Goonies Found In Oregon

Driving through Oregon is an experience I will cherish forever. When I arrived in Cannon Beach, Oregon, the town where the Goonies movie was shot, I understood right away why they choose this location for the movie. It is an incredibly beautiful American town and Haystack Rock is an awe-inspiring view.

At Cannon Beach, I met a family with two beautiful young daughters and after a short conversation getting to know a little bit about them I prepared to photograph and interview the daughters for Future American President. I was still on a high from the day before in Oregon photographing the daughter of a woman I met while asking for directions.

My subjects today were two daughters that were full of life and truly enjoyed the process of being photographed. The older daughter was very excited, especially after learning that Disney star, Zendaya is included in the book. The younger daughter looked up to her older sister and it was wonderful to see how powerful their connecting was to each other.

After the photo session each daughter wrote what they would do as president and I photographed each as they wrote their statements for the book. Afterwards I photographed the entire family together and they invited me to have lunch with them. As we ate together I learned more about the children and I was happy to be able to include them in Future American President.

As I left Oregon, I thought back to the wonderful new friends I have met on this leg of the journey and hoped the images and material in this book will be able to inspire and empower children in Oregon and in big and small towns all over America.

Always Dream Big 

Throwback Thursday -Whitney Houston

The first time I met Whitney Houston was for a photo shoot for Waiting To Exhale. It was actually my first time meeting all the women in the cast and the beginning of several long-term friendships. 

Whitney was the first to arrive in the studio that day and asked right away, "who's the photographer." When my assistants pointed her in my direction, she said, "oh, that's different, a Black photographer!" Then she walked over and we shook hands and she said, "so where's your music collection for today?" In those days I carried a big case of CD's, so I walked her over to my collection and she started going through my music, and smile at me and said, "we are going to have  a good day!"

Whitney was right because our shoot was incredible. As all the woman arrived I had the music playing to take them back in time with classics from the past and the latest hot songs of the moment. As the ladies were having their makeup done from time-to-time, Whitney would run out and select a different CD and the room would explode. It was such an amazing day. This continued as we shot as Whitney ran back and forth to change the music. It put her in a great mood and the rest of the women as well. By the end of the shoot, no one wanted to leave, even after they had all changed clothes and were preparing to go. At one point, someone started dancing and I started shooting again. My favorite private images from that day are the images of all of them dancing in their own clothes after the shoot was over. It is a day I will never forget and part of why I have loved this industry for so many years.

Lost In Oregon

Lost In Oregon

I have always wanted to drive from Los Angeles to Oregon. I have heard how beautiful the drive is and I was looking forward to making the journey for the Future American President project. However, as life would have it, I didn’t have the time to do the drive from Los Angeles to Oregon. The end of the summer was approaching and kids were going back to school soon, so I flew to Seattle, Washington, rented a car and drove down to Oregon.

The movie, The Goonies, was popular when I was growing up and one location in the movie stood out as a great location for a photo shoot. I set my Google maps app on my phone to Cannon Beach, Oregon and started the drive.

I wanted to photograph two families in Oregon and hoped I’d meet the right families during my drive. I stopped from time to time at different locations and at one point found a popular waterfall attraction. While there, I admired the different post cards with incredible scenic views throughout Oregon and purchased one that caught my eye. The location was stunning and I wondered if I could find this location. I looked on the post card and tried to see if it was on my way but it would take me off my course by a couple of hours. I decided to give it a shot and try to find this beautiful location and prayed I’d meet a family there as well.

Two hours later I arrived at the location I thought might be the place in the post card but found it was not. I drove around and found myself lost in Oregon, but lost in the most amazingly beautiful neighborhood I could imagine. The views were incredible in every direction, so I felt I must be in close. After driving around for a while I decided to stop and ask for directions, someone I rarely do. Normally, I’d never stop at a house and ask for directions but there was no gas station to be found for miles.

