24 Hour Film Race: Growing Over You

If you've followed my work at all, you know I love when I get to be the set photographer for film projects, no matter how big or how small. There's something very magical and unifying about working with a film crew, and inevitably the people you work with become an extension of your ever-growing film family. That's why the 24 hour film race is something I look forward to every year, and last year's was by far our best one yet.

If you aren't familiar with how a film race works, the concept is this: write, shoot and edit a film with several requirements (a specific line of dialogue, a chosen prop, and a theme) that are announced at the start of the competition. Given that all this would normally take weeks or months to complete, it's quite the ambitious undertaking. Despite the rigorous schedule, it's always fun and inspiring, and often brings out the best of our creative abilities. 

We may be exhausted at the end of it all, but it's the most fun I've ever had intentionally working myself to the bone and combating the sleep that threatens to invade. Many cups of coffee and red bulls later, I never cease to be amazed by what we've pulled off and how we've managed to bring it all together, and I think that's why I love it so much. Sometimes you need to do the work for the love of it and nothing else, and being able to focus on creating beautiful imagery without working through client concerns or deadlines or bottom lines is a much needed rejuvenating process as an artist. 

Behind The Scenes of Six Windows, Round 2!

Back in January, many of my good friends and I were hard at work filming the second block of Six Windows, a web series exploring six people's different experiences dealing with the challenges of New York City. Despite a blizzard or two trying to interfere with our last few days of shooting, we successfully wrapped in a little over a week, with a lot of fantastic footage. While the series won't be released until this coming summer, I have a few images from behind the scenes of the project that will hopefully hold you over until it's finished! Directed by my inspiring and deeply talented friend Brandon Taylor, this series is sure to remind you of the growing pains of life, love and loss. Starring such pretty fabulous actors, including Tracy Willet, Shannon Terrel, Gabryal Rabinowitz, Ellyse Burnett, Cornelius McMoyler, Susan Moses, Hamza Zaman, Nicole Im, and many others, I'm positive this series will turn out wonderfully, and I can't wait to see the finished project. So without further ado, here are some of my favorite moments behind the scenes on the set of Six Windows!

Six Windows: Behind The Scenes!

This past month held one of my favorite projects from the past year; working as a Unit Stills Photographer on the set of the web series Six Windows, directed by one of my wonderful friends, Brandon Taylor. Not only did I get to work with some of my favorite people again, but I also was fortunate enough to meet some fabulous new cast and crew members that were simply amazing to work with. We spent a whole week shooting 3 of the 6 episodes that will encompass the first season, and I can't wait to see the finished product. Not only was the cast absolutely solid in their acting abilities, but the amount of love and enthusiasm invested in this project by everyone involved was undeniable. Starring Ellyse Burnett, J.W. Harvey, Alyssa Kempinski, Michelle Jones, Lauren A. Kennedy, Gregory James Cohan, Zach Sciranka, and Carolyn Blair, this project is sure to reveal the challenges and growing pains of navigating New York City. 

Here are some of my favorite moments behind the scenes  of this fantastic production; I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

The 24 Hour Film Race!

As is typical of artists/creative people, we always look for new ways to push ourselves to the limits, to inspire our creativity, and to challenge ourselves in new and exciting ways, and this weekend was no exception! From 10pm Friday night to 10pm on Saturday, Hollow Tree Films competed in the 24 Film Race, and I was elated to work on it with them! 

The Film Race is certainly a refreshing way to spice things up; we take the entire film process, from conception and script-writing to filming and editing (a process that normally takes weeks to months, depending on the size of the project) and make the whole thing happen in under 24 hours! A tad bit stressful, with many cups of coffee and a lot of exhausted bodies after, I think we made a pretty spectacular short, and I can't wait to see how it fares in the competition.

Regardless of if the film wins anything from the Film Race, it was more fun than I've had in a while, and the best all-nighter I've pulled in quite some time with some of the most fabulous people I know! 30 sleepless hours later, these are some of the Behind The Scenes shots I took over the course of the project. More to come soon!

Newest Booya Fitness, Behind-The-Scenes!

I finally just completed my most recent set of photos for Booya Fitness, and so have decided to give you all a sneak preview with some glimpses behind the scenes! Once again, I was in collaboration with my wonderful and talented friend Ben Hallman of Hallman Productions, and working with him is always a treat (and it never feels like work!). Already counting down the days to the next shoot!

I can't wait to see the newest finished videos, and  start making time to work out, because these videos are pretty awesome and actually make me want to exercise!