5
Jan
2012
Photoshoot: Mo Sabri – The Overnight Classic
A long-awaited blog post. Introducing the super talented Mo Sabri, an up and coming hip hop artist from my alumni East Tennessee State University. But don’t let the small residing town of Johnson City, TN fool you. Mo has big dreams, with the ambition, raw talent, and of course songs to back it up. I admit I have to be picky when choosing photoshoots, and after listening to Mo’s lyrical genius I cleared my schedule to work with him. Mo takes his inspiration from Eminem, Blink-182, Kanye West, Blue Scholars and U2, but he’s not a copy-cat. I too take inspiration from other artists, and use it to fuel my future work. This post is about the photoshoot, I’m not a music critic like MTV, take their word for it. I just know what I like!
Mo Sabri – The Overnight Classic album cover
For the shoot, we decided on 2 different locations/looks. One would be in an open field with lifestyle photography. And the other would be a more stylized commercial look. With the sun setting, we went to the first location in the hills of Johnson City…. no shortage of grass and trees in Tennessee. Like that rhyme? I could be a hip hop artist too!.. (cough)
Then we headed to “downtown” Johnson City to do some low key night shots. The album title “The Overnight Classic” had already been determined, and I thought a night shot would be most appropriate for the album cover. Here it is without the title added:
His lyrical genius, good beats, and loyal fans skyrocketed him to the top 10 of iTunes World chart on January 1st on release day. Damn good way to start the new year.
25
Dec
2011
Derrick Rose – 2011 NBA MVP
Last year I got the call to shoot Derrick Rose for Power Balance, and since it’s the start of the new 2012 NBA season I thought I’d show off a few images. Needless to say before Derrick was named the youngest ever NBA MVP, he had achieved a long list of accolades and I had to hold back my child-like enthusiasm for having Rose in front of my camera.
The location was the HAX Athletic Club basketball courts south of Los Angeles. Like most shoots with high-profile persons, this one was short. My lovely assistant Lauren and I had roughly 15 minutes of shooting from first shot to last. No worries, I had more than enough images to mess with when I got home.
Despite the short time-frame of the shoot, Derrick was very kind enough to personally come over to me while I was packing up my gear and say a genuine “thank you” and pose for a picture with me. Definitely a moment I’ll never forget. The Chicago Bulls instantly skyrocked to my 2nd favorite team, and DRose easily my favorite NBA player… C’mon I can’t be a bandwagon jumper, go Suns!
27
Aug
2009
From neat to street
Time to break in my new AlienBee lights (1 ABR800, 2x AB1600), and trusty PocketWizard transmitters. I feel like I’m just picking up the camera and shooting cars 5 years ago, and feel that inspiration and drive once again. So now it’s shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot. Not all of my shots will be exactly what I want, but eventually I’ll get closer to that goal.
Next on my list is Jolin Barot, middle name Ripped. Not an ounce of fat on this joker! Makes my 75-rep push-ups and 50 mile bike rides seem like an exercise in relaxation. But first the “neat” shots, all button’d up and iron’d out sitting on the couch in The Chapman lobby. One great thing about photography is you can take a normally mundane location, add a little bit of lighting, and turn it into a portfolio piece. While shooting this location, at least 20 people walked inches behind my back doing their daily business.
Now the street shots. Same guy, sans the shirt, and literally 30 paces out the back door from the lobby. And instead of loft-dwellers, we had bums and liquor store employees passing by.
A few steps back shows what I was working with. Shooting against walls can be tough when trying to pull off rim lighting. But like i said shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot.
Big thanks to Tanisha from Lowrider Girls for hooking up the shoot, and of course my girlfriend Lauren for assisting me again and again and again. Click over to my main website to see the high-res shots.
