First a church, then a mosque... then a museum. What a fickle structure!

Hagia Sophia/Istanbul, Turkey/2.23.12

One day I will have a real home to bring light fixtures back to.

I'm going to pretend this is Twitter for a second: #readytomove

Istanbul, Turkey/2.22.12

The delight of Turkish delight. Not a delight for me, personally, but people seem to like it!

Istanbul, Turkey/2.22.12

Dainty little Turkish coffee cups.

Mmmm Turkish coffee. Finely ground, roasted coffee beans boiled with water and sugar, then poured into that delicate cup. No filter is used, so make sure to not drink the coffee-ground sludge at the bottom. Or drink it, if you want, I guess.

Istanbul, Turkey/2.22.12

Throughout the week in Istanbul, I found myself obsessed with the deep blues found in much Turkish pottery. That being said, I ended up buying two bowls of this color and design: one for my Lucky Charms and the other for my Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

Nothing says "grown-up" quite like a purchase of this nature.

Istanbul, Turkey/2.22.12

Yes, these pillows, pillow shams and carpets are indeed for sale. I'm sure they could cut you a deal for the cat too.

Istanbul, Turkey/2.22.12

Morning snack, anyone? Corn on the cob? Roasted chestnuts? Some nice across-the-street eye-contact?

Kestane - chestnuts (100 grams - $1.97)

Misir - corn ($0.84)

First photo in Istanbul, Turkey/2.22.12

Women's pole vault/U.S. Open Track and Field/Madison Square Garden/New York, NY/1.28.12

Victory lap/U.S. Open Track and Field/Madison Square Garden/New York, NY/1.28.12

U.S. Open Track and Field/MSG/NYC/1.28.12

The Madison Square Garden crew opening up the track for sprints, mid-event, at the U.S. Open Track and Field on January 28th, 2012 in New York City.

Annnd the prize for my favorite portrait from the dog show? This guy!

Westminster Kennel Club dog show/MSG/New York, NY/2.14.12

Doggie dressing tables! In reality, it's more like a doggie day spa. Do you think they take human clients?

Westminster Kennel Club dog show/MSG/New York, NY/2.14.12

Somebody's getting their teeth cleaned! I wonder if he has dental insurance!

Westminster Kennel Club dog show/MSG/New York, NY/2.14.12

More Westminster pups! This show always comes just at the right time for me. Photographing puppies instead of models at the end of NYC's Fashion Week? Yes please!!

Westminster Kennel Club dog show/Madison Square Garden/New York, NY/2.14.12

$10,686,924.83!! For The Kids!

Just in case you are unfamiliar with Penn State's annual 46-hour event:

The Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, affectionately known as THON, is the largest student-run philanthropy in the world. More than 15,000 students at Penn State are committed to making a difference in the lives of children and families battling pediatric cancer.

Over the past 34 years, THON has donated more than $78 million to The Four Diamonds Fund and has helped more than 2,000 families battling pediatric cancer. Student volunteers work year-round to raise the awareness and funds necessary to conquer pediatric cancer. - Thon.org

My dear friend John F. McClellan and I spent the last four days covering Penn State events, including THON, and decided to incorporate a little bit of science birthed from the brainy power couple, Carnegie Mellon University and NASA. The kid's name? Gigapan.

Can you guess how large this file is? Don't even bother:

Over 2GB.

If you were there, find yourself and your friends in this lovely Gigapan created by Mr. McClellan and Yours Truly during THON's Family Hour on Sunday (2.19.11) and pass it on!

Great job, Penn State!

P.S. - You can see a larger version of our photo on Gigapan's website: THON at Gigapan.org

Westminster Kennel Club dog show/benching area/MSG/New York, NY/2.14.12

When I saw this face, I knew he was a champion.

Seriously!

I had purchased about two dozen of these for a show once from Home Depot! Man, what a mop. So absorbent!

