James Knows Community Building

I met James Ostis a couple of years ago, in Lowell, at a Tweetup. At first soft-spoken, James' demeanor belies his drive to change things for the better. Formerly a legislative aid in the Office of Massachusetts State Representative Colleen M. Garry, he is currently project manager for the Lowell Heritage Partnership.

In speaking with him last night before we started making photographs, I was struck by his passion and enthusiasm. I hope he enjoys his photos. I know I enjoyed making them!

James Ostis

#DoubleTrouble

Ok, so I stole the title from a mutual friend on Facebook.

Last evening a couple of great people came by my studio to participate in my two personal project portrait series. The Big Door series, and Basic. Thanks to Lianna and Sopheak! I hope you enjoy the shots!

Preserving Cultural Riches

I was really thrilled to have been asked to photograph Nate Leonardo, a young collector and historian of sorts, for a Merrimack Valley Magazine story written by my friend Beth Daigle. Nate is passionate about collecting, preserving and possibly reigniting interest in what was almost lost, the Cambodian film and music industry that was flourishing prior to the Cambodian Genocide. Nate collaborated with film maker David Chou on "Golden Slumbers", a documentary about the "rise and fall of the Cambodian film industry" that was screened in Lowell last year.

Nate brought much of his collection for the photo shoot and set the mood for the evening shoot with some of his Cambodian music favorites. I hope the vibe from that night comes through!

Merrimack Valley Magazine

Nate Leonardo

Nate Leonardo

Peace and Healing

Much has been said and written over the past week. Sometimes informative, sometimes helpful and sometimes not. My hope for today is for peace and healing.

Adrien

Wired for Sound and More

My latest cover photo for CE Pro magazine profiles a local Boston company that designs and builds systems that integrate technology into residential and commercial spaces. We were invited into a home to view one of their recent projects. It was pretty impressive!

In the basement!

Built-ins

All in the Family Indeed

I know that Boston is a small market, and everyone in the Merrimack Valley seems to have far less than 6 degrees of separation, but this assignment was different. I was sent to photograph a musical family with roots in Newburyport, MA, but as I found out more I realized that that the grandfather in this three-generation musical family, was a teacher of mine at Berklee College of Music 35 years ago! Les Harris Sr. was one of my favorite teachers at Berklee. He was always approachable, a very real person, no pretense or aura. Just a very talented and accomplished musician who was very ready and willing to help his students. His son, Les Jr., an excellent percussionist in his own right, lives in Exeter, NH, where I grew up, and teaches at Philips Exeter. Les Jr.'s daughter, Aubrey, is an incredibly talented bass player and singer, whom I had the pleasure of hearing as they rehearsed during our photoshoot.

As Les Jr. and I got to know each other that day, I realized that he works with a couple of guys who I knew growing up. One who was in a band with me in high school and the other who used to live a mile from my childhood home and who my mother would babysit. If these coincidences weren't enough, on the way to Portsmouth, I heard Sergio Mendes' cover of "Fool on the Hill" on the radio. As I listened I remembered that Les Sr. had used that recording in class for what we used to call doing a "record copy", an ear training exercise where you literally transcribe exactly what you hear, note for note. We used to wear out a lot of cassette players that way! 

Check out the Harris family in this month's Merrimack Valley Magazine as well as Les Jr.'s and Aubrey's web sites. Also take a listen to Aubrey and some other amazing high school musicians perform with Keith Urban here!

Classic

Patty calls her work-self an Excel jockey. But those who know her also know that she is an excellent musician. Patty plays clarinet and is the secretary for the Lowell Philharmonic Orchestra, in Lowell, Massachusetts. She helped create the orchestra's annual summertime concert series at the Shedd Park Pavilion in Lowell. Patty came in to the studio to work with me on my "Big Door" and "Basic" series. Last year though, she was part of a collaborative project that Lowell Film Collaborator co-founder Suzzanne Cromwell and I had embarked on. Although it is on somewhat of a hiatis, I still have hopes of continuing that work with Suzzanne. Here are some of the shots from both photo shoots with Patty. Check out the Philharmonic! Click here.

Mauricio is in the House

A few days ago, I invited Mauricio Cordero to my studio to take part in my two portrait projects, the Big Door Portraits, and Bsic. Mauricio is indeed a local celebrity! He is an artist, and educator and an entrepreneur in the truest sense of the word, most recently playing a key role at the soon to open Mill No. 5 in Lowell, Massachusetts.

This Lovely Evening

He seems to be everywhere that's anywhere in Lowell. Last evening, he was in front of the now famous doors in suite A405. Sovanna told his Facebook friends that he was visiting me "this lovely evening", at Western Avenue Studios to be photographed. A pleasure to work with, Sovanna was impeccably dressed, as always, and ready to be photographed. Here are some of the shots for my Big Door series and my pick for my ongoing Basic series, which are all in B&W, and all done as simply and as similarly as possible in an attempt to really "portray" the person, in the true sense of the word. Enjoy!

Four at the Door

This post makes my fourth submission in my Big Door series, so I think it can officially be called a series now.

In the process of casting for a short video project, which was the same occasion on which I met Obehi, I also met Jacquie, another talented actress. Interestingly, both Obehi and Jacquie are musical, and both are brass players. Her family owns Golden Girl Granola, which is awesome!

I also thought I would reshow the black and white portrait that I did of Jacquie, since I have received so many kind words about it.

Keep watching this space for who will be next in the series!

