Drew Anthony Smith

These are a few “test shots” from an Athlete of the Year shoot I found last night while rummaging through my hard drives.

Why oh why do I love this picture?

Everything about this shoot makes me roll my eyes. First of all, I’m breaking one of my cardinal rules! I HATE HATE HATE making portraits of people holding books, or whatever it is the writer decides the story is also about. So, I don’t do it. If I can make a book or a photograph, or whatever the subject made into a detail photo, that’s what I’m gonna do. — especially with authors. It’ll probably help the layout, and add an extra “click” to the website. This woman, however, is a faux finisher. Rita Melnick’s is a featured artists in the resource book “Modelo by Design, Volume 2,” — which is what she’s holding — and that’s pretty much what the article was about. Ugh! This newspaper article reads like a website bio. I could talk at length about how this assignment isn’t really journalism, but I think y’all are smart enough to figure that out.

So, why in the world do I love this image? Well, on the one sense, Rita was super pleasant to deal with, and got what I was going for. She was up for anything. …and why wouldn’t she be? We’re giving her faux finishing business free advertising! But this image (not unlike the article) is just ridiculous, isn’t it? I could try to make a heady analogy about faux paint/fake news/faked enthusiasm blah blah blah.

…but the fact is, every time I look at it I chuckle.

I get something out of it.

And hopefully the readers do too.

when I see this I think… POLITICAL CENTAUR!

@lopossay

Scott McIntyre

What a fox, huh? An outtake from my AARP Bulletin assignment in Ambler, PA yesterday. enjoy!

The world is funny, isn’t it?

Or at lest that how it seems to me. …but then again, I’m the guy who laughs too much during movies.

This is the second installment of my Best Runts of 2010. The first is here.

Can I first start by saying I can’t stand lifestyle images. You know what I’m talking about — Beautiful people laughing for no reason. …maybe holding a glass of wine, or frolicking through a field of wheat. It’s cheap high-gloss stock. Sure, there’s a semblance of a story being told, but it’s trying too hard to be perfect and beautiful. …but it lacks substance. What ends up happening is none of that joy those beautiful people in the photo translates to the end user — the audience.

Me? I roll my eyes.

…well, I sometimes chuckle. but it’s usually because a miscreant blacked out one of the boring hot chick’s teeth. …you know the one. She’s about to eat some spaghetti.

Now that’s funny. …at least to me. Like I said in Runts part 1, I like to celebrate the imperfect in life.

And I’m starting to realize (and I’m kinda cringing while I write this) that Happy is Boring.

…at least in photography.

Sure, if some kid is opening a birthday present and he’s making the craziest face in the world — like OUT OF HIS MIND HAPPY — because he got the most bad-ass toy robot ever, then that’s good stuff. That’s an emotion we can enjoy through someone else’s experience. But laughing on the beach FOR NO REASON isn’t entertaining. Those are passive photo. It’s like the white bread of photography. no nutrition.

To be clear, there’s a difference between BEING happy and trying to make a picture of happy. People smiling for no reason is void of content, void of purpose, and void of personality. It’s the quirks and our imperfections we, as individuals, are loved for. And so, I look for those when I’m out making pictures. Ultimately, I want the audience to relate to the subjects and stories in my images. …and rather than show them pictures of people laughing, I’d rather them enjoy a chuckle or two. Enjoy!

My mom got married to a wonderful man, Rick, this summer. They have so much in common, such as not liking bubbly. You gotta give em’ props for trying, right? So, lets raise a glass and wish them well! She finally found a good fit for her.

…during a semi-pro football game.

In my most recent Spring Preview portrait post, I might have made it seem like the studio is not a fun place.

but…

…as you can see, if you give a hula hoop to some people and fun can’t not be had.

A super costume wins the costume contest for Como, 3, during the Columbia Association’s first Welcome Event of the year, Dog Day Afternoon held at Hopewell Park in Columbia Saturday, April 17, 2010. Como, a rescue boxer, was shown by his owner Jody Stacoffe, from Elkridge.

I was not excited about the high noon sun and the busy busy background of bright white shirts and subsequent raccoon eyes. So, I decided to use some on camera flash. I zoomed my sb-800 out to 105mm, stuck with the high shutter sync and underexposed the sky. Honestly, I’m a little surprised at how cool the photos came out. But I think the lighting lends to only half of why these photos work. They’re quirky. That is, the subjects are quirky. I like these photos because they show off the subjects personalities in really interesting, imperfect ways. They’re like pop songs. …you know, catchy, memorable. well, at least I think they’re memorable.

Phoenix, five, a Jack-Russell/Chihuaua mix is a “fashionable lady,” or so says her owner Ronda Lennon.

Windsor, a rescue dog, owned by Amanda Williams, of Dorsey Hall.

Samantha McHale, 7, brings Racall, 4, a Daschund to the “Best Kisser” contest.

