NYC

NYC Street Style for Nike and the SNKRS app

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NYC Street Style for Nike and the SNKRS app

Excited to show some images I shot for Nike and the SNKRS app! An incredible day in Harlem and SOHO talking with and photographing some passionate sneaker collectors.

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Matt James for Wake Forest Magazine

Matt James for Wake Forest Magazine

New images for the newest issue of Wake Forest Magazine! Spent the day with alum Matt James of ABC Food Tours, as he took students from P.S. 188 on a culinary adventure through the Lower East Side.

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WAKE FOREST MAGAZINE SPRING 2016

Some images from the Spring 2016 issue of Wake Forest Magazine.  I photographed Jen Anderson ('00) and Jeff Dobbs ('77) for the "Object Curiosity" story in this year's issue.  The magazine curated a collection of objects truly unique to the Wake Forest community, including the first student issued IBM Thinkpads, and vintage WFU fashion straight out of the 1970s. 

Jen Anderson at her family home in Barnegat Light, NJ. ('00)

Jen with her 15 yr. old 6.5 lb IBM ThinkPad 365XD, the first generation of laptops distributed by Wake Forest to incoming students. 

Jen, with her mother, Mary who found the lapotp in her basement last year. 

Jen and Mary recall fond memories of her time at Wake Forest. 

Jeff Dobbs ('77), one of the most popular Demon Deacons of all time,  sporting his vintage WFU letterman jacket in NYC

Many call Jeff the original WFU mascot, and it's clear he hasn't lost a step.

Jeff Dobbs looks back on his time at Wake Forest. 

Detail of Jeff's vintage WFU jacket. 

I love connecting with fellow alumni on these assignments, and I feel so privileged to stay connected to Wake with opportunities like this. Go Deacs! 

JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER 2015-2016

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I'm in the midst of planning my second shoot for Jazz at Lincoln Center, and thought it was a good opportunity to finally share last season's images as well as some BTS photos and videos. 

Late last year my friend and fellow Portfolio Center alum, Casey Walter asked me if I'd like to do some work for Jazz at Lincoln Center.  Casey is a design director at Jazz, and we'd been talking about collaborating on a project for some time, but it had mostly been in the vein of shooting some live concerts and small portrait work (all things I would have been more than excited to shoot). But when he approached me with the opportunity to shoot the 2015-2016 featured artist campaign, printed collateral to be used throughout the year, AND Wynton Marsalis and the JLC Orchestra?? Whoa.  YES.

That conversation set off a busy month of planning, assembling a team, multiple meetings about concept, lighting, budget, and scheduling.  It was by far the biggest project I had ever been a part of, and an experience I will value long into my career.  

The shoot was split into two days at Milk Studios.  Day one featured some fun portraits with the different artists who would be performing during the upcoming season, including Kate Davis, Jared Grimes, Monty Alexander, and Adriane Lenox.

Photo by Madison Salavec

Day 2 was a bit more involved and included individual portraits of each member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, including the man himself, Wynton Marsalis.  A major challenge of day 2 was a group shot featuring all 16 members of the orchestra.  This had to be done in the middle of the head shots, as not all members could be there for the full day, and a large number of production meetings centered on how best to accommodate the artists who had to leave early.  To do this, we had to make sure our headshot set and lighting were marked, so we could quickly move them and make room for our full orchestra group shot, and then come back to our original set for the remaining head shots .  To add to our already complicated day, we had to shoot the band in two different shots as not everyone could fit on the cyc wall at one time. 

We finished day 2 with solo portraits of Wynton Marsalis. He was incredibly gracious with his time and even allowed me to make a few natural light portraits of him after we had wrapped up on set.  The evening light flooding into the studio at the end of the day was too good to pass up.  It was the perfect end to a busy month of planning and an exciting couple of days.  The studio was constantly filled with music, and several impromptu jam sessions broke out throughout the day.  Not a bad way to close out the year!  

Shoots like these don't come together on their own, and I owe huge thanks to the folks at Wonderful Machine, Casey and everyone at Jazz at Lincoln Center, my rockstar friend and assistant Claudia Paul, digital tech Alex Rudinski, and of course my incredible producer, Madison Salavec. 

If you've been around Lincoln Center the past few months you may have seen some of the final images, but I'll be posting the final print materials here soon.  Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more :) 

Photo by Madison Salavec

Pharrell for NYU Tisch School of the Arts

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I had the wonderful opportunity to photograph Pharrell during his career retrospective talk with  Jason King at Town Hall.  Pharrell is the new Artist-in-Residence for NYU Tisch School of the Arts and the interview covered everything from his childhood in Virginia, early musical influences, success with the Neptunes, N.E.R.D., and working with some of the biggest names in music today.  As a fan myself, it was amazing to hear him talk about the evolution of his career and how so much of his success has come from experimenting and having a "Mr. Magoo" philosophy of stumbling onto ideas and following your instincts.  Check out NPR to watch the interview, and  thanks to Marat Berenstein and Nikki Mirasola for a great night! 