I pulled into a driveway when I saw a woman off in the distance, and asked her for directions. She gave me general directions and as I was about to leave she inquired what I was looking for in particular. I showed her the postcard and she said, “This could have been taken from many places around here, even from my vineyard.” I hadn’t noticed before but as I looked up the hill, there was a massive vineyard with beautiful Mt. Hood in the background. The view was stunning. She asked why I was looking for that particular location and I explained that I was a photographer working on a project and I hoped to find a family  at this park to photograph with this wonderful location in the background. She said, the view wasn’t a park as I had hoped and that she doubted families went there. It was just an amazing view but the view could be seen from many locations. Then she asked if I had examples of my project. I pulled out my iPad to show Future American President and the different children from around the country. She loved the project and said, “I know of a family with a beautiful daughter and I think she’s future president material. Would you like me to contact them? If you like, you can photograph her here”. As I looked around her views were amazing. I said yes, if they were available. She called her friend and left a voicemail message when no one picked up, then offered to show me the grounds until her friend called back. As she started to walk me around the vineyard, a little girl came out of the house and ran to her. I could tell after a while the little girl suffered from a slight disability and I asked the woman if the child was her daughter? When she said yes, I said, if you don’t mind, I’d like to photograph your daughter for the book. Her eyes started to tear and she said, “Well, I’m not sure if you’ve noticed but my daughter has a disability.” I said, “actually, that is why I’d like to include your daughter in this book, so other children with disabilities feel included.” I told her about the other children with disabilities included in Future American President, and her expression is one that I will never forget. She said “I’d be honored to have my daughter in your book.” Moments later I was setting up my strobe light and looking for the right location to create a powerful image.

After the photo shoot, she asked where I was staying. When she learned I was hours away, she said she and her husband have a guesthouse on the property and that I could stay there. She showed me the guesthouse, which was ten times larger and a thousand times more beautiful than the hotel I was staying in, but all my luggage was back at the hotel and closer to my final destination. I reluctantly declined but told her thank you and that I wished I could stay with them that evening. We spoke for a while longer and I learned they had just sold their home and vineyard and where moving to a place with less rain. After talking with both the mother and father, who’d just returned home, I said my goodbyes and wished them well during their move.

As I drove away I wished I could have stayed longer with them but I was thankful to be able to connect and include their daughter in Future American President.

Always Dream Big 

You Are Not Alone – The California Story

Have you ever felt like you were the only person in the world going through a difficult time? Just the feeling of thinking you are the only one dealing with your problem can make it harder to deal with.

During the making of Future American President, it was important to find children with disabilities, but finding children on the road would be challenging. I know a family in California with a disabled child and asked if I could include their daughter in the book. I didn’t want her to be the only child in the book with a disability so I sought to find others.

I shared my vision of including other children with disabilities with friends, and a buddy told me he knew a woman whose child suffered from a disability, but he wasn’t sure about the specifics of her condition. I asked if I could speak with the mother and my friend made the introduction. The first time I spoke on the phone with the mother she was curious about the project and told me she would like for me to meet her daughter first. We made an appointment and a week later I was knocking on their front door.

I was greeted at the door by the child’s grandmother, who welcomed me into their home and spoke at length about my project. Twenty minutes later I was introduced to the mother and learned more about her daughter. As she shared information she explained that her daughter has been in a wheelchair all her life. The more she spoke the more my interest grew in meeting and speaking with her ten-year-old daughter. After about 45 minutes, I still had no idea about her daughter’s particular disability, and then, she told me.

When the mother first mentioned her daughter’s disability I couldn’t believe my ears, but then she shared something that really threw me. She said her daughter feels like she is the only child in the world dealing with her disability. In that moment, I knew God had led me to meet this little girl.

Her daughter has Spina Bifida, a birth defect that affects the spine and is preventable by taking folic acid before and during the first three months of pregnancy. I was shocked to learn of  her daughter’s disability because the first child I photographed with a disability also has Spina Bifida.

