June 17th, 2010

This is Mia . . . one of Peyton's friends from Day Care. As you can tell, the camera just loves her . . . she's an adorable little girl and my computer is full of pictures of her and Peyton and all her other little friends playing, learning and growing up!

This is the kind of photography I love . . . the ones that make memories. To be clear, I've hung out of the back of moving cars to shoot. Stood on cliffs no wider than my shoe size to get the shot . . . but in all of that, I find myself really enjoying recording the lives and events of my daughter and her friends the most . . . could be that Father's Day is just around the corner and has me feeling all sentimental and all . . . =]

June 16th, 2010

Meet Mr. Mike, director of my daughter's Day Care. Mike is exactly the sort of guy you can feel comfortable supervising your children . . . he's a big bear of a guy and while you'd think that'd make the kids feel quite intimidated, it has just the opposite effect . . . They love him!

Mike and the wonderful staff of the school presided over another graduation ceremony today . . . Peyton had graduated last year, but as I've known many of these kids since they were babies, I was happy to photograph the event. Despite the fact that Peyton wasn't in the ceremony, I still found myself getting a little choked up . . . a preview, I am sure, for Friday, when Peyton graduates Kindergarten!

June 15th, 2010

Meet Michael, my first senior portrait model . . . I really enjoy shooting senior portraits. Unlike shooting weddings or other high-stress events, shooting seniors is fun and you can get a lot more experimental with seniors cause they are more willing to try new things during a shoot.

One of the important things to do during a senior portrait session is to somehow incorporate what defined their high school career. Along with being a gifted musical performer during his high school years, Michael also had tremendous talent on the football field. I really enjoy this shot as he looks reflective and relaxed. 

June 12th, 2010

Meet Nina . . . I've worked and photographed  Nina and the LTDchix (www.ltdchix.com) for a number of years now and their entrepreneurial spirit knows no bounds. Their Living the Dream Tee-shirts have appeared on ABC News and Jon and Kate + Eight! And now, Nina is going for the gold with an audition for her very own talk show!

Oprah and reality TV super producer Mark Burnett (Survivor & The Apprentice) are joining forces in search of the next big TV star. You can find Nina's audition video here and be sure to give her your vote. 

June 11th, 2010

This guy was rocking the sax for Marcia Ball - a well known blues signer headlining the Crawfish Festival. I used to play sax in high school and this guy just looked like he was working it real hard! Look at the veins bulging in his forehead . . . I get like that sometimes, but only when I am mad . . . you wouldn't like me when I'm mad. (Incredible Hulk reference, anyone?)

Last of my shots from the Crawfish Festival . . . looking forward to the weekend. I have a small show to do where I'll be set up to sell books and prints, but more importantly, I'll be there to photograph the people. Should be a great weekend!

June 10th, 2010

Summer Rae McLaughlan is a 15-year-old, singer-songwriter. Her musical stylings range from pop, folk sound to country. She has been writing songs and playing the guitar since the age of 9 and she finds it liberating, expressive, and a fun way to be creative. Summer loves everything about music and she hopes that her audience can develop a passion for it as well when she performs.

Peyton adored her and I could tell that she instantly connected with the singer on some level . . . to be that young again and find that trust in a total stranger. 

June 9th, 2010

Meet Ron Albanese, or as he is better known - Polka Dot - the King of Kidde Rock and Roll. We stumbled across Ron at the Crawfish Festival. He'a a school teacher by day and a musician on nights and weekends. His enthusiasm for entertaining children is infectious and had Peyton dancing for an hour!

What was really funny - during his act, he asked all the parents to visit his table and pick up a small card with a web site address on it. The site features a place where you can vote for Polka Dot and have him open for a world famous band - the band? KISS . . . it just seemed a very odd mix, but what the heck, I voted! You can vote too! 

June 8th, 2010

Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.  

  
    ~  Victor Hugo

Music is a huge part of what I do . . . only very little is there no music to accompany my work in the office/studio. Even when I am teaching, I like to add a bit of soft jazz or a particular soundtrack to the curriculum. It's an integral part of my creative process and something I love to shoot.

The rest of this week's images will feature some performers captured at this past weekend's Crawfish Festival. This is the trumpet player for the Iguanas. Their fusion of Jazz and Reggae was amazing a fun to listen to. They reminded me of The Police and Chicago in the very same song!

June 7th, 2010

This week's blog entries will feature shots I took a the 21st Annual Crawfish Festival held at the Sussex County Fair Grounds. There were a ton of things to shoot while in attendance, but my goal for this trip was to photograph the many bands performing during the festival - that said, today's image is of one of the actual crawfish crew . . .

I wasn't able to catch this gentleman's names as he was in a constant state of movement - you see, he was in charge of the huge pots boiling up the crawfish . . . He'd be at one end, filling up the giant steamer . . . then at the other, emptying out a similar pot. His face was beat red, but you could just tell, he was enjoying the heck out of the day!

June 4th, 2010

Given the choice between soft portraits and hard, gritty, edgy portraits . . . I'd go with the grungy portrait any day. Something very edgy, unexpected that comes from this sort of shoot. Aaron is an athlete/model and offers a lot of experience to a shoot. A totally nice guy who can flip a switch and bring a lot of attitude to the shot.

Lit from behind with some sunlight and from the side by a pair of SB900s, the combination of lighting sources certainly gave me the effect I was hoping for!

June 3rd, 2010

Weddings . . . I don't shoot too many weddings throughout the year. But when I do, I love shooting the photo journalistic style with some touches of artwork thrown in. I usually forgo the standard poses and almost try and get lost in the event so that the wedding party hardly notices me.

And one of my favorite things to do when shooting a wedding is processing in soft black and whites. I tend to err on the side of over exposing brides a bit to get that softer look to them - also, shooting wide open helps. A great 70-200mm lens at 2.8 gives you nice soft background, yet sharpens the details where you want them.

June 2nd, 2010

Meet Bill Baker . . . Bill is a journalist and long time friend was in town last week to attend Book Expo at the Javits Center in NYC. Bill and I have worked together on a number of projects - and his newest work can be seen this August in Icons: The Art of Jim Lee.

Bill's passion of the literary art form known as Comics and/or Graphic Novels is very apparent in his work. He has interviewed such industry heavy hitters as Neil Gaiman and Alan Moore. He's had a steady column of work called Baker's Dozen for more years than I can recall . . . Check him out at billbakerpresents.com.

June 1st, 2010

Today's FACES entry features my niece, Amber, who turns 13 today! I can hardly believe it - seems like just yesterday, we were all gathered at the hospital anxiously awaiting for her birth. Today, she's a teenager! HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMBER!!

Having family around to photograph is a great way to hone some of your skills as a photographer . . . having family around that is willing to jump around and goof off for the camera is extra special! 

Today also marks the first month anniversary for my FACES blog. Check out the link below for a video recap of the May's images!

PMK's FACES - Month One