Working on some more site maintenance. If there are empty links or otherwise broken looking items, it’s in the works of getting fixed and updated.

I also will have a few new galleries up for viewing and after this weekend there should be 4 or 5 new posts up.

Stay Tuned!

Every once in awhile I have ideas. Splendid ideas that occasionally lead to splendidlier? results of those ideas. This spans most facets of my life. It wasn’t but two weeks ago that I decided to take on the monster 2ft long hotdog at Doogie’s on the Berlin Tpike in Newington, CT. It was as tasty as it looks. =)

9 years ago I had a dream. The dream centered around what would later turn into partially this site, partially into other ventures, but fully into regaining my lost appreciation for the things that make me, ME. For the longest time I’ve wanted to live by my talents, using the gifts I’ve been graced with to enjoy all of the remaining days I have left on this earth. I find it an absolute shame that I, and many others, get caught in a trap of constant regrets about “what could have been” or “if only this happened I could have…”. It’s easy to make excuses for yourself as well, getting tripped up by even the smallest of pebbles on the way, getting beaten down by the barrage of competitors to your time, passions, and happiness.

What does any of this have to do with photography, portraits, weddings, 2ft long hotdogs? Well, everything.

As I said, it was 9 years ago that I had a dream and that dream was the beginning of what will one day become a completed memoir. A collection of the fabulous stories that I’ve had the privilege to be a part of. These stories needed a little visual representation to go with them. A little POP to get the words off the page. I started out with an idea, and that idea turned into a touchstone to a future. A future that I’m planning on grabbing a hold of and taking control of. A future where YOU, the reader, go from simply being an observer of my photographic musings, to the starring role in the telling of your own stories.

Although without any context these images may just seem like I had some fun playing in the studio one day, they are little glimpses into my life outside the viewfinder of my camera.

Maybe they will inspire you to take hold and strive back to the dreams you’ve left unrealized.

This little mix of photos is graced by NUMBER 1 on the Top Ten Photos list! This post feels honored…

You may remember one of the participants for this family photo session from an earlier shoot. When Caitlin showed the results from her session with Anna, her mom called me up and requested I come out and take some photos of the whole family at their house in Naugatuck, CT. Aurora, Caitlin, Olivia, and Noah did a fantastic job during the session.

During this session we stuck to a more traditional style, but I made sure to get a few shots out of the normal family portrait photos. This was one of my first sessions with a toddler and boy did I get some on the job training in a hurry. Controlled chaos would be a good way of describing photography with small children. The number one lesson I walked away with from this session is to make the most out of the moments you can capture. It would be wonderful if I could dictate the situation down to the most specific of details every time I go out to shoot, but the reality is that some of the best moments are those that are unplanned and captured in that spontaneous moment before they vanish forever.

Besides being a lover of quotes from hysterical movies (check the title), I happen to be an even bigger lover of nature. Mostly. Okay, I’m not a huge fan of nature as a whole, but I do love me some birds, bugs and..uhh…something else that starts with a “B” and deals with nature.

My fascination with the wild started almost the same time my love for photography did. I remember quite clearly that the Nintendo game The Legend of Zelda II – The Adventure of Link, sparked my desire to “explore” the woods behind my house. I remember collecting little clumps of dirt that would explode in a cloud of brown dust upon striking a tree. Then there was the endless forked sticks that looked like swords that I would wield against the evil minions known as “Thick Stalk Weeds” and “Pricker Bush of Doom”. I had an entertaining childhood to say the least.

Once I grew a little older and I was a bit more mobile I started to roller skate. Lucky for me, The Farmington Canal Trail was built shortly afterward and I would strap on my skates and do laps up and down day after day. One of my trips brought me to the Cheshire/Hamden town border and I spent the afternoon hanging out around Brooksvale Park. It’s a small park that has a working farm and a little pond on the property. It’s a great spot for just hanging out or getting some needed inspiration for artistic endeavors. It’s also the place where i first stumbled upon a real life peacock. I was a happy camper that day.

