Baltimore woman Sheontay Smith, 27, is on a waiting list for subsidized child care. She is photographed Tuesday, December 6, 2011 in the Southwest neighborhood of Baltimore “Sowebo” where she works as an inspection scheduler for the Baltimore Housing Authority. Day care for her three-year-old is $520 a month, her second highest monthly expense next to rent. She could apply for child care assistance if she didn’t have a job.

The New York Times story, which outlines the frustrating reality of raising a kid by a single working mom, is here.

One of the tough parts of making these portraits is that they were during her lunch hour. Ideally I would’ve gotten her at least getting her son ready for school in the morning, but, for some reason, that wasn’t feasible. We also couldn’t make pictures in her office. So, we just walked around the block. I felt bad because Sheontay — a pretty attractive woman — would get hollered at. “Damn Girl! You a model?!?” I know my camera and I didn’t help. Sheontay took it all in stride, though. 

Sally Carle, an interior designer and home organizer from Bethesda, Maryland demonstrates how to thoroughly clean a toilet, Sunday, December 4, 2011. Aside from a minimal amount of bleach, she uses all green products.

I made this wacky wacky photo shoot for a fun story the New York Times did on Extreme Cleaners.

Sally’s a regular germ-slayer!“Blue is for the loo. Pink is for the sink.”Aside from a minimal amount of bleach, she uses all green products, like toilet paper made from recycled material and Seventh Generation cleaner.

This photo even made it onto the New York Time’s home page for a bit!

Kal Penn, actor and former Associate Director in the White House Office of Public Engagement, is photographed in a neighborhood of northwestern D.C. Tuesday, November 8, 2011.

I got to meet a movie star a few weeks ago! Kal Penn!

Some of you might know him as Kumar, Dr. Lawrence Kutner, or Gogol from The Namesake.

…but I imagine his White House security badge said Kalpen Modi, his birth name.

The New York Times profile paints him as a modest, hard worker. Kinda the opposite of a Hollywood stereotype. I’ll be honest, I was charmed.

It’s always good to find common ground with subjects, but I was a little trepidatious to bring up the Harold & Kumar movies. I assume it’s a point of exhaustion for him, but I couldn’t help it. I’m genuinely excited to see the third movie. I also said I was rooting for his character on House. But we went on to talk about other stuff, too, like how uninspiring the food at the White House cafeteria is, how he’s barely experienced life in DC because he’s always working, and, of course, really good bad movies.

ABC News Senior Foreign Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz sits in her office at the ABC Washington DC Bureau Thursday, October 13, 2011.

Martha is a super cool person. When we were setting up the shoot for a New York Times profile, she wanted to know what I was thinking for the shoot. So, I threw out a few ideas, then she paused and asked: would you be interested in doing the shoot by a Blackhawk helicopter?

Me: YEESSSSS!!!!

She knows a guy, of course.

And in true Murphy’s Law fashion, it was drizzling the day of the shoot. It’s hard to look attractive, professional, and well put together when damp. Am I right? So, unfortunately, we nixed the helicopter shoot last minute. Lucky for me, she has an absolutely gorgeous office AND a sense of adventure. So, when I asked if she wanted to continue the shoot on the roof, her eyes got wide: Yes! I’ve never been up there!

She calls the operations manager and next thing we know, we’re on top of the world!!!!

…errr, the ABC building in DC.

On our way back down, she noticed these cool reflections and walked out into the shallow water.

Me: Oooooh! can we take some more photos here?

Martha: Duh!

…okay, she didn’t say “duh,” but she was super-into the idea.

This was definitely one of the most fun portrait shoots I’ve had this year.

Brooklyn couple Jason Feifer, and Jen Miller, both 31, married at the Fairmont Hotel in Washington D.C. Saturday, October 29, 2011. After signing the Ketubah, a Jewish wedding contract, the couple gathered in the Farimont’s lobby with the wedding party and their parents minutes before getting married.

I shot a wedding for the New York Times! …weird, right?

Well, I guess it’s not that weird if you’re an avid Vows reader. And, let me tell you, I met a few during the shoot. They were soooo excited to see me. Which, to be honest, I wasn’t expecting. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed being “the photographer from the Times.”

But not to misrepresent myself, I let everyone know I’m a freelancer. It irks me when photographers try to pass as staffers when they’re not.

Jason and Jen are a writerly couple. I love this quote from the story: “He used a semicolon correctly; that was reason enough to get a drink with him.”

Jason is an editor at Fast Company, and in May Jen will have her 2nd book (first novel), The Year of the Gadfly, published. They’re both freelance journalists, too. So, of course, their vows were amazing. They made us laugh — like a lot! And because it’s a wedding, people were crying, too. Not me, though. I’m tuff!

