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The Blog
July 3, 20180
New Work: Ashley Shelton and Bess Kretsinger for Wine Enthusiast
A couple months ago I had a fun shoot with Chef Ashley Shelton and Bess Kretsinger Heffernan, the GM, from Sardella, one of the…
Continue Reading June 7, 20180
New Work: Cheese Boards for Feast Magazine
I had a fun shoot for Feast Magazine a couple of months ago, right before Easter. It was fun to spend some time back…
Continue Reading May 31, 20180
New Work: Kettle and Cape Cod Potato Chips
I am a big fan of snacks. I admit it, sometimes after work all I want is a nice tumbler of whiskey on the…
Continue Reading February 20, 20181
New Work: Rebel Yell
New work from my new studio! A fun portfolio session for Rebel Yell. Since I had free reign on this one I went for…
Continue Reading March 13, 20170
IKEA Lingonberry Old Fashioned
Here is a little something that I put together last year and never got around to posting – a little IKEA hack for a…
Continue Reading August 3, 20160
A Walk Amongst Hogs
I arrived at Geisert Farms at 5:55am, pulling into a spot next to the self serve vegetable stand, the sun just a purple glow…
Continue Reading July 27, 20160
St. Louis Food Roof Farm
When I was growing up, my dad had a wonderful garden at our home in Pennsylvania, and we always had access to fresh vegetables…
Continue Reading July 20, 20160
Ice Cream Editorial Photography
As a food photographer I am exposed to a lot of food on a daily basis, but I have to admit that I have…
Continue Reading July 13, 20160
Mayana Mexican Kitchen Commercial Photography
Mayana Mexican Kitchen is a fast-casual concept that has recently opened in Clayton, MO. I worked with an incredible team to create some beautiful…
Continue Reading March 17, 20160
The Insatiable Lens Issue 2: Rogue!
I am very excited to announce that the latest issue of my personal project, The Insatiable Lens has been published! This issue turned out…
Continue Reading February 22, 20160
Home-Made Date Nut Protein Bars
Whew, it’s been a crazy few weeks. The new year rolled in like a tank in January of this year, with a lot of…
Continue Reading December 4, 20150
The Team
As the year rushes to a close, I want to take a moment to talk about the team
Continue Reading June 12, 20150
Friday Happy Hour: Classic Margarita
I just took a quick look at the thermometer on the balcony here at the studio and saw that it is currently reading 113…
Continue Reading May 1, 20150
Friday Happy Hour – The Martini
In this world of internet shaming and trolling there is always going to be someone out there who is going to tell you that…
Continue Reading April 13, 20150
Evernote for Photographers: Part 3
In Part 1 and Part 2 of my series on Evernote for Photographers, I talked about why Evernote is so amazing and how I…
Continue Reading April 13, 20151
Evernote for Photographers: Part 2
In Part 1 of my series on Evernote for Photographers, I discussed why I love Evernote and the ways that this powerful tool helps…
Continue Reading April 13, 20155
Evernote for Photographers: Part 1
I’ll admit this right off the bat: I am an Evernote addict. I use Evernote to keep track of all aspects of my personal…
Continue Reading February 25, 20150
Salt Crusted Fish Recipe
An ancient dish that is easy to prepare and will wow even the most cynical of your foodie friends. When I am cooking there are…
Continue Reading February 6, 20150
Beverage Photography: The Salty Dog Cocktail
I am an unashamed dog person. After adopting a rescue mutt from a local shelter, I went from being the guy who merely tolerated…
Continue Reading January 12, 20152
The Insatiable Lens: Premiere Issue
At the end of each year I put together a larger-than-normal promotional mailing, mainly targeted at the clients that I have worked with over…
Continue Reading December 8, 20140
Editorial – Peacemaker Lobster & Crab
Chef Kevin Nashan is an institution in St. Louis. His first restaurant, Sydney Street Cafe has received numerous awards and is on the top…
Continue Reading October 30, 20140
St. Louis Food Photographer: Ultimate Sandwich Shoot
Who wants a sandwich? How about six of them? In August I had the opportunity to photograph five of the most popular sandwich shops…
Continue Reading August 8, 20140
St. Louis Food Photographer: Hawaiian Flavors
If you say you don’t like Spam then you are no friend of mine. Sure, I shot a lot of high end food but…
Continue Reading August 5, 20140
St. Louis Food Photographer, Feast Magazine Cover August 2014
I’m pleased to report that one of my images was chosen for the cover of the August 2014 Issue of Feast Magazine. This is the…
Continue Reading July 31, 20140
Photographing Mayor Francis Slay … Polar Vortex Edition
Since it has been so wicked cold the last few days, I’ve been recalling one of the coldest shoots I’ve ever had to do,…
Continue Reading July 31, 20140
St. Louis Beverage Photographer: Beer and Unicycles
Back in February, I covered several local watering holes around the city for the Sauce Magazine’s Guide To Beer which was released in conjunction…
Continue Reading July 20, 20140
Healthy Hawaiian Pizza
I love making pizza at home, and have gotten pretty good at a variety of different styles and crusts. When I make pizza at…
Continue Reading June 9, 20140
St. Louis Beverage Photographer: Moscow Mule
It has been a while since I’ve done a how to post, so I thought I’d talk a little bit about a really fun…
Continue Reading April 28, 20140
A Haunting Reminder to Backup Your Files
Back in February I wrote a two part series of posts detailing all of my backup procedures for my photograghs – the media I…
Continue Reading April 28, 20140
Fresh Asparagus Soup
Now that the weather is finally on the nicer side of “when the hell will spring get here anyway” I’ve been wearing shorts, finally….
Continue Reading April 25, 20141
Cellophane Noodles with Ginger Peanut Sauce
I’ve been trying to eat healthier things these days, and one of the things that I’ve been trying to cut down on is gluten….
