My Birthday

My Birthday, originally uploaded by PowersImagery.com.

My Birthday party at TAO nightclub. If you would like to come hang out join me and my friends for the celebration, feel free to email me.

Lighting setup for the shot is right here:

setup image

A total of 6 lights were used.
X3200 into a gridded beauty dish from above
2x Sunpak 555 into 43″ umbrellas cam right and left
ABR800 on cam
Sb900 and SB800 as kickers behind subject cam left and right
X1600 with blue gel behind subject on background

No friends were hurt in the making of this image

Help Portrait Las Vegas was a huge success!!!

GroupPic_Staff2_web, originally uploaded by PowersImagery.com.

On 12.12.09 Some of Vegas’ photographers and MUA, and stylists, decided to give back to teh community. We all stood together and helped some homeless teens feel like celebrities, where all the attention was on them, if only for one day. These images are a small sample of what we did today. I am so glad i could be apart of this, and will continue doing this type of volunteer work atleast once every 3 months. What you feel after seeing the glow on the kids faces is simply indescribable.

This was part of the HelpPortrait movement, these were my images. I have plenty more, but this was for the press (newschannels, newspapers, etc), so i had to knock them out within 15 min. I setup a boxing kind of set, so the kids could put on some gloves and feel like a pro.

These kids are simply amazing and have great hearts. CBS even came out to give us some News coverage. check this video out! http://bit.ly/54RUfb Im the guy in the black hoody

Howard Fields

TJ Neslon giving his best Barnard Hopkins impersonation

Matthew Artry sits on the skateboard i gave to him.

Megan Griffin in the rain, with some special flash magic

Geff Moran

More images are here

Fallen…

Fallen…, originally uploaded by PowersImagery.com.

I stumbled across this nice memorial when i was at the local skatepark today. I kneeled down to see if there was a name, but there was not, and when i was sitting there saying a prayer for the person who had passed, a couple of women came to talk with me, They asked if i knew the young man who this is for. I said no, then they told me this had been a young man who had been shot in the parking lot, a year ago. The family and friends stop by atleast once a month to make sure to put more flowers down and to pay the respects for their loved one.

Though i will probably never know the friends and family of this person. My prayers go out to them, we all know how it feels to lose a loved one. Its always so sad to hear about a young person losing their life, before it even started. RIP.

So i was asked a couple questions today. How I started and how did i end up doing what i do?

Well here is the answer…

I guess to know how i did it, you have to know what kind of person i am. Im pretty relentless. I moved to Vegas from Brandon, FL to make my mark… I didnt know really how i was gonna do it, or what i was gonna do. But i took a huge leap. I have always taken photos with film, so i figured i would give it a shot. First i got into shooting nightclubs. Worked on a specific style and just kept plugging away.

After about a year of doing it, something happened. Something just clicked for me. i became confident in my work and just started telling everyone i can do stuff for them. Got really close to the Managers and PR people at every club. I made it a point when i was in their venue to say hi to them and chit chat a bit when they werent busy as hell. That way they would remember me. I still do it to this day.

Then the opportunity arose where they asked me to shoot a celeb for them. I made sure i had everything in order, and made sure i had a back up, because i knew this was it. The one chance to prove my worth to these people. They loved the images and then the word spread. I was reliable and my work was good. I always show up 30 min early to any call time. I always show up well groomed. and i always have consistent shots, yeah granted they may not be the most creatively shot celeb images. But thats not what they want. They want someone that can produce the same look every time.

You have to look at your environment and use it. A lot of Vegas money comes the entertainment industry, so you have to focus on meeting everyone from that avenue.

I get hundreds of business cards a week. I weed through them when i get them. Right back pocket gets all the cards that could be potential clients, and all the other cards are put in the left pocket. When i get home at night. I plug the potential clients in outlook address book, and send an immediate email, stating:

“It was very nice meeting you this evening, Mr or Mrs. If you ever need anything at all, please feel free to contact me. I look forward to hearing from you in the future.”