Now it was time to meet her daughter. The first moment we met I loved her energy and zest for life. She talked with me for a while and seemed wise beyond her years. She was beautiful, intelligent and strong willed, the perfect combination of qualities necessary to become a future leader. As we spoke, she told me she feels like she is the only child suffering from Spina Bifida, even though she knew there were others somewhere. I told her I knew of another little girl with Spina Bifida and that she too, is included in the book. She was surprised, so I asked her if she’d like to meet the other little girl. She said yes, and I promised I would speak with the other child’s parents and see what I could arrange. Before I left, I shared the story about one past American president who lead the country from his wheelchair, and explained to her that she could do anything in her life if she just believed it was possible. We set up a date to do the photo shoot and I called the other parents as soon as I left to see if they were available to meet my newfound friend.

On the day of the photo shoot the other parents met me at the shoot location with their daughter and both girls had a chance to meet, and I photographed them together to remember the moment. The connection for everyone involved was wonderful because the first parents have a foundation that helps children suffering from Spina Bifida and were able to give useful information to my latest subjects mother.

I left this photo shoot feeling intense emotions because my new friend now knows she isn’t suffering by herself. What I didn’t know is that my journey would lead me to meet another child in Tennessee months later who also has Spina Bifida, but even that wouldn’t be the last child with a disability included in the book.

Always Dream Big

Lighting On Location In Miami

I have shot a zillion times in Miami during the course of my photography career, but never during the summer months. This week I was in Miami for a shoot on the beach and I now know why I've never been to Miami in the summer months. It's HOT!

To combat the heat, we started our day early to try and avoid the hottest part of the day. I scouted the location for the shoot the day before and felt good about it. Miami beaches are crowded during the summer so it took a lot of searching to find a location that was less popular and offered everything I wanted. My assistants who were local to Miami had never been to the location and were surprised to see it.

Having control of the light while working on location calls for planning ahead. Before leaving Los Angeles, I spoke with my assistants and went over the equipment list together. I planned to use the Profoto B1 strobe heads with a white beauty dish as my main source of light, but I also needed to block out the natural sun and protect my Nikon camera lens from any flare. We completed our equipment list and then made sure to include backup gear just in case.

When shooting in humid conditions you need to be aware of condensation on your lenses. I normally try and wrap my lenses in towels the night before and place them in the warmest part of my hotel room, which is usually the closet. This time I knew we had time for the lenses to adapt to the environment while my talent was in hair and makeup. The first thing my assistants did was to open the camera case to let my Nikon camera's adjust to the extreme humidity. We pulled the lens caps off and let them breath for about 20 to 30 minutes as we set up the lights for the first shot.

Throughout the morning, we moved from location to location, but before I started shooting, my crew and I walked around and I showed them where I wanted to shoot each image. This gave them time to think and prepare for each shot before I started shooting. 

Whenever I'm shooting on location I try to have black flags on hand to block my camera lens from flare. My assistants make sure as I move around that the flag moves with me to block any sun from coming into the lens. 

I'm looking forward to the next location shoot this month and sharing images from the trip. Until then, have a great week and keep shooting.

Always Dream Big

Day of Independence

Happy July 4th!

Today I'm looking back on a past July 4th celebration that shows all the great things about this American holiday; Great food, good friends and beautiful fireworks.

Have a wonderful hoiday weekend and always dream big!

Faster Than A Speeding...

I have always felt a photographer's work should be a reflection of their life, and these days I start my day in the gym. A good friend has always told me, health first, then family, then money. Without your health, you can't help your family and no amount of money will help you when your health is gone.

As I created Future American President, I packed on the pounds eating in the car and at inexpensive locations around America. Now I'm dedicated to changing my life and getting healthy one day at a time to lose the weight and improve my overall health.

