I find that right about now, lots of projects are in the works and we’re collectively about to burst with all of our creative ideas at the same time!  It’s sort of like going to the grocery store and everyone is ready to check out at the same time by some weird coincidence. So far, this year is looking really interesting and I’ve had some fun offers. Some might be lucrative and a few others will be just plain fun. One came just this afternoon to help narrate and do some on camera work for a local cable access program highlighting the byways of southern Vermont.  This won’t put us anywhere near easy street but it will be incredibly interesting learning more about the surrounding area and its history.

Some of the proposed projects aren’t going to make it, similar to the horrific accident that looked like there was a fatality causing traffic on the Garden State Parkway northbound to back up for as far as the eye could see. We were also treated to our first live High Speed Chase!  Luckily, on our way home I glanced in the rear-view just in time to see a Virginia State Trooper coming up fast in the passing lane. At first I thought there was a car in his/her way and wouldn’t move over. Wrong. The car in front was the pursuee and Sheriff Bufford T. Justice was drafting him just like they do on TV!  ”That’s going to end badly”, I said to my wife and son as they blew past us. Sure enough, a few miles down the road and four more troopers passing us in hot pursuit later, the perp careened down the center embankment and flew up onto the southbound side of 95 and came to rest against the guardrail in pretty banged up fashion. They had him out and face down as we went past. Now that’s drama!  Like the chase, some of these projects are going to come at me pretty fast and might end badly. That’s pretty standard and I hope that my experience to date will cause me to check out the rear-view so I don’t get banged up in the chase!

Image: duron123 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

James is responsible for this recent Orvis marketing piece and for the rest of the story, click here. -

Fred Collins Pro Photographer setting up the shot

Not long ago  my good friend, (and former boss back in the early ’80′s) Fred Collins, stopped by to take a new ‘Environment Portrait’ of me for marketing purposes.  You see friends, Fred Collins is an old school Professional Photographer, and I’m really lucky to have had this opportunity! He happened to be in the area to see a show of photographs by Lisa Cueman, another friend and fantastic artist who lives nearby.

Fred knows what he’s doing. Period. Obviously this comes from many years behind the lens, but also from natural talent and the ability to bring out the best in his subjects.

“It’s all about the lighting”, he was saying as he set up the light box in my studio. Lighting is key and if you look at the result below, you may notice how he took the time to light the inside of my WhisperRoom VO Booth.  What you also don’t see in the picture, is how he held up a white sheet behind the editing console where I’m sitting, in order to cast the right light on the space itself. Also interesting is that the white sheet shot was taken after my picture!  In fact, I believe that what you see in the portrait is the result of 3 or 4 different shots brought together with the magic of modern day digital editing.  Fred knows how to work all of that stuff too as you’ll see if you visit his site via the link above.

The Result of Fred's work. 3 or 4 shots become one.

Not to add insult to the injury of getting older, but Fred and I are both from an Analog world.  We both had to react, learn and quickly adapt in order to prosper in the digital age.

I started out working with giant reel-to-reel tape decks and humongous sound boards with tape littering the floors and razor blades lying all around ready to make more edits. All of that equipment used to take up a large room and was very, very expensive.

Similarly, Fred had a huge studio on South Street in downtown Boston where there were lots of other photographers, developers and suppliers  in the immediate area. I used to go there for work after finishing up as one of the producers of WBCN’s ‘The Big Mattress’ morning extravaganza with Charles Laquidara. Back then, Fred’s studio was a hotbed of activity and on most days we had shoots large and small taking place under the watchful eyes of ad agency execs, art directors and hangers-on who were just part of the scene.  Not entirely like the Andy Warhol scene, but close.

One of my favorite parts of being an assistant was scouting shooting locations in and around the city. Another was heading across the street with Fred, Allison (his wife) and the studio crew after work or lunch to Cecil’s, the lone good eatery.  We loved them and they loved us as the money used to fly around pretty freely back then!

Today, Fred and I both travel pretty light comparatively.  My work space can be reduced to an area the size of laptop if needed. Fred can now see his shots immediately as he takes them in high-def on his laptop. No more little Polaroid tests!  Obviously his camera is still a state of the art SLR but now it’s all digital with tons of megapixels and lighting fast shutter refresh speeds.  Gone are the chemical baths of the past and now as described above, you can do really miraculous things with Photoshop software and others of that ilk.  From what I understand, Fred does work with some pretty large and expensive printers as he offers this service to other artists (like Lisa) for their work.  I won’t try to accurately describe all of Fred’s wizardry, but  if you’re interested check out his site.  Also, check out Allison’s galleries in Boston and Great Barrington MA – The Iris Gallery of Fine Art Photography - amazing works!

Many many thanks to Fred for his time and effort on my behalf and I’m thrilled that my portrait is featured on his website portfolio.

Ad Men at Play

A Most Interesting Friendship

Just a couple of pitchmen out shooting on a beautiful early spring day! The Most Interesting Man in the World, aka Jonathan Goldsmith is a neighbor and we’re becoming good friends through our love for outdoor shooting and fishing sports. Jonathan knows how to live life to the fullest and has had an amazing career now capped with his pop icon status as the face of Dos Equis.

Google him and you’ll be amazed by the number of appearances in almost every television show that was popular in the 60′s and 70′s! Being on the original Hawaii 5-0 and McMillian and Wife are two of my faves.  For the record, his accent in the spots is based on his very good friend Fernando Lamas and not the other guy mentioned on the internet.

Click here for a nice article in the New Yorker about him and remember to ‘Stay Thirsty’ my friends!

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