Malachy, the Pekingese, getting prepped for his "Best in Show" competition in the benching area at MSG on 2.14.12.

Malachy! The Pekingese! Best in Show! The crowd goes wild!

They really did go wild. I wish I had an audio clip.

Malachy/136th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show/Madison Square Garden/New York, NY/2.14.12

Ashanti (left) attends BET's "106 & Park" tribute to Whitney Houston at BET Studios on February 13th, 2012.

Snow, snow, snow, snow, snow.

Skiing with the camera has become one of my favorite things to do on skis. It's always nice to have it with you just in case the light is right and the flakes start to fall.

Seven Springs Mountain Resort/Seven Springs, PA/1.15.12

Dudes being dudes. With things in their mouths.

Wait... that doesn't sound right...

but don't they look handsome!

Brad (top photo) and Hamish (bottom photo)/the McClellan farm/Coburn, PA/sometime in October 2011

Dudes being dudes. With firearms.

Brad (left) and John (right)/the McClellan farm/Coburn, PA/sometime in October 2011

Cody Simpson/Gramercy Theatre/New York, NY/2.4.12

The Walkmen and Fleet Foxes Played a Solid Show; I Grew Some Balls and Learned a Valuable Lesson

This shot is a single frame of a time-lapse that I did during the Fleet Foxes/Walkmen show at the Williamsburg Waterfront. Since I'm not a rigger, mounting my camera had to be done, sadly, by one of the union guys. Not only that, but because of video screens, I couldn't shoot the time-lapse from the center of the stage. So, upstage left corner it was. Of course, I would not have cut off the downstage edge with the wide-angle lens, but hey, union rules are union rules, right??

Wrong.

Ten hours later, frustrated my by inaccessibility to my camera and after having seen how brilliantly the sun was setting behind Manhattan from the front gate of the venue, I ran backstage, grabbed the rigger and told him I needed to get up on the scaffolding.

All union technicalities aside, I climbed up the back of the stage to make sure the camera was exposing properly... and stayed there until night settled in and Fleet Foxes took the stage - which was the better part of an hour. I did it partially to adjust exposure/make sure the camera didn't stop shooting annnd partially to watch a show from an unusual vantage point.

I must say, hanging off stage scaffolding is a pretty sweet way to watch a show! Unfortunately, it was too late for me to alter the framing, but whatever. It's not like the thought of how I could have framed it didn't plague me for the next two months...

So photo kids, the moral of the story is... always climb the stage scaffolding, even if people are yelling at you, if want to like your frame without a panoramic crop.

The Walkmen/Williamsburg Waterfront/Brooklyn, NY/9.24.11

P.S. - If you look to the bottom, righthand corner you can see Hamilton Leithauser, the Walkmen's frontman.

High and wide shot of the arena. Final MSG remodel photo until next summer/fall!

Things happen in here...

The almost newly renovated Rangers' locker room taken last fall...

Madison Square Garden wrapping up its first summer of renovation. Photo taken about a month prior to its reopening last fall.

A few more photos to come.

Pickin' it back up, kids... it's about that time...

Photo taken sometime last fall from the roof of a shopping complex in Queens with a delightful view of the Manhattan skyline. Trip to the parking deck courtesy of John McClellan.

Ironically, I have just had the most delightful time photographing my mom's back-porch flowers this year. When you are constantly on the move, you often forget that there is some truth to that whole, "stop and smell the roses" thing. Unlike my usual Novembers, I've made it a point to do just that - stop and enjoy this city.

10.2011

What Pennsylvanian's fall is complete without a trip to an apple orchard? The fam and I took a trip out to Soergel Orchards in Wexford on a glorious fall day to soak in a few hours of delightful seasonal festivity. Pumpkin treats, kettle corn and apple cider. Deeeelish.

I didn't take many photos at the orchard, but this is my current desktop shot.

