Headed Home, Sitting in LaGuardia

I grabbed a town car to get a ride to the airport. I was worried about the NY City Marathon holding things up, but we made it in plenty of time. On the ride, I mostly looked out the window and took in as much of NY as I could in the final minutes of my stay. I looked forward and paid attention to the road twice, which was not a good idea either time. Both times, I nearly saw death.

The first time, I saw the driver of my car try to burn past a nice family of 5 as they were trying to merge onto the freeway that we were on. He just got by them quickly, almost pushing them off the road, and then he cut over into the left lane, just barely in front of another vehicle. I thought we were going to send that family to their grave.

The second time I looked forward, we were driving through a construction zone. I immediately saw those signs with flashing numbers that tell you how fast you’re going. This one read:

Speed limit: 30. Your speed: 69.

Ohhh crap. Time to stop paying attention again. What I don’t know can’t hurt me, right? Check the seatbelt...good.

And I thought driving in the Twin Cities was nuts. It’ll be good to be home.

Day 3 in NY at the PhotoPlus Expo

Today started with a bang. Literally.

I had another great night sleep, but I woke up with stomach pains from all the food I ingested yesterday. Somehow, the mix of an omelet, Chinese food by the pound, 4 Dunkin Donuts (Four? What the hell was I thinking?!), pizza, and a sandwich from the Hello Deli did not sit well with my lower intestine. You know what they say: What goes in, must come out.

Well, I got over it and headed to the Expo. I got to the photo expo too early, so I walked through the marathon expo that was happening in the other half of the convention center. Now I was picking up free running crap to pile on top of my free photo crap. But the good thing was I was handed 3 Snickers Marathon bars from one booth. One of those made a good breakfast that sat well with my stomach. They’re like Power Bars with that slight hog-feed-like taste. For some reason, I’ve always enjoyed that taste. Maybe it’s that it brings me back to my good-ole, farm-raised days. Now, I’ve never tried pig feed, so don’t even ask. Dog food: yes. Cat food: sure. But you’ve got to draw the line somewhere.

I also had time to pick up a New York Post and did my first ever Sudoku puzzle.

After temporarily leaving the Expo, I grabbed a quick pretzel on the street. The bottom was rock hard, so I only nibbled off the top.

OK, back on track. I headed back to the convention center and had a portfolio review by Suzanne Sease , which was very helpful. Thanks Suzanne. Then I was able to meet photographer Colin Finlay who had been part of a roundtable discussion that I attended on Thursday. I attended a few more small lectures and talked to a few more people/vendors. The expo closed late afternoon, and I walked back home. I had time to quickly sprint to the International Center of Photography near Times Square. (Note: have you ever tried to sprint down 7th Street toward Times Square on a Saturday evening? CRAZINESS!) The woman at the desk thought I was a student, so what the hey - I saved 2 bucks.

After that, I found some advertising space for sale in Times Square (look to the right side of the image):

This space cost me $37,000
for 19 seconds of publicity

So I leave NY tomorrow early afternoon. My stay has been nice and productive, and I’m ready to head back to the Cities. However, I need to cross the marathon route by taxi tomorrow, and I’m afraid that it will take FOREVER. We’ll see. Thanks NY City.

Day 2 in NY at the PhotoPlus Expo

Had a solid night sleep last night, and it was HARD to get up. My feet are beat!

This morning on the way to the Expo, I stopped at B&H. Yes, THE B&H. It’s like a Mecca for any photographer.

It was how I envision Heaven.

I arrived at the Expo early, and met a few vendors. I also was able to meet Elizabeth Greenburg, the director of the Maine Photographic Workshops. We had communicated over e-mail before, so it was nice to put a face to her name. I went to a Photoshop lecture, and then to a roundtable discussion about the images of 9/11.

Adobe Lectures

I ran back to my hotel room, but before that I stopped by a buffet where you pay by the pound. Delicious.

There’s sesame noodles and
peanut chicken under the rice. Yummers.

I walked up through Times Square and stopped in on the New York Times. I wanted to meet Kathy Ryan, the senior photo editor who awarded me the GLA a few months ago, but she wasn’t in. But Joanna Milter, who I worked with when I shot the Gay Fathering story for them, was there and she was kind enough to give me a quick tour of the Times photo department (it’s 6 cubicles in a corner - real glamorous). She introduced me to many of the other photo editors and photographer Justine Kurland who was shooting a story for them. Thanks Joanna.

