I just covered an event in Washington DC for Macy's at their Metro Center location. It was billed as "The Summer of Love" and featured a fashion show along with an art exhibit featuring works by students of DC's Corcoran Art School. Groovy it was... click the photo for a larger version.

	Sometimes you just love your job. Now mind you I am never all too happy about the 5 hours or so it takes me to get to New York City, but when it's an event like this, it doesn't seem that far at all. The James Beard Foundation Awards are the culinary equivalent of the Oscars. Held at the Lincoln Center this gala event was quite impressive indeed. During the awards ceremony I was able to photograph celebrities such as Emeril Lagasse, Martha Stewart, Ming Tsai, the actor Stanely Tucci as well as a personal favorite of mine the actress Lorraine Bracco who is well known for her roles in the Sopranos and movies such as Goodfellas. I could also swear I caught a glimpse of Richard Gere backstage but alas I cannot prove it. The trip also allowed me to hang out with Kent and Amy Miller who hired me to assist in this undertaking and of course we got to sample many of the phenomenal food creations afterwards. I can only hope I get to help cover this next year as well. Click any of the photos to go to a page with larger versions.

I have recently signed on as a contributing photographer with Shutterstock.com. Clicking the icon will take you to my portfolio. As a designer I have been using this service for some time and finally decided it would be a great way to reach a lot of people who might have use of my images that might not otherwise get to see my work. I have also signed up with two other agencies and once I have material uploaded I will post the links as well.

Well I love it when something comes together better than anticipated. Some time ago I posted an image from a shoot of a custom chopper and a great new model and commented that it might end up published in a national magazine.
What I didn't know was that the images would not only be printed but that one of them would end up being used as the magazine's cover! So now you have to rush out (after December 9th anyway) and pick up a copy of Street Chopper Magazine's Winter Isssue.

Where would you find Snoopy, Sponge Bob and Hannah Montana all at the same time in person (as it were)? Only at the Macy's Day Parade in New York City is where! I was on hand and walked the entire route on the less crowded side of the barriers. Personally, given how many times I'd watched the parade in my youth, this was an extreme treat to say the least... I felt like I was 5 years old again..

Brian McKnight a Grammy-nominated American singer, songwriter, arranger, producer, pop and R&B musician wows a standing room only crowd at Macy's Metro Center in Washington D.C.

Location, Location, Location!
I've just returned from a trip to Bermuda to photograph the wedding of Heather and Billy Mullen. What can you say? I'd love to take a lot more credit for the images but that credit belongs to the couple and mother nature.

The animation above is the series of images from a fun
bouquet toss at Astwood Cove, Bermuda,
I didn't have a tripod on this cliff and you can see it in the
one frame that jars to the side a bit.
Aside from that it is still quite fun to have
captured and put together.

Can you imagine my intrigue when I overheard Mike and Tara mention at the end of their reception in Connecticut that they were planning to wait a few weeks to honeymoon and that they were going to go to Bermuda on a cruise. When asked on the dates of the cruise they responded with the very same week I was to be there myself to photograph Heather and Billy's wedding... What an opportunity! We ran into each other several times on the ship, the Norwegian Dawn, and on Bermuda so I was able to capture some nice candid photos for them. We also agreed to meet and head to a beach one evening to get some honeymoon photos of them that will no doubt be a nice addition to their wedding album.

These photos of Joe Biden are from a few years back. Often I photograph celebrities or politicians and then later gain an appreciation of how lucky I am at being able to capture their image. The inclusion of these samples of these people currently in the news is in no way a statement on my personal political opinions, it is however a statement that I am assigned to cover events with some fairly topical subject matter.

Congressional Representative John Lewis
John Lewis is a civil rights icon who recently found himself at the center of some controversy over remarks made regarding the current presidential campaign of John McCain's.

Speaker of the house Representative Nancy Pelosi
(D-CA 8th District)

I just completed a shoot of a custom chopper that will most
likely be featured in a national magazine before too long, it
was a great day with a cool bike, natural model and a fantastic location, more soon.

What's more noteworthy than photographing Paris Hilton? Photographing her twice in two days is what! I had been hired to cover her appearances at Macy's Roosevelt Field, Long Island location (above) as well as their store in Philadelphia (right) which was the former landmark John Wanamaker store in center city (gorgeous building don't you think?)

Promoting her new fragrance CanCan, Paris offered fans an opportunity to meet and get her autograph. I can say this much, she does indeed have some fanatical fans as this was one of the noisiest and most energetic events I've ever covered. I also have to give Ms. Hilton some kudos in that she was as enthusiastic to meet the last people in line as much as the first, I really think she enjoys this interaction more than the fans themselves.

Just before the second shoot with Paris Hilton in Philadelphia I had visited West Laurel Hill Cemetery just in time to observe some spectacular fall colors. A "garden" cemetery, West Laurel Hill is a wonderful display of fantastic trees and monuments amidst gently rolling hills just off the Schuylkill River.

I recently had the chance to photograph an Emmy Award-winning member of Macy's Culinary Council - Ming Tsai, the East West Fusion cuisine chef and restaurateur who currently hosts Ming's Quest on the Fine Living TV Network and Simply Ming on American Public Television, and the former host of East Meets West on the Food Network. Ming has also appeared as a challenger chef on the Food Network's Iron Chef America, beating Iron Chef Bobby Flay in "Duck Battle" and was a judge for Cooking Under Fire on PBS.

Some weeks back I traveled to NY to assist Kent Miller Studios on a magazine cover shoot for boutique DESIGN and the subject was none other than Queer Eye For the Straight Guy's Thom Filicia. Photographed in downtown Manhattan at the "W" Hotel, the image selected was one of the very first images taken. Tom and the entire crew were much fun.

Keeping with the trend of TV personalities, I had the chance to shoot an event featuring TLC Network's Clinton Kelly of the hit show What not To Wear. Clinton was amazing with the audience; he took a genuine interest in their questions and was one of the most personable people both in front of, and away from, his fans.

Visit the Recent Work page to see more on my recently published photo in the August 2007 issue of Playboy.

 

I've been finding more and more that I enjoy photographing weddings. Recently, I have shot a great many with Kent Miller Studios in New York City, and have had the chance to capture images for a very special one here in the DC Metro area. I met a young man in a work-related capacity some months ago. He informed me that he was getting married and asked if I'd do the photography. I was only too happy to agree to this, and when the day finally came, it ended up being so much fun. I was glad that I was able to be there, let alone photograph such a happy couple and their joyous family and friends. Congrats to you, Tiffane and Nick, and thank you for sharing your day with me.

I recently did a shoot with a new model and had the chance to benefit from the amazing skills of makeup artist Amber Gangi. Amber is a model herself, with significant runway experience all over the world. On top of providing exceptional makeup artistry, she got involved by assisting the new model with poses, and was constantly adjusting wardrobe and makeup as the shoot progressed. The results were incredible. There is nothing like using good tools to do a job. A stylist and makeup artist are not to be undervalued, and the difference is well worth the effort and expense.