I would like to talk about portraiture. Portraits can capture the essence of a person, it can capture what someone is feeling, it can capture where they have been , and where they are going. People in general imagine portraits portraying happy people. Let's examine the child portrait. Childern seem to have the life of luxury. They get fed, get changed, and get put to sleep. When parents take babies and children to have their portraits taken, they always want that special toy, that favorite rattle, the latest back drop, anything they can use to make that child smile. However, the life of a child is more complicated than we would like to believe. A baby has a hard time trying to walk, they have belly aches, they don't like their new formula. Toddlers are also going through attitude adjustments. Life isn't all peaches and cream. I say that to make a point that a portrait isn't always meant to be all glitter. I recently took a portrait of a friend. She wasn't in the best of places in her life. I wanted the photo to show this. She didn't just graduate, she didn't recently give birth to a brand new baby, she didn't just get engaged, so all of these "typical" smiley situations and reasons for the photograph don't apply. Someone who decided to critique the photo suggested that I make some adjustments to the photo. These adjustments would totally change the outcome. Now, in no way am I comparing this photo to The Mona Lisa, but what if someone changed that photo? Sometimes people need to be captured in the mind state, the feeling, the attitude that they are in at that time and to be just left alone. Could I have used the computer to alter the photo? Yes, but would you or I get the same feeling from it? Definately not. I think in this age of Photoshop and other image altering software, people are too quick to want to make the perfect picture out of a picture that was already perfect. If you captured what you envisioned, then that's a perfect photo to me. Airbrush this, clone that, lighten this up, darken that up, sometimes you just need to open your eyes and heart and you will get what you are searching for.

This past Sunday I was hired for a portfolio shoot. There were no set up, staged shots like you get at "Department/Super Stores". However, I feel that these type of photos that were captured on this day really get to the essence of who is in front of my lens. Just a little smile, a little dimple, just a quick breeze of wind makes all the difference when you hit the streets to see what magic you can come up with. When you go "out" to create portraits, you may come across an old door with aged paint, a nice field of fresh flowers, or just a neutral background that just fits. Sometimes, you can even bypass all of this just to get close up and see what it's all about. Well that's what I did and here is one photo from my shoot. Look out for more shots from this great outing coming soon to my page. Thanks again for reading my blog.

As I sit here thinking what to say about the Philadelphia Jazz Scene, I'm only reminded of how far it has come to me and then again how fast it has disappeared. The first time I went to Ortlieb's Jazz Haus back in February of 1998, I was amazed at how the musicians just whipped through the songs. I sat there wondering how they just sat around song after song and decided what song to play next. There weren't any questions about the speed in which they would play them. No questions as to who would solo first. The music just flowed, and I thought, "That's is definately something I would like to do". That was a Thursday night and by Saturday afternoon, I had rented an alto saxophone from my local music store. In the coming years, I have met lots of nice people, musicians and non-musicians in and around the jazz scene in Philadelphia. Ortlieb's, Chris's Jazz Cafe, Zanzibar Blue, Deetrick's in Jenkintown, etc. For a lot of younger musicians coming up, the opportunity to play on stage in dwindling down to only a handful of choices. Maybe the economy is to blame? Maybe people are losing interest in jazz music? We have a venue here in Philadelphia that is, in my opinion, undersourced. The Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz and Performing Arts. This venue was built from the ground up especially for jazz but hardly do they have top performances there. This is another sign of the times. If a "HOUSE OF JAZZ" can't make it, then the smaller spots have no chance. We are now reduced to a Sunday matinee of maybe 2 hours. Something must to be done to preserve this music. If people can't go when they want to hear it live, and get the youth involved at an early age, there will SURELY be no Philadelphia Jazz Scene in a few years.

Sears, Wal Mart, K-Mart, The Picture People, all of these places have pretty good set ups when it comes to taking portraits. The lighting is perfect, they offer several of the latest backgrounds, and the price is pretty cheap. However, I am convinced that taking a portrait of someone in their own environment while they're doing what they do is far more pleasing to my eye. A photo like this really tells you about a person. What they enjoy and how they feel at the time it was taken. These moments can't just be re-taken. They usually are 1/60th of a second out of someone's life. You can't just tell them, "Make that face again" or "Say CHEESE!". I really would like to start to define people as they truely are and not the usual sit down, carbon copy session. If you know someone who wants to be photographed in this way, please refer them to my web site. I've added an example to this article as you can see. It's just a boy playing on his couch. Nothing posed, no CHEESE, all natural and I love this portrait. Let me know what you think about it. Thank you. I look forward to hearing from everyone.