Continue Reading April 17, 20140
Spring Potting Shed Photo Shoot – Feast Magazine
Each month I am luckily enough to shoot a column for Feast Magazine called What We’re Buying. The column focuses on a variety of…
Continue Reading April 6, 20148
Home-Made Black Bean Chocolate Protein Bars
Keeping my energy up during big shoots is important. Sometimes I’m too busy to take the time to sit down and eat something. Other…
Continue Reading April 4, 20140
Moll’s Cup No. 3 for Sauce Magazine
I worked on a number of assignments for Sauce this month including a feature called The List, where Sauce talks about “the people, places,…
Continue Reading March 30, 20140
Healthy Eating: Avocado Egg Salad
You know what is delicious? Mayonnaise. You know what is really bad for you? Mayonnaise. Since I’ve been on this whole health kick lately,…
Continue Reading March 25, 20140
Healthy Eating: Couscous Salad with Broccoli Pesto
I rarely eat what I photograph. I’m not getting any younger over here, and when you spend your day photographing food and booze ……
Continue Reading February 25, 20142
Backups and Archiving for Photographers (Part 2)
In yesterday’s post, Backups and Archiving for Photographers (Part 1), I talked about how I make multiple backups of my data on a daily…
Continue Reading February 24, 20143
Backups and Archiving for Photographers (Part 1)
One of the biggest challenges as a professional photographer these days is managing all of my digital assets … in other words, my photographs….
Continue Reading January 30, 20140
St. Louis Food Photographer: Element
A couple of months ago I had the opportunity to photograph Element, one of the newer restaurants in St. Louis for Sauce Magazine. Located…
Continue Reading January 29, 20140
St. Louis Beverage Photographer: Egg Nog
Each month I shoot a cocktail for a column called The Mix in Feast Magazine. For the December issue I photographed Egg Nog. Not…
Continue Reading January 28, 20140
Vegetarian Hot Wings with Sriracha
It is freezing cold in St. Louis (today’s high is in the single digits). Luckily for me, this week has been filled with mostly…
Continue Reading November 18, 20131
Tripel for Sauce Magazine
Last month I got a fun assignment for Sauce Magazine: photographing Tripel in Lafayette Square for the November issue. The photos were for the…
Continue Reading November 11, 20133
FAQ: Do You Get To Eat That?
Shooting editorial food photography assignments can be a little tricky. When you are shooting in a restaurant where people are eating, it always draws…
Continue Reading November 7, 20134
The Perfect Bloody Mary Recipe
Good ‘ole Jeeves always gave Bertie Wooster Prairie Oyster in the morning for a hangover cure, but me? I prefer a good old fashioned…
Continue Reading November 4, 20131
Making Cocktail Bitters (Part 2)
As I mentioned in my first post about making cocktail bitters, (Making Cocktail Bitters (Part 1)), the process starts with making your own extracts….
Continue Reading October 29, 20130
Rainbow Carrots
Dr. Wife and I have been using Green Bean Delivery for a few months now, and although we have gotten a number of things…
Continue Reading October 7, 20133
Making Cocktail Bitters (Part 1)
In an episode in the most recent season of Mad Men, Don Draper orders a drink at a dinner party by asking for something…
Continue Reading September 17, 20130
Black Walnut Season Is Here!
When I was growing up there was a black walnut tree growing in an alley at the end of our property. All that I…
Continue Reading July 29, 20130
Photo Essay: Slingin’ Beers with The King
Each month I work with writer Brandon Chuang for a Feast Magazine column called How To. Each month, Brandon interviews someone working in a…
Continue Reading June 7, 20130
St. Louis Food Media Forum
I’m pleased to announce that I am going to be a presenter at the second annual St. Louis Food Media Forum August 9 -11,…
Continue Reading May 7, 20130
Impractical Beauty – The Eve Decanter
Working as a food photographer for food magazines often means that I end up doing a lot of food and beverage-related product photography as…
Continue Reading April 24, 20130
Thinking Outside the Porthole
Let’s be honest, sometimes corporate head shots can be pretty dry. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing; in many cases a corporate portrait is…
Continue Reading April 23, 20131
Glass Wall Corporate Portrait
The first thing that I do when I’m setting up a portrait is to scout out the area where I’m going to shoot to…
Continue Reading April 10, 20130
On Using Public Space for Photography
Over the last few days there has been a mild uproar over signs posted in Faust Park in St. Louis County advising that “professional…
Continue Reading April 4, 20138
Beverage Photography Tips: Invest in Cubes
For anyone who has worked with beverage photography, they will all tell you that ice cubes are a real pain to shoot. First of…
Continue Reading March 27, 20130
Photo Essay: Thai Kitchen
As I’m sure I’ve mentioned before, one of the great things about being part of the food industry is getting to see what goes…
Continue Reading March 27, 20130
Bring Out Your Inner Jackson Pollack
These cookies will turn your kitchen in an art gallery faster than you can say abstract expressionism. Instead of oil paint you’ll be dripping,…
Continue Reading February 28, 20130
February Shoot To Cook Roundup
One of my New Year’s Resolutions was to get back into regular posts over at my food and photography blog, Shoot To Cook. Business…
Continue Reading February 6, 20130
You Haven’t Got It Until You’ve Got It
The great thing about digital photography is that we are no longer bound 12, 24, or 36 frames at a time. And we don’t…
Continue Reading January 23, 20132
Rye Whiskey Pork Tenderloin with Apples
Many years ago when I was in New York, I decided that I needed to learn how to drink bourbon. I don’t recall whether…
Continue Reading January 8, 20130
Building A Better Bar
It’s the start of a new year, and I’m really excited about all of the photography I’m going to be shooting in 2013. My…
Continue Reading December 28, 20120
Food Gift Idea: Cinnamon Sugar Pretzels
Here we are at the end of another wonderful year. I was thinking about doing one of those posts about all of the awesome…
Continue Reading December 25, 20124
Food Gift Idea: Ancho Chili Pecans
Merry Christmas everyone! I was lucky enough to see a few snowflakes at my parent’s house in Pennsylvania on Christmas Eve, although today on…
Continue Reading December 18, 20120
Food Gift Idea: Holiday Spice Sugar
This week I’m talking about some of my picks for holiday food gifts this year. And much like yesterday’s post about home made peppermint…
Continue Reading December 17, 20122
Food Gift Idea: Peppermint Marshmallows
As I was walking the dog this morning in a balmy 55 degree morning, I realized the Christmas is a week away already! What…
Continue Reading November 30, 20120
Single Serving Cocktails: Safer Than Punch
The holidays are a busy time in our house. Lots of entertaining, being entertained, drinking, eating, laughing. Last month I did a project for…
Continue Reading October 30, 20120
Listen to Your Clients: They Have Good Ideas Too
Being creative and finding the perfect shot is the photographer’s job. Period. When you accept a job, you also accept the responsibility for taking…
Continue Reading October 23, 201210
Tips for Photographing Beer
People often ask me why I’m a Redskins fan, and although I often ask myself that same question, the answer is really quite simple….
