gary heller photograph

August morning

2012-01-13T22:56:00.000-05:00

August morning

Having had some down time with not being able to shoot some personal work in a while I decided to look back into my archives and pick out a few from my "potential" collection and see if I could come up with something.

Here is an image shot back in August of 2009 upstate New York early morning. The mist and hazy atmosphere comes from the cool night giving way to the heat of the day coming in as sun rises. A young mule looks on and watches my every move from afar.

This image was taken with a Canon 70-200mm 2.8L IS lens at 6.3 and 200mm.

A bit of post processing in Lightroom to bring out some more clarity and vibrance. I think I'm pleased with this. . . down time can be up time if we use it wisely.

Art Tour International magazine cover

2011-11-18T14:22:00.000-05:00

From Portrait stuff

Anyone who has followed some of my more recent portrait works knows that I have collaborated with the fabulous Masae Satouchi on a number of shoots, whether she be the subject/model or working with me as a stylist.

One particular piece we did where she was the subject of a portrait done up with props and styling of her doing was this freebird haute couture portrait.

Well, working with Masae is always a ton of fun and so its a real treat for both of us to see the fruits of our creative labors grace the cover of a magazine.
Art Tour International magazine chose to use our portrait as wel as give Masae and myslef a full page article including some additional works of ours and some they selected as well of my dance and theater photography.

The magazine is in hard print form and distributed internationally and can also be had as a download in pdf format via subscription.

Janitors closet (abandoned asylum)

2011-10-31T15:02:00.001-04:00

Abandoned asylum (bulding 138) Janitors closet

I recently had another opportunity to venture out to the asylum from which I have been putting together a series of works. A couple of good friends (and very good photographers) made the trip last week where we managed to roam the dark empty halls and rooms of building 138.

Its always exciting to discover these places and venture in, but from a photographers perspective i was a bit dissapointed with much of the photo ops, or lack of. Some spots are real gems while others don't seem to offer more than the peeling paint but I did come back pleasantly surprised by several images I took, especially after working on them later and realizing that I had something after all.

Here is one such surprise, the very small room called the janitors closet. As with most of my series from the asylum I shot this with a 17-40L 4.0 wide angle lens at approx 17mm. I try to line things up in such a way (camera height, angle/rotation)as to have minimal lens distortion. Later in post processing I will correct whatever distortion was there as best as possible. I do sometimes like the effect of the distortion so it really depends on the scene I'm shooting and what I feel I want from it then or later.

As with most all of the pieces in this set this was a 5 exposure HDR (high dynamic range)process. The window was exposed at 1/320 @f11 iso 200 while the room interior was taken at 1/6 @f11 and then three exposures in between.
The images were imported into Lightroom and converted to DNG files on import. The five images were then exported into Photomatix Pro and blended and tone mapped in such a way that brought out as much detail and smooth shadow/light transitions as possible. In this stage the image looks rather flat and boring. I think its not a good idea to try and get the image to look finsihed in Photomatix by tonemapping it into oblivion. I bring the hdr processed file into Photoshop where I bring out contrast and use dodge and burn techniques to bring back the mood and atmosphere of the scene. I will sometimes tweak the hues of various colors to obtain a sort of dreamy or cinimatic appearance. I'm not going for a documentary type realissm here but at the same time I do not want things looking unnatural or unrealistic. A good friend and fellow photographer George Argento described the finished processes as looking "hyper realisitc" as opposed to surrealistic and I felt that was a pretty cool way of seeing and describing it.

Cropping and lens correction adjustments are always the last thing I do, and I do them in Lightroom. Anyone familiar with Lightroom knows that adjustments you make there are only virtual adjustments and only applied to an exported image. the original is always left intact. This way, if I ever decide that I cropped to tight or needed to roate and tweak a bit more i still have the full image as it were in camera and will have the options to further tweak and/or open up the crop. The full image will always be there to work with.

There are a few more photos from this building that I'm pleased with and will post some up soon again.

If you read this far, thanks for your time :)

Abandoned asylum adventures part 1

2011-09-06T16:38:00.006-04:00

Abandoned psychiatric facility (first level of building 122)
deadly corridor

Abandoned psychiatric facility (upper level room at rear of building 122)
lost souls

Abandoned psychiatric facility (basement of building 122)
darkness revealed

Abandoned psychiatric facility (first level corridor of building 135)
dark at the end of the hall

Abandoned psychiatric facility (building 135)
resuscitator room

Abandoned psychiatric facility (building 135)
stairs to upper level

Abandoned psychiatric facility (building 136)
tea

Abandoned psychiatric facility (building 136)
foreboding doorway

Abandoned psychiatric facility (building 136)
draped

Abandoned psychiatric facility (building 136)
open cabinet doors

Abandoned psychiatric facility (building 136)
dark empty cabinets

Abandoned psychiatric facility (building 136)
long narrow lavoratory

These images are from three separate trips to an abandoned psychiatric facility in New York which resides on a huge acreage and consists of dozens of buildings. The facility opened in the mid 1800's and expanded rapidly from several patients to several thousand. Thorazine, shock therapy and frontal lobotomies were part of the treatments for many patients but on the bright side reduced the number of which needed to be kept in restraints and straight jackets over time. Treatments eventually became better, more effective and more humane.
During the later years, patients were transferred out to other facilities and officially closed down in 1996, although a couple of smaller buildings still are used as homes and treatment centers for a number of patients.

The first building I ventured into alone, building 122. This was part of a group consisting of a few buildings where patients were housed. This group of buildings were in terrible condition from roofs that had collapsed allowing extreme water dame to set in over the years. The other buildings had already imploded and this one I went in was ready to collapse at any time. The first shot in b&w is of the first level corridor with many rooms on each side. As you can see, the floors are caving and much of the ceiling as well exposing the upper level corridor. Foolishly, I had went in here alone and while trying to make my way down to search some of the rooms, the floor collapsed and I found myself halfway through to the basement. Fortunately, I did not fall all the way through and was able to pull myself up and get back to safer flooring. Many of the rooms were without floors due to collapse and large sections of the corridor floors were collapsed as well.

The next image of the window and faces on the wall was taken on the upper level of this building in a room at the very rear. Getting that shot was extremely nerve wracking because the entire floor in that room was swaying with my weight and many of the images did not come out quite well because the tripod would move due to the floor movement. Thankfully I came away with this image, and my life!

The next image is of a room in the basement. The entire basement was practically pitch black due to boarded up windows but this particular room had a window uncovered and a nice lighting shining through.

The next set of images are from building 135 which was used as a convalescence for special patients recovering from surgeries or illnesses. There were two floors and a basement but only the first floor had light from no boards on the upper half of the windows. I ventured into this building alone as well, but it was in much better shape than the other and aside from being a bit spooky I was comfortable in that it was fairly safe.

The next set (and there are more on my flickr page and facebook page) are from building 136 which was the first stand alone medical and surgical building on the site, built sometime in the 1920's.

Fellow photographer James Oligney was interested in coming along for this venture and so we hooked up and headed out armed with dust masks, plenty of water and much of our camera gear including tripods. James is a cool dude and one heck of a fine photographer. He is specializing in portraiture and headshots and you should have a look at his site and blog. Great stuff from James.

On previous visits I had found an opening to a basement window and thought we could access it from there but turned out it was a sealed boiler room with no way into the rest of the structure. We roamed about the perimeter for a while when James calls out that he found an opening through a window that had been raised. Actually, took me a minute to realize he was calling for me because he was using a bird call and he sounded like the real thing! lol.
This building was quite large compared to the previous ones I had hit. Three stories but covering a large footprint of about a half a block deep and side to side. It resembles two opposing L shapes joined in the center by the main rectangular structure, so inside it appears vast and a bit confusing. We made note of where we entered and kept track of how to get back to that room eventually.

All of my asylum images have been done with HDR (high dynamic range) processing typically utilizing about 5 exposures per image. This is done to try and balance the exposure from the bright window with that of the darkest areas in a room or corridor.Doing this allows for correct exposure of the entire scene without losing highlights due to blowout or detail in the shadow areas due to underexposure.

I'm using a program called Photomatix Pro to blend the exposures that i have captured in RAW format. I try to process them to have a more or less natural look about them and not look over cooked.
HDR can also be processed manually by layering several exposures in Photoshop and manually blending them together using layer masks. I actually do a combination of both in some images. Photographs where there are foliage outside a window can sometimes be difficult due to the wind blowing the foliage around in between takes. This can cause problems wehn trying to blend the exposures together with a program like Photomatix. Although most programs have settings that help align and reduce the "ghosting" effects of moving elements, they are not always very successful. I find I can take the exposure that was correct for the window area and manually blend it into the otherwise finished HDR image thus eliminating the ghosting due to movement. There are many ways of doing things and sometimes the best way is a combination of a few together.

I'm looking forward to going back with a few other buildings on the hit list, and also have a shoot coming up later in the month with stunning model Mona deLux at an amazing abandoned location in MD!

That should be fun, combining beautiful model and abandonment grunge!

Katya Von Calder

2011-07-20T17:09:00.003-04:00

So here are a few images from a shoot a little while back with Katya Von Calder. Katya is a very interesting woman with great intellect, great sense of humor, quick wit and fascinating to talk to. She and I connected on Facebook as we were mutually interested in eachothers work. We both shared a mutual friend which turned out to be her best friend and my cousin. You know, for years we hear the expression that its a small world but I think that with the popularity of the various social networking sites as they are today, we have no idea just how closely tied together we all really are.

For the shoot we discussed doing some alternative fashion and latex looks and possibly squeezing in some burlesque/pinup type looks as well. Katya has an amazing wardrobe and brought along some incredibly interesting pieces. The black latex body suit with the outer corset was fantastic as it was but Katya designed and crafted the ruffled choker and wrist pieces which really brought this outfit up to another level of interesting.

The burlesque/pinup look shot on white included a beautiful retro green colored corset with stockings, garter and heels but in addition a fantastic feathered fan that Katya crafted herself. I believe she said it was made of Peacock feathers attached to wooden slats that she secured together at the base. Two fans that open up into a fantastic array of colors and texture.

I brought stylist Masae Satouchi in for this shoot. I sent Masae some images of Katya so she could have an idea of who she would be working with and she fell in love with her fiery red hair! "Wow, she is on fire, Gary!" Masae says to me.

Yes, Katya's hair is really that red and no enhancement was needed in post processing to get that color.

My lighting set up is basically the same as I described in my last post of my shoot with Marlo.

There is something I wanted to bring up for a while about shooting subjects, especially female models at full body and that is camera position. I see a lot of full body shots of models all over the web where the camera is at eye level with the model, just as if they were shooting a headshot or portrait. That camera position is fine when doing those headshots and portraits but when shooting full body its not, most times. Having the camera at eye level on a full body shot means your looking down at the subjects legs, which in turn makes them look shorter and less flattering. More so if your already shooting a short subject.

In these portraits of Katya here I was pretty much at about eye level. I sometimes may go lower to about chest level and there are times when I've shot portraits stading over the subject looking down which brings on a whole different feeling and presence.

The full body shots of Katya holding the feathers were shot from about waist high which looks pretty much straight on because its about an equal distance from her head to her feet. If I shot eye level, she would have appeared very short with short legs.

There are times when I will shoot even lower such as in the full body shot of Marlo in my last post. That was shot at about knee level which made her look very tall and with long legs. I know that for many of us who are not shooting in a fully dedicated studio with tall ceilings, this can be difficult. In that shot of Marlo the roll of paper was visible in the top of the frame but I knew it would be easy to remove it and replace with white later in post processing.

There can be times when shooting full body at a somewhat higher angle has its place. This image of model Yan was shot at approx eye level and I felt it gave the subject an endearing and innocent quality which I felt went with her look and pose/expression. Another factor in this example is Yan has a petite frame and wearing very high heels her legs still do not look short.
There are other times when shooting down on your subject at full body does work but its when its clearly deliberate and done from a very high angle creating a dramatic perspective, clearly intentional.

In the three quarter shot of Marlo I did shoot down at her for effect but it works there in that case. Had I included her entire body, it would not.

While I'm on the subject of photography tips and observations I would like to share with you a link to a photographer friend of mine whose work and knowledge I have come to admire and respect over the years. Steve Hlavac is a fashion and fine art photographer located in Central Florida. He and I know one another from our years of participation and service over at PhotographyReview where he moderates and gives great advice in the Studio and Lighting forum as well as writing articles for the site and I moderate the Photo Critique forum
(my screen name there is gahspidy)

Steve's work has graced the covers of and has been featured in numerous magazines over the years and he has always been very generous in sharing his knowlege and experience with others in the field.

A fine person and photographer with a great sense of humor (as long as your not the butt of his jokes) :)
I recommend you to drop by his blog, Running the Photo Asylum.

Retro Glamour/Pinup with Marlo Marquise

2011-06-26T16:27:00.002-04:00

These are from a set that came out of my last shoot with Marlo Marquis. Marlo is a burlesque performer and loves the retro classic styles of the 30's and 40's. She has that classic look to go with it and it suits her well.

My favorite of this set is the full body pose. Although it is a static pose, there is a feeling of fluidity and movement here. I just feel she knocked this pose outta the park and I'm pleased with my light and camera angle as well.

The lighting came out of a 24x30" Photoflex softbox powered with a White Lightning x1600 head at camera right and approximately 7 ft high. A 20320" box just below it (relevant only for the full body) to light the waist down. Powered by a Canon speedlite 580EX2. Another 24x24" box at about eye level on camer left to provide fill powered by another 580EX2.

A strip box powered by a White Lightning x800 head on camera left and behind and above subject angled slightly downward. This provides some hair light and some rim for the subjects right side (camera left).

The white paper background is lit by two Vivitar 285 flashes shooting into small lumiquest softboxes (6x9") attached to the lights. I like to illuminate the background to a lesser than white exposure to avoid blowouts from reflection and also for the reason that I like the bg's to be off-white as opposed to stark white.
The bg would be easy to make completely white later in processing if I ever felt it worked best for a particular image, and so my options are open.

I usually let the subject do their thing while shooting but I do actively give model direction. I think a photographer should be involved in the direction and should not hesitate to suggest variations of a pose or to look a certain way, etc. A good model/subject certainly makes things easy, but they cannot see what I am seeing through the lens and the slightest variations of body positioning and/or eye contact or looking away can make a difference. Marlo is really fantastic, with an incredibly fine sense of styling and and fantastic presence.

