Model Releases

In the world of photography, much has been said and argued about model releases. They have been debated in courtrooms and on forums and in the faint light of dive bars frequented by photographers. Experts have written books about the issue and pundits have disseminated vast misinformation. Editors and designers are afraid of the legal ramifications. Although there is a legal need for model releases, the law remains vague.

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Diary of a Reality Television Show

Photography on the USA Network show THE MOMENT 
Airing on April 11, 2013 at 10pm 

Once in a lifetime you submerge down the rabbit hole into a mirror opposite world – Wonderland, if you will. Mine started with a simple phone call, out of the blue. The kind of phone call you could never anticipate.

 I was sitting in my studio, alone. The man on the phone introduce himself as producer for a new reality television show. The premise was to fulfill the wishes of weekly participants who wanted to resurrect a career they had to abandon earlier in their life. Now I am not a fan of reality TV. Cannot stand the Kardashians or The Apprentice. I have never seen any of those dance shows or singing shows. I watched Honey Boo Boo once to see what all the hulabaloo was about. Even so, I indulged the voice on the other end of the line. They were looking for a "mentor" who would coach the prospective, in this case sports photographer, towards her dream. A decent concept.

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DONT LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT: what's in my camera bag?

We have all found ourselves slogging through swamps, soaking wet, cursing mosquitoes and the heavy camera bag we are lugging. RIGHT? Or scaling the side of a snow covered mountain and swearing to yourself about the load of lenses obeying the laws of gravity? I have. It gave me the idea for this blog.

Scoliosis is a medical condition in which a person's spine is abnormally curved. It can be congenital or caused by disease but my doctor tells me mine is from many years of carrying my photography equipment on my left shoulder.

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Photographic Roadwarriors: Carry-on Luggage

A few seasons ago I presented my client with an invoice for $6000. It was the bill for extra & overweight baggage on airlines for just one project. That did not include one ticket, one meal, no hotels or assistants & no photography fees. Just bags. For years I had been traveling with basically the same amount of equipment whittled down to a quite manageable pile but in recent times the airlines realized that they could exploit extra fees for luggage. My client was NOT amused.

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Stop Motion Video: 1933 Bugatti

Staff at the end of Shoot

So much of commercial photography is engineering.  Clients usually supply you with who or what, maybe when, but solving the problems of where & how are your responsibility.  Confronted with taking a photograph of a priceless 1933 Bugatti automobile on display in a museum exhibition meant we could not have it delivered to our studio.  The museum had plenty of room to work in but shooting cars is one of the most difficult lighting tasks.  The light source has to be larger than the object.  When we shoot shiny, metallic vehicles outside, soft overcast morning or evening sunlight makes the entire sky the light source.  But inside we have to assemble huge, complicated light banks.  For this job the added complication was to construct, transport, then reassemble the light on location.

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Batteries Not Included

#$+%&@*:-P! Are you as frustrated with batteries as I am? Although they are everywhere—as ubiquitous a part of modern technology as pixels, they are the bane of my existence. Buy any device: pocket radio, wristwatch, flashlight, hearing aid, Hot Wheels toy car track & right on the package, “BATTERIES NOT INCLUDED”. We can put a man on the moon but we cannot develop a decent battery. That science lags behind all the other marvelous inventions made over the last century.

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Anatomy of a Portrait: Governor Wilder

Normally I am just a garden variety schlub but in a case of mistaken identity, I was running for a shuttle bus at some forgotten airport.  With camera bag & suitcase weighing me down, I was sweating profusely.  Just before I reached the vehicle it pulled away.  I was livid.  Then it screeched to a halt in the middle of the intersection.  Puffing I lumbered the remaining distance & climbed aboard.  The driver looked me up & down disappointedly & exclaimed he thought I was Governor Wilder.  Like he would be carrying his own luggage.

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Dallas/Fortworth Airport

On a recent cross-country assignment my assistant & I had multiple delays. We amused ourselves in the confusion at the airport gates. Travelers are searching the arrival/departure monitors for information or truth that is just never there.



Link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-immZsZVkQc

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Studio Tour

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