Celebrity - pt.4

Tony Curtis, actor in such classic films as Some Like it Hot and Spartacus.


Darian Caine, B-movie actress.


Donna Mills,from the 1979 primetime soap, Knots Landing.


George Romero, director of the 1968 film, Night of the Living Dead and many other horror films.


April Hunter, former professional wrestler.

Celebrity - pt.3

More faces from pop-culture-


Mickey Dolenz, from The Monkees.




Tom Noonan, actor in the films Manhunter, Heat and The X-Files.


Zach Galligan, from Gremlins.


Larry Storch, from the 1965 television series, F-Troop.


Frank Stallone, actor and musician.


Cheryl Bachman, Playboy Playmate.

The next posting will bring this series to a close, and I've saved some good ones for the end. Check back tomorrow.

Celebrity - pt.2

Continuing from yesterday-


Richard Kline, Larry from the 1977 sitcom Three's Company.


Nikolai Volkov, former WWF wrestler.


Walter Koenig, Checkov from the original Star Trek series.


Christopher Atkins, star of the 1980 film, The Blue Lagoon.


Rene Auberjonois, Odo from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Clayton Endicott from the 1979 sitcom, Benson.


Corbin Bernsen, Arnold Becker on 1986 legal drama, L.A. Law.

Celebrity - pt.1

This past weekend I attended the Chiller Theater in Parsippany, NJ. It's a twice-a-year gathering of fans and autograph hounds there to meet their favorite personalities from film, television and pop-culture. The guest line-up is is always an eclectic mix. I attended the con a year and a half ago and took portraits of Diff'rent Strokes star Gary Coleman, and horror movie hosts Elvira and Zacherle.

From the work I created back in 2007, I decided that a series of portraits of personalities at fan conventions might be interesting. Many of my subjects at these cons would be the stars of yesterday, who evoke great memories in many, but perhaps hadn't been seen in a while.
So with press pass in hand and my trusty intern Zach at my side, I set out to start a new body of work this past Saturday.

I see it as there are two aspects to the photos-
1 - The close-up portraits, with the subject isolated from their surrounding, which allow the viewer to get a good look at and study these people who haven't really been seen in this light for a while.
2 - At their table with their merchandise strewn around them, which I think comments on celebrity and fame in general, and on former glory and nostalgia.

I took a LOT of photographs, so I'll be posting them in parts over the next several days. The first batch are below. Feedback would be appreciated!


The Iron Sheik, former WWF wrestler and frequent Howard Stern show guest.


Pat Harrington, Jr., Schnieder on the 1975 sitcom One Day at a Time.


Lou Ferrigno, The Incredible Hulk from the 1978 TV series.


Noel Neill, the original Lois Lane in the Superman movie serials and TV show.


Tiffany Taylor, Playboy playmate.


Carel Struycken, The Giant on Twin Peaks, Lurch in The Adams Family movie, Mr. Homn on Star Trek: The Next Generation.

More tomorrow.

Graphic NYC site update

This week GRAPHIC NYC profiles Simon Fraser. See it HERE.

Edward James Olmos

This past weekend I had the opportunity to photograph one of my favorite actors, Edward James Olmos. I attended a celebrity autograph convention where Mr. Olmos was appearing and was able to get a few minutes with him to take the portrait below.
I grew up watching him on Miami Vice and Stand and Deliver, but it's his role as Admiral William Adama in the recently completed series Battlestar Galactica, that makes him an icon to me. Battlestar Galactica is perhaps my favorite program I've watched as an adult, and Edward James Olmos's portrayal of Adama was so commanding, so intense and emotional, that he seemed more than just a character on a television show.
In person, he was friendly, chatty and genuine. In front of my camera, I was thrilled that he gave me the intensity of his Battlestar Galactica character. When a subject has that, and a face as interesting as Mr. Olmos's, my natural response is to do a simple, in-your-face portrait, to allow the viewer, (and me) to study him and maybe get a sense of the person.

