divatography

I guess you could say it’s been busy!

divatog — Thu, 09 May 2013 20:19:38 +0000

Wow – things kind of went nuts here this spring! So busy singing, teaching and shooting that blogging has taken a back seat. Those are good reasons to fall behind though, right?!

The amazing thing to me is that even within the context of “singers” – and these are all singers – the shoots were all so different! I’m hoping for a bit of time coming up when I can maybe blog each of these fabulous sessions individually, but for now, here’s a sampler of what I’ve been up to……

From young singers to young actors

divatog — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 04:25:36 +0000

One of my great pleasures is being asked to do headshots for an acting class every couple of years, and this was an especially delightful bunch of young’un’s! Our sessions were by necessity short, but it was an absolute blast working through so many different looks (and people!) in a relatively short period. It’s really a lot of fun to chat with these students, too- their energy and enthusiasm is 100% infectious, and it’s impossible not to enjoy it!

Happy Holidays!

divatog — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 18:19:28 +0000

I love “young artists”

divatog — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 03:29:43 +0000

By typing that header, I have officially made myself feel old!! However, given that in my singing life I have been past the upper age limit for “Young Artist Programs” for {cough} just a few years now, I’m allowed to say it, with the greatest of respect and affection. From my perspective of jaded antiquity (since anybody over 30 in Operaland is no longer really considered a “YA” any more!), I get to love these guys, their enthusiasm and their motivation. It’s a really cool time in a young singer’s life – you have enough technique and experience to get hired, but everything is still new and exciting; not that those of us a little further along the path don’t find it exciting, but it is different than those magical “first experience” professional years. Best of all, as a photographer, I get to enjoy it all over again from an entirely different perspective – how cool is that?!

For the non-opera-singers (or non-American opera-singers) reading, Young Artist Programs – or “YAPs” as they’re more commonly called – are pretty much a rite-of-passage on the US operatic landscape: designed as opportunities to help students and emerging artists cross over from advanced student into the professional world, they’re essentially internships for singers; they might understudy a role, sing chorus, or even perform a “mainstage” role. Getting accepted into one of these programs is the goal of most young singers; it’s not only for the resume credit and prestige, but these gigs usually come with lots of coaching, lessons, stagecraft training, and myriad other educational opportunities. And, unlike many other things in the musical world, they’re paid!

I’ve had a run of shoots with folks gearing up for this year’s round of applications and auditions – fall is “the season” for opera singers, culminating with a couple of weeks of intense activity right around Thanksgiving as the out-of-town companies descend on New York city to hear all the young talent they can. Each of these sessions was an absolute pleasure and I can only hope they had as much fun as I did!

The most interesting opera company in the world….

divatog — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 14:58:36 +0000

How much do I love my friends over at Baltimore Concert Opera? Not only did they rise to the challenge of keeping opera alive in Baltimore in 2009 after the local Great Recession meltdown, but they are about as much fun as it’s possible to have on the job. Anybody who thinks opera is old-fashioned, formal and restrictive has clearly never worked with them! I LOVE these people – both as singer and photographer (I’m proud to have worked with them in both capacities)- and their inventive approach to opera never fails to impress me.

They asked me to come along and help them out with the campaign for their upcoming Cosi fan tutte (check it out!).

“I don’t often wear a fake mustache, but when I do, I prefer to seduce my fiancee’s sister…”.

I feel sure that Mozart would approve heartily….

Head on over to their Facebook page and show ‘em some love – and if you’re in town, check out the performances. Great singers and great music in the beautiful setting of the Garrett Jacobs Mansion in downtown Baltimore.

The apple falls not far….

divatog — Sun, 17 Jun 2012 13:14:48 +0000

I was delighted when my friend and colleague H. contacted me about taking some pictures of her absolutely adorable little girl as a father’s day gift for her husband. W. is a bright, giggling, sunny personality just like her mom and we couldn’t have had any more fun than we did!

We were crossing our fingers for the weather – we’d had days of change-every-five-minutes bright sun and rain, and weren’t sure what we’d get. Fortunately, the rain held off until right as we were wrapping up….

They had brought some beautiful roses with them:

To say that Miss W. has her talented Mom’s range of expressions is an understatement (I believe we were all singing at this point – we did a lot of singing

And they couldn’t be cuter when they’re together – what a wonderful Mom + Daughter relationship these two have!

