Flour & Air

I interviewed my good friend Bizz a few weeks ago, and we spent one late afternoon sharing stories and experiences that changed our lives. The main thread I took from all of the stories Bizz shared with me, is her ability to change her life dramatically and take chances. I wanted to create a scene where I could show her fearlessness and ability to leap into the unknown.

I took a few practice shots, then we went right into the full shoot and almost two bags of flour.

As part of the series, I put myself into the background of the image as an addition to the scene, and continued to confuse anyone walking by and dust the parking lot.

I am someone who certainly uses photoshop, but for the purpose of making small improvements to an image and general processing. My personal motto with photography is to create images that rely on photography, not photoshop. But, very rarely, I have to use photoshop to make the photo. In this case I would have needed two more of me to throw flour and operate the camera, and I was able to set up my camera in a way that I could layer one image right on top of the other.

This last one will be the final image I will use for the series. Big thanks to Bizz for letting me be the crazy person I am and throw flour everywhere.

Sky & Anna: 4am after a Long Night

As part of my photography series I have been interviewing some of my friends about some of the crux moments in their lives. A moment in which an event or a realization occurs, and you can’t go back to the person you were the day before. Skylar and Anna shared a really beautiful moment of their’s with me, and I re-interpreted it into this scene and stuck myself into it!

To show you a bit of the process, I thought I’d include the shots I took while setting up the scene.

1. Clear the space.

2. Make the space what you need (in this case, the left overs of a party).

2. Now get your friends into their appropriate costumes.

3. Make sure everyone fits into the composition. And looks nice and awkward.

6. Wait for the light you need and also set up any lights you have. Shoot until the magic happens.

The intention behind the design of this image is to show two different stories happening after experiencing (generally) the same night. We have three people who have just spent their night dancing and sharing stories and being free. But now the blue light of 4am has arrived and it’s all winding down. Some of us are exhausted, in a state of emotional disarray, and others are having a genuine connection.

It was so great to interview Sky and Anna and add their story to my photography series. They are a bundle of fun and did a wonderful job in this shoot. You can read more about how amazing Sky and Anna are in my last blogpost and see photos from another photoshoot with them!

More photo adventures soon! And, of course, let me know what you think.

Skylar Kergil at The Egg for Breaking the Silence 2013 GLSEN

My good friend Skylar Kergil was invited to be the Keynote Speaker at the Breaking the Silence GLSEN event at the Egg this past Friday, and I was lucky enough to tag along with him and his girlfriend, Anna, to hear him speak and take some photos.

Sky is one of those amazing people who you meet and instantly know they are just a wonderful person, full of wisdom and joy. I really can’t say enough about him! Here is Sky and the lovely Anna before the event.

Can’t do without some press photos as well.

Sky prepared some amazing words to share with the folks who attended the GLSEN event, and I found the story he told incredibly moving, honest and brave. Below there is a link to his lecture which you should listen to right now. He spoke about his experience as an out trans man (F to M) and overcoming bullying, finding acceptance within himself and society, loving life and his choices – and how hard that road is to travel, and how worth it that journey is.

Here are some of the good folks to helped organize the GLSEN Breaking the Silence event; they did a great job and put in a lot of work!

I’ve worked with Sky quite a bit over the few years we’ve known each other and I’ve taken portraits of him for my nude series, A Quiet Cadence, two of which are shown below.

Sky will be graduating from Skidmore College this May and is an active YouTube Blogger, where he has documented his transition. Through this he has gained almost 30,000 subscribers and 3.2 million views. Sky also is a talented musician/poet and his music page can be viewed on Bandcamp. As part of his senior thesis as a Studio Art major at Skidmore College, Sky has started the ongoing photography project of Re-Humanizing the Trans-Masculine Community which “focuses around the day-to-day lives of trans-masculine identified individuals. Through disposable camera snapshots and selected writings, the project aims to show the many ways in which this community interacts with other identities and communities.”

I took this last portrait because I couldn’t resist trying to capture the elusive quality of beauty that makes Sky one of the most amazing men I’ve ever met. It doesn’t quite do him justice.

Next blogpost will feature Sky and Anna modeling in my ongoing photography project, so tune in soon for more updates on my photography and Sky!

48 Hours in NYC: Magical People, Photography Shows, World Premier Film Screenings, & Photoshoots

I originally went on an impromptu trip to NYC to go to the Aipad Photography show at the Armory. It was one of those times when I was daydreaming about traveling and photography shows, and I realized I could actually go. I made some quick plans to stay with one of my favorite people, the lovely Callison Stratton, and headed down to the city. The impromptu one day in New York, quickly turned into two days, as I was invited to go to the World Premier screening of Killing the Dog. The (now) weekend was pretty magical, as I attended an amazing photography show, discovered a gathering of pillow-fighters, spent some much needed time with Callison, went to the film premier of Killing the Dog (and ended up shooting the after party), and, of course, I found time to squeeze in a photoshoot for my current series.

