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On Assignment - The Zucchini Brothers

Every now and the you come across a cast of characters that you know have something special. Meet the Zucchini Brothers, Steve, Jack and Sam. These guys know how to rock the kid world (young and old) with some of the best fun, entertaining and educations songs you will ever hear. Performing their original hits like "You Are What You Eat", "Clean Your Room" and "The Money Song" both kids and parents will find themselves singing along.

I first met the Zucchini Brothers at our local local firehouse Family Day and was hooked. After watching them interact with the kids I knew I have to photograph these guys and today was my day. I headed out early this morning to meet up with them at the Steamer No. 10 Theater in Albany NY so I could photograph them live in concert. In no time I found myself tapping my foot to the music and even caught myself signing along as I was clicking away. If you have kids, I highly recommend checking out their website http://www.zucchinibrothers.com to see when they will be performing near you. If you don't have kids, borrow some and go enjoy the show. Also available on their website are podcasts of their weekly radio show and links for ordering their very entertaining CD's and DVD's.

And now it is time to sit back and enjoy the concert.....

View larger images by clicking here for the slidehow.

Just for Fun - Snow Day.

What do you do when you are stuck in the house on a snow day. You set up a band in the living room of course.












Technical Data: 2 quantum T2's on stand with red and blue gel. One Quantum T5d-r into 15x18 softbox.

On Assignment - Dutchess ARC Foundation

Tonight I had the pleasure of photographing the First Annual SnowBall for the Dutchess ARC Foundation hosted by emcee Butch Anderson and special guest honoree Fred W. Schaeffer.

Steve Saland and his wife Linda are greeted by Crys McCuin, Executive Director Dutchess ARC.
Dutchess County Sherriff, Butch Anderson, sits down with Senator Steve Saland during the cocktail hour.

Corinne S. Weber, President of Dutchess ARC Foundation Board of Trustees, presents Fred Schaeffer with an award.
While making a joke about the time, Senator Steve Saland recognizes honoree Fred Schaeffer.

New York State Assemblyman Marcus J. Molinaro recognizes honoree Fred Schaeffer.

Senator Steve Saland and Marc Molinaro honor Fred Schaeffer for his for work on making the Walkway over the Hudson project come true.



Fred Schaeffer address the Foundation.



Dutchess ARC Foundation Treasure, Betty Kirchhoff dances with her son Joe Kirchhoff to the sounds of the Dan Bradley Big Band.


Folks watch President Obama delivered his State of the Union address in the hotel lobby after the event.

Never Quit for Chad - You can help.

I had the pleasure of photographing Jovonna and Chad back in February of 2008. I was updating my portfolio and they were very helpful by posing for me. What a wonderful and happy couple to work with. Now it is my turn to help them.

In October of 2009, Chad was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer know as Ewing Sarcoma. It is a fast growing cancer that attacks the spine area. In Chad's case, the tumors have put pressure on his spine and he has become paralyzed from the waist down.

Chad has been receiving both chemo and radiation treatments in NYC at Sloan Kettering, 100 mile from his home, away from family and friends since October. Jovonna has been at his side since day one. Chad was able to come home for a few days over the holidays.

Just days before Chad was diagnosed with cancer, Jovonna gave him the wonderful news that she was pregnant with their child.

Both Chad and Jovonna have been out of work since early October and are now paying for their insurance out of pocket.

How can you help. For those who are in the Poughkeepsie NY area, we are having a fund raiser for Chad and Jovonna on February 27, 2010 at the Poughkeepsie Elks Lodge, 29 Overocker Road. Please email bauert123@hotmail.com for tickets or write to the address below.

If you are not in the Poughkeepsie area, or are unable to attend, you can contribute in one of two ways. A check can be made out to "Never Quit for Chad" and mailed to:

Never Quit for Chad
c/o Tom Bauer
89 Van Wagner Road
Poughkeepsie, NY 12603

or if you want to post a picture or send a message to Chad, you can buy at $10.00 square at Neverquitforchad.org.

For updates on Chad's progress, read a blog his friends put together at: http://www.mapsalesonline.com/neverquitforchad/blog.php

Please do what ever you can to help out Chad, Jovonna and their unborn child. Every dollar counts.

Thanks You,
Duane

Just for fun - Product Photography

While on vacation I thought I would take some time to work on Product photos.


Since it is the holidays, I started with this wooden white snowman to do a little white on white testing. The kind of thing you see on most web pages where the photo and the page background are seamless.

The challenge with this rainbow (RoyGBiv, missing indigo and violet) is to make sure the white tops of the bottles show up against the white background.


A photographer friend of mine from Essence Photography by Eysha Powers pointed out that I should take a look at the actual product website to see how they did the white on white bottle tops. I took a peek and have to agree, so I did a quick re-shoot and this is the result. I'll re-shoot the rainbow this weekend.
More white on white with a little silver.
Chrome is one of the harder things to photograph because of all the reflections. I also wanted to make sure the product name was clear by making the chrome around the name dark.Nothing to fancy here, just playing with reflections.
The goal in this shot of a small flashlight was to highlight the product name with a band of light. I also wanted to show just a bit of the light cast by the flashlight.