Wow!

I just never have enough time, maybe that will be a new years resolution. Make more time!
latest wedding was absolutely stunning. The weather was perfect. Locations, perfect.
I just (and i mean just) got finished downloading all the cards. I ran through and picked out just a few of the ones that I liked.
Here we go!
See ya next year(wacka wacka)

Hey!

4th of July weekend just opened back up again for me.
I know I know its my wife's favorite, actually, only holiday she truly recognizes.
She doesn't like that it is a popular weekend for weddings.

I must be crazy but I went shopping today, it wasn't that nuts out there.
Luckily I only went for for item. I love the internet and have been shopping online for a long time.
But the last couple years I have been just lagging behind and having to run out at the last minute because I just cant get in the shopping mode.

Happy holidays everyone!!

You are not this hip

You don't have this much fun losing

you are not this cute

Its Ok you've got time to work on it

holiday rush

Its a rush around this time of year no matter what I am involved in. The weather is perfect for really hard climbing, so trying to get out as much as possible but also trying to cram as much work in as possible, and then trying to be creative in my gift giving. Parties. Ahh its crazy.
Just never enough hours in the day, and or hours in my body to stay awake.

Any way a couple sneak pics of a recent mitzvah, it was not my job so I can only post a couple.

needless to say this is how the party started, off the chain
who knew being a party photographer was dangerous
luckily someone actually warned me ahead of time

Mass chaos free for all at the candy table, me and the guy next to me had to hold the table from falling over onto us.

Mitzvahs are fun but sometimes way stressful if the kids are outta control, luckily these kids were really great.

wedding trends

Hey everyone, hope everyone is gearing up for a great holiday season.
While most wedding photogs are done I still have two more events before the end of the year.
Well , for me I could say its the beginning. Or the middle, or something like that.
So any way I see some new trends since I have officially returned.
Some say engagement sessions, but I remember doing them from way back, and learning from some masters, so thats not new. Whats new is its made its way into the average wedding.
Digital makes it very easy to take lots of pictures
For me and for most I now consider an E sesh a must do. So many benefits. Ask me why.

Trash the dress. Haven't done one yet. Kind of a specialty type thing.

But the trend I am most interested in is the day after. A day after session, consider this, you have scheduled no time for a real thorough sesh for the bride and groom. Or its bad weather, or something happened, or the location was so so.
The day after, why not? You still have all the clothes out, most likely your way more relaxed. Less time constraints. Freedom to move around.

Want to do this?
Let me know, I will offering some as a trail basis to see how it works and how I can work it into my schedule.
Keep it in mind if something goes awry, it is an option.

SeeYa!

"Everyone discusses my art and pretends to understand, as if it were necessary to understand, when it is simply necessary to love." -claude monet

Rachel and Bruce v2.0

Ok here we go.
I really had fun doing these pics! Very easy and relaxed and nice conversation, which continued well after the sesh ended at the local burger joint.
The wind was crazy! A constant I would say 20 mph at the monument, and who knows what the gusts were. Even ducking down to the lower areas didn't give us much cover. The reason I love this job. Never boring.

Slideshow!!

Back up!

The company we host our sites with decided to sell and not tell the customers anything. All of our sites went down. No email or anything, of course they turned of the phone number, we were/are helpless. Of course we are moving everything. Still in the process of getting everything over to the other company.
SO while its still not perfect and we may have more outages for a couple days everything is working for now...

Please resend any emails!
I got three this morning, I know that cant be right.

of course a nightmare

Web hosting companies stink!!
Its a nightmare, the company we use to host sold it. Phone number doesnt work, and all of our sites are down. So there is no way to know exactly what is going on. Power failure, moving servers, etc.
SO of course we are moving.
In the next couple 8 hours or so our main sites should be back.
BUT all of those emails sent since i would say thursday night are gone for now.
I got I think 5 from my climbing site, and none from DTP this morning when I checked it.
All the forum posts on my climbing site, GONE (hopefully not forever)

How hard would it be to send out a mass email to your customers saying hey maybe you should back up stuff now. You don't even have to say why. Ughh.

Rachel and Bruce

One pic for now, they are all finished and a sweet slideshow is made, but since everything is still in webspace limbo...

Well something is wrong

All of our websites are down, (its quite a few) I wish I knew more as to why.
No email, nothing...

if you need me you have to call me. 973.865.9172
hopefully soon we will be back.

I apologize for any delays.

