As I was sitting in a public atrium, I looked out to see a Honda Civic stopped by three police cars. This happened about 10 feet from where I was sitting. I felt it would be a cliche to take out my phone and/or camera to start snapping photos, but then I realized that it might actually make a good image. I wasn’t quick or close enough to get the look on one cops face as she drew her gun on the driver as he got out of the car. I also wasn’t gutsy enough to get the photo I really wanted – a triptych of the three perps handcuffed on the ground. I think it was actually a fear of getting reprimanded by the cops. So, this image I have, enhanced greatly by the title.

This was a quick, natural light portrait made at Columbia University moments before Elcott’s final lecture for the semester on the history of modern photography. It was staged very much in the spirit of Arnold Newman. I saw the bookshelf both as the wings of a magna character (ready to do battle) and a great weight on his shoulders (So much to read. So much to know. So much to write).

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This portrait was part of a gift for two friends who are having a baby. They are renovating part of their house while pregnant and its creating quite a tumult. However, within that space I noticed a lot of calm between them, so I positioning them together curled up on the floor of a room being painted and shot from the ladder that was already in the room. Looking back, I would have like to move the barrel as it draws the eyes away from the couple, but it also adds to the sense of disorder in the house.

We had a break in the weather today, and a football game in Golden Gate Park I decided to take the motorcycle down to Ocean Beach. I hadn’t intended on shooting, just wanted to see the end of the sunset and hear the ocean. As I was looking at the sunset, I noticed two friends tossing a frisbee. “This is the last throw” one said to the other. I used my motorcycle helmet as a tripod on the sand and snapped a silhouetted action shot. See Flickr for the original shot. However, as I was looking at it more and more, I realized that it might make a better shot as a crop, focusing on one person and intensifying the range of colors in the frame. What do you think?

I was recently honored to be asked to come back to shoot the Hazon Jewish Food Conference again this year. Hazon is an organization doing great work and comprised of a passionate staff and active membership. This may, however, be one of the last events I shoot as I focus my photography more on portraiture.

Following are thirteen of my favorite shots from a recent one day shoot of 75 artists in their studios during San Francisco Open Studios in the Mission District. All images were taken with existing light.  That presented challenges as many of the studios weren’t ideally lit.  Additionally, I tried to limit myself to no more than three exposures per artist, ensuring that I framed things mindfully and gave myself enough time to shoot as many artists as possible.  The entire set can be seen here