I have a shoot coming up in the very near future which involves Mona De Lux, some retro pinup/glamour, some latex wardrobe provided by Venus Prototype. stylist Masae Satouchi and....industrial plastic wrap....

Stay tuned. :)

Peeves...

2011-06-13T13:52:00.001-04:00

Peeves....we all have em. Those little things that particularly annoy us more than others and get easily under our skin.
So it would be of no surprise to those who know me personally that a few of my peeves would involve driving, since driving is one of the few things that have ever come naturally to me.

I have been driving since I was about 13 years old. My parents would occasionally head off to the city by subway to take in a show and could easily be gone for about 5 hours. I knew where the car keys were kept and one day decided it would be good fun to take the old 1969 Dodge Coronet out for a spin. I'd take note of how it was parked in the back yard and make sure to keep it the same. I went and picked up a few of my friends and we would have a blast, and a few close calls where the police passed us and did a double take because I certainly looked my age then.

Since then I have driven most everything from motorcycles to 60ft long articulated buses. I was a bit of a speed demon when I was younger but like most of us we wise up and mellow out a bit with age and experience.
So, some of the things that really get under my skin are not the usual culprits that seem to piss most everyone else off such as riding up on the shoulder to cut in front of a line of traffic, getting cut off, driving slow in the left lane of a highway (that gets close though), wreckless speeding, etc.

The things that seem to bother me most are the actions of drivers that don't seem to have a clue that there are others on the road. While driving along on a city street, the car in front begins to slow for no apparent reason. Ok, so I can assume the driver is going to double park or something and so I lay back and wait for his move. He then proceeds a bit further and pulls nose first into a spot, then stops mid way with rear of car blocking the lane. Arrrg! Alright, I don't get bent outta shape like I might have when I was younger but it still has me cursing under my breath and rolling my eyes in disbelief.

Another situation I have seen too often is when a driver begins making a turn, then decides midway that they want to turn in the other direction. Then there is the driver that almost comes to a complete stop on the right lane of the highway to double check if the exit coming up is the one they need...

Its important that when you begin an action that you follow through to completion. If you decide the parking spot was not the one you wanted or you needed to turn left instead of right you really must follow through with what you started and then regain your bearings and make the neccessary corrections later. Much of driving involves anticipation for both getting around traffic and for defensive purposes, so when you as a driver do things that are unpredictable it causes a dangerous situation for you and others around you, no matter how slow or careful you may think you are. Its also not really a matter of a driver being stupid, as I have seen these things done many times over by Doctors (MD plates). It's either sheer arrogance , and/or just a lack of common road sense.

Ok, so just had to get that out there! Also haven't blogged in a while and wanted to keep things alive here :)

I do have some ambitious shoots and projects coming up in the near future and also want to get back to some of the barns and abandoned structures that I love venturing into.

Oh, driving at night with your bright lights on...arrrggg! :P

A shoot with Marlo Marquise

2011-05-15T14:05:00.000-04:00

I had the pleasure a little while back to shoot with burlesque performer/artist Marlo Marquise. Marlo is a charming woman and a pleasure to talk to. She is also an artist and exhibits her paintings in various galleries in New York.

I wanted to go through a couple of different burlesque/pinup looks and then cover one fetish/latex set as well, which we did.

Here are a couple with a fantastic outfit with bullet bra and gorgeous color. Marlo has a very fine sense of styling and did her own for this shoot.

One of the ideas I had wanted to execute in this session was to have Marlo posing with a full or 3/4 Stand up bass. I had contacted a few people about acquiring one for the shoot and found someone who had agreed on coming down and supplying a bass for the half hour os so that I'd need for her to pose with it. The very night before the shoot, the contact emails me with an absurd amount of money that he wants for the rental of the bass and so the deal was off and the shoot had to go on without it. I don't know if this guy just thought this was going to be some huge budget endeavor that he could ask for the sun and moon or if he were just trying to squeeze me knowing I might not find an alternative at such last minute, but that sort of shit really pisses me off. So, anyway, I'll be having Marlo back to finish some of the other ideas I wanted to pull off and I have a cool contact to supply the bass lined up.

I have finally set up a tether to my camera and computer and have it going through LightRoom 3.4 I set up all the metadata info and file name,sequence, etc and as i'm shooting the images are loading directly into my designated folder as well as being able to see the results immediately on the monitor. It really does make thing easier from many aspects.

These were adjusted and tweaked a bit in LightRoom and them a more extensive treatment applied in Photoshop.

haute couture portraiture

2011-03-30T13:07:00.002-04:00

Masae Satouchi had asked if I would be interested in doing a set of work with her as she had picked up a very interesting "dress" with matching head piece. It is a dress/garment sculpted from wire and decorated with what appear to be amethyst gemstones.

This is a portrait from the set we did featuring the haute couture piece. Masae did her own styling and brought along some "friends" as accessories she wanted to work with.

I shot and processed this with a light and airy feel. Some others from the set are full body with Masae barefoot and posing in various graceful forms which she does well as she is an accomplished dancer.

Masae is great to work with, but also a blast to be around. She has a lot of stories and her English is still a bit rough so things sometimes get hung up and twisted a bit in translation.
She had told me of a film she had done in which she was an extra playing a prostitute standing along the street with others. The films producer discovered that Masae is a fantastic fire performer and had wanted to include a performance by her in the film. As they were discussing the details of her fire performance and arrangements, the terms of compensation came up and Masae said to me "Gary, I tell them that I will be their prostitute for free but have to charge my full rate for fire peformance. . ." Too funny

They hired her and I'm looking forward to seeing the film when its released.

Incidentally, soon after our shoot Masae left for a trip which included a stay in Japan to visit family. During her time there, the massive earthquake hit. Fortunately Masae and her family are ok and she is back here in the states doing various fundraising events to support the relief efforts needed to help the people of Japan get through this horrible time.

Portraits of Henry William Oelkers

2011-02-15T23:04:00.002-05:00

the man waiting

hillbilly

upper hillbilly

Henry William Oelkers

These are some images I have from a shoot a little while back with actor/model and all around gentleman, Henry William Oelkers.

Henry is capable of portraying a wide variety of characters. He brought along various costumes and achieved quite a few different looks in the few hours we worked together.

Henry is also somewhat of a celebrity in that he was the model that artist David Jon Kassan sketched live on his ipad which wound up going viral in a short time. It was actually through contact with David that I came to know Henry.

In these portraits, a medium softbox was used for main light, with a snooted strobe hitting the face from slightly above head level to bring an extra glow. Smaller box used for fill and another for rim and hair.

Most work done in Lightroom with some images being brought into Photoshop for a bit extra treatment.

Portrait of Woman

2011-02-14T13:45:00.000-05:00

portrait of woman 1

portrait of woman 2

Portrait of woman is a bit of a series I have started on. I am focusing on subtle motion and body language to convey the character of the subject as well as a bit of a story that can take form in the imagination of the viewer. The identity of face is covered although we can see some hints of facial features. These along with the movements can allow us to think about the subject and character and perhaps come up with unique stories and interpretations.

This was achieved with the subject moving about in a slightly rehearsed method while the camera was set at a 1 sec exposure with a single strobe burst fired at a precise moment.

It is one of a few experimental series that I am looking into building on further, but I do like the start of this.

The lighting was a 22" beauty dish as key, a strip box for rim and a small softbox near camera and eye level providing very slight fill. I'm not all that crazy for the beauty dish although the results here were pretty descent.

These photographes were imported into LightRoom 3.3 and fully finished there. The process involved converting to b&w by simply eliminating all saturation, and then tweaking color temperature, tint, and various exposure controls such as fill, brightness, black, and clarity to achieve the tone and overall aesthetic I was interested in.

I'm looking forward to getting on with some more works in these latest endeavors. Stay tuned. . . :)

Retro Lovely Magazine Vol. 4

2011-02-07T15:20:00.002-05:00

Jade Vixen bubblegum pinup set

My pinup work with Jade Vixen will have a two page spread in Retro Lovely Magazine vol.4 due to be ready for shipping in Mid to late February 2011.

Retro Lovely is a high quality publication printed on heavy glossy pages with substantial content. Its more like a fine art book than a mag. A collectors magazine in the making.

The magazine has featured some of the best pinup models and photographers of our time and its quite an honor to have a spread in their next issue.

Learn more about Retro Lovely and order a copy while your there. Some past volumes are still available having gone into second printings but are running out fast.

Visit Jade Vixen and learn more about the model and what she was wearing for the shoot.

Wide Open 2 (juried exhibition)

2011-02-07T15:02:00.001-05:00

Ree Ja motion 1

I'm pleased, and honored to learn that my photograph "Ree Ja motion 1" was selected from amongst 1600 submissions by noted juror Nathan Trotman of the Guggenheim Art Museum in N.Y.

Artists and photographers from around the country submitted a total of 1600 works of which 144 have been selected to exhibit in the show "Wide Open 2" being put together by the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, or BWAC.

The exhibit will run from March 12 - 27, 2011, Weekends from 11-4PM
Opening reception is Saturday, March 12 from 1-6PM

I had been accepted into the show last year "Wide Open 1" and can tell you that the work on display is quite a treat to view and experience.

If your in New York and can come on down, its really a fantastic show and well worth while. Learn more about it by wvisiting the BWAC website.

Motion Portraiture

2011-01-03T14:30:00.001-05:00

Ree Ja

This image was captured a while back during my session with Ree Ja. I have come to love this image and concept and am looking to continue on a series of portraits based on this idea of motion.

Back in June I had posted another from this motion set with Ree Ja. That image looks more like motion than this one but what I love about this is the sense of two portraits emerging from the soul of the subject at once. I feel a better sense of understanding of the subject by way of seeing mulitple sides, a sense of the subjects movement and two different poses and expressions/moods emerging. It obviously has a weird factor about it which I like very much. . .a pleasantly strange perspective.

The setting was a 1 second exposure with camera mounted on a tripod. Aperture was around 13 with an ISO setting of 125.

Ree Ja and I briefly rehearsed a flow of movement that she was to begin at the start of the exposure during which I manually fired off two strobe bursts to freeze those moments. Having experimented with various camera settings, I found these numbers to give me the effect and look I was after.
However, light positioning, distance of subject from background, etc all have an effect on the outcome and those variables I did not record so my next attempt at this will begin another series of preliminary experiments and testing.

This is certainly not a new concept by any means, but I really have not seen it used much in this way. I actually stumbled upon this idea as I was experimenting for artist David Kassan who had hired me to shoot his portrait for which he wanted to use to paint a self portrait. He wanted his motion captured and so in the process of working to achieve these effects I came to really like the look and sense of "implied motion" from the mulitple strobe bursts.

I have some more projects and subjects coming up in the near future and so I'm looking forward to continue to work on this and add to the series.

Best wishes for a healthy and prosperus New Year!

The Lunar Eclipse 2010

2010-12-22T11:25:00.001-05:00

Taken at approx. 2:45 AM EST December 21, 2010

So, I arrive home on Tuesday at about 2:00 AM and its freezing cold with strong winds. I have a dying hot water heater that I'm trying to keep alive, a sleeping girlfriend that has been only getting a few hours sleep a night because she works extended hours in retail during the holiday season, and three hungry and curious cats to tend to as well.

So the question is, should I make the effort to lug my gear out from the bedroom and set up on the porch where it looks like I might have a decent attack of it through some tree branches?

Well, considering that this event has not been seen for 372 years where there is a winter solstice and a total lunar eclipse and being in awe of this spectacle as I gaze up into the clear night I decide its worth the effort.

So, this was actually shot through some thin tree branches that were swaying back and forth in front of my line of vision. I was using a 500mm lens mounted on a heavy tripod, but the strong winds were still quite challenging to hold steady during the long exposure. With these challenges the image is not quite as sharp as I would have liked but it still came out quite acceptable I feel.

This moment is just as the Earth was about to completely shadow the moon, and you can see the remaining unblocked sunlight still kissing the very right edge of the moons surface, The orange and red hues are from the suns light filtering through the earths atmosphere causing these blood moon colors and effect. Heavy volcanic activity and ash in the earths atmosphere lends to this color.

In the end, the water heater was fired up, the cats were fed and happy, the GF got her sleep and has some images to see as viewed from our own back porch. And I got mine ;)

The Darenzia Files

2010-12-12T13:55:00.005-05:00

Darenzia in custom latex burlesque style outfit by Venus Prototype

Darenzia wearing a striped pencil dress by designer Lady Lucie

Darenzia pinup. Printed latex lingerie, with choker and gloves by Atsuko Kudo.

The fantastic (and sweet, funny and beautiful) Darenzia was here this past October for a half day of shooting. It was pretty much an open shoot meaning no real theme involved other than me asking her to bring along some pinup and Alt/latex fashion outfits. I brought in Julia Dalton-Brush and Masae Satouchi to work their styling magic on her.

We looked through the pieces that Darenzia brought with her and I was immediately taken with this printed latex lingerie. I just knew that would be an amazing piece shot in high key with the pinup style aesthetic I had in mind. The other two outfits chosen were the striped pencil dress by designer Lady Lucie, and the burlesque style latex dress which was custom made for Darenzia by designer Venus Prototype.

The team managed to pull off three fantastic looks looks for Darenzia in the time and really did a fine job. Most of the time goes into the styling during these shoots, with as little as 20 minutes of actual shooting done for each look. When Darenzia walked out onto the set for the first shoot in the printed latex lingerie, within 10 minutes I knew I had what I wanted and it was back to the girls for the next styling.

Darenzia is a blast to work with and I love her sense of humor. We look forward to having her back again in the near future.

Darenzia (model)

Masae Satouchi (Hair styling)

Julia Dalton-Brush (Makeup artistry)

Atsuko Kudo (designer)

Venus Prototype (designer)

Lady Lucie (designer)

Shooting with Kerri Taylor

2010-10-25T18:32:00.002-04:00

Portrait of Kerri in the miltary uniform

Full length portrait of Kerri Taylor in latex military outfit

Portrait of Kerri. Love the styling by Julia and Masae

Full length of Kerri in the stunning red and black latex

Portrait of Kerri in the black catsuit

3/4 portrait of Kerri in the black catsuit with open bum by designer Madame s.

From Blogger Pictures

Masae with some last minute touches on Kerri

From Blogger Pictures

MUA - Julia Dalton-Brush, Hair Stylist - Masae Satouchi

Kerri Taylor was here for a half day of shooting. Kerri is an exceptional fetish, erotic and alternative fashion model with a long list of credits to her name. She brings it all to the shoot and never seems to run out of poses and attitude.