I am starting to work on a series of images related to health and fitness. For the location images I am using the Profoto B1 strobes, which are just incredible for working on location. They are light and powerful and perfect for the photographer on the go. I wish I had the Profoto B1 strobes while I was creating Future American President, as they would have made my life so much easier.

These images are shot using the Nikon 810 and the Profoto Bi strobes. A great combination for creating powerful images.

Have a great 4th of July holiday weekend and be safe!

Always Dream Big

Throwback Thursday_Photographing Iman

In my early days in New York City, there was one model who reigned supreme before the "super models" came on the scene, and her name was IMAN!

My first time working with Iman was exciting because she radiated an energy like no one I'd ever met, and she still does to this day. Iman has always carried herself like royalty, and in many ways she is, especially in the fashion world. Before Naomi and Tyra, there was Iman.

Over the years, I worked with Iman several times and had the opportunity to collaborate with her on her cosmetic line.. Sometimes we'd speak on the phone and the way the conversation started was always memorable. The phone would ring and as I answered it, she would simply say, "Iman"!

Early in my career I loved using elements in front of my camera lens to distort the image in some way. Whenever I see this effect today I can't help but smile because it take me back to my early days as a photographer. To do this well it's better having the camera on a tripod, which is not my favorite way to shoot these days, but the images are arresting. Today more than ever photographers need to have an individual identiy to stand out, but the secret is to really just do what you enjoy the most and only show that work. The work you enjoy doing the most is your true photographic identity.

Always Dream Big

A Military Family In The District of Columbia

What are two things Duke Ellington, Al Gore and Bill Nye have in common? All were born in the District of Columbia, and all are featured on page 56 in Future American President.

During the process of driving from state to state to make Future American President, I had a lot of time to think about ways to make this project stronger. One idea that came to mind was to include iconic people from each state, so children can learn about other great American's from their state. In the coming days we will release the digital version of Future American President, and each spread includes likes to all of the iconic figures throughout the book, along with links with information on each of our 44 presidents. Children will be able to learn about great people from their state and all the presidents by simply clicking on the link. Everyone from Zendaya and Misty Copeland to John Sheehan, Selena Gomez, Mary Lou Retton, Florence Sabin and many more.

The family featured in the District of Columbia spread, are like many military families in America with one exception; Both mother and father have served in the military and the father is still in active military service. I loved photographing this family and being able to highlight them in the book. I learned a lot from the mother, who taught me a lot about social media and hosted my first Twitter chat ever. 

Stay tuned for the release of the digital version, coming in a few days!

Always Dream Big

Six Little Boys - North Carolina

When I arrived in North Carolina,  I was hoping to find a family that was different from the other families I'd photographed around the country. As I searched for subjects I kept finding families that were similar to others in the book. Just as I was about to give up I spotted two women walking with their children. They appeared to be two mothers with five children. As they walked closer I saw one of the ladies was pregnant with another child on the way.. I decided to approach them and tell them about my project, Future American President.

When I introduced myself and began to share my project, they smiled and thought it was a great idea. As I got to know them I learned only one of the women was a mother and all five children were her's. She loved the idea and called her son's over so I could speak with them and explain the project. The boys agreed to be in the book and I began lining them up for the shoot. 

Before I photographed the family  I asked the mother about her due date. She said "I'm due in two weeks." Then I asked if she knew the sex of her unborn child. She smiled and said, "it's a boy," and we all laughed. That's when I decided on the idea for the board for the kids to hold and we quickly wrote the words, "Our Baby Is The Future President"

Access Hollywood

The Perfect Beach

Today was a scout day in Miami  for the perfect beach location. The right set is part 1 of the creating magical images. The other elements are my Nikon camera gear, Profoto B1 lighting,  and great music. The biggest part however is the person behind the camera and bringing all of my energy to the set to inspire my subjects. 

Here's to a great shoot!

Always Dream Big

Unexpected New York

We never know what surprising events will affect our lives when we wake up and start our day, but every day has the potential to be an incredible day of change.