The drive back from Falling Water in Mill Run, PA may have been one of my favorite parts of my Pennsylvanian fall day with my mom. We happened to hit the Summit Inn Resort* in Farmington, just as the sun was setting over the rolling hills.

Perfect... except for the fact that due to construction, we couldn't figure out where to turn off to get to the resort - thus, sending us down to the base of Summit Mountain. Fortunately, by the time we drove back to the top, this was the scene that awaited us.

With the levels of light so even, the warm colors of the sky over the cool tones of the hills looked like strokes of a painter's brush. A moment where truly, the camera falls inferior to the sensory detail of the human eye.

In the years I've been shooting, I've never printed or framed a photo for my personal use, but this one I just might.

*Fantastic place, a ton of history, must go back.

10.7.11

A fond farewell to JoePa on the first day in 61 years he has not been a coach on the field at Beaver Stadium for the Nittany Lions.

I've watched him on TV, I've watched him in the stands, I've watched him on the sidelines and despite my heartbreak on many levels of this story, I am positive that the university made the only decision they could have in regard to Paterno.

This isn't how it was supposed to be, but this is how it has to be. Best of luck to Mr. Tom Bradley and the team throughout the rest of the season.

For the future that we wait,

Raise the song, raise the song.

Joe Paterno/Post-game press conference - Penn State vs. Northwestern/9.30.06

Architects may come and

Architects may go and

Never change your point of view.

When I run dry,

I stop awhile and think of you.

So long, Frank Lloyd Wright.

All of the nights we'd harmonize 'til dawn,

I never laughed so long.

So long.

So long.

So long, already!!

("So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright"/Simon and Garfunkel/Bridge Over Troubled Water)

Falling Water/Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright/Mill Run, PA/10.7.11

P.S. - For those unaware, the Guggenheim is, coincidentally, another Wright design.

A trip to the Guggenheim is always quite refreshing, particularly if you've found yourself on the iconic museum's roof with one of your closest photographer friends and MGMT. Hopefully, when the band's management clears some of the photos for personal use, I will be able to post some from the actual shoot!

9.29.11

Jack White's ex-wife has a band. Who knew?

My curls have almost set, so I think it's about time we get this show back on the road!

Photo by Roger Kisby

While I am no tech nerd, I find myself extremely saddened by the passing of Steve Jobs. Obsessed by the power of technology, I am not, but obsessed with the character and innovation of a great man - that's a fruit of a different design.

Someone once told me that life was not a book and thus, should not be lived as such. It seems to me that Mr. Jobs not only created his own narrative reality, but falsified the aforementioned notion by changing the world and shifting mass perspective in the process. Albeit its brevity, it's one of the most powerful and timelessly human outlines in existence.

Throughout history, many men have had similar tales to that of Mr. Jobs. I admire them all as I admire Mr. Jobs. I admire them because these are the people crazy enough, daring enough, intelligent enough to make waves in a pretty cynical world. Not only do these people rely on intuition and deep curiosity to craft their own story, but in doing so, they inspire others to drop the herd mentality and go fucking crazy. Crazy to do something, maybe not great, but new.

And new inspires. And new may eventually be great. And great may eventually change the world. And that always inspires new.

Not everyone can be great and even fewer can be Steve Jobs, but everyone can try new.

The ironic part of this blog entry is that the fellow who told me that my life was not a book is the same fellow who turned me into a believer in the genius of Steve Jobs and his products. An unfortunate disconnect in philosophy and practice, I suppose, but his love of technology eventually made me more efficient and for that I must tip my hat.

I posted this quote from Jobs' Stanford Commencement speech in 2005 back in August, but its truth is as relevant as always.

"Remembering I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything - all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure just falls away in the face of death, leaving only the truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking that you have something to lose. You're already naked. There's no reason not to follow your heart." - Steve Jobs (1955-2011)

So Mr. Jobs, there is no better way to end this note than to say:

I will stay hungry and I will stay foolish.