As I mentioned in earlier posts, I recently traveled to Dubai to teach a series of workshops. It was an amazing experience on many levels that was as rewarding as it was stressful. It truly tested my limits—as a photographer, as an artist, and as a person.

It tested my limits physically and psychologically, too—I have had jet lag for so long now that I’m going to have to give it a going-away party when it finally leaves. Dubai is a roughly 16-hour plane flight from Los Angeles, with a 12-hour time difference. 12 hours ahead. I hit the ground running when I arrived, and I didn’t have one day off the entire two weeks I was there—in addition to teaching workshops the first week, the second week I had to shoot three editorial assignments: Two for Harper’s Bazaar Arabia and an editorial assignment for Maniac magazine, the last of which I had no time off to prep or even come up with a concept. Not that I’m complaining, but it was difficult. No sleep doesn’t make for an easy temperament; plus, I had just gotten over a bout of walking pneumonia immediately before leaving for Dubai. The pressure to be creative in those circumstances while undergoing severe culture shock was brutal. But I made it through without too much damage.

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The Movie that Lets Us Inside the Coveted Domain of MY Favorite Diva

Photo by Lori Hawkins – The September Issue

Everyone has their heroes, people you look up to and draw inspiration from, and Anna Wintour is definitely one of mine. I’m sure it’s obvious why. Anyone who knows anything about the fashion industry knows Anna Wintour. Over 20 years ago she rescued American Vogue from the brink of obscurity and restored it to its Diana Vreeland-era glory days, and she’s remained one of the most important figures in the fashion industry ever since. Her eye for style is unsurpassed, her taste is impeccable, and her power and influence in this industry cannot be overstated.

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Learning that you just have to let go and FEEL the shot

I’m going to go ahead and admit it: I was very sad about Michael Jackson’s early departure from this realm. No, I didn’t own any of his albums nor did I go to any of his concerts. I lean more towards rock n’ roll, baby. But I grew up with Michael, in a sense. We are roughly the same age and I grew up listening to the Jackson 5. And I witnessed the Motown 25 year Anniversary special on TV the night Michael did his legendary moonwalk and the music industry changed, over night! I remember that night clearly, in 1983. Michael took the world by storm! He became a legend!

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A couple of my favorite websites and
why I watch them religiously.

I’m back in the middle of pre-production again this week, prepping two editorials for Fall Fashion issues for two different magazines. Stay tuned for details. The more I find out, the more I’ll let you in on the shoots!  But in the meantime,  I really want to share with you some amazing websites that are chocked full of very useful information. These are websites that I either follow every day, that I’m subscribed to or that I visit frequently. The people that run these sites aren’t friends of mine, I don’t know them, most sites I’m not linked to so this isn’t some shameless promotional post with all my “blog buddies” getting a shout out. These are websites that I use to help my own photography career. So let’s get started, shall we? I’ve listed the link and why I favor it so much. And do me and your other fellow readers a favor: list your favorite link or two in the comment section. I think it’s very important to share knowledge and information. Thanks!

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Suburban Occult, Elinchrom, and Steven Meisel

David and I recently celebrated the 1 year anniversary of The Fashion Photography Blog! We both want to extend a very warm thank you to all of our readers and subscribers!! I think we’re both a little more than suprised that the blog has done as well as it has in such a short time and continues to grow and gain popularity. But it’s you, the reader, that has made this possible and we’re very grateful to all of you who have been so loyal and enthusiastic towards this blog. We have more things planned for the blog in the coming year including a store where I’ll list books and DVD’s that I recommend and tutorials we offer, plus the seminars that we’re planning on doing every other month in 2010! We’re looking forward to an exciting year ahead of us, so stay tuned!

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