little kids ROCK!

little kids ROCK!

Had a "feel good" shoot this afternoon with a rock star (Bumblefoot), young kids (Mott Hill Campus, Bronx) and fee Gibson guitars (courtesy of the "little kids ROCK" organization - see above link). It's nice to help young people, to instill support and pride in their studies, and to provide opportunities where they might not exist due to lack of funding or different priorities.

Another nice thing is how I get to see famous people in a "real" setting with no artifice or pretensions and to catch them unawares through the critical lens of my camera, sometimes revealing very charismatic images that they themselves don't realize they had.

Now for the big question I didn't ask and is therefore unanswered: "Why Bumblefoot?"

"they love us in Italy"

See these three jazz musicians? They all have one thing in common. They love to play in Europe. Jazz is big there and they are treated like demigods. Their favorite country is Italy.

The guy on the top, Larry Ridley played with John Coltrane and Thelonius Monk. Black artists have always had a warm welcome when playing in Europe. Is it just less racism over there or a more refined taste in music? I don't know and don't care to speculate. All I do know is that dudes can play and I got paid to both take their pictures and enjoy their music.

beautiful people and that State of the Union guy

See that guy in the middle photograph? I bet you and millions of people have seen him on their TV's when the President gives his State of the Union address every year. He's the guy that leans over his aisle seat and makes sure he gets a handshake photo-op with the President. His name is Eliot Engel.

Now, for the beautiful people - the musicians and the charming women who were artists in their own right (if I remember correctly, they were singers)

It's too bad that funding for the arts in our public schools has virtually disappeared. What kinds of people are we producing in our educational system when they don't have an appreciation for the arts?

Surely not well-rounded adults. That's for sure.

But for four hours this evening I was surrounded by beautiful artistic people plus that "other" guy.

some people can jump, others, well . . .

This entry really isn't about jumping but rather about relationships. The relationships between people and sports and teachers and their students. Take a look at these photos. There's a lot of love here. That's what education is all about or rather what it should be about.

True education is about bringing the best out of people; to teach them how to relate to each other in a civil manner. It's not about making lots of smart people. We already have lots of them but do we have smart people who care about other people?

This pics are from the Bronxdale HS in (you guessed it) "da Bronx" NYC. It's a small school led by a principal (green sweater - Carolyne Quintana) who seems to me to be a wonderful person, maybe a good leader but I can't say since I don't work for her but the eyes don't lie. I looked through the critical lens of my camera and I saw happy, joyful people. We need more of that in our world.

I enjoyed myself doing this shoot. Happy people and sports = nice combination plus sharing the gift of jumping isn't bad either.

getting lucky in the dark

We all get lucky sometimes and I'm not talking about "that" kind of luck. As a photographer, light can be our enemy or our friend. When I walked into the huge dark cavern (otherwise called the Kingsbridge Armory) for a mayoral press event, the first thing I thought was, "Boy, I'm glad I have a good flash unit."

But the TV camera crews were already there and set up their very bright lights and the residual ambient light, fast glass (24 - 70mm, f/2.8) and quality low light sensors did their job.

The picture above is that of Mark Messier, an ice hockey superstar former player who was there with Sarah Hughes, another ice skater (2002 Olympic gold medalist in figure skating) to commemorate the announcement of what will be the largest ice skating rink(s) venue in the Northeast.

So, sometimes even in the dark we can get lucky.

how much media exposure is too much?

WARNING: graphic images - (not meant to be gratuitous but as an example)

The recent Boston bombing tragedy has brought to the fore the question about what is too much to display in terms of visual media. Most media outlets displayed the top photograph but the bottom one clearly reveals the immense magnitude of what happened. But does that make it right? Are there guidelines for making these decisions or are they decisions made by the editorial staff on each newspaper?

We display horrific images from war zones and it's usually these photos that win Pulitzer prizes but domestic terror we have quibbles about? Why is that? Maybe the real face of evil needs to be constantly revealed because otherwise its banality will continue?

What do you think? In my case I would take the picture and let my photo editor make the decision.

beatboxer nonpareil!

Verbal Ase

Did a shoot at a local HS where their poetry/rap club did a show focusing on anti-bullying. Little did they know that their teacher (DJ Menyu) had a secret, special guest as the last act. His stage name is "Verbal Ase" and he's quite a beatboxer. Check out his youtube page (link above)

I like it when I get free entertainment doing my job. Do you?