Brooklyn Photographer Joe Buglewicz released HOTLOADING a quirky memoir/promo book chronicling nearly a year driving a bus in Alaska. The 60 page "book" is printed on full color newsprint and the images were made with a Contax film point & shoot.

My buddy Joe Buglewicz — that’s him, a cigarette, & his “taco meat” up top —  just released a rad new promo book, “Hotloading.” Well, it’s actually a newspaper. Check his tumblr here! or, maybe you prefer just the straight up images on his website?

He used Newspaper Club to print this 60 page, full color, book. I TOTALLY wanna use this company for promo books in the future.

So, what’s “Hotloading” about? It’s a photographic memoir of nearly a year driving a tourist bus in Alaska. It’s really good & it’s super quirky. All the photos in the newspaper were made with a film point & shoot (It’s either a Contax T2, or T3, for all you film gear nerds. Joe? help me out here).

AARP Bulletin DOP Michael Wichita called me up a few months ago — actually, while I was in Denver for Geekfest – needing an in-house mock up made so he could pitch an illustration idea to his bosses for a big story they’re doing on the kind of people who use Social Security. He needed it ASAP! So, I grabbed whoever was closest: Denver Post staff video shooter Mahala Gaylord and Denver-based freelancer Ben Rasmussen. Oh. and that’s me on the left.

Michael sent me a fast drawing of his idea: …which I LOVE!

The idea is to make a white seamless portrait of several Social Security recipients and explain their situations with written vignettes.

This is Michael’s idea put to work. It’s the promo piece for the story.

The story section looks a little different. You can see it here.

I photographed one recipient from Baltimore, Dr. Timothy Modlin. Here’s his vignette.

I was told to make a mugshot, too.  – which I kinda like.And of course what kind of a friend would I be if I didn’t show the outtakes from the mock-up shoot in Denver?Cheers!

You know how some photographers LOVE shooting weddings while others shoot them every so often to make some extra money? Well, I came to a decision earlier this year that I don’t shoot weddings. I don’t advertise as a wedding photographer. So, I only get referrals from friends. None of my friends can afford my rates ($3200-$5400), and neither can their relatives. So, I never really book weddings. It’s okay. I like having my weekends free.

Another way photographers make extra money are family/kid/baby/and pet portraits. That’s a bit more my speed and interest level. But I don’t really wanna make cheesy glamour shot/Olan Mills pictures, either. I like funny.

So, I got an idea.

Messy Kid Portraits!

Heck! if someone wants a portrait of them and their spouse playing in the mud I’ll shoot that too.

…seriously. I’LL SHOOT THAT! call me.

So, This shoot features Margot Ludwig. When I made these photos (Wednesday, August 31, 2011) she was almost two.  I approached her mom Kendall — who owns Curly Red Designs — with the idea. Obviously, Kendall was in.

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!

Yup. this is what sometimes happens when I try a new lighting set up and no one else is around. enjoy!

The El Mateo!
Luchador mask courtesy of the limited edition “Weird Sports” book by Sol Neelman.

Check it out: I’m in good company.

What better way to sell aprons than to set stuff on fire, right?

We cracked a few eggs, too. LITERALLY!

So, if you’re a person who’s easily offended by exploding yolks, don’t go any further.

Seriously, though. The egg breaking photos are pretty awesome.

My neighbor Kristen Rigney owns City Sparrow where you can buy retro styled, HAND MADE, aprons & pot holders. …one pot holder actually got a little singed during this shoot.

The idea behind this shoot is to illustrate the follies of an unskilled housewife.

So, if you want one of her aprons, she’ll be selling them December 3rd at the Charm City Craft Mafia’s Holiday Heap.

..or online at www.etsy.com/shop/CitySparrow.

Let the eggsploding begin!The egg got everywhere. The ceiling, the floor 15 feet away from Kristen, on my shirt. I got a little of the white on my camera, too, but none in my hair, surprisingly. Obviously, Kristen wasn’t so lucky.

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!

Last weekend Weird Sports Photographer Sol Neelman & I shot the Run For Your Lives zombie 5k in Darlington, MD at Rablewood Saturday, October 22, 2011. The event is a zombie infested 5k obstacle course. I heard anywhere from 10,000 – 13,000 participants and spectators showed up for the sold out event which raises money for the American Red Cross.