Riding the Pony with Faye Brandt

1. The shot below is titled, Riding the Pony & the framed print version was submitted to a gallery showing a number of years ago. I really don't name many of my pictures unless there submitted in a real world showing of some sorts. Nothing against it, I just shoot A LOT! And thinking up names for all the stuff I produce & edit gets exhausting!

This shot was also from my 1st shoot with Faye Brandt. 

She's a native New York City resident & loved the urban life whether it be walking her neighborhood streets at night, going to raves & clubs, & enjoying its hustle & bustle among other things. This aspect of her personality is where this ensemble came from.

The wooden pony is another one of those random finds in a former textile mill environment. Please don't ask me how or why it was there because I have no clue. 

Afterwards I heard noises on the other end of the mill floor. I saw multiple figures & told Faye & her friend to grab their things because we need to leave immediately. We did.

We h almost made it to our exit when we were spotted. "Hey, stop," the voice yelled. I whispered to ignore it & to walk faster hoping to get off the property in time. Again, "hey, stop" this time with him running over to us. There was no escaping. 

The gentleman reamed us out about trespassing. "With no signs, how were we supposed to know," I thought to myself but thought it wise to not say nothing. Meanwhile I apologize profusely & told him we were just art students taking pictures. He continued lecturing us almost from a script in how much he was losing with broken equipment & blah blah blah.

"I'm sorry, sir. We're artists & just wanted to take pictures for class" while holding up my camera & shaking it to call attention to my claim. 

He pauses for an agonizingly long time. "Oh! I thought you were vandals" & then goes on about the troubles he's had finding cigarettes & graffiti & broken industrial cleanup equipment & replaceing assorted damage from likely the bored neighborhood teens.

And as if this situation couldn't get more bizarre, he then introduces us to his two sons, Odin & Loki. Yes, you read that right, Odin & Loki. Why he brought his barely 2 10-year old boys into a derelict industrial site with broken glass & wood shards everywhere, I haven't a clue but considering our position felt it best NOT to ask. Nor as a mythology geek, did I ask about how Odin is the adopted father to Loki, all happening before the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But again, I digress.

The gentleman lets us leave after some small talk, where once we were clear the 3 of us breathed a sigh of relief.

2. I'm currently selling my work. If anything particular shot, any model, or any set interests you, please email me here. 

Just tell me what interests you & I'll see what I can do. I try to work within people's budgets but I'm also not going to like give them away for pennies on the US dollar.

3. Also for those not in the know, I've started a Patreon. The link is here.

Its a subscription based site where I offer considerably more of my work for a small monthly fee. Pictures obviously on the lowest tier while getting behind-the-scenes shots & videos to an interview series to anecdotes to blogs to hard copies prints, the higher the tier levels.

It may seem like much but every subscriber contributing helps fund more art creation for me to bring to the viewing masses.

Cammo Loving Charissa

 1. This shot is Charissa. She's a cammo lover which is probably helped that she was married to an active duty Marine.

This little piece was shot locally on her family's property during the dead of summer. If I'm remembering right, these were shot as extra "motivation" for her husband as he was off on a 3-month training exercise on the opposite side of the country.

This was also where I was introduced as"(her photographer). Such titles make me cringe but have since come around that there are certainly worse titles people can give. LOL

2. I'm currently selling my work. If anything particular shot, any model, or any set interests you, please email me here. Just tell me what interests you & I'll see what I can do. I try to work within people's budgets but I'm also not going to like give them away for pennies on the US dollar.

Lingerie Crash with Nicole

Nicole is a sister of a frequent collaborator & thus was familiar with my work. She reached out & wanted private pictures produced to give to her fiancee, a surprise Valentine's Day gift if you will.

We bounced ideas & what I was capable of, challenging because I usually take a hiatus during the winter time being that I have no studio & indoors lighting really doesn't play to my strengths.

However a photographer colleague knew of my plight & offered his place to shoot. I'm a fan of natural light, so I used his dining room that had a large window. 

During the runup to our planned shoot, we had a Nor'easter. Basically a large snowstorm x50 - large amounts of snow falling quicking + wind, making the driving conditions treacherous at best. The Nor'easter wasn't really a surprise because that's all the local newscast reports for days on end.

I called Nicole the night before & asked to be contacted PRIOR to leaving. She assured me she would, only to get a text the morning ofter that she was well on her way.

I'm grumbling because, she's local which means now I have to make my own drive to my photographer colleague's house for the shoot. The snow had mostly stopped but the roads weren't really clear, a trek I was NOT looking forward to making.

The journey was slow going for obvious reasons. The road conditions were complete sh*t & I'm just trying to be careful as I can to make it there in one piece. A  normal 1-hour trip was coming close to 3 hours.

I wasn't even 5 miles from my destination when I slid through an intersection & T-boned another driver. I was clearly at fault but am super thankful no one was hurt.

Called the photographer colleague for a rescue & was brought to the house. The girls would tell of their headache journey where their car did a 360 on the interstate yet thankfully were only the ones on the road.

After we shot & they brought me home. Nicole had extended family in the area & made it an excuse to visit them & we thus parted ways.

Nicole's original stipulation was that I was NOT to post her pictures anywhere online. However I approached her many years later with the intent to tell the story behind the shot you see here & she just laughed & was like "go for it," so I have. I guess time & having a couple of kids with said loving fiancee (now husband) evaporated whatever concerns she had at the time. Or at least that's my guess.

There were some serious ramifcation of totaling my car but think I'll save that for another time.

We did a lot of great stuff during this shoot but the above is probably my favorite. I'm liking the light & shadow play, complimented by her athletic physique (though 'm not sure it translated in this picture) yet contrasted by her lacey lingerie outfit.

2. I'm currently selling my work. If anything particular shot, any model, or any set interests you, please email me here. Just tell me what interests you & I'll see what I can do. I try to work within people's budgets but I'm also not going to like give them away for pennies on the US dollar.

Breast Cancer Awareness with Ann & Ashley

1. What y'all are seeing is a Breast Cancer Awareness shoot w/ Ashley & her mom Ann. The original intent was to make it as simple as I could get - a black & white rendering with only the pink ribbon (or the tatoo) being the only thing in color. 

I put out a casting on one of the many social media sites I used at the time & Ashley responded & her mom, a Breast Cancer survivor tagged along. I did a number of shots of Ashley & asked if her mom if wanted to participate herself despite being 2 weeks post-op from a double mastectomy. She was all for it.

We were both in the moment. Anne doing her thing, me focusing on camera setting & composition & simply trying to stay focused (no pun intended). At one point, she was about to showcase her still visible sutures & me about to shoot her when her daughter put a stop to it. It was probably for the best.

With the exception of documenting Ground Zero less than 2 months after the attacks, this remains one of my most emotionally grueling shoots. 

Hope you enjoy.

2. I'm currently selling my work. If anything particular shot, any model, or any set interests you, please email me here. Just tell me what interests you & I'll see what I can do. I try to work within people's budgets but I'm also not going to like give them away for pennies on the US dollar.