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Making The Cover for Ebony Magazine

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I was hired by Ebony Magazine to shoot some behind-the-scenes images of the May cover shoot with Wendy Williams.  It was a fun and crowded day, with multiple hair stylists, wardrobe stylists, video & photography crews, and Wendy Williams' own entourage on set.  It was amazing to watch celebrity photographer, George Holz and his crew work through several lighting and location challenges, and come away with a great cover.  Enjoy a few more from the day: 

Cover shot by George Holz


Adidas All Star Weekend NYC

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Last month, the city was buzzing as athletes, celebs, and "influencers" of all kinds, arrived for the NBA's All Star Weekend and NYC Fashion Week.  I found myself on the All Star side of things, shooting for adidas along side fellow shooters and friends, Kelly Kline and Emily Ramsier. Kelly and Emily just opened up a new studio in my old stomping grounds of Atlanta, GA. It was great to see them again and work together.  I was also working with NYC photographer, Michel Leroy who was taking some awesome portraits throughout the weekend. It was a solid All Star crew! 

I spent most of the weekend in the adidas VIP media suite in Soho, photographing musicians, artists, and even some ESPN anchors as they got a first glimpse at adidas' new apparel and footwear.  Some were even lucky enough to walk away with their own exclusive adidas gear: 

DJ Neil Armstrong

DMC checks out the new adidas footwear

Kitty Cash in the VIP media suite

ESPN's Chris Broussard

Stalley shows off his custom All Star jersey

A$AP Ferg and his custom All Star jersey

A$AP Ferg in the VIP media suite

When I wasn't in the suite, I was shooting around the city at player appearances like this one with the Portland Trail Blazer's Damian Lillard: 

It was a crazy weekend, but so fun to work with such a great team of photographers.  Here was our group photo taken on Michel's set at the end of the last day.   Hopefully I see this crew next year in Toronto :) 

The Blizzard That Wasn't

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NYC got a slight dusting from snowstorm Juno last weekend. It wasn't quite the "blizzard" that was forecast, but the travel ban and trains being down still made for a couple of fun and quiet walks into the city.  


Veterans Day at Yankee Stadium

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Some recent work for the USO!  

Service members, veterans, volunteers, Yankee staff, and even Joe Girardi himself attend the 2014 Veterans Day Service event held at Yankee Stadium. Participants lined up to make care packages that will be shipped by the USO to troops serving in remote units throughout Afghanistan.  

The McNeff Family for USO.org

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Frantic emails from clients are pretty common in my line of work.  Last minute cancellations, quick turn around times, and even location changes are pretty par for the course when it comes to these last minute jobs.  

Such was the case when the USO came calling, and I was happy to step in last minute and help  a great organization and a very grateful family.  

Army 1st Lieutenant Beau McNeff surprised his family when he showed up at NBC Studios in Rockefeller Center here in NYC.  His wife, Cecilia, mother, Jude and his children were thrilled to finally have him home.

1st Lieutenant McNeff also met his infant daughter, Alexandra for the first time. 

My image of the McNeff family with the new USO President, Dr. J.D. Crouch II appeared in On Patrol Magainze, the official magazine of the USO.  

The USO is a great organization, and as the son of two retired Navy parents, I know how much they do for military families around the world.  It was an honor being able to document such an important moment for Beau and his family.  

Bespoken for Trunk Club

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Way back in July I tagged along with Trunk Club photographer Lauren Atkins to help out with her interview with Sam and Liam Fayed of Bespoken.  Sam and Liam's father owns the 130-year-old shirt making company Turnbull and Asser, responsible for dressing icons like Winston Churchill, The Beatles and even Picasso.  Bespoken, located right above the Turnbull and Asser New York location, is adding an edgier and youthful spin to traditional custom clothing.  It was a fun afternoon, and along with detail and interview images, I also got in a quick portrait before we left.  See more images and read Lauren's interview HERE. 

Tintypes with Josh Wool

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One of the reasons I love living in NYC is that it's put me in contact with fellow artists I've only been able to follow via tumblrs or personal blogs.  It's a thrill running into (and sometimes living down the street from) photographers I really respect.  Such is the case with Josh Wool.  

Josh has been doing some amazing work lately, and his recent tintype portraits have been incredible.  He recently earned a spot in VSCO's Artist Initiative Program, and has been traveling around the Hudson Valley making some beautiful images.  

It takes a lot of work (and chemicals) to set up a single frame, so I was honored when he asked me to sit for a quick tintype a few days before he packed up his gear and hit the road for his VSCO project. It's a slow process with the sitter having to stay perfectly still for the sometimes 4-second exposure.  Josh has his processing down, and as you can see, the results are really stunning. See more of Josh's work here, and keep up with his progress via his VSCO grid here.  Thanks Josh!

I BELIEVE

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The World Cup wraps up in just a few more days, and it's been a crazy ride.  Watching Team USA  this year has been particularly stressful, with close wins, last minute draws, and a final push from our Portuguese friends to get us out of the Group of Death and into the round of 16.  This is my favorite time of the year (every four years), so I was excited to make the trip out to Governor's Island last week to watch the USA take on Belgium at the official FIFA viewing zone. 

The energy was amazing, and it was awesome to see wave after wave of rowdy fans get off the ferry with flags, painted faces, USA jerseys, and a steady chorus of "I BELIEVE THAT WE WILL WIN" chants.  

With an incredible performance by keeper Tim Howard, the U.S. stuck around and finally broke through in extra time thanks to a GOLAZO by Julian Green and got back in the game 2-1.  But even with some great (gut wrenching) chances at the end, we still came up short and were eliminated.  

I've been playing soccer my whole life, and it's great to see the enthusiasm that's slowly building around the sport, especially during these last two World Cups.  There's a lot of progress to make, and of course team adjustments to be made, but if fans stay this passionate and invested, I'd say soccer in the U.S. could be something really special in the next 5-10 years.  

See you in 2018, Team USA!