A long-time friend of mine got in touch recently and asked me if I could take some new head shots for him to use with his resume and LinkedIn profile. After working out our schedules, I realized this would be the perfect chance for me to try out my new pop-up softboxes from LCD4Video.
I bought a field monitor for shooting video some time back from LCD4Video, and as usual with any catalog/website/vendor, I routinely get emails with special deals. They recently had a sale on their hot shoe pop-up softboxes, which were already a steal to begin with. I'd been looking into the same item, but from Lastolite, for some time, and just couldn't justify the cost for the amount of times I'd use it, so when these showed up in my inbox for a fraction of the cost, I figured, even if they were garbage, it wasn't a total loss. Well, much to my very happy surprise, when they came in I noticed the build quality and portability I needed was there, and I didn't have to spend hundreds on a pair. When I do location portraits, I'm a two-light kinda guy, most of the time, unless I need to blast the background with some light or color (in the studio, that's a whole other story).
They provide the perfect amount of softening while not losing too much power. I was able to shoot at full power, and half or quarter power, and get a very nice ratio between my main and fill.
Enough geek talk, back to the shoot. Since we both have very busy schedules, it worked out best for him to meet me at my 9-5 at the end of the day, that way neither of us had to fight crazy amounts of traffic getting home. Since I work at a print shop, it's very cluttered, so finding a place to actually shoot the photos was enough of a challenge, never mind needing room to set up lighting. The lack of space is what made the hot shoe softboxes perfect for this. I slapped some white paper in front of the vending machine and got my Canon speedlights up on some stands with the softboxes, dialed in what I thought was a good ratio based on the distance to the subject, and then just tweaked my in-camera settings to get the right exposure.
Here's a pull-back view of the setup:
You can see the main light up high on the right, and the fill to the left side just behind the supply rack.
Then we just went through the usual range of faces, positions, etc.
Here are a couple fun photos from the session:
I call this one, the Politician
This one is known as the "Buddy Christ" (if you've never seen the movie Dogma, you might not understand)
These are un-retouched photos right out of the camera, all I did was crop in. I usually leave any retouching requests up to the client, and will take care of the photos as per their instruction.
I'm running a special throughout the month of March for all NY or NJ clients. $50 head shot specials. Travel costs may apply depending on your location. Get in touch for more details or to book a session.
I'll have some more news coming soon on another project I've been working on since late January, so keep an eye out for that.
I've been busy around here lately and even though there is much to share on the blog, I simply haven't had the time to sit down and write it all down. Knowing me, that means it might never happen, but I digress. Something stopped me in my tracks tonight, literally. I was walking between rooms when my wife looked up from her phone and said "Hope died." I stopped mid-step and my head spun around as I asked "What?!"
If you've been following the blog and my projects for a while, you know that I had started work on a documentary about the farm animal rescue For The Animals Sanctuary in NJ. I had met the owners by chance through mutual friends, and immediately wanted to know more about the place and went out to visit. I got to know some of the animals and people there, and learned their incredible stories. I decided I wanted to help get the word out by producing a documentary around them. We had started filming and realized it was going to be a bigger undertaking than I could afford on my own, and so we started asking for donations. Some good people helped us out and we continued. About a year ago, filming was put on hold because of the weather, and some time later there were some changes in personnel, so as of right now we are still waiting for word on when the dust is settled enough to resume work on the project.
One of the most amazing animals there was Hope. Hope was a spent dairy cow, which basically means that she had been artificially inseminated and impregnated (That's how the dairy industry gets milk. Cows are mammals, they need to be pregnant to produce milk) so many times that her body was no longer physically able to perform the way the industry needed her to. She was rescued from slaughter by a good samaritan who would visit the farm she belonged to and had grown attached to her. This woman called around until she found a home for her, and that's how Hope wound up with my friends at For The Animals Sanctuary.
