So take this

I must tell you that from time to time I'm chided by some that I seem to shoot only people who have reached an age where life's tolls have begun show in their faces. For the most part, that's true but it is that character that my camera craves. It's just ripe for the picking as they say. Now here for those skeptics out there, this is beauty and character without age. My young architect friend, Erin O'Brien, was on my list of people I wanted to photograph from the moment I was first introduced to her. Yet another project on my long list is to do an essay or book on freckles and this certainly would or will be a great start for that.

There it is again

It keeps surfacing... simplistic symmetry that's both clean and interesting. It's that rural theme pulling me back in. This image was captured on the way back from Indianapolis a couple years ago. There is not much I can say other than I'm drawn to it and I'm glad.

No roll in the hay

This is one of those rural images that I shot on the same day as the earlier post,"A roll in the hay". I am very found of this shot because it's how I pictured it in my mind as I was traveling out to shoot it. When I got back to the studio and started editing I found myself disappointed in the base image. I was briefly discouraged and set it aside for the time. Some months later I just had to take a second look at it, because I really loved the original concept and refused to let it die. I must tell you that while I use Photoshop everyday in my commercial work, I have this nagging ache inside me that won't let me totally rely on it's smoke and mirrors to make something out of a nothing capture. I would rather that my images come from my mind and heart and translate nicely through the camera and computer on their own. Maybe that's idealistic but today, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. As it turns out, I'm not the only one found of this image as it has become highly requested. Thank you for that.

I am pretty sure this was the cornerstone image to my Black and White Masters Portrait series.
I was working for Kodak then and I suspected that they were missing a huge corner of the market by not promoting the greyscale imaging opportunities that came with digital photography. I would guess that it never occurred to the marketing geniuses there, since they were so focused on color, color management and skin tones, all Kodak strong points. I saw the enormous potential and shot this demo featuring my good friend and world class shooter himself, Kevin O. Mooney. The process as to how I arrive at the final rendition has changed so dramatically since this was first shot. Nevertheless I think you'll find more and more shooters and artist realizing how dramatic black and white images from digital capture can truly be.

The Pulitzer

For those of you following this blog, you'll know that have several themes going. Portraits, the neighborhood, Black and White, rural landscape, architecture, etc. Well, this images covers several bases. Shot in the neighbor hood in infrared digital and converted to black and white, it may be as close to art as I can get. The building is, ironically, The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts, one of several significant museums slash galleries located within a couple of blocks of my studio. There are a lot of techniques mingled into this image and I find the merge works very well. Enough so that I may pursue a series from this.