Deneen Craves, from Elkridge, pulls her fingers away after giving a ball to her dog Ace Windu. His name is an homage to the Star Wars character Mace Windu.

Windsor rolls for a treat.

This is during the “Best Kisser” contest. They rolled out before I could get their names.

Eight months-olds, and Lilly, left, and Caesar, right, are already flirting. Lilly is owned by Ken and Katrina Knudsen, of Kings Contrivance..Caesar is owned by Alex and Luisa Bishop, from Harpers Choice.

Barbi, an eight-month-old toy poodle, backs away from the bowl (well, really, its me) during the biscuit eating contest. Her owner Jean Jungblut holds Barbi’s leash in the background.

“Sammy thinks she’s going to win this one because they practice kissing all the time,” says seven-year-old Samantha McHale’s dad,”John McHale, of Long Reach. The crowd and loud music seemed to give Rascall, 4, a Daschund performance anxiety during the “Best Kisser” contest.

A few more from the “Best Kisser” contest.

Deneen Craves, from Elkridge, looks on while her neighbor Jalen Stewart, who she used to baby sit, coaxes Craves’ dog Ace Windu to jump.

If you want to share this gallery feel free to embed the gallery below. Thanks for stopping by!

Dog Day Afternoon – Images by Matt Roth

Below are photos I recently made for an AARP Bulletin story about how New Jersey’s high property taxes effect seniors on fixed incomes.

Corinne Bell, partially obscured by artificial flowers on her kitchen table, has lived in the home she and her husband built for 52 years. The widow now lives with three cats, Tiny, Cece, and Sheba, former strays who now call the split level on Main Street, Pilesgrove “home,” too. “Somedays they’re the only company I get,” says the 79-year-old New Jersey woman. Bell, like other New Jersey seniors who live on fixed incomes, are in danger of losing their homes because of the state’s high property taxes — the highest in the nation. “I have too much stuff to move,” and worries about the future of her cats. In the past a social program called Senior Freeze alleviated a portion of the property taxes for those who qualified. The state’s former governor changed the program’s eligibility, but the state’s new Republican Governor Christopher Christie said he would restore the rebates to those who lost them, but has yet to fully reinstate the program.

Recently, I’ve been making visual side stories while on assignment. Sometimes they’re totally off task, but other times they tie into story.

When I met Corinne, who’s a lovely lady, I couldn’t help but notice some loneliness in the widow. But I wasn’t doing a story on looniness. Stay on task, Matt! Focus. Property Taxes. But lets be honest, visualizing property taxes in an interesting AND literal way is a bit tough. Well, the obvious idea is to make a portrait of her in front of her home… Snoozezilla, right? But if there’s one thing I learned from the failings of Time Burton’s Alice in Wonderland is that you have to develop your protagonists. …make people care about them. Lucky for me, the wind was so inhospitable (lightstands be damned!) we couldn’t make a decent picture of her (windblown hair) in front of her house. “Okay Corinne. It’s crazy out here. lets see if we can’t do this inside.”

“Okay. Well, while I’m out here, I might as well get my mail.”

And that’s when the light switch turned on. I’ve always been a fan of, as I like to call it, “exploding the ordinary.” So, as Corinne walks back to her home, mail in hand, I notice a simple composition: house, yard, Corinne. The wind was knocking her around. She seemed vulnerable. And there it is. There’s that loneliness I felt when I first met her. I make a few frames. The one I chose is of her, in a slight stumble — a shuffle, really — en route to her front door. Her home has always given her shelter. And I saw a beautiful connection between Corinne and her home in a mundane moment. Her home is the glue that ties her life together. So, there’s the tie-in, exorbitant taxes would disrupt her life.

Corinne Bell sits down for a cup of tea and a Tastee Cake.

Corinne Bell pets her cat Tiny while sipping on tea and nibbling on a Tastee Cake.

Sometimes Corinne Bell can see the neighbors’ livestock from her window.

Tiny, one of Corinne Bell’s three cats, asks to be let back in the house.

Corinne Bell can see the cemetery where her husband is buried in from her kitchen window.

One toothbrush. One rinse cup. Fantastic wall paper!

A photo of Corinne Bell’s late husband “Slim,” sits on her bedroom dresser.

Corinne Bell waits for her cat Tiny to come back in the house.

If you like, feel free to embed the slideshow at the bottom of the page on your blog or wherever. And if you do, I’d love a heads up and possibly link to your link.

NJ Taxes and Corinne Bell – Images by Matt Roth

Right here…

awww. c’mon. why aren’t you laughing?

I made this little pun while prepping for a shoot involving several thousand dollars (5 figures!) worth of gems and jewelry yesterday.

Saturday, September 26, 2009.

My assignment was to shoot the football game. But this kid was too cool to ignore.

The 10am Update is a regular feature showcasing some of the best images from my archive.