Her life of constantly being raped, having her days-old babies kidnapped for veal, and her baby's milk pumped out of her while she herself was pumped full of hormones and antibiotics left her, like many other milk production cows, with calcium deficiencies that lead to bone density loss, making her prone to fractures. I know for a long time they were very worried that if during a harsh winter she accidentally fell, it could break her hips beyond repair and she'd no longer be able to get up and walk, and be in constant excruciating pain. At this time, I still don't know exactly what happened, as is the norm for finding out something like this through a Facebook update. I want to allow my friends the time they need to deal with the situation, as it just happened today, before calling, but I do hope to hear from them so I can get the whole story.
When I first met Hope, the first thing I noticed was her size. She was huge. Not fat, just large. Hope was very tall, and very powerful, and yet was as gentle as could be. If you walked up to her and said hello, she would let you rub her face, and if you touched her nose she would lick your hand - her own way of saying "Hello".
Hope was going to be a major part of the documentary we were making, as she was the first production cow that they had rescued and her story, while typical of the industry, would stand out to viewers who didn't know what happened. Hope's life started with constant misery, torture, enslavement, and exploitation, but at least I know that for the last few years she finally knew love, compassion, and admiration. It won't be the same visiting the sanctuary without her there, but she died amongst friends, rather than in a slaughterhouse, being prodded to follow the fencing and gates that would lead her and hundreds like her to their death, all the while listening to the screams and cries of their bovine friends and siblings. All cows should be so lucky to go the way I'm sure Hope did, but instead she's a perfect example of why this cruel and disgusting industry needs to stop. Every day, humans abuse and murder thousands of nameless "Hopes" because they're told that it does a body good. Whose body? Our body? The cow's body? How about nobody.
One of my favorite pieces of footage of Hope will live on forever in a music video I created for Monica Richards' "Like Animals" cover. I used footage from the sanctuary in that video and there's a shot of the camera zooming into her eye. You can watch the video below to see it. There is also another scene where she is laying in her barn and she rests her head down.
If anyone is interested in making a donation to For The Animals Sanctuary, they can always use the help. Just follow this link to pitch in. It costs a fortune to house and feed these animals, so every little bit helps.
Sure, it's not the cover, or a full page, heck, it's not even an inset, but you know what? I took it, and it's in there, and that makes me happy. I didn't think any of my images would ever make it into a guitar manufacturer's annual catalog, but it happened.
Steve has been an Ibanez endorser for some time now and it's also the first time a photo of him has appeared in the catalog, so we are both thrilled. Now next year we have to aim for a full length shot of him.
Hopefully I can report on some new developments very soon, so hang tight for some news!
I know things have been slow here on the blog. Been doing a lot of thinking and re-organizing on the business end and I hate to admit it, but it takes away from the time available to really exercise creativity.
Anyway, I've gotten a lot of requests from people to do office holiday parties, so this year I'm officially making myself available for all of your holiday party needs. Whether you just want some candids of the boss doing stupid things while drunk, or you want a backdrop or step and repeat wall for everyone to have portraits taken in front of, I'm your guy.
This is only open to the NJ/NY Metro area, unless you want to add in an extra incentive ($) for travel ;)
Let me know what your needs are and when/where your company/party is going to be and I will get in touch with you privately with pricing and information.
I hope this won't be my last blog before the end of the year, but if it is, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to you all.
Do you and your family send out new photos every year around the holidays? Have you had your portraits done yet this year? If not, and if you are from the NY or NJ area, I've got a special offer for you.
Instead of going to the mall and supporting the larger corporate chains that don't take the time to make sure everything is perfect, you can have an in-home or on-location family portrait done for $100. I'm running this offer until December 10th, so that you can rest assured you'll still have your files or prints in time to send out to friends and family.
I've got a little secret to share with everyone who was wondering if I had gone to the Big Four concert at Yankee Stadium on Sept. 14. I did not go. But here's the catch, I could have. In fact, I was cleared with credentials to shoot the show and have access to the press box to write up a piece on it for Paragon. The problem is that I found out about it too late. The Big Four show was a very high profile event. You couldn't just email a publicist for access, you had to fill out a form and submit it to a specific email address and hope they chose you as one of the very few people allowed press access to what was literally history in the making for the Heavy Metal world.