Brooksvale Park yielded me Picture #2 on the top 10 favorite picture list!

I have a man crush on Adam Richman. There, I said it. If there was ever a job I would be perfect for, his show Man Vs Food is at the very top of the list. Traveling, acting, eating…It’s a smorgasbord of just down right delight.

I’ve had a love affair with food since I was a wee small lad. My mom used to warn all my friend’s parents that I had a large appetite before staying over their house for dinner. Upon returning me to my mother they would inevitably comment that they have never seen a 10 year old devour the amount of food I did. I wasn’t picky either. If it occupied a plate, I was usually interested. The only foods I’ve continued to shy away from are olives and canned tuna. Just about everything else is open season to be enjoyed.

In my spare time, I run a fun little site called Connecticut Digested. I have equally big plans during my down time to bring the residents of Connecticut a revolving list of the best and brightest places to visit in Connecticut.

G’s Burgers is a fairly new restaurant on the border of Waterbury and Watertown. It’s a smallish space, but they pack quite the punch when it comes to their food. Always fresh beef, toasted hamburger buns, good fries, and a condiment list that rocks my socks. If you get a chance, I’d highly recommend a visit!

It’s a Saturday afternoon and I have a hankering, no, a craving for some good BBQ. Sadly, I live in Connecticut, an area of the country not well known for it’s high concentration of quality BBQ joints.

I make a proposition to my girlfriend.

“Honey, I have an awesome idea for this weekend. How about we get on a plane and go down to Austin, TX and do a BBQ run! Trust me it will be the tastiest $189 round trip ticket you will ever find west of the Mississippi.”

I think a simple no would have sufficed, but the response of “you’re joking right? That’s seriously the dumbest thing I’ve heard come out of your mouth” had a bite to it, a smokey type bite. I was obsessed at that point, I needed some good brisket or a pulled pork sandwich.

Even though my vision was clouded with 15ft long smokers filled with sausage, beef, and pork, I remembered a few months prior my good friend Tim had brought me out to a little slice of BBQ heaven.

SouthernQueBarBQ was going to be the place to satisfy my longing for the delicacy that is a perfect plate of Southern BBQ.

Located on a side street near downtown Meriden, driving up to SouthernQue the first time left me a bit, wary would be quite the perfect word. I fully trusted my friend Tim’s choice of restaurants as we have uncovered quite a few gems in our travels, but this one was pushing my limits of believability. The service area, cooking area and seating area are all located about 15 paces from the road in a quaint trailer remodeled into a shrine to the art of BBQ. The seating area is nothing more than a few old fashioned picnic tables and some blues music piped through outdoor speakers.

I shot my friend Tim an incredulous look. He shot me one back that tried to assuage my worry, to trust that while it may not look like a fine dining establishment, the food is second to none.

I settled up to the picnic table with a plate of baked beans and a pulled pork sandwich topped with coleslaw, a specialty of SouthernQue’s. On the outside, things were looking good, but my taste buds would be the final judge of the matter.

With the first bite into the pulled pork sandwich, all of my worries melted away with each tangy taste of BBQ sauce and each crunch of perfectly mixed coleslaw. I managed a few grunts of approval towards Tim whose mouth was too stuffed to give me anything but a head nod in return. With each bite, I was slowly realizing that all of the glitz and the glamor that many restaurants use to draw you in, masks the fact that their food is of sub-par quality to establishments that take care and pride in what they serve to their customers.

An unassuming trailer on a back road in Meriden, had just put before me a plate of some of the best BBQ I’ve had to date.

Back to the present, I had just taken the right hand turn onto Pomeroy Ave and I was already salivating like a well trained Pavlovian Dog. One of the best BBQ eateries in Connecticut was right around the bend.

SouthernQue BBQ brought out Number 5 on the Top Ten Photo list!

Everyone needs inspiration for the creative works they do. I try and draw from all sorts of mediums to come up with the concepts and “look” I try to impart in my photography. One of my favorite people to draw from is none other than Charles Bukowski. Who is Bukowski, aka Hank Chinaski? His written works span from short stories to poetry to some powerful novels.

