Saturday, December 29, 2007

Holidays Lights in NYC

People come from all over the world to see the decorations and shop for the holidays in New York. Although I still have plenty of excuses not to attempt the Thanksgiving Day Parade, I did make the effort to go see some of the store windows and the light display at Grand Central Terminal. Once again with my little point and shoot, these shots are from Grand Central.

I liked this angle and how it captured the environment.



I was almost more fascinated with everyone standing there staring at the ceiling than the lights themselves.



Got it? Got it.



Ok, New Year's resolution is to post more from my big camera. Seriously.

Happy holidays!

Monday, December 17, 2007

Dyker Lights

There's a neighborhood in Brooklyn called Dyker Heights and during the holidays, the families try to one-up each other with the light displays on their homes. This has become affectionately known as "Dyker Lights." They even go to the extent of having the lights professionally installed. This I had to see.

This was a tough edit with all there was to see.

This is a simple, more classic home we saw when we first jumped out of the car to explore on foot (much easier to take photos that way of course).



This tree was awesome with the amount of lights. I love how it almost looks as if it was taken in black and white.



Some things were downright creepy, like this 10 foot tall Santa. Most kids wouldn't go past the second stair for the better view and I could hardly blame them.



I started to pick out some of the details amongst all of the chaos, which was challenging and fun. This house had a traditional nativity scene, albeit quite an elaborate one.



I loved the simplicity of the angels and the duplicity of this image. You can imagine them going on and on.



And last, but not least, the toy soldiers. This is just a happy image and I like it.



Happy Holidays!

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Wall Street Holiday Spirit

I work downtown and have been anxiously waiting for them to turn on the Stock Exchange lights and a gigantic Christmas tree (the ornaments are the size of volleyballs!). Walking thru there the other night, I couldn't resist with the reflections and umbrellas with the night's rain. Once again, this is just with the point and shoot I carry every day, but wanted to share the beautiful lights with you anyway.



I have no idea why I didn't utilize the reflections here other than there weren't any or I'm a big dork. I'll go with the first one. =)



Happy Holidays!

Sunday, December 9, 2007

SantaCon 2007

This weekend I was out shopping when I found myself in the middle of SantaCon. This is an annual pub crawl that takes place in cities around the world where all participants dress like Santa. I didn't have my DSLR with me, but chased after them with a point and shoot I carry every day for occasions like this. I think the best part was the utter confusion of the tourists.

I like how this one has a few regular folks caught up in all of this.




I like the reindeer in the back there and that his antlers mimic the tree branches behind him.



There's a lot going on in this one. I love the older man's look of disdain, but even more the death grip of the concerned mother on her son's neck.



As in the previous photo, I like that the sign just reads "Chris" like it might just say Christmas.

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Stock Photography

I'm official!

My images were selected for the Photo Shelter Collection!

To see all of my images, search "havekost" as a keyword.



Check back soon and often, since I'll be submitting the rest of my images this weekend.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Tourist in My Own Town

Last weekend I had a friend visiting from Australia, so I got to play tourist in my own town. It was great to get a new perspective on things that have become so familiar.

The day we crossed the Brooklyn Bridge we didn’t have the greatest weather. Everything was super flat and well…boring. I still liked this shot.



The same flat day we took the double-decker bus tour around town. This was definitely a new perspective, since I hadn't done this before. It was cold, so we sat behind the glass shield on the upper deck. Not ideal for photos, but I think these capture the tourists in New York and the hustle and bustle we’re known for. I might have to go back on a day with better light.





Wednesday, November 7, 2007

One Giant Step

Last night I took a big step toward the professional gig. I submitted my first batch of photos to a stock collection. Yay! I have to be accepted first, so will keep you posted. Here’s a sample of the photos I submitted.



Monday, October 22, 2007

Fall Foliage

When you go to shoot the fall foliage in New England, the journeys you can have are endless. Mine didn't turn out quite like I thought, but I still got to go shoot with my friends from my summer workshop in Maine.

My weekend started out at the Photo Expo in New York, went to a wedding in Hartford and moved on to car trouble in New Britain, CT. Uh oh. A last minute invite for Sunday's shoot saved the day and he was able to drive me while my car was fixed.

With a local guide, we got access to some great locations. Thanks Ted!

This was a farm in Kent, CT. There was old farm equipment strewn about the rolling hills, sheep and goats bleating and colors exploding. It was tough to pick just one, but the rolled hay turned out to be my favorite.



