Just a few more quick shots from our shoot almost a month ago! I’ve been buried with work, and wanted to take my time…so here we now begin. Great job Kiddo! You’re a Natural, and I bet you Mom & Dad are smiling from ear to ear…….LOTS more to come very soon, so stay tuned!
A Big Shout-Out to Cassie Cavanaugh for the GREAT job that she did in adding/painting native Horseheads Artist Eugene “Zim” Zimmerman’s Iconic Three Horses Welcome Sign onto the North/East Wall of my 211 Studio Building on North Main Street. Cassie’s Art Class at HHS recently completed re-creating this sign that now hangs on the Horseheads Historical Society Museum RR Station/Building, and after I saw it there, I knew that I wanted one on my Studio! It just works so perfectly, as you see this neat welcome sign as you approach the Historic Hanover Square Business District from the North. Great Job Cassie! And THANK YOU So Much for your Time & Talent Cassie!
With less than two weeks remaining till my first 2016 Wedding, the Wintertime Work Wish List is almost complete:
All Inclusive Winter/Spring Cleaning – Almost DONE!
New Color Scheme Painting & Layout of Studio Framing & Gear Room – DONE
New, Clean Energy Efficient LED Lighting Installed, Inside & Out – DONE
New Outside Artwork Illumination Installed and Looking GREAT – Check it out the next time you’re driving by at night!
And with all that completed before the Wedding Work begins, I actually had some time to dig through the archives of old shoots from a few years ago that I really liked but never did a lot with, and worked a little of my Post Shoot Processing Magic, and I think they came out Pretty Sweet! So what do you think?
Models, lines are open, and operators are taking your booking calls now!!!
Hopefully now Spring is just around the corner, and soon we’ll finally be able to get outside once more for some fun outdoor shooting. I know that I’m known best for my Wedding and Sports Images, and on occasion each season I really like to kick it up a notch, get down & dirty & play “Grunge & Glamour Fashion Fotographer!” And for sure, these aren’t those Cheesy “Old Lady Glamour Shots” that your Mother had done! What better gift for that favorite guy in your life than a Sexy, Personal, One of a Kind Photo Session where you can really let loose & show Him & The World Who You REALLY ARE! Bring along your Best Girlfriend to cheer you on and help make sure that your hair and makeup look Absolutely Amazing! Live a Little, Let Loose and Have Some Fun for a Change! Contact Me Today and Tell Me what YOUR Modeling Fantasy will look like!!!
The other day I saw some Facebook Friends & past Wedding Couple, post some shots of a new painting scheme that they have underway, and the bold butterscotch color they were applying. Yeah, it was a little brighter than most people would use, but then…..why have Zillions of colors of Paint if no one uses them? With that being said, before Wedding Season hits this spring, I had some spare time and just finished repainting my Equipment/Gear Storage & Framing Room….which remained in the Bright Pink color scheme of my previous Studio Partner Maria Strinni, even after she moved out of the area. Just didn’t have the time or desire to change it all up again. Well, times have changed….and this room is MINE Now! So what do you think? Purple Frenzy with Lime Burst! Bright Enough for you?? Even Purple Filing Cabinets!!!!
I LOVE IT!
On this February evening, with temperatures already plunging well below zero, let’s imagine a hot & humid August 2, 1941 afternoon a long, long time ago. It’s that lazy & carefree time, just months before the U.S. entered W.W.II after the attack on Pearl Harbor. We’re just across the busy main line of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad at Eldridge Park in Elmira, NY, on a Sunny Saturday afternoon enjoying our Annual Outing as an employee of the Elmira Knitting Mills, who’s former building was just burned to the ground in a massive, multiple alarm warehouse fire on January 31, 2016.
Here is my Photographic Composite & Photoshop rendering of the Official Outing Photograph, shot 75 years ago, by Personius Studio of Elmira, and the Photoshop re-rendering by me. The print is so wide that in order to capture all of the original detail I had to shoot it in 7 different sections, which I then had to seamlessly paste & blend together.
Take a close look at all of these ghostly faces. The Big Boss in his woolen three piece suit complete with pocket watch & chain, with all of his underling “Yes-Men” sitting close-by. Then, the ladies, with their bobby socks & saddle shoes, and those ’40’s dresses & hair styles (just like my mom wore!) Then there are the young men captured here. How many of these young boys would soon be fighting in Europe or the South Pacific? If any of these people are still alive, even the young children seen in this picture, they would be at least 80-85 years old today. And then look deeper into the park background…..after spending nearly every single Sunday afternoon at the park myself as a young boy growing up in the ’60’s I still vaguely remember those outing buildings, and that yellow, cinder block restroom building up on a hill, poised above the rest of the parks amusements. Then there are all of those long gone, mighty trees that covered this area of the park with a dark, cool blanket of shade on these brilliant afternoons. I can almost smell the steamed clams, hot dogs, and beers in the air!
Let me know if you recognize or know any of the faces seen here….I’d love to know! I already had a childhood friend identify his Mom as one of the ladies sewing in one of my earlier images of activity at the mill.
*Make certain that you click on the picture a couple of times to pop it open to full size, and then use the slider at the bottom of the page to view the entire length of this massive print! It’s over 72 INCHES LONG!!!
So it’s Cassie & my old buddy Matt’s Wedding Day.
I’m shooting the ladies through the early afternoon as they are getting ready at a local winery, and I have to meet Matt & his guys down in Downtown Watkins Glen on The Pier @ 2:30 to do our shots of the guys along the Watkins Harbor. I’m halfway there when Matt calls me and says “Watkins is just Nuts!” It’s the Cardboard Boat Regatta in full force, and traffic is barely moving. Parking spots? Good luck there! People ALL OVER EVERYWHERE! Our Pier idea is toast. OK……so this is where I’m Really, Really Good! Improvising! Creating Something out of Nothing!
As I’m driving, I remember that I just passed this great old, beat to hell cottage/farmhouse that I have passed a million times while heading up the lake to other Weddings. So I tell Matt to meet me there with the guys, and we’ll do our shoot right there. So the Boys arrive, and while getting out of their cars they all give me “THE LOOK”. I’ve seen it a Million times! Whenever I take clients to spots that I just know will be killer backgrounds, they ALWAYS give me this “LOOK” of total disbelief! “WTH are we going to do here” they always ask? This time they were also worried that the place was going to collapse on all of us! “So when exactly did the Beverly Hillbillies move out?” someone asked…lol and I’m chuckling all the while.
“Trust Me Boys! Just Trust Me!”….when you finally see what I’m creating here….you’ll ALL be telling me what a Camera God I TRULY AM! Like my hero David Letterman always says…..”There’s NO OFF POSITION on the GENIUS SWITCH!”
So Gentlemen……….What do you think now?
You’re Welcome!!!!
The Muti-Talented Virgil Cain @ Tonight’s Music & Margaritas Party on the Terrace @ The Rockwell Museum. 06.24.15
