Welcome to the blog! Here I'll share news, photography insights, creative plans/thoughts, and whatever piques my interest.
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Mannequins (Street Photography)
Some recent “nude” work.
A collection of posey mannequins captured on the streets of SoHo in New York. Not sure if I’ll include it in my street portfolio or nude portfolio.
I’m leaning towards nude, it’s kinda cheeky.
New York in Color (Street Photography)
Color photos on the street of New York.
A collection of street images in New York City from the past couple of months.
Although much of the work I post is in black-and-white, believe it or not, I prefer color. As Winter gives way to Spring and the sun is more prominent in the sky, I feel much more inclined to go out and do street photography. I’m not a huge fan of boring overcast skies for this sort of work. Ample sunlight makes the colors pop, shadows more prominent, and reflections more interesting. Not to mention the overall energy of the city changing.
Instead of my A7RV, I used the Sony A7CR with the Sony FE 35mm f/1.8 lens for most of these outings. While I love the quality of that lens, I found the shape of it a little too long for discreet street photography. I didn’t want to buy another 35mm, but since I have a preference for small, lightweight equipment, I bit the bullet and picked up the Sony Sonnar T* FE 35mm f/2.8 ZA Lens.
When I paired it with the A7CR, I immediately knew this was the best lens for my approach to street photography. Super small, lightweight, sharp, and with fast focusing makes it still a great option in 2024. I also picked up the Sony FE 50mm f/2.5 G Lens as a complement when I want a 50mm lens. I already have the Sony Sonnar T* FE 55mm f/1.8 ZA Lens, but similarly to the 35mm f/1.8 I find it too long. I’ll keep both the 35mm f/1.8 and 55mm f/1.8 and use them for video work or in special cases when I need a faster aperture (i.e., client work in a lowlight setting).
A final note about the A7CR and A7RV. Both cameras use the same sensor and produce the same image. Besides the detailed, lifelike image quality, I’ve been most pleased with the color from the cameras. If using Capture One, I recommend not using the default Sony profile the program uses. I have my “Base Characteristics” see to the Fujifilm GFX 50S II as my ICC profile. This produces much better color than the default Sony profile Capture One uses. I’ve also heard you can get good results using the Canon R5C profile. Play around and do what works for you.
I’m really loving the color and performance from these cameras. Props to Sony.
More to come.
You Don't Have to Be Artsy
On being yourself and not worrying what is considered “art”.
I freakin’ LOVE shooting on the beach. Art be damned.
A trap I think a lot of artists fall into is this notion that you have to be artsy in order to be an artist.
If you’re a photographer, you have to do some intellectually charged art project in order to be accepted by the high brows of society. Even my favorite photographer, Richard Avedon, fell into this trap. His commercial/editorial photography was immensely successful both critically and especially financially. He was rich off the beautiful images he created for glossy fashion magazines. But the art community at the time frowned their noses up and didn’t really embrace him into their elitist fold. This bothered Avedon and he would go on to labor for years on work that would earn him that seal of approval from this group of “tastemakers” of the time.
Truthfully, whether you like it or not, all of it is art. To what degree is certainly debatable, but it all falls under that umbrella. Whether you’re doing it for money or doing it for passion, it counts as art.
The thing to remember is that you don’t have to be artsy in order to be successful and/or appreciated. Daniel Day-Lewis is one of my favorite actors of all time, but I wouldn’t consider his films as entertaining as Tom Cruise’s. He’s considered more of the “artist” between the two, but that doesn’t make Cruise any less successful or appreciated for the entertainment he provides.
Your films don’t have to be these pretentious affairs with fancy cinematography set it the countryside of Europe. Your photographs don’t have to be black-and-white melancholic street scenes. Or portraits where everyone looks sad and vacant. And your music doesn’t have to be classical for it to be “art”.
Glossy, popular, even trendy work has a place. There’s no shame it and you should create it proudly. And audiences/customers love it and are often asking for it.
Don’t feed them salad when they’re asking for cake.
If you’re doing what people love and they clamor for more, give them what they want. That’s Business 101.
Speaking for myself, I dabble across genres. There’s the more serious studio portraiture. Then there’s slick, colorful photos of beautiful models in swimwear. I also do nudes. I plan to shoot lingerie. I do street photography on occassion. And I plan to produce much more color work going forward. Do I give a shit if some snob in an art gallery or pseudo intellectual type appreciates my work? It’s nice if they do, but I’m not working for their approval.
Story time. I had a colleague who’s not terribly familiar with my work, but she remarked rather ignorantly, “I think your black-and-white portrait work is more you than your swimwear stuff. It’s more like art.” Mind you, she said this more out of her disinterest in and bias against swimwear photography or work featuring models. She fancies herself an intellectual and praises the work of the French New Wave. Of course she wouldn’t like glamorous imagery of attractive models on the beach. And she’s welcome to that preference. But do I change my direction because I don’t meet her personal standard of what is art? Of course not.
I do work I personally enjoy and I encourage other artists to do the same. I don’t “chase the market”. If people like what I do and are willing to pay me for it, then I’ll continue to serve them that.
But it won’t always be salad. It will likely be cake.
Something for you to ponder on your own artistic journey. Do your glossy, colorful, trendy, beautiful, glamorous, sexy work with pride.
You too, are an artist.
Kadeem (Portrait Photography)
Recent portrais in the studio with model Kadeem.
Some portraits I did recently with model Kadeem Samuel in my studio. This was a fun, somewhat experimental shoot as I wanted to play around with a cool mask I found online. It’s a small accessory, but the mask gives the photographs a bit more character and creates an interesting narrative. Who is this masked man?
I used the Sony A7RV with the Sigma 105mm f/1.4 DG HSM ART during this session and find it a winning combination. The A7RV has been a revelation, especially coming from the Fuji GFX 100 II. Although medium format does have the edge in terms of image quality and rendering, the A7RV produces a beautiful, detailed image with greater versatility and a much more fun shooting experience.
There are so many great options from this session so I’ll be sharing more in the future. I’m trying to be more economical when I shoot and what images I ultimately decide to post. But it’s time to start posting more work. Less chitter chatter.
More to come!
Sometimes I Just Wanna Ask...
Some people do dumb things and I only have one question.
Have you ever dealt with someone who behaved in such a way that just leaves you utterly puzzled? Like it betrays all logic and reason? You can’t talk to them. Or get them to relax enough for civil conversation. They just want to throw everything away for nothing. Just a Juggernaut of unchecked, irrational emotions launching furiously in one direction.
Sometimes I just wanna ask…
I guess I’ll never understand.