On the way to lunch, we stopped at another farm. The simplicity and more rolling hills was like stepping into a calendar. See?



On the same farm, these next two shots are what you get when you follow the seasoned professional around to see what he's shooting. =D Thanks Al!





Got it! Time for lunch!

After grabbing sandwiches in New Preston, we drove to the next farm/vineyard. This was another picturesque calendar location with more rolling hills, a river, a beautiful blue silo, and horses. Horses! This was a clydesdale (I think, huge regardless) and he was great. He was pretty friendly, so I got a lot of shots of his nose, but I got this before he came to try to bite my camera. Bad horsey.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Second Wedding

Posting wedding shots is proving a bit challenging because I want to show you my best shots, but also respect my photographer and the couple. There's only so many details you want to see, right? With that, the second wedding....

This was a beautiful and extravagant affair. The couple was delightful and the guests more than willing subjects. I'll find out at an event after this one how wonderful that is, so I feel the need to express that here.

This was a lovely moment of the bride during cocktail hour. There was a soft light falling from a window on the left, really making her glow. I only had a second to capture this with a brief gap in people flowing between rooms. Got it!



Receptions can be a bit...well, redundant. There's only so many people and fewer yet that are willing to have their photo taken while dancing like fools on the dance floor. This was a sweet moment with the groom's mom and a few of the younger guests taking a break on the sidelines of some action. You can see the cameras poised in the background.



Not an unusual scene at a wedding, but cute nonetheless.

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Garden in Transit

Currently in NYC, there's this really cool public art project going on called Garden in Transit. It's part of Portraits of Hope and involves decorating the hood and trunk of taxis in NYC with flower decals painted by kids in schools and hospitals throughout the area. On Sunday, I volunteered with my friend Traci to help put the decals on the cars. We were out at the taxi holding area at JFK airport which was in and of itself an adventure. I really love the cause and am proud to have been part of this project. Plus, it makes the taxis so happy!

This cab driver wanted to choose his decals.



This guy was a professional decal applier from Houston. Fascinating.



All pretty now!



This was in the holding area where the flowers really stood out.

Monday, October 1, 2007

Coney Island

Last weekend I joined the masses of other photographers to document Coney Island before who knows what happens. I met up with a few people from my Maine Photographic workshop from this summer and despite most of the park being closed, we had a great time. I wasn't as selective this time. Oops.

I started in the aquarium where I got this shot. It was really dark and challenging to shoot, but I think the effect works here.



Hitting the boardwalk for the afternoon light, I couldn't resist this boy in his Spiderman towel. The end of a great beach day.



This is just a 'says it all' Coney shot.



This is the top of a kids' ride in that part that's still open with the Wonder Wheel behind it.



These postcards may have been here since the beginning of Coney Island. Loved them!



We didn't have a good sky, so we had to be creative with the sunset.

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Central Park Zoo

This weekend I went to shoot at the Central Park Zoo. The zoo is a manageable size, so it's really down to timing it right with the animals. We didn't do well with the red pandas nor the monkeys, but did have luck with the often elusive polar bears.

I thought this nicely captured a family day at the zoo.



I included this shot for the unbelieveable light in this cove for underwater viewing. This is just one shot, but there were cool reflections and sometimes some very unfortunate placement of people's heads with the polar bear swimming away. You'll just have to use your imagination on that one.



A nice grab of Gus getting a drink of water.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

My Lighting Course

Me? I'm an available light shooter with a little fill flash now and then. Recently I've become interested in applying for a photography position next summer, so I've signed up for a studio lighting course to beef up the resume (with the bonus of it helping the wedding stuff as well).

So, I'd like you to meet Julian. He's our very patient model who never blinks and doesn't complain as we continuously blast him with strobes. He's perfect really...except for his one arm that doesn't match. I conveniently left it out of the frame. It's weird.

Sunday, September 16, 2007

My First Wedding Assist

In my journey to become a professional photographer, I have started to assist for a wonderful wedding photographer named Jocelyn. She has blessed me with the most amazing forum to learn (trial by fire really) and the patience to teach me (cheat sheets and everything!). As the second shooter, I get to do a lot of the details. Here are just a few selects from my very first wedding assist.

Headed downstairs to shoot the bouquets, I was captured by the contrast of not only the white fabric and dark wood, but also the gentle curves with the rigid lines.



A traditional shot, but I like it.



I was left behind in the preparation room to battle the insanely contrasty light, while Jocelyn prepared for the party to come down the aisle. I didn't get much, but I liked this one.



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