I looked into my camera bag, a black Tumi roller board with carefully divided padded sections. Each section makes a hole, each hole has a piece of camera equipment that fits snuggly inside. There are two big holes facing each other. That’s where my cameras go. Both were empty. “What the fuck did I do […]
When I first hired Melanie, my Las Vegas manager, we spent time together. I’m afraid I photograph, um, different than anyone else — and I had to un-teach (forgive me photography school teachers) the institutional bull shit. Rule of thirds? Really!? I had to teach real skills, like how to take the camera OFF automatic […]
What the hell is Hooker Sushi you ask? It’s the sushi from my favorite Las Vegas restaurant, the name of which I can never remember (though it’s Kaizen). The joint (which is a small chain) sits directly across from the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas in a nondescript strip mall next to a decent […]
Now, with the hotel from hell in my rear view mirror, and sprawled comfortably on my $3,000 space foam bed, it’s time to examine my shopping habits. In fact, my living habits. Let’s take that bed. It all started six years ago. Keep in mind business was much slower at that point, mainly consisting of […]
What is the perfect hotel? Cheap? Lux? Family oriented? I travel for work — I travel a lot. I’m platinum with Starwood (Sheraton) Hotels, Gold with Hilton. Hell, I’m even Gold with La Quinta. Typically when I travel “upgrade” is my favorite word. “Would you like to upgrade to business class?” “Hell yes.” “Would you […]
I travel a lot. As in, I’ve already re-qualified for NEXT YEAR’S companion pass on Southwest. That’s a lot. And I go into complete meltdown if there is one ounce of bouncy flesh on my body. We’ve all been there: sitting at home, catching up on the latest “True Blood”, and… “…what??? what is that??? […]
I’m a big believer in fate. Not that I think our path is predetermined — actually, the opposite — but I do believe we are given tools that lie dormant, almost overlooked, until just the moment you need them. Sometimes it’s big things — a new relationship that develops from an email and turns into […]
Early in my career, George Bush sat on the White House thrown. Hillary Clinton was a Senator from New York, and I was hired to photograph an official state visit from Polish ex-President Lech Walesa. I was to take photos of Walesa meeting with important Washington, DC people, and stream those photos live to […]
“WHAT?” said the rather pushy person on the phone, “But I want YOU.” No, she didn’t want me in the way you’re thinking. She wanted me to shoot her wedding. I don’t shoot weddings. I don’t shoot birthdays. Or retirement parties. I shoot big events. Very big events. Paid for by a corporate client. Now, […]
In honor of Father’s Day, it’s time to tell the second part of my story. And while I may not even get a chance to call my dad today (I’m on a flight to Orlando), I am thinking of him. And, I wanted to share a story. We were in a cab in Las Vegas, […]