Announcing a limited edition magazine of model actress Stephanie Pham. Magazine can be found here: Click
Stephanie Pham
First shoot of the year
First shoot of the year was by chance with my lovely friend Jessica.
Ozz Gomez on location at Cuba Libre Philadelphia
I recently shot with local actor Ozz Gomez at the wonderful restaurant Cuba Libre in downtown Philadelphia. Shout out to Cuba Libre’s Aimee Tran, Director of Marketing for Cuba Libre Restaurant & Rum Bar and Aaron, General Manager of Cuba Libre Philadelphia .
Res at The City Winery Philadelphia
Res is a talented singer and songwriter from Philadelphia. Her musical style is a blend of R&B, Soul and Rock. She is a great live performer and recently I photographed her performance at The City Winery in Philly on June 3rd. I would highly recommend you go see her perform live. You can visit her Instagram for more info and purchase her really cool merchandise at MCKIE & RES Merch.
Laura Cheadle
I had the pleasure of working with talented singer and songwriter Laura Cheadle. I love working with talented people, because they bring a different dynamic to a photoshoot. Laura is releasing her new album and streaming is available at her website lauracheadle.com.
Fashion Shoot in NYC
I did a fashion shoot recently for a documentary and educational film on the importance of lighting and makeup in Fashion Photography for NYC Fashion Photographer Thomas Concordia. It was a pleasure to work with Makeup Artist Jeffrey Paul @jeffreypaulbeauty, Hair Stylist Leslie Correa @capellidoronyc and model Stephanie Pham. Shot at Contra Studios @contrastudios.
Shulin
It’s always great to work with new talent because they bring renewed enthusiasm to the process of image making.
Model: Shulin @shulin__
Location: Tattooed Mom
Shulin
Glitter and Garbage Cabaret
Had a blast working with Glitter and Garbage Cabaret! If you didn’t catch them at the Punchline in Philly, please go to their Facebook page @glitterandgarbagecabaret for future performances!
Shannon and Lilli
Bludog Productions
I’m excited to announce that I am part of a creative team for Bludog Productions. I look forward to making meaningful content in the future with these talented people.
Bludog Productions
Finishing What You Started
I think for some of us, when doing personal work we have a tendency to work on a project and then set it aside. When you have other projects to do or other responsibilities it can be easy to neglect your personal work. It is important for all of us to take some time for ourselves and personal expression. I am guilty as the next person. So make sure you take an oath to yourself that you will finish what you started and see your body of work through to its completion.
The Polaroid
Polaroids were once throwaway test images used in mass by the professional photographic industry. Now ironically, they have become precious one of kind objects. I have always loved the instant film camera. I have seen too much of my favorite film products disappear since the early 2000’s. Even the original Polaroid company discontinued its namesake product in 2008. But Polariod was reborn and with Fuji and some other small products still out there, instant film is not quite dead yet. And thank goodness for that!
Girl in a Red Sweater, Polaroid Spectra, 2000 @Robert Szatmari Photography
The Oddysy and La Bella Strings
Here’s a shot I did of K J from The Oddysy being showcased by La Bella Strings! labella.com
The importance of working relationships.
Throughout the years it has been a great pleasure to work with many creative and beautiful talents. I have always tried to maintain long-term relationships with other artists and cultivate creative collaborations with them.
Mae Claire
Adapting to the pandemic
When the main subject of your work happens to be human beings its apparent that during this pandemic it would become quite problematic to shoot. I recently did a couple of FaceTime photoshoots. Both were quite a distance from me which made for an interesting experience. Here is a sample from my second shoot.
The Smartphone Camera
The Smartphone camera has had a great impact on photography both good and bad. Bad mostly for the professional industry as the ubiquitous nature of the smartphone means more people having access to photography and that apps and the building features in the phones themselves has made it too easy. This ease of use has also brought prejudice that photos by cell phones are less legitimate than done with a “real camera”.
To be honest I shared those sentiments for a while, but as time went on my views began to soften. Every generational change in photography brings about arguments on the death of photography. The Kodak camera and its appeal to the masses, or color photography vs. black and white photography and whether color photography could be taken seriously as art. Then of course comes the argument of art for film and commercial for digital photography. Now its cell phones vs. DSLRS, you get the idea. I believe that any camera is a good camera. Better to take the picture than not take it.
Res iPhone 8 with TinType app
Pandemic learnings
One of the greatest things that Portrait Photography can grant you is the intimacy of person to person interaction. During this time of self distancing it becomes even more of a precious experience. It’s one of the reasons I love photography in the first place is that I get to meet such interesting people. With the pandemic and the ongoing isolation because of the quarantine its going to take time to adapt to our new landscape. Nothing will be the same as it was.
Yanez
Loss of a great artist.
I've just learned heartbreaking news of the passing of Robert Asman. He was an amazing talent and wonderful human being. He taught me how to tone prints the right way and to make paper negatives. He wrote my letter of recommendation to graduate school. He will be irreplaceable to the art community of Philadelphia. R.I.P. Sir.
Photography during a pandemic
How quickly our world changed in just a few months time. During this time I hope that an appreciation for the arts and the people that make art will be more realized by the general public.
All the people on the front lines of this pandemic are heroic and have been asked to carry a heavy burden. I hope someday soon this will all be history and that we have time to reflect on the changes we need in our society because the status quo has surely failed us.
Shooting Portraits
I love shooting portraits. Here are the Macdonalds.