The other day, I was driving home from a hard days work and was listening to some Jackie McLean, one of my favorite saxophone players of all time, and I was thinking how he passed away last year and there really wasn't anything on the news about it. This was a man that was brought up around jazz legends in the likes of Sonny Rollins, and Charlie Parker. Jackie started playing the horn around the time when he was in his early teens. New York at the time was full and vibrant with creative artists and a jazz scene that has yet to be reproduced. You could see Bud Powell in one club and when that set was over, you could go right next door and see Miles Davis. So many of these artists from that important time in jazz have passed away. However, whenever I see or hear of them passing, I take a moment out of my day to just think about that artist. Obviously I wasn't around when they were at the top of their game, but I can reflect by listening to the recordings they gave us. The reason I wanted to write about this subject is because all too often we hear about entertainers of today in the news that really haven't accomplished anything of any great value at all. Take for instance, Paris Hilton going to jail. WHO CARES! What has she contributed to anything besides saying "That's Hot". Brittany Spears is all over the news all the time for everything but music. Who cares that she shaved her head bald? I'm a big fan of Hip Hop music, but I don't want to be constantly bombarded with news stories about people being arrested and the personal battles they are having between each other. If someone like Jackie McLean passes away and I don't hear about it, there's a problem. If Michael Brecker passes and there is little mention about him, and he's from Philadelphia, then there's a problem. I challenge the media to cover people who actually accomplish something. I don't need to hear about someone ripping up a ticket and throwing it back at the police officer. WHO CARES! Tell me about someone that contributed to America's Classical Music, Jazz. Tell me about the life they lived, the impressions they left on younger artists coming up. For once it would be nice see something on the news. Tell us more about his legacy so that others will want to continue being creative in this art.

Ok. Now that I've been back out on the jazz scene. I'm definately not disappointed. I stopped in at Chris' Jazz Cafe and stumbled upon a nice quartet, The Torben Waldorff quartet. Torben was accopmanied by tenor man, Donny McCaslin, Matt Clohesy on bass, and on drums, Jon Wiken. Although I missed the first set, the second set didn't let me down at all. They breezed through the playlist with no problem and really worked together as if they were playing together for years. After the set, they had time to talk and were really nice guys. They didn't have much time as they had to drive back to New York that night, a two hour drive from Philadelphia. It felt refreshing getting back out to photograph some exciting moments with the band. Hopefully it won't be long before I get back out again. Afterwards, I walked the streets to catch some nightlife. This, my friend, is another topic that may take up massive newtork space. I'll post some photos in the future of some of my different night strolls. To be downtown Philly between the hours of 10pm and 3am is in itself, a whole new expreience. People are heading to the clubs in a frenzy to meet their next score. Whether that be a male or female, or the next drink of choosing. Either way, the pairing up ends up twisted and sick by the time club night is over. Drunkidness, silliness, and tiredness don't make a good blend! Afterwards, all is calm again....

A friend of mine, Mark Manley, www.manrilla.net recently went to shoot some photos of a great jazz guitarist at Chris's Jazz Cafe, www.chrisjazzcafe.com I saw his work and immediately wanted to get back onto the Philadelphia Jazz Scene. A few years ago, I would be down to the jazz clubs at least 3 nights a week. Since then, I've gotten married, I have a different job, I've had a son, and life has gotten a little bit too hectic to keep up that schedule. Just to go down and see some of the people perform that I used to would bring back fond memories, although that was only about 5 years ago. A lot has changed since then. New people are probably hittin' the stage, Zanzibar Blue recently closed, www.zanzibarblue.com and my favorite place Ortlieb's Jazz Haus, www.ortliebsjazzhaus.com is under new management. Through all of these changes, I'm sure the music is contantly growing. Younger cats are coming up more eager than ever to prove themselves on open mic night. I think this week I will definately have to get out and see what's goin on out there. I'm sure I'll take along my camera and next week you can check back to see what's new out there.

As I sit here listening to some Sonny Criss, who by the way was an excellent alto saxophone player, I'm thinking of my next project. Just like a writer, a photographer has to constantly keep things fresh. When you keep doing the same stories, people begin to predict your next book. I liken this to, let's say, The Philadelphia Eagles Offense. When the season starts, the fans are waiting for all of the suprises they were promised in the off season. After a few weeks though, it's back to the air. No matter what they want, no matter what the commentators want, Andy Reid goes back to the same PREDICTABLE passing game. Never mixing things up with the running game. I say that to say this. I must constantly keep my photography fresh. If I don't, I'm sure you won't want to return to my site to see what's fresh and exciting. This is the reason I haven't settled down to a certain subject like most photographers have done. Maybe one day I will, but in this present time, I'm searching for anything that will make me stop, set the camera up, and shoot away. So in my search for my next subject, I commission you, the browser of my site to challenge me. I would like you to suggest different works, different subjects. I want my photography to challenge me. If it means going places I've never gone, so be it. I'm sure John Coltrane did a lot of self evaluation. He was on a quest to find a way to execute certain ideas, certain, phrases. But he had so many that he would try all of them at once. That's how I feel. I want to photograph so many things that I just can't settle for one thing right now. So, I'm going to do my part to keep pushing on. I hope you'll follow me on my journey. Thanks..

Friday and Saturday I'll have more time to go out and actually shoot some new photos. It's been a while since I've had this opportunity. I'm still waiting for my photo business to start taking off. I have a few things in the works and I hope they turn out. It's funny how you take an interest in something and before you know it, your life is consumed with trying to constantly perfect your craft. It's a never ending battle. Whether it be a saxophone, a camera, a paint brush or even chess, you will never finish what you thought you were starting. The quest for more information and knowledge just keep on going like that Big Pink Drumming Bunny Rabbit!

This is my new web site. After some time, I've decided that I need a better web site than I currently have. This site is great. It lets me split my photography into seperate categories. This I feel is more convenient for the viewer. It's about 4:13 am and I'm really tired. I don't have to work tomorrow and I have to think about a photography project for the day. Maybe I'll go develop some film that I've had in my 'fridge for a few months. Maybe not.