Nikon D850

  

So we lost power today. It doesn't happen too often but when it does, work stops. I am totally dependent upon power to run my computers and two external monitors as well as YouTube TV. So when the power went out I got my camera, put it on my favorite Tiltall tripod and set it to live view. I have my live view set to silent shooting, auto ISO and I trigger it by tapping the back LCD. The lens was a Tamron 300mm but the D850 is set to DX (as opposed to FX) so the 300mm becomes 450mm. That way I can sit in a chair on the deck and not bother the birds. The bird feeder is green not blue. What you see here is the focus help that the D850 gives you in live view. Anything that is blue is sharp. Even though the temperature is going up to the mid 80's, this morning was cool, breezy and I had a nice morning photographing birds.

1992 Ducati 998R

I was contacted to shoot a pretty rare Ducati motorcycle. Although this one is from 1992 it only has 2 miles on the odometer. I found 2 identical 998's in a garage in southern NY. We brought the low mileage one out onto a gravel driveway next to the garage. We were fortunate because the day had been rainy so I had a nice broad gray sky as a light source.

Here is the retouched bike outside on the gravel. For resale, this is probably the one they'll use. For fun I stripped the bike out and put it on a black background with a glow. It's what I do and I wouldn't do it if it were not tons of fun.

 

My very first photo job in NYC

I opened my studio in 1979 after 4 years of assisting. I got married that same year and it was a good thing because my (20 year old) wife got me my first great client. She was working for a gift shop in Brooklyn (where we lived) when a coworker asked her "what does your husband do for a living dear?" Barb answered " my husband is just starting out as a commercial photographer." The coworker said "that's great! My husband owns an advertising agency! Your husband should call Vito." So Catelano & Gornick became my first client. I shot a lot for them. We did great work together. One of their clients was C&C cola. In 1980 DDB (Doyle Dane Bernbach) bought the agency to get C&C cola. So after only one year I was shooting for one of the largest advertising agencies in NYC. We did work for Lord Calvert and Ore-Ida and of course, C&C cola. I've had a couple of reps in my over 41 years of shooting but my wife got me my first and best client!

Peanut M&Ms

All through the late 70's I carried my own book. I made the calls and I booked the appointments and rain or snow I would bring my portfolio to art directors in NYC agencies. The reason for the image above is that every time I would head out, I would buy a small package of peanut M&Ms. I knew that if I could suck the candy coating off before crunching down I was "chill". However, if I just started eating the candy whole, I would know that I was not relaxed enough to be a good salesman. I would breathe slowly, calm down and as soon as I could just suck the candy coating off before chomping on the peanut, I knew I was ready to sell.

How to be a Grinch

I was doing a shoot for Milkbone in California. There was a client, an art director and Gracie's (Max's) trainer but they were all women. We had never thought that we might need a male model to be the "Grinch". That's how I became it. I shot Gracie in various poses first and then, using the same light I slid on the net gloves with the long fingers and one of Jim Carrey's Grinch bathrobes, sat on a chair and leaned in. The trainer who had just completed the Grinch movie was kind enough to brush out the extra long fingers. My client was the one who actually pushed the camera button and took the pictures. What fun!

Two Cameras

I have been a Nikon shooter for a long time now. The F on the left was my first real pro camera and the one on the right is my current shooter. I hear every once in a while about the demise of Nikon. I simply don't believe it. The F comes from 1971, the D850 comes from 1 year ago. Still, I can swap lenses on the cameras. The F has a 1968 55mm Micro Nikkor that I shoot with regularly with on the D850. The D850 has an 80's 28mm 2.8 that fits on either camera. As a back up I have my older D700. It too takes all of my Nikon lenses. I have 5 older prime Nikon lenses and 2 more modern zooms. I wouldn't have 7 lenses if I couldn't still use all of the lenses I have bought over my over 40 years as a commercial photographer. Thank you Nikon. I love a heavy camera and the D850 with the attached extra grip certainly is. I am a studio shooter and I love having a camera that's a defensive weapon. I won't list all the great things about this camera but the ability to choose from 3 different raw sizes is pure genius. Thanks Nikon. You have been nothing but good for me since 1971.