Dessert Time

I occasionally shoot for Dining Out NJ (formally NJ Tables), which is an upscale restaurant/spa guide and foodie-type of publication. I got an email from the Creative Director asking if I wanted to shoot a dessert for them. Say no more! One of my favorite food items to photograph is desserts. They have their own personality and creative beauty (we're talking Montrachet Brulee Cheesecake with a berry compote here, not cookies and milk). This edible art appeared as a beautiful flower with its delicate petals. This was a pleasure to capture.

Fr. Donal

There are many who influence us in life and leave a lasting impression. I had a few of those people in high school. Some of them have passed on, but recently I connected with someone who wasn't my teacher, but a priest who was one of the "guys". Back then, we'd consider him - cool.

Fast-forward many years and I found Fr. Donal retired, yet quite active. I was glad to again enjoy his sense of humor and his great intelligence. The feeling of finding long, lost friend was there. Inevitably, it lead to the futile efforts of trying to catch up after this long period of time in one afternoon, which prompted the next step of setting up another time to meet.

A couple of months later, Fr. Donal sat for me to create his portrait...

Swami Chakradhari

A very special guest of EBC Radio in Monmouth Junction, NJ was at the station last week. Program Director, Kulraaj Anand, invited for me to photograph Swami Chakradhari for his appearance.

Swami Chakradhari is a holy man with a great international following, so when I spent a few minutes with him, I knew what kind of lighting I wanted for his portrait: something ethereal and soothing. Swami Chakradhari being such a popular figure was very comfortable in front of the camera, which always makes the shoot go much smoothly more. The portrait was shot on Saturday in the lobby of EBC Radio with large strobes to create the effect.


The rest of the images were selected from the bunch taken in the broadcast booth during Tuesday's airing.

Never Judge a Book By It's Cover

It's been awhile since my last post, but this post is worth writing about:

One of my on-going personal projects is with the Bridgewater Gurudwara where I go once a month looking for a new face (or faces) to capture. Some of these musicians (Ragi) have an amazing character that so easily extends itself to the visual medium of photography - and others - not.

This ragi being younger than most and not having that "character" visibly on the surface, I was already passing a judgement. I got him in front of the lens and he just took off! Animated and FULL of character. This was a shoot that was well worth struggling with my limited speaking skills in Punjabi. Sat Sri Akal Ji!

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.