kevinnowak.com

Maternity Shots Sneak Peek.

Kel and I sat for some maternity photos over the weekend...just wanted to share a quick sneak peek as I sift through them all. 

  

Full post and all the details shortly!

A Rainy Wedding.

Have you ever been invited to a wedding the week before the wedding was supposed to actually happen?  Yeah, me either, until a few weeks ago...

Our New Jersey friends, Mindy and Justin, decided they finally wanted to tie the knot after all these years and wanted to do it on the anniversary of when they started dating, February 24th.  They're high-school sweethearts and with Mindy starting medical school this summer and Justin not really into a big wedding, a small affair made perfect sense for them.  And let me tell you how very small this was.  Mindy, Justin, Kelly, Me, and the officiant.  Just the 5 of us! 

     

Kelly and I would not only act as the official witnesses, which is a requirement here in the State of New Jersey, but as the Maid of Honor/Best Man, and the Wedding Coordinator/Photographer.  We'd have ourselves a busy night! 

Everything was set for a 6:30p ceremony at the small gazebo in the center of their little town.  We arrived at their place a bit early so we could help them get ready a bit and snap a few photos.  It was fun getting some interesting shots in their little 1-bedroom place.  Reminds me a lot of our old spot in Cambridge actually...

        

  

     

It rained off and on all day and we hoped to catch a bit of a break by the time we'd venture outside...no luck.  It was probably raining the hardest it had all day when we walked out the door to venture down to the gazebo a few blocks from their house. 

  

A big umbrella made the walk through the big raindrops possible and we all arrived at the gazebo only a bit damp.

     

"You may kiss the bride..."

  

The entire ceremony only lasted a few minutes but it was very, very nice. 

     

Once back at the house Mindy changed into a more relaxed dress and we grabbed dinner at fantastic little steakhouse by the name of Kunkles that is a bit off the beaten path.  I can tell you this though...we'll definitely be going back there!  A huge thanks to Mindy's mom who treated us to the dinner.  Very nice of her. 

  

And here's a shot of the entire "wedding party"...

  

 

Thanks again to Mindy and Justin for letting be a part of such a special day.  So glad we have great friends like you guys here in NJ!

 

Cell Phone Camera Dump.

It's  been a while since I cleared out the memory card on my phone.  Enjoy some random photos in no particular order...

           

           

           

           

           

           

           

           

           

           

           

           

           

           

           

           

           

           

           

           

           

           

           

           

           

        

Comment on any photos you fell you need to...

2011 KRN Photography Year in Review Book.

The other day my 2011 Year in Review book arrived via FedEx from the good folks at Blurb.  A nice 13x11 look back at the entire year.  This is the 3rd book I've done at the end of they year and they're a great way to showcase what's been done. 

     

     
     

     

  

     

  

Once again the quality of these books is amazing...and a really great value too!  They have some new pro-line papers that are super thick and really great for showing detail. 

If you need any KRN Photography services let me know as soon as possible.  Things are going to get a little "busy" around here by the end of July!

2012.

We had to take a hiatus last year, but Nick and Jules were in town this year so we made sure we snapped a "2012" photo.  I think it came out really good.  Of course we always wait til the last minute to find objects to use for the numbers so we're running around the house like crazy trying to come up with ideas. 

Here are our 2009 and 2010 editions to refresh your memory...

     

Here are a few of the prep shots before we got the actual pose down...they're actually pretty funny.

     

 

     

     

As for the New Years Eve festivities themselves, we had an 8:30p reservation at one of our favorite restaurants, Blackbird.  Patrick and Kristin also joined us for this amazing 4 course meal to ring in the New Year.

      

After dinner we rolled, literally and figuratively, down to the waterfront to watch the fireworks at midnight.  The girls huddled in the car to stay warm until showtime...

  

After the fireworks we found ourselves back at our casa and after a few more cocktails the guys decided we should light off a few fireworks that Patrick and smuggled over the border from PA.  I think we may have woken a few people up...it was about 2am now that I think about it.  Sorry about that neighbors! 

