I found out that Estela Magazine was publishing a swimsuit fashion issue. I contacted the editors and was able to get a pull letter from the magazine for my fashion stylist, Amy Auslander, so she could contact various fashion showrooms and get the clothing and accessories for the shoot. Sounds simple enough, right? I wanted to do a modern look to the shoot with color and cut outs and negative space. What I didn’t think about was that in mid-July all of the showrooms are already moving on to their fall fashion outfits. In addition, the Miami Swim Show was scheduled for the weekend before I had planned on shooting the story, so whatever wasn’t sent back to the designers was sent down there for the show.

Just a little background on the professional relationship that Amy and I have. We have known each other for quite some time, but we had never worked together. That being said, when I brought all the potential roadblocks to this shoot to Amy’s attention she simply replied, “I’m on it.” I knew from that tone of her voice that I would have nothing to worry about. I don’t know how she did it, who she called, what favors she called in, but DAMN! I could not have been happier with the styling this woman brought to the shoot!

Next was location and finding the rest of the team. The location was crucial especially since I didn’t want to do this shoot in the studio. There was an option for a house out in the Hamptons, I had done some scouting out on Fire Island but nothing was right. Then it dawned on me. My Uncle Billy and Aunt Noreen have a GORGEOUS house out on Long Island – as you can see from the photo below! Billy had said to me for years that if I wanted to shoot out there I could. I have no idea why I didn’t take him up on it sooner! The location has everything and was perfect!

Here’s where the next speed bump came into play. Billy and Noreen were down in Ft. Lauderdalte and weren’t going to be home for the week of our shoot! Normally I would’ve tried to reschedule but the magazine had a deadline and I was not going to miss it. Thankfully, Billy made arrangements to come back up to NY and open up the house for us. Now that we had a location locked down, it was time to put together the rest of the team.

I reached out to MUA Tanya DeJesus. I’ve worked with her many times before and she nails it every single time. In addition to being so talented, she is hysterical and an absolute blast to have on set. I always try to work in new people when I do a shoot to continue to grow my network, but I keep pulling her back! Yes, she is THAT good!

Next was hair. As I said earlier, I try to keep a big rolodex of talented people and as I was looking through it I came across Kevin Phong. Kevin and I first worked together about 3 or 4 years ago. He had just moved to NYC and was starting to work as a photo shoot hairstylist. He was very new to the game and had a lot to learn, but he was huuuuungry and he had determination unlike anyone I have ever seen to become the best he could be in his craft. I kept tabs on his work over the years and he has become an amazing hairstylist. I figured it was time for us to work together again. After reaching out and discussing the concepts, he was in! All that was left was to find the models.

I reached out to modeling agent and friend, Meghan Williams at Elite Models. Meghan sent me a package with some amazing models to choose from. It was tough to decide but in the end, Azura V and Bianca G were the perfect models for this spread. As you will see below, they did not disappoint. Both are stunning models but each had their own style and manner of posing. The only problem was deciding on the final images since there were so many amazing photos from the shoot.

We used just about every single possible location at my uncle’s house. Everyone was so amazing and the photos came out fantastic. I have to thank everyone one that worked on the shoot to make it such a success. Also a special thanks to my assistants, Trevor and Caroline, without whom the shoot would have been incredibly difficult to manage especially moving from location to location.

We finished shooting just 4 short days in advance of the deadline and I quickly did all of the post-production work and submitted the story to Estela Magazine. I’m excited and proud to announce that our submission was accepted and published as part of the August 2014 Swim Issue! I hope you enjoy the photos as much as we enjoyed putting them together.

Also, here’s a little behind the scenes video that was put together by my assistant  Trevor!

I had the opportunity recently to work with a new makeup artist by the name of Loren Gold.  We started with a concept of simplistic decoration.  We didn’t want to get too too crazy with our shoot, but our imaginations kind of went a little wild.  I have to thank Loren for finding our model, Olga Anikina of Envy model management.  It was great working with both of them.

We first started with narrowing down down the colors we wanted to use.  De had such a hard selection that it was pretty difficult.

In the end, we decided to make color more the accessory, rather than the focus of the shoot.  In fact, we barely used any color aside from the blue lip shading in the last look of the shoot.

Normally on shoots, the team I work with can bang out up to 10 different looks on an editorial shoot.  However, that was not the case with this shoot.  By no means to I mean that my team was slow on this shoot, but the delicacy that was required for these shots to be done was huge.