One more important New York stop to make: Rupert Jee at the Hello Deli.

He’s just as awkward in person as he is on Letterman. But him and his wife are really sweet, and they make a mean Shaffer sandwich:

After filling up, I headed back to the Expo for a lecture by Martin Parr. I never pictured him to look so normal:

I had some extra time, so I walked to the Empire State Building and had a look from the top.

Day 1 in NY at the PhotoPlus Expo

I’m safely in New York, staying just kiddy-corner from Madison Square Garden. Today was great! I listened to a few small presentations at the Expo capped off by a round table discussion on Photography and Social Change. This Expo is much different than the Portfolio Reviews at Review Santa Fe. In New Mexico, I was able to meet and talk with other photographers much easier than here. But I expected that. PhotoPlus is more about seeing new products and attending lectures and workshops.

Before the roundtable discussion, I thought I saw Joel Meyerowitz walking in the convention center. I stalked him for a while - all the way out onto the street. He was talking with a young woman the entire time, and I was trying not to butt in. I finally was able to get a word in, and it turns out that it was Joel. He was a nice man. He took one of my postcards (the first one I gave out in NY!) and he had some nice comments about the image. We talked for a few seconds about working for the Times.

Earlier in the day, I hit a few tourist attractions on a quick walking tour: Madison Square Garden, Penn Station, and Times Square. I now have photos of Times Square that look just like anyone else’s photos of Times Square. I also ate at Virgil’s BBQ (which was GREAT) and had a big slice of pizza at La Bella Stella on my way back to my room tonight.

My plate after a huge burger jumped into my belly.
Notice the "napkin" is really a towel.

Time to sleep...sore, sore legs.

14 Hours to My NY Flight

EARLY tomorrow morning, Sarah will be dropping me off at the airport. I'll be on my way to the PhotoPlus Expo in New York City. Two bits of bad news though:

1. The NY Times Magazine cover was put off until Dec 3 (see last post). If it hadn't been put off, it would have been the current cover image while I was out in NY, and that would have been a spectacular thing to discuss with other photographers.

2. I just found out earlier today that the show that was to highlight the Golden Light Awards at PhotoPlus is ALSO being delayed a month or 2. Now, my work that won the GLA won't be up at PhotoPlus. Even less to talk about with the photographers at the expo...

Well, whatcha gonna do. I'm still going to make the most of it and hopefully make some good connections and meet some great people. Bon Voyage.

Cover Story for the Times: I've Been Bumped

It’s going to happen, just a little bit later. And it’s all because the war in Iraq...

This is how I feel about the war and the current presidential administration:

So full of rage

If you’ve been reading anything on my blog over the past 2 months, if you've talked to me in person in the past 2 months, or if you’ve stepped foot in CVA (my undergrad school) which has been over-hyping this for promotional purposes, you know that I’ve been doing some work for a cover story for The New York Times Magazine. It was supposed to be printed and on shelves this weekend, 3 days from now.

I just found out (literally minutes ago) that the Gay Fathering story that I made photos for is going to be postponed until December 3rd. The Times is doing something quick about the war in Iraq. Great...yet ANOTHER reason to be against the whole situation over there. So this means I have another 5 weeks to be nervous about how these photos will look (and if it will even run). Crap.

I know things like this can happen, and it's just the way it goes. I've told Sarah all along that I won't believe my photo is on the cover until I SEE my photo on the cover.

So I'll direct all my rage at Bush.

Directing rage....

...directing rage....

Done. Good.

p.s. I'm really not that angry of a guy. I'm pretty laid back and friendly. But please, someone, do something about that guy in the White House.

Anatomy of a New York Times Magazine Cover Photo

The following is a rough timeline of events leading up to the photoshoot for a cover story for The New York Times Magazine. They are just random notes on events that took place that led up to the publication.

Enjoy:

• August 16, Wednesday: First Contact: Photo editor leaves me a message, phone tag ensues, e-mails back and forth between editor and myself.

