Flavors of the Holidays for: Distinction Magazine

One of the the aspects I really enjoy about life as a freelancer is that I have the opportunity to shoot a range of subjects and topics for editorial, commercial and wedding clients. I've found that the diversity in both my clients and assignments nurtures problem solving skills, creativity, and the overall growth of my photography.

Some might argue that a photographer should brand himself as a specialist in one style or one specific subject matter. In doing so, editors, art buyers, and clients know you are the go-to-guy when they need someone to make photographs of that particular topic or style.

To some degree, I agree with that train of thought, after all if I go to the local fast food joint I go there because I know exactly what I want and how I want it. I know that if I go to "X" my pizza will be spicy, if I stop at "Y" my fries will have just the right amount of grease, or  if I go to "Z" my potato, egg and cheese burrito is going to taste exactly the way I want it.

That said, I'd like to think that rather than specializing in one specific style or subject matter I specialize in giving my clients peace of mind. I serve up stability, trust, and the reassurance that whatever they send my way they don't have to worry. I leave them with an aftertaste of confidence in both their decision in hiring me and in my ability to deliver.

Case in point, one of my recent shoots with Distinction Magazine was slated for an 11 page spread. I don't have any food photography on my website or in any of my portfolios. That's not to say that I have never shot food for other magazines or publications, I have definitely done my share of food photography. I actually enjoy it. However, the powers that be at Distinction trust me and my work, so without asking to see any of the aforementioned food images they hired me.

The images below are pages from that assignment. Thanks for looking and definitely try out one of the recipes from the article, you won't be sorry.

Mind Over Matter: SUAS

Mind Over Matter: SUAS* is an ongoing column that aims to document skateboarders from all walks of life who are still riding their plank after 30+ years of age. My principal intent is to offer the viewer both an insight to why grown men/women choose to continue to ride despite being what many consider “too old” and to encourage the masses to get out and get theirs - whatever that might be.

*SUAS is an acronym commonly used in skateboard rhetoric, it simply means Shut Up And Skate! Click the image to view it super-sized. Enjoy.

 

The Brotherhood: I can't remember when I first met Ed. I think it might have been here, at the Dust Bowl, in the mid-Eighties. He pretty much ruled this spot and worked his style and speed lines around anyone who came to session it. Ed was/is an artist of sorts and at that time I had him paint the Dogtown logo on the back of my leather jacket. I was so stoked! I wore that jacket everywhere for years.

In the Nineties I lost touch with Ed. However, just before the millenium ended I took a photo class and ran into him again at the Visual Arts Center in Portsmouth, VA. He encouraged me to enter a portrait series I was working on at the time, into a local juried museum exhibition. I was hesitant but when Ed offered to frame the work for me I took him up on the offer. To my surprise the photo series was selected for the exhibition. The photographs also won best in black & white photography which in turn led to a feature write up about me in the local paper. Needless to say, Ed helped me along my way to becoming a working photographer. 

Today, after traveling much of the world as a photojournalist, I'm back in Virginia Beach skating a ditch with an old friend. Ironically, it's the same spot we rode some 25 plus years ago. Homies for life.

Mind Over Matter: SUAS

Mind Over Matter: SUAS* is an ongoing column that aims to document skateboarders from all walks of life who are still riding their plank after 30+ years of age. My principal intent is to offer the viewer both an insight to why grown men/women choose to continue to ride despite being what many consider “too old” and to encourage the masses to get out and get theirs - whatever that might be. 

*SUAS is an acronym commonly used in skateboard rhetoric, it simply means Shut Up And Skate! Click the image to view it super-sized. Enjoy.

Mind Over Matter: SUAS

Mind Over Matter: SUAS* is an ongoing column that aims to document skateboarders from all walks of life who are still riding their plank after 30+ years of age. My principal intent is to offer the viewer both an insight to why grown men/women choose to continue to ride despite being what many consider “too old” and to encourage the masses to get out and get theirs - whatever that might be. 

*SUAS is an acronym commonly used in skateboard rhetoric, it simply means Shut Up And Skate! Click the image to view it super-sized. Enjoy.

A Photo A Day, Hooray!

One of my photos from my column Untitled Fluidity made it onto the cover of www.aphotoaday.org today. It'll only be up there for one day, as it changes daily, hence the name. Check it out while you can! 

Mind Over Matter: SUAS

Mind Over Matter: SUAS* is an ongoing column that aims to document skateboarders from all walks of life who are still riding their plank after 30+ years of age. My principal intent is to offer the viewer both an insight to why grown men/women choose to continue to ride despite being what many consider “too old” and to encourage the masses to get out and get theirs - whatever that might be. 

*SUAS is an acronym commonly used in skateboard rhetoric, it simply means Shut Up And Skate! Click the image to view it super-sized. Enjoy.

