Tripping on Asphalt » portrait

Mister Serious turns one month

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 00:11:15 +0000

Little Miss A has a new brother and he’s a cutie! He showed up as a present for us right when we got home from our honeymoon! I heard he gave up his first smile to Mom this weekend, but I didn’t get one when we had our little photo shoot the other day. He was a natural in front of the camera though.

In lieu of the traditional black and whites we were planning, we decided to go with a more modern monochromatic look.

Little Miss A doesn’t know it yet, but she provided the stand-in for our set up. Ariel. With feet. After she’s given up her voice to be with Eric.

Enrique and his dancers

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 22:00:11 +0000

As I sit here working on updates to The Dance Collective web site (while missing a class at The Dance Collective), I am reminded of how rewarding it is to work with my clients. As primarily an Architectural Photographer, the vast majority of my clients are creatives by nature and trade: architects, interior designers, builders, magazines, etc. and so they approach shoots with the same creative energy they approach everything else in life. Even my rogue Clients, including Amanda and Enrique of the The Dance Collective are Creatives. And, seriously, it make for a way more interesting day, or night, as it was in the case of this particular shoot.

During my interiors shoots, I am a focused perfectionist. I shoot directly to the computer and double and triple check everything from the technical aspects of things including my lighting and camera settings, through composition, and a plethora of other artistic decisions. For example, we might move a chair multiple times to get the shot just right. Props are swapped in and out. Books, pillows, ottomans, furniture. Candles or lamps may be lit and extinguished. Until we have that perfect moment. The one that everyone feels is just the right balance. It’s all way more exacting a process than one would ever imagine.

With people it’s a little different. A lot different. There are countless decisions that are made in order to achieve the final shot. But they don’t necessarily build with each shot better than the previous. You can’t get everyone to achieve the same expression, the same posture, or the same grace in every frame. People are unruly. For me, it’s less relaxing and a little more ‘a wing and a prayer.’

So instead of shot 29 being 28 shots more sophisticated than shot 1, sometimes shot 29 looks like this.

And that’s when I’m hoping the bottle of champagne is handy.

Another Kind of Dusk Shoot

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 10:17:44 +0000

A night at the beach with a few of my favorite people. And no bug spray. A good idea gone bad.

Can you believe Little Miss A is almost 5?! She’s the first kid I’ve been photographing since birth. And she’s our beautiful Flower Girl in just a few short weeks… Holy crap… Is that right?! A few weeks? I’ve gotta go do, uh, some stuff… I think… Isn’t there some stuff I should be doing?

The Big Day

Sat, 30 Jul 2011 02:03:00 +0000

The Big Day is quickly approaching. As we were preparing our save-the-dates, a friend who got hitched last month said to me, “Oh! The save-the-dates. Exciting. You’d better hold on from here on in!” And all of a sudden, that’s what it feels like. An autobahn ride from here to late September.

I couldn’t be having more fun, taking pictures, designing stationary, picking clothing, and planning our honeymoon. It’s strange, because I didn’t take well to all this in the beginning. But I think the excitement is over-taking any of my party-planning misgivings. Mostly… Or maybe it’s the tequila.

Still re-living our fantastic vacation a month ago

Mon, 08 Nov 2010 11:08:48 +0000

There’s so much going on over here that it’s been tough to find the time to share it. Today it’s snowing for the first time (so early!). This weekend I broke out the crock pot for some coq au vin (thanks T), knit a couple of holiday gifts, started the Harry Potter movies with Year 1, and lit some candles. It’s definitely starting to feel (and smell) like the holidays. Warm and cozy. I’m getting in the mood for friends and family, food and curling up on the couch with a furry blanket, a good book and a puppy or two.

This past Saturday night we also had a blast at a cocktail party celebrating the opening of the new space for The Dance Collective. Everyone was smiling and in full party mode because we are so proud to be a part of this growing collective that has changed all our lives. And we are thrilled for the well-deserved success of Amanda and Enrique. For me, and Sequined Asphault, their opening week meant a couple of other exciting moments. A newly updated web site that I set live last Friday night after their last class was taught at the old studio. And the delivery of 5 (so far) humongous, fine art prints to decorate their modern, airy and bright, brand new dream studio. I won’t lie, it’s been very exciting to see those prints go up over the course of the week.

Do you know this man?

Tue, 26 Oct 2010 12:24:04 +0000

I took this photo years ago. In the summer of 2005 at Coney Island’s annual Mermaid Parade. I took a shine to it instantly, so since then it’s been around – on my blog, Flickr, poster-sized in a gallery, and finally in my house. For some reason, everyone thinks they know this guy and suddenly emails and phone calls ensue. They’ve all been wrong. So do you know this guy?

Stand-in, ed. 3

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 10:47:26 +0000

This is Gnome Chomsky. He hangs around my house looking super creepy. A while back, prepping a shoot with Little Miss A, he totally came in handy. For the very first time.

Prepare to be all over the place. If you are new here, check out the history of the Stand-in here or here.