Mike and Renee

Another fantastic "E sesh" this one in my home area, minnewaska state park. I have spent the last 18 years coming to this area to go climbing. Of course since there is no climbing allowed in this particular spot in the park I had no idea how easy it was to access these great locations. Right now my new favorite place.
Cant wait to shoot this wedding, they are an awesome couple and are getting married in an awesome location.

check out the slideshow

Shannon and Steve

Fantastic engagement sesh. The location turned out perfect since when we stepped out of the car it was cold and windy, but when we hit the spot the wind died off and the clouds made the light perfect and the skies dramatic.
They are an awesome laid back couple.
Cant wait to shoot their wedding this December!

Back!

I am back from my trip!
West Virginia is such a beautiful place. We climbed at the New river gorge. A huge gorge carved out by an ancient river (known more for its white water) but also a world class climbing destination, with a lifetime of routes.
The internet was non existent at the hotel but I manged to steal some time at breakfast at the local cafe, so I did manage to check my email and take care of that. Its hard to hold back nine other climbers when all they want to do is go climbing, not sit around and surf the web all day.

On the last day the weather was iffy so we went out bouldering(short but powerful ) instead of big routes. The pads underneath me catch my fall, rather than a rope. The guy behind me spots me and guides me onto the pad should i miss or fall out of control.
Here is a pic my friend Joe took of me.

vacation

Ok people, I will be in West Virginia, all next week for a little climbing trip.
everything will be normal since you will most likely be able to get me on my cell and or email I will be checking everyday.
I am bringing those last few items with me to work on. E session locations, and Logans pics.
Here is one I liked so far.
He is just a little energy ball.

Booking Online!!

Hey I think I got it all done this weekend!
SO I should be all set for my vaca next week(the second week of october)
I will still have my cell phone and email so nothing will really change if anyone needs something.

I even made time to finish most of this program.

Its so much more than what you see here, when you fill out this lead form it checks my calender, then I can send you price list and tell you if I can do the job or not. Then after that you can book the date and set up a payment plan right there online. Then it sets in motion all types of triggers to keep me (and you) on track with all of the many details in weddings and even portrait sessions.
(I haven't set it up for portraits yet, but you can still use the inquire)

Album

One more chunk of the pie done!

Mike and Lisa click here for their album predesign

Glad to get this one started since this means I only have to clean up one more album and I should be free to focus on engagement sessions.

Its funny

How sometimes I go a week or two caught up with almost everything. When I say things I mean things for you all, I still have yet to paint my house...

But then the week I am swamped with work, everyone places album orders, I am working on a wedding and some toddler portraits, and of course its the week I am getting new software. So I have to learn that also. Just not enough hours in a week. Anyway I got to meet some idols (for me) they are rolling out a really awesome studio management program and I got to jump on it early, its going to make life much easier for me. And of course if I have more time you get more time!
I probably wont take it live for a couple weeks so stay tuned for the unveiling.

Ok so anyone waiting for me to finish stuff just know I am behind so I apologize but I should be close to caught up this weekend...

maybe I will hire someone to paint :)

Mike and Lisa

What an awesome day!
I usually have a hard time sleeping before a big event and when I woke up at around 6am it was pouring rain, but when I woke again at 9 I knew it was going to be fantastic.
I know Mike from work, but I had never met Lisa so of course I was nervous. No reason to be she is stunning. Beautiful bride.
The day went off perfectly. The day turned out brilliant, the sun the temps.

So here is the slideshow!

Logan

Labor day BBQ with the beast.

Logan and his eyes.

The Family portrait

Reeba the family pet (a little camera shy)

I have noticed

That the more times I open my yapper and hand out a card, the more times I get more than I set out for.

Funny how that works.
All I wanted was to make sure she saw the pics I took of that day, not really out to hand out my card to catch a lead or something. Getting some press from somewhere out of the blue is of course a huge bonus.

Terrie (and Teddy) are a fixture at my favorite climbing area, they volunteer alot, which is great.
She has an excellent little shop on the web, check it out
And here is her blog where she wrote a really nice post about me.

Thanks!

Inevitable

Yep, I am raising my prices.
At my current rate I was really making almost zero.
I have two really awesome weddings booked right now that should really fill out the portfolio I am building. Not to mention my competition was yelling at me for undercutting. ( A huge compliment)
The last couple I met with also verified my feelings. It just happened sooner that I thought.
I love shooting weddings, but I also have to run a business.

Anyone who signed a contract, you got a deal.
Anyone I have on the fence, I will honor what I quoted.

New prices go in effect on September 8th.

Thanks to everyone helping me getting to this point.

