California Dreamin'

Just got back from a week out in San Francisco. While I was out there, I had a bunch of appointments at some ad agencies- I met with: Debbie Mobley at Venables, Bell & Partners, Suzee Barrabee at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, Jen Hall at Anderson DDB, Kelly Steblay at BBDO West, Kevin Stokes at Kane and Finkel Healthcare, as well as some folks at some top notch design firms: Robin Raj, Steve Fong, Kristin and the gang at Citizen Group and Jon Schleuning, Gloria Hiek, An Luc and Rob Duncan over at Studio Hinrichs. Thank you to everyone for sharing your time with me.

Ate some great lunches at Henry’s Hunan, referred by my buddy, super DP Andy Lilien. He recommended Marty's Special- a dish made with chicken, bamboo shoots, onions carrots, bell peppers, house made smoked ham, all mixed with a hot red peppers- smoky, salty, delicious, but not for the faint of heart. Another signature dish is Diana's Special Meat Pie, described as “Deep-fried flour cakes filled with meat sauce, Parmesan cheese, vegetables, onions and condiments (with or without hot sauce)”- like China meets Mexico in SF. Not sure why good Hunan is so hard to find here in NY, where Szechwan seems to have taken hold as the premier spicy Chinese cuisine.

I also spent some time wandering through SF’s Chinatown, taking
pictures, and had a sort of déjà vu moment when I realized I had walked the same area shooting some pictures almost 20 years earlier. What was interesting to me, upon reflection, was not just how much things had or hadn’t changed, but how much I had changed. Instead of looking at the scene, and shooting it from a distance, I now go right into the scene, and shot using a wider lens, making myself a part of the action. The other thing is back then it was a manual focus Nikon F3, shooting Kodachrome 64, and of course I couldn’t see what I had shot for days until I sent the film out to Fair Lawn NJ.

20 years later, I can take the slide pages out, hold them up to a light source and see images with no problems of outdated software, unread- able media, mismatched color profiles, improper monitor calibration, bad data... but for better or for worse, there is no going back.

Where Have All The Good Times Gone?

Who would have guessed that the best thing I saw today was a 103 year old silent film called The Alcoholic (or Drunken) Mattress by Alice Guy-Blaché, or the first adult non-business book I have read in years, would turn out to be the wonderful Here Is New York, written by E. B. White 60 years ago.

Ray, Ray, Ray

Saw The great Ray Davies, founder of the seminar rock group The Kinks, perform last night. The first set was just Ray and another guitarist, then a full band performing a dozen or so Kinks classics, as well as a few of Davies recent songs. After an intermission, Ray returned with the band, and a full 30 odd member choir to rock/sing/perform some of the Kinks Klassic Kuts, but also rework some lesser known jewels, a few cuts from Arthur, a six song suite from The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society: Village Green, Picture Book, Big Sky, Do You Remember Walter?, Johnny Thunder, and The Village Green Preservation Society, an a cappella See My Friends, closing out with some amazing renditions of Celluloid Heroes, Waterloo Sunset, Days, All Day and All Of the Night, followed by an encore of Low Budget.

It was an amazing night- it incredibly moving to hear one of the most enduring rock performers of the last 50 years perform live tearing through some of rock and roll’s most influential & brilliant songs like You Really Got Me, Celluloid Heroes, All Day and All Of the Night and Days.

As for reworking some of rock iconic songs using a choir, you may hate it, you may love it, but you have to give credit to Davies that at 66, he is still experimenting, still breaking new barriers in music- oh, and rocking like a kid a third of his age!

I have seen the future of photography…and it doesn’t include me

Saw this at the PPE trade show today- apparently SONY has come up with a camera and movable base called the “Party-shot™ Automatic Photographer” that takes its’ own pictures, scanning the room, and by using face technology, finds you and your drunken friends. And takes your picture.

I though that is what ex boyfriends/girlfriends are for?

Captain Jonathan At Your Service

I was lucky to be invited by Captain Jonathan Atkin to join him and a few friends for one of the best boat trips I ever took, onboard the Big Toot for an up close and personal look at the NYC harbor.


Jonathan knows anything and everything harbor related, and being a top notch marine and aerial photographer, he timed it so we passed lady Liberty once in full sunlight, and once right at sunset. When he leads more trips next spring, jump on the chance (and bring a water repellent jacket as the water can go flying).

Open House New York

As the name implies, we get to go inside peoples houses, that and their offices, churches, pools, skyscrapers, tunnels, barges, bridges, sewerage treatment plants, cemeteries….

I Intrepidly Explore Webster Hall, Camera In Hand

Okay, I missed Studio 54, Limelight and their ilk, but the spirit of hedonism is alive and well at Webster Hall. I was at another event when a couple of friends dragged me to see a fashion show at WH. The fashion show was a bit of a bust, but afterwards we wandered around the club.





I have never seen a more diverse group of people- ages, races, sexes, sexual preferences, hair styles, body types, body adornments…and the most interesting part was how totally unconcerned everyone was at being photographed.

