It’s “Take The Family To Work Day”!

On July 2, 2011 by vard
0 Comment

As often as possible we try to keep our little crew of ladies with us…if we can take them on a job, we do it.  They’ve had some crazy cool experiences and we’re pretty sure that’s a good thing! :D  For sure it can add to the logistics and whatnot that go into planning a shoot, particularly a location shoot with a few hours of driving in between, but it’s totally worth it.  I’m hoping they learn something about the balance between work and play…and perhaps realize that if you can make your play your work, you’re doing pretty well…

 

This past weekend we cruised down to Ocean City, Maryland to do some family portraits.  We put in the time Sunday evening and Monday morning getting what we needed for ‘work’, then took some time to hang out and enjoy a little of what going to the beach has to offer.  Watching Jazzy & Nora playing tag with the surf will never get old; and when the weather turned a little south we ran inside to do some underwater shooting in the hotel pool.  I love documenting the girls being girls…it’s what being a parent is all about!

 

…Jazzy also wanted me to make sure I mentioned that they were catching jellyfish too.  Sadly, I don’t think I got any shots of them as they were doing this while I was working with the family we were there to shoot.  Regardless, I can confirm that she actually did catch some…and yes, I think she’s crazy! :P

 

Love you girls! :D

 

Category : Family, Studio
Tags : , , , , , ,

Short Story Stills – New Blog Section

On May 28, 2011 by vard
0 Comment

I’m spending a week in Minnesota clearing my head and preparing for life in the busy season back home in Pennsylvania.  It’s a great place to sit back and refocus (photo pun #1) on where I want to go with my photography.  It gives me the chance to review what I’m doing through a new lens (#2) of clarity.  So, I thought it would be a nice opportunity to shoot (#3) some new project stuff up on the blog.

 

The ‘Short Story Stills’ section is something I’ve been working on for a few weeks now.  Each entry is a new series of images that I’m using to stretch myself creatively, both behind the camera and from a production/direction perspective.  In 20 images or less I’m trying to tell stories that have a beginning, middle and end.  And everything is fair game; they can be complex, sexy, funny, adventurous…you name it…if the story can be thought out effectively, I’m going to try to shoot it.

 

Here’s a few stills from the first three shoots in the series.  Each idea is a collaboration.  The basic concepts for each shoot are planned out ahead of time, but are also completely malleable during execution.  Everyone has a voice; photographer, models, makeup artists and any production assistants we have on hand…the more input, the better chance we have of making something awesome.

 

Gotta tip the hat to Chantel, Beth & Casey for being on the business side of the lens for these first sets.  A major thank you to Daniel Oz and Chelsea for the backside production on shoot’s two and three…and of course Connie for helping make these ideas realities LONG before I ever pick up a camera.  With all sincerity, everyone of you have been crucial to the success of these shoots and I appreciate your help in a way I’ll never be able to explain.

 

Thanks for checking them out!  Hit the link in this post or at the top of the page to see each story in its entirety.  And, if you feel so inclined, share them with your friends and cell mates.

 

Now, time for me to get back to my brats, sauerkraut, cheese curds & funny speaking friends.

 

Peace, eh! ;)  Yah-sure, ya-betchya!

 

Category : Socialness, Studio
Tags : , , , , , , , , ,

Maine Sept ’10 – Day 1 – Playing With a Point-n-Shoot

On September 18, 2010 by vard
0 Comment

We’re spending the next week on the road going from Maine to Virginia and back to PA.  We have the short ones along as this is all about family; and being road warriors!  As is the gig, I have an assortment of photo gear with me as well.  New for this trip is a Panasonic GF1 point-n-shoot camera on loan from Barry & Cathy Beck.  I didn’t know what to expect when I picked it up, but now I really don’t want to put it down.  It pretty much has everything I need for making fun images, minus an eye-piece; but I am starting to get used to shooting with camera at arms length.  Full manual everything and menu’s that feel pretty intuitive; enough to make run & gun shooting nearly possible.  I dig it!

We made the trip with plenty of time to rest up before today’s birthday party for my niece, her dad and his twin bro.  The kids burned off any leftover energy and we all enjoyed a stunningly perfect day here in Maine.  And we made it to George’s Pond just in time for a gnarly sunset on the lake.

Have a rad one!

Category : Family
Tags : , , , ,

Updates…Studio & Community Art Stuff

On June 23, 2010 by vard
0 Comment

We spent the last 5 days in Colorado visiting some friends that moved from Berwick. Caught a Rockies game, hit up a museum and had a blast catching up with them. We’ve now moved on to Sedona, Arizona…the force behind this trip. This is the first family reunion my mom’s side of the family has ever put together. Apparently my grandmother thinks Sedona, AZ is 1/2 way between the East and West coasts! lol Just kidding…she’s a rockstar and my favorite person in the world to torture and tease. She takes it like a champ and dishes it back like a pro.

Anywho, this is just a quick update while we’re on the road. When I can, I’m making progress on the editing (those waiting, I thank you massively!).

…Firstly…

I need to officially thank everyone that showed up at the www.300AlmostNakedPeople.com shoot on the 13th. Besides the nerves and stress that I was ‘enjoying’ we had a great time and got some cool images. Hoping to have those done up soon.  Big props to Ben T. and M.J. at the Press Enterprise from stopping down to cover the event…and then for the amazingly awesome FRONT PAGE article in this past Sunday’s P.E. Thank you both for helping to get the word out!

Tara and Leah Mangan blew everyone’s mind with the cake of cake’s!  Thank you both mucho! There’s so many more people that NEED to be called out…once I have the images ready, they’ll all get the props they deserve. I’m definitely looking forward to doing it all over again soon. I’ll be posting more info on that as it becomes available.

Other things:
The Berwick Mural Project is rockin big time already. Alley Art is making major progress and the YMCA retaining wall will be in full swing once we return to PA. The blog is a touch outdated, but I’ll be making that right in the near future. We’ll be posting ‘artist profiles’ soon so everyone can get to know the great people MAKING this a reality. As always, we’re looking for volunteers all the time. Whether you can paint or not, there’s plenty of ways to get involved. Touch base with Connie through the BMP blog if you’re ready to be part of something HUGE!

Things To Do In Berwick

Check out this cool new Facebook group started by Berwick doer Steve Hampton. How smart is this…whether you’re looking for, or know of something to do in Berwick, share it here. Props to Steve for making this convenient and totally useful community board.

…and lastly…

I’ve got the goods on ANOTHER community art project that will need LOTS of people…about 100 I’d say. :P That’s all I want to dish on that right now as we have a few things to finalize, but if your interested you can talk to the man himself that came up with the idea. Berwick native, Zach Bremmer. Bro doesn’t even live here anymore and is rockin the creativity for the hometown. When I have more info set in stone, I’ll post it for sure…until then, dig it out of Zach if you can.

That’s it…time to go prospect for gold…Uncle Steve scored some yesterday and I need a tan, so why not!

Category : Family
Tags : , , , ,