pool, titled “Divers”, has had a lot of influence on me.
My version of "Divers"
