Please Sir, May I Have Some More?

Sometimes, I tend to shoot so much on a girl that most images never make it to my website and wind up on the cutting room floor, (or since this isn't 1950's Hollywood, buried away on some hard drive). Like with Kaitlyn for instance. I loved this whole portion of the shoot using flash, but since it doesn't fit with the other images I have of her, and since I already feature her 3 times on my site, (4 counting the cover page), they never see the light of day! It seems a shame to go thru all that work for naught. So, from now on, a couple images that don't quite fit will have a place right here on my blog.

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Caffeine Free?

Yesterday was the shortest day of the year, (which technically doesn't make any sense, but is quicker than describing the winter solstice where, based on the earth's axis in relationship to the sun, accounts for the shortest period of daylight during the calender year). . . . . . see, I told ya. Shooting a daylight story on the shortest day creates it's own challenges, like waking up at 4:30 am to catch as much of this precious daylight as possible. I survived, but had to sacrifice my caffeine free pledge in the process. I made it 3 weeks! (also, did you know that the word caffeine violates the I before E except after C rule? I just found that out!) I will post actual images from the shoot in the coming week, but as for right now, here are a couple snapshots I took of the environment surrounding the location.

Hooray For Kaitlyn And Vampires!

Here are a few polaroids of Kaitlyn from IMG. We had a blast shooting yesterday, kept it real raw and undone, no makeup, no styling. I've included one image that is proper, meaning the colors are decent with no real abnormalities. The next image has this amazing red stripe along the left hand side, where it came from is anybody's guess. In the last image the shutter stayed open too long and totally gave this ghostly effect. I think it was trying to compensate for the black background, but then that doesn't explain the previous image? So lets just say ghosts did it. . . . . . . or better yet vampires, they're more popular than ghosts these days and I might capitalize on some of that twilight mania! . . . . . . . . . Kaitlyn would be perfect for the fourth twilight movie don't ya think? I also shot her digitally which will show up on my site once I go through them all. These, however, were ready now so I thought I would post them on this rainy/sleety/snowy Saturday evening in NYC.

Gobble Gobble

Let's see, Thanksgiving. A day to be thankful for all that you have followed by a day to curse for all that you've spent. I tell you one thing that I'm thankful for, I'm thankful I no longer have food poisoning. Yeah, that wasn't fun. (and yes I know it looks like I've lost weight, not eating solid food for 3 days tends to do that to you). I will be spending this Thanksgiving, (as I do every Thanksgiving) evaluating where I've been, where I am, and where I see myself next year at this time. . . . . . . . oh, and re-touching. I will not be spending it with my family because 1. I just saw them last week. B. because I will see them again in 2 weeks. and 3. because they could probably use the break. Truthfully though, I am very thankful for all that I have, great family and friends and a job that I love, and I will do my best not to take them or it for granted. Now back to business. Above are some images of Jessica we took during my last trip to Chicago! . . . . . . By the way, she could be the nicest person I've ever met. Period. Plus she drives a black Jeep Wrangler, (which was my first and only car), so she gets bonus points. . . . . . man I loved that car.

Oui, It's Been Awhile

Since my last post we've had 5, no make that 6 shoots. It ran the gamut from high end de-lux apartments in the sky, to an amazing motel, (that I've wanted to shoot at for over a year), where we had to pay by the hour. Both equally incredible in their own right. The high end shoot took place on Chicago's Gold Coast. We shot in the penthouse apartment complete with it's own library and a "Great" room, which, you guessed it, was very good. The subsequent shoot took place at this motel on the south side whose rooms might not have had a library, but you could rent one where the bed looks like a sandwich, and no I'm not kidding, a sandwich. The weather for both shoots was amazing for November, (70 and sunny), the kind of weather I waited all summer long for but never got. I'm in the process of re-touching all the images this week, but here are 2 samples, one from each shoot. Can you tell which ones from which location??? Also check out the fall story we shot at the beach last week here, it's entitled "L Automne A La Mer", which I thought translated into "The Car from March", but I guess translates into "Autumn by the Sea", which makes much more sense.

