Elise Studio Session

This was a fun one - and a personally satisfying one, too. This is my amazing and talented niece, Gigi (recording as Elise), and I was lucky enough to be there to record her very first studio recording session. I have exactly zero musical talent, but being in a studio watching the process of finessing and refining a song is something I enjoy a great deal.

It's even more amazing when it's someone I've known as a baby becoming a mature and talented artist learning to express herself and develop her craft.

On our way from her last day of recording, we passed by a 24-hour adult video store, and just knew we had to go make some portraits in front of those neon lights.

I can't wait for you all to hear her music. Her first single, SINS, should be out soon on all streaming platforms.

Photo Notes: Wiz Khalifa and Nitti Scott at Webster Hall

I've always loved shooting concerts. It's really satisfying capturing the energy of the crowd and the showmanship and stage presence of great performers. One of these days, I'm going to make good on one of my long-time goals, and get press credentials, or find a way to shoot a concert in an official capacity.

Wiz Khalifa

Opening act Nitti Scott performs at Webster Hall

These were shot at this year's Advertising Week Wrap-up party at Webster Hall. I love the Advertising Week shows, because it's always a great opportunity to get access to incredible performances by some top-notch acts, including N.E.R.D, John Legend and The Roots, Big Boi, Wyclef Jean, and B.o.B. The performances are usually held in a relatively intimate setting, and it doesn't hurt that it's free for us industry types. I've made some of my favorite photographs at these events over the years.

Incidentally, for you photo nerds that like to pixel-peep, here's a 100% crop of one of the above images from the show, which are almost straight-out-of-camera (I think I tweaked the brightness/contrast ever so slightly in the Photos app on my iPhone). If you must nit-pick, yes, you can see a little softness, and yes, the pixels are a slightly chunky, but damn - I was standing at least 40-50 feet away from the stage!

 1/200s, f2.8, ISO6400.

I still can't get over the incredible low-light performance of the Fuji X100S, especially as it doesn't seem that long ago that I was still shooting with my Canon Rebel XT, and never dared go above ISO 800. That's a difference of four full stops of light, which means I would never have been able to make this image on that camera without using a flash or some additional light source.

One other note: in previous years, I would have been fully locked and loaded with my Canon 7D and L-series 70-200mm f/4 lens at these Advertising Week concerts, and as I said, I've made some images that really made me happy as a result of using that setup. Lately, though, I've been scaling back and am happy to take a more minimal approach to shooting - particularly when I'm on vacation, or shooting for myself and not for a paid gig. Not that I wouldn't shoot paid work with the Fuji; it's just that if I'm not being paid, I'm realizing that there's really no good reason to put in the extra effort of carrying all that extra gear. Simpler, most of the time, is better.

Anyhow, I had a great time at the show, despite not being a huge Wiz Khalifa fan. It happened to be my birthday, and there was open bar, so I'd say that worked out quite well.

Busta Rhymes & Co.

A few shots from this year's Advertising Week​ opening night concert. More images on Fiickr.

Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival

The festival was great this year - if a little over-crowded and chaotic. Performers included M.O.P, Diamond District, Random Axe (who I missed, thanks to some confusion with the line to get into the venue), and headliner Q-Tip.

Tip busted out a range of material - new, old, Tribe and solo joints, and featured several high-profile special guests, including Monie Love, Black Thought, Busta Rhymes, and Kanye West.