Continue Reading September 4, 20120
Dramatic Cocktail, Dramatic Lighting Technique
At the end of June and the beginning of July, I worked on a large project for Feast magazine which involved about sixteen individual…
Continue Reading August 29, 20120
The Lunch Tray: Re-Mastered
Remember lunchtime in grade school, middle school and high school? That 45 minute hour of minimally-supervised trauma that happened every day at 11:05am? Your…
Continue Reading August 27, 20120
On Assignment: Lighting in Tight Spaces
If you can’t stand the heat … get out of the kitchen. When I’m booking editorial photo shoots for restaurants, whether it’s food or…
Continue Reading August 27, 20120
Item 1 Item 2 Item 3 ( add more items below )
Continue Reading August 27, 20120
Website Refresh
I’m happy to announce that I have just launched a complete overhaul of my website. My apologies if you’ve seen some weirdness in your…
Continue Reading July 23, 20122
Hidden Kitchens for Feast Magazine
Back in July, I undertook a daunting project for Feast magazine: documenting Mexican tiendas (grocery stores) and the taquerias that reside there. Why was…
Continue Reading July 12, 20120
Chris Sommers, Pi Downtown
Those of us who live downtown are super excited about the new branch of the Pi chain of pizza restaurants that just opened up…
Continue Reading July 5, 20120
Americana
Continue Reading June 9, 20120
Spanks $2 to Receive
I love this photo of my friend Renee being spanked by Arch Rival Rollergirl Kirsten O’Loughlin at the 2012 Midwest Mayhem in the City…
Continue Reading June 7, 20120
Backyard Grilling with Rob Uyemura
Another of the fun assignments I got to shoot last month was a quick portrait of Rob Uyemura for Sauce Magazine. Rob is the…
Continue Reading June 5, 20120
Hotwings are for Wimps
I loves me some hotwings, don’t get me wrong. When football season rolls around they are a regular part of my diet. But if…
Continue Reading June 4, 20120
Dodging a Rainy Bullet
St. Louis weather always keeps me guessing. Blistering heat one day, then cold and dreary the next. Toss in the odd tornado and/or momentous…
Continue Reading June 3, 20120
Chinese Lanterns
I took an over-priced stroll through the Missouri Botanical Garden last night to check out the 2012 Chinese Lantern Festival. Tickets are a whopping…
Continue Reading June 1, 20120
Jermain Todd
Recently I had the chance to meet local artisan Jermain Todd, who I photographed for Sauce magazine. Jermain owns Mwanzi, an eco-friendly design-build-supply firm….
Continue Reading May 22, 20120
Overdue Vacation and the Fuji X100
Dr. Fiance and I hadn’t had a vacation since we went to South Africa in 2010. Which isn’t to say we haven’t traveled at…
Continue Reading April 19, 20122
Food Photography Tips: Using Salt and Pepper Shakers as Stand-Ins
If you’re shooting food for a commercial client, before you get to the actual shot you have plenty of time to prepare. You start…
Continue Reading April 9, 20120
Hot Pots!
Once upon a time, I went a birthday dinner of a friend at Grand Sichuan in New York City. There were about ten people…
Continue Reading April 5, 20120
Wes Johnson for Feast Magazine
Last month right before the print deadline, I squeezed in a quick shoot with Chef Wes Johnson for Feast Magazine. I met Wes at…
Continue Reading April 4, 20120
Still Life With Eggplant
Working with raw foods can be an interesting task, mainly because you need to create drama and interest without having a fully cooked dish…
Continue Reading March 29, 20120
Personal Projects and A Bitter Melon
How many posts do you think I can possibly start with some variation of the phrase “It’s been a busy month and I haven’t…
Continue Reading March 24, 20120
Gear Geek: Location Lighting Kit for Photographers (Part 1)
About fifty percent of my photography assignments take place somewhere other than my the city I live in. For example, in addition to shoots…
Continue Reading February 28, 20120
Bacon, Lettuce and More Bacon
You know, the best things in life come with bacon. Pretty much everyone will tell you that adding bacon to something will make it…
Continue Reading February 22, 20124
The Art of Making Coffee
Let me get straight to the point: my name is Jonathan and I am addicted to coffee. Like a lot of people I start…
Continue Reading February 8, 20120
St. Louis Taste Makers
I have a fascination with the food culture, which is one of the reasons I jumped at the chance to photograph some of the…
Continue Reading February 1, 20120
On-Assignment: St. Louis Magazine’s 50 Best Dishes
There is a lot of really excellent food in St. Louis, but with my work schedule I don’t get to eat out as much…
Continue Reading January 23, 20120
Catherine Neville, Publisher of Feast Magazine
If you’ve been following my blog for the last few months, you will have noticed that I’ve been doing a lot of work for…
Continue Reading January 17, 20120
Strip Mall Cuisine: Korea House in Creve Coeur
I always seem to start my blog posts these days with some sort of comparison of my old life in New York City versus…
Continue Reading January 12, 20124
On Assignment: Mayor Francis G. Slay
When people ask me what I like about St. Louis, almost always the first thing that I mention is the awesome loft that Dr….
