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The Oddysy
Recently I had the pleasure of working with the band The Oddysy!
The Oddysy : KJ + DJ Johnny Juice, an electro-organic fusion where layered harmonies coalesce over waves of synth-augmented bass, punctuated by effortlessly intricate turntable flourishes.
theoddysy.com
Reflections of the year 2017
Photography is going through some interesting times. Digital has changed the landscape of photography for better and for worse as it has done to music. Its ironic that I see more interest in analog devices such as vinyl records and very old photography processes (some that predate 20th Century modernity).
How do we process all that is going on with photography's changing rolls in journalism (i.e.social media), fine art and commercial art? To be honest, I don't have a lot of answers to this except for the word "adaptability". The visual artist must learn to adapt their careers in order to sail through these deep uncharted waters of the digital conversion. The romantic in me wishes for a time when accessibility to the industry was less complicated and people were given more opportunities to prove themselves.
While I think there is always a way to make things happen, I do believe that our society has moved far to slowly to catch up to the digital revolution and its impact on our personal and professional lives.
What's your next move?
Psyche Chimère
I really enjoy working with other artists, especially performance artists, because they bring a lot of energy to your photo shoot. I've worked with the songwriter and performer Psyche Chimère a few years back. Recently I had the chance to work with her again in very short window of time and it was a great experience shooting under a bridge during a fierce rain storm.
Robert Szatmari Photography©2017
Stephanie Pham
It's really great when you find a subject that you build a great working rapport with.
I really enjoy working with Stephanie Pham. She's beautiful, intelligent, and powerful.
Model: Stephanie Pham - Photographer: Robert Szatmari
The Loss of a Giant in The Photo Community and of a Good Friend
George Pitts was a person I have the honor and privilege to have called my friend. He was more than that. He was a mentor, educator, poet, writer and most of all an artist of deep commitment.
George Pitts passed away on March 4, 2017, after battling a longterm illness.
A prolific figure in the photography world, Pitts wore multiple hats to the many people he knew: photo director, photographer, painter, educator, writer and friend. His drawings and paintings have been exhibited around the world, while his writing and photography has appeared in numerous publications, including the New York Times Magazine, Vice and The Paris Review." time.com
Thank you for all your great conversations and wisdom my friend. You will be truly missed.
Photo © Allison Michael Orenstein.
The Future... ?
I've had this conversation many times now about how technology has killed the professional photographer's career. There is truth in this statement and yet, like Darwin's theory, once must learn to adapt or face extinction. It seems we have been down this road before with Polaroid cameras, disposable cameras, brownie cameras etc. But what is different perhaps is the combination of digital photography, the world wide web and social media.
Finding your niche market and earning a living is more difficult than before, but hopefully there are ways to adapt what you do with what you need to do. It's something that the romantic side of me has had to contend with in order to not become a modernist dinosaur.
A New Year
Its 2017! 2016 was not a very good year for the arts. We lost so many icons and talented people.
On a personal note, I've been working with actors more and its nice to be a part of that creative medium!
Chlöe Restaurant
I had the pleasure of working with a new client this past week. Go check them out! Chlöe restaurant located in Old City, Philadelphia.
Follow up on Kissing Cancer Goodbye.
Jessica is hopefully on her way to being cancer free!
Noelle Helene, ceo of ExquisiteVisions, Creative Branding and Event Marketing certainly believes that cancer has out worn it's welcome when it claimed the life of her grandmother in 2006 to the dreadful intruder and returned in 2014 when her very own executive assistant was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 24 following the birth of a sweet baby girl, which quickly escalated to stage 4.
Inspired by a national beauty brand, (recently featured in COSMOPOLITAN™, The Today Show and The Doctors to name a few) Fullips™ “Kissing Cancer Goodbye” initiative to give back to those fighting breast cancer, ExquisiteVisions Creative Branding & Event Marketing has teamed up with Fullips™ and an impeccable photographer, Robert Szatmari to present “Kissing Cancer Goodbye-Beauty Inside Out,” a beauty filled breast cancer awareness ad campaign. The purpose of this viral event is to celebrate and recognize beauty of a person, inside and out!
Being committed to your work
The past year I have found myself being tested in my career as a creative person. I know many go through such times and I am writing this more for the younger people who are torn between majoring in the "safe career" versus going in the field of the arts where their heart truly is. All I can say is that you have to follow your passions and if someone, anyone can convince you otherwise then you were not truly meant for this.
Merge Arts Exhibition
March 19th I will be participating in the first Merge Arts event as one of their featured artist. What is Merger Arts you ask?
From their website: "We are an organization that provides a consistent platform and small business resource for artists. We accomplish this in two ways. Our monthly events are multi-genre; with 30+ artists bringing Art, Music and Fashion into a live show. We also produce a bimonthly series of workshops and seminars which are designed to educate our creative class as small business owners and connect them with their industry professionals."
Kissing Cancer Goodbye
I just completed a volunteer shoot for "Kissing Cancer Goodbye" sponsored by fullips.com. Jessica is going through Chemo treatment to combat her illness. I hope that the shoot will help her receive additional funding for her continued treatment. Having lost good friends and family to this disease. I hope one day it will be eradicated not only as a disease but as a word that brings fear and dread to people.
The New Year
2014 was a particularly rough year, so I am looking forward to 2015 to renew my spirits and for personal and professional growth. I miss teaching more than I would have thought. To help and inspire young people is something I enjoy doing. Yes being a photographer is my first love, but I think we should always share our knowledge and experience with others.
Loss and the Power of Photography
The passing of my father and the ceremonies to say our farewells, left me with a revelation as to how much photography meant to my father as a way to document the things most important to him in life.. his family. For him they were like markers of time and the evidence of a proud legacy that he wished to share with all of his family and friends.
Toni
Had a great shoot with Toni. We had been talking about shooting for years and finally it happened and it was worth the wait!
©Robert Szatmari Photography
On money
I think one of the most frustrating and discouraging things for many artist and photographers is money. Photography is quite expensive, maybe not as much as film making is, but still it is up there in costs.
I've tried to work with little or no budget for many of my personal projects because you should not let money problems overwhelm your creative endeavors. So I'm giving a word of encouragement to all struggling photographers out there to keep shooting no matter what.
Kato Shoot
Yesterday morning I had a great experience shooting with model Stephanie Pham. She defines the term knockout beauty, because she is very beautiful, but she could seriously knock you out with her expert martial arts training!
My first blog
Hello and welcome to my blog. I will try to keep it simple since I am not the type of person who
communicates through the written word.
So I've been working on my first monograph book of my work using the self publishing site of Blurb. Ease of use makes it less stressful, however trying to decide what images should be in the book and where to place them etc I've found to be more difficult.
I will update my progress soon.
Summer is on the way!