Makeup artist Julia Dalton-Brush and Hair stylist Masae Satouchi came in to create a few different looks for Kerri to go along with the three different outfits she modeled in.

I liked the styling and really felt they went well with Kerri's outfits and her fantastic poses.

In these last few shoots I had been using a large 30x60" softbox with grid as the key light, but am considering going back to a smaller 32x40" box as it allows me to get a little more creative with it in this modest space that I'm shooting in currently. The larger box is certainly great for the full length shots which I most likely will continue using it for.
I am loving the strip box (10x36")that I have been using of late and mounted to a Manfrotto wall mounted boom arm. It gives me great rim and hair lighting as well as some background light. The Manfrotto wall mount boom is a huge plus in that it gets another light stand off the floor freeing up some more space.

Three of these images from this shoot were given a sweet spot and mention in The Fetishistas online mag.

Julia Dalton-Brush

Masae Satouchi

Kerri Taylor

Soon again. . . .

Jade Vixen photoshoot

2010-10-14T11:51:00.001-04:00

Aviator Vixen in a metallic aviator style outfit. MU/Styling by Jade Vixen

Aviator Vixen in a metallic aviator style outfit. MU/Styling by Jade Vixen

Aviator Vixen in a metallic aviator style outfit. MU/Styling by Jade Vixen

Jade Vixen pinup MU/Styling by Jade Vixen

Jade Vixen pinup MU/Styling by Jade Vixen

Always a pleasure to work with Jade. She's great a putting together a look with outfit, styling, pose and expression. . .the whole package.

Simply shot against gray seamless, and of course white for the pink bubble-gum pinup shots.

Three images from this shoot were awarded "Showcase Status" by the powers that be over at One Model Place. Showcase Images

Narcissa

2010-09-27T12:06:00.002-04:00

Troll Doll Narcissa

Narcissa

These are a couple of images from a shoot with Narcissa a little while back. Narcissa has an extensive collection of latex outfits/wardrobe . . . and she shows them off well.

A large 30x60" softbox was used here for main light.

The image "Troll Doll" was set up on white paper as Narcissa layed down on her back. Hair spread out with a single large light source above her head and behind.
The MU/styling was done by Narcissa.

Photoshoot with Yan

2010-09-15T16:24:00.003-04:00

This series of works are from two short photoshoots with model, Yan. Yan does her own styling and really has a very interesting and unique look about her.

She had found my work on one of my sites and contacted me about colaborating with her on some pinup style shoots. I thought she had a great look and presence and so we got together a couple of times and came up with a set of images that we are both quite pleased with.

Yan is fun and very open and down to earth, and so our shoot was relaxed and enjoyable. She is currently working on designing and constructing her own latex outfits and is a young woman with lots of aspirations and talents to back them up.

The last photo was chosen to be a "Showcase Image" by the judges at OneModelPlace. View my OMP portfolio here.

These series of photos were shot against a white seamless paper background using two lights on the background and three on the subject.

All editing done in LightRoom 3 and Photoshop CS4.

Colorful Artist Masae photo shoot

2010-08-30T14:57:00.005-04:00

Masae Satouchi is a woman of many talents. She is a model, makeup artist, hair stylist, belly dancer, fire performer, and the list goes on. Go to Colorful Artist to view her work and many talents.

I know Masae for about two years now. We met when I was photographing a dance performance and she was performing with the Temple of Jehan. I did not know she was also a model at the time, and , I was not shooting portraits and pinups anyway but we kept in touch somewhat on Facebook.

I recently discovered her portfolio on Model Mayhem and was pleasantly surprised to see her as a model, and a great one at that. I contacted her and she liked the work I was doing and so we set a date, scrapped together an hour or so and did some quick pinup shooting. She is a lot of fun. While we were heading over to my studio, she told me she had an Ice cream bikini (her english is fine but a bit broken here and there with a delightful Japanese dialect) I'm scratching my head not knowing what an Ice Cream bikini could be. . . she wanted to stop and get a double Ice cream cone and so we did. :) When we got to my studio I then found out what was an Ice Cream bikini!

She also brought along an elegant black dress with long gloves. I was amazed at her quick transition from girl in bikini eating ice cream to an elegant red carpet extravaganza.

Masae does her own styling and also gives seminars on hair and makeup styling.

We had a great chemistry between us and are excited about getting together again, with a bit more time, and working on some other ideas.

The Schoolgirl

2010-07-28T21:48:00.000-04:00

I just recently did a shoot with a model/subject named Narcissa. Narcissa is all about the art of the project and covered every detail in putting together this schoolgirl character for me.
We spoke several times about the idea I had in putting this series together. The series consists of 7 photographs, of which these two are part of and the intent is to impact the viewer on many emotional levels. Of course, its basically erotic/fetish art/photography but it goes a bit further than just the classic schoolgirl character. The last two images of the series is to come down hard on the viewer.
It will excite, delight, arouse, disgust, anger, and possibly shock the more prudent viewers, but I suspect in any case it could cause an internal conflict of emotions. On one hand a viewer might find themselves excited and aroused, and angered and disgusted at once and wonder about themselves and what it means. A different viewer might just find the whole series entertaining and a bit different, as I do and of course ther are those that just might be too impacted by the last two images that they dismiss the whole series entirely. All is well.

The entire series is up on my Fetish & Pinup Gallery linked off my website and is buried in the middle of the slideshow.

This second image of schoolgirl Narcissa is probably my favorite of the group because of the provocative pose, the playful toying with the gum (Narcissas idea actually in which she describes the mind of an adolescent being easily distracted from her card game to play with her gum), the tongue out, panties in full display and overall shape of her body posture balancing and filling the frame so well.

There are some other shots we did in our session, in a very different latex outfit, some of which I will post later on.

Narcissa has certainly become one of my favorites because of all the thought and detail she brings to her craft. There will be more colaborations between us in the near future.

Photo shoot with Jessamyn

2010-07-25T12:05:00.001-04:00

Here are some images/photographs of some of the work I had created with model, Jessamyn Rose.

Jessamyn is an international full time model. She has graced the covers and content of many magazines and has worked with many photogs over the years. Having recently moved to NYC from Australia, I was fortunate to hook up with her for a day of shooting at my studio.

Here we did some pin-up style photography. I have not got around to processing some of the other images from the shoot, but these are some that I'm very pleased with. I like the look and sinplistic focus on the characters such as the art works of Alberto Vargas, Rolf Armstrong,Edward Runci, etc.

I'll certainly be working with Jess again in the near future with some more specific ideas and concepts in mind.

Jade Vixen Nurse series

2010-06-25T14:01:00.003-04:00

Jade Vixen Nurse 1

Jade Vixen Nurse 2

Jade Vixen Nurse 3

This is a 3 part series that I had shot with Jade Vixen. Jade is not only beautiful, but she is great at portraying characters. She can be very emotive as seen here but also is very skilled at doing her own hair and make-up which she applied differently for each of the various characters we shot of her during our shoot.

During the shoot of the nurse Vixen character we had run through a bunch of various takes with different looks and expressions, getting a feel and building up on it as we went along.

Towards the end of this set I started to have a strong idea of what I wanted from her character. To try to bring that out front, I asked Jade to act out as though the Doctor she was working with had just cut off his patients head! She took a few seconds to think about it and then just broke out with these expressions. . .she was amazing. I had to keep from laughing actually because seeing her through the lens with that look was outrageous!
It was perfect and she nailed it within minutes.

The studio light set up was White Lightning X1600 through 24x32" photoflex softbox as key. Speedlites through smaller boxes overhead and as fill, as well as some bg light.

Post processing through LightRoom and Photoshop CS4.

The Big Hair Shoot

2010-06-24T19:37:00.003-04:00

Vanessa Freedman

Liz Freedman

Liz Freedman

Liz and Vanessa

Liz and Vanessa are sisters. We hooked up by way of a mutual friend who thought they would be great subjects for me and that they could benefit from my style of photography.
Liz and Vanessa were amazing. They were so delightful to work with and be around. They are an awesome presence to behold in person. Both are over 6ft tall and with natural hair that can fill up another foot or so. Stunning beauty as well.

We started our session late due to transportation difficulties and wound up with about an hour to work with. In that time, we were able to get much done and here are some of my favorite photos from the shoot. More to work with and I'll be getting to a few more, but this is what I have started with.

The set up is pretty much my norm consisting of a white Lightniong X1600 head into 24x32" softbox and about 4 speedlites shooting into smaller diffusing boxes.

Post processing done in LightRoom 3.0 (love the latest version) and Photoshop CS4. I'll be looking to get CS5 since it has been given so many major improvements, but most of what I do is in LightRoom and so that upgrade took priority.

The hair was backlit with one of the strobes to really bring out the volume and magnificance as well as side lights for rim and more "hair care". Definetely want to work with them again.

Motion Portrait

2010-06-17T03:19:00.002-04:00

Reeja, originally uploaded by garyhellerphotography.

In this portrait, I was experimenting with a concept involving a long exposure while the subject is in motion. During the exposure I fire off the strobes manually. Each strobe burst will capture the subject in motion giving the effect of a layering of images in a way that depicts movement and action.
The technicals in this paticular take involves setting the camera on a tripod and fixing the shutter duration to 1 second. During the time the shutter is open, Ree Ja is moving in a somewhat predetermined and orchestrated series of movements with the key emphasis being that she look straight to the camera at the final moment. Easier said than done. . . While she is moving about during the exposure, I am firing off the strobes remotely trying to time them so the last burst is just at the final moment and when Ree Ja is looking straight at me.
Many of the takes were quite interesting and I like them all for various reasons, but this particular result really made the impact that I was after. Face is sharp, hair is flying, arms are shown in various stages of movement and of course there is a strangeness about it. I find it looks as though she is removing or replacing her head.
Ree Ja had contacted me upon seeing the result to commend me for such a successful execution and as I was answering her to thank her as well for pulling it off it struck me that her role in this will most likely go unsung and the skill and experience on her part, unnoticed.
What most viewers will not realize is the composure and awareness of concept on her part. Having experimented with this idea a few times in the past I can tell you that its very difficult to move around as much and as fast in a short period of time as was done here and maintain composure in facial expression and body position.
A lesser model would have wound up with a contorted and odd facial expression and/or had eyes half shut, etc.
Simply by looking at her hair flying in this image and the various positions of the arms during the course of 1 second we can determine that Ree Ja was moving quite a bit and very quickly as well. To maintain composure in body positon as well as facial expression is incredibly difficult. I could not have asked her for better results.

Shot against a dark gray paper background with colors adjusted a bit to bring a hue of green behind her.

Ree Ja Fetish Fashion

2010-06-14T13:20:00.000-04:00

Here are a couple more from a shoot with model, Ree Ja.

This is Ree Ja in her latex Go-Go outfit complete with Hot shorts and Big boots.

My cat, Iki was trying to see what was going on and we caught him in the act! Could not throw this one out as it was quite endearing. . .

Ree Ja fetish 2

2010-06-07T02:55:00.002-04:00

Ree Ja fetish 2, originally uploaded by garyhellerphotography.

This is model Ree Ja looking fantastic in the red rubber hobble skirt.
Same session as the prior post, lights camera action,

Ree Ja fetish pinup

2010-06-04T14:02:00.005-04:00

This is model, Ree Ja posing for one of many fetish/pinup shots that we worked on over the course of a few hours.
She is really an exceptional model with such an interesting look about her, I would like to work with her again sometime soon.

Shot on white seamless with a white Lightning X1600 studio head shooting into a 24x32 box from Photoflex. Additional lighting done with Speedlites in smaller softboxes. Back lit with two vivitars 285 hotshoe flashes.

It was no doubt difficult for her to work into various poses with those heels and rubber hobble skirt, but she seemed to have it down and made it look effortless, which I know it was not.

All post processing work here done in LightRoom and Photoshop CS4.

Roller Girl

2010-05-21T17:04:00.006-04:00

Roller Girl, originally uploaded by garyhellerphotography.

This is a character I had been wanting to do for a while. I had found a model who was a very good sport about it, so I got the supplies ( huge turbo jet rollers, clips, nightie and hairdresser to put it all together)and set it up.

I wanted attitude, some sex appeal, and in your face expression teamed with a post processing to bring the almost caricature/cartoonish aesthetic I was after.

Shot with studio lights against a white seamless backdrop.

Probably the funniest part of the whole deal was seeing me walk into an African beauty supply store and asking for the largest rollers in da house along with aligator clips to go along with it. Oh, and do you have any sheer pink/purple nighties around for sale. . .?

"No, oh no, not for me, I'm doing a photo shoot"

"Yeah, sure, whatever your into you crazy white boy" I can hear the very polite staff thinking to themselves. . .

So, here it is. . ."Roller Girl"

Jade Vixen Pinup 3

2010-05-19T15:29:00.005-04:00

Jade Vixen Pinup 3, originally uploaded by garyhellerphotography.

Here is another pinup style photograph of the wonderful Jade Vixen. There are a few more from our session, but these latest three struck me first.

This was shot in a very modest sized studio on a white seamless paper background.
Background was lit by two vivitar speedlites. Three softboxes illuminating the subject. Two small square boxes (approx 20x20") lit by Canon 580 EXll speedlites proving fill and kick/rim, and a 24x32

Photoflex box lit by a White Lightning X1600 studio head used for key.

Post processing of course done by Moi to give it a retro/vintage look.

Processing done in LightRoom and Photoshop CS4.

Pin-Up photography

2010-05-12T18:39:00.005-04:00

I had the pleasure of shooting with model, Jade Vixen. She is such a pleasure to work with and as interesting to talk to as she is to look at. She is a Penn State grad with a degree in computer science. She also shoots much of her own photos in her studio and does most all the post processing herself. Needless to say we spent a good bit of time talking shop and photo editing.

I had wanted to do some Pin-up style photography that was popular in the 30's-50's.
She brought along some costume changes and did her own hair and make-up.

This was shot against seamless white paper with a White Lightning studio head as Key and four speedlites providing backlighting, fill and kick.
All lighting shot through softboxes except the two backlights which were on either side of the background and about 5ft away.

All work here was imported into LightRoom and then more extensive processing done in Photoshop CS4. The intent was to have a somewhat old retro look with warm creamy tones.

It was much fun and there are other good ones that I have not got around to post processing yet. . .stay tuned.