Mind Over Matter: SUAS

Mind Over Matter: SUAS* is an ongoing column that aims to document skateboarders from all walks of life who are still riding their plank after 30+ years of age. My principal intent is to offer the viewer both an insight to why grown men/women choose to continue to ride despite being what many consider “too old” and to encourage the masses to get out and get theirs - whatever that might be. 

*SUAS is an acronym commonly used in skateboard rhetoric, it simply means Shut Up And Skate! Click the image to view it super-sized. Enjoy.

Untitled Fluidity: Growth

Untitled Fluidity is an ongoing column that aims to give insight into the creative process I work through while shaping, defining and producing a long term photo essay. My principal intent is to offer the viewer both an educational resource and inspirational tool to motivate one's self to get out there and simply create. 

The only constant in our lives is change - often perpetuated by some degree of growth. Growth affords us the opportunity to make errors, develop, and strive for excellence. It can also be a painful experience emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually. 

This week's batch of images continue to build on my last column Untitled Fluidity:Time through a reflection of my family's personal daily experiences. The images lead off with a detail of my eldest daughter's anticipation as she waits to get tattooed. Since my return to the States, she and I have worked to open the lines of communication with each other. We've also made efforts to simply hang out and just enjoy our time together. On this particular day we both headed out to have "Facun" tattooed onto our skin. Good times. 

The remaining images, on some level or another, are quirky, inquisitive and on the surface might seem nominal in depth and value. However, I beg to differ; I see a young boy taking risk and seeking adventure, developing a sort of independence. I see a big brother teaching his little sister acceptance and love. I see a beautiful young girl who has grown into a wise mother, aging with wisdom. I see a baby unknowingly, yet delicately, finding her place in the world. I see a twenty-something defining her identity - hot pink nails, a sliver of a tattoo and all. 

In the future development of this project I hope to show not only the growth that my family experiences but to also introduce the growth happening to my immediate community and the cities that surround it. 

Til then, eat your veggies and lay off the red meat...


P.S. Click on the photograph to view it larger. 

Untitled Fluidity: Time

Untitled Fluidity is an ongoing column that aims to give insight into the creative process I work through while shaping, defining and producing a long term photo essay. My principal intent is to offer the viewer both an educational resource and inspirational tool to motivate one's self to get out there and simply create. 

Part of starting a column that exposes me, warts and all, was to hold myself accountable to getting out and shooting at least once a week. I think one common misconception that staff photographers might have about freelancers is that we have more time to work on personal projects. Pssh, I wish! It’s true that as a freelancer you have no one to blame but yourself. You don’t have a boss, editors, or colleagues to push, coach, or inspire you or your growth. Entitlement does not exist. You are not given anything. Everything is earned, especially the opportunity to take your camera out on a date.  

But between the networking, marketing, and constant hustle required to keep the work flowing from my editorial, wedding and commercial clients, time is simply not an abundant liberty. 

That brings me to this week’s installment of Untitled Fluidity. 

Cramped for time, deadlines to make, meetings, scouting locations, pitching stories, incessant phone calls, courteous emails, budgeting balances, crafting a business plan for a possible additional business I might be launching soon, and lest I mention being a father, a husband, and son - when will I ever shoot?! 

Evidently, earlier in the week while at my son’s soap box derby event, my wife read the distress on my face or maybe she heard it in my voice when she called from a tattoo convention while I was at home getting my daddy duties on. 

Anyway, she came home early and insisted I get out, shoot, and go to the convention - being the happy grump that I can be at times, I obliged. She wisely advised, “How can you find any stories if you never get out?” She ended up being right, as usual. I did find a story and pitched it the next day at a meeting with an editor. 

That said, I still needed to shoot for my column to continue shaping and defining my project. What to do? I had a few photos from our weekend activities but it wasn’t substantial. 

See, I’ve recently returned to the States after living and working for three years in Abu Dhabi. I’m now based in Hampton Roads. Having lived in this region off and on for most of my life, this is the first time that I’ve actually called it HOME. It seems that in my return, I’ve gained a new sense of fondness, love and admiration for my community. 

Hence, I’m introducing my family into the equation. In this mindset I see that “Family is the essence that helps define our very identity” - (yeah, I took that quote from one of those cheesy picture frames every mom owns, mine included). Family is the building block of community so how do I tell the story of my hometown without telling the story of my home?

The following images are a week in the life. Boy Scouts’ soap car derby, a tattoo convention, an allergist appointment with the baby girl, picking up my family from the airport after they returned from visiting my father’s homeland for the first time since 1978, and welcoming spring with a day full of wildflowers at our new home in Virginia.  

Enjoy and thank you for looking. Come back and see me again, y'all hear? 

P.S. Click on the photograph to view it larger.