Commercial Photography: Boston Marathon
I have never run any sort of race, let a lone a marathon. When I was actively running a few short years ago I found myself enjoying the hell out of it. For years my asthma prevented me from doing so. The closest I ever came to running any kind of marathon distance was the day my friend Kris and I ran a portion of the Charles River in Boston.
At the time Kris was living just south of Bean Town. I went out to visit him and we planned a swell run. We were going to do the entire Charles River loop, which totaled the sum of 17 miles. The day of the run we pounded an unhealthy lunch, something you wouldn't see a marathon runner doing. But, the commute we had from Canton Ma to Boston was enough to let our lunch set in and give us the energy we needed to tackle such a feat. We got off the train, walked from South Station to the Charles River as a warm up and began running the moment we set foot on the pavement that wrapped the river. It was one of the greatest days, one of the greatest moments, one of the greatest runs I've had. We were competing against ourselves. We were making our own marathon and running our own race. We set the pace and chased the ladies, flexed our muscles as we passed them, let the athletes pass us, watched as a cyclist made love to a fence when he didn't make the turn, as his handlebars caught the pole, we sweat, we ran, ran, and ran some more. We made a decisive turn, skipping the last leg. By that point we realized we would not be able to make the full loop. We would be shaving off about 6 miles and ending our run just over 11 miles. Why ruin a good run with over extended ourselves? Right? Welp, we ran a good race, had a blast, and it is a memory I will never forget.
Over the last 4 years my running has declined. I have had major set backs with running and have become incredibly frustrated. I have been trying to work through it and am in the process of making incredible changes in my lifestyle. Said changes will be enabling me get back to a place of comfort and joy. Amongst the changes I have been making, I have found inspiration in a project I worked on. Below is a photograph of my sister-in-law Alison. Today she is one of over 14,000 women running in the Boston Marathon. I am proud of her for the training and strength that she has show me, us, her family. She has taken her training seriously, inspiring not just me, but my wife as well.
Alison is a recent mother, as you will notice by the image below. Over the course of her pregnancy she came into the studio, discretely, not telling anyone but her husband. We were working towards the below image, a timeline of her pregnancy in a running pose. The idea, of course was born, PUN intended, because of the two pervious progression series I have composed. These kinds of shoots are so fun, so awesome to produce, and so enjoyable. I love the task of coming up with a concept for the series and will take them on in the blink of an eye.
For all the thousands and thousands of athletes, runners, new, young, old, seasoned, best of luck to you. You have been training hard. Maybe you have worked your entire life for this moment, maybe you have been running the Boston Marathon for years and you still get that adrenaline spark that defines every step you put on the pavement. No matter where you place, whether first, second, third, 18 thousandth or dead last, you are still completing a marathon. There are a lot of people who can not and will not compete in a race for any number of reasons, but there you are, running, winning a race. Yes, winning a race. Even if you are not the first person across the finish line, you still beat the biggest competitor, yourself. You have beat the odds, beat the doubt, and won. Congratulations to all who have run and will run. Your accomplishment is your reward and an achievement, which no one can take away from you.
Commercial Photography: Portraits
Rome is the ideal client. He has a need for great portraits. While he has ideas of how he would like to be photographed, ultimately he leaves the creativity up to me. Back at the beginning of March I had the pleasure of having Rome in the studio for a shoot. I put together a working plan to photograph him against a white background, knowing he would want some full body shots. I also photographed him against a very nice muslin background that I bought for a trip I took to the left coast in February. Sadly it never got used on the trip, so I was very anxious to shoot against it.
I kept the lighting set up simple. For half the shoot I used a softlighter with my AB 1600. For the white, I used a parabolic with an AB 1600 and a bare bulb AB1600 to illuminate the white. I kept the background light off to the side a bit to add a bit of glare. With a few outfit changes, we navigated through the shoot with ease. I took him off the white and the other muslin for a few shots against the bare walls and window of the studio as well.
Rome is an R & B Artist, producer, and song writer. He is quite the talented chap. I first had him in the studio back in July of 2015. A mutual friend of ours produced a music video for one of Rome's songs. We were able to shoot the entire video in studio. During the shoot I popped off a few stills with the lighting having been set up for the video. I really liked the photos, as well as Rome did too.
Rome needed some updated images for his social media as well as for future releases of work. I was happy to have him in studio. You can see some behind the scenes as well as the results below. I will be working with him again in the next few weeks to create a different look. Of course I will share that shoot as well.
Happy New Year
Happy New Year to everyone! Here we are at the start of a new year with new possibilities, new jobs, new ventures in life and work. For me the start of the new year is always a bit stressful. I look back over the previous year, sometimes the year prior as well and compare where I have gone in both work and my personal life. I then think about the upcoming year and where I want to go and do, both in my work and personal life. For me, my work life is my personal life. When I set goals it is based on the work that I am going to do that will affectively enhance my personal life, enriching it with new experiences and new ventures or projects.
In 2015 I will have some major life changes. Getting married will be one of them. Following that will be the launch of a "to-be-announced" project that I have been working on over the last few months. I will be traveling more this year, no doubt about that. And, the new work I will be doing. I am taking my career down newer and much greater path.
In 2014 I worked with some great clients. I worked for some new clients as well as clients I have retained over the years. 2014 was a great year. I was able to integrate new technology into my work that has afforded me the possibilities of creating more dynamic work. I am very thankful for the clients that I worked with, both new and old. I met some great people over the last 12 months and look forward to working with them in the upcoming months.
I plan to feature more shoots on this blog and discuss the work that I will be doing as well as possibly going back to my blogging roots of adding feature content that discusses things I learn, pick up, or implement in my work. On one of my former blogs I used to write tutorials and such and those were always well received.
