New Year New Promos
Halloween Portraits, Hold Up!
Kicking off my advertising for the new year I sent out this image I shot for a retirement home story last Halloween during their costume party. The residents were great. I truly hope I will have that much fun when I’m their age. I still get a kick out of this image and hope it brings a smile to more faces.
In related news I should be launching my new website in a week or so. I am very excited about it! Heather Pizzitola of Heather Pizzitola Design has done an amazing job and has been a true joy to work with.
I hope everyone has a great new year!
Champion Boxers
I recently had the opportunity to photograph Regis Prograis, a local welterweight on his way to the US Olympic trials this year held in Mobile, AL. A few years ago I had the pleasure to photograph Juan “Baby Bull” Diaz for the same editorial client at the same gym here in Houston. Just as the last time, everyone was incredibly nice at the Savannah Boxing Club. As a throwback to the first shoot I did there I made the same lighting setup for Prograis as I had done for Diaz. Prograis and his people were easy to get along with and we all had a great time.
And finally an image from the Diaz shoot.
Big Oil CEO
In celebration of BP finally slowing down it’s oil leak into the gulf I thought I’d post this portrait of Rex W. Tillerson, chairman and CEO of ExxonMobil Corporation, that I took a few months back. Tillerson was in town to speak at a luncheon at the Hilton Hotel Americas in downtown Houston. I was able to pull him aside as he left and took these two portraits in 30 seconds. No exaggeration. Working with very little time I decided to use the giant floor to ceiling windows outside of the ballroom where Tillerson spoke as my light source. I also really liked the slanting columns in the background as the angles draw the viewers eye to the subject. When photographing CEOs or celebrities it is very important to be respectful of their time. While I would have preferred to shoot a little longer and work the angles a little better there just wasn’t time. As it was, the editors (my clients), were very happy with my take for the day.
Blueberry Pie Recipe
My awesome girlfriend, Stephanie, baked her first blueberry pie this evening. It was amazing! As any good photographer would do, I took pictures. Here they are and below is the recipe she used.
Blueberry Pie:
-Frozen pie crust
-3/4 cup sugar
-2 Tbsp. corn starch
-1/8 tsp. salt
-1 Tbsp. lemon juice
-1 cup water
-3 cups blueberries
-2 Tbsp. butter
Cream Sauce:
-3 oz. cream cheese
-2 oz. sour cream or yogurt
-1 cup sugar
-2 oz. butter
-Mix all together
1. Bake pie crust at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Poke holes in crust with a fork.
2. In a pot, boil water, sugar, corn starch and salt. Stir.
3. Add lemon juice and 1 1/2 cups of blueberries. Leave on medium heat until bubbling.
4. Simmer and strain until blueberries thicken and pop.
5. Remove from heat and stir in butter. Cool to room temperature then fold in other blueberries.
6. Spread cream sauce on pie crust
7. Spread blueberry filling on top of cream sauce
8. Add top layer of crust
9. Eat and enjoy!
MD Anderson Flashes of Hope
I recently had the honor of photographing patients in MD Anderson’s pediatric care for Flashes of Hope. We photographed 27 patients and families in one five hour session, a record for the MD Anderson chapter of Flashes of Hope (FOH). In case you haven’t heard about it FOH is a “nonprofit organization that changes the way children with cancer and other life threatening illnesses see themselves through the gift of photography and raises money for pediatric cancer research.” The way I see it, I got to bring a bright spot and some entertainment (hopefully!) into the marathon of cancer treatment for these kids and their families. We saw a number of patients who hadn’t slept the night before because they had to go through tests or whatever else can happen in a hospital. I tried to create an environment for tired parents and children to enter into and cut loose for a few minutes. I think the images reflect it.
I even received this kind email from the local FOH chapter director, “We received your photos and were blown away by their beauty. You have been given an amazing gift; you captured the essence of those children’s souls in a truly profound way. I am certain that the MD Anderson families will be as appreciative as I am. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
This was the second year I’ve had the opportunity to participate with FOH and again it was an amazing experience. I hope you enjoy the images. Check out the FOH website and think about supporting this amazing organization.
Houston Area High School Softball
Life has been crazy busy these last few months. Between a major personal project and trips to Cuba, Iowa and Arkansas, I have been running myself thin. Even for these tough times business has been good and life in general is good. Pictures and stories from projects and trips are soon to come.
As it has been far too long since my last post on here I thought I’d show a few images from the regional high school softball games I shot last month for my main local editorial client, The Houston Chronicle. The days were very hot. At least one of these teams of girls had to skip prom to play. High school kids fighting for trips to the state tournaments always make for great moments. I hope you enjoy seeing a bit of what I had the pleasure to witness.
Who Dat?
Westbury High School wide receiver Edwin Williams
This week is being filled with toning images on the computer, getting new business cards printed and the sort. Time for a break from that office work and drop a quick image in here. Last Friday I was sent by the Houston Chronicle to photograph an area high school athlete who would be cheering on his hometown New Orleans Saints, had Hurricane Katrina not displaced his family to a new home in Texas.
I had envisioned a striking portrait of a high school football player decked out in his Saints sweat shirt and other memorabilia a black background and great lighting on the kid. I wanted it to look a bit like a rapper’s CD cover. Not the normal newspaper portrait but the writer thought it sounded good. I also knew I’d get a more traditional portrait to back it up if the editors didn’t like my idea. But, as is normal for newspaper photography, plans changed when I arrived on location. There was no space inside or outside for the tricky lighting setup I wanted. So I changed gears and did the best I could in a living room with reflective white walls and large mirror that attempted to ruin my control of the lights. What is shown here was my solution to the situation. Edwin Williams and his family were great to work with and I’m glad they got to celebrate the Saints’ win on Sunday.
Mardi Gras
The Houston Chronicle sent me down to Galveston, TX to document the Mardi Gras festivities this past Saturday afternoon. I know that photographers are their own worst editors but here are a few of my favorite images from the day. More can be seen without the extra post processing on the Chronicle’s web site.
Friday Fun
I spent Friday afternoon and evening on the penthouse floor of a new apartment building just outside of downtown Houston with my friend, Aaron Sprecher. He borrowed my spare tripod to get some stock shots for a magazine client. I enjoyed the sunset and beautiful view of downtown.
Recent Editorial Work
I had a lot of work from the Houston Chronicle in the first few weeks I was back in town. Here are a couple of my favorite assignments. The first was covering a mentoring program at a local high school in a low income neighborhood. One of the students the writer and I were introduced to aspires to be a car designer. He had 50 or 60 different designs on his iPhone. The program seemed like it was working really well. I’m always impressed with teachers who go the extra mile to pour their lives into their students.
The second image is of a woman who lost her home to Hurricane Ike. Galveston is still recovering from last year’s hurricane and restoring low income housing is under debate. This lady has two daughters in college and a third who is a straight ‘A’ student still in grade school. Oh, and mom is working on her associates degree at Galveston College. She had such an amazing attitude and outlook on life. We chatted and told stories throughout the shoot. I decided the shot of her in front of the college with her backpack full of books looked far too much like a college brochure so we ended up a mile away at the empty lot where her apartment complex had been. The evening sun was ducking in and out of the clouds. I made images of her in front of the tree from where she hung Christmas lights outside her old unit. When the sun came back out with its amazing warm light I had her stand in the middle of the street and got down on my stomach to make her look like the hero she is.