To emphasize their love of books, each table was adorned with hardback copies of their favorite authors.

The “I do” kiss.

The flowers are Jen’s homage to the country wedding she daydreamed about.

Jen shows her brother Danny Miller a few dance steps. Where he lacked in dance floor grace, he absolutely made up for in his speech. He absolutely slayed! 

Who doesn’t love a good Hora?

Jason’s parents Roy and Barbara get hoisted, too.

Miller family patriarch Aaron Miller, left, is hugs his family, Lindsay, his wife, Danny, his son, and his newly married daughter Jen. She’s covered up by her taller dad & brother.

Jason Feifer and Jen Miller show off the silver knife from Tiffany, wedding gift from Jen’s maid of honor and best friend Risa Berkower. According to Jen, Risa and her mother are amazing cooks who often hosted dinners and celebrated jewish holidays at her home. Before cutting the cake, Jen made a comment about Risa’s gift being “aspirational,” hoping “one day I might bake a cake as well as Risa and her mom.”

Personally, I love this little moment. Who doesn’t love a little icing on their fingers?

This was a really cool wedding, but to make things even cooler, was that Jason’s mom Barbara will forever share her birthday with their anniversary! She turned 60! Doesn’t she look great?

hahaha! In the spirit of Halloween, the wedding party surprised guests with a choreographed rendition of Michael Jackson’s Thriller!!!

Jason even found a rad, creepy zombie mask to wear. This is him pulling off a spin. One of the things Jen’s brother said to close out his hilarious, sarcastic, sardonic speech resonated with me. He quoted someone — I think a family member — who said “Never marry someone you love. Marry someone you like.” But he went on to acknowledge that Jen and Jason are that rare combination who both love and like each other. And if there’s one thing that struck me about this couple — who met on OK Cupid — is that they operate like a team. I agree with Danny. Jen and Jason are a good model of friends in love. Hats off!

their twitter:

Jason: @heyfeifer

Jen: @propjen

Oh! I know you wanna see more photos from their wedding! Click here to see 60 more photos. You can buy prints from there, too!

Brian Beutler, reporter with Talking Points Memo, and Dave Weigel’s (seen below) roommate, works at Sticky Fingers Bakery in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington DC Friday, March 4, 2011.
Brian Beutler is part of a friend group comprised of increasingly influential DC political journalists and bloggers.

These are some photos from a super fun assignment I got from New York Times Fashion & Style editor Beth Bristow a little over a month ago. Here’s the article.

For the last year I’ve been making a concerted effort to produce images that I think are more INTRIGUING rather than explanatory.

My photo ego aside, I’ve found that the most effective published images are the ones that suck the reader into reading the article. …how many of you just said “duh?”

Lets be honest, paragraphs all look the same, right?.

…and so, photos operate like SUPER HEADLINES!

So while shooting and editing I try to make decisions based on how interesting the image will look IN THE NEWSPAPER. …or the magazine, or the website, or whatever the context.

The way I see it, literal photos — often the ones the word people love to choose — do a disservice to the readers AND to the writers. Seriously, how many times have you glazed over an article because the photo is boring?

But at the same time, you can’t just make crazy photos that don’t make any sense, they need to be grounded in the story’s context.

So, when I got this assignment I started realizing that I can tell a lot more about these writers’ personalities through their surroundings. — using the character of place (another theme I’ve been into these days).

Take Dave Weigel and Brian Beutler’s apartment, for instance. They live in, what I think can best be described as a bachelor pad. — yet, they’re increasingly influential  DC political pundits.

This crossroad of their lives — their nerdy (in a good way) lifestyle, intertwined with their rather serious life as young political wonks — is, I think, beautifully summarized by their home.

Is this an “amazing” photo of Dave Weigel? No. but in the context of the New York Times, under the right headline, I think this image would absolutely make people curious about the article.

I really trying to metaphorically show Dave Weigel’s big-deal job by having him strike a “stately” pose, while surrounded by the super-telling “dude” artifacts of his home-life.

I think it gives a humorous inside view into what kind of people Dave and Brian are. They’re super smart dudes. …and totally nerdy.

Dave, as an example of his nerdiness, often has a stack of graphic novels next to him (below) as a source of diversion and literary inspiration. Once he realizes his political writing becomes too boring, he likes to pick up something intrinsically interesting to get his word juices flowing.

…is the phrase “word juices flowing” kinda gross to anyone else? I’m gonna keep it in.

