So after I took my month off, I finally moved up the Conshohocken, PA with my fiance Arline and her family.  It’s been a pretty interesting move and it took a little bit of time to get accustomed to the ways of the Seskos.  But, its good.  Things are starting to look up because I just (well, not official) just got a job at this place in Horsham, Pa.  I’ll be working at “Linda’s Stuff” and it is an online (Ebay certified) store that is pretty much a gigantic consignment shop.  Cool place, a lot of young people working there.  It’ll be something until I can land the dream job.  I have been shooting some lately though, which the following posts will be having photos.  I shot an extrication event in Dover, DE with some fire fighters.  It was a competition between Delaware fire companies to see who can get a mannequin out of a busted up car faster.  They all had different scenarios and all that.  It was pretty cool.  Then this past weekend I shot a rodeo.  First ever rodeo and it was pretty damn cool.  Some good shots coming too.  So that’s where my life has been and is now.

If yall need a photographer for a family portrait or anything, give me a call or an email.  Peace Out!

For the first six weeks of the summer, end of May to end of June, I was working on the Magazine, Newspaper, and Online Journalism Capstone project.  It was a hell of a time.  The basis of the class was to create, produce, and deliver and full 100+ page magazine in this six week period.  Students from MNO pitched ideas and did research on the type of magazine that they wanted to create in the spring semester.  At the end of the semester, people that worked on the concepts and all that, with the people that were actually going to work on the magazine voted on the magazine that we were going to be creating.  It was a fun time seeing the different ideas of groups and magazines that they wanted to create.  Anyway, we decided on the magazine called Handshake Magazine.  It is the “guide to modern geek culture.”  We covered everything from Corey Doctorow, to Lego builders, to women gamers.  I learned a lot and got a lot of the six weeks.  I worked along side many talented and ambitious people.  I obviously worked on the photographs along with Megan Swann and Renee Stevens.  The magazine in photo heavy which was nice because it kept us busy during the six weeks.  I think the end product came out great.  You can visit www.handshakemag.com to download the PDF and see all of the online content that the writers and editors created.  It really is amazing what we did during the six weeks of 10-5 every day and a lot of overtime and travel.  If you want to know exactly what I worked on in the magazine, just comment below.

Another awesome thing that I got to do was get my first ever client for my photography business.  I had the opportunity to photography a local Syracuse singer by the name of Khym.  Most of the time I am skeptical about singers because most of the time they really can’t sing.  It’s a lot of processor work, mixing, and everything.  However, I had this girl sing while in the studio and she really can sing.  I also got to hang out with her, the producer Sepp at Fefe Entertainment, and my model friend Vinny Graham at Fefe Entertainment in Syracuse, NY in the recording studio.  So she is legitimately one of the better singers that I have heard.  It was great working with her and Sepp and that whole team of people.  I think more significantly is that it boosted my morale and ego when they liked the end product.  A lot of time as a photography student is spent with other students and teachers and it’s a great feeling when a client likes what you do and likes the end product.  So it was really fun and special to do this work for them.  I look forward to working with them in the future (which I am by the way).

Recently I was asked to do a shoot with Richard Eskow, a writer and contributing editor for Tricycle Magazine, in Utica, NY.  Richard is from Utica but moved away around the age of ten and it was the first time that he has been to Utica in over four decades.  So he is examining how life 40 years ago has changed and what it is now.  I guess it is to mention that Tricycle Magazine is about American and western Buddhist.  There has been a big influx of Buddhist from all over the world to Utica and the story is looking at them as well.  It was pretty cool because the main monks that led political protests against the Burmese Military were the ones we got to hang out with.  So look forward to the September or October issue and my name will pop up.

One last tidbit about my photography, I have photographs from the Syracuse v. Army lacrosse game on Ultimate Athlete Magazine‘s website.  That is the link to take you directly to the article.  The photos aren’t the best.  I guess somewhere in going from my computer to theirs it got funky.  Anyway, those are the photos that they used and I look forward to working with them in the future.

Finally, I have started my last class of my program.  I am taking Research Methods with Dennis Kinsey this second half of the summer sessions.  This dude is awesome.  He makes the classes fun and in turn, we learn a lot from him.  He is a great guy and funny dude.  I couldn’t ask for a better teacher to end my program with.

