Friday, September 26, 2008

Welcome to the 'Hood, Trader Joe..

Yes, it's true that I was not commissioned to photograph the opening ceremony of 'Trader Joe's - Downtown Brooklyn' at 9am this morning. Yes, I trudged through the rain down Court Street, camera in hand, to capture what many have anticipated to be an epic day in Cobble Hill history. Yes, I did actually go to a supermarket without any intentions whatsoever of buying groceries. And yes, it was worth it.

With a line full of mothers, freelancers, old-timers, and familiar neighborhood faces that stretched down the block, Friday, 9/26/08 marked the beginning of a solid future for what was once the Independence Savings Bank - a place that as a child, I would quiver with fear and anxiety when being dragged there by my mother, who made me stand in line and watch as she did her bi-weekly banking (which seems like hours when you're a kid). The celebration was all it was hyped up to be, with a full calypso band, free food tastings, and staff members dancing in the aisles, donning Hawaiian shirts.

It feels good to know that a commercial retail business worth acknowledging has finally opened up in this neighborhood. Hopefully it doesn't knock out local business such as Sahadi's (which I don't think it will, since they import, manufacture, and distribute their products all over the world). I'm also proud to say that any time my mother wants to take me to the ol' Independence Savings Bank on the corner of Court and Atlantic, I'm game.



Press wait outside the doors of Trader Joe's at
8:55am, before the opening



Manager, Two Trees Representative,
Marty Markowitz & Joan Millman make the cut


A calypso band plays "Guantanamera" to ring in the festivities


An old photo of the bank's interior, facing the main
Court Street entrance..(image courtesy of Flickr)


And the same view, today.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Blackberry Luxe Party w/ Benji Madden

Blackberry's been hosting a whole slew of parties in L.A., Chicago and NYC, promoting..well..I'm not really sure what they're promoting (other than themselves), but each party is dee-jayed by a different celebrity guest. Unfortunately, I missed the first NYC party with DJ Jazzy Jeff (long live "Jazz"), but last night at "Touch" nightclub on 52nd st we were blessed with the genius musical stylings of Mr. Benji Madden, of Good Charlotte fame.

Highlight of my night
: When you "touch" the surface of the bar, it lights up. That was fun.


Throwin' it up at Touch...


Benji Madden w/ girlfriend








Barack Obama insisted that we share a photo-op

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Bicycle for a Day, Hosted by Matthew Modine

Actor/nicest man alive - Matthew Modine (Weeds, Apocalypse Now) hosted a party/silent auction last night at the Maurice Villency showroom to raise money and awareness for his "Bike for a Day" organization, which tries to get people to observe a greener, carbon-emission-free lifestyle by traveling via bicycle around NYC. The first annual public BFAD event will be held on Saturday, Sept. 20th at the South Street Seaport.


Matthew Modine & "ER's" Gloria Rubin


David Hausen, Nick Raynes, and Maxim model - Desiree Dymond


"Real Housewife" Alex Mcord, Douglas Marshal & Devorah Rose


Supermodel/Actress Maggie Rizer & Matthew Modine
pose with a Fender Bass signed and donated by Sting


Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Breaking Ground on the Spies-Flatow Collaboration

A few weeks ago I had mentioned venturing out to Montauk to photograph artist Sue Williams for a piece that friend and talented writer, Michael Spies, was writing for the Village Voice. Today that article was published, so if you'd like to check it out, I suggest taking a walk to your local street corner, finding that big, red, plastic-y newspaper dispenser box, and grabbing a copy or two.

If you just can't manage to make it out of the office until later, or you have a weird disdain for cheap print and can't bare getting ink on your hands, then follow this link:

http://www.villagevoice.com/2008-09-10/art/sue-williams-digs-down-to-the-icky/

I just have to add - Michael did a terrific job on this article. I admit, I read the piece before I went out to Montauk to meet Sue (just so I can familiarize myself with her personality). He was tasteful and eloquent with his wording; simple, yet thoroughly descriptive, and he nailed Sue's character perfectly. When I arrived at her home, I knew exactly what to expect, making my job a hell of a lot easier. I look forward to many more Spies/Flatow collaborative projects in the future.

Saturday, September 6, 2008

'Defending Champs' photoshoot...

Took a little road trip to Caldwell, NJ yesterday to photograph Verona's finest rock-reggae-soul band, 'The Defending Champions', in Matty Ryan's newest acquisition - Homefront Studios. Matt asked that I come in to photograph the studio interiors, as well as the band before their Friday night rehearsal. The following are a couple of snapshots, sans bassist - Jon Cruz.




Friday, September 5, 2008

"Fashion Rocks" Pre-Party

Tomorrow night, Conde Nast Media Group hosts the 5th annual Fashion Rocks event at Radio City. Tonight, Conde Nast Media & Kohl's hosted the Fashion Rocks "pre-party" at Mansion (photographed at Mansion last night too, so now Mansion just feels like Home - badum pum.) I was asked by producer and long time friend, Chip Quigley, to photograph the party interiors before guests arrived. Although a daunting task (since the available light was almost non-existant), mission was accomplished, so I then had to run 12 blocks to avoid being late for my next gig...a private party for a real estate client. Luckily, that job was on 10th ave as well. After shooting for two hours and enjoying some fantastic cheeseburgers, I was able to head back to the Fashion Rocks party to throw back some drinks and enjoy the Pussycat Dolls...


Pussycat Dolls








British singer, Natasha Bedingfield



Thursday, September 4, 2008

Keith Lissner Collection Party + Entourage Premiere Party

The night of September 3rd was a busy one, as I was asked to shoot a party for fashion designer, Keith Lissner at Banchet Flowers in the Meatpacking District, followed by the Entourage: Season 5 premiere party in Chelsea. While I was able to attend the party as a guest, I had strict orders from security to check my camera equipment or LEAVE. As frustrated as I was, I complied and decided to enjoy myself as an actual human being for once, rather than as a photographer. The party was beyond fantastic, with a plethora of A-listers, superb food and drink, and plenty of "victory!" calls thrown in Kevin Dillon's general direction... But what good is a party without your friends - or better yet - your camera? So before they showed the Season 5 premiere on the big screen, I grabbed a drink and journeyed on back to Brooklyn (promised myself I'd wait until Sunday..) just in time to grab a Holi Canoli icey from Uncle Louie-G's before closing.



DJ Paul Sevigny (Chloe's bro bro) spins "Nico" during the Lissner Collection Party


The lovely Amy Sunners allows me to test my new wireless flash unit..


Keith Lissner


Admiring the new collection. IMO, I prefer his older work.


And just because I wasn't able to photograph inside the Entourage party,
doesn't mean I couldn't take a boring picture of a limousine sitting outisde
the party...Who's in the limo? Could be Piven..could be Wahlberg..
could be "Mel" from Flight of the Concords. You just don't know.