Yes, I have a new hobby

If you're a commercial photographer, it's likely that your hobby has turned into a career. This is true for me. One day I'm just playing around with a camera I purchased for 10 dollars at a yard sale, and the next moment I'm doing it for a living.

Well, not exactly. It's been about 30 years since I purchased that Yashica Mat 124G from the yard sale, but it feels like yesterday. The journey began that day and slowly photography became my passion. From shooting for my high school to studying at The Art Institute of

Atlanta, photography became my life. During late nights in the dark room with only the smell of fixer and really loud music to accompany me, I honed my craft. I was hooked the first time I watched a black and white print appear magically in the developer. Now I'm 99% digital and I have to tell you I really miss those times.

So, onto my new hobby, sailing. From the moment I was asked to crew on a J24 in The Key West Annual Regatta until today, I have slowly become a sailor. With the guidance of a few great guys I have learned the difference between a casual day on the lake and the feeling of 8 foot seas, racing within arms length of 20 other boats. Intense moments that make sailing what it is to me.

In the past few weeks the crew and I have been training for The Charleston Race Week. Never before have I been exposed to so much instruction and brutal repetition. From tacking to flying spinnakers I have found new muscles. And let me tell you, they ache with joy. There is nothing like it. I have to only hope that by April all the hard work pays off and we show well in the waters off of Charleston, SC.

I want to thank my fellow crew members Michael Brawley, Joe Corriher and Paul Zarbatany for all their patience and leadership. These guys are my friends. Here's to ya. Here's to ya.

A Year of Attorneys

It's been an intense beginning to the New Year. Travel, productions, horribly cold locations, some of the best food I've ever eaten, and of course shooting.

The year started with a contract to photograph 12 attorneys in 12 different cities over the course of 12 months. The portraits that I'm shooting will highlight an attorney per month selected by LexisNexis for a BLOG created to honor attorneys in the US who do great work.

So far I've photographed three attorneys. One in Wilmington, NC, one in frigid Rochester, NY, and one in Botson, MA. The story goes like this: an attorney is chosen by LexisNexis by the 5th of every month. I'm notified and I have until the 15th to deliver an image. From notification until shoot, my producer and I do Google scouts, interviews with the attorney, phone meeting with the art director, and booking of assistant and stylist. Once we have a few concepts and location ideas, we book travel and head to the shoot a day early for live scouting and final location selection.

We've been fortunate to find some great locations. For the most recent shoot, in Boston, we had the pleasure of shooting in the Boston Public Library. This was such a gift. We nailed the location about 12 hours before the shoot time. Much thanks to our new-found friends at the Boston Public Library.

These are a few of my picks from the shoots. Hope you enjoy.

Sweet Summer Memories

This past week looking out the studio windows there was an insane amount of ice and snow.  Blinding and cold.  Summer was far from thought.  Well, until a client was kind enough to send me a printed piece from images I shot back in August.

My team and I spent 4 days documenting owners of Bennington Boats for use in their 2011 brochure.  Bennington makes a high end edition of what's best known as a pontoon boat.  These vessels are far from your typical pontoon boat, they are just the opposite. Bennington uses the finest aquatic materials and technology to build a pleasure boat like no other. These boats are fast and comfortable. An industry leader. 

As I looked through the brochure, thoughts of winter quickly subsided and the warmth of the summer sun and summer wind filled my head and heart.  Memories of long days riding around Lake Norman on floating party decks took over and all of a sudden I heard in the distance Jimmy Buffett and a blender.  Thank goodness for this short reprieve from my least favorite season.

Take a look at a few images from the series and take a journey with me back to summer and back to the warmth of a days past.  Let's all go to a place where the only ice is the ice in frozen concoctions.  Enjoy and stay warm!

Snow. Round 2.

As Carolinians, we are just not used to all of this snow.  I'm not sure if the powers that be got the e-mail, but we like a little snow once every other year and we like for it to come and then go.  And go quickly.

