Black Friday

The most beautiful times of the day are sunrise and sunset.  Most of us have the opportunity to see a sunset often but catching the sunrise takes more effort .  This past Friday as many people around the country woke up early to take advantage of Black Friday holiday sales, my girl and I were getting up extra early to shoot the sunrise at Bryce Canyon.

As we arrived we found other photographers with the same passion for catching the first rays of light from the sun.  To capture the most beautiful part of a sunrise it is best to plan on arriving at your destination 30 to 45 minuets before the sun comes up.  I love watching the first glimpse of sunlight, but I also love the silhouettes and colors that happen right before the sun comes up.

Rising Star

It is always great to see new talent in the industry and today I want to share the work on a young man whose work I find exciting.  Adam Silversmith come to two of my workshops and it is exciting to see someone so hungry and excited about photography.

This young man will do well and I would like to take this time and share a blog from October 27th that was posted by Becky regarding Adam.

Enjoy and always dream big!

Link:  Words of Advice from Emerging Pro Adam Silversmith

How To Recharge Your Batteries

If you shoot your camera long enough you will exhaust the batteries and need to recharge before you can use them again.  No one things twice about the recharging process of your camera batteries or buying new batteries because it is something we've become accustom to.  However, when it comes to our own internal battery which helps keep us fresh and creative we take it for granted.  To be your best photographer you need to also recharge your internal battery to be your best.  Without taking time to give back to yourself you will only exhaust yourself and your photography will suffer.  It is important that you take time to recharge, unplug and do something just for you.  Now the only question is who does a photographer recharge their internal battery?

After six trips in five weeks I was badly in need of recharging. My body, soul and mind were exhausted and I needed a break from business, email, social media, phone calls, planes, etc. The last five weeks have taken me to New York, South Carolina, Seattle, Atlanta, Philadelphia and Trinidad.  In between I flew back to Los Angeles for a day or two and then left again.  I was lucky to end my hectic schedule with a shoot in Trinidad, or so I thought, but that trip was the most grueling of them all as Trinidad was in the midst of the rainy season.  The rain caused delays in our shooting schedule and made for very long days and nights.  I am very thankful for the work and would gladly do it again but I now need to recharge.

I arrived home two days before Thanksgiving totally spend and mentally exhausted.  Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to spend with family and friends but my family is 3000 miles away and my girls family is even further away in Japan.  We decided to take advantage of the four day holiday and do something I have always wanted to do.  We took a photo road trip to Monument Valley in Utah.  After so much travel you may wonder why I wanted to do more traveling but the two things I love most in life is photography and travel.  Traveling for work and traveling for yourself are two very different things all together, so we loaded up the jeep and set off for Utah.

It is hard to tell where one first gets desire to visit a place, but I have had a deep desire to visit Monument Valley for a very long time.  Maybe it comes from growing up watching the Road Runner cartoons or simply from seeing incredible images from this area of the country, but whatever the case I have felt the need to photography Monument Valley and I am so glad I finally got a change to do so this weekend.   I have even dreamed of shooting images here but nothing can compare to seeing this place for yourself.

I can't explain it in words but Monument Valley is one place every photographer should visit.  The drive alone will inspire you and the images will feed your creative soul like nothing else.  When you go, stay at the Views Hotel.  There you will be able to take incredible images from your hotel room and even shoot images of the stars at night.  I will be sharing more images from this trip in the coming days, but the most important message here is to take time for yourself. During the holidays it is especially important that you give yourself to yourself before you give yourself away to the world.  We all know the holidays can be a very stressful time of the year, but this year do something for you.  Give to yourself first!

Happy Holidays!

Always Dream Big

CreatveLIVE = Energy Drink Photo Shoot

I am finally home after six trips in five weeks all over the place.  Last night I arrived home after spending time working on a job in Trinidad.  The shoot went very well and I made a lot of new friends on the Island.   It is the rainy season in Trinidad and we had delays because of it, but every time I've shot on an island it has always been this way.  The rain at times felt like an "end of the world" type storm but then an hour later it was bright skies and 90 degrees again.  This is the reality of shooting on an island so knowing this you must always prepare your gear for rain, which is part of my pre-production routine for location.

I returned to a lot of email from people all over the world commenting still from the CreativeLive class I had on Fashion and Beauty.  One email today came from Scotland and another from Iceland.  Thank you all for your comments and well wishes.

The email that really blew me away today came from someone in the States.  One of the people who purchased my fashion and beauty class from CreativeLive told me the class really changed his life.  He immediately incorporated some of the knowledge from the class into his work and send his work out to a potential client.  The company is a very popular energy drink and they responded that they will be giving him an assignment.  I was elated to hear this news and I wish him all the luck and success in the world with this assignment.