Something short and sweet, but that way it sticks in their mind, they will have my card and they will have an immediate greeting.

all the other cards go into a box that is seperated in cardboard box that lists. “Restaurants” “NightClubs” “Misc”

If i ever require anything from these types of places i know where to look.

Im just now getting into commercial and fashion shooting, but im gonna continue progressing in that platform as well. I dont care how long it takes me, i will break into that market too. You have to have noticed by now, i do a little of everything. I dont believe in Niche photography. I have no grand delusions that i will be a world famous photo one day, but i do know that i will be a photog that makes money; A person that will wake up in the morning and love what they do.

I love helping people as much as i can, and i have learned many photogs are the same way. Learn from as many different people as you can. Mimic styles that you like, do your best to not only acheive them but understand the concept and thought process it took to get the final output. And skies the limit, man!

The best advice i could ever give anyone is this. If you are confident in yourself, others will be confident in you as well. However, with confidence it must be true confidence. Never think you are better than you are, you shouldnt be the judge of how good you are, others should be. Never admire your own work, wait until someone else does it for you. Then and only then should you feel good about that shot.

Well known and award winning photographers Chris Farina and Ed Mulholland told me (over some crappy chinese food and pizza in the MGM Hotel Food Court)  once that if “I” ever felt “I” that i was a great photographer, im never going to get better. Photography is one of those things that is ever changing. There will always be new trends and new styles to learn. Its a true art form. And if you get content and complacent in that art form you will be left behind. I took every word they said that day and have applied it to my work now. Try to learn something new everyday. And no matter what happens, keep trying, keep working hard, and it will come in time.  I know some people are above assisting others, i think that is foolish, there is always something to learn. Pay attention to every detail, and don’t be afraid to ask questions.

I AM ONLY A BEGINNING PHOTOGRAPHER, i am still very wet behind the ears, not seasoned by any means, i am not here to preach to you, or tell you what to do, i am here only to share my own personal experiences. I hope one day to join the ranks of the pros, or to even be respected/recognized by them would be a great honor. But even then, i will still never stop learning and never feel that i am “good enough”.

Oh yeah… i cant forget good friend, and photographer, Jeremy Womack, who was the one that tld me i should quit my day job and just pursue photography full time. As much as i hate to say this (cuz he will gloat to all high heaven), it may have been the true turning point in my life. So thanks Jeremy. I still remember that fateful day in the Palms parking lot, where we spoke about it.

A truely eye opening trip “home”

I went to home to Florida to visit friends and work in Miami. Everything didnt go as well as planned in Miami, but it all worked out in the end.  If you dont know me, i grew up in Florida, so it is like home to me. My closest friends, all that i knew was back there. But when i came back this time after a year long break, i came to the realization that “Home” truly is where the heart is. I didnt want to admit it, but working and living in a larger city has changed me. I still retain my home town values, yet i now feel that “home” moves a little too slow for me now. Working and playing in the entertainment industry of Vegas really changes your lifestyle, and i was afraid to admit it before, but i really love living here in Vegas. There simply no place like it. For example: The buzz around here is a multi billion dollar “mini city” within a city, City Center, the big talk of the town where i am from was the IKEA that was about to open.

Quite the contrast. Now dont get me wrong, i truly love where i am from, and would not change anything about my past. I love all of the people who made me who i am today. Brandon will always be the place i learned my true values and made my closest and life long friends. But it is what it is, where i grew up. I dont feel like i belong anymore. I felt like a visitor. When i sat back and gazed on the city of Tampa from my friends Ybor city apartment, I knew i had changed.  “Nothing gold can stay”, if i had never left, im sure i would still be content with the life i would live, but now I love my life just the way it is. I still miss my friends like crazy;  Jay, Jacquelin (<3) Johnny, Erin, Aimee, Kensie, JD, Adam, Nick,  the Carter Bros, Anthony, James, Anthony and everyone; that will never change. But now i find i miss the people and not the place. If that makes any sense. I moved to Vegas for more opportunity and find what i wanted to do for the rest of my life, and i truly believe i have found it.