When I met the family below, they were in New York City on vacation from Texas and none of us had any idea that we'd meet. Once I met them I loved having the chance to speak with them and photograph the entire family.

When I asked the kids to write what they'd do in the future if elected as president, the son knew right away what he'd do and went to work writing down his thoughts. As he wrote, his shy little sister sat right beside him and watched him write every single word. Her focus on her brother was intense and wonderful to experience in person. I won't be surprised if she grows up to do amazing things in her life, and who knows, maybe she will even become a  future American president. 

Always dream big!

New Hampshire - First Presidential Primary

Making a lasting impression on a child isn't easy, but it is part of what I hope Future American President does for the children in this book. 

During the second year of shooting Future American President, I had the idea of signing each of the poster boards and giving them to each child as a memento from the shoot.  Seeing how each child reacted to me signing the boards was great and I hopefully it will give them great memories in the future. 

This location was the perfect spot to photograph a future president and maybe one of these children will make their way back here for their first presidentail primary. 

South Carolina - The Long Wait

Patience is a virtue, but it's not easy. 

National parks are normally a great place to see families from all around the world. When I arrived to South Carolina, the map showed a national park and I was curious because I grew up there and never heard of the park before. 

When I arrived I quickly learned why I hadn't heard of the park. There were only a couple of cars in the parking lot and it was deep in a very wooded area. As I entered the park I learned it was essentailly a swamp. Still, it was interesting and I thought it would make a great background for an image to represent a southern state. 

My gear was heavy, but I carried it through the swamp and found a spot I felt would be great for a photograph. All I needed was a family  to show up and hopefully they would like the concept of the Future American President project and allow me to photograph them. I decided to wait and see if I'd get lucky. An hour later I started to second guess the decision to stay and wondered about this location. Not one person had passed by during my time there, and there was only one way into the swamp grounds.

I was fighting whether to stay or leave, then suddenly, I heard footsteps in the distance. As the person came into view I noticed it was just one person by himself. As he got closer, I saw it was a park ranger and he was excited to see me. I knew I had the wrong location when he said, "it's good to see someone today!" He told me not many people come to the park and decided to tell me everything he knew about it. An hour later he was still talking and not a soul had passed by. 

I thanked him for his time and then picked up my gear and left the park. It wasn't the first time I tried to wait for an image, but it was the first time no one showed up. You won't always win, but when you do, it makes the winning so much sweeter.

I found the perfect subject in Lexington, South Carolina and I know this image will have a profound impact on this beautiful little girl and on children like her everywhere. 

Always Dream Big

Strangers in Maryland

Approaching strangers and asking if I can photograph them can be a scary thing. You never know how people will react or what they will think. As I traveled around America I became very comfortable speaking with people about  Future American President and asking them if I could photograph their children.  Looking back,  it seems like a crazy idea, but if you're passionate about something and believe in it anything is possible.

Parks are always a great places to find families, and in Maryland that's where I found a young family. When I first spotted them, I loved that the father held the baby and that the mother walked with the dog. When I approached them they seemed hesitant at first until I showed examples of other families across America. Once they gave me the okay, I did a fast light test and took about 5 to 10 minutes to photograph them. 

I learned a long time ago, that the best way to get and keep people excited during a photo shoot is to shoot fast. If they never get a chance to get tired, they will give you better images and leave feeling good.

For this image,  I set up my shot before I found a subject to photograph. I had no idea if I'd meet a family with a 2 week old or a 10-year-old but I wanted to be prepared. I set my strobe up in a manner that would enable me to adjust to any situation and then waited for someone to come by.

One my light was set up, I  did a quick test to make sure my exposure was correct, then I placed a branch from a tree behind me on the spot where my potential subject or subjects would stand. Once I liked my test images I had to be patient and hope a family would pass by. Sometimes this worked and other times it didn't. Tomorrow I'll share a story when it didn't work out.

