Portrait of a Friend

September 24, 2015 by Chris Zarconi

So for those of you out there keeping up with my life through my blog, it’s been a little while. But I think it’s time to get this thing moving for real now. So in the way of updates, I’m adding a new category of blog posts called “NMPJ”. NMPJ stands for New Media Photojournalism. This is the name of the Masters degree program in which I cam currently enrolled. Yes, you got it, I’m going back to school. Crazy times, but, so far, pretty awesome. And, because of my intense devotion to readers (assuming I have any readers), I’ve decided to start posting assignments and things of interest from my program on my blog. Why? Because it’s my blog, I can do whatever I want to do.

So our very first photographic assignment in this program was to go and make a portrait of a friend – with bonus points awarded for portraits of “friend with dog”. You don’t have to tell me twice. 🙂

We had to select three to turn in. These are my three. Thanks, Mike (& Zoey) for sharing a morning with me. Always a good start to my day.

Roundin’ Up the Family

September 7, 2012 by Chris Zarconi

So 6 years ago I had the pleasure to shoot Jessica & Adam’s wedding. They were wonderful to work with then and so you might imagine my delight to hear from Jess recently about doing another project for her. She emailed me one day and said that she wanted to have me take some family photos for her. Not an unusual request, she did get married 6 years ago afterall. However, she was quick to assure me that there were no babies to worry about. Just two dogs. And two horses. Of course of course (should I say that twice or is one “of course of course” sufficient for both horses?).

Needless to say, I accepted her challenge and spent a year (actually about 14 months) scheduling and rescheduling this shoot. Horse having bad hair day. Rain. Unexpected trip out of town. Rain. Dog stubbed toe. Rain. You get the idea. Finally, we made it happen in the not-too-hot moments of August and here are some of the results.

We started with the dogs. Naturally, the white one went straight for a drink in the little duck pond and (probably from being a little top-heavy with that underbite) promptly fell right into the water. Then freaked out that she can’t swim and looked terrified at us with that face that only momma (and I) could love. Nice start…

And just in case you don’t think this “horse coming in for the hug” photo is cute enough, get a load of this one…

Yeah. Nice going, dad. But seriously, this horse is not only the largest animal I think I’ve ever been around, but maybe the most beautiful. Immaculate! And well behaved. Well done, Jess! Next horse up, however, not quite so well behaved. Still beautiful though.

Ok, enter horse #2. Naturally we thought we’d photograph the horses separated first and then try to get the whole family gathered for one last photo. But one more horse first…

Dare we try both horses together? Sure. Did I mention that they got into a little altercation a little earlier? Attention hungry much? Yeah. But I was not going to be dissuaded. I did drive all the way out into horse country in VA to see some horses.

And when it was all said and done, I just got this funny look to say farewell to. What are you lookin’ at, lady? Be nice, or I’ll take you back to the pond. 😉

So adorable! Thanks so much, Jess, for keeping in touch. So nice to see you both after all these years. And what beautiful kids you’ve got!

The Open Road

October 12, 2011 by Chris Zarconi

People always ask if I just shoot weddings or if I shoot other things as well. I always have to stop for a moment before answering to decide whether to proceed with the “my parole officer has asked me to deny shooting anything or anyone” response or the “just weddings? What’s the matter with shooting just weddings?” response. In either case, the answer is no. I shoot all kinds of things (sorry, officer). It’s one of the things I love about shooting weddings – the diversity of shooting opportunities. Weddings are like whole academic photography curricula condensed into a single day (or a couple days in some cases). A little sports work, a little portrait work, a little studio lighting work, some posed group shots, candids, emotion, action, direction, observation. So much goes into planning a wedding and I get the gift of being able to witness and document those things. It’s not just shooting weddings like anybody could do it. It’s a wedding!

What is not a wedding, however, is this post. I warned you in the About Me section of my blog that my interests were more diverse than just weddings and that those topics would emerge eventually in my blog. Among them, motorcycles!

So a client of mine called me and told me that he built a motorcycle. Obviously this caught my attention because I like motorcycles and I have a sense of what it would take to actually build a motorcycle. Also, I know this man is a manager at the Home Depot in NE DC so moonlighting as a motorcycle builder is pretty awesome. He asked me, like usual, if I just shoot weddings or if I do other things as well. I smiled to myself and told him I would shoot whatever he wanted to have shot. So he told me about the motorcycle which sounded pretty spectacular and we set up a time to make some images.

So I was chatting with Mike while photographing his bike about the bike and the process. Before it got cold last season, Mike decided to move the motorcycle, then a stock 2006 Harley-Davidson Road King, into his garage for a major face-lift. He then described the process of hibernating in the garage for the winter working on the bike meticulously. As the spring rolled around, it was time for Mike to get his bike rolled out of the garage and start riding again. And the finished product was even more spectacular than he had hoped.

Mike is not one of those prissy motorcycle owners who has a motorcycle, works on it all the time, and never rides. Mike prides himself on both having a beautiful bike that he rebuilt from the ground up and actually riding it. Now, don’t get me wrong, I can appreciate a good show bike like the best of them. Wouldn’t even mind having one or two myself. But, like Mike, I’d ride them. That’s what they’re meant for anyway, right? There are few things more glamorous, manly, or honest than polished chrome and the open road.

Always Say Yes

August 25, 2011 by Chris Zarconi

Can it be that I’m posting TWO blog posts in one week? While I’d point out that this is a record, I suppose that goes without saying on a blog with four total posts… Just goes to show I have a long way to go. Also, probably dangerous waters publishing a blog post with such a title. Rest assured, I don’t mean about that.

I was hired to shoot some family portraits at a couple’s 50th anniversary party recently. A nice gig where everyone is happy and the couple who was celebrating 50 years was just as cute as could be. Actually, they were downright adorable. They were each joking about what saints they were for putting up with the other for all these long years but it was pretty obvious that they were in a marriage that was improving each day – even after 50 years. My hat off to you two! May your next 50 make the last seem dull.

Now this blog post is not about saying yes to proposals for marriage or even about saying yes to photographing family portraits. Although those people are so stinkin’ cute…

So after we spent some time in the park photographing family portraits, the couples’ children (who hired me for the shoot) invited me to join them at their home for a drink or some food.

$50 tip: Always say yes. This tip is for you photographers out there who think that you’re shooting strict documentary photography and have to keep yourself at arms-length from the content of your shoot. You don’t have to stage things in your work and interfere with documenting life, but get involved. Go ahead, have a drink with your clients/subjects/whatever. You never know what opportunities you will afford yourself in doing so.

So, as the post suggests, I said yes to their invitation and went back to their home for a drink. While I was there, I took some photos of their unique cat and continued snapping a few photos of the family while hanging out. Then, I decided that I needed a different lens for an image I was trying to make. When I went out to my car, this is the scene I passed (and then photographed).

Obviously these photos are not what I was hired to shoot. And clearly I’d not have taken these photos if I’d declined the offer for a drink after I “finished working”. Luck plays a funny role in photography sometimes. But you can’t get lucky if you don’t keep your mind open. And say yes to whatever.