I Listen To The Wind

I just completed my edit for this editorial we shot on Thursday. So as I get ready to head out this Halloween, I thought I'd take a few minutes to share some of my location images as well as an out-take from the shoot. It was crazy windy and cold on Thursday and the location was this beach on the near north side of Chicago. The area we shot at juts out into the lake, and as you know, Chicago is "The Windy City" and the reputation didn't disappoint. Combine that with some chilly temps and lets just say when we knew we got the shot, we were done. Period. Next outfit. I did however want to re-shoot the first look, but in looking back at the images, my first instinct was correct. . . . . but don't tell anyone from the shoot that I prolonged their exposure to the elements for no reason, that won't be received well, trust me. Here are a couple shots from my location scouting trip, along with a blurred out-take/accident from the first look. My camera focused on the tall grass for a split second blurring out Michelle. It won't work for the story, but I thought it was kinda cool, so here would be a good place to post it.

When In Rome

In this case it has everything to do with the cliche and even more to do with the band! The lack of recent posts is directly proportional to the amount of visitors I had this past couple weeks. My friend Crystal was in town for the past month combined with an overlapping trip by my friend Beckett which resulted in many late nights complete with our own soundtrack! As many of you know, Shazam for the iphone is like the best invention ever! And no place do I put it to better use than at Tortilla Flats which (in my opinion) has the best soundtrack of any bar/restaurant in NYC! Crystal and I had our own theme music as we walked the Highline post Tortilla Flats listening to "The Promise" by, you guessed it, When In Rome! And yes, people did think we were nuts. By the time Beckett arrived late last week to style an editorial, our playlist for our time together was packed with songs by George McCrae, Betty Wright, King Harvest and Tommy James. Thanks again Tortilla! (although you do owe me one umbrella, but I'll let it slide since our table did dominate trivia Sunday night and your tequila reserve is no doubt a little depleted as a result). Here are some pics from our NYC adventures, and I'll add some songs to my playlist below. Notice the flame in that last image. Crystal wanted a drink "on fire", what was crazy about it was not the fact that she wanted a drink "on fire", but that none of us actually saw the flame with our eyes, but when we looked at the picture I took, the camera caught it as it quickly vanished into thin air! . . . . . . what, you're not amazed? well, I'm easily amused, what can I say.

Where Has Summer Gone?

The answer? It has moved to Australia, thus beginning my attempt to secure an apartment "down under" come Jan, Feb, or March. My goal is simple. Move to Australia for 2 months. Establish good connections with Australian agencies and magazines. Soak up as much culture and sun as one can. . . . . oh, and learn how to surf in the process. I would like to use my LA template to complete this mission. My LA template consisted of "life swapping" as I swapped lives with my friend Courtney for a month where she stayed in my apt in Manhattan, and I stayed at her place in Venice Beach. Both sides came out winners in the end. She was able to go on castings here in NY and not have to stay at a cramped models apt, and I was able to live a few blocks from the beach in LA and shoot in a nice warm climate with different environments as my backdrop. So, if you are a currently living in Australia (Sydney), and are looking to establish connections either in the photography or model industry here in NYC, (because that's really the only 2 places I can probably be of service) shoot me an email and I would be happy to discuss any and all of the particulars of a possible 2 month "life swap".

Jacked

Until Tuesday, I had never been to Jack's Studio over on the west side. An amazing space at the 601 building that brought me out again Thursday night for a photo exhibition/party. I thought the views during the day were great, but at night, they couldn't have been better. I took the first photo with my iphone using the Helge feature from Camera Bag. I shot it though the window towards the Empire State building, but something cool happened, it decided to partially reflect back into the studio giving this cool inside/outside effect. The other photo was part of the photobooth set up at the studio complete with a ringlight! I tell ya, when photographers have a photobooth they go all out.