CAPTION: Staff writer for Slate and political commentator for MSNBC Dave Weigel, 29, writes a book review for his personal blog in the dining room of the DC apartment he shares with fellow young DC political pundit Brian Beutler. Weigel and Beutler live like stereotypical bachelors. In their living room comic books and collectable hardcovers decorate the shelves, a RockBand video game drum set hovers below Weigel’s flat screen TV, and their couches and chairs look like carryovers from a college apartment.

To contrast Dave and Brian, there’s Ezra Klein: arguably the “star” of the group.

I got to hang out with him at the Washington Post. Some of the best photos from his shoot is of him at his cubicle. — which I didn’t expect at all.

And then there’s poor Matt Yglesias… His shoot yielded some of my favorite images from the project. …unfortunately none of them made it to print. Space is finite, I guess.

And can we congratulate him on dropping a ton of weight? When I did some research on him before the shoot, all the photos of him showed him like 40 lbs heavier. He looks great!

CAPTION: Several months ago Washington DC political blogger with the Center for American Progress Matt Yglesias read that sitting at work all day is unhealthy. So now he does most of his writing atop a stack of books.

…so, below are some of the more interesting photos from my shoots. Some are obvious outtakes, like the one of Matt Yglesias below, but I still thing they’re interesting and, more important, somewhat telling of their personalities.

I had a really great time hanging out with these guys. They’re super nice and really accommodating.

As alwasy, thanks for reading and looking.

at Dave and Brian’s house. awesome!

and if, for some reason, you’re hungry for even more images here’s the gallery collection of extended outtakes.

Howard County Times girls soccer player of the year, Marriotts Ridge senior center midfielder Alex Price.

This was a big year for me. …2010 is my last year as a newspaper staffer.

In this post I’m showcasing the images that I think would easily be considered my “best” images from 2010. These are the images that will most likely help get me work in the future. They’re important for that reason — they’re hopefully testaments to my skill as a portrait and documentary photographer. I think when you look at these photos you’ll probably notice they rely pretty heavily on one visual aspect or another: DRAMATIC LIGHTING, VISUAL HUMOR, SIMPLE BEAUTY, OR SUBTLETY. Some are quirkier than others, but these are the images everyone will like.

I like them.

I like them a lot. But, I can’t help but think, that they’re all relatively safe images, too. There’s nothing daring about them. Personally, I love the “off moments” in life — and in pictures.

So, I’ve given this post a weirdo sibling. In that post I highlight the best images of what I affectionately call my “RUNTS.” They’re the ones that not everyone likes or gets. They’re the ones that fall short, when coupled with my “GOOD” work. Usually, they’re the “outs” when I get advice on an edit.

Having said that I’m extremely proud of THESE images — in this post. I don’t want you to think I’m discounting them. Like I said, I think they’re good.

2011 will be an interesting year. I’m on my own. hooray!!! …but I have to maintain and buy my own gear. Getting work is up to me. But I’m excited about that. Marketing is fun. I’ll finally get to work on projects I’m interested in, and I won’t get into fights with editors. “No” doesn’t cary as much gravity anymore. In my new life, editors are clients, not my bosses. I’m no longer an employee and that feels great! When the photos I like don’t run, it’s won’t feel personal or politically motivated anymore. …besides, I have a blog. So, they’ll be seen. AND I CAN RESELL THEM!!!

I don’t regret being a staffer. The Patuxent Publishing Company is one of the best photo papers around. And it was an amazing bootcamp. …but it was better when I started there. We had a bigger staff, more leadership support, more money, more space. Heck! We ran photo essays weekly — sometimes 2-3! But times have changed — DRASTICALLY for newspapers. …and for me.

So. lets celebrate this new beginning with my best photos from 2010. Thanks so much for looking.

Wilde Lake senior linebacker E.J. Gilman, the 2010 football Defensive Player of the Year, helped lead the Wildecats to a State Championship.

Dinosaurs seemingly try to escape the Ice Age at the Old Pro Golf course on the 6800 block of Coastal Highway in Ocean City in the off season Sunday, January 31, 2010.

Branches protrude form the frozen waters of Lake Kittamaqundi during the preliminary snowfall Friday, February 5, 2010.

Dr. Barbara Feinstein, of the Cat and Dog Hospital of Columbia, plays the part of patient while concerned Greyhound “Dr.” Moosh takes her pulse for the Best Veterinarian of Howard 2010 issue shoot Tuesday, September 28, 2010.

Oakland Mills’ coach Jon Browne calls junior Kerry Bethea, senior Greg Wittington, and senior Joe Kiely, the “Big Three.”  The trio are photographed in the Oakland Mills gym Wednesday, November 24, 2010.

Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Ill attends a Conference of Bishops addressing the increased demand for exorcisms at the Baltimore Waterfront Marriott in the Harbor East area of Baltimore City Friday, November 12, 2010.

Chris Coons, Democratic candidate for Delaware’s Senate seat vacated by Vice President Joe Biden, poses for a portrait at the New Castle Library Thursday, October 7, 2010.

Centennial senior Sam Brostrom is the volleyball player of the year. She is photographed at Centennial High School Wednesday, December 8, 2010.

Corinne Zahlis at Historic Savage Mill Sunday, October 17, 2010.

Owings Mills tackle Donovan Smith, 6’5″, 280 lbs, has been offered 22 scholarships to play football in college. He is photographed at Owings Mills High School’s football stadium Wednesday, September 1, 2010.

Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Ill attends a Conference of Bishops addressing the increased demand for exorcisms at the Baltimore Waterfront Marriott in the Harbor East area of Baltimore City Friday, November 12, 2010.

Check out Laurie Goodstein’s article here.

This assignment was a wild ride for my nerves. But I was totally into it. It all started the moment NYT’s national assignment editor Tom McGuire said “EXORCISM.”

…and then he said “CONFERENCE!”

I had to feel my head for a pointy hat BECAUSE THIS MUST BE AN EARLY BIRTHDAY PRESENT!

Don’t get too excited, now. There was a big, fat, stinking, catch. This was one of those assignments where nobody’s sure if the photo’s gonna get made. Why?

A.) The Bishops and Priests involved in exorcisms like to keep their identities secret. Laurie Goodstein, the religion reporter told me it’s because they don’t want to get inundated with requests for exorcisms. Sometimes people just need psychiatric help.

B.) People tend to turn their cell phones off during conferences.

C.) The conference organizers didn’t really know I was coming.

But I got in! …sorta. I mean, I did. otherwise you wouldn’t be seeing these photos. shhh. let me finish telling the story.

So, I promptly met with the head PR woman. I smiled. I was polite. and let her know she was the boss.

She’d see if she could get ahold of the Bishop. So, I asked how long she thought it would take? I had about 2.5 hours on my parking meter — which I figured was more than enough time to make a portrait. She’s like: I don’t know. This is an 8 hour workshop.

Me: that’s fine. I can make a portrait during one of their breaks.

Easy-Peasy, right?

Sooooooo…. 2.5 hours later I’m walking out to my car to move it and feed a new meter. Now it’s 4pm and I need to move my car by 5pm.

Yes I called the PR lady. — twice. …left messages, too.

And don’t you just hate it when you look at your phone and you have a voicemail message, but there’s no sign of a missed call? Well, that’s what happened when Paprocki called me. – at 4:52!!! I don’t see this until 4:54. So I call him, and guess what happened? …left a message.

starting.

to.

panic.

I don’t want a ticket. I need to make this shoot work. And it needs to happen fast! I have a 7pm assignment 30 minutes away. AND I gotta turn this photo around ASAP!

I eventually meander upstairs. Why didn’t I do that earlier? silly. I ask around: Hey, Do you know Biship Paprocki?

Priest: Yes. He’ll be out of prayer service in three minutes.

Sweet! At this point it’s 5:15. So, rather than focus on the time, I location scout.

The mirrors are screaming at me: HEEEEEEY!!! HEY PHOTO GUY! WE’RE YOUR BACKGROUND! DON’T BE A CHUMP! USE US!!! WE LOOK LIKE A HALO! SEE? GET IT? HALO? PRIEST? Who knew mirrors have Jersey accents?

So, really. why fight it?

I meet Paprocki. Herd him away from the other priests and the food. — which I kinda felt bad about. — and I made my safe — but really cool — mirror photos. Then I try a wacky reflection picture. …which I quite like. It’s the one that ran! whatevs… no biggie.

To me, it kinda looks like a movie poster. — not to inflate the Hollywood exorcism stereotype.

Of course, a real exorcism — as is explained in the super-interesting article — doesn’t involve spinning heads or Linda Blair. Although I hear people will actually mess their pants during one. — which isn’t funny, folks. Farting is funny. pooping your pants isn’t.

But lets be real. Hollywood exorcisms are awesome. SO……

– read this in your best movie trailer voice:

HE’S HERE TO PROTECT THE WORLD FROM THE DEVIL.

THOMAS PAPROCKI WILL EXORCISE* THOSE WHO NEED HIM.

BECAUSE HE’S

…THE BISHOP!

duhn dhun dhuuuuuuun!

