Personal Project | Photo Reiter

Category Archives: Personal Project

Click on the title of the blog post to view the entire entry.

Clara’s Dream – NH dance photography

December 22, 2009 – 10:19 am

For those of you who thought tap dance was old-fashioned, stodgy, or simply people clicking away on a stage…WRONG!

A couple of night’s ago I had the opportunity to photograph a performance of Clara’s Dream, a jazz and tap rendition of The Nutcracker produced by Maine dancer and artistic director Drika Overton. The costumes were stunning, the stage lighting and set design phenomenal, the band tremendous…but all paled in comparison to the dancers. They could have put this show on on your local street corner and it still would have been mind-blowing.
From a photographer’s perspective, it was like being a kid in a candy store – almost impossible to choose what to shoot – there were visual delights stage left, stage right, and center stage. If you took the time to look away fro the spotlit dance, all sorts of subtle dances were happening in the background. I’ve never seen anything like it.

My suggestion – send Drika an email (http://www.jazzandtap.com/ ) and beg her to bring the show back in 2010. The show was first performed in 2000, and its been on vacation since 2006. Don’t let it go back into mothballs again – the 6 musicians and 20 dancersw are a must see-must hear. After insuring its return, Mark it on your calendar, and make sure not to miss this show – it could – and should – be the start of a new holiday tradition!

And support it. Without money, the arts are just a footnote in a textbook. Don’t let that happen to this one-of-a-kind show. It’s too great to slip away.

Here’s a slideshow of some of the highlights of Clara’s Dream.

By Jay | Also posted in commercial photography, dance, inspiration, music, photojournalism | Tagged artist, dance, jazz, photojournalism | Comments (3)

Angela Ordained! – Mass. event photography

December 13, 2009 – 10:30 pm

Saturday afternoon I was on a road trip to Concord, Mass for the ordination of our good friend Angela Herrera. A short time after we landed in New Hampshire, Angela and Carlos and their two children came to Boston so Angela could attend Harvard Divinity School. They were good friends from our tenure in Salem, Oregon and it was a real treat to reconnect with them.

After almost three years, Angela was ordained as a Unitarian Universalist minister. It was so cool to hear speaker after speaker note the qualities that we had known about Angela since becoming friends almost 13 years ago. I sat in the balcony and felt like I had known a celebrity back when she was just a new Mom, part of a Mom’s group that I used to call the crunchy granola Moms. And now here she was – the focus of the beginning of her dreams. People came from Harvard, from Concord and Salem, ( both Mass and Oregon )to witness and share the moment.Carlos was almost floating with pride that his wife had accomplished this milestone.

The most powerful part for me came when the entire community – friends, family, congregation, professors and mentors all put their hands on Angela in a show of community support that put chills down my spine.

And now Angela is Reverend Angela…and to think, I knew her when!

12-12-09 ANGELA HERRERA ORDINATION0010_2_4_tonemapped

By Jay | Also posted in photojournalism | Tagged Herrera, Massachusetts, photojournalism | Comments (1)

ECCA Art Show

November 16, 2009 – 1:45 pm

A few weeks ago I got an email from Karen Desrosiers, a writer, artist and chief cook and bottle washer of ECCA, Exeter Center for Creative Arts. Their third annual art show was being put together, would I be interested in submitting a few pieces of work for the juried show?

“You bet!”, I emailed back. It all seemed so easy. In my spare time ( whatever and whenever that is!) I do landscape photography – in much the same non-traditional way I do the rest of my photography. Here’s a chance to put it out in the public eye and get some feedback, sell a print or two…who knows, maybe the gallery scene next!

Yea, it all seemed so easy. I thougt about what I’d submit. It all seemed so easy, ideas were streaming through my head like a runaway freight train. I got busy, shelved the train and suddenly the deadline was approaching…Suddenly I really didn’t like my choices, second-guessed myself to death over and over again.

The bottom line – a few things I learned on my way – IT’S NOT EASY! It’s not easy being an artist, baring your soul and spirit. It’s not easy allowing yourself to be vulnerable. I think ego, one of the essential components of an artist, is way more fragile than I ever let on…

Bottom line, it may not be easy but “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!”

I’ll have some work hanging in the show – here’s the particulars:
A juried show, art work from 40 regional artists will be on display and for sale. Works from many genres are represented: pottery, sculpture, photography, wood carving, watercolor, oils, pastels, acrylics, jewelry and more.