I won’t sit here and write a short biography of his life as you can do a little Googling and find more than I can ever convey here, but in short, he was a master of the written word. A habitual drinker. A lover of women, stockings and thick thighs. The first disgruntled postal worker, and a self proclaimed King of the Horse Players.

I had the chance to shoot a boudoir session with a look through the lens of Bukowski. Karen, my VALD, assistant, partner, and biggest supporter (who will be referenced from now on as The Duchess of Fstopdown) helped me bring alive a project that had been a long time in the making. We actually met over a shared love of Bukowski so it was only fitting a photo session with both of us would incorporate a little love for one of our favorite authors.

I didn’t want to just shoot a boudoir session in the classical sense, what I really wanted to shoot was a style that wasn’t my own, but instead what someone might have found if Bukowski himself had taken my camera and snapped off a few rolls of film.

The shoot was a success.

It’s an idea I hope to replicate for some other willing participants. Bringing something from their life into a session that combines the reality of life and the naughty of seduction.

I’m sure this won’t be the last time.

This set blessed me with Picture #3 on the all time favorite photo list.

I have a secret…I have a lover. Her name is The Beach. I can’t stay away from her longer than a week or two. I always try and treat her like the vixen she is. I have yet to find a mistress who provides me with the feelings Miss Beach does. I could spend days in her company and never once complain that my level of comfort is waning. I’m smitten.

The Duchess of Fstopdown accompanied me to the beach on a fine Saturday afternoon. Although I would have been happier if we had ended up with our feet in the sands of Misquamicut, RI, we settled in at Hammonasset Beach in Connecticut for a day of sun bathing, people watching, book reading, and a nice sun splayed nap.

As it got towards “The Golden Hour”, I whipped out the camera and started to take a few snapshots of my beach partner. Although usually open to my photographic advances, The Duchess was hardly in the mood today. I think the word Diva was uttered a few times. I pressed her and with a little humor and some reassuring words, I got a few snaps I was happy with.

I attempted, for the first time this past 4th of July, to capture some “good” shots of the fireworks. During most years, the photographic efforts of random point and shoot cameras were slightly lacking. Camera shake, high noise, over blasted flash. It’s a nightmare shooting with a capable camera in near darkness let alone trying to time the light bursts and have the frame end up in focus with less than adequate equipment.

It was challenging, but at the same time a good amount of fun.

4th of July 2010 in Connecticut. That’s going to be a good time of year for me. I’m planning a series of firework spectacular photo shoots at some of the premiere firework shows in Connecticut. I have a better understanding of what it takes to get a good photo in these conditions and an even better range of gear to use this time out. I’m looking forward to some dazzling photos in a few months!

For now, I hope you find some of these to be a satisfying morsel before the main course is served a little later this year.

I remember my first ever baseball game. It of course was at the original House That Ruth Built, my family being of Italian descent and within close proximity to New York. I believe I was either 9 or 10 years old. It was a day out with my grandfather and my dad. It wasn’t often during my childhood I was enjoying the company of extended family members, but there is something special being the baby in the company of the three generations of Russo’s out at a ballgame on a nice spring afternoon.

I remember the oiled up first baseman’s mitt I brought to the game to try and catch a foul ball from my favorite player at the time, Don Mattingly. They were playing the Royals and it started a streak of 6 straight games at Yankee Stadium I was present for that ended in the Yankees winning.

Flash forward to 2009.

The closing of Yankee Stadium and the grand re-opening of the new stadium brought me back into New York for a evening game against a HOT Tampa Bay Rays team. I brought along my work buddy Mr. Choy Hin and we had a good time watching a battle of a game. There was a little of everything on this night. Swisher getting the boot, a rain delay, a guy getting trampled by the tarp during the rain delay, a comeback to send the game into extras, and sadly the Yankees losing it in the tenth off a home run.

This game ended my Yankee game winning streak, but winning a championship later on in the year, well, I guess it was worth the loss for one night.

Picture #6 in my favorite pictures of all time was taken at this game!