Continue Reading January 9, 20120
Comfort Food at Dressel’s Public House
Even though it hasn’t been super cold in St. Louis so far this winter, there have been a few chilly days. If you’re looking…
Continue Reading January 6, 20122
Food Gift Ideas for Self Promotion
2011 was a really spectacular year for me as a photographer. It was my first full year working as freelance photographer in St. Louis,…
Continue Reading December 9, 20110
Blood & Sand
Last month I was given an assignment to photograph Blood & Sand for Feast Magazine. Unlike other speakeasy-style bars in St. Louis, you don’t…
Continue Reading December 5, 20111
Salsiccia Pizza with Egg at Mad Tomato in St. Louis
A few days before the Cardinals won the World Series, I was on assignment in Clayton at Mad Tomato photographing (among other things) their…
Continue Reading November 4, 20112
To Crop or Not to Crop
Cropping in photography is an important tool that can be used to change the meaning of a photograph, by drawing the viewer’s attention to…
Continue Reading October 12, 20110
Home Wine Kitchen
Last month I photographed Home Wine Kitchen in Maplewood for Sauce Magazine. Nestled in a strip of retail stores and restaurants Home Wine Kitchen…
Continue Reading October 3, 20110
The Other Side of the Camera
As a professional photog, it is a rare occasion when you are the subject rather than the photographer, and it can be a bit…
Continue Reading September 30, 20110
Feast Magazine Donuts and Coffee Shoot
Back in August I was assigned a coffee and donuts shoot by Feast Magazine. The brief was fairly straight forward: five local donut shots,…
Continue Reading September 9, 20110
Feast Magazine and The Beauty of the Spork
Over the last few months I have continued to extend my editorial client list which now includes Feast Magazine, another excellent culinary publication here…
Continue Reading September 7, 20110
What’s In My Bag: Travel Lighting Kit
Continue Reading September 7, 20110
What’s In My Bag: On the Road Assignments
Continue Reading September 7, 20110
What’s In My Bag: Local Editorial Assignments
Continue Reading September 7, 20110
On Assignment: The Block in Webster Groves
I have been in St. Louis for just over a year now (where did the time go??) and while my navigational skills are getting…
Continue Reading August 3, 20110
On Assignment: Dvin for Sauce Magazine
I recently had the pleasure of photographing Dvin restaurant in Webster Groves, St. Louis. Dvin is a tiny family restaurant run by the mother/daughter…
Continue Reading August 1, 20110
Website Refresh and PhotoShelter Integration
I usually try to update my website every year or so to adapt for the way that my career and life has evolved. Last…
Continue Reading July 18, 20110
On Assignment: Sauce Magazine – July 2011
As I mentioned in my previous post, I did some work for Sauce Magazine, a culinary magazine here in St. Louis. While the majority…
Continue Reading July 8, 20111
The Boat House for Sauce Magazine
In the world of corporate photography, the summer is always the slowest time of the year. In my experience Memorial Day sparks the time…
Continue Reading July 7, 20110
Fourth of July
Celebrating our second Independence Day in St. Louis was even more fun than last year’s. This year we threw a little barbecue in our…
Continue Reading June 23, 20111
I Won’t … I Won’t … I Won’t … Love.
Continue Reading June 5, 20110
Self Learning
The other day while working on some boring finance paperwork, I was asked whether Dr. Fiance and I both were college graduates. It was…
Continue Reading May 31, 20110
iPhone Weekend
I’ve been utilizing my iPhone more and more these days for my “always with me camera”. Here are some of the images I shot…
Continue Reading May 26, 20113
Going Farther
There is nothing more satisfying than making a photograph that you are really excited about. When I make a shot that really inspires me,…
Continue Reading May 12, 2011
Proofing, Post-Production, and Delivery
Ok, so we just wrapped on our photo shoot and you’re itching to look at the photographs we made together. What happens next? Luckily…
Continue Reading May 11, 20110
Wardrobe, Makeup, and Style FAQ
I get a lot of questions about wardrobe advice and styling for corporate head shots. For some projects, the creative brief will dictate wardrobe…
Continue Reading May 10, 2011
Corporate Head Shot FAQ
These days having a professional portrait is as important as ever. When you are asked to provide a head shot for a trade magazine…
Continue Reading April 25, 20110
COLOR Magazine Bronze Award
I was at my favorite bookstore, Left Bank Books today and much to my surprise I found that the latest issue of COLOR Magazine…
Continue Reading March 26, 20110
In Which I Lose A Large Portion of My Morning
Uh oh. Just came across PocketBooth, a new app for my iPhone. I love photobooths – the old fashioned coin operated ones not the…
Continue Reading February 9, 20110
Companion Bakery at Niche Food Blogger Event
I was recently invited to attend an event at Niche along with other local bloggers and food writers. Sponsored by Companion the event was…
Continue Reading February 9, 2011
Food Gallery
Jonathan is also a food photographer in St. Louis. He publishes a food blog called Shoot To Cook which features his recipes and experimentations…
Continue Reading February 2, 20110
Making Pasta
I love the taste of home made pasta. Like home made bread, it is hard to go back to the store bought kind once…
Continue Reading January 7, 20110
A New Year in a New City
I realize that this post is coming a week too late to qualify as the a “end of the year” kind of post, but…
Continue Reading January 5, 20110
A Note On Reliability
A few years ago when I started traveling a lot more for shoots, I did what I usually do when faced with new challenges….
Continue Reading November 23, 2010
Shoot To Cook
One of my motivations for getting into food photography was learning how to cook. As a way for me to learn how to be…
Continue Reading November 23, 2010
Portrait Photography
Nothing says success like a professional portrait. Jonathan has worked with Fortune 500 companies on marketing materials, annual reports and national ad campaigns. Portraits…
Continue Reading November 23, 20100
Vegetation
Having grown up with a large and luscious family garden, I am drawn to the amazing shapes and colors that can be found in…
Continue Reading November 23, 20100
Food 3
Continue Reading November 23, 20100
Fall Foods
When the fall hits, the farmers market stalls get emptier and the foods that are available lend themselves to warm comfort foods rather than…
Continue Reading November 23, 20100
Libations
You can’t have a good meal without a good drink.
Continue Reading November 22, 2010
But That Night
Past midnight on a rainy late December evening in Manhattan. To say it was raining was an understatement: it was torrential, and cold as…
Continue Reading November 12, 20102
Is My Starter Started, Starting, or Stopped?
One of the things that I want to do is photograph bread. I have been wanting to do a bread related project for some…
Continue Reading November 9, 20100
Work Continues, Progress Happens. Slowly.
