I remember years ago getting a promo from BMW that featured a number of short films that were done by various people that incorporated their latest models in the stories.  I always found this one to be my favorite.  It’s cool, fast, and clever.  Enjoy!

A while back on this blog I had mentioned that I had a new project in the works that I would soon be launching. Well, after it taking on a life of its own, and getting pushed back due to other more pertinent work, it’s finally done and up. It can be found on my main site here.
The series actually came about by total accident. One day this past fall I was at Englishtown Raceway Park in NJ with some friends for an open drag strip day, and when I was leaving after the event , I happened upon the MX practice at one of the two tracks there. After pulling in and watching for a bit, I decided to go up and ask if I could get a bit closer and take some shots of the riders on the track. One signed release and an orange wristband later, I was slipping and sliding in mud up to my ankles along the perimeter of the track trying to juggle my gear and not fall flat on my face in slop, oh, and also trying not to get clipped by these guys soaring over my head on their machines.
I wound up trying to get as much as I possibly could shoot with the daylight dwindling away, and the sessions winding down, and afterwards wound up hanging around and talking with a few of the riders and trying to get a feel for what goes on in the sport. I learned the schedules and when the practices and races were, and went home to look at some of the shots I had casually taken from the short practice I caught.

A week or so later there was a race being held there and I decided to go down and see what it was all about. It was a pretty packed venue, RVs, bikes, riders, and spectators all over the place. They were running heats pretty much all day. I went up to the tower and spoke to the organizer and asked if he would allow me to have a media pass or permission to get out on the track to shoot some of the riders during the race. Since there were other photographers already there on the track , that are affiliated with the venue, he declined and I was relegated to whatever I could muster from behind the fence. Oh well.

Over the next few weeks I went back down a couple more times to catch the practices. One time I showed up and the place was a ghost town, since the practice had been rescheduled (I had no idea), and another time I went down to find the session frozen due to a rider injury. Figuring third time would be a charm, the last practice I made it down to I wen tin to the main office to request a pass to get out on the track once again, but even after explaining that I would gladly sign a release, and that I wasn’t trying to steal any other photographer’s thunder, was turned away when the powers that be found out that I wasn’t with a big name company, or wasn’t shooting for a magazine, or wasn’t tied in with a manufacturer…… all I was trying to do was take some cool shots of the sport to see what I could put together for a portfolio. The other issue I was dealing with was a lack of control over who and what I was shooting. So I had no say in what the riders did, or what they wore, or how clean their bikes were or if their ensemble matched or not. I basically had to work with what I was given.

So, here they are. My goal for this series was to try and show the sport in a different light. It always seems to be covered with such an in your face, gritty and “extreme” attitude. What I tried to do with my images, was to kind of pull it back a bit. Tame it a bit. Even though its a undeniably dirty, smelly, gritty, and noisy sport, I wanted to capture a more serene take on it. To freeze the moments, and really give the viewer a chance to take in what is happening in that split second that the bike is flying over your head, or the spray of must is slamming up against the riders,and the look of concentration in their eyes. I found that the mechanical aspects of these bikes are quite interesting, the suspension geometry, the plumbing on the engine components, the colors and shapes of the fairings, and the way it all comes together. I found the way the cleats on the tires tear through the soil, the waves of heat zig-zagging off the engines, the wafts of blueish smoke pumping from the exhausts, and the way the huge amounts of suspension travel just soak up so much of the uneven terrain actually quite captivating. This is what I am attempting to convey in the images. I also opted to tame the color and mute the tones and compose the shots so that it took on a more fluid and staged look versus what most seem to capture with highly saturated colors, wide angle lenses, and very busy composition. My goal was to make these a bit more surreal and easy. I hope that you take the time to view them and enjoy them, I’ve got to go rest my eyes and pick some more mud out of my teeth. Again, here is the direct link to the gallery on my site.

Here are a few out takes from the shoot days. I would like to thank all the riders that were cool enough to take the time to educate me on the sport and share some stories, and to Englishtown Raceway Park, even though you wouldn’t allow me out on the track, I still managed to put together a kick ass set of shots.

I have just received my new business cards yesterday and I am very pleased to share them.  I would like to extend my thanks to Denise Vannucci of  Yellow Advertising & Design for helping me get my idea for the card into a eps file format, and also Alex Daley of Dolce Press for doing the printing and putting up with me while we nailed down the proofs.  It was well worth the wait and this is a card that I am proud to hand to someone.

