Adele (aka Christine)

(iTunes: Psychedelic Furs, Pretty in Pink)

Drum roll please... I just always wanted to say that.

Many of my clients have used crappy photographers prior to shooting with me. I literally hear horror stories of how the photographer didn’t put in much effort, how they didn’t take the time needed to get the shot, how they just didn’t make the subject comfortable with the process. Then you combine that with a stylist that can’t style and you have a disaster on your hands. Adele came to me with baggage thanks to someone who doesn’t have passion or take pride in what they do.

The goal she had for this studio shoot was to capture a raw, authentic portrait, something people can look at and say she’s real, sincere. In working with her we talked about specific memories, experiences, emotions, things she would want to convey to people through her eyes and facial expressions. One memory that always brought laughter to the set was of her husband James. Apparently he can slap her belly if he wants too (don’t ask - I didn’t).

Speaking of that, I suspect Adele is secretly a fan of spanking. So many of our conversations ended in jokes about spanking (farting, going poop and peeing with the door open). And while we’re on the subject of dirty things, like me she also never heard the phrase or knows the meaning of having your salad tossed.

As usual the shoot was a blast. It was more like I was photographing a close friend or something. I get to hang out with musicians and they hook me up with new tunes for my iPod! Man, I love what I do for a living!

Her music website isn’t up and running yet, but you can check out her vocal coaching website here: http://www.andrus.cc

Once she gets her music site up I’ll add the link to the ever-growing link section.

In January I’ll be taking Adele on location to shoot - so stay tuned!

Adele ROCKS, Christine ROCKS, her James is a music producer so he rawks, it sounds like her cats rock, her music definitely ROCKS and yes, photography always rocks!

Coffee Talk w/ Pam

(iTunes: Beastie Boys, Namaste)

I’ve had an online presence (aka, website) since 1997. If you Google my name I’m pretty easy to find. And now that I’m on myspace people from my past pop up like my husband’s morning wood (he’s gonna kill me for saying that).

Pictured here is my little sister, Pam.

During my higher education at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh I was a part-time manager (aka key holder) at Gloria Jeans Coffee Bean. This is where our encounter first took place. She was a coffee barista, still in high school and quite the hottie. We would work evening and weekend shifts together, drink lots of caffeine and have a good time working for peanuts (actually pecans). Tony (our boss) was so infatuated with her. He would tell me all the time he wished Pam was legal! So my dear, do the words Tom & Gail bring back any memories?

Customers would come in all the time and assume we were sisters (two cute bubbly blondes). I think it was that guy from Regis that started it. Anyhoo, we got along so well we just started telling everyone we were sisters. She would introduce me to her friends that way and vice versa. Yes I was the big sister (something I have real life experience with thanks to my real life little brother, Brian Turkey Daniel). Pam was someone that felt like family when I was far away from my real one.

My best estimate was that these photos were shot in the summer of 1995 in downtown Pittsburgh during lunch-time. You see, even back then I knew I wanted to do funky people photography. The water photo was shot literally in a fountain that was in the center of an outdoor restaurant just off of 6th street. It took a mild amount of coaxing but my litter sista didn’t let me down and I got the shot I wanted. I didn’t pay attention at the time but I’m sure many businessmen were quite distracted. The crying photo was quite a regular occurrence for any female I would photograph. Maybe it was a self-portrait during that time of my life. But either way she nailed the shot and I just captured it.

Pam is all grown up working in the legal department of a telecommunication company in Pittsburgh. She’s turned out alright despite my intentions to dissuade her otherwise – just kidding!

Autumn Offering

(iTunes Pat Benatar, Invincible)

Sean, I know you’ve been ANXIOUSLY anticipating the first glimpse of these photos- here they are!

I’ve been incredibly busy this month – almost shooting every day! So I get a call from Victory Records (based out of Chicago) and they needed photos of he Autumn Offering. Many emails and phone calls later the boys showed up at my studio last week for their big shoot.