De had to place every little adornment on Olga’s face by hand.  Sometimes using tweezers.

Despite having to sit still for a very long time, Olga was having fun sneaking in some smiles here and there.  Once it was all done, I was very eager to start shooting.  Olga was nailing it all.  I always say that a better problem to have difficulty selecting photos after the shoot because there are so many good ones because the model truly delivers, as  opposed to having to struggle through the day with a model you don’t quite connect with and only find a few finals at the end.

There was a lot of time between looks but at the end of the day, it all seemed to just fly by.

Also, a special thanks to Lauren Baglio for sending some of her hand designed jewelry pieces for us to use during the shoot.  You can see more of her hand crafted jewelry at www.duendejewelry.com.

Below, I present the results of our shoot entitled “Adorned”

I have to give a huge shout out and thanks to everyone involved in making the shoot happen and be such a success!

Models Azura and Bianca from Elite Models NYC

Stylist Amy Auslander

Makeup Artist Tanya DeJesus

Hair Stylist Keit Phung

Assistants Caroline Callaghan and Trevor Munch (BTS Photo Credit)

Also, a special shout out to my Uncle Billy and Aunt Noreen for allowing us to use their amazing house as the background for our shoot!

Makeup artist Tanya DeJesus of Break Management (who I LOVE!!  she’s fucking amazing!!!!)  and wanted to do a beauty shoot with bright blasts of pastel color.  Something with contrast that really screams at the viewers eyes.  We nailed down our concept and invited the beautiful model, Mega from Ford Model management to be the final piece of the puzzle that would bring our vision together.

Special thanks to my team that helped make these images so beautiful!  I love how they came out and I hope you enjoy them as well!

I was later contacted by Ken in early April of 2013 and asked to join him and his team to do a portfolio shoot up at Kens salon in Canada.  I love to travel and I loved working with his team.  There was no way I could say no!

The shoot was different than others I had worked on.  In Ken’s studio he has senior hair stylists and junior hair stylists coming to a total of 13 artists.  The reason I was there was to help everyone get images for their portfolio’s, but also to help everyone grow as a team and not just employees.  Ken paired up a junior and senior stylist to give guidance and help when creating their look.  Kens decision to do this showed me a few things.  He was a smart business man because he was investing in the educations of his staff, but not only that, by having everyone help each other, he was changing his staff in to a family.  It was an amazing experience and if I was a hair stylist, Kens salon is the place I would like to have a chair.

Below are some highlights of the resulting images from Kens team.  Enjoy!

Enjoy!

The day started as most shoots do, with me setting up the lighting to start testing and the MUA and hairstylist working on the model.  Tanya and Eva had sooooo much stuff, it was awesome!

After a little while it was time for Tanya to get in close to work on some lashes and detailing the makeup.

At this point, Danny started working as well.

I could not believe how steady Danny’s hand was. I could never do what he does, my hands are too shakey. The lines are so thin and perfect. He did an amazing job!

After they were all done, it was my turn. We went through a bunch of looks and after about 9 hours we were all pretty beat.

We all really like the resulting work and we hope you enjoy as well!

     The day of shooting arrived, and my model Jennifer Selleck met up with us at the hotel.  We packed a couple of ProFoto 7B’s and beauty dishes in the truck and headed out.  We had the perfect day for shooting – 70 degrees and a sprinkling of clouds to add to the backdrop.  The day was magnificent.

     Once we arrived at the park, I decided to leave all the lighting equipment in the car. The natural light was so beautiful and would make some really nice strong shadows.  About an hour later I was really happy with my decision.  We were doing some serious hiking up into the canyons.  Carrying all that extra equipment would have actually been a hinderance on the shoot due to the small crevices and steep inclines we were climbing.  Plus, it’s pretty damn heavy!!  I really have to thank my model, Jenn.  She was a real trooper clibing up on to ledges and peaks to help get the shots.  Not once did she say, “Umm…that doesn’t look too safe,” or, “I don’t think I can get up there.”  There were definitely some locations we shot at where she could’ve said no to safety, trust me!  She simply did as asked and we were able to get some beautiful shots as a result.

These should give you an idea of what Im talking about…

If you click on this image you can see my friend James waaaay far away in the background

It may not look like we’re too high, but the photo below is one that James shot from his perspective…

Click to see how small we are!