On a closing note, if you go to Trinidad make sure you head to Maracas Beach and eat the local favorite, "Bake & Shark" from Mom's Bake and Shark.  It's delicious!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Always Dream Big!

Early this year I attended a party celebrating a friends birthday.  It was well attended with a host of hollywood celebrities showing up throughout the night.  One person in attendance was the actor Orlando Jones whom I’d never met before.  When I was introduced to him he said, “I love your work and have always wanted to work with you.”  At first I thought he’d mistaken me for an actor but then realized he knew my photography work from my first book, Sepia Dreams.  I was honored he was familiar with my work and we spoke for a while that night about life, photography, success in the arts and health.  Orlando is a vegan and he explained the pro’s of being one. 

A few months ago I received a call from a client at an advertising agency saying he had a project coming up and thought I’d be great for it.  The first question he asked was have I ever worked with Orlando Jones.  I was shocked by the question since I’d met him earlier this year.  I told my client I’d never worked with him but that we had a great conversation at a party earlier in the year. 

Pre-production is one of the most important aspects of commercial photography, but especially when working on advertising assignments.  I was awarded the job to photograph Orlando Jones for a series of national ads for Farmers Insurance.  The first thing I did was jump full force into production mode.  My T.E.A.M. on this assignment, (and team stands for together each achieves more) consisted of my New York agent, my producer, set builder, set dresser, stylist, assistants and interns.  For this assignment I studies the concept and sketches provided by my client and looked for problem areas and thought of the best way to tackle them.  I would need to discuss and defend my ideas in the pre-production meeting prior to the shoot.  When studying a layout for advertising it is very important to mentally walk through the process of how you want to shoot the job.  I like to look for the problems and then start figuring out how to solve them.  Every advertising assignment has hurdles to overcome and I love the challenge of figuring them out and being ready for everything and anything.  The hurdle for this assignment revolved around creating the chalkboard.  Every small detail is extremely important, including how to convey the right amount of chalk build-up at the bottom of the board and the eraser makes from countless old assignments on the board. 

My producer is incredible and we worked closely to put all the elements together to make the assignment come to life.  Remembering my conversation and first meeting with Orlando I wanted to make sure we had the right food on the set for Orlando and my producer found the perfect chef to have for the job.

This campaign was one of the most enjoyable advertising projects I’ve worked on recently.  The shoot was a blast and my advertising clients, along with my Farmers clients, had a ball on the shoot.  Orlando was so funny during the shooting process and worked hard to give his all.  I can’t remember laughing as much as we did on the set this day and at the end of the shoot my Farmers clients said great shoot and we will see you again soon. A BIG thank you to my entire team who really kicked butt on this assignment.  Thank you!

Today I’m on the plane flying back from Philly to Los Angeles after speaking to an amazing group of photographers, thanks to Sony.  In the airport coming out, I saw the Farmers ad for the first time so I emailed my client to send me the first of the series of ads.  I am very happy with this series of images and hope it leads to more fun assignments like this.  When I land in Los Angeles I will quickly switch gears and prepare to leave in the morning for a fashion shoot in Trinidad.  My next post will be from the Caribbean.

Always Dream Big

4.3 Million Dollar X Factor

This morning I am in Philly getting ready to speak tonight to GPPDV, the local PPA chapter for photographers.  I will speak tonight about going beyond just taking great pictures.  For the professional photographer it is not just about taking a pretty picture, because today anyone can take a pretty picture.  There are so many aspects of photography to learn and master and each takes time.  There are more people taking pictures today than any time in history but that doesn't mean the photographs are getting better.  I hope to do my part tonight to change that and help photographers everywhere become just a little better.

Some photographers seem to have the X Factor.  Last week at Christie's in New York City a photograph sold for 4.3 million dollars by Andreas Gursky.  Gursky is very well known and highly respected in the art world, and I like his work a lot.  If you don't know his work then take the time to view it before making a judgment call on this image.  I would love to see the original image as the web can sometime diminish the beauty of a photograph.  I know there's a lot of debate about this image, but the fact that this image sold for that amount should open our eyes to the possibilities available for photographers.  What if you're the next Andreas Gursky or Cindy Sherman?

Today in America, Occupy Wall Street's "Day of Action" is all over the news.  As I watch I think back to walking down to see the occupy wall street park area which is just blocks away from where the World Trade Center towers use to stand.  As I walked around the park one night I wondered how long the movement would last and how it will make it through the winter.  If you are able to photograph any of this movement it will be a great piece of history in our photo archives.

Thanks again to Sony and everyone who came out to all the speaking events in New York, Atlanta, Seattle, Philly and tuned in online to watch Fashion and Beauty via CreativeLIVE.  If you are interested to see why so many people tuned in from around the world please read the 64 reviews about the Fashion and Beauty workshop.  Here are a few behind the scenes images from Atlanta's photo assistant boot camp.  We had a ball working with the students and some won some really amazing raffle gifts as well.