One member (who will remain nameless) popped open a Miller High Life bottle and then admitted he is an alcoholic. I honestly didn’t know how to respond to that. Alcoholism runs rampant in my family but it is treated more like a pink elephant as opposed to open dialogue. I could go on and on but I have a client meeting in 13 minutes.

Other highlights of the shoot include me backing up (on purpose) into a bush full of burs to get the shot I need, an allergy attack of a band member and peeing in the woods.

Check out the link section to visit the Autumn Offering website, hear tunes and much, much more!

Irrational

(iTunes Violent Femmes, Held Her in My Arms)

For starters, the song THIS IS A TEST by Irrational is AWESOME. Heavy, great energy, vocals are killer, good hook…all the elements that make a spectacular rock song. If you don’t have plans for New Year’s Eve they are playing the Z Rock Fest in Albany, GA.

How Irrational found me is kinda a funny story. Jason was roaming through the lofts contemplating taking up residence in them. And he strolled past my door with now ex-girlfriend. At the time they were thinking of getting photos together. Good thing they didn’t because they are no longer an item.

Jason admits that he normally attracts head cases and subsequently inquires as to whether or not the girl in a photo on the wall is a head case. He was pointing to the musician, Danielle Kristin. I then gush about how she is down to earth, and old soul, talented musician and has enough cute jeans to share with an entire arena full of people. But beware; she has a lethal combination of intelligent and hotness. And Danielle has the most perfect abs in the world. Jason asks if she wears half shirts to show them off. Most definitely!

So I’m not sure how we got on the subject but I was supposed to get Danielle, Lucid Fly and my main squeeze Mat so we can all get together and party like rock stars at Dancers Royal. Oh wait I remember – Andy said he was just at Rachel’s and wasn’t impressed with the overall experience. So I recommend Dancers because they have tattooed girls and play good music.

However the Friday Fun Night never happened. I ended up booking a shoot for Saturday EARLY AM the very next day. If I have a shoot to do I need my sleep. I’m kinda like Howard Stern that way. He’s in bed by 7pm so he can be at work at 4am. Granted I don’t make $500 million, but I’m working on it.

Before I forget I need to do a shout out to Garrett – THE BROWNS SUCK! By the way, what’s a Brown anyway?

And congrats to Raf for tying a knot!

Irrational rocks – their music rocks – and so does photography!

Y Chromosomes of Irrational

(iTunes The Beatles, Sexy Sadie)

Jason (no shirt) I had a hard time deciding what photo to post here. There’s a close up that I’m tickled pink over but instead I went with the shirtless one for one reason only – Harmony.

For those of you that don’t know, Harmony and I went to college together and have remained very close amigos. She is a beautiful woman on the outside as well as in, not to mention, but I’ll mention it anyway, she’s an amazing and talented photojournalist (how’s that for an introduction).

Being that I’ve known her for a lifetime I think about her when working sometimes. Especially if I’m shooting a band because I can always pick out the guy that she would go for. So this past Friday we were talking on the phone. I was telling her about my shoot with Irrational and mention that one of the members is the quintessential HARMONY BOY. Before I even spill the beans she already knew who I was talking about. “Its the guy in the center of the lens flare holding a cup of coffee looking at the camera.” See the post below for a B&W photo of Irrational…Coming Soon.

Despite this being a virtual world, and the chances of them ever running into each other are slim and slimmer, I’ve probably embarrassed my raspberry swirl. So I’m already preparing myself for whatever retaliation banter that might take place on this hear blog. But then again, maybe Harmony caught the Chrismahanukwanzakah spirit and won’t share the myriad of blackmail worthy experiences she has on me. Either that or she won’t even respond to the mention of her name – thereby remaining mysterious. My guess is that she will lean toward the latter.

Garrett (grayish shirt, dramatic hair)

Raf (pretty Mexican boy)

Andy (nifty dreds and wicked face)

Aaron (backwards ball cap)

Labor of Love

(iTunes Leonard Cohen, Closing Time)

Arthur R. Blumenthal, the Director of the Cornell Fine Arts Museum, located on the Rollins College campus in Winter Park, looks darn fine with his spectacles on.

