Going to NYC

(Me on the left, KMR on the right. )

So I had the opportunity to visit my good friend Kevin Reed this June and stick around his studio for a short week. It was also a chance to see the city, find out how things work there, and shoot a few models and stuff.

Now there are a few things that come to mind when I think about that trip: Angus Burgers at Mcd's, $15 drinks at the club, bars open until 4 or 5am, and Cokes costing way more than they do here! That, and it's amazing to shoot some of the talent out there, and amazing to do it at midnight to 3am!

It was also fun to stay where I did, which was this totally sweet out of a bad movie cheap hotel just a few blocks from his studio.


I was lucky in that he had some mats at the studio for some reason, and since both of us are cheap sometimes I slept on the floor - which was anything but flat - and we kept the tv and lights on because he was scared of bugs, I didn't care.

Now you may think that this would be gross, and that the bugs, and stuff - but here we are in the center of the city, blocks away from Times Square, and we're living straight out of some movie, gritty, dirty, and just hanging around, it was awesome!

Times Square was also totally sweet, and not because it was cool to see the lights really - but because it's a real place, in a real city, and not just something out of a tv show or movie!

And here is Kevin getting a hotdog!



So I was pretty much stuck around the area, not that I couldn't go out and do things, and I had time too, but it's hard to get out when we're doing shoots until 3am, out at the bar until 4:30-5am, and sleeping until noon or 1. Once up it was a matter of finding models, working on pictures, and bumming around.

I did manage to get out to Bryant Park my final day, which was awesome - although I have to admit the subways were more of a way for me to find myself than here, but it's still pretty sweet!


One thing that was different is that this city is always dirty, noisy, and busy. It really doesn't sleep, and there really is a sense of energy around that could keep a person up for a while - something is always going on!



The shoots were fun as well, and getting to work with talent in another city is also great!





I can't wait to get back over there, shoot more, and hopefully to do fashion week sometime!

=)


*All shots that look like film were taken with my Yashica T4, digital shots of the models with either my D2x, or Kevins Phase 1 P30+ back on a Mamiya setup.

Trust your gut and bring your camera!

So on 03/08/2009 - yesterday as far as this blog date - I had one of those moments where my gut told me I need to go somewhere and I need to bring my camera. As per my usual self I had no idea what was going on concert wise in the city, and no idea that Wynton Marsalis was in town for a few concert dates.

The only thing I did know was that I was semi bored, and my gut told me to head down to the Dakota jazz club, and have a beer while watching their usual late night jazz on Fridays and Saturdays.

What turned out to happen was that Mr Marsalis got done with a concert across the street and subsequently came over to play a set for us at the Dakota... Now again, me being me only knew who he was when I looked up, saw a great trumpet player on stage, and then heard murmers of who it was.

Anyway, the night was a blast, I got a few images of it with my Nikon FG, and they turned out pretty cool. I was polite, didn't try and get close, and didn't try and shoot more than a few pictures. People weren't there to see me up front with my camera, and I wasn't there to do that - I was there to enjoy the music, have a few drinks, and (after Wynton came over) see something really special, in a very small venue.

When a model asks if you have any fans...

So I was doing a shoot with a few friends, and she wondered if we had any fans in the studio - something about blowing her hair around. Now don't get me wrong, I like this idea, but you really do need large fans that move a large volume of air around, not just any household one will work that well.

Since we're cheap at the studio sometime, we just have 4 or 5 regular fans, and it literally took all of them to get this shot. One or two were aimed at the side, to get the hair started, and then the others were used to push the hair up from the back. This along with 35 or 40 pictures (you wonder why she looks ticked?) and merging 4 together got the shot you see.

I guess the light could have been more dynamic in hindsight, however we were really having a hard time getting the hair to do what we wanted, and I was worried that anything harder would hinder getting her hair to move like we wanted and or limit when we could shoot.

But again, you never know what's going to happen if a model brings up something, and most of the time it's worth a try!