This week, I was grateful for the opportunity to photograph some very talented people in a truly unique and challenging space. In a small, independently owned, Asian American book store, Smithsoneon & the Jazz Thugs performed by the light of two small, red paper lanterns. East Meets West Bookstore is managed by the Boston Progress Arts Collective. It houses the largest selection of independent Asian American products on the East Coast, including books, DVDs, hip hop, rock, and spoken word CDs and vinyl, chapbooks, gear and one-of-a-kind artwork from established and up-and-coming artists from across the country. They hosted Smithsoneon and the Jazz Thugs as part of their Music Box Series The lack of any real light and the tight quarters made this a very interesting challenge to shoot. I’m hoping these images are as unique as the outstanding music I heard that night. The Jazz Thugs are a group of gentlemen who met their freshmen year at Berklee School of Music and have been playing Jazz together ever since. They’ve only named themselves recently due to the increased attention they’ve received. Saturday night, they featured jazz covers as well as some unique compositions including an amazing piece set to Martin Luther […]
Happy Valentine’s Day! To celebrate, we’ve released our new website! And I couldn’t imagine a better suited post to start the new look with. When my good friend Jen told me her husband was returning from Afghanistan after a long, difficult year I was honored to accompany her to document this very special homecoming. The homecoming was to take place on Friday at 4:00pm and was to be full of celebration and fun for the troops and their families. Sadly, the event was moved to midnight the day before preventing Jen from brining her six (yes…I said six) young children to greet their dad. This made it even more important for me to capture the event for them. The 26th Yankee Brigade arrived home to the Camp Curtis Guild armory in Reading, MA. Despite the late hour, friends and family crowded the armory in anticipation of seeing their loved ones. My friend Jen clutched notes and pictures drawn by her children while family members hung signs celebrating their loved one’s safe return. I couldn’t help but take a picture of the most interesting sign in the armory. I’m dying to know about poor Greg’s car! As the door to […]