This photo shoot was for the grand re-opening, slated for January 22, 2006. The museum has undergone a staggering $4 million dollar renovation and expansion. It has been a true labor of love for Dr. Blumenthal.

No detail was spared in the exquisite design but the real treasure lies within the walls. They have a great self-portrait of a photographer I am a huge fan of, Cindy Sherman. One of Dr. Blumenthal’s favorite pieces is oil on canvas, Wood Rafts on the Rhine, by French artist Gustave Brion. They also have an extensive collection of Winslow Homer’s Civil War illustrations, sculpted pieces, intricate wood carvings, documentary films…

http://www.rollins.edu/cfam/

Its Freezing in Florida

(iTunes Deftones, Passenger)

Well it might not be freezing but it certainly is gloomy and rainy – almost reminiscent of the overcast days that frequented my former life in western Pennsylvania. I have no right to complain because my beautiful, intelligent and red-headed siren (aka Dana) lives in South Carolina. Due to a nasty ice storm she has been without power for more than a few days and looks like it won’t be back on for a few more days! And for the record, yes Dana, it is not a conspiracy about why your step dad has power and you don’t. We went through the same thing during hurricane season.

So what does all this yip yap (not to be confused with Yip Yip) have to do with this photograph? Weather impeded my initial concept for photographing Chip Humble, the Central Florida Director for Collegiate Sports of America. For a substantial fee, this recently single guy will make calls, emails and produce videos to help aid in getting kids scholarships. Did I mention he is recently single?

GO STEELERS!

Fuck John Frank

(iTunes Emiliana Torrini, Fisherman’s Woman)

Some super fan did. You might only “get” that joke if you go to a live John Frank show. Speaking of that, you can catch him on the main stage on Wall Street @ 10pm tonight.

Now onto the groovy happenings of this photo shoot. 7am John arrives at my studio for styling, cappuccinos, bagels and vodka. The Vodka was for John so he could live it up like a true rock star.

The first location we shot at was a pier on the beach. We took about 3 steps onto the pier and Gomer Pyle stops us because its costs $1 per person to be on the pier! I expect the next time I visit it will cost $1 to go #1 and $2 to go #2.

Moving onto our next location – a CRACK MOTEL. It was a perfect shooting location but very, very disgusting. Every surface was sticky and the room smelled of old cigarettes, alcohol and body fluids. I think the aura of the room lead itself to talking about gross fetishes (golden showers, tossing salad). John then tells this story about CEOs, call-girls, oral sex and a plane ride to Timbuktu. I recommend asking him to tell you the story as opposed to me sharing it with you. After all, it’s his story to tell.

If you’d like to hear more of his stories check out his music. He’s a very talented musician, singer, songwriter – worth your time to check him out (see link section of this here blog).

Irrational...Coming Soon

(iTunes Lynard Skynard, Double Trouble)

Recent Editorial Portraits

(iTunes Madonna, Get Together)

Jesse Thompson
His living room made me smile. The fireplace, tv and end tables all had picture frames of family members. Not just one or two but a plethora of photographs. Remember the crazy old lady in Titanic who had to travel out to the ocean with all her picture frames…

Dean the Boxer
Just read more about this colorful character here:
http://www.orlandoweekly.com/features/story.asp?id=10281

Happy Anniversary!

30 years today – WOW! Congratulations!!! I LOVE YOU BOTH!

On my parents wedding day my Mum wore a super awesome bright orange dress that if sold today would fetch a nice price at any high-end vintage boutique. Her dress complimented her beautiful red hair and glowing skin. Was it glowing because of post-wedding jitters or the fact that a little me just farted in your belly? You can blame the farting on Dad – because obviously I got that from him.

