Each time I meet someone, particularly  someone who is  in High School, I always tell them the same thing: This is for you!  Not your mom, not your dad;  Today is all about you.  I ask them what they like or don’t like, and encourage them to tell me that an idea that I have (no matter how wild and crazy) is either awesome or stupid. I stress on the stupid as I want them to know it is what they like, not me (or anyone else).  I find it help them to relax and enjoy our time together that much more.

When Elisabeth’s mother found out that I was going to be in California, she asked me to shoot her Senior Portraits.  We went back and forth on locations and finally decided on the pier in Huntington Beach.  I had an idea what I wanted to do, but as it was going to be January, I did not know if the weather, or the water would cooperate with us.  Thankfully both did!  It was a warm sunny day and we could not have asked for better.

I have to tell you that even as I was editing these images, I had a huge smile on my face.  Not just because of my work, but just remembering the fun that we all had that day.  I hope that I will have the chance to do it again with all of them.  Maybe Elisabeth’s wedding??  Just a thought 3D!

And thanks to my assistant Sean who made my life that much easier that day!

Below is an example of that.  The first image is the finished work, and below that the original.  The original is not much to look at, but by adding tonal contrast to the house and playing with a levels adjustment, you can see the result.  It literally is night and day.

Many years ago Larry was a typical hollywood struggling writer.  He graduated from NYU film school, but was having the hardest time finding consistant work.  But with a bit (OK, a lot) of  fortitude, Larry’s success has finally come.   His resume now reads like a hit show wonder.  And to be honest, I think it is about to get bigger.  Larry has either written or produced for shows like Six Feet Under, Alais, Boomtown, Millennium. But this next Sunday, one of the most exciting projects he has worked on thus far will start to air.

I am not exactly sure how long I have known Larry, but my guess is we are at about 20 years or so.  Larry is one of those people that I consider one of my best friends. We may not speak every day, or even every month, but when we do, it is like not a day has passed since we last saw each other.  Each day when I come to my office, I get to see Larry, along with Bear, (Bear’s name is another story), in a photo from many years ago right after we all jumped out of a perfectly good airplane.  The smiles on our faces were as wide as they could get.

Larry and I have been through a lot together.  Truly the good bad and ugly.  That photo is certainly from the “good”.  A number of years ago, Larry was writing for a show and called me a few days before one of the eposides to let me know that he has a little shout out for me that week.  I was not sure what to expect, but when we watched it, I laughed out loud. Two of the shows characters that week were “Chris and Priti” (my wife).  Thankfully neither of us died in the show, but it was truly funny and one of those things that Larry will at times pull out of his hat.

A few weeks ago, I was in California and had the chance to spend some time with Larry.  Just as he was about to take me to the airport, I took 5 minutes and shot a few frames in his backyard by the pool.

If you have a chance and would like to see some of Larry’s work, on Sunday, HBO will start the 10 series show The Pacific.  Larry has written two of the episodes for this series.  And while I have not seen the final product, I can tell you that the previews look awesome.

The first shot, is by far my fav; the 2nd, is a spur of the moment shot as were waiting for the model to change outfits; it went downhill from there……….

Below are a series of images I took during the week.  The portait work is really just some fun, personal work;  Nothing outstanding, just fun stuff.  The landscapes: I wanted to try and capture the cold that has been running through Georgia this month.

As always, let me know what you think!!

I had a hard time with the below 2.  I could not decide if I liked the color or BW version better.  I shot this with the intent of turning it into a BW.  But in looking at it, I really think I like the color better.

Our two very good friends!!

I shot this @ 2.8 with an ISO of 8,000.  I am still amazed that I can do that!

And my favorite people in the world………..

The first time I met them, we talked about ideas and visions for their big day.  We went back and forth on how to make everything just so.  They were so open to suggestions on how to make it perfect that I cannot say enough kind words about them.  They made my job so easy.  Describing them as relaxed would be an understatement (even though they would tell you that they were not relaxed).  Even on their wedding day, they let me give them suggestions on how to make it just a little bit better.

I don’t think I could have asked for two more kind and generous people.  Thank you Pollye & Katrina for letting me be a part of your special day!

This is a big post, mainly because I had so many wonderful images it was hard to choose which ones to post and which ones not to.  So I decided to go just post them all (well, not really all, but a lot of them).  Enjoy!