JP

This shoot was styled by Tiffany Azmouz. For these first two I used a beauty dish on the right and octabox on the left for fill. I think the black and white conversion really brings out the texture in the coat and scarf.

For these I switched up the lighting and went with the octabox on axis above camera and a ring light for fill.

Here's the crew, Cassey, JP and Tiffany.

Docu Drama: Murder Scene

This was an assignment for my Editorial class. I worked with two classmates, Ed Ramos and Rodrigo Sanchezleon. The assignment was to recreate an event as if there was a photographer there to take a photograph as it happened. I had thoughts of 48 hours and other shows that chronicled crimes with recreations. The group bounced around ideas of a murder or suicide scene. As we planned the shoot we decided to have a witness being interviewed by an "officer" while the other "officer" examined the victim. To be honest, with scheduling conflicts,  we decided on a location last minute and kind of winged it.

Here is a portrait of Larry, who fits the officer character perfect, as we set up and tested the lighting.

The final shot

Public Service Announcement: Stop Smoking. Smell Better.

This Public Service Announcement was an assignment for my advertising class. PSA's give photographers freedom because you don't have to create "desire" for a product or service. You are promoting a cause or organization, which can be done in so many different ways. My inspiration for this ad was the daily occurence of being in close proximity of someone who has just smoked a cigarette. It is a signature smell, that pungeant sharp biting odor of a freshly smoked cigarette on someone's clothes. To create this ad, I shot a Marlboro cigarette box and cologne bottle seperately. In Photoshop, I was able to place the sprayer on the box and also change the branding on the box.  I added a shadow and highlight on the sprayer to give it depth and have also slightly changed the perspective of the text so it doesn't look flat. I thought about photographing the smoke, but it was so much easier to use a smoke brush. For the class we not only have to produce an image but also the ad itself.

Jay Z and Trey Songz on the Opening Night of 2010 BP3 Tour

I was stoked to get the chance to shoot Jay Z. I've been a fan for a long time and his recent album was great. I came into the show figuring that the lineup would go Trey Songz, Young Jeezy, and Jay Z. Unfortunately, Jay Z went on and Young Jeezy did not appear till we were out of the pit. The bass was bumping in the pit and the arena was rocking.


Jay Z and Trey Songz Opening Night of BP3 2010 Tour at Bank Atlantic 2-20-10 - Images by Alex Markow

Fashion Styling Class

This semester at school I have started to work with the Fashion Styling class. The class is for fashion designers and merchandise majors. Each week they have to create looks to be photographed in accordance to the theme of the week. It's great for me because I can walk in and have all of that stuff taken care of and I get to shoot. The downside is that I have a limited time with each stylist and can only develop the concept so much. I have definitely had to think on my feet and switch lighting set ups completely from one model to the next. Here are my favorite shots from the first half of the semester.

Composite

When I started editing this photo I had a small idea of reflection and then ended up drawing from the style of M.C Escher and put this all together. On a side note, I recently went to the Boca Raton Musuem of Art for an M.C Escher exhibition. Amazing and inspiring. Anyways, the hardest thing about putting this together was working with the four layers and corresponding the layer masks. If I moved anything everything was off. Take a second look.....

Alison

Alison needed photos to accompany her resume. She was applying for jobs in the hospitality business so I didn't want the pictures to seem too stiff and boring. Alison has been a friend of mine since middle school and at first it was comical, but we were able to get some good shots.

Here is my favorite shot for her resume. There was not much light coming in from outside so I simulated incoming light with a shoot through umbrella behind Alison to the left. The main light was also a shoot through umbrella camera right.

We had some extra time so Alison changed outfits and we came up with these. I went for more dramatic light and had a shoot through umbrella almost as a side light and slight fill from camera right.

State Radio and Big D and the Kids Table at Culture Room

I got the chance to shoot State Radio with 311 a few months ago and was impressed by State Radio's performance. I made a decision a while back to stop shooting shows at Culture Room unless I liked the band and this night made me realize why. The venue is set up to have decent lighting but the set of lights that would add the front light that would make it all come together are NEVER used.  The only front light is provided by two small spotlights on each side. My method for shooting this show was to be more observant and try and catch the moments where the spotlights did illuminate the subject. To give you an idea of the lighting, I shot the show entirely at 3200 ISO and around 1/100 of a sec.

Big D and the Kids Table put on a fun show and had quite foxy back up singers. State Radio, not as animated as the last show I saw of them, again impressed me with their performance.


State Radio and Big D and the Kids Table at Culture Room 2-10-10 - Images by Alex Markow

New Found Glory, Fireworks, Hello Goodbye, and Saves the Day at Revolution

t had been a while since my last show at Revolution in Fort Lauderdale. The pit is a little tough to shoot from because of the combination of a high stage and not much room to step back. The lighting used to be horrible with almost all colored light with rare front light. Things have changed. I'm thinking about sending the light guy a thank you letter, because the lighting for this show was great. Even with most of the bands bouncing around for their set, I was able to get sharp photos. The opening bands built up the energy, and New Found Glory had the crowd going bananas.

I am now using Photoshelter more actively and my images are now available for print and licensing through the site.


New Found Glory, Fireworks, Hello Goodbye, & Saves the Day at Revolution 2-9-10 - Images by Alex Markow

Stampede at O'Brian's

It was another great night of good vibes and reggae music with Stampede's show at O'Brian's. The band is really getting comfortable with its Saturday night slot and the crowd has been receptive. Definitely check out the band's music and if you haven't seen them live yet, Do It.

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

 

Uncle Brian

My uncle Brian came to visit my mom for a few weeks to fix up my house to sell and I was able to get a chance to sit him down for a quick portrait. I didn't have my light stands with me so I problem solved. These were shot with a SB-800 hot shoe mounted onto a tripod and shot through the inside diffuser from my 5 in 1 reflector. The diffuser was clamped on to a tall room light. I added fill from the opposite side with the white reflector from my 5 in 1 draped over a chair. I don't usually use the TTL mode on my flash off camera, but it worked quite well for his situation. Problem solved.

Power Players Discussion at West Palm Beach Fotofusion

My teacher, Mr. Nestler, was able to arrange a field trip to Fotofusion in West Palm Beach to attend a discussion between photo editors Jimmy Colton of Sports Illustrated, Sarah Leen of National Geographic, Evan Kriss of Washington Post Magazine, Maura Foley of The New York Times, and Scott McKiernan from the ZUMA Agency. The discussion was moderated by Pete Cross of the Palm Beach Post.

Not a bad list of publications huh? Each editor made a short presentation about their publication and gave insight into their day to day work and also gave advice to photographers on how to approach publications and what they are looking for. After their presentation, the editors were open to answer questions presented by the audience.

Discussions like these can be invaluable. For me, one thing that I got from the discussion was how approachable editors can be. They hold important jobs at influential publications or in the case of Scott McKiernan, an agency, yet they are normal down to earth people. As Jimmy Colton of SI said "We're not Power Players, we're more like Power Rangers".

The editors stressed the important of presenting your work efficiently. An editor sees thousands and thousands of images a day. As they gave their presentations and showed work they had published, I was in awe at some of the images. There are so many amazing photos taken everyday that compete for an editors attention. The editors recommended photographers keep their edit tight and appropiate to the publication.