Being patient as a photographer usually works in my favor, and many times throughout the making of Future American President, it paid off. However, there were times when it didn't work, but I have no regrets.. Check out tomorrow's blog post to hear more.

Always Dream Big

Massachusetts, Harvard and Future Presidents

The first two images below are outtakes from my shoot in Boston for Future American President. The day I photographed these images it was brutally hot, but my subject was cool and composed. I'd just come back from Beijing and after recovering from my jet lag, I set out to continue working on the book in the New England states.

Throughout the making of the book I wanted to find children who spoke in other languages, and thanks to the  Boys and Girls Clubs of America, I was able to find a subject who spoke Mandarin that was born in the United States.

Photographed at F 22.0 @ 1/125th

To light the image, I  took a reading of the sunlight on my subject using a handheld light meter. The exposure read F16.0 at 1/125th. The lighting was harsh and not exactly the most flattering of conditions for a great photograph. To get the picture I wanted I needed to overpower the sun, so I set my strobe light to read F22.0 at 1/125th. One stop more than the sunlight reading. This allowed me to create an image with flattering light on my subject, and to have a better background. By shooting with strobe lights I was albe to drop my background exposure down to get richer colors in the image. If I were to increase my shutter speed from 1/125 to say 1/200th,  I would get more dramatic colors in my backgrounds.

An example of shooting at a faster shutter speed can be seen in the image below. Both images are shot in almost the same conditions. One image was shot in Utah and the other in Boston, Mass. but the conditions were the same. Both were photographed during the harsh sunlight hours and gave the same natural light exposure reading. In both images, I overpowered the sun by shooting at F22.0. The only difference is that the shutter speed in the image below was set to 1/200th vs 1/125. Notice how the sky appears to be a richer hue of blue. There are many advantages to shooting with strobe lights on location, and when working on a big project, like a book for example, you want to have a consistent feel throughout all of the images.

Photographed at F22.0 at 1/1200th of a second

Good luck and have fun shooting this week.

Always Dream Big

Photographing Sofia Vergara

One of my favorite TV shows is the popular ABC sitcom, Modern Family. Every time I watch it I find myself laughing constantly throughout the episode. One of the stars of the show is the very beautiful  Sofia Vergara, and every time I watch the show I think back to my first time photographing her. 

Every photo shoot has a story, and sometimes a lesson as well. I am starting a podcast in the next few weeks where you will be able to hear photographic stories, lessons, tips and more to help you grow in your life journey. Stay tuned for more information as we lead up to launch day, until then, have a great weekend.

Always Dream Big

Miami Beach

I have always loved creating images on the beach. Something about the sand and sea just brings out the best in a person. Maybe it's the soothing sound of the ocean in the background or maybe it's the feeling of the sun on your skin, but images on the beach always look good.

As this week comes to a close, I'm prepping to head to Miami beach for another photo shoot. I've been shooting in Miami since the early 90's but this is my first shoot in Miami since I shot for Future American President there.  I hope to see old friends while I'm there and hopefully make some new friends as well. 

While I'm there I will try and shoot behind the scenes images to share my lighitng setup on location. The average person would never believe the amount of equipment we need to make a great picture.

Have a great weekend and always dream big.

Pen To Paper

I am a big believer in writing things down. I know we are in the age of the app, but writing things down on paper still work best for me. 

I recently found a company that creates unique flash drives. As I looked through their, catalog I spotted an assortment of 8 gig flash drives made into executive pens. What sealed the deal for me was the ability to add my logo to the pen. Right away I knew I had to have them.

My idea is to use the pens as a marketing piece, making it easier for clients and potential clients to think of me. I could load a pdf of my work on the drive and send a potential client a nice note along with my logo pen. 

It's harder today to stand out in the crowd, but helping clients do something they are already doing will certainly help you stand you from the rest.

Always Dream Big