Wishing you a happy and healthy 2012! 

Mug Shot.

They needed a photo of me for work; our internal website as well as for proposals and what not.  This is what we ended up with...not too bad I guess. 

  

Army/Navy and Pats/Skins.

So I've spent some time the past 3 nights after work sifting through the 1500 or so photos that I snapped over the weekend at Army/Navy on Saturday and then at Patriots/Redskins on Sunday.  Buckle up for a photo-heavy post this time around...as usual, click on the photos to enlarge.

So once again I was offered a media pass to the annual Army/Navy game, the 112th edition, but this time the game was in DC instead of Philly.  My second visit to the 82,000 or so FedEx Field [the last time I was there it was still called Jack Kent Cook Stadium!]  "Perfect timing", I thought to myself as my good buddy Thomas had just taken a new position in DC and would actually be working the game as well, and more importantly, we'd be able to bunk with them for a few nights!  Kelly was then able to tag along and see the game too...her first Army/Navy match-up.  I was excited as always and then we found out that both the president and vice-president planned on attending as well.  Very cool...

[you all probably know the convoluted story about how I get this access every year, so I won't rehash the details.  Still feels odd to be out walking around on the field though.  Maybe I'll get used to it at some point! ]  

Onto the photos... 

  

With the two big-dogs in attendance it meant getting into the stadium was a royal pain.  Each and every person had to go through a metal detector and those of us with bag-fulls of camera gear took even longer.  I had two Secret Service agents go through everything I had, even took lenses off of the camera and looked through it to make sure it was infact a working piece of equipment.  I guess you can't be too careful these days.  Once inside I got to see the tail end of the Army march-on and then the entirety of the Navy's.  Kelly was also able to snap a couple of great shots from Box 107 where she'd be watching the game, all warm and toasty!

     

     

     

     

     

     

I have no idea who this clown was...but he actually got a little bit of the Navy coaches ear before the game, so maybe he was someone important?

    

     

After the march-ons I hung around on the field for a bit before heading up to the press box for some lunch.  I did get back down quickly though to catch some more of the pre-game action and await the Presidents arrival.

  

  

     

     

Thomas and his boss posing for a quick photo before the boss does a TV interview. 

     

and look at these two enjoying themselves upstairs!

     

Back to the warm-ups...

     

     

     

     

Here comes the president...it's almost kick-off time!

  

     

     

Can you see me down on the field for the customary Army/Navy handshake?

  

How about now?

  

With some very high wind speeds there was an announcement made to the stadium saying that the Army and Navy jumpers would have to be cancelled.  Very disappointing as this is something I've really enjoyed the past 2 years.  So cool to see these tiny blips up in the sky race towards the field and then land perfectly at the 50!  Oh well...

We were told that we'd be able to stand on the field, at the 35 yard-line for the coin-toss, but that wasn't the case.  A number of agents came out and moved us back to the sidelines...only official White House photographers would be able to cover the toss. 

I noticed that a number of guys started to show up on the rooftops with some pretty serious fire-power...must  be getting close to show-time.

     

The National Anthem was sung and then President Obama emerged along with Vice-President Biden and a number of high ranking military brass.  The number of security people around the 50-yard line from Secret Service to NCIS agents to State Department guys must have been about 100.  Made it very hard to get a good shot.

     

     

     

That was about the best I could do from my vantage point!  Got some great shots of both the Navy and Army flyovers though...

  

     

  

Once the game was underway I made my way back to the photographers work-room to grab a bite and use the little boys room.  Passed by a certain limo on the way.  At first I didn't think it would be a good idea to take a photo, but I saw a few other guys do it so I figured why not!

     

  

I even got Bill the Navy goat to get in on the action...

Both Obamas and Bidens motorcades were lined up here in the bowels of the stadium...all cars running and ready to roll at a moments notice.

Time for me to get back onto the field...

     

     

     

  

     

The Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta, taking in the game.  [you can't miss that schnoz on him!]