The design premise was to be something that was clean, tight, simple and carried through with the color and feel of my site.  I also wanted a card then when I hand it to someone, is substantial and tactile and makes them hesitant to just stuff in their pocket or throw away.  I wanted to design a card that would be remembered and exude a sense of thoughtful and subtle design.  I used a blind de-bossing with no ink for the front so that the depth of the impression into the paper and the shadow it creates is what you read.  The crisp impression and the texture of the cotton also encourages you to run your fingers over the surface to experience its depth.  As you flip the card over to see the information on the rear, the vibrant orange edge coloring (Which matches the orange navigation icons on the site) will catch your eye and add some color to the card, as well as draw attention to the thickness of the stock, which is 220 lbs cotton Lettra in flourecent white.  The rear of the card uses a matching Gotham font like the front and is printed with silver ink using letterpress.  Overall, it is a clean and minimal card that goes beyond just a simple swatch of information,  it invites more of your senses and will encourage you to hold it in your hands and savor it.  If I could have had them flavored like a Breyers® Creamsicle so that you could lick them, I would have.

For a further in depth study on business card etiquette and impact please take a moment and enjoy this short excerpt:

Found in “wings” section of my website.

©2009 Garibaldi

This is a clip from the opening credits of a skateboarding video called fully flared by Ty Evans, Spike Jonze and Cory Weincheque that came out a few years ago. I find the concept and execution captivating.

There is a new image I have added under the form gallery on my site. I actually shot this a while back on location on a shoot and have been passing over it for over a year in my archives and took another look at it the other day and decided it was fitting.

On another note, I will be adding some new projects I have been working on to the site shortly. I know I have been saying so for a while now, but between working shoots, and the time in retouching, they are coming along slower than anticipated. Be sure that they will be worth the wait though!

making of quite intersting

New MX images added to site under sport category.  I have recently shot a good amount of content and will be posting up a few more once they are complete so stay tuned.

I came across this on a few blogs this week and it seems like a fantastic idea. I am involved and encourage anyone else interested to do the same. For more info visit the Help Portrait website

I often go back through past jobs that I have stored in my archives and will come across an image that I may have missed or not really thought much of at the time and I see it in a whole new light. This image, which can be found in the aerial section of my website is actually a shot taken from a plane as we were coming in from our decent from a commercial aerial flight. As we flew in over a marsh of 12 foot high swamp grass chutes, I snapped this image. Upon first looking at it, it appears to be simply a shot taken of a lawn at eye level. But upon closer inspection, you can see that the perspective and depth is just a little different to simply just be a shot of that. It was taken from roughly 800 feet above and just the simple pattern, the muted color and intricate detail of every blade of each plant is what drew me to it. * Due to the vast amount of detail in a lot of these images on my site, especially the aerial images, the file sizes can be quite large, thus resulting in a slightly longer load time on some images. This is done at the expense of speed, as I would rather show the detail and quality of the image, so if some images take a moment more to load than others, please be patient.

Over the past 34 years of my life I have seen numerous examples of the work of Herb Ritts.  Most of those times were when I hadn’t even the slightest notion that I was going to be a professional photographer someday, so while his work had made a memorable impression on me at the time, I did not pay too much attention to it beyond that.  It wasn’t until a couple of years ago when I was in Miami on work, that I happened to pick up a book of his work tucked in the back corner of a shelf at a studio.  I had some time to really sit down and go through his images and was just captivated.  I find his work to be strikingly beautiful, simple, and timeless.  His death was a tragic loss to the photography world.

Truth be told, I’ll always be a car guy.  Deep deep down, I have a draw to them.  They can stir the soul, get you excited, some people even think that they can get you laid.  They make noises, they move, they light up, they shoot stuff out, they have personalities.

Automobiles are form and function cohering.  There are too many to list, and too many merits to cover for any particular one.