Graphic Novelists - Day 47

On Wednesday, Christopher Irving and I had an appointment in Crime Alley. Well, actually it was Courtland Alley in lower Manhattan, but that doesn't matter. We were there to meet Dennis O'Neil, the man who helped define Crime Alley in the comics story "There Is No Hope in Crime Alley" (Detective Comics #457, March 1976). That story was also adapted in 1992 into an episode of Batman: The Animated Series.
Denny is a seminal figure in comics, having worked as a writer and an editor for both Marvel and DC Comics. He is perhaps best known for his runs with Neal Adams on Green Lantern/Green Arrow and Batman during the 70's. He also was a long-time editor on all of DC's Batman titles and edited Frank Miller's run on Daredevil for Marvel.
The concept for the photo was to create a very noir-ish feeling and make Manhattan's Courtland Alley feel like Gotham's Crime Alley. Denny's appropriate attire of a trenchcoat and fedora helped to complete the look.

Graphic NYC site update

The GRAPHC NYC site has been updated with a profile of legendary comics creator, Walter Simonson. See it HERE.

Rezen HOW I PLEAD video shoot

It was a cold, rainy and miserable Saturday for April, and I found myself at an abandoned mental hospital in Staten Island. Carlos Molina and I were there to shoot our next music video, HOW I PLEAD, by hip-hop artist Rezen.
Shooting the video at this location made us feel like we were IN a horror movie, rather than shooting a video based on one. Rain leaked from the roof, odd sounds came from other floors, and we never knew what we would find in each new unexplored room, but Rezen kept his energy up and we filmed what we think will be an interesting video.
Thanks to Kara Criscitiello for suffering through it with us and to Zach Kalatsky for helping.
Watch for the video here in a few weeks.

Eprhyme CD cover

I recently did a shoot for the CD cover of Orthodox Jewish Hip-Hop artist, Eprhyme.

CD cover design design by Shmoo.

About the artist-
Eprhyme spits rhymes designed to refine the mind of the listener. Kabbalah, psychology, politics, and party rocking are intertwined with elements of jazz, funk, klezmer, and middle eastern music to create a powerful and poetic plea for peace, justice, joy, and unity.
Eprhyme has built a reputation as a dynamic performer and inspiring lyricist, appearing on stage with a diverse cross-section of artists from Del tha Funky Homosapien to Matisyahu. Eprhyme's upcoming album, "waywordwonderwill", is a kaleidoscopic cultural exchange program for mystics, punks, & b-boys. Jam packed with up-tempo conscious club cuts like "punklezmerap" and spiced up with middle eastern dance hall drum line mash ups like "shomer salaam"; "waywordwonderwill" is evidence of a living tradition.

Eprhyme's debut solo album, "waywordwonderwill", will be released on Modular Moods/Shemspeed in the fall.

On the Fringe with Paul Pope - video

While working on my GRAPHIC NYC project for the past year, I've been shooting video interviews with many of the comic creators. I've been planning all along to make a series of short interview/docu films, so for the past month, Carlos Molina and I have been working on one such film on Paul Pope. The footage was shot during Christopher Irving's original interview with Paul, which has already been posted on our site, but the film gives a somewhat different take and experience which we think you'll enjoy.



Video directed by Seth Kushner
and Carlos Molina
Interview by Christopher Irving
Original Score by Q*Ball

Graphic Novelists - Day 46

One very cold night weeks ago, I met John Cassaday at the P&G Bar, his favorite Upper West Side hangout.
John's art, seen most notably in Planetary, Astonishing X-Men, Captain America and I Am Legion, is graphic, bold, and second to none as far as storytelling. Aside from his amazing art, what's interesting about John is his role as art director on Dynamite's Lone Ranger book. So influential is his art that he was hired to create the visual look for that book, and in sense, for much of the publisher's line with his covers for Buck Rogers, Battlefields, The Death Defying Devil, Sherlock Holmes, Dracula and more. I asked him what was upcoming from him, and he teased at some creator-owned stuff and mentioned something about possibly directing films - wow!
John chose the P&G Bar as the location for the shoot because the 66 year old establishment was closing down and moving, and this was it's last week in operation. I'm glad we caught John at his favorite bar before it was too late.