Busy, busy, bee.

This past week has been pretty hectic all around.

Tuesday:

Wake up at 730 double check gear for LAVO,

9am Photoshoot with Lavo nightclub on Tuesday,

Pack for LA to help Cody shoot DJ John Digweed,

Try and sleep,

Wednesday:

Wake up at 630 AM, ehhh

Fly to LA at 9am,

Land at 10am, head directly to shoot in Beverly Hills,

Finish shooting at 630pm, finally head to hotel room

Stay in the best quirky hotel in Downtown LA, The Standard, AWESOME!

Try and nap before event coverage of Digweed’s set at The Mayan,

11pm arrive at the Mayan, shoot John Digweed perform until 4am

GET PAID

Sleep

Airport at 11am, flight at 1245

Deal with annoying person next to me on Plane…

Land in vegas at 2pm

Try to take nap , FAIL

Get ready for ND’s Fuego open bar event coverage.

Arrive to ND’s 7pm, shoot till 1030

Go to TAO nightclub shoot from 11-1am

1:25am HOME edit pictures

4am finally fall asleep

Thursday:

All sorts of madness

Friday:

I get a call from Ryan Loco of Triumph United, he asks me if i have time to help Triumph United  with some lighting for a Dana White Photoshoot at the UFC office.  Of course im in, they always hook me up with the awesome TU gear, and plus its Dana, he is a nice guy. I go down there we setup, and wait for Dana to arrive. Meanwhile, the antics of Tiki Ghosn and Ryan come out. They attempt to prison rape me on camera. and then Tiki (Pro MMA FIGHTER) looks over at this big body suit type padding, and asks Terry (Dana White’s Trainer) what its for. Terry says its so that someone can pretty much become a human heavy bag… Tiki looks over at me, and Ryan starts pointing the vid camera at me, and i think in my head uh oh… Tiki says hold this… At this point im like oh man… Here we go. I strap this thing to me, and Ryan yells KNEE HIM!!! Tiki lunges forward and proceeds to knee the groin area of the Pad. The force of teh knee gets dispersed (THANK GOD) by the pad, it wasnt too bad, im thinking im not gonna die today, then Loco says kick him.  Tiki decides to thwart teh pad again. This time the impact rattles my body, and i can only think Thank God for this pad, surely without i would have been seriously damaged. I train but that was not a something i feel as i could even check without getting hurt. We start laughing, and then Tiki decides to push kick me. Now, a push kick is not meant to do alot of damage, but rather throw off someones balance, sort of like a jab for your legs. This one pushes me back, he does it again and i almost tumble over. We all have a good laugh, and then i decide im done being a human heavy bag for a Pro fighter.  We finish up, Hans, Ryan, and Tiki shoot the proverbial **** with Dana, and we all leave.

Get home, work out. Then shower shave, and get dolled up for Dinner with some lady friends, sushi for din, always a nice thing. I then run to Red carpet at Tao for Whitney Port of “the City” shoot some press photos and then finish my night off at Tao and Lavo.

Im dreadfully tired. But i am amped up at the same time. Have a photoshoot later today with a hip hopartist by the name of Bugsi, then next Saturday is the Zero G flight, and then a much needed Vacation to Florida, where i get to relax in the sun, work on cars, and spend some make up time with my friend Jacquelin. Good times to come.

Here are some photos from my journeys.

Production stills of the LAVO shoot

Waiting at the airport

Vagabonds make me look like a terrorist on planes apparently

Lighting gear and camera equipment for a 1 full day shoot.