Artist wine & refreshments reception,
Friday November 20, 6-9pm
Gallery open weekends,
Sat. November 21 & 28, 11am-6pm
Sun. November 22 & 29, noon-4pm

Exeter town hall gallery, across from the bandstand, right in the heart of downtown Exeter, NH.

Funds Raised

Percent of proceeds go to support ECCA’s scholarship fund, so that all area children have the opportunity to discover the creativity within them.

So if you’re able, please come – especially Friday, have a glass or few of wine, and check out the art – and I promise not to be fragile!

Here’s a couple of my photos you may see. B 10-8-08 RAIL TRAIL0004____tonemapped_lzn 4-13-08 TUTTLE SWAMP

By Jay | Also posted in Fine Art, HDR | Tagged artist, Fine Art | Comments (0)

Busman’s holiday

October 22, 2009 – 1:25 pm

Well, if we assume that that expression comes from when a busman went on vacation, he or she had to drive, then the title for the post works…if not, please tell me the genesis of the expression.

My nephew was married recently in Pittsburgh, PA. I went – carrying only 1 camera and 1 lens. In a total test of my willpower, I also only brought 2 flash cards – a 4gig and a 2gig. Since I always shoot raw, that wasn’t a lot of images I could retain.

Pittsburgh was unseasonably cold and rainy, but the morning of the wedding I walked down a typical Pittsburgh hill ( they’re reminiscent of San Francisco if you’ve never been to Pittsburgh) to a church I’d passed a gazillion times but had never stopped to shoot. I found an open door but the interior of the church was as dark as a dungeon, so I played around with the incredible architecture. The church was built around 1901 – the ivy covering the walls seemed that old as well. I’ll admit to wishing I had a tripod and/or some strobes along. I was shooting at a 15th of a second at F 2.8. For those who aren’t photographers, that gobbledygook simply means there was no light and it was tough to hold the camera steady – especially since it was raw damp and freezing!

That afternoon when I went to the wedding ( at a historic downtown hotel), I noticed the rest of downtown in the gloom from a room where I was going to change into a full-blown tux…this was a black tie affair – including 1 poor soul still working at 6pm on a Saturday. Made a few photos using the window as a steadying agent for the camera.

Shot a few wedding photos also, haven’t had a chance to even look to see what I got, so here’s a few photos from a busman’s holiday. _JAY0101 _JAY0120 _JAY0123 _JAY0132 _JAY0139 _JAY0188 _JAY0184

By Jay | Also posted in Fine Art, inspiration, photojournalism | Tagged Fine Art | Comments (1)

Christine slideshow – NH senior pictures

October 2, 2009 – 2:50 pm

Wow…this was a real test of my technical in-expertise!!!
Almost a year ago I attended a conference in Boston with noted photographer David Jay. I came away recharged, psyched and with a piece of software I purchased called Showit Web.
The application’s been sitting and yesterday I decided to dust it off and see what I could do with it – uploading a slideshow to my facebook account was easy – so I decided to put a slideshow on the blog.
Too many hours later I think I finally got it! No, I just have to hope I remember what I did so i can use this way of presenting photographs.
For now, grab some popcorn and watch a show of Christine’s senior picture shoot.

By Jay | Also posted in portraits, senior pictures | Tagged portrait, portraits, senior pictures, slideshow | Comments (1)

Kiara – Mass. portrait photography

September 25, 2009 – 2:27 pm

I know this guy, Seth Bodie – he’s an amazing talent, a performing artist,actor, producer, writer – and with all that stuffprobably the biggest thing about him is his heart. Seth just finds ways to help people, especially those he believes in.

So, Seth approaches me this summer and tells me about two kids he’s working with – he really believes they can go places in theater, on stage, in front of camera. They need head shots and how much would I charge, they don’t have a lot of money but Seth will pay. . .

You have to understand, only a rock could remain unaffected by Seth’s enthusiasm and beliefs. I’m no rock, I say let’s do it, the money be damned.

I’ll introduce you to Kiara today, Casey at a later date. Keep your eyes on this young lady – you’ll see her name on a marquee or in the magazines in the future – sassy, irreverent, personality plus and uncontrollably beautiful. we found some interesting backgrounds, some cool light and shot tons of photographs. Everything was done available light – not my standard approach – but I thing the light worked. Here’s a few photos from the shoot.

