DC Magazine, April 2008

I love shooting editorial work. It gives me the opportunity to meet interesting people and go to cool places, and I feel like there is more creative freedom with editorial work than in other commercial photography fields.

That said, I'm thrilled to be contributing to DC Magazine, a Modern Luxury publication.

Although there's still a week or two left to pick up this months issue of DC Magazine, you can also read the digital version here:

http://modernluxury.com/digital.php?e=WASH

Be sure to check out:




Tom Pipkin and Mark Gundersen, "DC Source", page 36



Marshall Thompson, "The District Line" page 40



Jason Wright, page 58

Best of all, I was thrilled to shoot the "Look Who's Talking" feature. This feature appears on the last page of every issue and is considered the magazines signature piece. This month showcased Chris Lukezic, a stylish soon-to-be Olympic runner. I'm thrilled with how it came out, it looks great in print!





Chris Lukezic, page 136

Baltimore Museum of Art

I'm very proud to announce that I have a piece included in the current feature exhibit at the Baltimore Museum of Art!!!

The exhibition is "Looking Through The Lens: Photography 1900-1960". It's a fantastic show, and if you haven't had the opportunity to check it out, I highly recommend it. As part of the show, a panel consisting of artist Peter Bruun, Urbanite creative director Alex Castro, and photographer/BMA Trustee Connie Imboden selected 19 photographers to respond to the show with their own work. As one of the 19 photographers selected, my work will be on display as part of the exhibit at the BMA until June 8th, 2008.

My piece and written response are featured on page 67 of this month's "Urbanite" magazine (a free monthly magazine here in Baltimore). The written response in the article had been reworked for space, so here it is in its entirety:
_____________

In my self portrait, I am responding to the unique perspective of Bill Brandt, the simplicity of Harry Callahan, the strange reality of Ralph Eugene Meatyard, and the sculptural forms of Edward Weston. Through photography and their unique vision, they were able to see things in such a way that transformed their subject matter into something new and unexpected.

Is this camera lying?

In an age of digital manipulation, it is easy to sometimes forget how strange our reality can be and take for granted the bizarre world around us.

My image is a photograph of a reflection in mylar, a thin plastic-like material with reflective qualities. Because of it’s flimsy nature, the mylar can be bent and/or rippled to distort its reflection. The effect is a common one, reminiscent of fun-house mirrors, plastic wrapping, or those birthday balloons they sell at checkout counters in grocery stores. But through the medium of photography, these reflections can create something far more peculiar. They can transcend their context and become something new, just as Meatyards images of children wearing masks become something more disturbing, more psychological.

The camera isn’t lying in this image. What is seen in the image is what the camera saw. There is no digital or darkroom manipulation, only the bizarre and distorted reflection in a cheap piece of plastic.

Baltimore Magazine, January 2008

Lots of work in this one...

Photographed for the "Art Means Business" piece as well as Bill Stevenson, tattoo artist and co-owner of the Baltimore Tattoo Museum, for the voices feature.

And don't forget to check out the table of contents:





I like that they used different images for Bill in the contents and in the piece. This one is a full page:



And here are the spreads of the "Art Means Business" piece. The woman, Felicia Zannino-Baker, owns a shop and gallery in Highlandtown. She is also on the board of directors for the Highlandtown Arts and Entertainment District. The man in the chair is Dan Schiavone, who co-founded the Creative Alliance and owns a gallery (Schiavone Fine Art) on Highland Avenue. The other images are shots of the Creative Alliance, interiors of the Copycat Building (thanks to Kevin And Vijay), exteriors of the Load of Fun gallery, North Avenue, and the Cork Factory building (interior and exterior).

Home for the Holiday

Not having a pet of my own, I don't get to partake in the guilty pleasure and phenomenon that is "pet photography", made popular in recent years by camera phones and affordable point and shoot digital cameras. But spending the holiday with the family gives me time to photograph their two overgrown golden retrievers, Abbey and Libby, and see what all the fuss is about.



Although Libby (the one in the front) was thrilled to be in front of the lens and did what she could to keep it that way, Abbey was a little more camera shy. Luckily, Libby left momentarily to investigate a sound she thought she heard and gave me a second to get this shot of Abbey:

More Reflections

Just added one of my favorite images to the "Reflections" gallery on the website...



The flimsy quality of the mylar bends, blurs, and reflects back upon itself, creating multiple reflections and visual chaos. They can be so chaotic that it would be impossible to replicate a particular distortion. They can also be so transient that it only lasts for a fraction of a second, making it extremely difficult to really see the reflection and everything that's happening in it. Photographing them becomes very intuitive- I have to respond to something in front of me without even completely seeing it. Often times looking at the images after a shoot is the first time I actually get to see them.