Collaboration is Not New, but Now it's Real

Collaboration is nothing new but is a great way to offer enhanced capabilities to clients. Of late, I have been working with several very talented individuals who bring a tremendous amount of talent to the table, and do so in several different disciplines. We've been tossing around the idea of offering a suite of services under one roof. What if we could offer, not only a photographic vision, but could team up to offer video, graphic design, copy writing, and photo shoot production?

I am happy to announce that this one-stop, start-to-finish vision and production for your projects is now a reality. Check out the information here and get in touch! We can discuss your requirements and how my team can bring them to life.

More in Front of the Door

Another shoot, in my series of photos of people, in front of the great green doors in my studio. Lisa is a very talented graphic designer with whom I have the pleasure of working from time to time. She was one of my first subjects after having moved into my new space. It was shortly after this shoot that I started to collaborate with my doors! They always come through!

Basic

I have started a new series. It's a personal project in which I am inviting people into my studio for a very specific portrait. The project is called "Basic", mostly because I am shooting them all utilizing a very minimal setup: one light, white background, prime lense, and all shot almost exactly the same way, and all rendered in black and white. The idea is to try to capture something about my subject's personality that has revealed itself to me in my interactions with them, and that I want to try to convey, visually, to the viewer. I want to tell a story in one frame.  

Here are the first five, of many to come, in no particular order.

Yary Livan, a Master Ceramist

The blog that Middlesex Community College and the Lowell National Historical Park maintain to document what is called "Yary's Kiln", calls Yary Livan a master ceramist, an "expert in Cambodian traditional pottery" who "embodies the tradition with artistry and excellence". He also just happens to have a studio across the hall from mine at Western Avenue Studios in Lowell, Massachusetts. He has been written about many times, most recently I think in the Boston Globe. That doesn't stop me. I asked him if I could photograph him in his studio. He continued to work quietly while I fussed with lighting gear. When I asked him if he would come into my studio, which I had, of course, set up for him, to have some shots, he was more concerned about tracking clay into my studio. I thought, "that's what I bought the broom for!" Let's do it!

Check out his work: 

http://community.middlesex.mass.edu/blogs/cambodiankiln/default.aspx

http://www.massfolkarts.org/object_detail.asp?ObjectID=8140023

http://www.nps.gov/lowe/parknews/cambodian-wood-fire-kiln-with-master-ceramicist-yary-livan.htm

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/regionals/north/2012/10/17/traditional-cambodian-kiln-lights-tradition-lowell/jhva3i13RH0BHNs5bnQZYL/story.html

Obehi, the Multitalented

I recently met Obehi Janice while casting for a promotional video that I was working on with filmmaker Pete Pedulla. A performer, writer and speaker, she clearly fit with my ongoing goal of finding interesting people to photograph. She came to my studio yesterday along with her sister, and UMass Lowell student, Joy. It was a fun shoot!

...and this Big Door Portrait series is really on a roll!

Obehi regularly performs her own, solo work, FUFU & OREOS, and will be doing so in Chicago, on Friday, February 15th. Check out her web site for more information:  http://www.fufuandoreos.com

No Going Back for Western Avenue Studios

Today we saw one of several vestiges of Western Avenue Studio's former life as a mill be dismantled. The old smoke stack was taken down today. When I arrived it lay on the parking lot in sections, having been cut into sections. Here is a shot of the stack as it was, late one summer afternoon in 2009:

And here it was today:

While not apparent, it is about 5 feet in diameter.

This is one of several changes that are being made to the building that will put any future as a textile mill in doubt.

The Big Door Portraits

My studio has, among other nice attributes, a set of really large green barn doors. I am on the 4th floor, so if they opened, it would be quite a drop. Fortunately, they don't. I imagine that in the days in which this Western Avenue Studios building was a textile mill, this was a kind of loading dock door for raw materials in and goods out. Today, it's just dark green awesomeness.

I feel a portrait series coming over me! Here is my latest shoot with sports photographer, Liz Cardoso, who specializes in photographing runners.

There will be more to come!

Something a Little Different

Boston has finally reached double digit temperatures for the day, so I'm in the mood for something that brings pleasant thoughts of almost triple-digit temps of days gone by. So I dug out some shots that an interesting guy named Victor asked me to do last summer as he gave me a tour of the Lowell Cemetery. Enjoy!

UTEC Revisited

It's been a while since I have blogged, unfortunately, but I have spent the last week, plus 1 day, upgrading my computer system. Oh the terabytes!!!  Anyway, I have arrived and am back in business! Yay!

The week before, I was invited back to United Teen Equality Center (UTEC), in Lowell, to create more photographs of the Alternative Diploma Program, or ADP. Both the young people and their teachers are a dedicated bunch!

Things that I Like

My thing is People Photography. I think I give that impression anyway. I'm not a marketing professional, but I read and can follow directions. So, since I love to photograph people, that's what I emphasize. Any good photographer though, can do many things. Not necessarily all things. I don't do weddings, sports, I really dislike grip-and-grin shoots... I could go on. I do enjoy making photographs that please me though. I have found that those are most often subjects that I am attracted to in the first place. Here are some. (Make sure you click on some of the captions. They have links)

I like to eat. Slowly. Small portions that taste. Heaping piles of stuff annoy me.

Here are some dishes that are decidedly not in that category.

This, and the previous shot are of some dishes by Chef Carolyn Grieco, of Haverhill, MA

Rainy days make great shots in the summer. So green. This organization and the fields owner deserve a lot of credit!

There's a rumor that I had some work published in a special Home edition of a local magazine...

The beautiful new interior of Lowell's Merrimack Rep (MRT)

Speaking of Lowell, Massachusetts...

Vendor preparing for Lowell's City of Lights parade