Top secret project preview

More info coming soon.

Graphic Novelists - Day 45

Last Friday, Christopher Irving and I visited the Upper West Side home/studio of comics legend, Jerry Robinson. Mr. Robinson started working with Bob Kane on Batman in 1939, when he was 17 years old. Soon after, he was instrumental in the creation of both Batman's sidekick, Robin and his arch-nemesis, The Joker.
On the long list of his accomplishments, Mr. Robinson cites this as the one for which he is the most proud - During the mid-1970s, he and artist Neal Adams organized key support around his old friends Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, in their long struggle with DC Comics to win recognition and compensation as the creators of Superman.
Most recently, Mr. Robinson served as a creative consultant on the film The Dark Knight.

Graphic NYC site update

This week GRAPHIC NYC profiles comics legend Joe Kubert. Check it out here.

Graphic Novelists - Day 44

Yesterday morning brought Christopher Irving and me to the classic Upper West Side home of cartoonist Jules Feiffer.
Jules started out as the assistant to the great Will Eisner in 1945 and went on to doing a strip in the Village Voice for 42 years. He publish 19 books, including; Explainers: The Complete Village Voice Strips (1956-1966), The Man in the Ceiling and A Barrel of Laughs, A Vale of Tears.
The amazing thing about Jules are his incredible accomplishments outside of cartooning. He wrote the screenplays for Mike Nichol's film Carnal Knowledge and for Robert Altman's Popeye, among others. He won an Oscar in 1961 for his short animation Munro. He has also written plays, and in 1986 he won the Pulitzer Prize for his editorial cartooning in The Village Voice, and in 2004 was inducted into the Comic Book Hall of Fame. He also wrote the book, The Great Comic Book Heroes, which is considered perhaps the first piece of serious comics journalism.
For the portrait, I posed Jules on his living room couch, with his trusty sidekick, Lily, who appears in his next children's book.

Graphic NYC site update

This week GRAPHIC NYC profiles Mike Cavallaro, whose new book with J.M. DeMatteis, The Life and Times of Savior 28, dropped last week. See the profile here.

Graphic NYC site update

We've updated the GRAPHIC NYC site for the week with a profile of George O'Connor. See it here.

Graphic Novelists - Day 43

This past Sunday, Christopher Irving, Dean Haspiel and I took a road trip up to Suffern, NY to meet with comics giant, Walter Simonson. It was a memorable day for us, and one which Dean, who was once Walt's assistant, described so eloquently on his blog that I'll let him do the talking-

"Walter and I have been pals for almost a quarter of a century now and he always takes my phone calls, gives me warm welcomes at conventions and signing's, and shares his stories and wisdom whenever we parlay. A true mentor, mensch, and comix legend. Walter is one of the very few cartoonists who gets better with age. Walter's run on ORION, a few years ago, is, arguably, as good as his first few years on THOR and would have possibly surpassed that career watershed had he been afforded the opportunity to finish his intended storyline. Walter regaled Seth, Chris, and I with stories about NYC, Upstart Studios, and his first break into comix, plus, off the record shenanigans that any artist worth their salt has to laugh about.
Walter opened a closet door and said "Herein lies 36-years of my life," as we became witness to a monument of comix gold, stacked top to bottom, with pages of his original artwork. We got to hold and ogle the original art from his classic MANHUNTER collaboration with writer, Archie Goodwin. We perused original CAPTAIN FEAR, STARSLAMMERS, THOR art, and a sneak peek at THE JUDAS COIN, Walt's new, upcoming graphic novel from DC Comics. That, and sketches and childhood comix on type-writer paper from his earliest days. The walls were filled with famous paintings, illustrations, and original comix art from the likes of Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Alex Toth, Mike Mignola, and Howard Chaykin, among others.
After we sobered up from having been treated to the stuff of legend, we all went to a Mexican restaurant nearby where Walt and "Weezie," spun more yarns from back-in-the-day and Walter alluded to future plans and ideas including tidbits of his personal spin on a be all/end all Norse inspired story featuring a hammer wielding god for the ages."