Photo shoot with Mehru

2010-05-07T12:45:00.004-04:00

These are a few shots from a recent photo shoot with model Mehru. Mehru is a beautiful young woman with interesting features that I felt would make for a great set of portraits. She has a child like innocence about her with a touch of shyness and naivety, however she is very well educated having graduated from Columbia University and has a extensive background and work history.

I wanted to focus on her "shy and innocent" qualities as well as her interesting features, especially her great eyes. I thought she worked particularly well against the high key (white background). Her skin tones and form stand out very nice off it.

We had make-up artist and hair stylist Michelle Lagalla in the studio to prep Mehru and help bring out her best. I thought she did a wonderful job with the makeup and hair, and Mehru was very pleased with the look as well. I had asked Michelle to put her hair up so that we can emphasize her neck, shoulders and great face (love the eyes and ears!)
I must add that we had a very hot and extremely humid day on the shoot and Michelle had a tough challenge with Mehru's long and thick hair on this "bad hair day". She did great. The A/C was running trying to keep things under control. . . so thank you Friedrich Air Conditioners ;)

Mehru was pleased with the session and would like to come back with a specific look and idea in mind, so we are looking forward to her return.

Here are a few photos I snapped while Michelle was working with Mehru prior to shooting.

Dance Photography, Westminster Arts Center

2010-04-20T14:10:00.004-04:00

Nina Brewton

Rie Sueyoshi, Nina Brewton, Jennifer Bocian

Samara

Samara

Samara

Nina Brewton, Nahoko Sugiyama

Samara

Morgiana Celeste Varricchio

Morgiana Celeste Varricchio

Rie Sueyoshi, Jennifer Bocian

These are a few images from a set taken at the tech rehearsal of the Mosaic Dance Theater Company performing at the Westminster Arts Center in Bloomfield N.J.
Prior to the tech shoot, there were some lighting issues that the techs were trying to resolve but had not been completely ironed out during the shoot. Still, we managed to capture some fine moments of the performance.

I really enjoy photographing these dance performances. They are quite challenging due to the low lighting and movement of the dancers, but rewarding as well. Also challenging is having a large group on the stage at one time and getting the entire scene as well as isolating individuals.

When talking shop with other photogs, questions about settings and technique often come up and so here is a basic run down of how I approach this.

I used to shoot in manual mode and manual focus as I found it a bit more reliable, but lately I have been shooting in "Shutter priority" mode with auto focus while manually selecting focus points.Shutter Priority mode offers quicker flexibilty for me when it comes to changing settings.

In this performance I had the camera set to 1600 ISO. WB is set to tungsten for consistency. Using Shutter Priority mode allows me to quickly slow down or speed up the shutter release depending on what effects I wish to achieve for any given capture. Slowing down the speed of the shutter can give motion blur to hair, veils etc, while speeding it up can freeze the action. Due to the dark areas of the stage such as the black curtains I find its best to reduce the cameras exposure by about 1 stop. That would be EV -1. The black background fools the cameras meter into thinking it needs to increase the exposure. If I allowed the cameras meter to have its way, I would have lots of detail showing in the curtains and the dancers would be too bright with loss of detail. Spot Metering is not a good option in this situation. Most all cameras with any manual features at all have the ability to adjust the EV (Exposure Value). This also help to tweak out as much shutter speed as I need from the low lighting situation of theater.

I compose and wait until I think the timing is right and then fire off a burst of three or four shots, hoping everything falls into place and one of those bursts hit the right moment.

The good fun is looking over the several hundred images taken during the performance and seeing the magic of these wonderful dancers come out on the screen.

Editing and importing is done through LightRoom 2.5 and work requiring more extensive editing is brought into Photoshop CS4. All of these were cropped and tweaked to bring out the best exposures and detail in LightRoom only.

Katherine fighter pilot

2010-04-14T15:48:00.005-04:00

Katherine is a very talented graphic artist/ illustrator with a style like a mix of Mark Ryden and Tim Burton. She wanted weird and quirky portrait shots and this is one from the batch. This was one of her personal choices.

I initially shied away from it because of the "huge" smile, but what was I thinking!

She chose it, I worked on it and this is the result. She is very happy, as am I and is even using it as her FaceBook profile pic.

Cooll!!

I am inspired to produce more quirky characters. . .

Strobist info:

This photograph was captured in a small studio using two 580EXll speedlites and a Vivitar 285HV. One speedlite shooting into a Photoflex 24x32 softbox. The other speedlite into a 33" white bounce umbrella with black cover for fill (softbox was main)The vivitar 285HV is hitting the background with a warm color gel. Post processing in LightRoom 2.5 and Photoshop CS4.

Love the grin

the playmate

2010-03-27T22:36:00.006-04:00

I had went upstate to Sullivan county with another photographer and friend, Georgine Benvenuto. We had nothing but bright sun and clear cloudless skies (not great for landscape and outdoor photography).
Spotted this tree swing and decided to use the blank clear bright sky and hard sunlight to create the stark and minimilist scene of this somewhat scary tree with swing.
Added a sepia type toning through some gradient mapping as well as trimming away some distracting elements and came up with something I thought worked as i imagined when I first began composing the shot in my viewfinder.
The playmate
Sorry its been so long since I have posted or visited any other blogs. Been too busy for my own good. . .

steampunk in corridor

2010-02-28T13:45:00.003-05:00

steampunk in corridor, originally uploaded by garyhellerphotography.

Did this a few weeks ago on location at an old miltary fort. Its actually a pillbox/bunker that is almost completely buried under sand at this time, but there remains an obscure path to both entrances, one of which can be seen behind me.

I had a couple of Canon 580 EXll strobes. One shooting through a small softbox to light subject and another off in the back shooting through a red gel to the wall in back of me.

A vivitar 285HV shooting from the back to light side of subject and hair. There are three rooms off the corridor one of which I placed the two lights shooting out from so as not to be in view of the scene.
It was good fun till the wild dogs decided to come strolling through. . .

Man at the Table

2010-02-16T14:05:00.003-05:00

larger version here
Flickr page view

Well, this is what I was doing on Valentines Day weekend :)

Actually, I had been working on this SP for a few weeks and finally finished a take I was overall pleased with, and it happened to be on Valentines Day.
Thanks to Georgine Benvenuto, owner of Gallery 364 in Bay Ridge Brooklyn for putting up with my requests for her thoughts on each take as I went through the process of the concept. Georgine is a fantastic photographer as well as owning and running the gallery and its been my pleasure and benefit to have her as a friend over the years. Wonderful person too.

This is meant to be light hearted and even funny as is most of my SP that come with the intention of poking fun at myself and the characters I create.

Ok, for the strobists out there who are interested in how this was made, this was done using two 580EXll speedlites and a vivitar 285HV all triggered with Paul C. Buff Cybersync wireless triggers. No TTL, all lights and settings are manually set.

The background is a botero collapsible muslin which is about 5x7 ft and grey. I hit it with the Vivtar shooting through a green gel for the color and separation of the subject.

A 580EXll speedlite was shooting through a photoflex 16x22" softbox for the main light and was camera right about 3ft away from and just above head level of subject.
The second 580EXll speedlite was set at subject right and behind shooting through a small lumiquest softbox and aiming at the right shoulder,hair and side of face.

Canon 5D mk2 on a Slik 700DXpro tripod with Bogen Ball head using a Canon programmable remote shutter release.

I had not smoked cigarettes in about 20 years and so most of the takes had my eyes closed as I was squinting from the smoke burning them. . .not very cool glad no one was there :) The cigarette case was given to me by a friend of the family who had acquitred it from a friend who passed away. The case nust be at least 50 years old and still had about 8 filterless cigs inside. Very old and stale smelling, though.

I get asked about my post processing often and while I like to offer much information there are certain things that I like to keep to myself. Basically, I desaturate, tone map a bit with PS gradient tools, layers using "mulitply" properties and sometimes "color dodge" properties, sometimes add diffuse glow and textures and of course dodging and burning here and there.

Yes, it was another Bad Hair Day, and I had to take advantage of it. . .
thanks for looking, hope your not totally disgusted and will return again in the future;)

True Evil (self portrait)

2010-01-30T13:50:00.004-05:00

True Evil, "self portrait"

I have been working on some self portraits of late. It really came about one day as I was experimenting with lighting and stuff and had no immediate subject available and so decided to get in on the act. I liked the results especially when I loosen up a bit and got a little theatrical :P. So, it became a theme and I am slowly putting together and full series of self portraits. I guess it will only stop when i get too miserable to look at anymore. . .

This shot was actually a second attempt. the first attempt, a few weeks earlier did not have the right perspective I was going for and some of the background was not working.

This is on a location in that old warehouse that I previously posted about. Inside a small room with some industrial equipment behind me as well as a scary and ratty looking window. Nice ugly green walls too :)

For the strobists out there that might be interested, this was done using two 580EX2 speedlites. The main light was shooting into a bounce umbrella placed directly in front and above subject(me). The second speedlite was shooting through a Flashpoint snoot off to subject left and higher than head level. It was aimed toward the hair and side of head area. The hair was something I wanted to be highlighted and stand out. Its a natural prop :).

One very useful tool in doing these SP's is Canon's programmable remote release. I can set the delay time to the initial shot, the time interval between shots as well as how many shots overall and much more. It allows me time to set things up and reposition myself and change expression between takes.

Past readers of my blog might remember me entering a Self Portrait competition/exhibition that was being judged by some high profile people.
I entered this photo as well as another later on to the portfolio as I was able to edit it the entire time..
The voting has ended and I am pleased to announce that my portfolio made it to the top 15. You can see the top 15 portfolios here.
The judges will be choosing the grand prize winner, and so being in the top 15 i think gives me some attention. some very impressive portfolios there, and it was good fun. I'll surely let everyone know if I were to be chosen.

Portrait of Eleanor

2010-01-23T13:22:00.002-05:00

Eleanor, originally uploaded by garyhellerphotography.

Eleanor is a warm hearted soul. She is naive, good natured, caring, sensitive and fragile. She is an artist, a dreamer and a wonderful mother and Nana.
She was an ever devoted wife to her late husband, Harry.
She is vulnerable, and yet strong.
She is a wonderful person

This was also shot with two 580EXll speedlites, one firing through a softbox and another firing through a very small diffuser for fill.

I'll spare you the diagram on this one ;)

Portrait using portable strobes

2010-01-21T13:03:00.007-05:00

This is a portrait of my daughter Christina and her beloved dog, Dior.
I had wanted to get a session with her for a while but our schedules were tough to arrange a time, but we finally got it together and I am pretty much pleased as this is about what I was hoping for.

I did not want her to look like she was posing for a glamour shot or to smile really. I just wanted a very sullen, relaxed and almost introspective feel about this.

I have been using hot shoe flashes or portable strobes because I have more of a need to be able to set up small shoots on location, such as the portrait of my son Kyle and at the same time they work extremely well indoor for various situations.
I am using two Canon 580EXll speedlites and a Vivitar 285HV flash. I also have some light weight stands, a softbox, some bounce umbrellas,snoots, various reflectors and flags and a boom stand. The flashes are all controlled by the wireless Cybersyncs from Paul C. Buff. (maker of the alien Bees and white Lightning studio strobes)They are much less expensive than the famous Pocket Wizards and do a fine job really.

In this set up, I had a 580EXll mounted in a Photoflex 16x22" softbox on a boom stand just above Christinas head and about two feet in front and to her right side a bit.
On her left was another 580EXll on a light stand about 6ft high with a Flashpoint Q series snoot attached. This was aimed towards the dogs head and Christinas left shoulder area just filling in where the main light would have fallen off, but snooted because I did not want too much filled in as I wanted this to have a mood about it. Basically, I needed to have the black dogs face and fur exposed.

Behind her is a greenish linen fabric bought in a fabric store at 4.99 a linear yard. This was secured with clamps to a couple of spring loaded poles that mount from floor to ceiling much like the expensive Manfrotto Autopoles. The whole background was about 7 ft wide and 5 ft high. I attached it so the bottom started at about her leg area as I was just going for an upper body portrait.

On Christinas left side and between she and the background was the Vivitar flash on a lightstand about 6 ft up and a couple feet over. There was a 1 ft long piece of white foam secured to the flash with a rubberband so that the light would not spill out towards the camera but just skim over Christinas head and mostly be directed back towards the backdrop to illuminte it slightly enough.

The shot was basically ISO 160, 9.0 at 1/160. I am using Duracell AA 2650 NiMH batteries to power the strobes and am always amazed at the performance of these things.Very long lasting and reliable. I use a 2 hour charger as well as a 15 minute quick charger in case I needed fast recharging on the spot. To note, I was shooting the main speedlite through the softbox at about 1/4 - 1/2 power and got close to 200 shots without changing a set of batteries and still had quick recycle times to boot.(under 1 sec.)

The most challenging thing about this particular shoot was getting Dior to stay awake. He goes right to sleep in her arms! While I was shooting, I would make strange noises and dog barks to get him to look at me or at least keep his eyes open. However, Christina would break out laughing at my ridiculous sounds and so when the dogs eyes would be open, Christina would be laughing. Finally got the moment where everything looked as I wanted :)

Attached is a most ridiculous looking daigram of the basic et up for anyone out there who are thinking of using a similar approach and might be curious as to how this was done.

Artists Lounge "Anywhere"

2010-01-12T13:20:00.004-05:00

The Kim Crawford Artists Lounge program is winding down to the final selections. I have made my second and last selection. The contributing member whose post I chose as my inspiration is one by member Joshuart titled "Anywhere".

The Artists Lounge is a forum of which members contribute their ideas and/or art to inspire the Artists in Residence(myself and three other artists) Works that were created by the Artists in Residence from the selected inspiration will be presented and given to the member for his/her personal collection.

Title - Anywhere by Joshuart (Robert Camba)
"Wherever you stand on the earth, be still and see. There is beauty anywhere. Even an abandoned industrial plant might have beauty in the patterns of light in shadow, iridescence in an oil-polluted puddle, or just the beauty of decay. You don't have to be on a mountaintop to see beauty".

Anyone who has known me for some time knows that I am fond of abandoned buildings, neglected structures, grunge and beauty in the least likely of places.
So, with that I headed out to one of the most attractive ugly places that I know nearby to find a diamond in the rough. Lots of wonderful textures and mysterious shapes and shadows and light. Also lots of Possums running about that I must have woke up as they don't get very much human company coming around. . .

The outside of the industrial warehouse.

Getting closer, the junk piled up outside.