Article

Another article about my friend Joe peppered with some of my photos.
(scroll down for the english translation)

Mpix

A lot of people lately have been asking me about where I get my pictures printed, and where I get those picture books.
Nowadays I get them done at places you need a business name to use but even still I use this lab.
Mpix
They are owned by a long time pro lab called Millers.
I guess the only real difference between this lab and their pro lab is that someone is not looking over your output with as fine a tooth comb as would be from the pro lab. But its really the same stuff. And its really the best quality, consistent. I have been using them since they announced they were opening the Mpix division.
They have all the neat stuff, metallic prints, photo books. Its all very top notch but at really great prices and you have no idea how fast they are. Sometimes I order on the weekends and it comes on tuesday.
Their customer service is great. I've gotten one bad photo(had a defect) they sent a replacement instantly no questions, apologized etc.
Make sure you check their blog too

Fair Time

A shot from the Margaretville, NY fair July 7th.
Unfortunately I didn't have my new lens toy at the time so I had to settle for a slightly tighter crop.
I love shooting things, just all kinds of stuff but right now I so don't have the time. Years and years ago I had all the time but seriously lacking in skills and equipment. I shot alot and I have to say it advanced my real life skill level immensely, of course before the internet was as huge as it is now instead of googleing an answer, you went out and found the answer. In real time.
I would love to make a book someday of just cool photos of stuff I have seen.

So anyway this town fair brings out alotta folk. Aint much else to do so they come from all around.
My wife Cindy spent all of her summers here in the Catskills and I too have grown fond of the area, I couldn't live there but I enjoy going there often.

click here for large view

New lens!

So lucky to have any water running at all in august. Usually just a drip at best, no moving water at all is the norm. Global warming?
anyway even when its been so hot for so long this is the coldest stream I have ever stood in. My legs go numb in a minute or two. Always cold.
Barkaboom falls, I believe in Andes NY.

The new lens rocks, and laughs at all other lenses before it.
click here for huge

here for my flickr site

New Lens

I love getting new stuff, and so far I am beating my goals I set out to do for '07 and its still only august.
SO I get to play with a new gadget this weekend as I head off for the catskills.
New pics Monday

Philosophy

I met with a wedding couple today, they asked me what my philosophy was. I had to quickly dig for a response. I mean I had an answer but was it the right answer. I guess I should start at the beginning. I stopped this dream a few years back. Honestly I was not that good, I had a really thick skull and I had the attitude that my way was the way. Since that time I have met some really talented people and got tons of help and vision from industry leaders and friends who are some of the best artists I have ever met. Now I know where I want to go, I just really haven't thought about how to explain it to people. So here is my "philosophy" I want to be the best photographer I can be. I have a massive technical base of knowledge being a camera tech for many years there is not much that scares me, I have a really solid classic portraiture style but that does not really satisfy my heart. I want to capture emotion. Hugs, tears, laughter, love. Every assignment i take I want to create something timeless, so that when they open their album decades later they still go wow. Or when they pull out that portrait it still holds weight, its not hokey. On the business end I don't want to be swamped. I want to be able to give my customers the time and attention they deserve so I can get a real feel for what they want. Sure I have been taking pictures for many many years but I feel like I am really just starting over but this time with the right tools and a deep commitment to really doing it right every step of the way.

Logan

Has stunning eyes.
Is only 4 1/2 months old.
Can do sit ups and push ups.
His dads nickname is walterbeast.
He is a chip off the the old block.
His mom is just a petite little flower.
His dad, while all muscle, is not really all that beastly.
If you meet them you can tell they are very proud of their boy.
They love him dearly
One for now and maybe some more later.

Videos

Most wedding videos, well they are what they are. Sometimes you watch them once maybe twice and then its closet time.
There are some outstanding artists out there though, and I say if the moving visual is what moves you then do a little more research. I have been looking at this company's site in awe for a little while now.
Cinematic Studios
whats also stunning is that most of the shorts they have on their blog are same day edits meaning they show that vid at the reception!

google "wedding cinematography" if moving pictures is whats important in capturing your special day. I have yet to run across one of these types in my wedding travels.

frenchie

Cruising through my pics and had to post this one. A hearder so this shot was culled from alot of misses and a bunch of photoshopping. I think what makes me different is I will spend whatever time, an hour or more getting a shot. I have ultimate patience and will just keep trying.

First real HDR

4th of july the weekend after. My favorite stream, barkaboom falls in the Catskills NY.
My first real HDR image.
Click here for really large
or here for my flickr site

Thank YOU!

wow a personal hand written thank you card and the cover is plastered with the wedding pics. I was very happy to get this in the mail. I always try my hardest to do my best. I live for these kinds of moments. It makes all the late night hours worthwhile.

So behind

So behind in blogging. Not really busy but after the month of almost all work everyday. I have been catching up on friends and being lazy just researching and finalizing my business plan and ordering samples. Stick with me and over the next couple days I will be back here with something to look at.
2008 I need to do this.
This heat is brutal to do real work in.

