It’s like Mardi Gras but above the Mason-Dixon line, Halloween in Salem.

If I had to categorize myself I’d say I was a studio photographer. I love being in control of my light. I’ve photographed for catalogs, men’s magazines, books, and thousands of products and light is what makes every photo.

That being said I don’t feel that the photo-journalistic style is where I’m at but sometimes you need to be the “man on the street”. One thing I’ve learned from Jay Maisel) and that you should know is that to take good photos in a crowd is not about your equipment but about you stealth.

PRO TIP: Know your lighting and use a camera and lens that doesn’t intimidate your potential subjects.

'Spinal Tap' in Salem

Okay so here is the deal. In Salem MA on Halloween hundreds of thousands of people show up to get their freak on. The photo possibilities are infinite. I hung out with a few friends and took some pics. Mostly I moved along with the ebb and flow of the crowd but occasionally I found some good light and waited for a photo to come along.

The above photo was taken with a D700 and an SB600 flash set to -1 stop. the back light, which really makes the photo, was courtesy of Salem MA DPW, as they had set up light banks on mobile generators around the city.

Thanks Salem MA, and happy Halloween.

When you think about surfers and great locations  to surf,  Cape Cod probably doesn’t come to mind. In fact New England doesn’t even make the top 10  surf locations in the US.  Yet, every year I trek down to Wellfleet on the tip of Cape Cod to hang with some friends, drink, surf, have some cocktails, 4 wheel, eat, surf some more, smoke stogies and have a few more adult beverages.

This year with hurricane Bill off the coast there were high hopes for good surf.  My plan was to shoot some surfing action shots.  Unfortunately when we got to the beach the waves were less than impressive chop and the water was angry.  After a few failed attempts Mother Nature decided to rain on our parade (much like she did for my 4 hour motorcycle ride down to the outer cape).

Bummed out over the circumstances I reluctantly snapped a few shots (maybe 10 total) before riding back to the house, pouring a dark & stormy and sitting by the fire.

Ando

Checking out the Surf