So in closing, please check out my website and leave comments on here.  I built and manage my website myself and if you see any issues let me know and I’ll try to fix them.  I’ll be adding photos soon and I’ll be adding a tear sheet section soon enough.  I am super pumped about all that has happened this summer and a lot of it has reaffirmed me of why I chose this career.  Thankfully it’s paying off.  Remember to comment about my site, blog, and any other things that you would like me to talk about.

So the first piece of equipment that I want to talk about is the Nikon 85mm f1.8 prime lens.  The best way to describe this lense would be the Napoleon Complex.  It is a pretty tiny lens, standing at about 3 inches tall and 2.5 inches wide and weighing in at 13.4 oz.  The minimum focal length is 2.8 ft. This lens works great on full-frame (fx) camera bodies such as the d700, d3, d3s, and d3x.  It also works great with crop-censored bodies, the fx capabilities of this lens doesn’t diminish in quality or production when used on a dx camera.

With the f1.8, there is a very shallow depth of field and shooting with this lens, you have to be careful.  If you shoot at f4 or f8, you have more wiggle room on selecting where the focus point will rest.  When shooting people with the 1.8, use caution and try to always put the focusing spot on the eye of the person.  If there is one that could ruin a portrait is if the eyes are sharp.  When doing a straight portrait, the eyes are key.  They need to be crisp and clear.  The eyes are the story of a straight photograph.  So when using the 1.8, make sure that you know where your putting the focusing dot in the eye piece, generally the eye is the sweet spot.

When I’m shooting portraits and use this lens, I mostly stay in one spot and dictate what I want the lens to look at by moving the subject around.  So with that said, using this lens on the run, you will not be able to zoom because it is not a zoom lens.  This is a prime lens, meaning there is one focus length.  If you want to get something bigger, you’re going to have to move your feet and get closer.  Like the great war photographer Robert Capa once said, “If your pictures aren’t good enough, you aren’t close enough.”

This is my number one lens right now and I love it.  It produces great photographs every time and the f1.8 is amazing and great for shallow depth of field.  I bought the lens at B&H Photo Video out of NYC for the price of $450 (give or take a few bucks).  This lens is worth every penny that I spent on it.  I suggest if your doing portraits, this lens becomes part of your gear bag.  You’ll love like I love it, guaranteed!

On another note, I am getting my first paid gig.  I am shooting a local Syracuse, NY singer/rapper girl named Khym (I think that’s how you spell her name).  I can’t find her on myspace or anything.  Anyway, I am shooting her album photos for her upcoming CD.  I’m super stoked about this because 1. its my first paid gig, 2. I have no money and this helps a lot, and 3. I’m hoping more assignments come as a result of this job.

For the first half of the summer, I am working with the MNO Capstone project where we are making a magazine called Handshake Magazine, www.handshakemag.com.  This magazine is for geeks and the geek lifestyle.  We have a load of cool articles, videos, games, photos, and a whole bunch of other stuff we are working on.  In fact, right now I am on a Greyhound bus going to NYC to interview, photograph, and film (with 3 other MNO kids) Cory Doctorow from BoingBoing.net.  He is a super interesting dude and I can’t wait to hear what he has to say.  It should be fun.  I am filming a lot of B-roll stuff for a video.  I am also shooting stills of him and possibly a cover for the magazine of him.  I don’t want to give too much away, so have fun and sit tight for the video.

Have fun, be safe, take your shoes off and go barefoot

One photo program that I recommend, which is free, is PhotoByte.  This is a great program, doesn’t look great, but runs great.  It is the do-all business program that will help any photographer run their business right.  This program will give you the documentation that you will need to save your ass when you get in trouble or in a bind with companies that you work with after you get paid.  Honestly, if you need a program that will help create a paper trail, PhotoByte is your program.

Another program that is great, not free, is FotoQuote. This program will help you price a shoot for clients based on how the market is at the current time.  Note, if you have a program that is older, it may be a little out-dated for the current times.  Anyway, this program is great because they have every possible client under the sun and the rates that you can charge them for a shoot.

The business side of photography is a scary thing because I don’t know about business.  I am not a business major.  I am a creative person who doesn’t have that much capacity for the technical/business.  So that’s where ASMP and the connections that you make in school and other places come in to play.  It’s going to be a scary time coming up in the next few months where I make the transition to the real world.  It’s going to be an exciting time, but a difficult time as well.