I have been working pretty hard at a couple of new projects. I’m learning a lot and attempting to set a foundation for the…
Continue Reading November 1, 20100
The Power of Being Prepared
I was just reading this interesting cautionary tale by Robert Wright about what can go wrong on a shoot and how to deal with…
Continue Reading October 26, 20100
New Projects and Pie
I know, I know, it’s been forever and a day since my last blog post. One excuse is that I have been working my…
Continue Reading October 4, 20100
Fog And The City
I just got back from a week in NYC. I had a couple of jobs for early in the week and then stayed on…
Continue Reading September 18, 20100
St. Louis Hot Air Balloon Race
Xina and I stopped by Forest Park last night to see the hot air balloons. It was pretty impressive although we got there a…
Continue Reading September 17, 20100
Returning to Normality
Airport, by Jonathan Gayman. As you can probably tell from my previous posts and also from the silence around the blog that I’ve been…
Continue Reading September 7, 20100
Heading Home…Eventually
I am finally nearing the end of my epic photography projects that have kept me away from home for the last three weeks. My…
Continue Reading August 22, 20100
In the Air
I know things have been a bit quiet around here lately, but I have been intensely busy working on a large project involving a…
Continue Reading August 15, 20100
Weekend Fun + Work
Xina and I have the special treat of having friends from New York in town this weekend/week. We got a chance to get out…
Continue Reading August 10, 20100
City Seeds St. Louis
I went out for a walk one evening, ostensibly to explore the neighborhood and work on some urban decay photography. In Saint Louis, there…
Continue Reading August 9, 20100
Once a Day Theory: Bananas
Once a Day Theory: The theory is that having to post a photo every day will make me a better photog. It’s also a…
Continue Reading August 8, 20100
Once a Day Theory: Tea Bags
Once a Day Theory: The theory is that having to post a photo every day will make me a better photog. It’s also a…
Continue Reading August 8, 20100
Friday Night Gallery Opening
A few weeks ago I talked about going around to the Open Studios on Cherokee Street and one of the places we stopped was…
Continue Reading August 5, 20100
Left Bank Books
I spent the day Wednesday shooting a project that have been in the concept stage for a while with some limited success. I created…
Continue Reading August 4, 20101
Printed Images from the Past
A few years ago before I was making a living making photographs, I was packing up my apartment in anticipation of our move from…
Continue Reading August 2, 20100
Running Shoes, Bail Bonds and Firecracker Press
1. My Running Shoes Loves My Feets I just got some new running shoes! Finally. I am at least six months overdue and my…
Continue Reading August 1, 20100
I’m really enjoying a new iPad app called Flipboard. It’s a social magazine-type app which allows you to browse through content that is formatted…
Continue Reading July 29, 20101
Office Buildout: DIY Tables
The last couple of days I have been working my hands to the bone building out the office in my studio. After much consultation…
Continue Reading July 26, 20101
Open Studios in Saint Louis
This weekend, the lady and I spent a lovely Saturday afternoon exploring the studios of local artists in Saint Louis. The Contemporary art museum…
Continue Reading July 24, 20100
Metrolink
After ten years on riding the New York City subway, I’ve had to put away my precious MetroCard in favor of a MetroLink pass
Continue Reading July 22, 20100
Back To My New Home
I just got back to Saint Louis from a last minute whirlwind trip to New Jersey and New York for a photo shoot. It…
Continue Reading July 19, 20100
Underneath the Missouri Sky #12
For those of you who aren’t fans of Pat Methany and Charlie Haden, there is a fantastic album that I discovered years ago which…
Continue Reading July 15, 20100
View from the Arch
We have our first visitor in Saint Louis this weekend. Our friend Elsa came into town yesterday to help Xina as she sets up…
Continue Reading July 14, 20100
Strobist Sync Options Roundup
In my post about equipment testing earlier in the week, I mentioned the importance of being prepared in case your Pocket Wizards crap out….
Continue Reading July 12, 20106
Photography 101: Test Your Equipment
Today is the start of my second full week in Saint Louis. I had this little app on my iPhone that I was using…
Continue Reading July 10, 20100
Safe Deposit Vaults
Readers of my blog will surely know by now my love of shooting into the sun. I love the unpredictability of the solar flares…
Continue Reading July 9, 20101
Junk Shop Konica
I moved to New York in the fall of 2000. For the first couple of months I couch-surfed at my friend’s place and when…
Continue Reading July 7, 20100
Always Be Shooting
Parking garage, downtown Saint Louis It has been a busy week here in St. Louis, and it’s only Wednesday. I had to actually pull…
Continue Reading July 3, 20100
Buried in Packing Paper
It’s kind of like Christmas in July here in the apartment as the lady and I work our way through the task of unpacking…
Continue Reading July 2, 20102
Getting Settled In
So, it’s finally official. Dr. Fiance and I arrived in Saint Louis Wednesday afternoon and now we are in the process of getting settled…
Continue Reading June 29, 20100
Castle in the Sky
Once a Day Theory: The theory is that having to post a photo every day will make me a better photog. It’s also a…
Continue Reading June 27, 20100
Conservatory Water in Central Park
A friend of mine worked on the project to rehabilitate the Conservatory Water in Central Park and has been wanting some photographs for his…
Continue Reading June 23, 20104
Cafe Office
I am a little over a week before my move from New York, and the reality of the situation is starting to sink in….
Continue Reading June 8, 20100
Red Dye Fountain in St. Louis
I just got back from another exploratory visit to St. Louis. It was very hot and humid, and one thing is for sure: I’m…
Continue Reading June 5, 20100
Once a Day Theory – Gateway Arch
Once a Day Theory: The theory is that having to post a photo every day will make me a better photog. It’s also a…
Continue Reading June 2, 20100
Once a Day Theory – Band of Light
Once a Day Theory: The theory is that having to post a photo every day will make me a better photog. It’s also a…
Continue Reading June 1, 20101
Once A Day Theory – Ceiling Fan
Once A Day Theory: The theory is that having to post a photo every day will make me a better photog. It’s also a…
Continue Reading June 1, 20101
Summer is Here
Summer is here for real this time. Hot summer nights, open air bars, flipflops, late night steaming subway stations. There is no getting around…
Continue Reading May 24, 20100
Dance Parade!
While packing for the big move this weekend, I was surprised to hear a massively loud drum line outside my apartment. I’d noticed metal…
Continue Reading April 15, 20100
The Creative Process is Usually Not Pretty
Photo by Mattox Agatha Christie’s creative process was insane: Her less-than-refined writerly day began with finding her notebook, which surely she’d left right there….
Continue Reading April 9, 20100
Will iPad Format Dictate Editorial Photography?