If you ask my parents when I threw my worst temper tantrum as a child they would tell you about the time they took me to Arby’s for dinner. Apparently there was no way in hell a stubborn little blonde kindergartener was going to eat a roast beast sandwich. But I blame that on the fact that Mum consumed Arby’s on her wedding night. Obviously I developed distaste for their food on that fateful night 30 years ago today. But really can you blame me. To this day I still avoid everything at Arby’s (with the only exception being the jamocha milkshake).

Age does not protect you from love. But love, to some extent, protects you from age.
- Jeanne Moreau

Androgenization of Women

by my lovely red-headed amigo since teen spirit first smelled, Dana Grueser (words are her's / photos are mine).

I have a beef with clothing manufacturers. What is up with women’s clothing? Sizing in particular. Everyone who knows me personally knows that I am very petite. I'm not quite 5' 3" and I weight about 112 pounds. I'm small framed, small boned, small waisted, and I proudly have small boobs. What I do have is a butt & hips, like a woman should have. I also have very strong legs and therefore do not have scrawny thighs. It's not like I'm Miss Hippy Thunderthighs or something; I just have what I would consider to be normal curves for a woman. That being said, you would think it would not be impossible for me to find pants that I can get over my ass, jeans especially. I was just about to give up on finding jeans period, but Gap came to the rescue with their new "curvy" cut jeans, and they fit like a glove. Finally, I can sit down comfortably! Then I thought about it – why does someone who wears a size 2 have to buy “curvy” fit jeans? If I’m considered curvy, something has gone horribly wrong. Mishegas, I tell you!

For the last God knows how many years (probably ever since I finally got some curves when I went through my second puberty in my early twenties), I've had no luck finding jeans that will accommodate the miniscule amount of curves that I’ve been blessed with. Unless I want the waist to look like I just walked into one of the “after” pictures from a weight loss product advertisement. You know, the one where Miss Skinny-Minnie holds her supposed previous size out to there to show how with XYZ product, you too can look like an anorexic with an overdone boob job. If I found a pair small enough in the waist, I’d have to forget about moving otherwise. You know, simple things like walking or sitting. I find it very hard to believe that no other woman on this Earth has hips. Aren’t women supposed to be bigger in the hips than the waist? Isn't that part of what makes us attractive to men?

So why do clothing manufacturers insist on making women’s pants cut to fit little boys? Did I miss something in the evolutionary time line? Are women not supposed to have hour glass figures anymore? Are we supposed to have evolved past that? I'm proud of my hips & butt - hell, it's about the only curve I'll ever have unless I get a boob job. I’m blessed to be thin, but hell if I want to look like a shapeless, emaciated twig. I'm proud of the fact I can squat and leg press over 150 pounds and that I have strong calves and muscular thighs, not pencil thin legs. Isn’t there supposed to be a resurgence in the curvy woman? What about that Dove ad campaign? When are the clothing manufacturers going to get it through their thick skulls that even us tiny women can’t be as skinny as models? And why do we womenkind accept this unrealistic expectation?

CSS Stands For

Christopher Schmitt’s Super!

This portrait of Chris was taken a lifetime ago, back when he was a budding author and I still shot with film. Thank Goddess for progress (no, I don’t mean God or goodness – its Goddess).

Here are Five Fun Facts about Chris you may or may not know:

1) He’s a Nole, not a Gator.
2) As in U2 FANATIC!!!
3) Chris’s super power is HEATVISION (basically a trademarked version of what Superman has).
4) His latest book, CSS Cookbook, is not meant for Betty Crocker’s in training.
5) The hacker from hackers, Acid Burn is in no way related to him…unfortunately, because she was HOT!

Phat Mat and I were lucky enough to score big time by getting autographed copies of his latest books. PM is quite stoked about the knowledge contained within the pages and how he can use them in his work. I just thought it was cool that Chris autographed them for us. And that was the first thing I looked for!

Go buy his books.

www.christopherschmitt.com

Those Crazy Funbalaya Kids

(iTunes: Erasure, gimme gimme gimme)

See "Have Some Funbalaya" post below....