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.