This is my favorite time of year. The home stretch, the big finish, the race to get everything done, and then I get to leap off the grid into the family zone. However, there is always one more thing to do and each year, it’s my look back at the year that was.
Going through the vast collection of photographs to showcase these highlights allows me to celebrate a year of accomplishments – feeding my inspiration for the year ahead.
So let’s get to it. 2013 was another Herculean year in my photography world. This was a year that had many themes. For us, it was especially the year of the Mitzvah – as many of you know we Partied HARD with the Juricks in September but we took the spiritual journey to Jerusalem in the summer and experienced an even deeper connection to Israel for Bar and Bat Mitzvahs.
Using the ancient port town of Jaffa as a fashion shoot backdrop, we captured some amazing portraits of the kids that were used at the party later in the year.
Infrared Steals the Show
While the kids’ Mitzvah was the centerpiece of the year, it’s easy to see how these infrared images were also a big part of the year’s showcase. Each time a new set of black and white infrared photographs were published, I’ve received overwhelmingly positive feedback to their unique high-contrast, ethereal and even haunting look.
APPLAUSE
Hard to believe Applause “Fiddler on the Roof” was in this calendar year, but when I looked back, I was reminded of one of the greatest Applause performances in their company’s amazing history, with Max Nusbaum in the lead role of Tevye. Additionally, Applause Hip Hop Dance Troupe became the talk of the year and made for incredibly dramatic images, thanks to the choreography by Trammell Logan.
LAUREN FASHION SHOW
Special mention in this highlight reel goes to the Lauren Fashion show at the Hearst Building simply because it’s eye candy for all. Beautiful supermodels, gorgeous clothes, runway design by the amazing team at 360 Design Events by Matthew David Hopkins. They created the sublime setting for the Lauren by Ralph Lauren show, the first runway show in this spectacular space It was a total visual highlight of the year.
CONCERTS
I can’t mention supermodels without also mentioning rock and roll. CONCERTS continued to be a passionate source of inspiration for me this year as Jason and Emily at Live Nation and Jesse and Ronni at The Bowery Presents and Peter at the Bowl and the Cap set me up with plum assignments to capture some of the biggest names in music.
Justin Timberlake, Rihanna, Dave Grohl and the Sound City Players, Tom Petty, Black Sabbath, supergroup Atoms For Peace (Radiohead’s Thom York and Red Hot Chili Pepper’s Flea), and Pearl Jam (at the awesome Barclays Center) were major highlights. Thanks to Rock Paper Photo and fans like you who have me signing limited edition archival prints! Thank you to Rolling Stone for including my photograph of Phoenix in their year-end list of the 40 best live photos of 2013!
Ok, so we’ve got supermodels, check. Rihanna and Justin Timberlake, check. How about super fans? We’ll let’s take it a step further and introduce the adoring fans who are lucky guests at some of the parites where Jason Derulo, Cher Lloyd and Austin Mahone had performed this year. Then, let’s look at all the party people who enjoyed celebrating life throughout the year.
