Thursday, November 20, 2008

The Ground Zero cross

In the days after 9/11, I remember watching television and seeing images of a group of steel beams in the shape of a cross amidst the debris of the World Trade Center. The steel cross became a symbol of hope and faith to many. In fact, many people began leaving messages on it.

I never saw the cross in person until yesterday. I had just left the Post Office on Church Street next to Ground Zero when I noticed the cross had been placed next to St. Peter's Church. The cross was lit by spotlights which created a very dramatic feel. At night and under these lighting conditions, the cross evoked feelings of inspiration and sadness at the same time.






Photo info:
These photos were all shot with my new Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 pocket camera using dynamic black & white film mode.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

My photography was on the Today Show!!!

Maria, one of my favorite clients, was interviewed on yesterday's edition of the "Today Show" on NBC. Maria is married and was part of a segment that discussed what is the right age to get married. I am excited to write that during her interview, the "Today Show" displayed one of the images I took of Maria and her husband Louis last year during a photo shoot in Manhattan's Financial District. My blog posts of our photo shoot can be found here and here.

Thanks to Maria and Louis for submitting the photo to be used on the show. The video of Maria's interview can be found on msnbc.com. Here is a screen shot of my image that was displayed.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Amanda & Michael's Wedding

Last week, I had the pleasure of covering Amanda and Michael's wedding in Morristown, New Jersey. Their wedding ceremony and reception were at the Madison Hotel.

Amanda and Michael were alot of fun to be around and they threw a great party!

Amanda got her hair done at the Bloom Studio.


One of Amanda's bridesmaids is a professional make-up artist and did a great job.



Amanda's son looked great in his tux!







Before the ceremony, the bride and groom met in front of the hotel to check each other out.













What a beautiful couple. Congratulations Amanda and Michael!!!


Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Shira & Jason's Engagement

A couple of weeks ago, my very good friend Jason told me about his plan to propose to his girlfriend Shira. His plan was to propose to her at the Fulton Ferry Landing near the Brooklyn Bridge at approximately 8:30 p.m. and then take her to the River Cafe for dinner.

Jason asked me if I could "surreptitiously" photograph the engagement so that he could surprise her with the pictures the next day. Of course I agreed.

In preparation for the shoot, Jason and I went to the Fulton Ferry Landing the week prior to check out the lighting conditions in the evening. What we found made for a very challenging photo shoot. There were NO LIGHT SOURCES on the pier of any kind. No lamp posts, nothing. The only thing providing any light at all was the moon. Needless to say, we could barely read our watches in the darkness.

I knew immediately that I would have to shoot at a slow shutter speed with a tripod in order to capture the lights of the Manhattan skyline. In addition, I would need to use a powerful flash in order to illuminate Shira and Jason from a distance of approximately 40-50 feet.

The equipment I used for the shoot was a Canon 5D camera, 70-200mm f/2.8L IS lens, a Canon Speedlite 580EX II flash, an external battery pack for the flash and a Bogen Manfrotto tripod. The external battery pack was necessary in order to provide fast recycling times for the flash in the 45-50 degree weather.

Jason proposed to Shira on Monday night and it went perfectly. She was so excited that she did not even notice the flashes going off. It was so dark that I had to quickly focus the lens manually for each shot as I changed focal length because the camera's autofocus did not work accurately in such low light at such a distance.

Here's a quick shot sequence:







Here's Jason giving me the "thumbs up". Congratulations Shira and Jason!!!



Photo info:
All photos in the sequence were taken at 1/6 sec., f/5.6, ISO 800, manual mode, ETTL flash at -2/3 flash compensation.
1) 70 mm focal length
2) 155 mm focal length
3) 155 mm focal length
4) 200 mm focal length
5) 90 mm focal length, slight panning.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Sister and brother

I took a couple of quick portraits for their parents.




Saturday, October 18, 2008

Jackie & Wade's Wedding

Recently, I made my way to Connecticut to shoot Jackie and Wade's wedding. What a fun couple they were to work with! I thoroughly enjoyed covering their wedding day.

We started the day at Jackie's parent's house where she planned to get ready. I got there a little early so I took the opportunity to take some pictures of her dress, flowers and other things.

Wade did a great job with the engagement ring.



Jackie picked out a beautiful bouquet:




A fun shot of Jackie's shoes with my fisheye lens.






Jackie's mom and sister helping her get ready.


Learning to bustle the dress.


What a cute flower girl. She did a great job!


Jackie making her grand entrance.








Jackie looks so happy in this picture.












Proud father dancing with his daughter.


Wade dancing with his mom.






Jackie dancing with Wade's dad.



Welcome to the family, Jackie!


Sing along.


Congratulations Jackie and Wade!