Josephine Rose

I had a wonderful shoot on Saturday with this amazing redhead, Josie. I sometimes equate photographing kids with wildlife photography: a lot of hanging back and patiently waiting for things to unfold, all the while ready to capture fleeting moments of magic without influencing them. On commercial shoots there are frequently what we call "baby wranglers" who attempt to contain and direct the children on a shoot. Under some circumstances it can be helpful and maybe even necessary, but I find that I get much more purity in the images by not trying to contain a child during a shoot. By simply spending time with them I am able to capture the wonder that can only be found in a moment when it is inherent, not directed. Josie is a sweet and happy girl so it was a very fun shoot on a perfect Spring day in Brooklyn. Josie's mom, none other than Shannon Lorraine, put her in one stylish outfit after another. Shannon is the founder of foundfuture.com, bringing you the best kept secrets in fashion and is also focused on sustainable practices, which by now many of you know I am an advocate of. Before long we may see Josie as the face of Foundfuture!

Marie

Become Your Dream

I don't generally use the camera on my phone for much, but the other night it came in handy to document a very "New York" moment. Sometimes the over stimulation of living here can be exhausting and at other times totally exhilarating. Recently it has been a bit exhausting so it was a beautiful and much needed reminder of how inspiring this city is. This is a pile of garbage that included a stove on which someone had written "BECOME YOUR DREAM". It's a nice sentiment on it's own and came at the right time for me, but the best part is that I have seen this before around the city- someone is tagging refuse with "BECOME YOUR DREAM", I've seen it written on another piece of discarded furniture! Now I'm wondering if there is just someone who is a bit fairy-like and enjoys spreading a positive message, or if it is the beginning of some larger propaganda, a la Shepard Fairey's Obey campaign. We shall see!

From the Archives

I found this recently in a box and realized that I have been doing work like this for quite some time. This is from 1995.

Glamorous Sunday

I had a lovely shoot yesterday with singer Gabrielle Sterbenz. She requested we emulate the sultry look of old Hollywood portraits while keeping it modern. I am currently editing the many looks of the day, but this image seemed to capture the balance of a modern style and the classic glamour of vintage Hollywood. Special thanks to Vassilis Kokkinidis for the perfect hairstyle, Sylwia Rakowska for enhancing Gabrielle"s beauty with her make-up artistry, and to Christa Schuman for her intuitive styling.

Mystery Film

Occasionally I'll find an unprocessed roll of film in a drawer or tucked in the side pocket of a case and wonder first why it hasn't been processed, and then, of course, I wonder what is on it. I was hesitant to run to the lab last week upon finding a loosely wound roll of Astia. Between the imminent light leaks and factoring in how disappointing it was the last time I processed mystery film, (3 blank rolls and 1 roll of uninteresting portraits from an assignment 10 years ago), I considered throwing it back in the drawer for another time. Ultimately I dropped it off for processing alongside a roll I was very excited to have processed. I figure this is the only way to do it, to take mystery film in along with rolls I know I will be excited to see. When I picked up the film there were images, albeit with light leaks, from a trip to MI. This was taken from my grandmother's beach.

Skinny Jeans

This was taken mid-shoot when Dylan Mars, supermodel, asked to change into his skinny jeans. This 5 year old has more style and fashion vocabulary than most people already.