Closing in. . .

the entrance

some inside views

more inside

more

view from the second floor platform

"I gotta thing for you" is one piece I isolated in the debris. I love the shape and textures and subtle color of this spot. Also the commentary is. . .amusing.

"broken glass" I like the stark contrast of the panes against the glowing panels of glass. Also, the various patterns in the wire inlay of the glass as well as the bit of iron grating outside through the cracked opening.Some subtle color glowing through behind some areas as well.

"industrial view" I thought this was intriguing in an eerie sort of way. The sharp jagged edges of the corroded window panes with pieces of glass still left hanging and then the various shapes,textures and color of the inerior below. This also is full of stark contrast which always catches my eyes.

The piece that I captured for Mr. Camba is one that i'm very proud of and is titled "Industrial Love". The title actually carries a double meaning as you will get to see in the spring at the Kim Crawford Wines Artists Lounge unveiling, where all the works that were created by the inspirations posted by selected contributing members, will be displayed.

Portrait: Kyle and Sabre

2010-01-02T14:21:00.004-05:00

Here is a portrait of Kyle, my son. Kyle is 13 years old and autistic. I have photographed him over the years but it is usually difficult as Kyle does not like to make eye contact and usually does not look at one place for more than a few seconds. He is shown here with his beloved plush animal Sabre which is one of two Smilodons that he has become very fond of. He takes them most everywhere he goes. They are like comfort creatures for him.
Kyle is capable of communicating and can hold limited conversations, but only with people that he has become familiar with and feels comfortable around. This moment was special in that it is a side of Kyle that no one will ever see except those who are close to him and around him often.

SteamPunk!

2009-12-27T12:22:00.005-05:00

I have always been intrigued by the steampunk movement that seems to have started sometime in the 80's. Its sort of a cultish thing but it has been catching on and growing in interest.

Basically, steampunk is high tech gear driven and steam powered technology cased and embellished in old Victorian styling. It is the fantasy of "what if advanced technology were introduced to the old Victorians" and what would it look like. Antique, high tech.

Have a look at the video which discusses the latest Steampunk exhibit taking place at the Museum of the History of Science.

Holiday Stress

2009-12-23T16:23:00.004-05:00

This season, try not to get caught up in the stress and pressure that can be put upon us in these upcoming days. Remember, you won't do anyone any good if your down and out and not around (well, most of us anyway)

Remember to take a deep breath and relax when you feel the pressure coming on. Drink in moderation, especially if your going to be out and about in public like our friend Frosty here.

Happy holidays and a Happy New Year to all.

Oh, and don't forget to vote on my Self Portrait portfolio I'll need all the help i can get! :)

The Power of Self

2009-12-17T12:01:00.004-05:00

I have entered an art/photography competition titled "the power of self" which is basically a self portrait competition.

I thought that since I had been doing a few as of late and already had a few in the collection to begin with I might as well go for it and see what happens.

The competition is being curated by some high profile guests including Guggenheim Museum curator Helen Hsu.

The entries are also being rated by the public with a 5 Star system and gives the curators and indication ofthe publics feedback on an artists work and so if you could find the time to drop by the site, have a look and give me a rating that would be awesome.

Gary Heller Self Portrait Portfolio

Self Portrait, December 2009

2009-12-06T02:38:00.003-05:00

I was testing some new equipment and since no one else was around I had a go at another self portrait. I was in no condition for a serious take so i decided to have a go at a sort of self mocking look. A whimsical shot, all in good fun.
I thought in the end it came off pretty neat.
the equipment I was testing were Cybersync transmitter and receivers that are used to remotely trip my Canon 580EXll Speedlites. This was shot with two speedlites, the main in a medium size softbox and the hairlight in a smaller softbox. The triggers worked flawlessly.
Love them.

Water Towers Located!

2009-11-26T13:26:00.002-05:00

Hey, so its official. They have been spotted on the set of V and are located in the hallway of character "Ryan" who is actually a V but is trying to leave and join the human race.
I have not been able to watch the shows on the Tele but have been looking at past episodes on ABC's website which has been running them in full in HD streaming format. Pretty cool.

The Artists Lounge, my first selection!

2009-11-06T14:18:00.006-05:00

I am involved in a partnership with Kim Crawford Wines in a program they started called The Artists Lounge. You can read more about it on their site and in my post "Lets Start something"

I am one of four artists that will be choosing ideas presented in the Lounge. Anyone can join and present ideas, discussion and even post their own art/photography.

I was asked to select the first idea, something that inspires me to create. There are so many great concepts and ideas being presented in the lounge that it was quite a challenge selecting in itself.

I finally selected an idea about traveling and planning a adventure and looking through maps in plotting out a trip. The idea/concept was posted by member Silverwoody in the lounge. I will begin working on a photograph that incorporates this idea of plotting a travel or adventure and looking through maps.

After being contacted by the staff at Kim Crawford Wines that she was selected as the first winner (one of seven) and accepting the prize (a matted and framed photograph of the finished piece) I was asked to contact her to share with her my ideas for the piece.

My plan for this photograph is to set up a table in a room in front of an old window. I will set up the table with some old maps I have acquired and various other items that will dress up the set-up appropriately. I decided to have maps of New Zealand as this is where Kim Crawford Wines are from as well as the grand prize being a trip there for two.

The location I have planned for this set will be in an old civil war era building with stone walls and old wood framed arch windows. The table will be set with maps as well as other interesting items such as reading glasses, magnifying glass, vase of dried flowers, jar of pencils and pens, old cameras and case, binoculars and various other interesting elements and items.

I plan on using the natural window lighting as well as some reflectors and flash strobes designed to highlight certain areas or objects on the table setting. I'm thinking already that the entire look should have an old and somewhat timeless feel and so post processing will likely involve b&w with very warm tone or perhaps just desaturated colors and selectively applied color. I will address that after the photos have been captured. To help make this a more personal piece for Katie (silverwoody) I have asked her to provide me with a photograph perhaps of her family or loved one that she might have laying out on a table in her own room. I would print it and frame it or perhaps lay it out on the table setting. In addition, she mentioned that she is a sentimental person and has kept some scribbled notes she wrote in planning some of her last trips. She will scan these notes over to me so that I can print them out and lay them in the set-up as well.

This I feel will make it a very personal piece of work and has me very inspired to get started.

As this piece gets underway, I may post some of the set and environment but the actual finished photograph will be presented in the spring on the Artists Lounge during the unveiling of chosen works.

Six more winners will be chosen by us over the course of the program. The next one being selected by the end of this weekend. So get in there now! This is a fantastic and exciting program that supports the arts and artists and I am honored to be a part of it.

Please come in and share your ideas and let us know what inspires you. You have an excellent chance of winning a personal piece of art as well as a trip for two to New Zealand!!

The Artists Lounge

Girl with big chest

2009-11-01T01:03:00.002-04:00

So here it is. The girl with the big chest. Probably not what you thought it was going to be, but then whose fault would that be, eh?

Girl with big chest was shot at the Brooklyn Museum of Art.

My water tower series on V

2009-10-29T22:23:00.002-04:00

The ABC network will begin airing the remake of the epic series entitled V. Four of my N.Y. water tower series prints were purchased by one of the set decoraters working on the show. The prints have been framed and will be used to decorate the apartment of one of the New York characters, so I was told.
I hope to be able to catch the premiere which airs this Tuesday, November 3rd at 8PM EST.
Some of my friends will be "water tower spotting" for me and hopefully during the course of the series (they hope to have four seasons run) I'll have some airtime :)

It actually looks to be real good and I hope to be able to watch sometimes.

Here are the four they purchased from the series.

N.Y. water towers 1

N.Y. water towers 3

N.Y. water towers 5

N.Y. water towers 14

Let's Start Something!

2009-10-25T03:38:00.003-04:00

I was asked by Kim Crawford Wines to partner with them in a program they have started called "The Artists' Lounge"

In the spirit of supporting the arts, Kim Crawford Wines launched The Artists’ Lounge online community as a place for artists and those who appreciate the arts to share inspirations and/or artwork with each other. Members get the chance to inspire and win original artwork and a trip for two to New Zealand! All of the artwork displayed within the community will be a true living anthology, reflective of the times.

I was chosen by Kim Crawford Wines to be one of the community’s “Artists in Residence,” and will be searching for inspiration within the community to create original artwork. From now through January, myself and three other artists from different art mediums will select ideas and create new works of art. Share an idea now if you want to inspire artwork for me or the other artists!

Kim Crawford Wines views winemaking an art as it strives to capture the true aromas and flavors of New Zealand in each bottle by combining a passion for excellence with a vision for exploring new boundaries.

I’m excited about this program, and encourage you to join the community and participate in sharing artwork and/or inspiration with its members!

Artists Lounge

Self Portrait 2009

2009-10-23T17:46:00.005-04:00

self portrait 2009

This is a self portrait I had been working on for a bit. I had scouted the location and went back a few times. The first time I attempted this I had only an on camera flash which i tried bouncing off a back wall for fill lighting. It looked ok, but I was not quite illuminated enough and too much of the interior became lit as well, taking away from the dark and moody ambiance of the area. So, I went back with a few flash heads and a light stand and came up with something I feel is close enough to what I was trying for.
So, anyway, here it is. Would love to know what you feel about it.

The old shack door

2009-10-21T12:22:00.003-04:00

Old shack door

This was the door of an old shack I had come across while taking the back roads through Pennsylvania. This is in Nicholson, PA. The weather and lighting conditions were just all wrong for me to get a good shot of the entire shack, so in that situation I just try to focus tightly on detail elements of the subject itself, rather than in its surroundings. Of course, I did take some photos of the entire shack, but was very unhappy with the outcome as I predicted.

What I like about this is not only the weathered and rustically wonderful door, but the contrast of the vibrant green grass growing up in front of it. Its a marriage made in heaven. . .

Some old windows

2009-10-20T12:59:00.001-04:00

Grungy window

Window and clothes rack

Window and red fire escape

Here are some old windows I found in my archives while sorting through some images. These were taken this past summer from the Manhattan Bridge. The windows are level with the bridge at this point and are from an old building in Chinatown. I always find it interesting what people keep inside, and outside of their windows. . .
Sheila, I thought about you when I found these. :)

Fathers for Justice!

2009-10-16T18:57:00.002-04:00

This is a place I venture through once in a while. The grafitti always changes as new people wander through here and tag about. I thought this little section was interesting and even conjures up some stories in my head about the significance of the words and the burnt car seat.

Restrooms, a bit of dark humor

2009-10-16T18:24:00.001-04:00

Just a bit of dark humor. . . this is something I found in my archives from a few years back. Enjoy!

Once upon a time

2009-10-16T17:06:00.005-04:00

This is a photo from my "View from within" series. While displayed at a gallery, poet/writer S.David was inspired to write his thoughts on it.

Once Upon a Time
[by S. David] [art by Gary Heller]

Tragedy after tragedy
Finally she just
Picked herself up
Packed up
Walked away
Abandoned the house
Abandoned the furniture
Abandoned her
Once upon a time
Filled with joy home
A widow burying
Her young child
Time time time
She never sold
The house just
Left it then now
Twenty years and
She can face it
Again does she
Want to

Historic Ithaca's 2009 Barn Survey photo contest

2009-10-14T12:10:00.008-04:00

It was announced that I am the Grand Prize winner of this Barn Survey photo contest! I get to sleep in the barn for the duration of the winter,in the hay, free!! ;)
Shown above is the winning entry. It is an old barn with various additional add-on structures. I was told by the owner while I was shooting this scene that they plan on burning down this wonderful gem by the years end. hopefully, the county can intervene and help keep this preserved. It would be a shame to lose such wonderful pieces of our great agricultural history such as this.

Here is a bit of the letter informing me of my photograph entry.

"Dear Mr. Heller,

Congratulations! I am pleased to inform you that one of your entries has been selected for Historic Ithaca’s 2009 Barn Photo Contest. Your photograph was selected as the Grand Prize winner, for a photograph with artistic merit that captures vital information about the barn’s use, construction, or relationship with the landscape. Your photo beautifully shows the growth over time of the barn complex. The winning photographers will be recognized at the 12th Annual New York State Conference on the Preservation of Historic Barns, on Saturday, October 24, 2009. Over 70 photographs were submitted and all of the entries will be displayed during the lunch break at the conference."

A Brooklyn Tale. . .

2009-10-08T23:17:00.004-04:00

While venturing through the lovely and seemingly tranquil Salt Marsh Nature preserve a little while back, I had the good fortune to be presented with this lovely commentary and so of course I immdediately thought to share my good fortune with my blogging community.

And so here is the story of Fitz, brought to us on a stone tablet to be remembered and revered until the end of days. . .

Double Exposure

2009-10-05T14:39:00.004-04:00

Prior to 2007, I was shooting with film. One of the things I liked to do when shooting film was using a technique called "Double Exposure" or sometimes called multiple exposure.
Basically, this is when you expose the same frame of film more than once. To do this, you would set the camera up so that it does not advance the film after the first exposure. Most mid-level to advanced film SLR camera bodies had this function. Most were able to be set from about 2-9 exposures.

Mostly I liked to do this technique at night when shooting scenes with the moon.
If you ever tried shooting a scene at night with the moon, you will know that the moon blows out (over exposes) looking like a small white circle with no detail. Thats because the bright moon requires much shorter exposure time than would the rest of the scene you were shooting. If you were to expose for the moon, then you would have pretty much a dark and way too underexposed photo. Also, the moon would usually be very small as you are using a wider angle to capture the rest of the scene for the image.
Double exposing would allow me to get a larger moon that was properly exposed with some or all detail intact.

First, I would compose the scene in the viewfinder making sure the moon was not in the frame but leaving space in the composition to later expose the moon into. Exposing properly for this scene, I would focus and make the first exposure. Now, while the camera is standing by waiting for the next exposure I change lens to a longer focal length, zoom into the moon and place it in the frame where I left room for it in the previous shot. focus and expose. The moon records onto the film in the area I had left open for it, but the rest of the sky being dark records nothing over the previous scene. So, the result is a well focused and exposd moon in a well focused and exposed scene. Thats it. It does take a lot of tries and experimenting to achieve a good consistency with this technique but it is much fun a rewarding.

Sure, today I can just take another photo of the moon and then digitaly composite it into my photo later (which I have never done so far since shooting digitally) but it would just not be as exciting and does not give you the same sense of accomplishment as it did doing it with film.