This post is focused on the images I recently shot for a project  (They can be viewed in the Wheels section of my site) of a 1951 VW split window coupe that has been impeccably restored. (more…)

Coming soon! Check back in a few days for and update and more info. Google  google

Iphone 3GS © Gariabldi

Okay, so no big discoveries here, I am probably one of the last people on this planet (aside from my Father who opted for the Blackberry hahaha) to get the IPhone.  I just want to join the masses and say- Wow!  what  a life changing device….  no need for me to embellish on its attributes and capabilities.  I just cannot believe I waited so long to finally get one.  My website even has a mirror site that is viewable on the Iphone….so cool!  All the IPhone needs is a nose hair trimmer and a built in stun gun and it would be the perfect device.  Maybe that will be on the next Iphone 4GS or whatever they name it….

This video is not new, but anytime I come across it and watch it I feel relief that I am not the only one who seems to experience these situations, as well as frustration since it is so true as well. I am sure that we all can relate to this with business dealings in our own lives, probably more than we would care to admit. The only detail from the clip that makes me slightly different than Mr. Ellison, is that I have not figured out how to get paid every time I take a leak, that must come with experience. Taken from documentary on Harlan Ellison, “DREAMS WITH SHARP TEETH”

©2009

Many photographers often put up posts of images and are kind enough to allow the viewer to be privy to a behind the scene glimpse of perhaps where or how the image was shot.  They will discuss the equipment used, a lighting setup, or some other often unrevealed facet of the image.   That is fine and great, but I wanted to cover something a little different with this one.  I am going to tell the story of how I had to save my own ass taking this image. (more…)

Take the Holland Tunnel out of New York City and go ten blocks deeper than the metropolitan and cushy neighborhoods of Hoboken or Jersey City, where trying to buy a place to live is only a few steps behind Manhattan in terms of price and you’ll end up in an industrial bad land. Do the same with the Lincoln tunnel and you wont even have to go as far. Fly into Newark airport airport and right before you land your eyes are given a visceral treat of probably a place you definitely wont be visiting while in the area. Take the Pulaski Skyway out to the suburbs on your way out from the city and turn your head to either side and take a look….and a whiff. This area of Newark, Kearny, Bayonne, Secaucus, Elizabeth, Harrison and the surrounding towns are probably what give New Jersey its oh so fine reputation of being the country’s dump. I’m sure you have all either seen it, smelled it, or heard about it, and while I’m not here to try and change your mind, I would like to point out that despite what notion you may have about it, there really is a beautiful side to it.

One caveat, that beautiful side may be buried under some toxic soil, or down a dark dead end street, or a couple of inches below that funky stinky mist that is floating by, but its there.  I bet you have never noticed it.

© 2009 Garibaldi

© 2009 Garibaldi

While typically you may lock your doors, panic, grip your mace, fire up your navigation system really fast, and have bad dreams for a few days, I have found quite the opposite to be true. I purposely get lost, open the windows, get out, look up, and take the turn down that street that you would otherwise avoid like the gate of hell. Let me just say that once you get past the voice in your head telling you not to, often times what lies down that path is truly cool and unique with more character than you could ever imagine. (more…)

Welcome.  I have recently launched my new photography website http://www.garibaldiphoto.com

I have been working on it for over 4 months and finally got it to a point to launch it so please take a look and enjoy.  It was a lot of late nights in front of the workstation, eyes burning, staring at thousands of images, trying to choose which ones I wanted to display.  My electricity bill actually went up  quite  a bit, I fried a set of RAM sticks in my Mac, blew through the free 40 hour a month limit on Pandora within the first few days of each month, and wore the tip of my Wacom stylus pen down to nothing.  It was all worth it though.  There will be new content being added frequently so be sure to check back.

I tend to shoot a variety of subjects and really enjoy the diversity, so I decided to include a broad range of categories and content within each to show it.  I am going to discuss some of these categories and the images in them in future blogs as well.

I would like to give a big thank you to Rob Haggart and  his team at APhotoFolio for providing such an outstanding platform for my website.  After shopping around for a company to team up with to remake my old portfolio site, I found theirs to be stupendous in terms of layout, ease of use, design, execution, and cost.  They provide all of the necessary tools to make a really slick site that is so easy to manage and customize, and the end result is fast, clean and has impact.  Their customer service is excellent as well.

I would also like to add that when I was doing my initial research, I came across an excellent blog that has an in depth discussion and comparison of all of the top photography website designs which really helped to educate me on my decision.  That blog can be found here at  http://www.aphotoeditor.com/2008/01/31/portfolio-website-design/ Its worth a look if you would like to see real world discussion on websites and design companies of that nature.