rodgoodman

Once again, Tis the Holiday season.  This year my wife Susan, my pug T-bird and myself went downtown to Marc Jacobs on Bleaker and 11th Ave.   Every year they offer free holiday shots.  Two years ago it was with Santa and even though I'm a 200+ pounder, he let us both sit on his lap.  Last year I got a picture of just my pug with Santa and this year they got rid of Santa (he probably is collecting disability from my fat ass sitting on him) and they got a Nutcracker theme.  Yes friends, you can indeed find free things to do in NYC!  Happy New Year!

This is PK.  I met him playing on the downtown 6 train platform at 96th street.  It's so funny how our preconceived notions come in to play more ofter than not.  At first glance this guy looked like he may have been homeless.  When I told him what I was up to he was so excited.  So was I because (unlike some subway performers) he was really good.  When he came to my studio he was ready to work.  He played some of his songs and rocked the place!  After I shot him for a bit, we talked and he was so cool.  He lives in the city in Harlem with his wife, who works at a local market, he plays 5 days a week, preferring the more quiet stations so people could hear him play.  He makes more money than his wife and does his own thing.  He is saving up for a computer and is eager to design a My Space page.  He is newly married and his wife is the love of his life.  He loves making a difference in peoples days with his music and loves New York.  When I see him playing now I go up to him and say hi and he stops playing to talk for a bit.  I am proud to call PK my friend.

This is a young lady I shot on Monday.  Part of my Mondays Suck.  Shot natural window light with a rim light in the back to make her pop.  Beautiful girl and very sweet too.  It's shoots like her that make me love my job.

Well, aside from the people I photograph, I now photograph dogs.  The new business is called Pupography.
Catchy name eh?  I love photographing dogs.  Yah, they are harder than kids but ya get some great shots.  So this is  "Hazel" a 1 and half year old Brussels Griffon.  Very sweet dog.  She looks a little like Chewbacca.

I donated my services to the Heart Gallery NYC.  The Heart Galleries are all across the country.  Photographers donate their services to do portraits of these "hard to place" kids.  (the reason they are hard to place is usually that they are teens).  So I went out to Queens with some gear and did portraits of 5 of the kids.  The Queens Mall donated some facials and make overs and then I did some photos.  The kids were really nice, some more guarded but it was fun nonetheless.  The New York Times and some other papers came out to cover the event.   I look forward to the fall when Laurie, the executive director, will be preparing to do more portraits.  Due to strick laws I can't post any of the shots I took.

My wife and I went to Spain.  This was a cool old church (like there are any uncool churches in Spain?) in Madrid.  I shot it late in the day and my feet were killing me.  So much cobblestone!

My dad is turning 75 tomorrow.  A milestone birthday, right?  So I'm sending him a 16x24 print of this shot I took back in October 5 2006.  I was hired by the Leukemia / Lymphoma Society to photograph their yearly Light The Night Walk.  I was fortunate enough to go in a helicopter and photograph the walk from above.  Manhattan is truly a magical city but it is mouth dropping from above, especially considering the fact that I was literally hanging out of the helicopter and telling the pilot were to go via a headset.  Being a photographer allows you to get access to some cool places but this was unbeatable.  I hope my dad likes it.

What can you say about David Bowie.  He is and always will be SO COOL!   Bowie was like the forth act at the 2002 Area 2 Tour August 13, 2002 at the Verizon Amphitheater in Ca,   He played before Moby and Busta Rhymes but still performed in daylight.  What a class act he was.  Perfectly put together with suit and tie.  He "perfectly" undid his tie after about three or four songs.  His one blue eye twinkling in the hot sun. Playing a sampling of his brilliant career.  Everything from "Ashes to Ashes" to "Ziggy Stardust".

I have started a new photo project called "Buskers".  Buskers is a British term for street performers who play for money.  I got the idea for the project when I was on the 2 train going uptown and I noticed a subway performer and the effect he had on the passengers.  When you ride a train we tend to be "guarded" and don't make eye contact or talk to much to each other.  When this guy finished his routine we all were talking to each other and smiling.  That really got me thinking about how these (mostly) guys make their living. Here is Evans Charles.  I just shot him last week.  Very cool guy.  It is amazing how we all have preconceived notions about people.  In doing this project I hope to show that you "can't read a book by it's cover".

 

Well, it's been a while since I posted to my blog.  Kinda new to me you know.  I opened a photo studio.  It's a great space located on Park Ave. South and 27th. which, if you're not familiar with Manhattan, is a prime location.  But, I did have to do a ton of work to it because it was vacant for ten years before me. If you can believe it!  From what I understand, it was a house of "ill repute" ten years ago. Nice back story, huh?

When I shot Ernie Hudson in 1997 it was for the cover of a magazine called Casting Call.   Ernie was very generous with his time and it was very interesting to talk with him.  I find that no matter what the success level of a performer is, which for Ernie Hudson was and is a very high level,  they are very driven to go further.  He spoke of how he wanted to be the "leading man".  Ernie Hudson remains at the top of his game today and continues to put out top notch work as a character actor in such movies as Leonardo Dicaprio's "The Basketball Diaries" and Rebecca DeMornay's "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle".  The Ernie Hudson headshot remains one of my favorite shots I have shot.

I am the photographer at an actor's studio called the Terry Schreiber Studio in New York.  TSS has accomplished actors, directors and playwrights speak to the students.  Mary Louise Parker spoke to a full house in the summer of 2006.  It is very fascinating to hear the process of actors.  She was very cool and passionate about her craft, she even went out for some drinks with some of the attendees afterward. 

Sarah Jessica Parker attended and spoke at a ceremony honoring Cynthia Nixon.  Sarah Jessica Parker was so humble and sweet .  Quite a feat considering her great success with Sex and the City.  All the press photographers were dying to shoot her.  She declined to walk the press line because she said she didn't want to take the spotlight from her friend Cynthia Nixon.  I was hired by the organizer so I had exclusive access to her.  By the way, she is so petite and non assuming.

Elton John live 1999 in Minnesota.  I grew up listening to Elton John.  When I shot  Elton John in concert I was blown away at his showmanship.  Decades of entertaining could have made him jaded to the experience but he was unbelievable.  When I  heard hit after hit like Your Song and Benny and the Jets it blew my mind .

Bono and U2 live in concert at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.  U2's stage show was amazing.  It was the U2 tour with the heart shaped stage that went into the audience.  Bono and The Edge have a true connection.   One of the better shows that I have shot.