After months of selections and design, I am super excited to share my first photo book. All 100+ images were taken straight from my phone, which I affectionately call the jPhone. Any and all editing of images was done in apps such as Snapseed, VSCO Cam, Plastic Bullet, Lo-Mob, etc.
This Volume 1 features the world of New York City through my eyes and apps. It is the perfect photo book for your bookshelf, coffee table, and even as a beautiful Christmas present.
You can preview and purchase your very own jPhone: The World In My Hand at:
This month I went on my first cruise. It was the Carnival Splendor and I went with my parents, brother, and nephew. It was so awesome. I am now hooked as a cruiser. Please let my future wife know I want to go island hopping on a cruise for our honeymoon. I'm just saying.
Most of my jPhone5 photos of the cruise are all over my Facebook page. Today I decided to post images from my 5DMkII here on the blog.
Veronica came by the Studio with some of the Kips Bay In The Heights cast members to do a photo and video shoot. When she saw this shot she fell in love with it. I know because Veronica took a photo of it with her phone and texted it to me...lol.
So here you go Miss V. I look forward to seeing this as part of your new album.
One of the great pleasures I have as an Artist is I am involved in a myriad of projects. This allows me to express myself artistically in various ways.
Presently I am one of the Producers on the "In The Heights" musical which is being done at the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club in the Bronx (website here). A couple of months back I decided I would have the cast members come through to the Studio and take headshots. Since most of them are teens I wanted them to have great headshots. When I was their age my friends and I had Rich Ramirez who took the time to help us get our first headshots.
All three of those days were great. I photographed over two dozen people. So it is taking me some time to select and retouch the images. :)
The first in the Headshot Series belongs to Miss Jocelyn Quiroz. This girl can saaaang. Y'all not ready for her vocal and acting skills come April 5-7, 2013 (the show dates).
I have known Veronica for over 25 years. We performed on stages in plays as kids back at Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club in the Bronx. For whatever reason in all the years in between then and now her birthday is one of those days I always remember...lol.
Now as grown folk we are working together again with Dominic Colon and Erica Strubbe-Montalvo on the Broadway musical "In The Heights" with an amazing cast of teens and young adults from Kips Bay. It is so funny how things come full circle.
For the "Heights" cast I had them all come through the Studio for Headshots this month. Follow me as I take you through the multiple versions of this portrait of the Billboard recording artist known as Veronica. Perhaps you can help me pick the best one.
Below is the finalized image I created. Using a ring light I was able to really capture this beautiful image of V.
Of course I started playing around in the digital darkroom and came out with this Black & White version below.
Then I decided to go OD with the saturation and make more of a pop art ad look.
Finally I went in a totally different direction with this Silver Sand look.
I know each one is unique in its own way. Which one do you like?
I love photographing people. When my friend Najah came to me with a new model looking to work on her portfolio I welcomed the project. The model, Dami, was originally from Nigeria and came to the States some time ago. Najah was going to be her fashion stylist for this project while Makeup was being done by Color Me Cream.
We had a great time collaborating in pre-production and had an even better time during the indoor/outdoor shoot.
Dami definitely wanted to get on the tracks so we designed this as one of the concepts. What do you think?
In January 2010 I took Ezzy's first headshot. Around September 2012 as we began preparing for our Florida "Once Upon A Caterpillar" tour I mentioned she needed new headshots. As her director I thought it would be great to have the updated photo ready as especially as we would be visiting new cities.
After some time Ezzy agreed and we began working on photo concepts. As I have mentioned it before I am a very collaborative artist. Ezzy and I had a couple of pre-production meetings and were able to work out three really cool concepts.
My favorite concept is represented here in this image shot at JDP Studios. This is the new headshot for the writer/director/actress/producer Miss Ezzy Castellon.
Instead of unpacking my suitcase and folding my laundry I decided to post-process another portrait of mine from my photo shoot with Wilnelia Velez.
The original photo I began with was photographed with a white backdrop in my Studio. I already had it listed as the fifth image in my "Project J" breakdown (FYI - the sixth image was previously completed and will likely surface next week).
After I did some retouching I still felt like something was missing. The image needed some graffiti kind of flavoring. I then pulled the image into Nik Software and came out with two images: one was a black & white grainy poster image you might see on a wall in the Village, the other was this uber yellow punchy in your face imagery.
When I returned to Lightroom I took the second image and decided to play with some filters. That was when I started to get closer to a color palette that to me matched the image.
I added some adobo and within time this portrait came out the oven.
With all the traveling I have set up soon I thought it would be the perfect time to post another one of my portraits from my photo shoot with Wilnelia Velez...lol.
I had the great honor and pleasure to photograph the Grace to Grace 20/30 Anniversary Gala celebrating Abounding Grace Ministries this past weekend. It was a beautiful celebration of Pastor Del Rio and the entire church family. Thank you so much Jeremy Del Rio for trusting me with such a historic event.
This week I decided to edit the images and of course I found a few that I just had to get artistic with. While I finish my editing of the entire event this afternoon, you can enjoy the grace of the arts below.
