New Photography Book - "It's Called Art"

Although it might be a little premature, I'm proud to announce a new photography book I'm working on: It's Called Art.

As many of you know, I'm a portrait photographer, which means I spend the majority of my time photographing people.  I love what I do, but sometimes I get the urge to be a little more artistic.  When this happens, I throw off the shackles and chains of portrait photography, put on my beret and go create art!

What you see here is just a sampling of many years of artistic work that I've created.  This book is an ever-evolving project with new works being created constantly.  You just never know when inspiration is going to engulf your soul. With that being said, I don't have a specific release date for the book yet.  I'll know it when it's ready and I just don't have that feeling yet.

Here are a few photos that may or may not make it into the book:

Blurry photos are a must for any art book.

These photos speak of the grittiness of the urban landscape we all inhabit.

 How many times have you looked over "insignificant" details in your daily life?

 I call these "Self Portrait" and "Girl Kissing Tree".

 Wow.  This is powerful.

 Umm... 

OK, here's a landscape restrained by humanity.  And then this girl... oh, she's kind of scary. 

 Shadows!

I let my imagination take flight. 

So this was some dude at a concert.  It seemed more artistic with the music. 

I have no idea what this is. 

OK, now this is just getting silly.

A Quick Note...

April 1: *** IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT ***

I just thought I'd let you know about a little change I've decided to make. For Christmas, I was given Chase Jarvis' book, "The Best Camera Is The One That's With You". This book has inspired me to start using my phone's camera more often. I've started enjoying it so much that I've decided to give up my DSLR and just use my camera phone for everything from now on.

Sure, there are a few downsides to this plan. The battery on my phone doesn't last as long. For example, my phone dies after an hour or two when the screen is constantly on, but at a recent photo shoot I was able to shoot for 5 hours, took about 1400 photos with my DSLR and the battery was only drained to 45%. Also, I can't hook up my Pocket Wizards to my phone, but I think with a little practice I'll be able to manually trigger the flashes when I take a picture with my phone. There's also the perception that using a camera phone at a photo shoot isn't "professional". All I have to say is that if people don't understand my creativity, then I'll just go find someone who does!

On the plus side, my phone has many features that my DSLR doesn't. For example, I can instantly email photos to anyone right after I take them. I can also post them to Facebook or Flickr from my phone. No more uploading to a computer, resizing and emailing. Sometimes I miss a phone call when I'm at a photo shoot because the music is turned up or I'm just to into what I'm doing... but not anymore! Now I'll always have my phone in my hand, so if someone calls, I'll just stop taking photos and answer the phone! The best aspect of this is definitely the amount of gear I'll have to worry about. In the past, I'd have to show up with a big bag of camera gear. It's heavy and takes up a lot of room in my car! Plus, I always worry about it getting stolen. Now, I just toss my phone in my pocket and I'm good to go!

I hope that you understand that these changes I'm making won't impact the quality of the photos I take. My clients are my highest priority. I'll continue to put every ounce of energy into the creative process to ensure that your photos.... hold on, my phone is ringing.