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Jail is no fun!

I was recently working in Philadelphia and had a few hours of down time in between edits and ended up in jail!  Eastern State Penitentiary (1829-1971)  Notorious criminals such as Al Capone and Willie Sutton were guests of this U.S.National Historic Landmark.  I was amazed by all the textures and patinas of the cells.  Always enjoy exploring and of course taking a few frames here and there.  Glad I was just visiting!

Villanova Soccer

I want to personally thank the Villanova Soccer team for not hurting me, enough said!

The Pittsburgh Kid

“When he let his guard down, that’s when I got the shot”

These Images are from a re-branding project I did for Paul Spadafora.  a.k.a.  The Pittsburgh Kid.  The pre-production on a shoot like this is key.  Many hours are dedicated to the details of the shoot way before I snap the first frame.  On the day of the shoot and all is in place, this when the magic happens.  As much as I try to stick to my previous ideas, I tend to use them more as a guide and a checklist.  This gives me the flexibility to let the serendipity of the moment take hold.  By working through the creative process, new ideas emerge, new angles are are coming into focus for me.  This is key.  These are the images that I came to get…  The ones you won’t find in a layout.

 

 

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The Real Deal

Loved working on this shoot for Consol Energy.  I awalys prefer to use real people.  In this case, real miners. There are several big advantages that come to mind.  One- They didn’t even flinch when we started to rub coal and dirt on their faces.  Two- You can see it in their eyes.  Three- They were so happy and proud to be involved in this project and that always shows in the end product.

 

These guys are good!

These guys ARE good! While I was shooting Zack Johnson and Kyle Stanley for an Ad campaign, I placed myself right in harms way to get the correct vantage point in order to get “THE” shot. At one point I was set up directly in front of the golfers with a 200mm lens. The idea of the shot was to get them driving the ball right over my head, without taking my head off. (Now if these guys were my golf buddies, I would have been dead or at least in the hospital.) The interesting part of this was after I was done shooting. I got up to look behind me to see where all the balls went. And I was absolutely amazed! One- how far they were hit and Two- what a tight grouping the balls were hit in. Just amazing talent.

 

Adare

Ok, I’ve never been much of a beer drinker and certainly not a dark beer lover. But, “When in Ireland…”  So I ordered up a pint of Guinness and to my surprise it was like I was drinking a chocolate milk with a kick. Needless to say I drank my share while I was there and loved every last drop.  Can’t wait till I get hired to do another shoot in The Emerald Isle.  Hint, Hint!

 

The Brueggers White Out…

Of course it had to snow. And snow and snow. No problem, we just put one more jacket on, started the propane heaters and dodged a few snow flakes that found thier way onto our set. All in all, one of my favorite shoots. I love a challenge!

 

Siesta Key Baby!

This is one of my favorite places on earth. My family and I have spent many summer vacations here and have many wonderful memories. So, when I got the chance to do a shoot for The Hyatt in Siesta Key, I couldn’t pack my gear fast enough…

 

An Afternoon in Taos…

One of the perks of doing what I do is that I’m always traveling. I love to travel. I was doing a shoot in Albuquerque, NM and had a down day in between shoots. So, it was a no-brainer, I was going to Taos! Ever since art school and studying some of Ansel Adams work I wanted to see this amazing place. And it did not disappoint. Here are a few shots I took that day.

 

Balls

I’ve been collecting balls for the past 20 years. When I was growing up my life centered around playing baseball. One of my favorite memories is of my Dad playing catch with my Brother and me in our backyard for countless hours. We had a very large yard that was lined by huge pine trees. As you can imagine, many baseballs got lost in that tree line. So when I would go looking for a ball that got past me, I would usally come out with one or two extra balls that may have been hidden from years gone by. What I loved about this was how, sometimes… the ball had been aged and weathered leaving a beautiful patina. I guess that’s what really started my interest in my ball collection.

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