I just watched a really interesting video about Bonnier and BERG’s Mag+ release of Popular Mechanics (see video below). I played with an iPad…
Continue Reading March 15, 20102
Sabi Sands Game Reserve
I just got back from a much needed vacation in South Africa. As I head back to the office tomorrow, I have visions of…
Continue Reading February 17, 20101
Broadway, 7th Avenue, Morning
The cross streets of New York City align directly with the sunrise and sunset at certain times of the year. When I’m walking to…
Continue Reading February 16, 20100
New York Yankees Foundation
Last week the New York Yankees Foundation held a reception at the Ernst & Young headquarters at Five Times Square. The purpose of the…
Continue Reading February 15, 20102
Random Goodness: Scenes from New Year’s Eve
When the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Eve 2009 and we started were swept into 2010, I was at a party with some…
Continue Reading February 15, 20100
Five Reasons I Stopped Using Facebook
I have been getting into micro-blogging as a way to self promote and to share ideas. Twitter and Facebook status updates served me well…
Continue Reading February 12, 20100
Underneath the California Sky
In the fall when I was out in San Francisco shooting for Connect magazine, I met up with a friend of mine and we…
Continue Reading February 11, 20101
Christina
Dr. Girlfriend and I love our apartment, but it is on the dark side. There isn’t a great deal of light from the windows….
Continue Reading February 11, 20100
So many things I can’t write about
There are a number of subjects where are all that I want to talk about these days, but for various reasons they aren’t for…
Continue Reading February 2, 20100
Plaster Mask
Continue Reading February 1, 20100
Never Throw Anything Out
In early 2006 I moved from my tiny little studio apartment in East Harlem to a larger, more spacious duplex on the Upper East…
Continue Reading January 6, 20100
Walking to Work
I’ve been walking to work for the past couple of months (excluding the very snowy days) and have been loving it. In addition to…
Continue Reading December 7, 20090
Must See: At Close Range with National Geographic and Joel Sartore
I shot a corporate event at Madison Square Garden tonight and then came home and watched At Close Range with National Geographic and immediately…
Continue Reading December 2, 20090
Post Project Blues
There is always excitement about finishing a project. Especially if it’s a project that you have been working on, or thinking about, or conceptualizing…
Continue Reading November 25, 20090
Ubiquitious
I’ve been a photographer for Ernst & Young for just over four years now. There are certainly other photographers across the country within the…
Continue Reading November 23, 20090
Post Production
This photo of Avedon’s instructions to his printer has been bouncing around the interwebs recently, and although I think I’ve discussed this before, I…
Continue Reading November 18, 20091
Affecting Change
I know it’s a little early for starting to think about the new year, but 2010 is shaping up to be a year full…
Continue Reading November 17, 20091
On Being Prepared
There is no such thing as being prepared enough. As evidenced by shoot yesterday, nothing I did in advance could help me when the…
Continue Reading November 16, 20090
Bottle Shock and Wine
I was going through some of my images working on my portfolio and I put on the movie Bottle Shock in the background. I…
Continue Reading October 20, 20090
Transportation In Washington DC
Here are a few transportation related images I made while on a trip to Washington DC this past week.
Continue Reading October 12, 20090
Fist Model Test
One of my shoots last week was for the current and previous three chairmen of the client company. It was a tough shoot, due…
Continue Reading October 2, 20090
Visual Acoustics
There is a new documentary about architectural photographer Julius Schulman. It looks really good. I may have to actually go see it in the…
Continue Reading October 2, 20090
Nature Photogs Have All the Fun
Nature photographers generally get to see things up close that most people only get to see on Blue Planet or one of the other…
Continue Reading September 8, 20090
Minneapolis
It’s been a busy week, and today was the first day back in the office. My last assignment before the long weekend was in…
Continue Reading September 1, 20090
Chicago
I am in Chicago for a shoot, then off to Minneapolis this afternoon for another shoot. It’s hectic and I’m tired of traveling alone…
Continue Reading August 26, 20090
Cabbage
Here are some more garden photographs that I made recently in PA. I think these go quite well with the corn photos from last…
Continue Reading August 24, 20091
End of the world
I was in Martha’s Vineyard last weekend (along with the President and the Clintons, apparently) visiting some friends who were vacationing there from California….
Continue Reading August 19, 20091
Into the sun
I was in PA for a wedding last weekend, and I took the opportunity to photograph things that I’m normally not able to do….
Continue Reading May 28, 20090
Clay Patrick McBride on Bravo
I don’t watch much regular TV these days. My couch time is spent watching streaming netflix or hulu, so when I watched Bravo’s Make…
Continue Reading May 26, 20092
Handmade Coasters
Continue Reading May 19, 20090
Florida
The best thing about Florida is the feeling of being at a resort while at the same time being surrounded by the inescapable feeling…
Continue Reading March 18, 20090
Portfolio Site and Update
On Friday I went to a friend’s gallery opening which was amazing and inspiring and got me all fired up to stop k’vetching about…
Continue Reading March 9, 20090
Another Tree
Continue Reading March 6, 20091
Trees
Continue Reading February 18, 20091
iPhone Photo of the Day
Continue Reading February 9, 20093
Identifing as a Photographer
Rockefeller Center on a warm February day, iPhone I was out celebrating the 30th birthday of a friend last night. It was one of…
Continue Reading February 6, 20090
Moody Friday Goodness
I have a few shots to share from a while back that I’m finally processing. I had just gotten my 50mm 1.4 and was…
Continue Reading January 21, 20090
"…your kid is UGLY"
Ha ha. Haven’t watched one of these in a while, but this one is great!
Continue Reading January 20, 20090
Obama Inauguration in Times Square
One of the first things I did when I moved to New York was to spend a weekend protesting in Times Square. I’d been…
Continue Reading January 20, 20090
Faces of Hope
On a frigid day in January 2009 I ventured out with thousands of fellow New Yorkers celebrating the end of a dark era in…
Continue Reading January 15, 20090
Highball Glass
I assume I will tire of the Camera Bag filters sooner or later but for now I’m loving them.
Continue Reading January 15, 20090
Film
I’m reading that new Leibovitz book and am enjoying the hell out of it. I love photographer biographies, and although this one is more…
Continue Reading January 14, 20090
Titles
How does everyone feel about titles? When I was in college I would tend to make up romantic, moody, and cryptic (read idiotic and…
Continue Reading January 13, 20090
Corporate Event Photography
One of the aspects of my job is to shoot events. It’s one of the things that I am least good at, and although…
Continue Reading January 12, 20090
Mobile Fotos App for the iPhone
As I mentioned last week, I’ve been utilizing my iPhone a bit more lately for scouting, idea capture and in general, just another way…
Continue Reading January 6, 20090
Megan at the Races
Here’s a quick shot from October that I finally have gotten around to doing the post-production on. This was taken at a steeplechase race…
Continue Reading December 30, 20080
Portfolio Review
I’m stuck at work this week without any actual work to be done. When I look at my office IM system, the only people…
Continue Reading December 2, 20080
How Fun Does This Look?