Watch out, folks, this is a long blogpost.

I would absolutely suggest going to Aipad Photography show if you get a chance. It’s an annual gathering of some of the best galleries in the US (and abroad), to sell photographs. All the vendors combined, almost every famous photographer is exhibited, both old and new (from Alsel Adams to Nan Goldin to those who are just being discovered), and you can actually buy the pieces. After looking at pieces that were $45,000 – $60,000, the one’s that were going for $1,500 started to look very reasonable. Almost makes you think you can afford it.

And then there is Callison, who I can never resist taking photos of. Really, never. She’s just too lovely.

Just wandering around the city I also came across A LOT of people enjoying a pillow fight. Totally awesome. New York is the coolest.

I was very lucky and able to get a ticket to the World Premier of Killing the Dog at the Take Two Film Festival. I was actually an extra in the film, and you can see me in the distance in one scene for about 2 seconds. It was awesome. Just kidding, it was cool to be in the film, but mostly I was totally blown away by the Film itself. So many wonderful and talented people came together to create the project, and you can (and should) watch the trailer below.

It was great to hang out with the cast and photograph the after party at Grassroots Tavern into the wee hours of the morning. Observe a large chunk of photos from that night below.

We have here lead actors, Josh Evans and Lauren McCune with director, Conor Stratton. You’ll be seeing more of these three in the years to come.

And Six Part Productions, in cake form.

Yeah, so, clearly, great party and great people. It’s that simple.

I also fit in one photoshoot for the current photo project, with the help of my good friends Rob Zilinyi and Sarah Sproviero.

That last one will be the one to keep in the series. And I’ll leave you with a Psychic Readings, because I love the store front.

Kubrick’s The Shining – Film Stills

I’m not one for horror movies, but I have been told to watch The Shining just enough times that I finally got around to it last week. Plus, Kubrick. Well, because of Kubrick. More film stills for you!

LOVE his use of light and framing the scenes.

“Real is good, but interesting is better.” Kubrick

Trapdoor

When you have access to a trapdoor, you really must use it.

Twin Peaks Film Stills

I’ve been working on a photography series for about seven months now, and I spend a lot of time creating, editing, brainstorming and working out logistics to make the images – but I also spend a lot of time doing research. Whether it be picking up books on artists, watching interviews, going to museums, watching films, or going to open crits. Recently I’ve been going on a huge David Lynch TV/Film kick, as he is fantastic and fascinating. As I watch TV/Films I usually take screenshots of interesting moments or scenes so I can go back and study them later on.

Therefore, here are my favorite film stills from Twin Peaks, directed by David Lynch.

WARNING – IMAGE SPOILERS.

The good men of Twin Peaks…

And the good, bad, strange, and charming women of Twin Peaks…

And, of course, Coffee. Black as midnight on a moonless night.

Boston

A few weeks ago I visited Boston with Nick and we had a wonderful time exploring the museums and streets of the city, along with experiencing St. Patrick’s day in Southie with friends!

While in the Museum of Fine Arts, I met a wonderful man who actually paints paintings there! Apparently you just need to get a permit. He was really nice, and clearly very talented!

I will say, the light in museums is always beautiful.

And then a few photos from St. Patrick’s Day itself.

And this photo of Molly, because she is so lovely!

Pool Scene

I’ve been trying to plan this particular shoot for a long time now, and I was so excited when my friends let me buy them beer and pool and then step in and let me direct them. So thankful to everyone to helped me get these photos!

The image below is this one I went into the shoot knowing I wanted to get, and you can see the same scene with two different models and myself.

This is the image I will most likely add to the new series.

I thought this one was fairly successful as well.

Let me know what you think!

Self Portrait at Zero Degrees

New England in the winter is not a warm place, but sometimes there are some unexpected perks. The temperatures hovered around -10 to 10 degrees F for a few weeks and Saratoga Lake completely froze over. Hence, after spending 10 days on a beautiful tropical island, I felt the need to completely shock my body and risk frost bite to take some pictures in a place that only exists when the weather allows.

This was an interesting shoot because, with the wind chill, it was around zero degrees when I was taking these, and my camera equipment started to freeze. I usually use a camera release button when taking self portraits, but the clicker couldn’t react at all in the temperatures, so I had to set my 10 second timer and then run out onto the ice. It was probably lucky that I had to do this though, as it forced me to run around a lot and kept my body temperature (slightly) up. I got some very skeptical looks from some nearby ice fishermen! The shutter on my camera continuously moved slower as more time passed exposed to the temperature. My eyes also started uncontrollably watering because of the sun and cold, and you can see my mascara has rubbed off above.

By the end I had passed from the painful cold place into not feeling portions of my body, which I would not recommend. But, it was worth it in the end. The last image is the only one I think I will include in my current series.