I head home tomorrow for the night and then off to a fashion and beauty shoot in Trinidad on Saturday morning!

Always Dream Big!

The Power of a Photograph

Since the CreativeLive weekend workshop I have received a zillion messages on twitter, CreativeLive, Facebook, email and more.  My twitter went from slightly more than 2000 followers to 5177 in no time.   Today on twitter I asked people what was the first image that made them fall in love with photography.  I got several replies but this one really touched a nerve and I have to share it with you.

Molly Goldrick's blog defines the power of a photograph in ways I have never seen.  Thank you Molly for this and I wil you all the best!

Day Two -CreativeLIVE

Thanks again to everyone who tuned in to watch day two of the creative process as we photographed and discussed beauty photography.  A big thank you to the cast and crew who worked side-by-side with me through the process.

On every job/shoot you must always be prepared for something to go wrong.  I preach this to my interns, assistants and even to the students in my CreativeLive workshop this weekend.  Today the unexpected happened while taping the CreativeLive show.  One of the shows video cameramen had an incident and had to be rushed to the hospital.  We later learned he was okay and released to go home and rest.  Being prepared for the unexpected helps you deal with lifes challenges when they happen.  Working in New York City teaches you to be prepared for the unexpected because it happens all the time.  Thank you to all those around the world who witnessed today's incident and sent your prayers and well wishes.  We all appreciate your kind words and concern.

It was great having Chase Jarvis come by the set today and being able to sit and talk candidly about the photography business one on one.  If you missed day two make sure you catch the repeat available now CreativeLive.com

Tomorrow is our third and final day of the workshop and our focus for the day turned to the world of fashion photography.  Our "hero" for the day is the wardrobe, or simply put, the fashion.  Step one in creating the idea for shooting our fashion story is to have a story board, so I worked on creating the story board before coming to Seattle.  Tomorrow we get to bring our concepts to life.  Make sure you tune in to our final day of the workshop devoted to fashion and beauty.

Finally, a big thank you to Nozomi for turning my horrible stick-figure drawings into incredible story board sketches.  I look forward to speaking to you all tomorrow!

Always Dream Big!

CreativeLive - Day 1

Today was the first day of my three day workshop with CreativeLive, and what an amazing day it was.  Today was special not only because it happens to be 11/11/11, and that I am writing this post at 11:11pm, but because today I was able to reach one of my goals.

Every day I start my day by saying my goals out load and for the last year I have said the following, "I want to share my knowledge and joy of photography with thousands of people around the world".  Well today CreativeLive gave me that opportunity and all I can say is thank you!  I was blown away by all the people who checked in for my LIVE online workshop from all over the globe.  People said hello, via Twitter, from Germany, Sweden, Pakistan, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, Australia, Dubai, London, Malaysia, India, Africa, Philippines, Singapore, Italy, France, Holland, Denmark, and all over America.  I was humbled and speechless.

A big thank you to Chase Jarvis for putting me on his blog today and opening the door to share in this manner with so many people who love photography. Thanks brother!

Day one set the stage for talking about fashion and beauty, but we also talked about so much more than just fashion and beauty.  If you are interested in learning why so many people around the world tuned in to CreativeLive.com just click anyone of the links above.

Today we explained the difference between beauty and fashion and hopefully opened the door to viewing photography in new and exciting ways.  We talked about finding the hero in your images and how to build and use a storyboard.  We explored the different areas of beauty from skincare to hair-care to jewelry.  We discussed and explored fashion and the different areas of fashion.

Tomorrow and Sunday we will go deeper as we shoot both fashion and beauty LIVE starting at 9:00a.m. PST.  I will use a Sony A900 as my creative tool.  I will shoot with a Profoto beauty dish and go through lighting.  Tune in to learn more and discover how you can use one light to make incredible images.


If you would like to know how to purchase the jewelry the model is wearing here or the tiger eye bracelet I wore on-set today simply hit the following link.  Core Jewelry

Always dream big and I hope to see you this weekend at CreativeLive.com

I Hate Fashion!

I recently heard from a photographer who expressed how much they hated fashion photography.  I asked what his interest were and he said he loved taking portraits, families, wedding, etc.

I told him even if he hates fashion photography he can learn a lot from watching my upcoming Fashion & Beauty Workshop taking place via CreativeLive.  The techniques, tips and advise I will share on fashion and beauty photography can help you stand out from the crowd of other photographers who are shooting portraits, families and wedding images the same way.  A sure way to stand out from the crowd is to do things differently and fashion is all about constant change and doing things different.