Freedom!

Well kind of, free from editing photos for a little while any way. Well free from editing because I have to so yea I can stop when I am tired and not have to press on until 1 or 2am. I cannot wait until I can just focus on one thing full time.
So in my "free" time i went through my vacation pics and finally got them online.
I think this is my favorite one

Slideshow

Bat Mitzvah

Well sort of. Some pics before hand. No pics during the actual ceremony.
My favorite portrait for now.
Stunning profile, the entire family has great looks.



After the party next weekend, a slideshow... of course.

My other "second shooter"

My wife Cindy who is out with me on almost 99% of my jobs just won this photo contest!
She flies RC planes and always has a camera.
here is the link.
Her nickname is firefly.
She is awesome
Click here

My second shooter

For this job was unbelievable. He really should be in the biz (any shooting biz) but he is on the fence as I was for so many years. I know in my heart that he would be great. In a certain way he actually brought back the spark in me a couple years back when he burst on the scene with an outstanding eye but no real knowledge of the mechanics. Of course I have a wealth of mechanics but only a fraction of the eye that Matt Stark has. In a small way he got me started back into this.
Here is some proof.

do yourself a favor click for a larger size

Slideshow!!

Hey wow a sunday wedding means I am a day behind right away!
no worries I just skipped the sleeping part its such a waste of time anyway! Hannah and Josh, I truly enjoyed photographing your special day. You were blessed with perfect timing and everything went spectacularly. It was easy breezy following you two around, your such an easy going couple.
Enjoy the show everyone!
Its only my pics for now...
check it out
click here

May 20th

Wow, what an elegant, special wedding event. It was an honor to be chosen to photograph it.
Hanna was so beautiful and Josh as usual his awesome self. A breathtaking location and a fine group to celebrate with.

A couple pics for now but stay tuned shortly.

click for larger

saturday

I decided to stop by the flying field to snap some pics of Cindy. She had already packed up and quit flying but decided to take a few posed shots with her new large gas plane. This one is my favorite.




click for large

page "34"

WOW an article about ME!
7 years ago the dream was dead. Now I am rocketing beyond whatever preconceived boundaries I had placed upon myself. I have a great team with me now and its amazing what I have learned and experienced over the past 7 years. I am no longer imagining what the next 7 years will bring because I know its not nearly a big enough vision.
I thought about something the other day.
Long after I am gone, someone somewhere will be opening up an album and reminiscing over photos I took for them. Maybe not even took for them but took of them for their parents. Maybe not even them but their kids will be going through them.
Its not about me because who cares who took them at that point.

Its on newstands now everywhere go pick it up.
Urban Climber

click for large

Busy

Sorry not alot of posting here I have been busy preparing for vacation and trying to do stuff since the weather is getting nice. Unfortunately I gave away both of my advance copies of urban climber mags before I made a copy of the new article highlighting me. I will try to recover one and post the article here soon. The next few weeks will be action packed so stay tuned for a mountain of photos and the promotional machine will take another small step.

for now you can scope out my new flickr page.
flickr

More new camera testing

Can you tell which one is the new point and shoot and which one is the "professional SLR"

this weekend

Had fun climbing and trying out my new camera
Canon G7
I am really psyched because now I am set up with three really great cameras. Which makes two backups for me and then any second shooters I bring to jobs just adds to my redundancy.
If you think a P&S is not a viable back up, my favorite shot (see my second post) was taken as a 2mb jpeg and not only that but I completely blew the exposure. I now have sitting right next to me a 30x40 image printed on velvet that is absolutely stunning. You would be shocked if you saw the original file. I was. Back in the film days I would have cried when i saw how poor of a mistake I made. Hail digital and photoshop, both tools that have gotten me back into this game making my job that much easier and unleashing my true artistic talent which is in photoshop.
In the film era everyones work for the most part looked kinda similar I mean it was all film and pushing the artistic envelope was limited by how far you could manipulate film. Nowadays the only limitations are your imagination. Dont get me wrong it takes skill and art to create on film, but now you can further seperate your self from others by your editing skills.

here is my friend Aron on a difficult problem in the Gunks

My first cover

This is from a while back but but I need something to post about...
This picture is from my first trip to Fontainebleau France, and had no idea I was "on assignment" to the degree of capturing a cover, no less the cover for the launch issue of this international climbing mag. I knew I was taking shots for a chance to get published but imagine my shock when my first published image ever was chosen for the cover.

this weekend

Not much to report. I didn't have anything to shoot, well except myself.
Here is the great pontificater about to school some kids in the art of climbing the gill egg boulder problem.
Keep your eye on Urban Climber apparently they think I am good. ;) (j/k joe)