Pix of the Week.

When it comes to street photography I rarely know what pictures I'm going to make ahead of time. It can get pretty boring and diminish the unpolished and unique view of one's personal perspective when one knows the end result of an image. The beauty of photography is that at times it can allow one to let their inner true self, or subconscious out in the open. Whether you're aware of it or not, it's a direct connection to the mind's eye just below the surface of consciousness. In being conscious of what's right in front of you and keeping an open mind one can stay in touch with ones own sense of creative self expression. I have found this works best when one does not hesitate at all to pull the trigger when they feel something interesting is happening or is about to happen. Being completely free from any sense of result and it the same time being completely aware of the present moment is when the magic happens.

Facebook Creates new photo viewer

Recent Facebook Changes Are Bad For Professional Photographers

Facebook announced and new photo viewer that they’re rolling out for all their users in the next couple weeks that allows you to upload 2048 pixel wide images to your page. That’s an 8 time increase over the old 720 pixel limit and seems like a boon to professional photographers who use FB to connect with their clients. The viewer also provides a nice way to page through an album of images.

Inexplicably they’ve decided to include a link on all the images that allows users to download the high res image. This seems like it would be something you could turn off as I could not imagine a professional photographer wanting to allow viewers the ability to download the images but there’s no setting in the privacy controls.

If that’s not bad enough one of my readers (Marco Aurelio) alerted me to a change to the business pages (here) that now prevents you from placing links, photos, albums and video albums on the front of any Facebook page. Additionally the header images, now front and center, are chosen at random.

Don't play around on Craig's list.

New York Congressman Resigns Over Shirtless Photo

By RAYMOND HERNANDEZ

Representative Chris Lee of New York, caught in the midst of a scandal involving a shirtless photo he reportedly sent to a woman on the Internet, has stepped down, according to a senior Congressional official.

Mr. Lee, a Republican, notified the Republican Speaker of the House of his decision in a letter he sent this afternoon after the scandal erupted.

Mr. Lee’s office released a statement late Wednesday in which the he asks for forgiveness. “I regret the harm that my actions have caused my family, my staff and my constituents,’’ he said. “I deeply and sincerely apologize to them all. I have made profound mistakes and I promise to work as hard as I can to seek their forgiveness.’’

Mr. Lee won his district, located in the western New York region, in 2008, when he ran in place of Thomas Reynolds, who announced his retirement.

Last year, another New York Congressman, Eric J. Massa, a Democrat, resigned amid accusations that he had groped a male aide.

Mr. Lee’s decision to step down came after a photo of him without a shirt appeared on Gawker along with e-mails exchanges that reportedly took place between him and a woman who had placed a personal notice in the “women seeking men” section of Craigslist.

In one of the e-mails, Mr. Lee describes himself as a lobbyist who is a “fit fun, classy guy.”

Mr. Lee also tells the woman that he is divorced.

When the woman asks him if he routinely sends shirtless photos of himself, Mr. Lee responds, “Sorry, it’s all I had.”

Sunset Run.

Here are three images from a set I recently shot this fall. I love the overall tone quality in these images. Colorado skies at sunset are amazing are rarely disappoint. These images were shot during a scout for a upcoming stock shoot I was producing, but the light and the model looked so great I decide to submit these images to Getty. I look forward to getting back to this location this Spring when the snow finally stops.

On my way to Salt Lake.

A quick trip to the mountains last week to spend sometime with my brother. Attached is a quick video I put together of our ski trip together. We had great weather and good conditions. My brother, the Doctor in the family, works extremely hard in the health care industry and it was a lot of fun to get out on the hill with him for a few days and let it rip. A big thanks to good old Dad for teaching us to ski as soon as we could stand. The sport has given us a lot of good memories.

Corporate Shoot.

I think Arthur Miller said it wonderfully through his character Willie Loman in Death of A Salesman, “The man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates a personal interest, is the man who gets ahead. Be liked and you will never want.”

Model Test

This is an image I produced at the end of last year for a modeling agency client. I love the look of the natural light, and the soft muted color pallet. I look forward to creating a nice editorial story with this look and feel this winter.