So, here are a few examples of images I have shot using this technique.

Moon over Brooklyn Rooftop

Moon over marina 2

Moon over marina 1

Moon over marine Parkway bridge

Moon over steel

Moon over stone, Brooklyn Bridge

Moonlit stalks

Moon over Marsh

And no one was there

Canon 5D mk2 - my thoughts

2009-09-28T14:54:00.007-04:00

The Canon Rebel Xti was my first DSLR. Up until I made that plunge in 2007, I had been shooting with film and scanning the negatives into high resolution files to edit digitally. The Xti was and still is a pretty decent camera and I have many good images in my catalogues to testify to that. I eventually moved up to the 5D after seeking better iso and image quality as well as wanting a full frame sensor. The Canon 5D is an excellent camera and will surely go down as a classic in years to come. Even after its release a few years ago it is still considered one of the best around.

Shown above is the 5D mk2 with optional battery grip

The reason I purchased the newer 5D mk2 was to have a good back-up camera which will now be the 5D with the mk2 being the main.I now have it for a few months and am becoming more familiar and comfortable with it. I shoot dance performances at times which is mostly in low light conditions and so the improved high iso quality and slightly faster FPS of the mk2 will be a good advantage. The huge increase in resolution was welcome but more importantly the increased DR (Dynamic range) Overall, this is a camera with all around better image quality than its already great predecessor. I have not used the HD video capabilities with this camera, and honestly really have had little interest in that aspect of it at this point. The 5D mk2 is a lot more than just an improved version of the older model. It really is basically an entire new camera from the bottom up. Obviously the 21 mp sensor is different and much improved but we also have a new and more durable shutter, new and more powerful processor, new and improved battery and battery management, larger LCD screen, automatic sensor cleaning (which is something we missed on the original 5D) seemingly better build quality, and a host of new features in layout, function and control... Oh, and yes the HD video capability and live screen LCD. First, the IQ (image quality) is fantastic and noticeably improved over the already capable and fantastic original 5D. I was able to shoot a flower in hard sunlight (just for the heck of it) and was shocked to look at it later on the computer to see that nothing blew out and the sensor handled the tough contrasty condition. There was no out of gamut color blow out,(purple flower) highlights were intact as well as detail in shadow areas. I was impressed. I am afraid now though that I may be tempted more often to shoot in poor conditions. . .not a good practice. The resolution enables amazing detail within detail. Oddly enough though, capturing a sharp image seems to be more of a challenge. It is thought that perhaps because the resolution goes so deep, that it is more critical for focus to be dead locked in or details will appear a bit soft. So, do not expect to buy this camera and be amazed that everything is so sharp! Quite the opposite, you really have to think about your technique and make sure everything is right to ensure the potential of the resolution and IQ. You would also want to be using the best glass to squeeze all the IQ out of this box.

High iso quality is amazing. I tried 1600, 3200 and 6400 and while 6400 certainly has evident noise and lower IQ it is very usable and welcome to have there if needed. 1600, and 3200 is very impressive. It is expandable to 12,800 and 25,600 but I would suggest only using these for absolute necessity. There is a good deal of noise and image quality loss.

What I like very much about this mk2 is the fact that I do not have to look at the digital display on the top of the camera (which is now slightly larger than the previous model) to make adjustsments to ISO, WB, focus and drive, as well as other settings. I always found it difficult to see what WB icon I was setting in that little display and to make iso adjustments, etc. Especially in a dark room or theater it was so difficult to see even with the little backlight that is has. Now, everything can be viewed and set and adjusted from the large LCD display screen at back. Simply press your funtion button on the back and the display will pop up large and clear on the lcd. Then you can scroll through the various setting and make whatever adjustments you need, quick and easy.

settings displayed on rear lcd

This was something I missed when I went from my Rebel Xti to the 5D. Everything was easy to adjust from the lcd screen and now so it is again with the mk2. Also, the iso is now seen in the viewfinder as well and by simply pressing the iso button easily with the index finger I can make adjustments to iso while never looking away.

Here is another huge plus - I can now make all adjustments on my 580EXll speedlite from the menu on the cameras LCD. Even in a complete wireless setup, which is what I use at times. The digital display of the speedlite was sometimes a challenge to navigate through. Selecting funtions and making the setting changes could be quite a task especially in a darker room. So now having all the speedlite funtions shown on the large lcd in clear display with the ease of the dials and toggles of the camera, making setting changes is a breeze. This is great. I can even go into custom functions as well as being able to adjust the power of the slaves in a wireless set up. Everything can be done on the back of the camera. Perfect.

Speedlite function controls on rear lcd menu

This proved to be very handy and a pleasure when I was working with artist David Jon Kassan in his studio on an upcoming project of his. Have a look at his site, he is an amazing talent and great person as well.

Another thing to mention, due to the extremly high resolution, RAW file sizes are huge. Approx 25-30Mb depending on setting and conditions. It may be that we don't need such large files for a particular assignment/task but would still like to shoot RAW to have the full IQ potential there for post processing. Canon has made it possible to shoot in one of three different RAW settings. RAW, RAW1 and RAW2. RAW is full 21 MP, RAW1 is approx 10MP and RAW2 is approx 5MP. All yielding the same great IQ but just reduced resolution and file size. Very useful and a welcome feature. FPS (frame per second) has increased by almost one to now nearly 4fps which is nice, but also amazing considering the huge files this processor must work with at that speed. I was amazed to fire off 11-15 bursts at this speed in full resolution. There is an indicator in the viewfinder that tells you the available bursts to be had at any given moment. Once you have reached the limit, there is a few seconds pause during which no shots can be fired as the processor is busy writing the data to the card. You would absolutely want to use a memory card of very high read/write capabilities to handle the load the processor will be giving over to it. I have been using the Sandisk Exteme lll and lV cards with no problems.

There are a host of other little features that are mixed in now with the custom fuctions such as "highlight tone priority" which puts emphasis on the highlights and tries to avoid blowing them out during exposure, but at the same time you will have less detail in the shadow areas to work with. . ."Auto lighting optimizer" which aids in getting your subject exposed correctly, "peripheral illumination correction" which adjusts for the light fall-off at the edges of the frame especially with wider angle lenses. "Long exposure noise reduction" and "high ISO noise reduction". All these functions seem to work fine, but I prefer to do all my post processing later in LightRoom/Photoshop. Basically, thats what these features are, post processing. I have them off most all the time. "Long exposure noise reduction" I might switch on if using a long exposure on a tripod for a night scene, etc. Well, so far I love the mk2 and welcome all the little changes in layout and funtion that I missed with the 5D. There are some other neat little features packed in here such as having the camera automatically switch ISO for you according to conditions, etc if you set it. Too many other little things to get into, but all in all this is a fine piece of work especially considering the price.

Strengths:
Image quality, resolution, features and functions, HD video, live view screen, large LCD screen, battery and battery management system, heavy duty shutter mechanism, powerful and fast processor with 14 bit analog to digital conversion, price. . .

Weaknesses:
I still wish Canon would place a mirror lock function switch on the back or side of the camera so as not to have to scroll through custom functions menus to get to it.

Some things heard. . .

2009-09-24T13:14:00.002-04:00

While sitting in a public space, a woman leans down near my ear to my right side and says "We WILL be gettin together , you know that right?!" I turn to look at her trying to think of a reply and not wanting to look so obviously taken off guard when I notice she is picking something up near me and talking on a hands free set up. She looks at me while continuing on as if nothing happened. I guess in her mind nothing did. I was still recovering. . .

While driving along a city street in the car with my son Kyle, windows half rolled down on a nice afternoon we stop behind a car waiting at a light. Another car pulls up next to us on Kyles side and from the corner of my eye I see a woman lean out the window toward us and say "Now, do you think I can tie your shoes while I'm drivin" in a very sarcastic tone. I turn to her and roll the window all the way down. She is looking right at me as if she is waiting for a response. Kyle looks at me to see what I'm going to say. I then notice she is talking to a child in the back seat of her car, but she still is making eye contact with me! I was about to say, "Yes, I believe you can but I'm perfectly capable, thanks" when she turns completely around to look at the child. She then looks at us again and then turns forward. Kyle and I look at eachother like "Huh?" Kyle says "What happened, Dad?" I told him the woman was talking to her child in the back and that she might have been unaware that she was seemingly addressing us. Oblivious.

While walking along the street yesterday a couple of young girls, maybe 14 or 15 years old are walking right behind me and talking about boyfriends and this and that. One says" OOO here it is, I got a text"! "Let me see, let me see" says the other. "Oh man, its Dad." She reads the text to her friend, "I need the model number of the coffee maker as soon as possible. Get it, should be on the back." The friend laughs, and the girl who recieved the text says " Yeah, like thats gonna be on my top priority list today". Poor dad.

Oh, and I am constantly hearing from people that I look like Jon Stewart from The Daily Show. Never heard that before, but hear it often in the last year or so. I think it has to do with the gray hairs I'm getting. . .

The Hamerkop, a new addition to the series.

2009-09-17T10:17:00.002-04:00

Here is a latest addition to my bird series. It is a Hamerkop (Hammerhead) and found mainly in Africa. It gets its name from the shape of its head when its neck is extended. The tuft of feathers at the back of the head stick out straight like a beak. The long thin neck with the beak and tuft of feathers at the back give the birds head the shape of a hammer.I will be trying for another shot eventually with its head extended to show this attribute and hope to have it to add in the series.(easier said than done!)It was once thought to be a Heron or Stork but it is widely considered to be in a genus all its own.They are known for building massive nests, as much as 3 or 4 feet deep and just as wide. A pair of Hamerkops may build a dozen of them throughout an area, but might only use one and for only a short time. This is a blessing for other species however. Various other birds will eventually make home in a discarded Hamerkop nest, even some snakes and reptiles might find refuge in them. So here it is, the Hamerkop and hopefully I'll be able to capture some more.

Happy Family!

2009-09-10T14:27:00.003-04:00

From Blogger Pictures

Looking back through some older photos I came across this shot of a bunch of happy ducklings on a log with mom in the background. Somehow this shot makes me think of the importance of family and being together. I come from a rather small family. I had some cousins and uncles and aunts growing up although they are not around anymore. The one thing I always missed was having a brother or sister. I remember asking my parents at a real early age for a brother. God, I must have put them through hell with my requests especially on rainy days when there was no one out to play with. So much so that they eventually bought me a huge Gorilla (stuffed animal, Blue!) hoping it would susbtitute as a companion. What were they thinking. . .lol. I used to use it as a punching bag, it just had an expression that was asking for a good beating.

Some of my friends growing up had lots of brothers and sisters that they did not always get along with. They would fight like hell at times. I would hear "your so lucky to not have to deal with your asshole brother or sister". I still thought to differ. . .

This photo always warms my heart and I hope these ducks are still around today to share their good times and bad.

Then there is this Squirrel monkey who was looking out of his cage the way i would look out my window on a rainy day. . .lol.
(really just wanted to include this as I always liked this shot ;)

From Blogger Pictures

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

2009-09-05T14:31:00.003-04:00

From Blogger Pictures

Hopefully, after visits from relatives including the "flirtatious aunt" and the rest. . .

From Blogger Pictures

the kids playing and enjoying the last weekend before school for most. . .

From Blogger Pictures

Moms short tempered mood swings in dealing with preparations for getting the little ones ready for the new season. . .

From Blogger Pictures

You get your much deserved relaxing moment after enduring it all. . .

Have a great Labor Day weekend!

If looks could kill. . .

2009-08-25T15:51:00.004-04:00

. . .I would have been dead a long time ago. In all fairness, I would have killed quite a few as well before my demise. . .

It seems that no matter where I go or what I'm shooting I always come across the "dirty look" or the look that could kill. Some people become very suspicious and even defensive when they see me walking around with a camera, particularly one with a huge lens attached. Its as if they feel I'm about to steal their very soul or violate them in some way.

Perhaps it is all the stories about the wild antics of papparazzi going after celebrities? I could certainly understand why someone would dislike a photographer after some of the things these nuts do to get a shot.

Perhaps it is me. . .I've been told on occasion that I look mean, and cold at times. I think it comes from some childhood experiences that had me build an icy bubble around myself to keep people at distance. It works but I don't always want it there. Too late for that now. . . anyway I'm usually able to soften people up a bit once I talk to them. I guess they begin to realize that I'm not what I seemed. I know of lots of other photographers that go through this as well. Just something about a camera that sets some people on high alert.

But c'mon, do I have to go through this while taking my son Kyle to the zoo!

(good thing for the plexi-glass partition between us)

The little Red Shack

2009-08-15T12:57:00.004-04:00

This was a little red shack I discovered off Tucker Road in Trumansburg, New York. It was standing beside a barn that had collapsed and reminded me of a child that had lost its parents. Certainly a lot of character in this little one but I'm afraid its days are numbered.

.New York State, Fingerlakes region

2009-08-13T20:06:00.007-04:00

Haybales in the field early morning

In the morning mist

Tree stump and barn 1 (Seneca county)

Tree stump and barn 2 (Seneca county)

Barn on Seneca lake (Senca county)

Big barn on Rt 227 (Tompkins county)

Red barn in Groton (Tompkins county)

Barn on Windborne way (Tompkins county)

Old car and barn (Seneca county)

I have been away for a few days on a venture around the Fingerlakes region of New York. I stayed in Ithaca and mostly ventured around Seneca and Tompkins county. Tompkins county basically surrounds the bottom 1/3 portion of Cayuga lake while Seneca county covers much of the upper half of Seneca lake, both of which are the largest lakes in the region.
I love old barns and everything to do with country living, but unfortunately much of these things and agricultural structures are fading quickly with the times as their owners are finding them too costly to maintain especially if it is on a non working farm.
Governor Paterson has recently signed legislation that will enhance tax credits for historic preservation. I had learned that Tompkins county has been conducting a survey of barns and agricultural structures to help create a public inventory of the historic agricultural buildings that are a part of our rural history and disappearing from our landscape.
In addition to the survey they have included a barn photo contest and I thought it would be fun to enter since I love shooting these subjects and was there anyway.
The three from Tompkins county I have entered, but having only been there a few days I think my chances are slim against some of the locals who know the sweet spots and times. . .but I'm happy to be part of it nonetheless.
In particular, I had met the owner of "Red barn in Groton" and learned she intends to burn the structure down at the end of the year because it has become unstable and I assume would be too costly for her to repair. Maybe, it will be saved in the end thanks to the efforts underway to preserve these great landmarks of our countries history.