I filled out the form but didn't hear back by the time that I had suspected I would, so I booked myself for another concert on the same night. Sevendust was coming through town with a headlining show during a day off from the Uproar Festival, and I had the chance to get a video interview with one of the members and shoot their set. Sevendust put on such a great live show that I figured it was a no brainer, considering I thought I wasn't going to be picked for Big Four.
I found out, after making a commitment to Sevendust, that I could have photo access to Anthrax, Slayer, Megadeth, and Metallica, all on the same night, on the same stage. My jaw dropped and I didn't know what to do. On one hand, I made a promise to a publicist that I've had a long time relationship with, for a band that I know I enjoy shooting. On the other hand, the Big Four was a concert event like no other, it was the only time this would ever happen around here.
In the end I chose Sevendust because I'm a man of my word, and especially in this business, your word is all you've got. I made a commitment, and I stuck to it.
Looking at some of the photos that have been released from the Big Four show, I feel that I made the right choice. I've been doing this for a long time, so I know certain things when I see them, and I could tell that the stage was certainly not set up in favor of having people document the show in photos. For one, the stage was obviously too high. Most shots I've seen that involved any members of any band that were not front and center at the edge of the stage, included lots of wires and monitor boxes, meaning you couldn't get a clear shot because everything was in your direct line of sight. If the stage had been lower it may have been possible to get shots that didn't include stage hardware. Secondly, being a daytime show, outdoors in a baseball stadium, stage lighting was a moot point. The sun washed out everything, and without any control over things like fill or bounce, you were stuck with pictures that look like they were taken on a point and shoot camera in the noon sun. I know some of the photographers that were there, at least by name and portfolio, and I know that if they had a hard time, I most likely would have as well.
Sevendust, on the other hand, was set up perfectly with no obstructions, and they made it easy to have access to them. After the interview we were even invited to hang after the show, which we did. Getting some face-time with a great band and going home with awesome shots is always better than no face time with 4 equally great bands, and going home with absolute crap on your memory cards.
I love all 5 of the bands I've mentioned here, and I have for some time. I still hope to some day be able to shoot Metallica, since they're the only band I haven't shot out of these 5, but I'd rather do it in a place that is actually properly set up for it. I'd hate to have wasted my only, or my first chance, in a situation like this.
I'll be posting about the interview with Sevendust once it's edited and online. Check out my Facebook page to keep up to date, or follow me on Twitter.
I am very happy to share some exciting info with everyone. I was recently asked to put together a video for a song called "Like Animals", recorded by a long-time role model of mine, Monica Richards. Monica is well known throughout the Goth scene as both a solo artist and for her role in Faith & the Muse. After doing a couple of features on her in Paragon, we kept in touch and I've been honored to call her my friend ever since.
On Monica's Infrawarrior album, she recorded her own version of the song "Like Animals" which was in the original Dr. Dolittle movie. She told me that she'd been wanting to release a video for the song for a while now but has never had the chance to get it done. I offered to help out, since I'd already been working on a documentary for For The Animals Sanctuary and have a good amount of footage stored up already not only from there but from other times I've worked with animals or just shot stock footage for myself.
Though the lyrics of the song really point out how terribly humans treat animals, we wanted to keep the overall message positive, so instead of focusing on the horrors we commit against nature, we decided we would show positive interaction instead. In a way, this helps to balance out the message and will hopefully bring a new level of awareness to some people. Some scenes feature very special animals that deserve mention, so I'd like to point those out right now:
Opening - These are wild horses that live in Outer Banks, North Carolina. They've lived on this stretch of beach for years now and are a well known feature of the area for locals and tourists alike. Strict rules prohibit people from getting too close or interacting with them, and that's what's kept them alive for so long.
00:09 - This is Shelby, a remarkable pit pull that was abused and abandoned as a puppy, and is now not only rehabilitated, but working as a therapy dog. Working with Shelby for this video was great, and her owner Joe was very nice to let us have some time with her. You can see a quick interview we did with Joe where he tells us all about Shelby here.