  

After the coin-toss the President had gone upstairs to do a TV interview but now, about 10 minutes into the first quarter you could tell by the flurry of agents coming out onto the field that he was finally going to come sit on the Navy side [he'd go visit the Army side in the 2nd half].  I staked out a good spot behind the Navy bench so I could get a shot, even asked one of the agents if it was okay to stand there, to which he said sure.  Well about 2 minutes later, and about 30 seconds before the President walked out, another agent came over and told myself and another guy to, and I quote, "Back the fuck up!'.  He even yelled at the other agent for letting us be there.  So this is the photo I ended up with! Thanks buddy. 

     

The second one was shot by holding my camera up over his head.  I did get some good shots of him sitting with the Navy boys in the stands.  Seemed to be really enjoying himself and the game.  Probably wishes he'd come to the first two games of his presidency!

     

  

     

     

  

     

  

During the 2nd half the President walked across the field to sit with the Army cadets.  He stopped to pose for a photo with a group of cheerleaders too...they were so excited!

     

As I was standing in the endzone I noticed a face that looked pretty familiar.  "Is that Bill Belichick?" I said to myself.  Made sense...the Patriots were obviously in town for the game tomorrow and Bill's dad had coached at Navy, so he probably wanted to take in some of the action if he had the chance.  Well sure enough, it was him.

     

  

At one point I actually walked over and said "Excuse me Coach, just wanted to say good luck tomorrow against the Skins".  He shook my hand and said "Thanks, I really appreciate it" and went back to watching the game.  By far the highlight of my day! A true New England legend, a true football legend! 

     

     

     

     

     

Check this out...this is how Army calls out the plays on offense.  Do other teams do stuff like this?  I've never seen it before!

  

     

We can't forget the Vice-President...he was  here too.  He sat with Army while Obama was with Navy and then they switched.  The security around him was a bit more relaxed, so I was able to get much closer. 

     

  

The game came to a close with Navy edging out Army 27-21.  The closest game in a while, but still a Navy victory.  The 10th straight over Army.  You've gotta start to feel bad for those guys!  Though I'm sure the tides will turn at some point...

Once the final whistle sounds both teams head over to the corners of the stadium to sing eachothers fight-song.  A very nice tradition and everyone remains quiet while they do it.

     

         

Here's the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Greenert, helping the Army Chief of Staff, Ray Odierno, put on his new Navy jersey because he lost the friendly wager.

     

Once Thomas and I were both done working we retreated up to the box to warm up and get some grub.  We were beat tired and starving!  Thomas' parents were also in town for the game so I was able to snap a great family shot of them...notice how the Navy end-zone is in each of these photos, not Army.  I guess I'm a little biased...

     
     

I noticed the grounds crew quickly getting to work on the field graphics.  They need to have everything switched over before 1pm the next day, though we'd find out later that the Army and Navy endzone markings would stay as a "tribute to the troops".  At least that's what FedEx field said.  They'd have had to work through the night to remove all that grass, put down new sod, and then re-paint the endzones.  So this route saved some time and serious money!

  

     

  

Fast forward to Sunday morning when Thomas and I were getting ready for the Patriots vs Redskins, again back at FedEx, when he gets a call that he needs to get over to the Pentagon to grab some important papers for his boss and then drop them at his residence in the Navy Yard.  Well...time for a tour of the fabled E-Ring of the Pentagon then!  Pretty cool to see the offices and hallways of the Secretary of Defence and leaders of all of our military branches.  Thomas showed me around a bit and then we made our way over to the Navy Yard to drop the goods before heading to the stadium. 

We were having a few beers and tossing the pigskin in the lot when two of the famous Hogettes walked by.  I had to get a photo with them!

  

  

Thomas' dad had snagged us some choice seats in a box right on the 40 yard line so we relaxed, took in the game, drank some beers and had some tasty food.  Nice relaxing day after running around the stadium the day before.  The game was a little closer than we'd have liked, but the good guys prevailed and we left happy!

  

The Redskins were even nice enough to send up a few cheerleaders in the 2nd quarter to pose for photos.  