(Via)
Continue Reading November 21, 20082
What I did today….
Continue Reading November 14, 20080
Business Meeting
I had to shoot a meeting the other day and was faced with one of the common challenges with my job: create publication worthy…
Continue Reading November 13, 20080
Chelsea Liquor Store
I heart my new 85mm lens.
Continue Reading November 12, 20080
Victoria
Sometimes I fall in love with a photo I’ve taken and can’t stop looking at it. This was an outtake from a shoot yesterday…
Continue Reading November 11, 20080
Photographing a Candidate
Continue Reading October 13, 20080
The View
Last week, I mentioned a shoot on the streets of New York commissioned by our London office. Apparently they were pleased with the shots…
Continue Reading October 6, 20080
Apple Picking
Dr. Girlfriend as Eve… Over the weekend we went upstate a ways to go apple picking, something that Dr. Girlfriend has been begging to…
Continue Reading October 3, 20082
Some Street Shots
On Monday I am going to be shooting a portrait of a partner in my firm for an upcoming publication. I have been given…
Continue Reading September 26, 20080
A good week
I don’t have a ton of time to do a full post, so I wanted to share a preview of a project I shot…
Continue Reading September 22, 20080
David Alan Harvey Workshop Party
On Friday night, Dr. Girlfriend, my friend Tim and I trekked out to Brooklyn to the loft/studio of photographer David Alan Harvey. David has…
Continue Reading September 11, 20080
Photoshelter Collection Shuts Down
Well, my first foray into stock photography didn’t last long. Just a few weeks after I was accepted as a contributor to the Photoshelter…
Continue Reading September 11, 20081
NYC Photography Now Means “Filming”
The new permit rules for NYC took effect in mid-August, and in some ways they are a bit more draconian than they were before….
Continue Reading September 11, 20080
Keywords and Metadata
Since I don’t have much in the way of interesting visuals to show off this week (damn, I need to get away from my…
Continue Reading August 12, 20080
Inexperienced Photog
Dad: Why don't you take some pictures of all the buildings? Little boy with camera: I already took pictures of those buildings. (aims camera…
Continue Reading August 11, 20080
Anais
From my last SVA class.
Continue Reading August 11, 20080
Driving
I don’t own a car and therefore don’t get to drive often. But when I do I drive million miles an hour, like a…
Continue Reading August 7, 20081
Me and My Lightmeter
To meter or not to meter. I’ve been reading photo blogs religously for the last couple of years, and the one over-arching theme amongst…
Continue Reading August 3, 20080
Model Mania
Boy, do I need to work on my posing skillz. I was tossed into a studio with three lovely models last Thursday without any…
Continue Reading July 18, 20080
Let the millions pour in…or something
Last September I opened an account with Photoshelter with the idea of applying to have my work sold as part of their collection. Photoshelter…
Continue Reading July 18, 20080
Hard Light, Soft Fill
Last night in class we were experimenting with some hard light as our main light, and soft light as our fill. One thing that…
Continue Reading July 11, 20080
More Classwork
This week, edge lights and ring flash. Mostly stuff I already knew, but having someone explain the details and finer points, always helpful. Plus,…
Continue Reading July 9, 20080
Working So Hard You Get Carpal Tunnel
One of my clients wanted to add some images of people with disabilities to the library of stock they keep for the company. So…
Continue Reading June 25, 20080
View from the Rainbow Room
I shot an event one of the event spaces at the Rainbow Room on the 64th floor at Rockefeller Center last Friday night. The…
Continue Reading June 23, 20080
More From My Lighting Class
I have been having a lot of fun at my lighting class – there is so much to learn. Last week we broke out…
Continue Reading June 11, 20080
Seamless
Last year I was shooting almost exclusively on white seamless for my firm – the type of advertising we were shooting for was all…
Continue Reading June 8, 20080
Lighting Workshop At SVA – Day 1
As many of you may know, I have been mainly self-taught with regards to photography. Having been taught the fundamentals in college back in…
Continue Reading April 8, 20080
iPhlog
I came across iPhlog yesterday, which is a photoblog by Ryan Donnell from my home-state of PA. I love the soft-focus Polariod-eque atmospheric quality…
Continue Reading April 7, 20080
Canon G9 – Quick Review
Since I started shoot professionally about a year and a half ago, I pretty much stopped carrying a small format point and shoot around…
Continue Reading April 1, 20080
Wedding Photog Sued for Sucking
Actually, he was sued for breach of contract AND producing craptastic work. Apparently he misrepresented his skill set, didn’t bring an assistant, and generally…
Continue Reading March 31, 20080
DIY Small Format Snoot – Silver Edition
As I’ve mentioned before, a large part of my job is to make portraits of executives at my firm. The new visual identity for…
Continue Reading March 31, 20081
Canon Outsourcing Lenses
Although I have never really paid much mind to the Canon/Nikon “whose lens is bigger” contest that rages on photoblogs across the internets, I…
Continue Reading March 26, 20080
Self Portrait At Work with Poster
Alternate title: “I’m Too Busy To Play With My New Camera and I Am Therefore Grumpy” Poster in the background is a beautiful photo…
Continue Reading March 26, 20080
Photo in TimeOut New York
I had a photo published in TimeOut New York this week. It was from a photoshoot of a theater company that I did some…
Continue Reading March 25, 20080
Lion Versus Model
You gotta love being a photographer. You get to shoot all kinds of cool stuff, like women doing martial arts with lions and shit….
Continue Reading March 24, 20080
Fette Sau and Beer
On Friday night I joined some friends at a BBQ joint in Brooklyn called Fette Sau (Fat Sow for the who’s at home). It’s…
Continue Reading March 19, 20080
Save Polaroid
Apparently people aren’t willing to let instant film go gently into the dark. SavePolaroid.com On February 8, 2008, Polaroid Corporation announced that it will…
Continue Reading March 19, 20081
Hardcopy
In the digital world of Flickr and the plethora of online photography applications, we don’t often think about making actual prints. Hell, Polaroid has…
Continue Reading March 18, 20080
Real People
I am envious of the big name photographers. Duh. No, seriously. I wish I was in a position where I could shoot beautiful and…
Continue Reading March 15, 20080
Business Traveller
Note: This post was written Thursday evening at SFO in California I am currently sitting at a cafe in SFO, awaiting a flight that…
Continue Reading March 5, 20080
London PoPo Make Tourists into Terrorists
Got a camera? Taking photos in London? You’re probably a terrorist. It’s even worse if you look odd. Odd people with cameras are scaaaaary….