I’ve had this post hanging around for a while. I decided to get this up today because Gnome has had a lot of action in the last 24 hours. DUG’s parents came over for dinner Sunday – for the first time. Did you hear that, Internet? His parents came over for dinner for the first time. And everything’s fine. Nothing burned down. Nothing exploded. No one cried or ran screaming. And no one took out a white glove. See Diana. I told you it would be fine.

Anyhoo… In the midst of the wonderful day we spent together, we re-lived the story of how Gnome Chomsky came to reside with me in Black Rock.

DUG is the notorious White Elephant gifter at his office. Messily wrapped, gigantic, carrot-noses poking holes through paper are his trademark. Every year the people of the St. John’s (home of the Red Storm – go me! sport!) Athletics Department await his gift with bated breath. Or so he says. In fact, it’s summer and he’s already trolling through our local Home Goods for the most… uh… well… I don’t want to put words in his mouth here (creepy, tacky, completely useless, gargantuan, and dare I say unsightly…) because one never really knows how he chooses – it’s an art. Let me just tell you that one year was a giant, ungainly, snowman head, made of pantyhose and sadly missing some of the actual coal hot glued on as a smiling mouth. Crafty as I am, I was unable to come up with replacement coal in time for the gift giving extravaganza (12 hours later). Where does one get coal these days?

So, one holiday, DUG procured Gnome while I was picking up some things for the house. On the day of the gift exchange, Gnome was still in my living room. Far, far away from the Queens campus of St. John’s. Have no fear! DUG ran a few quick errands and had satisfactorily replace Gnome with I-know-not-what.

This thing is staying in my house?! Get. It. Out. My house of no storage – no basement, no attic, not even a spare closet? Yes. In a corner that could not be more perfect in dimension and design, there Gnome lived for 365 days. And then it happened. DUG needed a new gift for the gift exchange. “Shall I give Gnome?” he asked. Well, it was more more like, “mumble, mumble, Gnome? Or should I find something else and leave him there?” And I was all “GNOME?! You can’t take my Gnome! With his awesome and crazy eyebrows! Who will stare at me creepily when you are not here?!!” And he was all, “Ha, ha! I have won you over with my amazing taste and extraordinary gift giving skills.” (or something like that.)

So now we are going on a couple of years and Gnome is a vital member of the family home. Good story, yes?

Then. After DUG’s parents have gone home. And the story of how Gnome came to be was shared. As if that weren’t enough attention for one Gnome. At approximately 8:45 pm, Chewbaca Scotto, lifted his teeny, tiny little leg, and yes folks, PEED ON GNOME’s FEET. (see above for aforementioned feet.) Gnome’s still recovering from the shock and betrayal of it all.

Ahem. Remember we are here for the Stand-in? I warned you about the all over the place. Here’s Little Miss A, the real deal on that shoot. The one where Gnome came in handy. For the very first time.

Happy 3rd Birthday to my favorite Little Monsters

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 05:16:18 +0000

Life with these 2 characters around is a whole different universe.

Stand-in, ed. 2

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 00:46:58 +0000

Welcome back to our irregular feature here at Sequined Asphault Studio. The Stand-in. If you’re new, you can go here for an explanation (though likely you’ll be able to figure out this brain twister all on your lonesome).

Although it served it’s test lighting purposes perfectly, this particular stand-in clearly does not do Maria justice. It is, however, my favorite piece of clothing I acquired last winter. If you see me with any regularity, you are already sick of this sweater. I will continue to wear this sweater until if frays to pieces regardless of the amount of hand-me-down clothing you bring to my house (you know who you are and feel free to do a drop off at any time).

It’s a… GIRL!

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 00:55:56 +0000

No, really. I have no idea as I type this. Crystal is in labor and my future niece or nephew is about to announce him or herself to the world! The anticipation is so exciting.

Crystal is an avid photographer and there are plenty of beautiful baby pictures of her nephews throughout her meticulous albums. But I thought I would pass along some of the hard earned ‘tips’ we gathered from my first baby photo shoot just in case.

Things We Learned About Photographing Babies: An Illustrated List
originally posted 24 April 2007 at 1:43 am (when I was still young and a night owl)

I don’t know much, Internet. But now I know this:

If a child cannot yet sit up on her/his own, willing said child to stay upright by scrunching shoulders and shouting "Come on Little A, you can do it!" will not work.

Also, it's probably not a good idea to hope with all your might that a baby will be able to sit upright independently for the very first time on a hard surface, such as a drafting table, por ejemplo. (We'll deal with that washcloth issue in a moment.)

Not to beat a dead horse, but if you decide to hold the baby up with your hand and arm (are you sensing a theme here?) , your hand and arm will be in the photograph.

Do not give a baby anything to play with that you do not want in the actual photo. Unless of course you are a whiz at redrawing an entire child in Photoshop, thus alleviating the need for a photo shoot in the first place.

If a surface is so uncomfortable that you do not want to lay or sit on it, do not expect a squishy little 6-month old to be happy about laying on it either.

If you wait until a baby falls asleep, you might be able to take a picture when s/he is not moving. Maybe.

When you need a break, feel free to shoot stuffed animal porn. Parents will find it as funny as you do. Well, some parents. Definitely not all parents.

There will always be drool.

Thankfully, they weren't all out-takes...

Avery got acquainted with faux fur...

And we all laughed a lot.