Spring can be weird sometimes…
This is what Salt Lake City looked like prior to a massive hail storm, which hit right as I said goodbye to my models:
I shot Kari Hawker (again – that’s because I always love working with Kari) and her boyfriend Nick’s acting headshots downtown. Nick actually starred in a short film I shot recently and was terrific in it. Anyway, those headshots will be coming soon
It’s been and continues to be incredibly busy. Eight shoots between Wednesday and this coming Thursday… They’re not all huge shoots, but they’re keeping me out there, shooting.
I love weeks like this. Sure it’s hard, but man does it feel good to generate some new work.
Here’s the last of my shots from my rolls of film from right after my trip to New York:
I never, EVER tire of going to New York…
I didn’t get a chance to really shoot much while I was there. I was way too busy meeting with clients and such and I was only there for two full days. Shoulda planned a longer visit.
On the plus side, two of the clients I was meeting were brides, and I’m very excited to be shooting one of them next month! Bonus visits to the city! 
Can’t wait to go back.
Here’s a mixture of 35mm and Holga shots:
Some models make me exclaim “holy shit!”. Every time I work with them, I can’t believe what I’m getting.
Kari is one of those models.
I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned this on the blog before, but there’s more to modeling than just being pretty. There’s professionalism, there’s reliability, there’s flexibility, there’s passion, there’s creativity, there’s versatility, there’s hard work, but above all, there’s the way they move.
Photography is of course all about the STILL image, but you can tell you how well a model moves by looking at their work. The better they know how to move, the less a photographer has to do. With an exceptional model, you just point, shoot and occasionally suggest something.
The last time I shot with Kari, it was in a cemetery and I kept asking her to look really sad. This time, it was all about looking really cool and man could she pull it off! Kari has all the qualities I mentioned above in spades, plus she’s ultra nice. The complete package.
I hope I get to work with her many, many more times.
Yoga and a game of poker are two things I’ve never shot before. I had no idea what to expect; I don’t know the first thing about yoga and I almost never play card games, not even poker. But man, what a blast Mat & Kristina were to work with on these concepts!
Those who know enough about my wedding photography know that I decided some time ago that it would be much more interesting if I shot a cohesive series that’s unique to that couple rather than aim for a series of great but disconnected imagery that don’t represent the couple in the least and looks like everyone else’s photography.
It’s more work for everyone involved, but I’ve been enjoying it a ton more than what I used to do.
Here’s what we got this time:
There’s nothing quite like beautiful light on a movie set. And this one had it in spades.
I always love being on set. It’s just so much fun. Mind you, this is coming from a guy who’s never been on any set other than small independent productions. I just love them to death, and I go shoot them whenever I can.
So when my good friend Andrew James called me and asked, “My brother Danny is shooting a short film in a really cool location, can you come shoot behind the scenes photography until midnight or later for no pay?”, I didn’t hesitate for even half of a hundredth of a second to jump at the opportunity.
Because first things first; if you’re a photographer expecting to get paid for shooting on movie sets but you don’t live in LA, you’re deluded.
And since I’m not deluded, don’t live in LA and love what I do for a living, I was on-board in a heartbeat, no pay and all.
Here’s some of what I got from the set of The Piano Man. There were a lot of pink and purple colors that I wasn’t so crazy about, so a lot of them are black and white. Besides, it focuses you on light rather than color.
Enjoy!
I struggle with art constantly.
Constantly.
A fellow photographer once suggested on his blog that the book Art & Fear was a must-read. Now, I don’t blindly follow suggestions from fellow shooters thinking it’ll bring me equal amounts of fame and fortune, but the title of the book did grab me.
Art and fear DO in fact go hand in hand (in my experience at least) and so I felt it may hold some great personal value.
I’ve almost reached its end and I can confidently say that it has done exactly what I needed it to.
I’m not as interested in learning technique, discovering some trick of the trade, or what have you, as I am interested in peering into what a fellow artist may be feeling during the process of creation. To me at least, that’s infinitely more valuable than “hey if you use this brand new piece of gear, all your problems will go away”.
Because – surprise! – they don’t.
Besides, what photographer wants to be reduced to a mere technician? Yes, I hold a machine in my hands to do my art, but my aim is to be an artist first and let the machine extend my vision for others to see.
And that brings me to the quote I wanted to share on this blog, from the book Art & Fear, which itself quotes Anne Truitt’s Daybook:
“The lawyer and the doctor practice their callings. The plumber and the carpenter know what they will be called upon to do. They do not have to spin the work out of themselves, discover its laws, and then present themselves turned inside out to the public gaze.”
I am completely enamored with film photography.
Shooting with my Holga camera (as seen on my other website‘s HOLGA section under the gallery called THREE), has been quite the struggle to say the least. Mine is not modified at all, so the results I get are almost a complete surprise because of the incredibly poor way in which it was built. That’s just how Holga is. It’s part of the fun.
But then I bought the Canon EOS Elan 7E for a ridiculously cheap $55, and now I actually have a light meter! I actually have focus points! I actually have access to great lenses (the same ones I use professionally)!