The old barn in flowery field

2009-08-02T02:17:00.003-04:00

Well, as you might have gathered form my last post I really had a thing for this old red barn in the town of Upper Jay. I have been going through some of the various takes and compositions and I'm really feeling good about this particular one. I think the last one from the last post and this one is what i'll be working with.
It was very overcast and had just rained when this shot was taken. The grass was so wet that I was soaked from the waist down after trudging through trying to obtain the right angles and distance.

A Trip to the Adirondacks

2009-07-27T03:31:00.003-04:00

Ausable Chasm with a small guided tour group at the bottom

Ausable chasm with people looking over the foot bridge

Ausable chasm

Within one of the caves at Natural Stonebridge and caves

Whiteface mountain

View from whiteface mountain

Whiteface mountain climbing trail

Quiet on Lake Champlain

Kyle on the ferry on Lake Champlain heading to Burlington, Vermont

Old leaning shack in town of Jay

Old leaning shack in Jay

Barn and mountains in the background, Adirondacks

Barn in a field, Adirondacks

Barn and mountains, Adirondacks.

And yet another . . .

Last week I took my son Kyle up to the Adirondacks for some great sights and adventures. Although his favorite part is the pool back at the hotel, he had a great trip time climbing and exploring the Ausable Chasm and the Natural stone bridge and caves.
We also hopped on the ferry at Port Kent and took it across Lake Champlain to Vermont where we walked around and explored some more. They have a pretty cool aquarium in Burlington and was worth the visit.
I had my fun stopping alongside the road whenever I spotted an old shack or barn.
I hope to get back up there again in a few weeks on my own specifically for photography.

Dance photography slideshow

2009-07-17T20:49:00.002-04:00

This is a sldeshow feed from my Flickr page which shows some of my latest dance photography. I find that shooting dancers and performers can be quite challenging, but at the same time quite enjoyable and rewarding. Getting the knack of nailing correct exposure and focus is something that takes time. I shoot in manual mode and also find myself manually focusing for best results.

New York water towers 15

2009-07-16T02:24:00.003-04:00

So this is the 15th in the series. It is also one of my favorites yet as it incorporates everything that I love about the city, and the water towers that stand out againt the sky. There is grit, high contrast, shadows, subtle color, lots of windows with air conditioners hanging out of them, and sex. (I love some of these things more than others . . .)
These were found near Lafayette and Jersey street in lower Manhattan.

The print is available here.

New York water towers 14

2009-07-14T14:20:00.003-04:00

This is the latest addition to my series. this one is located near "Little Italy" by Mott street in Manhattan.

The print is available here.

Coney Island Boardwalk

2009-07-10T10:35:00.002-04:00

Part of the amusement park as seen from the boardwalk

The boardwalk at W10th street

A section of old boarded up building, still colorful and attractive in a way.

"Gory & Pauls" which should be "Gregory, I think. . .hope

A banner for the "Giantess" attraction where it appears that she might just be taller than a Giraffe. . .in her heels anyway ;) I had to place these up high in the frame to avoid the sun which was in front of me.

The snake girl and "She's Alive" on the right. The woman is holding her own head. . .

Here is the "Wonder Wheel" on a slow Thursday. There were actually people riding and the wheel is much larger than appears in this photo.

Shoot the live human with paintballs in an empty lot. There is an announcer that trash talks people here as they walk by trying to entice you to let off your steam by shooting this poor chap with paint balls.

Cha cha's wild women and wise guys bar.

Here is a place that sells "fresh smooties" lol

We saw the Macho man and his ladies. . .

We saw the girl on the sign offering hamburgers and Beer. . .The Brooklyn Lager that she is offering up is one of the best beers around, anywhere.

And then we saw too much. . .;)

Coney Island amusement park and boardwalk is very busy and full of excitement on the weekends. It is so run down though, but to many, that is part of its appeal.
We were visiting the New York Aquarium which is right next to the park and so after the aquarium we decided to stroll around the boardwalk. Kyle is not comfortable with being around amusement parks and loud sounds, excitement, etc and so for his sake we moved on quickly. He does love the aquarium, as do I.

The View from Within

2009-07-06T13:15:00.005-04:00

These are a few works from the collection

Barn doors

Father and Son

Open Book

Boy

Under the Moon (Christmas day)

The Visitor

Below Deck (The Charles Morgan)

Girl and tree

Fishermans shack

Once upon a time

Drain pipe, self portrait

The "View from Within" is a series I have been working on since I had seriously started shooting in 2004. It is a collection of photographs which views the world from a psychologically dark and isolated perspective. For me, the sense of being hidden and unknown while being able to observe and look out into the world brings a certain feeling of solace and inner peace. Perhaps a reprieve from the daily struggle and hardships around us. . .
It is a series that continues to develop and evolve.

Stay thirsty, my friends.

2009-07-04T15:07:00.005-04:00

One of my favorite commercials, but I just don't see them on much.

Enjoy!

Looking for a laundry detergent :0

2009-07-02T22:55:00.008-04:00

So its getting time to tackle the huge bags of laundry that have been filling up and were pretending not to notice. Its hard to pretend when we are literally running out of clean clothes to wear, so we decided we would get to it tomorrow morning and get it all done. Clothes, sheets, pillow cases, cushion covers . . . everything. We have lots of fabric softener after I went to BJ's wholesale outlet a few weeks ago and thinking I was getting a 55 gallon drum of detergent, came home to have Nina tell me I bought a whole lot of fabric softener. She's not crazy about fabric softener either. . . So, we went to the local store here to buy a few other things mostly food items and decided to just get what we need tomorrow to get the huge loads done. We headed up the isle where the soaps and detergent were stocked. I thought this would be easy but nooooooo. There are so many different brands to choose from and each have their own claim to being the best. As we were looking at all the choices we started scratching our heads because we realized we were in over our heads here.

First we saw the brand that claimed its formula would keep laundry fresh, longer. Its actually called the "Keep it fresh- formula" well, we certainly don't want to do laundry all the time and so a detergent that can keep it clean and fresh longer is a big plus, I felt.

Then we saw the other leading brand that helped to reveal the "7 Signs of Beautiful clothes"! Jeez, I had no idea about these 7 signs and I suddenly realized I was walking around my entire life with my clothes most likely only holding up to 2 or 3 of these signs. How embarassing. Well, that would have to be the right choice, I mean 7 signs. Who could beat that and I certainly think they know what they are talking about.

Then there was "Power your Wash", and "Harnessing the power of nature", and " High Efficiency" Wow!

We looked through some more brands realizing how little we knew about buying the right laundry detergent.
We came upon "Loads of Hope". For every purchase of this detergent, they will donate some of the proceeds to a charity. Oh no, now we were starting to feel guilty about not buying this one. How can anyone with any good morals and concern for all that is good not buy a laundry detergent that will donate some of its profit to charity. But what if it doesn't work very well. . .who cares damn it, its ok to walk around with only 1 or 2 of the 7 signs as long as we know we have helped others and will wear our dirty clothes like a badge of honor! Hmmm, but we can just donate to a charity of our own choice later and buy a good detergent now . Yes, so we continued.
"Here it is", I exclaimed. "Stronger than Dirt" it claimed. Nina, this is what we need. I mean, imagine stuffing all our clothes into a huge machine and pour in a detergent that is weaker than dirt. We don't stand a chance. We will be there for a couple of hours waiting for the cycles to finish only to find that the dirt has won! No way, man. Above all and everything else, the detergent MUST be stronger than dirt. It has to be, to get the stuff clean, no? I insisted that we get the brand whose detergent was stronger than dirt. That has to be the right way to go.

So, we will be off to battle dirt tomorrow and were sure we made the right choice. . .I mean c'mon, it was a No-Brainer ;)

I'm talkin' toilets here . .

2009-06-30T13:37:00.005-04:00

I was asked by a customer who was interested in purchasing my "the old thinking room" if I had more photographs of toilets and old bathrooms etc. She was looking to frame three prints of old toilets to hang in her bathroom wall. (pretty cool idea) She loved the one I had but was having a hard time finding two others she liked to go with it. "Do you have any others you have not shown yet, or perhaps are you inspired?" she wrote me. Well, the fact of it was that I had been meaning to do more of that subject and well, with her need of a couple more prints I felt inspired enough to get out and get to it. I asked if she might wait a week or two and I will try to come up with a few more for her to see. She was pleased and I was in search of some old toilets. . .
Here are a few that I took at an old military base here in Brooklyn.
Now, there is a bit of a story behind these. One of the buildings I had ventured into was an old police precint complete witha long hall and lots of rooms. Very dark and spooky. To start things off, I had a Raccoon scare the wits out of me as it ran across the hall and out a cracked window. So there I am getting my nerves back together and setting up my shots. Must have been in there for nearly an hour when I hear a truck pull up outside, talking, chatter on handheld radios and persons walking into the slightly cracked open door. This would have to be the police. Damn, I should have closed that door behind me all the way, but I didn't because I needed some light to see my way inside. (forgot to bring flashlight) "Yeah, it's opened, gonna have a look" I hear one of them say. Now I hear another truck door slam shut and more footsteps and chatter. I'm packing up my stuff as fast as I can and thinking about my next course of action. Do I hide? Hmm, maybe but worst case scenario one of them sees me, gets startled and shoots me dead. Not a good idea. I'm thinking I should face the situation head on and make my presence known because after all the door was not locked and there were no "No Trespassing" or "Keep out" signs up on this spot. Plus, with my camera and gear its quite obvious I'm just a photographer perhaps going a bit too far for a shot. So, after several more endless minutes I gether the nerve. "Hello, is someone there?" I yell. Now I hear footsteps running out the door and someone say "Holy shit, someones in there!" OK, so now they are outside and know someone is inside. More doors slamming and more radio chatter. I am now imagining a swat team setting up outside waiting to storm the place. . . I'm wondering whether this was a good idea after all. I had better start getting to the door and showing smyself before this tension and situation gets out of hand. So, camera gear bag on my back and very large tripod in my arm I head to the door and open it rather slowly trying to look un armed and non-threatening. After opening the door all the way and stepping out I see a Parks Department truck and two park maintenance guys by the truck looking horrified. "Hey, I'm just a photographer taking some pics of old buiildings and toilets" I say. " Holy crap! My buddy here needs some new underwear. You scared the shit outta him, man" one of them says. I'm quite relieved at this point and say sorry but the feeling was mutual.
They asked me if I was sure I didn't kill no one in there and I said yep, pretty sure. These two were pretty cool and after showing them my ID and some of my images on the cameras screen they were convinced and relieved themselves. They were actually about to bolt the door up and so its a good thing I did come out when I did or I'd have been locked inside.
They told me of a building in the grounds where I could possibly get a permit and access to more of the old buildings and so I think I will try that next time :)
As it turns out, my customer loved and ordered the last two photos here to go along with "the old thinking room"

Cloudscapes

2009-06-30T09:55:00.004-04:00

The last several days here in Brooklyn we have had some pretty dramtic skies and cloud formations. Exactly the type of conditions I like when going out shooting especially landscapes and such.

The other night we were watching "Two Brothers" on DVD with my son Kyle. Great family movie btw about two Tiger cubs and their adventures as they grow up. Great action and a tear jerker at times. . .

While we were watching, there was a thunderstorm developing outside. It was pretty dramatic but passed quickly. In its wake was some of the most wonderful skies and lighting I had seen in a while, and so even though the movie was good I kept looking outside the window and enjoying the incredible illuminations. Finally, I could not contain myself and just had to run up and down the street with my camera. There was not much of a landscape by me to go with the skies but I decided the skies and clouds alone were enough of a subject to stand as they were. So here are a few

A walk on the Manhattan Bridge

2009-06-29T14:32:00.005-04:00

Every once in a while I like to walk along the Manhattan Bridge. What I like most is the views of the gritty rooftops of the old buildings in Chinatown, on the Manhattan side. Most find it repulsive, and I certainly understand but I always liked grit and grime and all things old, worn and decaying. Hmmm, wonder what Frasier Crane might say about that. . . ;)

Here are a few images from the bridge looking at some of the close-ups of certain things. There is a tremendous amount of grafitti, most likely because these rooftops are readily viewable from the brooklyn bound trains and taggers love a captive audience. The Brooklyn bridge can be seen in the distance in the second photo from the top.

Water Towers

2009-06-27T23:18:00.003-04:00

As some of my followers may already know, I have been working on a series of photographs of Water Towers in the New York area. This series actually began in 2004 in my film shooting days and has been ongoing ever since. Whenever I happen to see one of these gems perched up proud on a rooftop, I write down its location and try to get there at a time of day when the lighting and sky will add to its charm.
Here are two that I came upon while venturing through Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

N.Y water tower 13

N.Y. water tower 12

Keep this place Clean!

2009-06-26T14:43:00.006-04:00

These are a few photos that I took while venturing through an abandoned building in Brooklyn, New York. The neighborhood was Sunset Park. The last shot is from down in the lower level looking up through a hole in the floor above. I'll surely be back there as there were many others I wanted to get but the lighting was not ideal. Must go on an overcast day.
I'm hosting larger photos here via my flickr page but it seems flickr reduces some of the sharpness from the original upload. Oh well, at least they are a bit larger for viewing.

The Doll Exhibit

2009-06-24T12:36:00.006-04:00

Thanks to Karens post at Brayton Homestead Interiors titled "Gentle Mystery" I was reminded of the incredible collection of Dolls that was on display at Space Farms in Sussex New Jersey. Space Farms is mainly an exotic animal farm but does have a museum as well that is full of antiques and various collections of interesting and nostalgic things from our past.Here are some of the photos I took of their huge collection of dolls. What intrigues me is the character in each of these, some beautiful and elegant and some mysterious and even scary. There was one that was displayed as though it had been murdered, very odd and I'm sure it was not set up that way intentionally, but perhaps overnight while the farm is closed strange things and mysteries begin . . .as in the last photo.

Is Pops for Real!?!

