Las Vegas...

So I finally made it here. I had no sleep the last week while I tried frantically to finish up selecting the images to include in my portfolio, fixing them and finally sending them out to print with overnight delivery...
I have little internet access (shouldn't this always be included in hotels nowadays?) so I have no time to post updates or even work on my new website...

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It's nice to be able to go out and wear t-shirts again!!!

Darn!...

Just when I thought winter was over...


This was the scene early today at the South Street Seaport. It was freezing...
At this time it is usually packed with tourists. Most flights were cancelled today.
I'm just confused.

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And to add to the confusion, I thought that today was supposed to be Ze Frank's last show. After a year of video bloggging he was supposed to end today.. but it might be tomorrow.

Should I be happy?

I don't know...

But...
I have found someone who can continue to connect the dots for me a la "Le Grand Content" and Ze Frank:
Jessica Hagy's "indexed" blog.

You never know...

What you may find in the streets of New York.

And you have to wonder about people's sense of humor here...

I wonder if I would be included in that statement...

This city is definitely Alice in Wonderland made real.


I'm glad winter is almost over.
Can't wait to wander the streets of New York again...

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"There again was my lost city, wrapped cool in mystery and promise."

-F. Scott Fitzgerald

VC28...

Photography by:
VC28 Victor Affaro & Carlos Andres Varela.
I like the sound of that.
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A few days ago we shot our first team job.
Our setup included tethering our 5d to a Mac...
Shooting this way is great not only because can we check every detail in our images but it really reassures clients when they can immediately see their images.

We have to thank Elvis Solis (our good friend and assistant) and Susan Donoghue (Make-up Artist) making things easier for us.

Elvis

Susan

Sorry, can't show any of the final images yet...

Brad, Samuel and Gladiator...

I have been in movie mode lately...
Not that I've had the time watch any.

A movie being shot on 28th street (on my way to the studio)

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I recently read an interview with Brad Pitt with him describing the movie Babel...
He says:

"The amazing thing is that (Director Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu) was trying to talk about communication and jumping to conclusions and misunderstandings without seeing others' point of view..."

It struck me because, I feel this is happening too often in our lives.
Too much jumping to conclusions... too many misunderstandings.

But where would our lives be if not for our dilemmas?
Not that I love having misunderstandings or anything like that : )

Now, Quentin Tarantino's movies are full of erroneous conclusions and misunderstandings but these are the obvious statements of most if not all his movies (I feel). I wanted to share one of my favorite movie moments based on this (and I also wanted to share my love of font based design):
----Caution----- VERY GRAPHIC AND FOUL LANGUAGE ------
No, really.


WhAt do yOu all THink?
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And now, some trivia:


What are the movies referenced?

Here are my guesses (and I hope I'm not making a fool of myself):
-Steamboat Willie, _? , Nosferatu, Metropolis, _?, Sound of Music, _?, Vertigo, _?, _?, 007, Saturday Night Fever, Tron, Predator, Basic Instinct, Alice in Wonderland, Gladiator, Lost in Translation.

Melissa, Andrew... You've got mail!

What if you and someone else's paths cross most of your life, but you never actually met?
What if this someone else is the person of your dreams?

I'll let Melissa illustrate:

"We (Melissa and Andrew) grew up in the same town, went to different schools, but knew and hung out with friends in common. A's(Andrew's) best friend in high-school, who I knew, dated my friend in highschool (they are now married) but A and I don't remember ever meeting each other. Other friends of ours dated each other as well back then, and A's brother was good friends with my boyfriend in highschool. We remember being at the same parties, hanging out at the same places, eating at the same pizza place, deli, but we never actually met...

Andrew went to business school at Hofstra on Long Island from 2003-2005. I went to Law School at Hofstra in 2006.

In 2001, we lived 2 blocks from each other. I studied for the bar exam at Starbucks every day for 2 months. I found out later that the Starbucks was located in A's apartment building. (he was right upstairs!).....

In 2002, we lived 1 block from each other, went to the same bagel place, same cleaners, same pizza place, same wine store, same diner - never met.....

In 2005, we met...

On-line on jdate.

(!)"

You've got to love mom's expression here!

It would make an interesting movie wouldn't you say?

The beautiful emotions and happiness in the wedding were definitely movie worthy. The day was just right except for the freezing cold and I have to give extra special thanks to Melissa for braving it in order to get some amazing shots. The things we'll do for photography!
Andrew I loved that you just rolled with all the punches.
But I have to give my highest regards to grandma...
93 years old and an incredible dancer!!!

Enjoy the pictures!

Look at Grandma!!! At 93!!!

I have to thank Victor Affaro for coming with me and helping me take all these great pictures.
Click here or on the picture below to see the Slideshow presentation (Please lower the volume on your computer and most importantly be patient while it loads... it will be worth it!!!)

Dahlia, trust, experience and Varaff...

Dahlia in an old elevator shaft

The fashion world is so full of it's crazy stories, that I think that no one will ever stop being surprised...
And believe me lack of experience in this particular world can really kill your self-esteem. Let's not even talk about trust...

During one of my first assignments while at ICP, I had gone to one of NY's top modeling agency's looking to find models to "test"...
They asked for my portfolio
-check
They asked for a concept
-check
They asked for a team...
A team whom I trusted,
A team I needed,
My team?... the people I took class with.
-check

Well, this team did not show up on the day of the shoot.
I didn't know what to do...
Dahlia was not happy.
Her bodyguard/boyfriend snarled
her agent told her to go home,
And I?
I stressed out...

But I told her about a great elevator shaft on my rooftop...

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I never heard from the agency again.
I never called any of my "team" again.
but...
Don't you all think these shots are great?

I'm glad she had brought her boyfriend!

ps. I must have looked really bad holding a camera with one hand and a reflector with another, but as we all know: the means justifies the end... or does it?

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If you were to see these words, what would you think?

-VICCA

-Varaff

I need some honesty here.