00:28 - Amy is the youngest cow at For The Animals. She's very sweet and loving despite almost being killed and discarded very young. You can find more info on Amy here.
00:35 - Becky and Bridgette, 2 sisters waiting to find their forever home, currently at a nearby shelter in NJ.
00:44 - Here we see Hope, Herbie, Kevina (back, left to right). They are the other 3 cows that currently live in For The Animals, and in front of them is one of the 10 female goats that they rescued.
00:53 - This is Bumper. She's partially blind and has some neurological problems with her back legs and can sometimes find it difficult to stand up on her hind legs if she's not moving.
00:58 - A year ago we took in a stray mother, Smokey, and her 4 kittens Harmony, Melody, Steele, and Luna. This is footage from when the kittens were merely a few weeks old, still nursing from their mother.
01:06 - Katie was rescued from a life of neglect, and eventual slaughter, and brought to For The Animals by 2 caring individuals who immediately went vegan after learning about the horrors of factory farming.
01:14 - Tom and Jerry. If you look in the background of the Bumper footage you'll see these guys in their cage. All of these animals have nothing to fear because the shelter they are living at is a privately-owned no-kill facility with lots of dedicated volunteers.
01:29 - One of the many cats that call For The Animals their home. I don't want to get any names wrong, but I'm 99% sure this is Peekaboo
01:34 - One of the hens living at For The Animals, again, not positive of the name here. Notice how she'd been debeaked prior to being rescued from slaughter. It's common for chicks to have their beaks burned off with a hot knife because farmers don't want them pecking at each other while crammed into tiny cages together.
01:38 - This is Debbie, co-founder of For The Animals, with Brutus. His brother Boo Boo can be seen behind him.
01:53 - Hope, For The Animals Sanctuary
02:30 - Boo Boo, For The Animals Sanctuary
02:35 - Joe Dwyer and Shelby, as we were setting up for the interview I linked to above.
02:41 - Kevina, For The Animals Sanctuary.
02:45 - This Red-Tailed Hawk is missing an eye. I don't know his story, but he was rehabilitated and now can live out his life safe and sound at a local rehabilitation/environmental center in NJ.
02:58 - This fox, along with his family of about 4 or 5 others, live in the same environmental center as the hawk.
03:02 - I don't pick favorites at all, but Herbie here has a special place in my heart. He is at For The Animals because he made news a couple years ago when he broke free from the truck that was taking him to slaughter and ran through NYC for a while before finally being rescued and spared his life. There is a very good piece on him here.
03:08 - Hope, For The Animals Sanctuary.
03:39 - This is some home footage that I asked Monica to send me of her 3-legged Shepherd Fozzie. Monica wrote a very touching, heartfelt piece on him after having to face that awful decision that we often hope we never have to deal with as pet owners.
03:43 - This Siberian Husky was my dog, Ranger. He is also no longer with us. I've had lots of pets growing up, all kinds of them, but I'd never felt loss like when we had to say goodbye to Ranger.
So that's the run-down of the important players in this piece. Some footage is personal, some was shot specifically for this, and some was shot as part of other projects.
I hope that the lyrics and footage touch all of you and will make you rethink how we treat animals. Whether a companion animal, a wild creature, an insect, or a farm animal, we're all connected. Please try and remember that the next time you hear about a child abusing an animal, or someone giving up their pet to a public shelter where its days are numbered simply because they can't care for it, or even the next time you consider a family pet or what to put on the dinner table. We're not better than them, just different, but if you do think we're better than them, then act like it. Choose to live compassionately in all aspects of your life, and show all the Ranger's, Fozzie's, Herbie's, Hope's, Katie's, Tom's and Jerry's, that they're worth more than what some people give them credit for.
album, she recorded her own version of the song "Like Animals" which was in the original 
movie. She told me that she'd been wanting to release a video for the song for a while now but has never had the chance to get it done. I offered to help out, since I'd already been working on a documentary for 
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