In short, now I finally have the control I need from my rolls of film, and I can get what I want rather than hope for some happy accidents.
Let me start with one shot from my beloved Holga, then the rest is all taken with the Elan.
Oh my… What beautiful colors you have…
These are from a photo excursion with two special ladies in my life. Lori, thanks for tagging along in the cold, and Brittany, thanks for inviting me. Where are YOUR shots anyway?? Here’s to you both
Sledding fun with the boys!
This is from a recent engagement shoot (coming soon), a past model shoot and then a random shot from wandering around on a recent foggy afternoon.
I know I’ve been awfully quiet around here since a couple days before Christmas, but I should be back to normal now. Keep your eyes peeled for more… stuff
If there’s one constant about being a blogger, for me at least, it’s that you’re always behind.
Granted, it’s been less than a week since my last post, and to be fair, I often lose track of what day it is, but it does still feel like forever since I’ve posted any meaningful photography on the blog… And that bothers me.
A lot.
Hell, last night, my now (apparently) yearly crisis finally came to a head. I wonder where my work is going, why it’s not getting anywhere and what I should try to make some semblance of progress with it.
Deep depression usually follows. The praise I get no longer means anything, because I look at all of my work and I think, “Everything I have, sucks.”
Whatever standards I’m reaching for are just beyond my reach.
Always.
And just like an avalanche, all the rest comes crashing down as well. Should I try something new? And what’s that? What am I doing now that isn’t working? How in the world do I find time for this stuff anyway?
That last one has actually been a serious problem. I shoot a lot of weddings in the summer. I have to pay the bills, though fortunately for me, and unlike many other photographers wanting to break into the big game (advertising, fashion, editorial, etc), I unapologetically and genuinely enjoy shooting weddings. Yes, it’s routine and repetitive, but the people are different, and I love me some people. I’m not a recluse, I’m not anti-social, I’m not a loner; I love people. And weddings provide me with a lot of those. So like with anything else I do, I give 500% of myself to my work.
The problem is, that leaves very little room for anything NON-wedding related. Especially in the summer. Between that and a host of major troubles in my personal life which, of course, happened to take place during what little down time I had (ie. the non-wedding-season months), I feel like I’ve hit a dry spell that has lasted a year and a half…
The solution that I came to, very late last night, is far from groundbreaking or exciting or somehow inspiring in its own right. Plus, the solution always seems to be the same:
Just shoot more.
So now the goal becomes to hash out a plan where I can do just that. Hopefully you’ll notice the results over time.
While you wait, here’s a model shoot I did recently. The best is already on the website, but here’s a few outtakes:
I’ve had a lot of catching up to do since coming back to Utah, but here at last are the pictures from my trip. I’m splitting up the pictures in two parts. Today, I post the pictures taken with my iPhone and my real camera.
Stay tuned for Part 2, coming tomorrow. They’ll be Holga shots, so you know they’ll be interesting!
Day 1: Spent most of the day in planes or the airport. When I landed, my phone started shutting down randomly, often and mostly wouldn’t come back on. My sense of direction was in there (Google Maps), but even worse, so was my hotel’s address… Then when I finally got to the hotel, it was a lot more dodgy than Travelocity had made it appear online. I switched hotels and got myself a long overdue dinner for a measly four bucks.
Delicious food is everywhere and at every price.
Day 2: My first actual day in NYC was spent wandering in a jetlagged haze and trying to get Apple to tell me what was wrong with my phone. Long story short, I now have a new one.
MAN I love New York’s fall colors…
Day 3: I saw a couple of cops waiting for the same train I was about to get on in the subway. I had my giant pro camera with me, so like a crazy person I decided to try shooting some video in a public place and see what happens.
Cop: “Sir, what are you doing?”
Me: “I’m shooting some video…”
Cop: “You can’t do that here, sir.”
Me: “Why?”
She really didn’t like that question. Fortunately, I was able to defuse the situation and she left me alone.
The law doesn’t actually prevent you from shooting photography or video in any public place. I actually looked this up long before the incident, though I also knew that photographers have been getting increasingly harassed by authorities and stupidly painted in a very negative light.
I did end up shooting video in the subway, just when no authorities were around to give me trouble for it.
Still, I was bummed about the incident, wandered into Central Park again but within a few minutes got some calls from real estate agents wanting to show me apartments.
Day 4: After a long and busy day, my good friend Brittany requested some pictures of the Brooklyn Bridge. I was more than happy to oblige. It was already on my to-do list anyway Along the way of course, I took pictures and footage of what I could.
Day 5: Attended the PDN Photo Expo. Like a bridal fair, but for photographers shopping for stuff.
Later that night, wandered some more. It would be my last night there… 
Day 6: Waited to push off from the gate for a little longer than expected, then finally climbed to the skies.
Day 6.5: The same night I got home, despite having already done a LOT while in NYC, some friends invited me to a Halloween party, so I went.
The dancefloor:
