Push

Depending on who you talk to, what day you catch them on, and maybe how the wind is blowing at that exact second… the economy and magazine industry is either waking up a little, or getting ever worse. With the summer slog behind us I’ve spent the last couple of months hustling my new portfolio and NYC address in an attempt to make my (just-past) 30th birthday a happy affair… and thankfully it’s been a busy few weeks at JLP HQs with new work for ESPN the Magazine, Business Week, O, and Men’s Health among others, most of which was shot out of the NYC office (Yes!).

In this sort of climate any victory is worth celebrating but I’m still way too superstitious to claim any sort of turning point or master scheme.  Truly I’m just out there pushing myself and making the most of each tiny opportunity, meeting, and shoot, no matter the circumstances.  Sounds simple, but I recognize that in times past when it’s rolling I’m not thinking that hard about every shoot… some of them have juice, others you just limp through, and you move on.  Right now I’m in do or die mode every time I’m shooting, whether its for one of my personal projects (the image of construction on 1 World Trade Center, a la the Freedom Tower, seen above was found while I was out scouting for a new project early this chilly morning) or on assignment for a new or repeat client.

Inspired by the total pain in the ass of shooting in NYC with a huge kit, I’ve also been pushing myself over the last few shoots to strip down and stay mobile with my lighting, cramming in more set-ups, ideas, and options into each shoot.  I’ve always been a 3-4 set-up (for a regular portrait job) sort of guy, but on a recent and super fun ESPN shoot (details coming soon) we did something like 20+ setups (fighting the cold, snow, and rain the whole time).  And of course when there are more ideas and options, editors and ADs get psyched, especially when it comes from an unexpected assignment.

JLPNY is closing shop over the next few days as my parents are headed into town for some very good eating, and then the party continues upstate for a few days of R&R with the Dr. in Lake Placid.  Have a great Veteran’s Day everyone and please keep the military families of Fort Hood in your thoughts following yesterday’s horrible and disturbing shootings.

This entry was posted on Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 10:41 am and is filed under Freelancing, New Work, New York. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.