JSP Visual Week In Review ~ 06.15.19
Last week was a busy one. Did a lot of running around Monmouth County, had jury duty, started a new photo project (that I can’t wait to tell you about but it will have to wait), went to a two concerts (the Willie Nile one, which I photographed, and Bush/Live which I did not).
This week may be a little slower, but the kids finish up school on Thursday. Then the real fun begins!
____________
This Week’s Links
What I Read This Week: Sherlock Holmes and the Vampire Case Files by Mark Coggins
What I Listened To This Week: Bruce Springsteen’s new one, Western Stars
Related – What I Watched This Week: Thom Zimny’s video for Western Stars. Like a a William Allard photo come to life. Give it a watch.
NY Times Magazine: The Day The Music Burned
Brad Trent’s blog: Photographing The Maestro
CJR: How Did Journalists File Before Google Docs?
Fans in a Flashbulb: Weegee’s birthday was this week.
Adorama: Five Portrait Photography Tips
NPR: When An Iraqi Photojournalist Goes Missing
“The golden rule is “work fast.” As for framing, composition, focus—this is no time to start asking yourself questions: you just have to trust your intuition and the sharpness of your reflexes.” ~ French photojournalist Jacques Henri Lartigue (June 13, 1894 – September 12, 1986
© Mark V. Krajnak | JerseyStyle Photography | All Rights Reserved 2019
Happy Father’s Day!
Helping Dad With The Yardwork 2019
For Father’s Day, my family wanted to help me with the yard work.
I don’t know what I’d do without this crew.
Or this guy, my Dad, Vincent Krajnak, who is and will always be, the father I try to emulate every day.
I don’t always succeed, but that’s why I keep trying.
Dad, 2018
Happy Father’s Day to all the dad’s out there.
Best job we could ever have.
© Mark V. Krajnak | JerseyStyle Photography | All Rights Reserved 2019
BTS: Your Music & More TV Pilot
Back in December, I posted about visiting the Steel Stacks in Bethlehem, PA.
In that post, I said I was out there to take part in a shoot, but I wasn’t at liberty to discuss.
Well, now I can because today (June 14) is a big day: It’s the debut of the pilot TV show called Your Music & More.
And it was on this TV show that I was hired on to be the still photographer to document the shooting of the pilot and give a “behind the scenes” look. Scott Marshall (seen in the photo above), a musician in the Lehigh Valley, is the host, while Theresa Radtke is the executive producer and my buddy, Kevin Nelson, who I’ve worked with on a number of projects, is the director,
Kevin Nelson behind the camera.
The way it came about was like this: Kevin and I did a shoot together in Queens back in October. On the drive out of the city, Kevin started to tell me about this other project he was involved with, and would I be interested in being involved as the photographer.
He was straight up with me: No pay, but a fun experience and it could lead to more. That was all fine for me so I signed on.
So on that foggy, rainy, December morning, I drove up to the Lehigh Valley, checked in at PBS 39 and met up with the rest of the cast and crew that was to film the pilot of Your Music & More.
Your Music & More Host Scott Marshall
The pilot would have Scott Marshall interviewing two bands, Whiskey Hollow and brother/sister Jeff and Sarah Teets of Mind Maze, and then have them do a couple of song. The art direction was pretty simple: Rove around and shoot anything that looked interesting – cast and crew, behind the scenes, in the make up room, the tech stuff, the musicians on stage. Basically, anything that looked cool.
So that’s what I did.
Sound stage at PBS 39
A few of the roving film crew.
Executive Producer Theresa Radtke checks the shot
Whiskey Hollow’s Rick Callahan in the Roxy’s make-up chair
Scott interviews Fields J. Winston of Whiskey Hollow
Kevin, Scott and Bryan Keith, lead singer of Whiskey Hollow
Sara of Mind Maze
Loading in
In front of one lens, behind another
Whiskey Hollow on stage
Lunch Break
It was a long day – about 12 hours start to finish on the set. But then the real work for Theresa and Kevin started: Watching all the footage, cutting it, editing it, and getting it into a place where Theresa could present it to PBS to see if they would run the pilot.
We all had to be quiet about this while it was all going on. But, once the pilot got green-lighted, I started to see some of the photos I shot popping up on Facebook and other social media channels as we tried to build awareness.
And Kevin posted a fun videos to the YM&M YouTube channel and to the Facebook page, including this interview with yours truly.
