The Chris Gethard Show (cont'd)

Here are some photos from my last to visits to The Chris Gethard Show. I'm enjoying myself more with each visit, and have loved getting to know the cast/crew/fans these past few weeks. Still a relative newcomer, it's always a warm reception whenever I'm able to make it to the show. 

With a car on the fritz and a full-time job on the horizon, I may not be able to make it into the city each Wednesday night, but in any case I'll always look forward to watching online. At the very least I'd really like to make it out to the near-approaching episode 100 - I've got no clue what's planned, and I'm not sure if they do either, but it should be one for the books!

Game of Thrones Exhibition in NYC

When I heard about the temporary traveling Game of Thrones exhibition I jumped at the chance to nerd out for an afternoon.  I had no idea (though I guess I should have) that so many people would line up around a city block just to get an inside look at the show. 

I had a great time photographing costumes, props and behind-the-scenes aspects of the show, but I also indulged in the Blackwater Bay video game and got my Santa-at-the-mall-esque picture taken on the Iron Throne.

...and I might have gotten in line again and posed as Spider-Man.

The Central Park Zoo

Nothing particularly unique about these pictures, just a day trip to the Central Park Zoo.  I've always loved shooting animals, whether they're in the zoo or in the wild.

"The Dream @50" Celebration at The Met

Yesterday I had the pleasure of covering 'The Dream @50' Celebration at The Met.  This was an art contest awards ceremony that included submissions from local K-12 students, meant to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's famous 'I Have a Dream' speech.  Though the actual date isn't until August 28 (something I've always remembered as it's also my birthday), holding this event in January was a great, touching way to start of Black History Month this year.

The assignment for the art competition was to present a piece that reflected on the progress of the Civil Rights Movement in the decades since MLK's work.  What was really interesting/inspiring was how much of the artwork dealt with not just the state of Blacks, but of all races, religions and orientations.

The ceremony included two performances by students from the Harlem School of the Arts.  Between the artwork and the performers, there was some amazing stuff presented.  I kept having to remind myself that these were elementary, middle and high school kids dancing and singing and painting, etc.  - which made the work 'RULL' impressive, rather than simply 'really' impressive.

Curators made several references to works form the American Wing throughout the ceremony, so I decided to take a walkthrough afterwards and as a bonus I've included some of those HDR's.

2013 NYC Winter Jazz Fest

I had the pleasure of photographing the NYC Winter Jazz Fest in the West Village this past weekend.  Not a whole lot to say here, so let's get right to the pictures!  

Bonus:  Here's a botched HDR of an upright bass player at Sullivan Hall.  I rather like how it came out.

9/11 Beacon Memorial

I've always wanted to photograph the 9/11 beacon memorial.  I remember being particularly inspired by the opening scene from Spike Lee's movie The 25th Hour, which focused on the beacon lights from different angles for the first several minutes.

 Though I hadn't been home the past several anniversaries I was finally able to make it this time around.  Throughout the year my work for Lifetouch took me to several places in New York and New Jersey that had great views of the Manhattan skyline and the Freedom Tower construction site.  It's been interesting to witness the slow but steady progress on the tower at different points in the year.  So this year I decided to spend Sept. 11 revisiting a couple of these spots and photograph the beacon memorial from different vantage points.

My first stop was a cliffside park in Weehawken, NJ, a ways upriver from the World Trade Center.  It was a relatively quiet scene, though the sidewalk was lined with all sorts of photographers.  Some had iPhones and point-and-shoots, others had tripods and enormous telephoto lenses.  For the most part people were silent, but here and there you could hear quiet conversation.

I spent about 15-20 minutes photographing and taking in the scene, and then drove down to Liberty State Park in Jersey City to get a closer vantage point.  This was a very different atmosphere.  I arrived around 9:30, a short while before the parking lot's usual closing time, though you wouldn't know it that night.  It felt more like the Fourth of July, especially when I noticed the ice cream truck stationed right outside the park entrance.  Inside the park I found myself in a sea of tripod-wielding photographers, each one fighting for a spot on the river.  The longer I stayed the more uncomfortable I felt, finding myself somewhere in the middle of the spectrum between somber visitors and enthusiastic photographers.  On my way out of the park I noticed a group of older visitors posing for pictures in front of a piece of metal from the Twin Towers that had been turned into one of several memorials at the park.  I tried not to judge, figuring everyone copes and commemorates tragedy differently, but when they put their coffee cups on the piece of the building so they could review their pictures I had seen enough.

So the trip was not at all what I had planned, but I think I managed to find a few moments at least to reflect and photograph some nice (if not at all original) frames of the memorial.

Hopeless Romantic - Production Stills

Here are the production stills for Hopeless Romantic, a film my friends at Tanaka Bros. are working on.    This was quite a learning experience for me, not just from being on my first movie set, but also from jumping into the medium of production still photography from scratch.

© Andrew Bisdale 2012

Editing was quite a chore, narrowing a collective batch of about 1250 pictures down to a somewhat-comprehensive 136.  I like to think these pictures tell a relatively concise story, showing some behind-the-scenes action, some of the scenery, and a little bit of impromptu celebrating after we wrapped filming.

This was a pretty surreal experience, working well into the night for several nights in a row, witnessing the production of what I'm sure will be an impressive piece of filmmaking.  I'll say one more "Congrats" to the cast/crew of Hopeless Romantic - can't wait to see the final product!

Photoshoot for "GRAVITY"

Today I took some publicity pictures for some good friends of mine who are producing a play called GRAVITY.  The show is described as a "story of a war torn world rule by and evil overlord and the four superheroes who band together to defeat her and save their planet."

I've performed with these folks before, in a show called ENTOMO, so I can say from personal experience that they know how to put on a show.  I'm very excited to continue working with them on this production - and to see the show itself, which promises to be mind-blowing as always.

An Evening with Guster and Jon Sarkin

Last Friday I had the amazing opportunity of shooting a sold out show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, featuring the music of Guster and the art of folk artist Jon Sarkin.  I have been a huge Guster fan since the early 2000's, so this was a bit of a dream come true for me.  While I was unfamiliar with Sarkin's work, throughout the evening I quickly became a fan of his as well.  I also had the pleasure of meeting a number of interesting people, including Spectrum co-chairs Morgan Holzer and Chris Gorman; string players K Ishibashi and Dana Leong; and Amy Ellis Nutt, a writer for the Newark Star Ledger.  All in all a pretty unforgettable evening - one I hope I was able to capture adequately in photos!

Below are some of my best shots from the night.  (I'm using Flickr slideshows for the time being, until I can upgrade my Photoshelter account.)