The problem is that 99% of people want the equivalent of a Sears portrait. A five minute snapshot that looks as bland and is completely uneventful to make. I have no interest in competing with Sears, and usually turn down portraits in which the family really don’t know what they want or I send them to fellow photographers that kickass at traditional portraits.

That’s not the case with The Opdenburg family. Every year, Shana calls me with an amazing idea for some elaborate Chinese New Year’s card. This year was the year of the Dragon so I suggested we do some kind of Chinese gangster theme, similar in style to one of my favorite bands, Notorious MSG. She obliged and we spent the next month building glass walls to do graffiti against, and hilarious Warriors-inspired outfits for the girls. The final product is an amazing set of family portraits that belong on the mantel right next to the Sears portraits.

Let me make it clear, if you want family portraits that look like the ones below, give me a call or shoot me an e-mail. I’d love to do them.

This year we decided to take advantage of the copious amount of snow in the New Jersey area and just spent the afternoon making snow angels, throwing snow balls and acting silly. By the end of the session, just as night was about to come upon us, Shana asked if it would be too crazy to ask her kids to jump into the snow with their bathing suits. I thought the idea was zany enough to work and both girls were willing to dive into the white stuff and pose for exactly three minutes. It worked. The photo made their annual holiday card. I can only imagine what the relatives thought.

To get involved you must “Like” GLK Creative on Facebook. For those who haven’t mastered Facebook, simply click on this link and scroll up to the top left side of the page and click “Like” to get started.

Then visit the gallery titled Favorite Photos of 2010 and “Like” your favorite image. Feel free to like as many as you want. The rules are simple—The couple with the most likes at the end of Valentine’s Day will win the canvas print. Please encourage your friends and family to vote.

For $350 you receive a two hour photo session, a DVD of all the high-res photos to do with as you please, and one 8×10 of your choosing.

Please call or e-mail now to book a date or time. Gift Certificates can be used for these sessions, just let me know when you book.

GLK Creative  •  Montclair, NJ  •  www.glkcreative.com •  (973) 632-3770  •  info@glkcreative.com

Saturday comes, and I get a call in the early morning from Tristan. Russ is feeling better and is going to go outside come hell or high water. We packed our bags, loaded the trunk and headed off for an afternoon in lovely Allentown, Pennsylvania. Russ was a trooper, standing in the still cold just barely out of Winter weather while I made the two of them run all over this lovely park just off the main drag. We hopped in the car a few times to warm up, but the chilly weather was more than worth it. Here are a few of my favorite shots from the session.

I have no idea if anyone lives in this house, but it sure is cool looking.

The shot on the right is my favorite. I just love a good black and white photograph. It just looks timeless.

I promise, after this shoot, no more tall grass for a year. I swear.

I tend to fall into water, which is why I don’t do too may reflection shots. This one turned out quite nicely.

The horse wasn’t planned, and I couldn’t stop reciting that Old Spice commercial. “I’m on a horse.”

This is Allison’s favorite shot. The way Tristan is staring at Russ with those adoring eyes is just lovely.

Our all around favorite shot from the session. A gorgeous couple, stunning light, and a really cool looking wall. I need to get out of the city more.

After spending a half hour scouting out Diener’s office for a good portrait spot, we settled on taking his photo in front of a guitar against a very colorful blue wall. The shot would be “safe” and it included a musical element, which works well with what the subject does. Only one problem—the guitar was a three-quarter scale axe, which while sentimental to Deiner wasn’t exactly cover material.

So we headed off to his home to select another guitar from his massive collection. “Wow, nice butterscotch Telecaster you have there Mr. Diener,” I prattled trying not to let him notice the drool coming down my chin. “Why that’s a Fender Broadcaster—it came before the Tele and only a handful exist,” he corrected me and hopefully didn’t see me faint.

We went back to the office with a slick Les Paul that was probably worth more than me (stunning flame-top) and proceeded to knock out the shot I had tested earlier with my fabulous art director Tony Gamino. I actually like Tony’s portrait a tiny bit more, but it might be a tad bit too edgy.

During the shoot, James mentioned that he was a magician. I asked, in passing, if we could do a shot for the inside spread at his house while he’s doing some sort of card trick. To my shock, he canceled an appointment and told me to pack up my lights and head back to his place.

A few minutes later I’m in his condo taking the portrait below with only one flash firing through an umbrella (camera left). He made some calls, I photographed him doing a slight of hand card trick, and away we went. Sadly, the photo was held from the magazine because his magic hobby wasn’t included in the piece. That said, I still had a really fun time capturing the head of a major record label in his personal environment and got to prattle endlessly about my love for Iron Maiden and D-Generation with someone who actually knows what I’m talking about.

I was recently asked who I’ve photographed the most. The person asking was more than likely referring to what band I’ve photographed the most, which isn’t too hard of a question. It’s either Bad Religion, H2O, or the Bouncing Souls. Though I think the Koffin Kats are edging higher and higher on the list.

But the person that I’ve actually photographed the most in the past few years is Jonathan LeVine, owner of the contemporary art gallery in Chelsea bearing his name. Juxtapoz reached out to me about five years ago to start photographing his art openings and I’ve been a fixture at the gallery ever since. I did a short search though my archive and found close to 50 photos of the man, below are a few of the decent ones as well as a short piece I wrote for Juxtapoz about the anniversary show. Click here to check out the photos from the gallery opening.

Above is a quickie portrait of Jonathan that I nabbed about five minutes before the doors opened for his latest exhibit. I think I nailed that one and a close up with two minutes to spare. Stressful? Nah.

I spent the first half of the decade seeing ads for Tin Man Gallery in the Philly area and swearing thatI was going to make the pilgrimage. When I finally had a critical mass of friends in the City of Brotherly Love to give me a reason to head down past exit 130 on the GSP, I realized it was too late. Tin Man Gallery was gone.

To say I was a bit excited to hear that Jonathan LeVine was opening a gallery consisting primarily of artists I loved was an understatement right in New York City would have been an understatement. Manhattan was in dire need of a low brow make over and Jonathan was the one that was going to bring cool art work to a city that seems more concerned with hopping onto the latest hip style and riding it to the ground.

LeVine came and kicked ass. Providing an outlet for both established artists like Shag and Camille Rose Garcia, and introducing the world to up and younger masters that I would never have heard of before. Five years in and LeVine hasn’t compromised his beliefs nor has he been swayed by trends.