Usually the subjects get suspicious or self conscious when someone is shooting them while they are in

public, perhaps doing something they are not supposed to be doing, or maybe the management hassles you, but on this night, I only got confronted once by the friend of one my subjects. And when I showed
her a few images- thank goodness for digital- she decided that since I was shooting women & men from behind, that I was an equal opportunity offender & calmed down.

All I can come up with is that I think nowadays everyone is so used to being photographed, documented, their every movement & thought shared electronically with their close friends, or total strangers, that
someone taking pictures become invisible. And people have less inhibitions about being seen in a less than flattering way, as long as they are seen.

What also amazed me was how many people were just sitting around with their friends, but they were not talking to them, no, they were on their cell phones, their electronic devices, reading, texting, surfing, who
knows what, totally oblivious to the music & mayhem going on around them. Call me old fashioned, but I always thought the idea of going out was to get away from work & other distractions, and relax & have fun. For these people, they want to stay connected all the time, but at the same time they are becoming more and more isolated.

Novo Nordisk shoot

Just finished up a job for Novo Nordisk, but unfortunately I cannot show any of the images at this time. So just use your imagination- lots of beautiful Danes, lots of Doctors, lots of blue stuff, a couple of pieces of giant furniture, and a few shots of high tech syringes.

And some nice chocolate.

Speaking of She’s Out There!

Nice story in the Richmond Register a few days ago about one of our subjects, Hannah Nnoromele, where she quips about the shoot with me “It was like I had my own paparazzi,” she said.”

We have also gotten many blog mentions, including a series of profiles
on many of our subjects on the Huffington Post, as well an interview with Grace Baltich and Chelsea Zimmerman on KARE TV in Minneapolis St. Paul.

And as always, She's Out There! is available on Amazon and at fine bookstore across the county, perhaps even the known universe.

In Business Magazine Shoots

Portraits & family lifestyle shots of two subjects for a story on Ambit Energy. Could it have been any hotter at high noon? Never has a pool (or a hose) looked more inviting!

Chapter Seven, In Which I Continue To Tirelessly Drop Off Copies Of She’s Out There!

Which gives me an excuse to walk & bike around the city, taking some digital sketches as I go…

Make A Splash

Hope you all had a happy Fourth, swam a little, ate a lot and blew some s*@t up!

Swine Before The Swine?

I don’t know if I had the swine flu, but one minute I am at the Big Apple Barbecue with a full $100 fast pass, the next minute I am laid up for a week (and not back to normal for a while after that)! Talk about bad timing. And yes, this represents how I felt (below).

High On The High Line

I took a few hours off from my usual high tech existence to take a trip to a different type of high low tech existence, the new High Line Park that opened yesterday. Wow!

News Flashers

Amy Sewell, Co-editor of SHE’S OUT THERE!, along with subjects Fiona Lowenstein, Kyera Singleton & Kara Silverman was on Fox news Fox & Friends May 18, 2009.

And, Heather Ogilvie, Co-editor of SHE’S OUT THERE!, along with subject Fiona Lowenstein was on CBS local news, May 23, 2009

Party like it’s 2009

After two years of work & waiting, weeks of printing & finishing work, not to mention party planning, we have our launch party & show.(all photos courtesy of Jan Urestsky, except as marked)

The Portable Chef Uri Attia creates a lineup of sustainable delicacies, like ramp-parmesan frittata, pastured pork sausage, asparagus with ginger-soy-lime dipping sauce, local cheddar pate a choux, herbed spiced nuts, and a “the most ridiculously good chocolate cake of all time.” Did I mention all the plates, cups, platters & napkins were specially picked because they will easily biodegrade. Corn “plastic” cups anyone?

Yours truly.

Editor Heather Ogilvie, Kevin Moran, a guy in striped shirt & Carol Lambos.

Kara Silverman poses for her husband Ryan Jolley with her picture from the book.

Barry Wacksman, of RGA Advertising & our crack publicist Marni Salub, of the Salub Group.

Connoisseurs enjoying the art...and the wine.

Cover girl Fiona Lowenstein, with Heather.

(l to r) Kelly Tully, Cameron Russell, Kara Silverman, Fiona Lowenstein, Amy Sewell, Robert Ripps & Heather Ogilvie are framed by the gallery’s signature arch.

Uri can barely keep up with the hungry masses.

Heather & Jan Uretsky (hey, I think I took this one).

A quite moment to peruse the book.

Sign O’ The Times

Our book signing at Barnes & Noble was a huge success, standing room only, and we almost sold all 90 odd books they had- time to order more I guess.

Marie C. Wilson, Founder and
President of The White House
Project spoke and introduced
four of our book subjects, who
then read their essays &
answered questions.








My editors Amy Sewell & Heather Ogilvie & I also spoke about the project.




Then, it was on to the book signing. My first signature- with a pink pen no less.













Heather & I sign- she thinks of brilliant things to say, I try not to look like Tom Hanks.


All photos courtesy/©2009 Jan Uretsky

She’s Out There! is bigger than…

…Oliver!

It’s official, SHE’S OUT THERE!
is out there! The truck came today and dropped off 38
boxes (all for my personal
consumption).