Have a Happy and Safe New Year!
Filmmaking: iPhone Film
Watch "Where The Light Goes" here on Youtube.
On Sunday I took over Sue's iPhone. I have been operating on a Droid system since I have had a smart phone. While all my computer equipment is Apple based, I always kept a distance from iPhones. Whenever I was due for an upgrade I would harass Verizon about this, that, and the other thing. It always came back to Droid. Here is why. Everyone is obsessed with iPhones. Yes, they are great. Seeing as how I just updated an iPhone 4 and my Droid, which is a bit younger, is basically a digital paper weight, it is clear that iPhones have a longer shelf life. Droid phones are clearly different. Not with just the operating systems, but with the camera features. iPhones can make a great photo, with the proper light, proper composition, and proper person behind the button. Also, if you know how to apply a filter, you can get away with hiding things such as noise. Droid cameras can do some pretty interesting things, like a real camera. You can adjust the brightness right in the camera, before the image is even made. iPhones can not do that. To be frank, that is why I kept going back to Droid phones, I could make better photographs. There have been a few times where I made prints with photos from my Droid, prints that were very large. This one time, (not at band camp) I increased the image size to about 24" wide by about 18" high. I was impressed and so were the people who viewed the images.
I have a few friends that adore their iPhones, Sue included. Recently I watched a friend play with an app for time-lapse. He was shooting as we were driving through a city, recording an image every 1 second. Droid apps dont really do cool things. Aside from seeing the app do what was needed for a project that we are working on, I was also motivated because of the recent Bentley Commercial that was filmed using two iPhones. When I opened the email that contained the link, I was stunned. Not because a low-tech device was used to film a major campaign, but that the quality is better than what I expected. With the proper light, tools, and composition, anything is possible with a device that can record an image. Hell, I still hold fast to the idea that one day I will use a Holga for a major fashion shoot. The fact is, an iPhone is an acceptable device for making photographs. The socially connected world of twitter accounts, Instagram likes, and facebook tags are powered by such devices. I have always viewed cellphones to be a threat, but as I have made changes to some of my business practices, I realize, it is more of a resource and integral part of my business and life.
Scott my filmmaker friend, iPhone guru, and film mentor has ushered me into a few cool apps. Filmic being one of them. I have barely used the app yet as I have been playing around with the camera features and acclimating myself to the device. I took a half hour to myself, between leaving the studio and getting ready for the gym and played with the video feature a bit. I knew that I had a few minutes and I could make a 1 minute piece just by looking for the right elements to form some compositions. I do not have any fancy jibs, cranes, mounts for this phone, so I had my hands and what ever I could place the phone against or on. Using my body, I was able to move, with a steady hand of course, to produce some motion. I didnt want a dozen static shots and no motion. It would have been nice to have a glidecam or slidder, but hey its just an iPhone. I have seen some cool products for iPhones that can be used to make a stronger film, but I havent even thought about those yet. After finding some strong visuals, the title popped in and once I was back from the gym I could edit the piece together. More or else, I was just looking for an excuse to do something "artsy" with films and play with the phone. In the end, "Where The Light Goes" is 1 minute film, almost, that is a bit fun and of course, inspired by light.
Get out there an play, shoot, edit, and share. Have fun. Take things seriously, but seriously, dont over think the work you are doing that is just for fun.
Political Photographs & The "Unsung Heroines" of Massachusetts
Last Thursday I strolled through the halls of the Massachusetts State House with my camera and friend State Rep Aaron Vega. His 6 month old son Odin, wife Debra, and staff member Pat were with us as well. Aaron was there on business and I accompanied on this trip to also make photographs of one of his friends, whom was being recognized for the work that she has done. She was among the many other women being recognized as an "Unsung Heroine for the amount of generosity, hard work, selfless dedication, and the volunteer work that they have done within their communities and throughout the state. Some where there being celebrated for their businesses, volunteer work, or the social practices they have used to bettered their communities. The age range spanned from 12-97 years old. In a touching moment, one of the presenters read the story of a 12 year old girl who recognized that a number of her classmates required the school lunch program. Her volunteer efforts inspired classmates to join her in seeking food donations to ensure that her classmates had meals on the weekends. At 12, most youth are concerned with clothes, iPhones, and other 12 year old things. However, she took an initiative to help others, earning herself an award for doing something ensure others had a dire resource.
I stood watching as each name was called, listening to the stories between photographs, realizing that all of these women took a belief and worked hard for it. As an observer, I also noticed that there was a sincere amount of appreciation and joy being spread around the room as the stories were read. Like a smile or a yawn, honest work is contagious. By this I mean, when people do great things it inspires others to do great things as well. As I scanned the room, making candid images, I pondered, "I wonder if any connections will be made today in which community service will foster a broader and larger development within the state of Massachusetts?" Which as we all know, the more people doing awesome things, the better the chances of all of our lives being enriched.
There is a hero in all of us, but few have the courage to live a life in which it is visible.
Political Portraits
In 2009 when I met Aaron Vega, owner of Vega Yoga and now Holyoke State Representative for Massachusetts, we began working on a photography project about yoga. The following year he ran for his first term as city councilor. A seat he held for a term and a half before he became State Rep. In the years since 2009, I have met some incredible people, photographed some political events, and made head shots for some politicians, including the Mayor of Holyoke. Last week I had the pleasure of welcoming Mark Riffenburg into the studio for the first time. Mark is barely 20, a political star rising, and the Deputy Treasurer for the City of Holyoke. in 2013 at the age of 19 he ran for city council. He did not win the seat, but has since taken that energy and refocused for a stronger platform to run his political campaigns on. Mark was a great candidate for making head shots for (pun intended). His patience afforded me the opportunity to make more than just a "business like" head shot. Below are a few shots.
