Aurora - Enviromental Portraits - 4/2/11

Meet Aurora.


This is the second in a series of environmental portraits meant to celebrate the girl next door, and how beautiful she is in her own surroundings. Emily was the first to pose for me, and she introduced me to Aurora who was also willing to sit for the project. Aurora works as a costume designer and splits her time between New York City and upstate. She was working on some gigantic wings for a client and was just finishing the project when I arrived. Feathers were everywhere.

I was able to capture some photos of her and her project and then some portraits. I'll look to post additional photos of her in the future on a new blog dedicated to this project. I hope you enjoy the theme and comments and questions are welcome.

This amazing old thread spool case with some of her materials in it.


Portrait while Aurora puts up her hair.


Aurora sitting in the downstairs section of the house in which she works, tape measure draped around her neck.


Great afternoon light. Cool shadows. Beautiful model. Nice image.

A Half Hour in Ireland - 3/29/11

This past week I traveled to Ireland for work (not photography related) and amid my busy schedule of meetings, flights and not so much sleep I was able to spend about a half an hour walking through the small seaside town of Crosshaven. I was lucky enough that the person I was meeting in Ireland, Caroline, was willing to drive me around on the way to the airport or else I wouldn't have seen much of anything. The village was exactly how I pictured it would be from my mental image of Ireland that has been constructed over the years of watching movies and seeing pictures.

I think my favorite memory of the entire trip though, was the smell of cow manure as we were getting off the plane in Cork. The airport only has five gates and is nestled amongst farms. So instead of the smell of concrete or gasoline, I was greeted in Ireland by the smell of farms. Then, my cab driver, who spoke in an accent so thick I had to fake understanding at points, had no problem squeezing in his, and the city of Cork's, entire history in the ten minute ride we shared together. When describing the economic troubles of Cork and the 14% jobless claims, he only said that he had to believe in the words of his parents, "The apples will grow again, they always do."


This photo, I think, describes some of the changes in Ireland. The man seems to be a quintessential Irishman, with his glasses, tweed cap and newspaper. He seems to belong on a small lane in a small village but here is surrounded by the hustle and bustle of a city that perhaps has grown up around him instantaneously.

My favorite. Many of the roads in Crosshaven were one only one lane. The double yellow line suggests that at some point these were two lane roads that houses covered when they fell from the sky.

Power lines are everywhere. So are TV antennas.


The Irish have the best pub signs. Each is a work of art.

Great lines and geometric shapes.

The Detail of Alcatraz - 3/24/11

Last week, during a trip to San Francisco with friends, we took the ferry across the bay to the former maximum security prison, Alcatraz. The place is incredible, although small, and even though no prisoners have been incarcerated there for over 50 years, the place still seems to echo with the stories of life behind bars. I had my iPhone with me, and while taking the audio tour, tried to find small detail photographs that spoke to the larger theme of jail life. Comments and questions are always welcome. I hope you enjoy. Should be back with more environmental portraits in a few weeks time.

Emily - Environmental Portraits - 3/13/11

I've recently been looking to do more portrait work. My favorite type of portraiture is what photographers call environmental portraits, or images of people in surroundings that highlight the subjects personality or lifestyle.

Additionally, I've been struggling with the idea of body-image in today's media. It's very obvious that most of us men will never meet, date or marry a model from Victoria's Secret even though that image seems to be the basis for our idea of the perfect woman. But does that mean that the women we meet in the coffee shop or at the gym are any less perfect or attractive? No. And so this next project is all about the girl next door, and how beautiful she is, even though she doesn't grace the pages of a magazine.

Enter Emily.








Comments and questions are always welcome.

Images from Wandering - 2/6/11

I try to grab my camera and wander the streets of nyc as often as possible. You honestly can never predict what you'll encounter, who you'll meet or what images you will pass by. It seems every time I don't have a camera I'm wishing I did. The below images were taken during the last few months when I was lucky enough to have my equipment with me. I hope you enjoy.

Somewhere on the west side of Manhattan. This image reminds me of that American past-time of heading west into the unknown for adventure and fortune.


This is an image of an impromptu game of tag that broke out one weekend down on Wall Street, right outside of the Stock Exchange. The core group was inviting passers-by to join them and the game grew.



A Third Avenue doorway.



Detail of old records at an East Village music store.



After one of the large snowstorms we've been blessed with this 2011 winter, someone apparently lost a bag full of shoes.

Venice (digging up the arcives)

I've been trying to work through all my images from the past ten years (sadly I've lost digital files for a lot of early work) and organize them better in my computer archives. I came across some photographs taken while in Venice, Italy, when I was a senior at Ohio University and studying abroad. I think I've probably only shown these to three or four people before, so I thought I'd share on this snowy Friday morning. I hope you all enjoy.

AJ fights her way through the pigeons in Piazza San Marco.

View through the spotted window of the water taxi.

A canal as seen through the railing on a foot bridge.

The high tide mark is visible on a rotting door that leads only to the waterway.

Windows on the street.

Surf, Snow and Lighthouses - Montauk 1-16-11

My girlfriend, Britt, and I decided to get away from the city this weekend. We were planning on skiing but after thinking of the crowded east-coast mountains on holiday weekends decided against it. We got into the car and drove the length of Long Island out to Montauk, and specifically the lighthouse at the tip of the island. I've never been on a beach when there was snow on the ground, so this was a new experience. In reality, there wasn't much snow. There were however, some 8 ft tall reeds that served as a backdrop to some photos, and the previously mentioned lighthouse. The pictures below are from a fun and low key day of winter exploration. I hope you enjoy. Comments and questions, as always, are welcome.