     After spending all day in the park, we barely covered 2% of the possible shoot locations.  I hope to go back in the near future to get even more great shots.Despite the beautiful colors of the rock and landscape, I decided to make them all B&W.  To me it just seemed to take on a “classic art” sort of feel to it.  The different shades and the use of a polarizing filter really created some cool effects as a result.  The rest of my selects are below. Once again, a huge thanks to my model Jenn, for without her none of these images would have been possible. You can check out her Facebook modeling page here.

     Enjoy!

She was an absolute blast to work with while I was in Vegas, so I jumped at the opportunity to work with her again.  This time she brought along a male model named TJ from
her agency.  I knew she’d be perfect for this kind of shoot so we put it all together.  Dashenka brought in MUA Nicole Elle to do the makeup for the shoot.

The first shot we did went pretty fast.  Dasha and TJ were nailing it!  It was going so well, Dasha didn’t stop to get dressed before running over to the TV screen where the shots
were being displayed.

As soon as the first shot was done, Dasha went back into to makeup and I began to set up the second shot. Since TJ didnt need to get any makeup done and was a little sleepy,
I said he could take a nap, but it had to be on set so I could get the lighting set up.

I wanted a softer look to the lighting but at the same time kind of focused and sharp. I was wracking my brain for a while and decided to kind of build something that I wanted.
I took a Mola Euro, 33″ reflector and attached a grid attachment to a 22″ Profoto Beauty Dish. It wasnt pretty, but it got the job done!

We all had a blast working together and I look forward to working with the entire crew again in the future.

Below are the resulting images from the shoot. I hope you enjoy!

I left my apartment in the UWS and traveled down to Brooklyn Bridge Park for my first spot.  When I got out of the subway a few blocks away from the shores of the East River, I already began to get choked up.  I couldn’t see Manhattan through all the trees, but the sheer immenseness of the spot lights aimed into the night sky was very difficult to miss.  As I made my way closer, the ambient noise of the normally quiet neighborhood began to have this strange low rumbling.  After making my way through little path at the end of Middagh Street, what I saw before me halted me in my tracks and I couldn’t help but begin to feel my first emotion of the night…sadness.

A group literally composed of hundreds of people had gathered to view the tribute to all of our lost family, friends and loved ones.  No one was talking louder than a volume that could be heard by someone more than a foot away from them.  Very similar to how most people would talk when in a church or museum.  The reverence for the tragedy that had happened 11 years before was so powerful.  Some were just staring at the two majestic beams of light.  Others were there with their tri-pods and cameras to take photographs.  A few people came to leave little keep sakes and flowers for their departed loved ones.  Others just sat there silently with puffed eyes and trails of tears that had recently fallen.  I doubt everyone there had lost someone on 9/11, but everyone was changed because of it.  It was after standing there for what seemed like forever that I began to feel my next emotion…pride.

Those 2 towers of light were not only  lit to remind us of how so many souls were taken from this world on that fateful day, but also to remind us of those that made the ultimate sacrifice so that others may live.  It was a symbol of their dedication, selflessness and and bravery.  With these thoughts and change of emotion I began to do what I came to do.  My hands shook as I unpacked my equipment.  I was particularly excited to use the super wide angle lens I had rented (a Canon 14mm/2.8 L II…really fun to use!) to get as much of the scenery as possible.  I jockey’d around the other people to find a good spot to shoot, lined up the lens and began to test my exposures.  Some of them lasted as long as 45 seconds.  I was getting ready to pack up and move to my next location and for some reason was pulled to a set of flowers that was tied to the railing.  I dont know who left them and I doubt I will ever meet them, but I had to photograph it.  Having captured my shots, I walked down Everit Street towards Brooklyn Bridge Park.  When I reached the corner at Cadman Plaza Way and turned towards the park my next emotion hit me like a brick wall.  I dont know if you’d actually classify it as an emotion, but my body was just overcome by a huge sense of reverence.