Obviously our request hasn't been accepted.  Here we are in the midst of our second snow storm in a matter of weeks.  Roads are icy, grocery stores are packed, kids are restless, and I'm indoors, just eating.  How in the world will I ever get out of the holiday mode of snacking and then snacking some more if I can't get out of the house?

I need to mountain bike.  I need to go for a long walk with the dag.  I need to swim. All this in good time I guess.  So for now, I'll work and be happy with the slightly pudgier Mike.  Speaking of work, thankfully I work from home.  My commute takes me all of 10 steps downstairs to my office.  The light is gorgeous, the furnace is one wall away (=  warmth), and my kids have decided to take naps.  Perfect time to BLOG and catch up on my to-do lists.

Item 1.  Write thank you cards.
Item 2.  Find a location scout in NYC.
Item 3.  Post images from last snow.
Item 4.  Call my mom and wish her a Happy Birthday, one day late.

The list goes on.  Let's take care of item 3 right now.  Hope you enjoy.

The Boob Tube

About 4 years ago my wife and I decided to leave the world of TV watching.  We bestowed the 42 inch flat screen upon a family member and embarked on a journey that eventually was very telling.

All of a sudden we had time.  A lot of it.  We read, we played games, we had conversations, and we listened to music.  A lot of music.  Pandora became our best friend.  It played nearly every waking hour from our family computer in the den.  Eventually, as our daughters grew a little older, we began to download movies and television programs for them to watch.

So much is available online.  From the likes of purple dinosaurs and worlds built with letters to adventure movies and documentaries about the ocean, we had plenty to watch.  But the goal, we felt, was still in tact.  We controlled what was being watched and when.  Our family found, eventually, that we didn't really care that much about sitting for hours and staring at a box.

We made it nearly 4 years without television and cable and 150 channels and local news and, well, you get the idea.  Now fast forward to present day and you'll find, again, a television in our den.  At first it was greeted with reluctance.  But we've softened our views now, and we are again enjoying movies and the occasional PBS special on a 32 inch monitor connected to the world via the internet (Apple TV) and a modern day set of rabbit ears. 

I have to say that the past four years have been awesome without television. We learned to live without it and our lives were better because we turned to other, richer ways to spend our time. Now that Lauren and I have introduced a TV back into our lives, we have discovered that we really don't turn it on. I did watch the weather the other morning and the kids watch a PBS show some mornings, but otherwise it's just sitting there. 

I encourage anyone who reads this to try a week without TV. It's a nice thing to do and I promise, you won't miss it. During your week of no TV, take a look at this article: http://www.csun.edu/science/health/docs/tv&health.html. You'll be blown away.

The New Age of Picture Taking

It seems that there are now just as many photographers on the planet as there are cell phone users.  And I'm stoked by it.

These days, you will find a camera in the hands of nearly every man, woman, and child.  The number of photographs being taken must be in the millions.  And for me that transfers to the real joy of creating an image.

Thousands of people each day photograph life.  Sometimes the photographs represent great joy and sometimes, unfortunately, great sorrow.  But still, images are being created and these images form a bond between us.  As humans we see that our lives are very similar because of these images.  And if we take a moment to think about that, maybe these feelings of likeness will create an atmosphere of kindness.

For me and my family, we turn to the iPhone and a couple of our favorite photography apps.  Once the shots are taken we all pick our favorite filters and off the images go to the world wide web.  We're sharing our lives more and more these days.  From a run down the beach to words painted on a hotel room wall, we are recording life.  What a joy.

These are just a few of the hundreds of images we took just in the past week.  Enjoy having a look and please please please get out there and take photos.  Life is happening.

The Process

From the very beginning of my journey through the world of commercial photography, I’ve preached one thing: production at the start brings you the image you hope for at the end. Let’s produce a job the right way from the very beginning and I guarantee everyone will be happy. A recent client took this to heart. I think you’ll agree, as they have, that there’s no trading great production.

The following set of images takes you through a bit of the process. The first image is from my website. It’s the reason I was chosen for the job. The second image is a test, keeping in mind the criteria set by the client. And finally, the last few images are from the shoot.It’s all about the process. From start to finish, the most important thing in mind was great imagery.