Strike a pose
there's nothing to it? Um I think not.

Last week I played "model" for a NYCPortraits Project that budding photographer Jenny Yee is doing. To build out her enviromental landscape portraits portfolio she reached out to me and several other people & couples to capture them in a NY envrioment that is important to them and/or to showcase their personality. I thought why not and figured I could also use the final photos for my writing bios and for all the conferences that I speak at. I was joking about the latter.

For my enviromental portraits I chose Chelsea Market--one of my favorite places in the City. It's near where I live and a spot that I love to visit, eat at and people watch. When I'm there I feel like I'm not really in the city. I'm always relaxed and at ease there too. It's also the home of The Food Network, NY1, and the Oxygen channel, plus the original Nabisco factory where the first Oreo cookie was made. Inside you can, see bakeries like Amy's Bread baking their breads behind clear window displays; sample awesome brownies from Fat Witch bakery; taste wine at Chealse Wines and pick up fruit, flowers, italian spices, kitchen supplies, jams and even fresh seafood. I especially enjoy the market's industrial artistic look of exposed pipes, brick and steel mixed with yummy food smells. Given my background in journalism I'll often read the paper inside on one of their stone benches or where ever I can find an available spot. I also like introducing the market and area to outsiders too, thus where I went for my photo shoot with Jenny.

Unfortuantely the weather was terrible, massive amounts of rain was coming down making for poor lighting, a bad hair day and wet clothes, plus creating the need to have to protect her camera while outside. On the upside, most of the photos she took were indoors and I got to show off my bright umbrella.

I posed, or tried to, for an hour and a half. It's so much harder smiling for a camera when you're not with friends or doing something in particular, plus even more so when a camera is being pointed right at you in close proximity.

Here is the final photo gallery that she put together. She really did a great job with the lighting that was available and keeping the photos itimiate. Keep in mind that she was working with such a difficult subject ;)

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