Photography
With a firm grasp of the principles of photography and a grip on the manual skills from pre to post production, I possess the ability to accomplish the composition of art through this visual medium from years of experience through practice.
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Commercial photography conveys a business’s practices, describes a product, and defines the brand.
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It happens fast, and then it’s gone, so you have to always be ready, prepared, and anticipating.
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Perhaps the easiest to photograph, but only because the beauty is often already present, and the only obligation is to represent it in its fullest.
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It is essential to capture the event without distracting from the display, to get both the “big picture” and the more intimate stories, and to showcase the heart of the cause and the people there to share in the event.
Commercial
Commercial photography conveys a business’s practices, describes a product, and defines the brand.
Highlighting the strong suits of a business while minimizing the shortcomings is all part of perception. Whether it’s a small business that wants to come across bigger, or a large corporation that wants to appear more personal and attentive, perception starts with photography - a customer’s insight into a business. This salon wanted me to focus on their superior technique and customer experience rather than their small salon size.
Island Jim Cigar Company hired me to photograph and design two full-page advertisements for Cigar Snob Magazine when the company sponsored the swimsuit model photo-spread. I chose to design the ads to parallel the swimsuit model photo spread with the same style caption in the corner of a full page photograph. Unlike a typical advertisement in a monthly magazine, my ad blended seamlessly into the photo spread, and the designers at Cigar Snob magazine heralded my design as one of the best sponsor ads they had ever had. Adding Jim’s hand written message that spilled out into the margin gave a post print personal touch and the lower message gave his booth location at the upcoming trade show in Las Vegas.
Stogiebird requires photography of all sorts such as highlighting the monthly cigar selections and featured sale packages, announcing new items, extruding single cigars shots from backgrounds, and showcasing brick and mortar store photos and cigar rolling events. When photographing cigars, proper lighting is key, and post processing is also necessary to photoshop out all natural imperfections in the tobacco leaf while still maintaining an un-doctored appearance.
Sport
It happens fast, and then it’s gone, so you have to always be ready, prepared, and anticipating.
As a sports romantic I aspire to capture the story within the game - the hidden, often overlooked subtle gestures and moments that expose the players emotions more than their desire to win.
Fine Art
Perhaps the easiest to photograph, but only because the beauty is often already present, and the only obligation is to represent it in its fullest.
I was commissioned for prints in their gift shop as well as the official postcards of the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. This is one of my most proud photography assignments, since I have been a longtime member of Phipps.
Capturing the emotion of animals at the Pittsburgh Zoo was one of my favorite assignments.
It was an honor to photograph the history and sanctity of our nation’s capitol for the purpose of passing on knowledge to future generations.
Event
It is essential to capture the event without distracting from the display, to get both the “big picture” and the more intimate stories, and to showcase the heart of the cause and the people there to share in the event.
Al’s Bike Drive is a charity that collects donations to purchase bicycles for children. The charity hosts an annual event to present the bikes to Toys for Tots and to recognize the hundreds of helpers who make it all possible. Over a thousand bikes are transported by a caravan that is escorted by local police and fire trucks, and the event usually receives local news coverage. Each year is bigger than the last, and I’ve had the pleasure of documenting this act of charitable giving.