What? You want me to shoot the cover? Well...OK...Are you kidding me?!?...

• August 17, Thursday: Phone tag with the photo editor, many e-mails back and forth.

• August 18, Friday: Set up first shoot with the photo editor for the next day. Many e-mails regarding the details of the shoot.

• August 19, Saturday: First Photoshoot: Left residency to drive to a NW suburb of the Cities to photograph for 5 hours at a BBQ get together. Made many photos and earned the trust of the families involved. Drove back to the residency, downloaded, and evaluated images.

• August 20, Sunday: E-mailed the photo editor and the writer.

• August 24, Thursday: Photo editor wants a CD of the images sent tomorrow. Prepared a CD of images and web photo gallery with a note. Sent the photo editor an e-mail.

• August 25, Friday: Sent a CD through Fed-Ex to the photo editor, sent an e-mail.

• August 29, Tuesday: Received an e-mail from the photo editor requesting an EDITED CD, not simply all the images. Spent 4 hours editing images down to a select few, and then prepared another CD with images and web photo gallery.

• August 30, Wednesday: Sent the new CD through Fed-Ex to the photo editor.

• September 4, Monday: Prepared JPEGs to send to the writer so he could have a few visuals to write about.

• September 5, Tuesday: Sent a handful of JPEGs to the writer via e-mail.

• September 19, Tuesday: Spoke on the phone with the photo editor for a long time. She will be flying in for the shoot being the turn-around time is going to be so quick. Received many e-mails from the photo editor of previous cover images from the Times Magazine that had multiple people on them. Wrote her back later in the day.

• September 21, Thursday: Made many phone calls to the members of the family involved in the shoot to try to line up the date for the shoot and a quick scouting shoot. No luck; no calls returned.

• September 22, Friday: Many e-mails between the photo editor and myself regarding contacting everyone. Talked to one person regarding the upcoming shoot that he will be part of.

• September 27, Wednesday: Spoke with the photo editor on the phone to discuss details of the photoshoot. Made contact with everyone by phone involved in the shoot and set up times to scout their homes.

• September 28, Thursday: Scouting Photos: E-mailed the photo editor to keep her up to date. Met at 2 of the homes in the afternoon to take test shots for potential locations for the cover shoot.

• September 29, Friday: More Scouting: Scouted and photographed at the last home in the morning. Made test photos of more possible locations. Edited all test photos and resized them to send via e-mail. Started to look at equipment that is needed to rent for the shoot.

• September 30, Saturday: E-mailed many test shots to the photo editor of the different possible locations. Wrote much about my input and what I thought would and wouldn’t work.

• October 2, Monday: Received a long e-mail from the photo editor with her input on what to shoot and when. Wrote her a long e-mail back with my response and many of my own questions. Lined up a photo assistant for the upcoming shoot. Looked at equipment to rent.

• October 3, Tuesday: Stopped at West Photo to reserve equipment needed for the shoot. E-mailed rough timeline of the upcoming photoshoot to the photo editor.

• October 4, Wednesday: Called everyone involved in the shoot to give them details. Left messages and asked them to get back to me. Talked with everyone by the end of the day. Talked more with the photo assistant.

• October 5, Thursday: Cleaned out car to prepare for photoshoot (I’ll be driving the photo editor to the shoot, and my car is a sty). Shot 2 rolls of film, had them processed, and picked them up - as a test for my camera backs. Played phone tag with the photo editor. Finally talked with her for a few minutes about photoshoot details (what the families should wear, where to eat, what time to pick her up, etc). Complied large list of items needed for the shoot. Met with the photo assistant for an hour and a half to talk about details for the shoot.

• October 6, Friday: The Day the Sh*t Hit the Fan: Lined up Sunday morning snacks for the family. Wrote directions for the photo assistant. Received a frantic phone call from the photo editor because one member of the family that we are making photos of needs to leave the shoot WAY too early. Picked up extra photo-related equipment at the College of Visual Arts and the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Bought some items at the Art Cellar art store. Picked up rental equipment at West Photo and purchased everything else that I needed there as well. Stressed over if the shoot is going to happen or not. Talked twice more with the photo editor. Called my photo assistant to inform him of a possible early start for the photoshoot in order to accommodate the person who has to leave early. Whatever happens, he’s on board - thank God! The photo editor called again with final details: we’ll be starting an hour and a half earlier than planned, but all is OK. Everyone will be there. Worked out details to pick up the photo editor from her hotel on Sunday morning. Called the photo assistant to let him know of the change. All systems go!