Continue Reading February 29, 20080
From Great Heights
I’ve seen the National Geographic shots by Joe McNally from the top of the Empire State building before, but Joe has posted a video…
Continue Reading February 20, 20080
Mexico City
Sometimes the travel aspect of my job seems like it will be a whole lot of fun, but in the end seems to be…
Continue Reading January 11, 20080
The Kind of Shoots We All Want To Do
From My Diary: A Day With The Angels, photos and background from the latest edition of Esquire featuring an homage to Frank Bez. 10:00…
Continue Reading January 11, 20080
Tough Meeting Candids
My company is launching a new visual brand over the next couple of months, and the photography is changing dramatically as well. The new…
Continue Reading January 10, 20080
JonathanGayman.com
After a long battle with some php, I’m happy to announce that my photography portfolio site, JonathanGayman.com is now up and seems to be…
Continue Reading December 31, 20070
Year In Review
2007 has been the first full year that I’ve been shooting professionally as a staff photographer. One of the things I am learning about…
Continue Reading December 28, 20070
Mark Holthusen
Remember how a while back I was talking about pairing images together and how much I liked it? I was browsing over at Photo…
Continue Reading December 20, 20070
Kidsplay at Work
A couple weeks ago I trekked out to New Jersey for an editorial shoot for a corporate magazine. It was a really exciting shoot…
Continue Reading December 4, 20070
Large Format
Last year we hired several models for a photo shoot for a recruiting campaign at my firm. It was the usual “united colors of…
Continue Reading December 4, 20070
Gear Envy
Lets face it, no matter what you say about how a good camera doesn’t make a good photographer, and how a real artist doesn’t…
Continue Reading November 15, 20070
Details
When I shoot a portrait, I love shooting a closeup of something in the room where the portrait is shot, or some detail of…
Continue Reading November 5, 20070
Shots You Don’t Plan
Most of the professional work I have done over the last year has been high-key white seamless work for my company’s latest advertising campaign….
Continue Reading October 16, 20070
Under Pressure
Ok, so I had an experience today which hopefully will have taught me a lesson about reacting smarter under pressure. A request came in…
Continue Reading October 15, 20070
Power of B&W
Converting a color photo to black and white is a pretty standard way to turn a mediocre photo into a good photo. We’ve all…
Continue Reading October 10, 20070
Bill Sullivan: Works
A friend of mine sent me a link to Bill Sullivan’s work, which is really quite interesting. He surreptitiously snaps photos of people in…
Continue Reading October 8, 20072
Letter of the Law
One of the challenges of my firm’s brand, is their strict rules about icon usage with photography. Often we have a client who has…
Continue Reading October 2, 20072
Outside My Bubble
It’s been a little over four years since I first started hiring and working with professional photographers, and almost exactly a year since I…
Continue Reading September 16, 20070
The Importance of Crop
Last weekend a friend of Dr.Girlfriend’s was in town, and she brought along her two little boys. One night we had them over to…
Continue Reading August 6, 20070
Inspiration
One of the dangers of getting into photography is the ease with which you’re able to convince yourself that you need more equipment to…
Continue Reading April 2, 20072
Miniature University
I wanted to post a couple of quick samples of the stuff that I’ve been working on lately – the most interesting has been…
Continue Reading March 21, 20070
Union Square Protest
When I got downtown last night there was a large gathering of people protesting the brutal police shooting death of Sean Bell in November….
Continue Reading March 19, 20070
Ringlight Test
I bought myself an ABR800 as the next addition to my personal studio lighting set up and I’m very excited. I haven’t gotten to…
Continue Reading March 19, 20070
Rules for Photographing Money
These days I am constantly looking for ways to increase my photography assignments. Whenever I see photos being used around the office I try…
Continue Reading February 13, 20070
Relative Good Fortune
I was able to squeeze an hour of still life shooting in this evening and spent some time trying to improve on the salt…
Continue Reading February 12, 20070
Corporate Portrait
As I mentioned last week, I hopped a plane to Dallas last week to shoot a portrait of an employee for a career magazine…
Continue Reading February 5, 20073
Still Life: Salt
One of the things that I’ll need eventually as a photographer is an online portfolio. And since much of my work thus far has…
Continue Reading February 5, 20070
Off to Dallas
The one thing I have to say for my silence here at Exhibit 5a is that I’ve been busy. I wish I could say…
Continue Reading January 24, 20071
Candid
One of the candids I took while I was on location in Philadelphia. I love the way the man in the chair is headed…
Continue Reading January 24, 20071
Making It Easy
I did a quick shoot yesterday in the office of a employee for the firm’s website. We needed a casual, seamless shot like most…
Continue Reading January 16, 20075
Fortune Ad
One of the things about my new career path that is exciting to me is getting to experience all of these new things which…
Continue Reading January 4, 20072
Freelance Firsts
Last night was a night of a few firsts. It was the first time I’d set up a full blown studio shot at home…
Continue Reading January 4, 20071
Unphotographable
As a designer, I often find myself critiquing design every where I go – would I have set the type the way this billboard…
Continue Reading December 26, 20063
Winter Cabbage
Winter Cabbage 02 I was home for the holidays, and while I was there I took the opportunity to shoot my dad’s garden. Obviously…
Continue Reading December 21, 20063
Olan Mills
I started taking headshots of our employees about a year or so ago and until recently they were more of a waste of time…
Continue Reading December 14, 20060
Lull
I’ve reached a lull in my photography education, mainly because I’m between shoots – at least as far as studio shooting. I’ve been doing…
Continue Reading December 8, 20060
Speedlight Trouble
One of the largest problems I’ve been facing thus far with my own personal studio photography set up has been the inability to trigger…
Continue Reading December 5, 20064
Dr. Girlfriend’s Hair
Just to prove that I am, in fact, taking photos and not just talking about it, here is an image I shot tonight in…
Continue Reading December 4, 20061
San Jose Followup
I’m back in the office today to begin the arduous task of making my selects from my San Jose photoshoot. I’ld love to post…
Continue Reading November 30, 20061
Dateline San Jose
I am sitting in a rather stinky hotel room directly across from the office building where my shoot tomorrow will take place – they…