I love working with other local business owners in the Hartford area. Helen Tekce & Isabelle Gartner are the owners of Baby Be Mine Maternity; an innovative company that has successfully fused function & fashion, offering a full line of maternity wear and hospital gowns. Our shoots are always high-energy and creative, our models have such genuine enthusiasm it would be hard not to have fun!
I was fortunate enough to be asked to photograph some amazing star maps made by the Municipal Prints Company in Brooklyn, NY. They are printed beautifully in either black or navy and aside from shooting the maps themselves I had a blast working with the company’s creator Sheldon Yeager on an environmental shot we did in my studio.
My love for astronomy has been totally renewed! Congratulations to Sheldon for having his star maps chosen by Wired Magazine for their holiday wish list!
While packing my things for the move into our new home, I came across this nameplate that my parents bought for me when they took my sister and I to Disney World when I was very young. How young? I guess I could be rationalizing, but young enough to be terrified by someone who approached me in a Big Bad Wolf costume. I’m told there were tears.
He just didn’t fit into my plans. I had expected the usual for a young boy’s day at an amusement park: ice-cream, fun rides and meeting a checklist of characters I had been writing letters to for sometime then,,,or I guess at that age my mom was taking dictation. My encounter with Mickey Mouse that day was met with just a minimal amount of fear which was quickly overshadowed by the excitement of meeting such a superstar in the world of cartoons. I’d finally be able to ask, “Did you get my letters Mickey? What’s your favorite type of cheese?”
Other than my run-in with that wolf I enjoyed my day at Disney World… But now every time I see this nameplate I wonder if my parent’s bought it before or after my crying fit brought on by the Big Bad Wolf. Who invited him anyway?
I recently purchased an app for my i-Phone which allows you to use your finger to write notes on your phone screen. Strange things tend to happen to me all the time but this may be the strangest. I couldn’t sleep last night so I decided to come to my studio to do some work. I don’t think I was expected because when I turned my office light on I found all my office pens, pencils and markers congregating on my desk. They seem to be forming some sort of alliance…which truthfully didn’t worry me much at first… then I noticed the pair of scissors lurking just outside the circle.
Recently I was reading about the current Elliot Erwitt exhibit at The International Center of Photography. He is one of my favorites and I hope I get to see the exhibit. Last fall my wife and I went to see the Stieglitz, Steichen, Strand exhibit at the Met and although the prints are breathtaking, it was pretty overwhelming to take on in one day. A small issue I have with exhibits is that I will often find myself wanting to spend much more than just a few moments of time with one piece but having to move forward to see more and more and by the end of the day or exhibit, I feel overwhelmed. When I look at a photography book at home or in a library I very often will look at one image for a great deal of time, taking in the over-all story and feeling that accompanies it and then enjoying the moments involved with looking at the various details that make the image what it is. Often I will open a favorite photo book of mine, currently Elliot Erwitt’s Unseen and just enjoy the photo that I’ve opened to and not look at another image from the book for the day. I do the same with a book of quotes I have by Thoreau, I’ll open the book and my eyes will be drawn to a specific quote and I’ll just take my time and let the words truly sink in and it sort of becomes this unforced guidance for my day by simply allowing myself to not take on too much and enjoy a specific perspective that another artist has shared with me. A gift. “A man’s interest in a single bluebird is worth more than a complete but dry list of the fauna and flora of a town.” Henry David Thoreau
I’m so happy to have my blog up and running! The timing seems perfect; just moved into the new studio, it’s the first day of summer, my wife Cill and I are celebrating our 3rd anniversary today and the first photos I’m posting are from this weekend’s Mermaid Parade in Coney Island.
I honestly don’t know if I’d be where I am today if it weren’t for Coney Island and my love for documenting it. I’m sure I’ll tell the story behind it sometime but for now, here are some images of things that caught my eye Saturday at Coney Island.
Was I tempted to straighten his shirt out to see the text better? No….
I have very little interest in photographing the actual parade. What truly interests me are the individuals when it almost seems as if they’ve forgotten that they are in some sort of costume or outlandish makeup.
This might just be one of my favorite moments of the day. Seems like just another day at the office for the guy behind the counter.
How often does a cup match your makeup?
And then there were bubbles…lots of them.
The pin at the top of the tower is going to pop that big bubble.
A truly great day. Thank you Coney Island and thank you to all the amazing people who make this day one of the most interesting things to be part of and photograph every year.