*Because I’m a journalist I have to make an addendum. Paprocki doesn’t actually perform exorcisms. He’s the convention’s organizer. He’s also probably in charge of a secret priest who performs exorcisms. But who knows? he might be trained, too. So, I’m pretty sure that’s why I was allowed to photograph him — he’s under the guise of conference organizer. — EXORCISM CONFERENCE ORGANIZER!!! put that on your resume.

Sally Borghardt’s renovated 1840′s Centreville, MD home is selling for $292,500.

Check out the New York Times article and accompanying slideshow. My photos are in the middle.

For this shoot I got assignment editor Becky Lebowitz’s approval to use a Nikkor 24mm PC-E — often referred to as a “tilt shift lens” because it does some tilting and some shifting. But if we wanna get all persnickety the “PC” stands for Perspective Control.

Yes. Yes. Yes. I know. this is a gimmick lens. …well, that’s not necessarily true. But it can easily become a gimmick lens.

In the most utilitarian sense, it’s supposed to fix perspective problems — like keystoning, fringe distortion, and the curving of otherwise straight lines — common with wide angle slr lenses. But, when the aperture is closed down (like f/22), it yields otherwise normal looking images.

BUUUUUT, when the aperture’s wide open and you’re tilting and shifting, it’s also got this super cool ability to throw the depth of field into different planes. Plain and simple, it’s a gimmick.

…and I am a cheerleader for gimmicks! Sisk Boom Ba!

(A “Fatso” coal burning stove, set up in the living room, is the main source of heat in the winter.)

…well, as long as they’re used thoughtfully.

And here’s the thing about gimmicks — they’re like magic tricks. …or if you prefer a sports analogy, knuckleballs. They’re Totally unnecessary!

But lets be honest, everyone loves a good magic trick, right?

To continue this analogy, skilled use of a gimmick takes time and practice. And it’s important to recognize when you’ve failed and, it’s important to learn from that failure. For instance, there’s a lot wrong with the above image — like the bowed lamp reflected in the mirror, the crooked horizon. It’s far from perfect — and honestly, is there any such thing as a perfect image? — BUT I think it’s on to something. I think there’s some magic in it.

When I played little league, there wasn’t a game that went by when one of my teammates or I didn’t throw a knuckleball or two during warm ups. It’s just dumb fun. But try to tell Hall of Famer Phil Niekro his bread & butter pitch is silly. But like anything, if you put enough focused effort into a skill, you’ll become an expert. — maybe even a Hall of Fame pitcher? How much effort? …10,000 hours some say.

Some of you might’ve deduced that I’m reading …okay, I’m listening to, Malcom Gladwell’s Outliers right now. But even before I heard about the 10,000 hours rule — back when I was an intern, I started a love affair with the (in camera) starburst effect. I discovered it accidentally and every chance I got, I turned in a picture featuring a starbursted sun. I ran that gimmick into the ground! But I learned an important lesson through that embarrassing fad — A gimmick is useful when it’s used intelligently. Now I know how to use it when I need it. And, more importantly, I learned that a gimmick, like a tilted horizon, for example, can be useful — like when trying to fill the frame. And in the case of Justin Maxon’s use of multiple exposures in his “When the Spirit Moves” essay, downright powerful!

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to say these real estate photos are anything like Maxon’s work. But gimmickry, is often dissuaded. Chip Litherland does a pretty good job explaining that stance here.  I’m not saying he’s wrong, but I do think he’s underestimating the importance of just playing around. Had Phil Niekro’s little league coach told him to quit messing around with the knuckleball, I doubt he’d be a Hall of Famer — or, for that matter, a pro baseball player. So, I say EXPERIMENT if that’s the kind of person you are. Your tomfoolery could lead to something super-smart and unorthodox.

Chris Coons, Democratic candidate for Delaware’s Senate seat vacated by Vice President Joe Biden, poses for a portrait at the New Castle Library Thursday, October 7, 2010.

First of all, can I get a round of applause for natural window light?

This photo accompanies a truly engaging read from New York Times writer Frank Bruni. Coons is in an uncommon position here. He’s running against Christine O’Donnell, a famous person. It’s hard to talk about him — and sorta kind introduce, nationally — without talking about her. Here’s my favorite quote from the story. “She: cheerleader pretty. He: science-club-president plain.” ha!

Here’s my other favorite quote, “As a photographer zoomed in, he winced. ‘I’m just not used to people taking 100 pictures of me while I’m trying to be thoughtful,’ he said. ‘I’ve had six months of no one paying any attention to my campaign whatsoever.’” That’s me! He’s talking about me!