2009-06-12T17:02:00.006-04:00

The reason I'm even posting this is because it happened twice in one month and I felt once in a lifetime was too many.
We all have heard the many ringtones that people download to their cell phones and use because either think that the sound/song is cool or funny or whatever but it is really about being unique and/or showing others around you what your all about, somewhat. I have heard practically every song used (heck, I even had Led Zeppelins "Heart Breaker" for a while) many different sound effects and even voices of people yelling "Pick up the damn phone" I guess while your browsing through all the possible ringtones some of these could seem funny or cool at the time, but when it actually rings when your in public it does not seem so cool anymore especially to those around you who really couldn't give a Rats Ass about you anyway.
Well, twice in one month, while riding the bus I heard a baby laughing ringtone. Sounded somewhat cute, I mean who could argue that a baby laughing is not cute. The thing is, the two times I heard this ringtone it was on the cell phone of a man at least in his 70's. . .
The first time was a heavy set black man sort of reminded me a Louis Armstrong. We were sitting on a bus and all of a sudden we heard this loud and whacky baby laughter. As we are looking around to see where it was coming from and we were practically laughing already before this man pulls a phone out of his sports jacket. The sight of this huge old man sitting there with a phone that is laughing a giggling like a baby as he is trying to figure out how to answer it was enough to get the rest of the bus to look at eachother in disbelief and break out laughing.
The other time was also on a bus but this was a little old white man with a cane. He looked like a Jewish man in his upper 70's and I was surprised to learn that he even had a cell phone, but to hear a baby laughing in his coat and see him fumbling to answer it, I started to wonder if this was becoming a trend or a reach or longing of the elderly to be young again and hope that I'm not destined to the giggling baby phone :0 Perhaps this is a light hearted prank by these gentlemens grandchildren or something?
I have since got rid of my Zeppelin ringtone and now have a very simple yet pleasing chime. I'm now very conscious of myself and any signs of a desire to have a baby giggling ringtone. . .please, not me.

Autumn within Cunningham Tower

2009-06-11T21:08:00.004-04:00

Here is a view from within the ruins of Cunningham Tower located in a state park in Litchfiled, Connecticut. This tower as I was told by a local that was taking his daily stroll through the forest

was used as a look-out tower and had burned down many years ago. Its design is very medieval-era in its stone walls and spiral steps ascending the inner walls. Most of the sides and all of the roof are gone and so there is much lighting coming down inside illuminating the interior for this photo. What remains of the seps are evident in the upper portion of the image above the window. The interior of this stone wall ruin is mostly gray and black and set off the fall colors as seen through the opening. This photograph was exhibited as a 20x28" print last year at Gallery 364 in Brooklyn and took Best in Show. It sold as well.

Rear Window

2009-06-11T16:48:00.006-04:00

Having come from the great blog of Lianne, at my kitchen table and reading her two part post about seeing a man suspiciously dump a bag in a back alley dumpster I was reminded of the movie "Rear Window" by Alfred Hitchcock. That in turn reminded of my photo titled "Rear Window" which was captured looking off the Manhattan bridge near nightfall. The view is of the rear of an old building in Chinatown. Inside we can see an occupant and perhaps make out a few other things such as the large butcher knife on the table in front of the window.
This photograph is a part of a window series that I had and still will be working on. I find that there is something intrguing about the window dressings, colors, contents of the dwelling that can be seen from the outside and condition of the window and its surroundings. It causes me to wonder about the persons living inside and what I can tell about them from the window. I try not to shoot windows that are open and where the occupants are visible as that sometimes ruins the mystery as well as bordering on invasion of privacy, etc. but in this case I was intrigued by the occupant and the contents of the home and overall condition of the building. It was deliberate on my part that the person could not be identified by this image. More of my window series can be viewed on my website on the "gallery" link.

Click on the image for a larger version to better make out the details.

Sailing in New York Harbor

2009-06-11T13:38:00.004-04:00

This photograph was taken from the Redhook, Brooklyn waterfront. I love the ominous looking cloud cover over the lone sailboat with the cranes and touches of industrial menace lurking on the shores in the distance. It is one of my all-time favorites of mine and possibly so because it is one of those images that just print very nicely.
Some dodging and burning was done and also initially a conversion to grayscale with some sepia tones brought back in for the aged look, that I feel works well with this scene.

Iki is a year old

2009-06-11T12:52:00.005-04:00

Well, Iki made it to his 1st birthday and is now officially one year old. Some early photos and info about Iki's plight can be found here.

He really is like a dog. He always runs to the door when were coming home or leaving, he lays around us in bed, always licking our face or hands or legs and loves to play endlessly.

His mother still roams around in the backyard and on occasion I would bring Iki out on the porch and they would see eachother. The mother would just stop in her tracks and look at him and I always wonder if somehow she knows that it was the one of her litter that she removed.

Ironically, the one she removed might be the only survivor from the bunch although I think one of the others might have been given a home.

Slacker Personal Radio

2009-06-11T02:43:00.005-04:00

I'm lovin slacker Radio! If you have not heard of or listened to Slacker Radio, you have to check it out. It offers a huge selection of customizable radio stations with great sound quality. What I'm really lovin is the mobile apps that they offer for the Blackberry and iphones. These free apps let you have whatever radio stations you like on your phone including comedy as well as most every music genre you can think of. The best thing is that on my blackberry phone I can actually download radio stations and cache them which means that I can listen to any radio station even if I'm not in an area where a signal can be had, such as the subway. Its great to listen to radio stations sometimes instead of downloaded music because you can listen to songs you have never heard before and discover great new talents that are emerging. Details about the artist can be viewed as well as all the lyrics and album cover.
Give it a go, its free. Its so good though that I think I'll be dishing out the mere 3.99 a month for total access to this great station and portable music.

Church Property

2009-06-08T13:41:00.007-04:00

Keep Off!

Fire escape violaters will be prosecuted.

This was a scene taken in Harlem, New York a few years back when I was shooting film. The street was illuminated by a street lamp off to the side and behind me, and it was actually raining a bit as well. This was about 2 in the morning. I loved the way the light was hitting this and although this could have been taken during the day, the light playing on this is just as important to me as the subject itself. Harlem is wonderful for its old buildings and churches, truly a grit town.

Inside the Windmill

2009-06-06T22:48:00.002-04:00

This photo was taken a little while back, but it is one that keeps haunting me and I continue to come back to it over again. It is a view from inside the Pantigo Windmill in East Hampton, Long Island. It is one of three still standing in East Hamptons and represents the best machinary and craftsmanship that the community could afford at the time.
I just loved the wood tones and the leak of light coming in through the crack in the door.
The smell of the old wood and the creaking of the various mechanisms and parts really added to the experience of being in this great piece of American History.

The old thinking room

2009-06-06T10:13:00.004-04:00

This is a shot I took a little while back in an old abandoned military building. I believe that good lighting is so important and can bring appeal to most any subject. Our eyes love to see shadows, contrasts, depth, and a range of tones and highlights/shadows. Good lighting is eye-candy. I like the debris and dilapidated look of this scene in itself, but the natural lighting coming in from the side and from the frosted glass windows in the back wall created a wonderful dynamic. I had given this a sepia-like tinting but left the wonderful yet subtle colors coming through the back windows intact. I actually have this print hanging in my livingroom as a 20x28" print framed behind museum glare-free glass. My son Kyle tells his mom that "Dad has a toilet hanging on the wall" hehehe He says he likes it too :)
This print is available in my Etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16411884

Is that Photoshopped!?

2009-06-04T18:45:00.005-04:00

"Is that Photoshopped?"

is a question that makes me cringe sometimes whenever I hear it. It means different things to different people. The term "photoshopped" has aquired a negative connotation over the years as photographers and graphic artists use it to manipulate images, not always with good intentions. I hear the question ocassionally while meeting people at my exhibits or sometimes via an email correspondance from someone who has seen my photos on the web. It usually comes from amateur photogs or enthusiasts, professional photogs who have refused to move away from film and embrace digital, or someone who was told by someone they know that " the computer can make a photograph in photoshop and its not real". Every photographer be they professional or amateur that shoots with a digital camera uses some sort of photo editing software to edit their photos, whether it be just to crop or to resize an image for web display. "Photoshopped" does not have to be in Adobe Photoshop either but any of the many editing software that is available out there, some of them for free such as Google's Picassa. I find that usually the question means the person asking it does not believe that the photo could have looked that way straight out of the camera. They are right, usually it could not. The question I ask is, why would anyone want to show their image the way it looks straight from the camera? ( aside from photo journalists, etc where documenting the facts require no editing at all) There is no badge of honor to wear for showing an untouched image that looks the way that Canons or Nikons engineers decided should be the starting point. If one is shooting in RAW format, you certainly need to sharpen, adjust contrast, possibly tweak color correction/white balance and maybe crop. If your shooting jpegs, some of this stuff like color correction, sharpness and contrast is already done for you in-camera. So, it is already "photoshopped" before it leaves the memory card. Granted, this is not the degree of photoshopping that people mean when they ask the question, but that is the point. Everything shot digitally is photoshopped at some point. So, of course my answer would be yes, but. . .just a little. That sounds defensive which is a position I feel I need not have to be in. Further, even if a photographer does manipulate his/her images heavily. . .so what. I think the final product is what we need to consider, not the path there. Aside from common belief, not anyone with a camera and photoshop can just click a button and come up with a good photograph. Like any tools that become available to artists from the ever expanding progress of technology, one must know what they are doing and have a vision. In the days of shooting film, most pro and serious photogs would spend countless hours in the darkroom. . .manipulating the negative. I wonder if Ansel Adams ever heard the question " yeah, but is that darkroomed"? Yeah, plenty kid. A fine quote from Ansel that I like very much goes something like "No man has the right to dictate what other men should perceive, create or produce, but all should be encouraged to reveal themselves, their perceptions and emotions, and to build confidence in the creative spirit". Personally, most of my works are only dodged and burned with some adjustments to color correction and cropping. There are times when I go further such as building a frame around the image and give it the aesthetic of an old film or viewing through the viewfinder as its called. I will remove things in the photo that I might find distracting such as a branch or odd object not desired in the scene. I might also add a softer focus to areas that I want faded away or to appear misty, etc. I don't like to manipulate heavily, but will not shy from it if it will achieve a desired effect or vision I have.

Here is my photo of "magpie shrike" both the original and the edited version. This is one of the more heavily manipulated images of mine, but I had no reservations and make no apologies for doing so. As a matter of fact, as I'm shooting a subject I may already know what is going to come from me in post processing. If the bird is just no going to take my 20 bucks and sit in the spot I asked him to, then I know I will be removing distracting elements later on and possibly dodging a bit more light on its face. The subject still needs to be in a good spot as far as lighting goes and so forth because there really is only so much that can be done in editing later. So, mostly this is a waiting game. I do find that if I stay long enough on a day when not many visitors are around the bird will be comfortable enough to come sit where I need it to.

Most of my work is now done in LightRoom, which is geared towards photographers and offers much less editing power than photoshop. It allows me to process a large number of images such as when I shoot a dance performance and need to organize and process several hundred files. So when someone now asks if this was photoshopped I can easily say " no, just a bit of LightRoom" :)

accordian player in Union Square.jpg

2009-06-01T12:01:00.004-04:00

An accordion player in Union Square Park, New York. He is wearing a rather strange helmet but played pretty well nonetheless. Sorry for the lousy photo, but this was a hit and run with the cell phone camera as I was coming back with photo supplies from Adorama.

Woody Allen and Larry David

2009-05-31T13:39:00.003-04:00

A couple of my favorite writers/comedians teamed up for the latest offering by Woody Allen. Looks like Larry David is basically playing Woody Allen, but that could work for me although i miss seeing Woody on film. I'm looking forward to seeing this. . .

Portrait of a Brooklyn Bygone

2009-05-23T00:40:00.013-04:00

I headed out towards Williamsburg and Greenpoint Brooklyn this afternoon and decided to have a go at this old remnant still standing with the New York City skyline in the background. This building was on the Greenpoint waterfront off West street and Oak. Greenpoint is such a cool and gritty town. . . The lighting and sky/clouds were working well for a good shot at it and this is what I have come up with as my finished result. I'll have to come back and give it another look with fresh eyes tomorrow, but I think i'm pleased with the overall feel and aesthetic I was going after.

**Update 6/10/09*

I have found that this is what is left remaining of the Greenpoint Terminal Market which burned down in 2006 and was the biggest fire (excluding 9/11) in the past decade.

BWAC "The Color of Hope" going strong!

2009-05-21T20:46:00.003-04:00

I've been very excited about this show. It looks fantastic and is going great. We have some truly magnificent pieces of art throughout this 25,000 sq. foot gallery and the hanging and arrangement is spectacular.
We are going into the third of 5 weekends and I have been a busy bee trying to replace the works of mine that have been selling. Oy, such problems. . . .
We have been given quite a warm and well written review by Philip Clark. Please have a look as his blog is quite well written with very descriptive and insightful writings of his thoughts and opinions on various artists and exhibits. It will be well worth your time.

Woody Allen vs American Apparel clothing

2009-05-18T12:38:00.006-04:00

A big thumbs up for Woody!

Woody Allen won a settlement in a lawsuit he filed against American Apparel Clothing company in which the company used an image of him taken from his movie "Annie Hall" (great movie) to help promote their clothing line. The ad had used the image of Woody depicted like a Hasidic Jew with Yiddish text meaning "the holy rebbe"
I had heard about this case and hoped the outcome would turn out as it did. The ad basically made it appear as if Woody were endorsing the company clothing line.
Whats outrageous is that the company was going to have his long time companion Mia Farrow and current wife Soon-Yi Previn to stand in court to show that Woodys image has already been tarnished by himself and that basically they should not bare any brunt for further tarnishing his image. People are crazy. . .
What anyone does to themselves or their own reputation is one of a personal matter and does not give anyone any right to do to another as they wish.
The full article from the AP can be read here http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2009-05-18-woody-allen_N.htm?csp=JNZ_Life&RM_Exclude=Juno

A, I had to move away from my last post. . . it was lingering too long :) No explosions during todays breakfast!

Great breakfast, unpleasant moment.

2009-05-11T14:03:00.006-04:00

I just finished making a breakfast of eggs over easy, turkey kielbasa sausages, buttered bagels and coffee for my girlfriend Nina and I. She was busy with things and put her plate aside for a while later.
I had just about finished eating at the table when all of a sudden a sneeze came on me so fast( the pepper I put on the eggs went right up my nose) I had no time to do anything but literally explode. Eggs, sausage and bagel shrapnel was all over my face, shirt, table and cat who screeched and flew out of the room with his fur on end looking three times his usual size.
Nina came running in to see what happened and broke out laughing as she grabbed some paper towels for me.
This was just the kind a thing you pray does not happen to you if your out sitting for breakfast with clients or even friends.
Poor cat was traumatized. I had to fetch him up and reassure him everything was alright . . .