7-30-09 KIARA and CASEY

By Jay | Also posted in portraits, senior pictures, Uncategorized | Tagged portrait, portraits, senior pictures | Comments (0)

Portraits under hot lights

September 11, 2009 – 3:46 pm

Generally I disdain working under continuous lights – often called hot lights because the temperatures get so uncomfortable even the hardest-shelled ice maid would melt – but while at summer camp we did a lighting workshop with the photo students and opted for the two hot lights in softboxes as the easiest way for the folks to really see how light changed the subjects with manipulation.

We used Rachael, one of the clothing/fashion designers as a model and had a great shoot – at the end I asked four of the students to stand in. After smiles and a few giggles, when I asked for a bit of “teenage attitude” they came through with a stunning display of why teenagers are so awesome – between their facial expressions and body language…well, don’t mess with these four girls!

And they didn’t complain about the heat from the lights, not even for a second! _JAY2863 _JAY2909

By Jay | Also posted in portraits, senior pictures | Tagged portrait, portraits, senior pictures | Comments (0)

Jenn – Mass. portraits

September 8, 2009 – 8:38 pm

I wrote a post earlier about teaching photography at CRCAP ( Charles River Creative Arts Program) in Dover, Mass. Talk about fertile grounds for people pictures! World class campers combined with world class counselors and counselors-in-training, there was no end to the amazing people to photograph.

I left the camp two months later totally exhausted and enervated … and with some wonderful portraits of amazing people – many of which I’ll post over the next few months. First, let me introduce you to Jenn.

The first day of camp I saw this young woman walking across the campus. Actually it would have been impossible to miss her – skipping through the rain puddles, wearing the most colorful babushka, dressed so outlandishly that her comfort with herself was obvious. We became friends and I told her I would really like to photograph her.

“Cool” was her reply. Almost two months later I finally had the opportunity – beautiful light coming through a skylight, Jenn just sparkling.

So here’s Jenn – world traveler, singer, clothing maker, makeup artist…and a host of talents I don’t even know about!

crcap jay0106grungdere crcap jay0137 crcap jay0128tdw crcap jay0126 copy

By Jay | Also posted in portraits, senior pictures | Tagged Massachusetts pportraits, portrait, portraits | Comments (1)

CRCAP – MA. portrait photography

July 2, 2009 – 9:48 am

This summer I have the unique opportunity to make a return appearance at the Charles River Creative Arts Program in Dover, MA.

Two years ago I headed the photography program there and this time I’m back, sharing the duties with another very talented photographer, Ben Boyd.

There’s lots of great things about the camp, but two stick out in my mind from a councelor’s point of view. I feel like I’m working in a talent pool that is deeper than the ocean – there are musicians, artists, dancers, writers here who are so incredible – and all seem to be without the ego that makes it all about them – to a person its all about the kids who come here.

The kids are the other amazing thing – this is a total no judgment zone. Everyday after lunch kids go up on stage and perform – they sing, dance, play instruments, act out skits ( some rehearsed, many imprompteau), do monologues, read poetry…the list goes on almost forever.

So when not teaching photography, I get the opportunity to photograph some absolutely amazing people. Today I’ll introduce you to Sophie…a photographer, musician, singer…and person extrodinaire!

For more information on the camp, here’s the website: http://www.crcap.org

sophie6822 sophie6835

By Jay | Also posted in CRCAP, portraits | Tagged CRCAP, portraits, Projects | Comments (0)

Body Flow – NH portrait photography

June 29, 2009 – 9:20 am

Last week I was shooting photos at Synergy Health and Fitness in Exeter, NH. The photos were to be used as part of a project to update their website.

Its always a challenge to shoot and give a sense of people using a facility without having the clients be identified, so mentally I was prepared to shoot lots of silhouettes and backs of heads.

When I wandered into a spin studio I saw an instructor doing what I thought was yoga amongst the stationary bikes. Although there wasn’t a ton of it, the light was really cool, the colors of the room and bikes were outstanding and the instructor, Michele Tillson, was so into her routine of stretching that she barely noticed I was there.

Turns out it wasn’t yoga but Body Flow, which as Michele explains is now being taught all over the world. Originally the program was started by a gentleman named Les Mills,from Australia. Its described as controlled breathing,concentration and a carefully structured series of stretches,moves and poses to music that creates a holistic workout that brings the body into a state of harmony and balance. It has 10 tracks to go through: first is a Tai chi warm up, next…sun salutations,yoga standing strength , Balances, Hip Openers, Core Work, Twists and Forward bends, followed by mindful relaxation.

Looked pretty amazing to me, made some neat photos – want to check it out? Synergy’s website is http://www.synergyfit.com 6-23-09 SYNERGY