Before me was a parked fire truck from Ladder Company 211, Brooklyn.  On top of that truck sat a lone firefighter with his head lightly downward,  sitting motionless, staring across the water at lower Manhattan.  I quickly ran near the truck and placed my tri-pod (damn auto correct keeps changing tri-pod to try-pod!!).  As much as I wanted to have a perfect, iconic shot of this moment, I didnt want to be disrespectful of the firefighter and be invasive during his obviously powerful moment of reflection.  I shot only 5 frames and gathered my equipment and approached him.  “Sir, I dont know if you were a firefighter 11 years ago, but thank you for what you possibly did and still do today,” I said.  “13 years, and thank you, he responded and we parted ways.  I walked toward the water taxi dock at Brooklyn Bridge Park and began to set up for my next set of shots and my natural high from being in the presence of such great men, heroes if you will, by my next emotion…disgust.  Sadly, this is not the only time I will feel this emotion during my photo journey.

I wanted to get sort of a third person perspective for a few shots so I set myself up behind a crowded dock to get the people in the shot as well.  When I set up and pressed the shutter button for another long exposure I looked around and saw another photographer that was there with what appeared to be a girl who wanted to be a model.  I couldn’t help but think to myself, “Who the FUCK would want to have photos of them posing in front of those lights?!?”  It was absolutely distasteful and I was completely appalled.  If I was a model agent or casting director I would immediately dismiss someone with that kind of content in their portfolio.  Maybe thats a bit harsh, but I don’t really care.  There are certain things in life you just don’t do.  I got my shot and left.  At this point, for some reason the 9/11 Memorial Lights turned off.  Maybe it was karma preventing them from getting their shot.  Who knows.  Since the lights had been turned off I became kinda bummed but still wanted to make the most of my night.  I walked towards the north side of the Brooklyn bridge to keep the photos coming and about 20 minutes after I left, the lights came back on.  I found a great location where I could have the bridge in the foreground and the lights in the background.  As I started shooting my next emotion came along…its OH FUCK!

As I was shooting an NYPD vehicle came and stopped in front of me.  An officer exited the vehicle and asked me for my identification.  At first I thought, “Out of all the 762 people taking photographs out here, you decide to bother me?” The thing is, after 9/11 the laws pertaining to photography in NYC had changed and made it so that if you wanted to take photographs with a camera on a tri-pod you needed a legal permit.  Today many police officers either don’t know or choose to ignore the fact that about 5 years ago, that law was eliminated and it went back to the old law stating that shooting on a tri-pod was ok as long as you weren’t disrupting traffic or interrupting the flow of people.  Apparently, this is not why he stopped me.  An additional change in law after 9/11 was that no one was allowed to take close up shots of “Super Structures” i.e. the bridge, without a permit.  This was done to try and prevent terrorists from possibly obtaining detailed information on ways to destroy them.

He asked to see the photographs I had shot to determine if they would need to be deleted.  He commented that he liked them and that I could keep them, however I had to go and find a different location.  In addition to that he was going to take down my information but that it was going to stay in his pad, just in case.  What “just in case” meant, I have no idea.  While I was bummed that my time at this location had been cut short, I completely understood why.  He was simply doing his part to keep us all safe.  Which is exactly what all those brave men and women did 11 years ago.  I thanked him for his understanding, thanked him for his continued service and we parted ways.  Shortly before I had moved to that location, I found out a friend of mine was in NYC and we made plans to meet up in downtown Manhattan to get some closer pictures of the towering lights as well as Ground Zero.

I hopped on the subway and he picked me up.  Unfortunately he wasn’t feeling so well (we don’t know if it was something he ate, or if it was because of how bad “Spiderman: Turn Off The Dark” was, which was why he was in the city in the first place) so he drove me a little ways down the West Side Highway and dropped me of.  It was at this point, the next emotion began…sheer and complete aww.

I was across the street, practically under the lights.  They were HUGE!  The only thing that shadowed their enormous presence, were the tourists that were posing in front of the lights with smiles on their faces!  Im sorry but, thats just not the time or place for portraits.  I can understand wanting to document your travels abroad, but SHOW SOME RESPECT!  I wasnt going to let them ruin my night so I got the last photo’s of the night and made my way home.

It was an interesting and amazing night, something that I’ll never forget.  I can’t imagine the emotions of those who lost someone on that day 11 years ago.  Im quite proud of the photographs that resulted from my 5 hour trek around Brooklyn and NYC.  I hope that my viewers enjoy the results as much as I do.

Also, if you have lost someone due to 9/11 or are a member of either the NYPD or NYFD and would like a hi-res version of an image for yourself, please don’t hesitate to contact me.  All photographs will be delivered free of charge.