We finished up running around the park for a while – what little girl wouldn’t want to put on her Rapunzel dress and twirl?

Sunny headshot session

divatog — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 01:55:29 +0000

Every year it’s the same: in midwinter it’s impossible to really imagine the heat, and now, looking back at January’s posts, it’s hard to remember the snow! We’ve definitely had some pretty weirdly out of season weather this year, although we did get our usual first-week-of-June heatwave right on schedule. Despite the blazing heat – it was bright, sunny, and well into the 90′s by 8.30am - C & I had an AWESOME time with this shoot right after Memorial Day.

C. swears his experience has all been onstage and that he’s never had worked in front of the camera, but he’s an absolute natural!! “Matinee idol” looks + instinctively knows how to work the lens + one of the nicest guys in town = wonderful morning of shooting.

We started outside before the sun got too high in the sky.

After a while, we decided to move indoors – warm wood and stained glass made for awesome light! C also has a fabulous and infectious laugh – I’m so glad I managed to catch him in the middle of one!

Additionally, the indoor location gave us a chance to get some piano shots; while C. is first and foremost a singer, he’s also a talented pianist and wanted some shots to use when he’s functioning in that capacity as well.

As always, I couldn’t resist some fun(ky) processing for at least one shot….

I say, I say, I say….

divatog — Tue, 29 May 2012 01:23:42 +0000

So what happens when three super-talented guys put their heads together to build a concert around music-hall and vaudeville? Photographic fun, that’s what!

These three characters needed promo shots for their forthcoming program, but were on a super-tight deadline when they asked me if I could whip something up for them. Amazingly, despite the holiday weekend we found a time we could all do, so armed with bowler hats, bowties, banjoleles and a sense of fun, we met up and had a blast!

More details about this gig once details are released – they spontaneously started jamming for a little while near the end of our shoot, and I can tell you that this will be one you do NOT want to miss!!

More spring fun!

divatog — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 03:29:57 +0000

I was excited when L contacted me to talk about doing some headshots – I’d done a shoot with her, her husband, and their absolutely adorable baby daughter last year (who, by the way, has exactly the same enormous, magnificently navy-blue eyes as her mom) and I knew we’d have a great time. The weather has been unseasonably warm and we had an absolute blast outside in the spring sun (which even cooperated by being jusssst cloudy enough until late afternoon to make for great photographic light

There was a blue theme for some of the shoot (could anybody resist those eyes?). We had fun playing with a nearby wrought-iron porch, too; I couldn’t resist getting a bit artsy but just loved all those grapevine scrolls and swirls!

I admit it – I absolutely love “Revlon Red” whether as lipstick, dress, shoes or any other adornment. So you can imagine my delight when I saw the dress L had brought with her – our makeup artist loved it too! We were thrilled to see how well it set off her flawless (did I say flawless?) complexion and made those blue eyes even bluer! (I swear this isn’t photoshop or contact lens magic – her eyes really are the most incredible shade of blue I think I’ve ever seen!)

And since I love black and white, and had a blast playing around with some retro-style processing, one more just for fun:

Spring in the air….

divatog — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 15:25:06 +0000

One of the best parts about being an opera singer shooting opera singers is that I get to hang out with my friends and play dress up! N. is a wonderful soprano – we’ve sung together many times, and always had an absolute blast, so it was no surprise that our shoot last week should be equally fun.

She wanted a new “traditional” headshot, so we started with those. Her own foyer provided the gorgeous light for the indoor shots – I want her house for a studio (or at least her Magic Light Entrance Hall)! And is that hair gorgeous or what?

N had decided she wanted to do lots of outdoor shots, so we found loads of nooks and crannies in the beautiful Bolton Hill district – it’s such a gorgeous historic neighbourhood, with hidden little parks and beautiful architecture that are a photographer’s dream. Add to that the most perfect spring day – warm and bright, but not hot – and we couldn’t really go wrong, especially with her in that gorgeous gown!

Anybody who has spent 5 minutes with N knows that she smiles. A lot. And has one of the most infectious laughs you have ever seen! This outtake may be one of my favorites of the day – I love it!