Great Day

Had a fabulous day on Wednesday happened to be in the neighborhood of world famous artist Will Barnet and a gave him a call to say hello. I wound up spending the afternoon on a Park Bench in Gramercy Park on a beautiful sunny day catching up on life, the artworld, Will's recent shows and reviews by the New York Times, my photography and his future retrospective in September at National Academy of Art in NYC.  Will was going on about everyone loving the portrait I did of him so much (including him) and that my portraits have become famous and are being used everywhere from Farnsworth to Naples to the Montclair Museum, to the National Academy of Art and so on and for all his catalogs. He told me he had numerous well-known photographers, who made portraits of him over the years (he will be 100 years old on May 25th) but my photographs of him are by far, much better than, even the portrait that Arnold Newman did of him! It took me very much by surprise to hear that, and it  certainly made my day even more special.


That evening we were special guests at Manfrotto's Evening to Imagine More Event which was a very exciting and motivating affair and we had a wonderful time.

                                                                Artist Will Barnet Photo ©MMV JoAnne Kalish All Rights Reserved

 JoAnne & Violante Placido - she is so gorgeous!

JoAnne and Marcus Samuelsson 


                                                                JoAnne and Mia Moretti 

Why Fill Flash?

Certain situations lend themselves to using fill flash for a little more drama.


You can also use fill flash to add catch lights in someones eye's giving your subject a certain sparkle and excitment which draws the viewer in. When I say fill flash, I mean just that a little fill. You need to tweak down your strobe so you're getting a small amount of light but just enough. You really don't want the photograph to look like you used a flash at all. You're just looking for a little more dimension to your work. I've added some examples of what I'm talking about.    


All Photos©JoAnne Kalish

May 1, 2011 Justice A Long Time In Coming

© 2001 ©JoAnne .KalishIt's been nearly 10 years but justice has been done, to the most wanted face of Terrorism & the mastermind of the September 11th Tragedy. It is a new beginning for us all, but we must still remain vigilant. 

Pet Peeve #1 Does Your Work Really Belong In A Gallery?

© JoAnne Kalish

I've spent years working to develop a style of my own. Many upcoming photographers think that after a short amount of time acquiring a few skills their work is good enough to be should be shown in a gallery. A lot of amateur photographers pay to be shown in a gallery. Does your work really belong in a gallery just yet? Is there a theme to your work? A personal style? Or is it another picture of an old barn, a seagull or photos from your last vacation all framed up so nice, where you spend hundreds on matting and framing - the presentation may be professional but is it really art? Think about it. It brings the art of photography down - there's more to it then you think. Develop a style, hone your craft really work on it. Keep striving to make photographs rather than pictures have them say something about you, what do you care about? What do you most like to photograph? Nature? People, Portraiture? Sports? Fashion? Still Life? I can go on but won't. If you can't make up your mind try keeping your work in categories - all  portraiture together, all sports etc. See what you're best at and go with your strongest suit possibly. Develop and round out the category. What's it missing to make it better? When putting your best photos together remember this rule - "When in Doubt Leave it Out." What photos are weak and should be replaced to make a stronger statement?  

Where've I Been?

Yes I haven't been blogging.  I've been caught up again in the hum drum business stuff.  Our workshop website needs to be radically changed so guess what?  Yes, I'm working on the changes and things are coming together a little more slowly then I was hoping for.  We all know stuff that looks easy sometimes is not that easy! I also have to figure out some new fun workshops to put together. We've also been updating our back up system to a professional system made by Wiebetech and the changeover takes time.  It's one thing adding new work but organizing old work, cleaning it up etc seems like it's never ending. To top this all off I have jury duty Friday. 

Hope you stay tuned....I'll be back

The Best Light

photos © JoAnne Kalish

While down in Florida visiting Family, we had a business meeting with a future client (also visiting family who happened to be coming in from Norther California.) Our meeting was to discuss the possibility of doing a very different type fo Photo Workshop.  We met with Bruce for the first time in a place they call the Wetlands - lots of wildlife and many types of birds.  I couldn't believe the amount of amateur photographers walking around with such large lenses and no tripods. It's a little cool for Florida right now, not much sun and I'm still as white as a ghost after my third day down here.  Actually, the day was overcast, the best time to make some really good photos outside.  Bruce said he had checked out the place the day before and said there were twice as many amateur photographers there on the sunny day.  We went late in the afternoon and just as the sun was starting to set and there were so many more opportunities to make some really good photos all the photographers were gone.  What a shame.

Too Damn Cold

It's January and it's too damn cold outside.  So cold I'm not going out unless I have to. I'm not even considering going out to go cross country skiing or ice skating.  There is one problem. I'm getting cabin fever!  I'm missing walking around with my camera.  The sun's been out the last few days, which makes going out a little more bearable. The other day, while waiting for my car to be loaded with some type of non- skid material for the walkway to the studio, I found myself watching a small herd of bulls as they were frolicking about at a local farm.  The sun was getting low and it was starting to look real pretty.  I grabbed my camera from the back seat and took a few shots. Boy did it feel good.  The sun was getting lower as I was driving away &  I came across a closing shot.
Photos ©JoAnne Kalish

Photos ©JoAnne Kalish