Tonight, it all comes to a head: My wife and I will head up to the PBS 39 studio to a viewing party as the pilot will have its premier tonight! After that, we’ll have to see if it gets picked up, so our fingers are crossed for Theresa and Kevin.
If the pilot ends up on line someplace, I’ll be sure to share the link so you can check it out.
Overall, it was a really cool experience, and I’m happy to have been a part of it. I like set photography and would welcome the chance to do it again.
I can’t wait to see the final result!
Most, but not all, of the YM&M cast and crew
© Mark V. Krajnak | JerseyStyle Photography | All Rights Reserved 2019
Summer Reading List 2019
Shot on the beach in Asbury Park
Time for my yearly Summer Reading List post!
I’m a pretty good reader all year long, so it being summer doesn’t really spur me into any other action more than what I’m already doing.
But, because all the pubs are running the readings lists of various people, I’ll kick in with mine.
I split my reading between paper books and Kindle books. For about two years now, I have to read on my Kindle before I go to sleep. I know all these studies say the blue light is bad for sleep…well, not for me.
I can get home from shooting a concert at 12:30 a.m. download my photos to a USB drive, spoon down an almond milk vanilla yogurt, do a super quick edit of 5-10 images so that the band has them when they wake up, then do a second back up to my DropBox and THEN go up to bed around 2-2:30.
And I STILL have to read for 10 or 15 minutes to completely wind down.
But anyway, the image above shows what my paper copies will be:
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe ~ C.S. Lewis. I’ve never, ever read this but pulled it out of a Little Free Library, so I thought I’ll give it a go. It may go with me to Yellowstone in July as it’s small to keep in my carry on.
The Front ~ Patricia Cornwell. I haven’t read her in about 15 years. It’s small. I’ll try it.
Bleachers ~ John Grisham. I haven’t read him in about 17 years. It’s small. I’ll try it.
Shelter ~ Harlan Coben. Back when my wife and I were dating in 2001, we took a trip to the Dominican Republic. I remember reading a Myron Boliter crime fiction book by Harlan Coben. I loved it, devoured the series. Plus, Harlan is from North Jersey, the books are set in Jersey and I thought this was cool. I finished the series and started to read Harlan’s one-off books, and just didn’t dig them as much. Then I came across this one, and saw it’s a MICKEY Boliter book (Myron’s nephew). So, I’l give it a try.
Invisible Man – Harlan Ellison. Another classic I’ve never read.
East of Eden/The Wayward Bus ~ John Steinbeck (the book without a spine) I’ve been reading, in fits and starts, East of Eden for about a month. It’s really good, but it’s long. This ain’t no novella, it’s an epic. I still have 100 pages to go. So, that’s not really on the Summer Reading List but it’s June and I’m still reading it.
The Midnight Line (A Jack Reacher novel) ~ Lee Child. I’ve never read a Jack Reacher book, but this cover pulled me in so I’ll try it.
A word about this stack: All these books were free. I swing by a few Little Free Libraries around me, drop off a couple of books and maybe pick one or two up. A few of the others were rescued from the recycling plant. I don’t understand why people throw books away – schools, libraries, senior citizen homes are always looking for books. Why throw them out, to recycle or otherwise?
My Kindle Stack (it’s not a definite as I often come across something and just add it in. We have Kindle Unlimited so there are a lot of books to choose from)
Sherlock Holmes and the Vampire Case Files ~ Mark Coggins. Seems like a strange twist on the Holmes cannon but it’s short and Mark and I have been internet friends for about 10 years. He’s a really good photographer too.
This Storm ~ James Ellroy. I have a confession: I’ve tried reading Ellroy quite a few times and while I like the pictures he paints…I just don’t love him like it seems like I should. I have come to love historical fiction set in the 1940s and 1950s, and this one is set right after Pearl Harbor. I don’t know much else about it, don’t wan to know.
The other thing I’m going to read a lot of is the New York Times. I’ve been getting the Sunday Edition these last few weeks and daaaaaammmmnnnn it’s fine. Especially the NY Times Magazine. And the photography. And the profiles.
Oh, and I’ll probably get a book or two about the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone, since we’ll be visiting them in late July.
And, of course, there’s always something on the internet to read.
It’s all about finding the time.
So, there’s mine. What’s on YOUR summer reading list? Drop me some titles in the comments!
© Mark V. Krajnak | JerseyStyle Photography | All Rights Reserved 2019