The advise and shooting techniques I will share will benefit any type of photographer, even if your interest is in shooting landscapes.  Tune in this Friday - Sunday and you will see exactly what I mean as there is something for everybody.  My portraits were born from my fashion and beauty roots.  Even my Polar Beauty image has deep roots in my fashion and beauty background.

Always Dream Big!

Fashion and Beauty Week!

As I sit waiting for my flight from Atlanta to Los Angeles I am thinking about my upcoming CreativeLive workshop on Fashion and Beauty, taking place this Friday-Sunday in Seattle.  The great thing about this workshop is you don't have to travel to Seattle to be a part of it.  You can join us simply by logging on via your computer.  The workshop is LIVE ONLINE and FREE to watch in real-time.

The workshop is three days and each day will help all those interested in Fashion and Beauty.   Day one delves an intensive discussion on the world of fashion and the world of beauty.  You will learn the difference between both and how to produce, organize, cast and shoot fashion and beauty.

Day two is all about beauty as we have a LIVE ONLINE beauty shoot.  The shoot will take you into the world of beauty.  We will shoot a beautiful model LIVE as if we were shooting a cover for a magazine.  You will see us working with hair and makeup and see the process of lighting, shooting and producing the shoot.

Day three is our Fashion Day and we will take you through the process of shooting a fashion story.  We will use two models for the fashion story and you will see the process from beginning to end.  We will work directly with a clothing stylist, hair and makeup, photo assistants and more as we work to show you a shoot from concept to production and more.  Because the workshop is LIVE you can ask questions on line and I will answer them in on the spot.

The LIVE ONLINE WORKSHOP if FREE and takes place this Friday-Sunday.

To sign up now click CREATIVELIVE.

See you soon!

Always Dream Big

Atlanta Photo Assistant Boot Camp

In many ways Atlanta is responsible for starting my photography career.  I began my education in photography at The Art Institute of Atlanta and this weekend I am back in Atlanta speaking to students and helping teach an assistant boot-camp sponsored by Sony and APA.

The boot-camp series is really an amazing way to learn about the photography industry and how to get started.  Assisting working photographers is the single best way to become a successful photographer because you are emerged in the inner workings of the business daily.  In photography formal education gives you the blueprint but assisting gives you the tools to build your career.  Combined with formal education you have everything you need to have a successful career.

If you live in Atlanta, Georgia please come out as this is an event not to be missed.  To Sign Up and find out more information click the Sony/APA Atlanta link.

I look forward to seeing you this weekend in Atlanta!

Always Dream Big

Nelson Mandela vs Michael Jordan

Life is full of surprises and sometime they all come at once.   This week I'm reminded of a situation I had a few years ago in which I had to make a decision on an assignment.  I was hired to photograph a family portrait for Michael Jordan by Michael.  It would be the first family portrait with everyone in the photograph.  It took months to schedule but we finally found a day when it worked for everyone and finally everything was set.  The day before I am flying off with my crew to do the shoot of the Jordan Family I get a call from an organization that wants me to fly to South Africa to photograph Nelson Mandela, but they needed me to jump on a plane that night and fly to South Africa to work in Mr. Mandela's schedule.

What happened?  I turned the Mandela shoot down and referred a friend to do the shoot.  My buddy flew to South Africa that night and when he arrived he had fifteen minutes to photograph Mr. Mandela.  He did a great job and today a gigantic photo graces the walls of his place and I am reminded of that shoot each and every time I enter his place.  At the end of the day, I know I made the right decision and I had a great shoot with the Jordan Family, but I was totally conflicted and torn apart about the Mandela shoot and it haunts me to this day.  

I met Michael Jordan through Martha Stewart believe it or not.  I was hired to photograph Ms. Stewart at her house and sent flowers to be delivered before we arrived.  As we pulled up Ms. Steward was just finishing an interview with Barbara Walters so we had to wait to come in.  When we finally entered Martha screamed at my assistant's to take off their shoes before coming in the house and then said, "and who is Matthew"!  My assistants pointed toward me and she looked and me and came over and gave me a huge hug and said, I love these flowers!  We had an amazing shoot and after the shoot as my crew and I drove back to Manhattan, my agent called me to inform me that Ms. Steward had called herself to book me for two jobs.  The first was a photo shoot with Michael Jordan and that is where I first had the opportunity to work with MJ.  Michael and I were both born in Brooklyn, NY but he grew up in North Carolina and I grew up in South Carolina.  If you're wondering, I'm horrible at basketball but I can say I got to play basketball at Michael's house once.

Throughout your photography career you will have challenges and conflicts with schedules as they always come up, but know this is just the nature of the business.  It seems work is either slow or you are busy as hell but there is no in-between.  At the end of the day, it is a blessing to be able to work and have clients who want your talent and vision.  Not all decision are easy but who said life was easy.  Enjoy each day and live life to the fullest and along the way take great pictures.



Always Dream Big!