You can read all of Dean's posting here.

Graphic Novelists - Day 42

There's only a few subjects left for me to photograph for this project, and they're all great ones. Like my subject yesterday, for example - legendary comics creator Joe Simon. Joe, as he instructed me to call him, is perhaps best known for co-creating Captain America with Jack Kirby in 1941. Afterwards, he and Kirby worked for DC Comics on such characters as Sandman, Boy Commands and Manhunter. They also created Blue Bolt, Fighting American, Stuntman, and the Fly, and worked on just about every genre of comics at the time, including romance, horror and western. Joe had many roles in the industry thoughout his career, from writing to art and editing to publishing. He was also the first editor-in-chief of Timely Comics, the company that became Marvel Comics.
Joe is very busy these days preparing for the release of seven books over-viewing his career from Titan Publishing, the first of which, The Best Of Simon & Kirby, will be released in May.

Writer Christopher Irving and I spent over an hour at Joe's West side apartment and it was a privilege to have been in his company. Even at 95, Joe is remarkably spry and sharp, reminiscing with us about the Golden Age of comics, of which he was a key figure.
My concept for the portrait was a simple one - capture Joe with his creations and allow his warmth and personality to shine through.
You'll notice a few extra images below. While Chris was interviewing Joe, I wandered around his apartment, fascinated by his stuff, and I had the thought that a person's belongings can reveal much about their personality. So, I took a bunch of photos of some of the interesting things around Joe's apartment. I wish I had thought to have done that with some of the earlier shoots as well.
Thanks to Stephen W. Saffell for making it happen yesterday!

Graphic NYC site update

We've updated the site for the week with a profile on Christine Norrie. See it here.

Q*Ball music video

Finally, edited and ready for viewing, I give you the music video, JOHN HUGHES-



JOHN HUGHES
Performed by Q*Ball
Featuring Bumblefoot
From Fortune Favors the Bald
Bald Freak Music
Video Directed by Seth Kushner
and Carlos Molina

JOHN HUGHES is the new video from NYC electro-pop artist Q*Ball (www.qballmusic.com), from the critically-acclaimed album, Fortune Favors The Bald. Q*Ball music draws comparisons to the ethereal sounds of Moby, the vocal stylings of Bono & Mike Patton, and an eclectic array of more popular acts like Beck, the B-52's, New Order, & Duran Duran. JOHN HUGHES, in particular, evokes an 80s synthpop sensibility and nostalgia from that era that's reflected in this new video directed by Seth Kushner and Carlos Molina of Culture Pop Productions.

Q*Ball, in defiance of the corporate, pre-packaged, American Idol-era of music, started his own independent label in late 2005, Bald Freak Music (www.baldfreak.com), to release his own albums, as well as those from other artists who would otherwise be ignored because they don't fit the major label mold & preconception of what a "pop band" or a "rock act" should look & sound like.

JOHN HUGHES features Guns N' Roses guitarist Bumblefoot (who has a memorable cameo in the video) on guitars, bass guitar, and backing vocals. Bumblefoot (www.bumblefoot.com) is a longtime collaborating partner of Q*Ball's and has co-produced and performed on all three of Q*Ball's solo albums.
Seth Kushner (www.sethkushner.com) is an award winning photographer whose work has been featured in many publications and in exhibitions around the world. His first book The Brooklynites was published by powerHouse Books in 2007. He directed his first music video, Get it Together by recording artist Maya Azucena, earlier this year.
For his second directorial effort, Kushner has teamed with Carlos Molina, under the banner of Culture Pop Productions (www.culturepopproductions.com). Inspired by Q*Ball's 1980's sound used in JOHN HUGHES, the directing team of Kushner + Molina have translated it to visuals evoking the genre of 80's teen films, but with a dash of their own sensibilities.