Article in Fashion Models Magazine

For their July anniversary issue, Fashion Models Magazine has me as their guest photographer with a pictorial and interview - http://www.fashionmodelsmagazine.com/

Ragi

A continuation of one of my personal projects: Sardar Ji

Fruit! Lots of Fruit!

It's been awhile since I've posted anything food-related, but yesterday was a great shoot and worth posting. Shot for one of my best clients and worked with the master food stylist, Dan Macey.

The lighting for these images came from an unusual use of the strobes and setup.  The client wanted sunlight, so we gave them sunlight. 

These will be cropped a bit tighter and used for packaging, so some of the surrounding props will disappear.

All of the images were shot using grid spots, barn doors, mirrors, some improvised diffusion material, Elinchrom Midi Octa, etc., etc. What I thought would be a simple lighting setup turned out to be an exercise in resourcefulness. Main thing: client was happy and we spoke of future jobs.

Patience is a virtue? Yes. 

A necessity? Definitely!

The Local Hair Salon

Occasionally I work with local hair salons and spas in NJ. And now with most businesses today, have a very limited budget. That means no $$ for professional models to display the talent of the hair stylists and makeup artists.  So, what happens? We have recruits that have never been in front of a camera other than snapshots and Facebook-type of pictures.

What happened recently was there were two women that fit this description, but completely surprised me with their comfort level in front of the camera. I need to thank both Tori (b&w image) and Kim for their professionalism and attitude that made the shoot for the salon successful and Jackie, the owner of A&E salon, a happy artist.

"Dream Of Life" in Asbury Park, NJ

Asbury Park, NJ. Haven't been there in years and then I found myself reliving some of my youth. Back then, I was hanging with Eddie-O and enjoying the beverages of choice from that time. Now, Eddie-O is in Georgia, my beverage of choice is water and my purpose in Asbury Park is different. I was asked to photograph Patti Smith and Steven Sebring at the screening event of their new movie, "Dream Of Life". Steven was the winner of "Excellence In Cinematography: Documentary 2008 Sundance Film Festival for this movie.

Walking the boardwalk to the Paramount Theatre, Patti pointed to her right and said she remembered when she played with the Ramones. Earlier during lunch,  when she spoke of Robert Mapplethorpe, Bob Dylan and others, it was if I was looking through a portal back in time. Being so close to a music icon and artist was an amazing experience.

After the screening, Patti performed a few songs, including an a cappella version of "Because The Night", which she has the audience join in.

Thank you Patti and Steven for such a memorable day. And a huge thank you to Michele Lanfrank (www.Lanfrank.com) for the opportunity to provide my services. Without you, I would've never been able to experience that day.

Rick

A portrait of a NY makeup artist. 

Renovance NY Editorial Program

I spent this past weekend in NY at the Renovance Editorial program with the theme of the 1940's Hollywood fashion lighting. These dresses were worn at the Oscars at one time, combined with the 1940's style of lighting, gave a different challenge from the softer umbrella approach. This was done with all grid-spots that gave that harder light as the old Fresnel lighting did of the George Hurrell era. 

NY ART EXPO

I went to the Art Expo at Javits yesterday and came back completely inspired by some of the beautiful art work. I met Ferjo again after ten years, who is one of my favorite artists/painters and who I own two of his pieces - what a rush. Hopefully, I won't have to wait another ten years.

Then I got completely blown away by another, Fabian Perez. Absolutely gorgeous work. All acrylic and the most dramatic and emotional work I've ever experienced. 

Makes me envious of some of these artists' talents although, seeing what's out there, it gave me inspiration and the push myself even harder.

Studio Lights vs Speedlights

Spent some more studio time with Chris Knapp from Nikon and Brittany again last week to experiment a little with some "big lights" and "small lights". The portrait of Chris was taken with three Elinchrom studio lights and Brittany was lit with two Nikon Speedlights.

This was a great opportunity to work with the new SB-900 along with an SB- 800 and an SU-800 Commander. The accuracy and the versatility of these lights made for some beautiful results.

A Mixed Bag In One Weekend

It may be obvious to some why I'm calling this post "A Mixed Bag". Shooting some of Claudio's guests and one of mine yielded some interesting faces in different lighting scenarios.

1) First image of the famous fine art photographer Robert Farber. A chance to shoot a portrait of a talent as Robert was a wonderful opportunity.

2) Harbajan Singh came all the way to NY from PA as our guest. We thank him very much for his participation and patience.

Sat Sri Akal, Harbajan Ji.

3) Two looks from the same lady in different lighting. 

Also, being able to shoot with Claudio again always makes for an interesting afternoon!

A Different Path

Other than culinary, I've been involved in other disciplines of photography lately. Incorporating Nikon's Speedlights as an alternative to the larger studio strobes in situations where these little lights have a practical edge. 

Most recently, I've been working with Designline Construction Services, creating some interior images as well as environmental portraiture.

All images posted here have been created using Nikon's CLS and Speedlights.

Thank you Designline Construction Services for all your business.

Flashes Of Hope

Flashes Of Hope is an organization that provides charitable photographic services to children with cancer at certain hospitals. I was approached by Nat Clymer, the local representative and NJ-based photographer, to participate in this program, along with other members of the ASMP NJ chapter.

Over the course of the year, I  do a lot of work for non-profits and charitable organizations, including the Lymphoma Research Foundation, but this shoot put quite a bit of my life in a different perspective. Gave me almost the same feeling I get when I return from India - be grateful what what you have Verdini!

The kids are allowed to pose by themselves, family members and certain hospital staff, if they wish. I would watch some of them smile, especially the little ones who really don't know what's going on other than they're not feeling well.

If any ASMP photographers are asked to participate, please consider the offer. The ASMP-NJ chapter will be hosting Nat on Jan 14th to speak about the organization and to have a few photographers show their work and briefly comment from their sessions.

A Special Guest

Last week, I invited Christopher Knapp of Nikon to my studio to shoot. He was generous enough to bring along a model with all the necessary qualities and accessories. Great fun and plan on another shoot next month using the "noir" look. Not much to say other than we captured some beautiful imagery with the use of the Claudio Basso plain white background lighting scheme. Claudio's workshops were worth every penny...

The Many Voices Of EBC Radio

Kul RaaJ Anand: EBC Radio Program Director, Voice-Over Artist and a man of many other talents, truly an amazing personality. Witnessing his many talents and voices, he is a chameleon of sorts. I've seen other radio personalities on the air performing, but Kul Raaj takes to creating his 

many moods and voices through physical animations. It's amazing how he can go from one voice, instantly to another that doesn't even sound like him.

With all these different personalities, there was no specific lighting setup that would've captured his many voices and moods, so I chose three. All were shot with Elinchrom lights using either grid spots, softboxes or the 53" Octa.

Oak Tree Road Section Of Iselin, NJ

I typically get to this area of NJ approximately twice a month, where there is a large Indian population. I've been doing a personal project here just shooting some of the locals and the transplanted Indian culture. I frequent some restaurants and sweet shops that treat me like family (I'll post some from my favorite sweet shop in the near future), but there is a place called "Food Town", part of the Shalimar group, where the chicken tikka is perfect every time! Many times, restaurants will serve it smiling only to bite into it and the chicken has the consistency of wood. Ali is the tandoor chef and felt it was time to capture him preparing my order - The master at work! Thanks Ali for the great meals. See you in two weeks!