Rock Star...

Governor Jon Corzine is seen here with one of the local mayors around the North Bergen area during a campaign stop. This place was absolute chaos while hundreds of people just wanted to either be near the Gov and/or get a picture with him. I love all the people gathered around just to take a picture of the Gov - in the next couple of weeks these people will be vying for his attention to try to get these photographs autographed. It's a site to behold. You can click on the image to make it larger...

Spin Class...

Governor Corzine talks to the press after the debate William Paterson University in Wayne. People are always asking me why do I always take photos of his back - I never understood this question because to me I was just making art - I think it's because I see the Governor every day (really, almost everyday) - and I'm interested in how others see the Governor and what the Governor sees. So here in the press room reporters, camera men and photogs where rushing to get their equipment set up - I think they were a little suprised the Gov showed up so quick.

When Mario Speaks...

The other day I had the oppurtunity to listen to New York Governor Mario Cuomo - what a great speaker - and funny, who knew. You can see the people gathered around him here listening to the ex-Governor. In 1984 he gave a speech to the Democratic Convention and it's still one of the top 100 speeches, number 11 in fact, on American Rhetoric's website.

SeeSaw...

I didn't think parks had seesaws anymore because of the 'DANGER' factor - but I found one in Hackensack. So I shot these girls having the time of their lives playing on the seesaw. After I walked away one of the girls jumped off and the other girl landed on her ass - ouch! Oh, the good old days... is seesaw one word or two? See saw? Seesaw?

More Power...

I hate parades. Really - I hate them. I don't get them and I would never go if I didn't have kids or if my boss didn't march in them. Worse than going to a parade - shooting them. I don't know a photog out there that likes shooting parades - ugh. Anyway, there's nothing special about this Columbus Day Parade in Nutley - I was just amazed at how many power lines were overhead glimmering in the sun - it's such an eyesore. I wonder what Christopher Columbus would think if he saw all those power lines - He did say, "By prevailing over all obstacles and distractions, one may unfailingly arrive at his chosen goal or destination." I wonder if he meant I should ignore all these power lines...

Peep Show...

I'm always shooting around corners and sneaking up on something that might be going on so I can get a decent 'fly on the wall' type of shot. The top image is a shot through a peep-hole in a hotel door. That was a little tough and you can barely make out the Governor but it's a fun shot. The other image is of the Governor sitting in his hold room while waiting for the Vice President to arrive. This is the fun stuff that makes my job easy to do.

15 Seconds...

I love this - Governor was getting ready for the first debate at NJN. There were doing microphone checks and lighting checks and I took this image - just one of those behind the scenes shots that I live for.

Navratri!

One of my favorite festivals held throughout NJ is Navratri - Hindu festival of worship and dance - the celebration of Goddess Durga, the manifestation of God in form of Shakti [Energy or Power]. The girls here are dancing the famous Garba and Dandiya-Raas dance. Hundreds of people dance around an image of the Goddess Amba in a circle, bending sideways at every step, their arms making sweeping gestures, each movement ending in a clap. It is an unbelievably fun event, almost reminds me of some of the old Dead shows I used to go to. This is indoors but Jersey City has it outside, they shut down Smith St - I highly recommend. BTW - I like the cell phone in the girl's hand.

Roundtable...

Governor Corzine attends a roundtable discussion in an old church. I was simply amazed at how beautiful this church was - set in the heart of Newark. The room was dimly lit and had a guy running a video camera in the middle of the roundtable - and his light just added the right amount of umpphh to the photo.... you can click on the photos to see bigger.

Dave, Jon, Mike, Chris and Janet...

I don't know.

Paging Hugh Laurie...

We were on construction site at the New Princeton Hospital in Plainsboro - think House - these guys were just kind of hanging out on a balcony they were building (I think they were starting from the top down) - well, I shot them. The sky was blue but I tweaked the saturation... can you tell?

Project Newark..

We were visiting drug and crime infested projects in Newark where I saw this guy digging through the garbage. He wasn't just digging through it like it was garbage, he was digging through it methodically, picking up each piece of trash, holding it up, turning it around and inspecting it closely, like someone picking out a new outfit in a clothes store. He had several different piles around him neatly stacked. He didn't care who was watching, who was there and how long it was taking him. He had a job to do.