Do You Have A Passion For Fashion?

Don't worry, that title was meant to sound corny. . . . but then again saying something "sounds corny" also sounds pretty lame. . . . whatever, let's begin again. This is the first season I elected not to document ny fashion week. However, this freed up all kinds of time to take part in all the festivities that I was always too exhausted to enjoy. Like Fashions Night Out, which meant hopping from shop to shop in Soho and enjoying a drink or three among individuals like Marc Jacobs, Vera Wang and Philip Lim! Or last evenings party for Metal magazine which brought out all the beautiful and funky people from Barcelona and Madrid! Too bad my friends Aina and Pol were back in Spain, I miss those two. (By the way, look for my portrait of artist Nick Cave in the next issue of Metal!) But it wasn't all fun and games. When I wasn't "out and about" this week, I was in front of the computer for hours on-end re-touching and finalizing Laila Azhar's lookbook shoot as well as a shoot I did with Dierdre from Elite. Above you will find a few samples from that shoot. I'm starting to work a little more in B&W these days. I find I can really blow out the whites and create some nice softness. Look for more black and white images in the next few months.

Alexandra For Laila Azhar

Alex was the first girl we saw at the casting for Laila's Spring 2010 lookbook. After she left I told Laila that if Alex had grown up in my neighborhood in Chicago, an 8 yr old Karl would have had the biggest crush on her. Then proceeded to tell her the story of how when I was about 6, I had a crush on this Italian girl from my neighborhood who was about 13 I guess. When she and her friends would walk around the neighborhood I would be walking with my mom and ask my mom if she could walk about 10 feet behind me so I would look "cool" walking all by myself. A few weeks later I wound up giving her all my dad's gold cuff links because they were shiny and had jewels in them. Her mom returned them the next day. I actually saw her a few weeks ago when I was back in Chicago and you know what, I think I still have a little crush on her. . . . . but don't worry, I didn't give her any men's jewelry, I learned my lesson the first time.

Now For Some "Me" Time

Generally speaking, my blog, (or journal as I like to call it), is a way for me to force feed the internet my ideas, photos, and a little behind the lens glimpse of my day-to-day. Rarely does the opportunity present itself that someone actually petitions this information from me. But such was the case when Shut Up magazine (how ironic) asked me to share my thoughts on their Talk Tuesday section. I was honored and obliged their request here.

Jaime J

Jaime was an absolute pleasure to shoot! (I think the sentence I used when talking to her agent was "I would shoot her any day of the week and twice on Sundays!") She is a stunner in person, not to mention she had the best personality, (which as you know from reading my blog, is one of, if not the most important thing to me when shooting). Granted, if you are already with an agency, chances are you have the necessary physical traits. Personality then separates the men from the boys, (or the women from the girls I guess). I was also impressed with how well she moved! For someone who I believe only tested once before, she rocked! Looking forward to my next editorial here in Chicago, Jaime is definitely on my short short list.

Croatians and Italians

My neighborhood is pretty much half Croatian and half Italian, and no other weekend exemplifies that point more than this one. See Aug 15th is a big Croatian holiday, and every year I make the pilgrimage back to Chicago to celebrate with my family. My house is ground zero for my extended family because it's situated along the parade route. Mom puts out an amazing spread of food, and for the next 5 days I eat like a king! The following day is the St Rocco parade, (picture the parade scene in Godfather 2 where Vito shoots Don Fanucci). Unfortunately this year the skies opened up just as the statue of Saint Rocco was right in front of my house, (you can see the guys protecting the statue in the last photo). It really poured! I offered my friend Dino, (who hopped out of the parade route to come over and say hi to my mom and I), safety in my house, but he made a run for the Italian cookie store on the corner where everyone else ducked for cover and no doubt enjoyed a few biscotties in the process (they are amazing!). (I love my niece Lauren's face in that third photo, she was none too pleased to have to wait for the parade to get here) p.s. My friend Frankie said I was slacking in my journal posts, so Frank, this one's for you and Frank Sr. Enjoy!