Gear list for the trip:

Alienbee ABR800 and b1600

White lightning X1600

Gels, 4 Stands. 48″ Softlighter, 54″ Foldobale octabank

Canon 5d classic, 1dmkiiN, 20d, 1ds classic

16-35L, 24-70L, 50 1.4, 15 fish, 70-200 IS 2.8, 70-200 2.8,

a pair of pocket wizards, a set of 4 cybersync receivers

3 580ex’s

24 eneloop batteries

MISC chargers and accessories

John spinning at The Mayan

Some interesting stuff happening

Dana White repping T*U www.triumphunited.com

Whitney Port

This girl has legs for miles!!! Too bad she did look very good posing there, therefor i will not show you the full body shots.

All in all its been a great busy week.

Life is grand.

So about a month ago life changed a bit, at first i thought it would be a bad change, but it turns out things happen for a reason. Life is grand! Work is going great, making new friends, and most importantly; my friends say im back to my old fun loving self. Which to me, makes me feel great! When your closest friends in the world tell you “Its nice to have you back.” It means alot. I was unable to see that i had changed dramatically into this stressed, non-carefree person. Thanks to all my friends who have helped me get back to where i am again.  These past two weeks have been fun filled adventures beyond belief.

This month is a busy one, Photoshoot tomorrow with Lavo nightclub, then Cody and I are off to LA LA land (L.A, Hollywood) to shoot some promo images for John Digweed and cover his set at “the Mayan” on Wednesday. Then on March 21st doing my Superman flying gig with ZeroG flights. Then on the 23rd fly away for a much needed vacation with friends in Florida, as well as go to Miami for the Winter Music Conference. Then Next month is a month of birthdays!!!

Look how disgusted Puff Daddy looks…

"WTH, how did that get there, do they still even make these?!"

Wow its so amazing, look how angry and disgusted he looks. As if he is so surprised this is in his wallet.

Thats right i drank the kool-aid. Flip Mino HD vs. Flip Ultra

Got a deal too good to pass up on a Flip Mino HD online from Chris Pirillo. And recently purchased an Flip Ultra from some guy online.

Spent around 210 for both, got them for a fantastic deal, but really do i need them? Nope, I have a g10 that has great vid capability, and a Canon HD camcorder. But they were too good of a deal to pass up. Why do we do these things? I do this all the time. I wonder how many of you out there buy on impulse when you see a “deal” even when you dont need it.

I will review them both in the upcoming weeks, but it wont be the typical side by side comparisons. It will be running them through the paces of a nightclub as well as building some sort of support for it to mount on the side of my flash for red carpets.

I plan to start Video blogging photoshoots as well as tutorials for you folks out there. So stay tuned!

1 year anniversary with myGirlfriend

Now i know what you guys are thinking, its supposed to be a photography blog, but i figured i would change it up, i want to have an outlet for my daily life so im using this blog, so get over it jk

Anyway my girlfriend and i celebrated our 1 year of dating yesterday, so with a bit of nostalgia, we went back to teh place of our first date, The Valley of Fire State Park. If you have never been this place is the best kept secret in Vegas. Its a great place to camp, hike, rock climb, or even just check out the scenery. Its quite the change from neon lights, and the rings of slot machines. Since it was more of a relaxing trip, i went with the minmalist approach for taking pictures, i only grabbed my canon powershot g10 and we went off. Firstly let me tell you it was probably the most relaxing thing i have done in awhile, considering New Year’s Eve, CES, and Adult Expo Conventions occupying my time so far in 09.  We drove out there to check out the sunset. We stopped by the welcoming center to grab a map and while we were there Donna decided she wanted to rock climb a bit, so she tackled this huge peice of earth, one i dare not even attempt, she had at it.

Donna on a mission to climb that big rock

Shes a trooper, she did in Jeans and some Australian Uggs.

Setting up

Mission Impossible Style!

VICTORY!!!

VICTORY!!!

In order to make the sunset we had to run up this super steep hill, it was great we snapped a pic or two up there

Fabulous Sunset

Myself and my beautiful girlfriend

The Canon G10 is no slouch. look at the detail

Tradition that we make a stack of rocks at the Valley of Fire

We had a great time, to see more pics click on any of the pictures, it will take you to the full set of images.