Holy shit, time for some sleep.

• October 7, Saturday: Played with the strobes to familiarize myself with them (they’re Dynalites - super easy), and tested my cameras with the strobes. Inspected all the rental equipment to make sure everything works. Set almost everything up and took everything down. Called to confirm everything with the photo editor and my photo assistant. Double-checked what time the bakery and coffee shop open in the morning in order to get goodies for the family in the shoot. Made goodies list. Loaded my car with everything, saving room for the photo editor. Slept (not well).

• October 8, Sunday: The Cover Shoot: Alarm at 5:45 am. Finished packing the car. Picked up rolls, scones, muffins, juice (apple and orange), bottled water, and napkins at Kowalski’s. Got a large “thing” of coffee at Caribou for everyone. Picked up the photo editor from her hotel around 7:40 am. Drove to the first location. Pulled up to the house, and the photo assistant pulled in right behind us. Got settled and made photos. Fought with the sun, but I won. Moved on to the second location. Set up lights, etc. Made more photos. Packed everything up. Total time on location: 4 hours, 45 minutes - not too shabby. Took the photo editor to the airport. Talked about what she needed me to have on the invoice. Returned some equipment to MCAD. Dropped off film at ProColor. Wrote up invoice to send to the Times.

• October 9, Monday: Returned the C-Stands to CVA. Returned the rental equipment to West. Picked up the processed film at ProColor. Cut and sleeved the negatives. Printed 2 sets of contact sheets (one for me, one for the photo editor). Went to Fed-Ex Kinkos to Fed Ex the contact sheets overnight to New York. E-mailed "thank you’s" to the photo editor and the photo assistant.

• October 10, Tuesday: Finalized invoice for the Times (or so I thought). E-mailed photo assistant again. Received 2 urgent phone calls from the photo editor. She needs high-res scans FTPed to her in the next day. Received instructions via e-mail for what images to scan and how to log in to their server. Found time to start making scans for the photo editor (although not feeling well). Scanned and fixed up 4 files and sent them along. E-mailed and called the photo editor to let her know. She e-mailed me back; everything looks fine. Scanned 7 more files, fixed them up, and FTPed them. E-mailed the photo editor the list of file names and a couple of questions.

• October 11, Wednesday: E-mailed the photo editor a few questions.

• October 12, Thursday: Called the photo editor to talk about when to send the match prints. Copied scanned files to portable hard drive. Received match print order and amounts for invoice. Printed 7 match print at the CVA digital lab. Altered 2 of the files, saved them in order to FTP them again. Got the prints packaged and ready to Fed Ex tomorrow morning.

• October 13, Friday: Fed Ex-ed the prints early in the morning. FTPed the 2 files that I altered for printing. E-mailed the photo editor.

Over the hill - coast down the other side.

• October 19, Thursday: E-mailed a few random questions to the photo editor. Received a reply and was given the final amounts for a few things on the invoice.

• October 21, Saturday: Finished up the invoice. Made copies of receipts and got everything in a mailer to send to the Times.

• October 23, Monday: Mailed the invoice and receipts to the photo editor.

• October 24, Tuesday: E-mailed the photo editor to let her know to expect the invoice.

• October 29, Sunday: Magazine In Print: The cover should be on newsstands (I say “should” because this is in the future, and I won’t believe it until I see it).

I may update this with actual events once it’s printed. We’ll see what will happen now...

Need a Photo Assistant? Here, Take Mine! He’s Super!

I need to thank my photo assistant for the New York Times Magazine photo shoot, Graham Simpson. He was a great assistant and super with the kids involved in the shoot. In fact, when we were all getting ready to go, the littlest boy came running over to Graham for a hug and a kiss. Everyone in the room gave out a hearty “Aawwwww!”

Here’s the man of the hour in an early exposure/lighting test at the second location on Sunday:

Lookin good in your velcro shoes, as usual

Thanks for all your help Graham. The check is in the mail. Seriously, it is.