Cece @ IMG

Where do I begin with this one. . . . . . Cecelia was amazing!!! Even her mom was cool! (she brought me a present to say thank you. . . . . . it made my day!) This was only her third or fourth test and she rocked! She even brought some of her own amazing pieces to wear that she bought from a vintage store in Brooklyn. I can never find anything in those places! Hopefully I'll have a cool editorial to shoot where I can use her before everyone else discovers her. So don't tell anybody about her OK? Good. Now that that's settled, you can find the above images, as well as a few polaroids from the shoot on my website.

She Shines With Her Own Kind Of Light

Rachel is from Kentucky (thus the title), and we had such a great time shooting the other day. It was rather steamy outside, but we did manage to shoot at this little basketball court near my apt. Otherwise, it was an A/C kinda day. After the shoot she wrote me an hilarious story about how she broke her heel down in the East Village and had to decide whether to walk barefoot or don her 4 inch heels as she made her way back home. I hope she wore the heels, sometimes even flip flops around NYC can be sketchy. I remember when I lost a flip down the sewer on the corner of 1st and 1st (the nexus of the universe). I basically hopped around on one leg till a cab stopped for me. . . . Oh and then there was the time I had to walk barefoot through Port Authority. . . . . it's pretty safe to wash your feet with bleach right?

I Know, I Know

I know it's not "cool" to post images of girls smiling. I know everyone is supposed to look depressed and vapid all the time (I think I'm using that word correctly). But sometimes it's fun to show how a simple clothing or hair/make-up change can transform a sweet girl like Melissa, into a total "downtown" rockstar! This was her second shoot ever, and although we made an attempt to shoot outside, I'm pretty sure everyone is in agreement that looking all sweaty is probably always "not cool". So all our best work came indoors with the AC on full blast. Seriously, how cool is her hair?! We tried to convince her that she should wear her hair like that all the time. She pretty much looked at us like we were crazy.

Beauty and Brains

Kelly pretty much has it all. 5' 10", alabaster skin (which I think means white), red hair, green eyes, and is wicked smart (she told me what she did but honestly, it went right over my head. . . . . has to do with curing disease or robots or something). We had a great time shooting and she's super cool! She was also an Irish dancer, which inevitably brings up my first high school dance experience where this Irish dancer asked this skinny dork (who shall remain nameless) to the dance.  A few weeks later she was dancing on the Tonight Show and in the movie Backdraft and yadda yadda yadda I never heard from her again! But thats all water near a bridge.

And Seriously,

can she have a more perfect smile???

An Island Off The Coast Of Chicago?

Yes. What once was an airport, is now a wildflower sanctuary that is a stones throw from my family home in Chicago. Notice the stone slabs Blaine is sitting on? Yeah, that was once the runway. Pretty cool if you ask me. Big thanks to our mayor for giving us such a convenient, beautiful and interesting location to shoot at in Chicago! Now back to the shoot. This was Blaine's first test ever! And I must say she rocked! It was freezing cold near the lake yesterday, and she endured the cold and gave me exactly what I was looking for and then some. Some are just naturals in front of the camera. Blaine is one of them.

Calling Me Home

Chicago is. Ever since the aviation gods canceled my flight I've been finding it harder and harder to leave. "Just when I think I'm out, they pull me back in." Quick, name that movie. . . . . My extended stay in Chicago has been filled with work, an interview, play, family and more work. Tonight I'm taking the niece and nephews to a classical music concert in Millennium Park featuring music inspired by classic children's stories. And Friday I hope to shoot a story at Northerly island which I discovered during my bike adventures with Katie pictured in this post. Although, it looks like my travels outside NYC will be coming to a close soon. I have to get back to work on an editorial for this magazine from Argentina, and take care of some business before, yes, I come back to Chicago in August. (You can only stay away for so long). . . . . . . oh, and the answer is "The Godfather".