As I looked through the numerous images I was able to acquire through my collaboration with Wilnelia Velez Photography, I decided to design My Top 10 (possibly 12). Moving forward I will share some pics of me on the blog from time to time.
With today's portrait I decided to edit it in a style different from the first two portraits I shared. This one has a more muted color palette. This was intentional. I am thinking of the story of all 10 images and am looking to add variety in the telling of the fuller story as well as the visual palette.
In the latter stages of this edit, I even played with blending modes to mix in black & white imagery which definitely added that different look I wanted. Hey you "Can't Knock The Hustle". :)
I find it interesting and funny that people are asking me about when they will be able to see the photos from my photo shoot. A few days ago I shared one photo and that image has gotten more "Likes" than any other photo I have ever posted. Go figure...lolol.
Last night I was sharing with a friend about this. All my life I have felt like I have been under the radar, overlooked, and not noticed. I can be in a room and feel invisible because I have done that most of my life. This photo shoot...this visual journey I know has greater implications for me than just having "new pictures". There is a shift happening internally for me. It has been going on for some years now but these images are a catalyst for further shifting. The image I have of myself is being informed by all these pictures I have been rummaging through during the selection process this past week. As I walk in the street or stand in an elevator, the images flash in my mind helping me see the Joseph others see from the outside.
I say images because not one image fully captures all of the dimensions of me. This is why I designed the shoot to capture that variety. Presently I have a draft concept of my Top 12 images. What will I do with them...I am not sure. I hadn't thought this far down the process.
Two pics have been edited so far. The second one is at the bottom of this post. Interestingly enough I artistically edited the two just as I have for any other client. I did the magazine retouching first. Then I started adding artistic elements towards the latter part. In my mind I don't want to just show you a picture, I want you to experience art.
So join me on the new adventure of me sharing my artistic expression of the photographs from Wilnelia Velez of me.
At the beginning of 2012 I wrote on my Goals List that I wanted new photos. This required I get in front of the camera for my own photo shoot. So throughout the year I collected images and ideas, never really quite certain when I would do the shoot. Finally in the late summer I knew I had to take the leap and make it happen.
So I reached out to my friend Wilnelia since she had worked as a second shooter on a couple of weddings I had done. I thought it would be a tremendous challenge for me and a fun challenge for her.
A couple of weeks ago we sat in my Studio and went over my notes and what I was looking for in the images. Wilnelia was great in capturing my vision and adding some clarity to it as well.
Then came the shoot this past weekend. After a half day of fun and photos we were able to get some great images both in my studio and outdoors which really reflect me as a Photographer, an Actor, an Artist, and as a Man.
Thank you so much Wilnelia for collaborating with me. Her website is not up yet but you can catch her on Facebook at http://on.fb.me/TaN4jw.
I love photographing in New York City. Since my studio is in the Bronx and I grew up in the Bronx I love to use the urban backdrop in my portraits.
Alexis is gorgeous in the portrait below. This was taken in the middle of January so it was cold but Alexis is making it look hot.
I went in a new direction with the post-processing here. A couple of years back I was big on the filmic artography stuff. I took that and blended it in with my present technique. The result is something I really, really like.
Preparation is key for photo shoots. And Najah was on point. Her hair and makeup were flawless. She really knows how to present not only herself, but her clients.
In the photo below I was able to use the purple backdrop to go well with Najah's outfit and her skin color. If Najah can put all this together, you better believe she can work your wardrobe and bring out the best in you.
Please check out this fashion consultant & event styist at NajR.
I love the power of this photo: the mother/daughter composition, the blown out highlights, the care, the looking forward to the future. This is the kind of image I love creating.
While taking my friend to the 102nd Floor Observation Deck of the Empire State Building, I made sure to take some photos. As I was processing this image I decided to really enhance the black and white imagery.
If you look at the bottom left of the window you will see a faint image of buildings. Those building are at least half a mile away.
To me, this portrait is so classic. These are the kind of moments that make me love the gift of photography.
Playful, fun and brilliant are just some of the words to describe Rosaleen. It was a joy to photograph her at the Studio.
Before she came in we had our Pre-Production meeting via telephone. From that conversation we designed three concepts for her shoot. The photo below is from the "Outgoing" concept.
One of my favorite portraits hanging at JDP Studios is of Kelly. She is great in front of the camera. So much so she and I will be working on a new project soon.
The photo below was taken with a 35mm lens with a shallow depth of field (f2.2) and I was probably not more than two feet away from her. Most people would close up with me being that close but Kelly really allowed me in to her personal space. It is because of that I was able to capture such a lovely reaction of her smiling here.
It is always interesting how time can help you see how you have grown as an artist.
Some time ago I photographed the R&B Group "Allure" at a studio I used in Harlem, NYC. There was this one image from that shoot
that has always stayed in the back of my mind, especially because I had never edited it. I had always wanted to edit it but never got around to it. Well, this morning I did. And it is
gorgeous.
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