  

     

So there you have it...Army/Navy and Pats/Skins.  A whirlwind weekend for sure.  I was hoping to meet up with some DC people for a coffee, but we didn't even have time for that.  Next trip! 

Enjoy the photos and please let me know what you think in the comments section.

Army / Navy Weekend.

heading down to DC this weekend to photograph my 3rd straight Army/Navy game...can't wait! 

  

and as an added bonus this year I'll be going right back to FedEx Field on Sunday to watch the Patriots play the Redskins.  You can't beat a weekend of football like that!

Why so much?

I came across this story on Yahoo last week about a photograph that sold for $4.3 million bucks.  Must be a pretty impressive photo to garner that kind of money, right?  That's exactly what I thought...until I saw it.   

  

Seriously?  $4.3 million dollars for that? I just don't get it.  You or I could go take that photo.  It would save you a heck of a lot of money doing it yourself!

Super Bowl XLVIII

This is a bit of a bizarre story..but check it out.  So a few weeks ago, at around 5pm on a Friday night I got an email from a woman inquiring about one of the photos on my website.  This photo: snapped back in May on a trip up to CT for the weekend. 

  

At the time I posted it here and made some wise-crack about the GW Bridge being a necessary evil on a weekend trip up to CT. 

Apparently a "creative director" was surfing the internets and somehow came across the image.  So this woman wanted to know the resolution and how much I would charge to release the rights as they wanted to use it in an ad campaign.  A bit of a loaded question...

First, I checked out the woman's email address and found out that it was a legitimate media/marketing company based in NYC.  So I wrote back and told her that it was taken with my smart-phone, thus the resolution wasn't that great, and I asked for a bit more information about how it was ultimately going to be used.  Was she talking about a church bulletin or a national billboard?  It kinda makes a difference. 

She quickly wrote back and said she'd  have to look into the resolution issue and couldn't really give me much more information on its final use.  Hmmm.

On Saturday I got another note asking if I'd be able to re-shoot the image sometime the following week and she said that the image would be used throughout 2014.  So I was getting bits and pieces. 

I really wasn't sure how to respond at this point so I suggested we set up a time on Monday to chat on the phone so that we could work everything out.  She got back to me right away again and said that she'd like to set up a call for Sunday since time was of the essence.  I couldn't figure it out...if this image was to be used through 2014 why was there such a fire drill to get it resolved over the weekend?  Just didn't make any sense. 

In my head I did start to put a few things together.  I knew that the Super Bowl in 2014 was at the new Meadowlands stadium, so maybe that's what this was all about?  Seemed like a good guess, but it was just that, a guess. 

I stood by on Sunday waiting to hear about a conference call with this woman and their creative director.  It never came.  Seemed odd since just the day before she was all about getting this done asap.  I did spend some time on Sunday calling a few other photographers I know to try and get some insight on how to price the release rights, but again, I still didn't know the extent of how they wanted to use the image. I also tried to figure out when I could get up to NYC in the next week to re-shoot the image. 

On Monday, mid-morning, I still hadn't heard anything so I sent her a quick note asking about the status of a call and where things stood.  She then got back to me saying that they decided to go a different direction and wanted to use some GGI graphics instead of a photo.  Perhaps they'd work with me on another project in the future.  That was it...and essentially the end of the story.  I still didn't have a full picture of what they wanted or what the final product was for. 

Fast forward to today.  I opened up Yahoo and in the news section I spotted a little nugget about a new logo for the 2014 Super Bowl host committee.  This has to be what they were asking me to work on and why they wanted that image.  No doubt.  I'm still not sure how my photo would have translated into a logo...how many photos have you seen as a logo?  None. 

But how about the end result...just horrible.  I get the idea of hyping up the bad weather possibility issue with the snowflake, but other than that the rest of the logo is a bust.  The green color has no place in a scheme that is set up to evoke a winter feel and they've got NY and NJ flip flopped from reality in terms of their actual geographic location.  

  

Hopefully this is just a temporary logo for the "host committee", whoever and whatever that is, and they design a new logo for the actual game itself.