DAILY BATTLE AGAINST POOR VISUALS™

Veteran still photographer, and for the last decade & 1/2 or so, motion guy, Kevin Brusie, rants and rambles on, about things involving images... or not. www.kevinbrusie.com 207.761.8113

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Shoe Snaps. For years now, when my creative sidekick Phoebe has the camera, she will drop a few strangely interesting photos of her feet in the reel. Speaking of reel, let's go to REAL. Someone is out there, on 6/24/26 sending rogue emails claiming to be me wanting to "connect on something". It ain't me. I don't use vague random email addresses. Thanks to all who let me know, though the email was oddly sent to me too - asking if I had a few to connect with myself on something? Maybe its me from the future!

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Highlights of 2023

#editorial

MedEsthetics Magazine (a trade mag for the medical esthetician industry) hires me to photograph practices for cover placement and a practice review article. This office is in midtown Manhattan. Now part of my pitch is that I make real people look their best in their “natural habitat”, I have to say this crowd always makes my job so easy. Always gorgeous offices, and my subjects are, well let me just say they are always well prepared for a photo session. This practice was unique in the way they incorporated a nutritionist into the patient protocols. Have I mentioned that after more than 30+ years, I still absolutely love my job? And even with the logistical challenges, I still love working in Manhattan.

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Ben Reuben Knishery

There are a few businesses I come across in my travels where I am just drawn in by the obvious passion, creativity, and overall good vibes.

Work edits took a priority, but August 2023 finally allowed me some time to finish my Knish edit. My teaser image was in color. The edit morphed to black & white. There was something so nostalgic about this piece, that I cut it all to grayscale. Enough words - enjoy the video. Allow yourself the full four minutes (I know, a lifetime by today’s standards) and turn up the volume and/or pop on the headphones. Let me know what you think.

#commercialphotography #photographer #corporate video production #self promotion #ilovemyjob #short films #maine #ethnic food #jewish culture #jewish tradition

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I had the pleasure of interviewing Graeme Miller of @benreubensknishery #knisheryme in SoPoMe, or South Portland, Maine for you non-local folks. Most of my work is corporate (finance, healthcare, biotech) and while some of my subjects can get really emotional (in a good way!) about their bank, I love finding folks who are passionate about their mission in life, and true artists as well. Two years ago this guy opened a knishery in, not the lower East side of Manhattan, but Maine. "If you build it they will come". As a Brooklyn boy living in exile up here in Maine, his food is from another time. After my first pastrami laden knish - which had pastrami of a caliber I have not had since the days of Ned's Bar & Grill in Canarsie c. 1979 - I knew I had to do a short on him and his accomplishments. It's been too long since I shot something just for me, because I just wanted to hear and share the story. So stay tuned. It's a work in progress (and wouldn't you know, when I started this last week I had some time, and now the assignments gods have said "hold my beer!") Interview 1 done, B-roll is scheduled, and then the edit... ahhh... the edit... Wish me luck. #personalproject #fooddocumentary #knish #artisanfood #shortfilms #commercialphotographer #corporatefilms

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IT'S ALIVE!!! The new website went live yesterday at noon. I still have a bit of fine tuning, but I can now return to regular daily programming. Marketing, accounting, camera cleaning, video editing, Photoshop processing, and perhaps an early season motorcycle ride. kevinbrusie.com

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I have been toiling away during the long cold Maine winter months with the goal of updating my website. The struggle of editing one's own work is real - all the characteristic self-doubts of an artist creep in to the process. I was grateful to have the guidance of Peter Dennen of https://www.pedroandjackie.com/ to keep my on the rails. So I think it will launch momentarily - maybe even if I still have some final adjustments in mind. April 12 2023 is the date. Will it launch today? Tomorrow? Next week? I'm going to strive for today. Fingers crossed.

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Two of my recent photos adorning magazine covers at the same time. The subject matter couldn’t be more different. I completed these assignments days apart, one in the West Village of Manhattan (not far from my home in the ‘80s) and the second in rural Maine (not far from my current home). Both subjects were a pleasure to work with. Both were grateful for my presence and attention to detail, and they both loved their work. This pretty much sums up the range of my professional work. I am all over the place with people from all walks of life. I really love it.

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I was in the studio yesterday creating some headshots for Terry, who needed an update. It was great for me to be back behind the camera, playing with lights, lenses, framing, poses... working to be sure she looked her best and as authentic as possible. It has been a tough week or so, as many of my usual late Spring jobs were once again pushed aside by this pandemic. I was finding some deep satisfaction on this assignment yesterday. The process of exploration with light and Terry’s willingness to just let go and trust the evolution of the image, was so motivating. Hours earlier I was lost in my artist version of ‘the sky is falling!’.  My trusty muse, the camera, succeeded in lifting my spirits, and reminding me all I am grateful for... and then, moments after we captured this frame a client email danced across my studio computer confirming an annual week long assignment, lost last year, will return in July. The fog is lifting. I truly am grateful. Thanks everyone.

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I have photographed thousands of faces throughout the years. All are memorable in their own right. I tend to remember faces that have been in front of my lens many years later, even out of context. Some rise above, whether the quality of their face, some unique attributes, the circumstances under which we crossed paths, or something about their personality that stood out. Then there was Richard. He was so uniquely memorable for all the mentioned attributes, and a few more. I photographed him through volunteer photography I do under the moniker of “Help-Portrait”, providing quality portraits of folks who could benefit from it in some way, but would not normally contract a photographer either due to situation or finances. Sadly, I learned of his passing earlier this month. I did not know him, except for our maybe hour long encounter on set. His presence, energy, insight, and kindness radiated like a lighthouse on the foggy coast of Maine.  The world lost a great spirit, I am sure. He was dealing with some personal struggles in 2018 when he gratefully sat for me. I hope he had found peace. He certainly deserved it.

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The View from Here

The Year of 2020 had gotten off to a great start. By the end of February, I had already logged 14 paid days behind the camera, plus two days of Pro Bono work for Flashes of Hope & The Dempsey Center. NYC, Cape Cod, Bangor Maine,  and a few local assignments all in the books, with planning underway for Florida, Georgia, and a regional Annual Report. On March 6, I finished a project with images of this little buddy, a regular canine talent named Henry, on his new-fangled Assisi Loop Lounge. It would be the last assignment image I would create for two solid months. The shutdown in mid-March timed perfectly with both my wife and I contracting this new-fangled virus called Covid-19. So the three weeks we were incapacitated didn’t affect the business. There was none. While we were hit hard by the virus, we luckily didn’t require any hospitalization.

By the end of May 2020 some work had reappeared. Regrettably, all the large multiday location work had been cancelled or postponed indefinitely. None of it returned in 2020.

So here we are over one year later, and there is an opening. Vaccines are making their way through the population, with my second shot due in a few days. Clients are beginning to think about the larger location assignments. None are confirmed yet, but with the contingency of “If things proceed as we hope, then…” I am quietly optimistic. On the upside, with all this video gear hanging about, my zoom calls look pretty sweet.  Stay in touch. Let me know how you have weathered the Storm of 2020, and beyond.

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#magazinecover for MedEsthtics current issue I photographed last month in #NYC It was a great shoot, where everything came together, including on street parking on E15th St, just steps from the front door. #editorialphotographer #nycphotographer #magazineportrait #strongwomen #portraitphotography #magazinephotoshoot #kevinbrusiephotography #newenglandphotographer #modeldoctor (at Union Square Laser Dermatology) https://www.instagram.com/kevinbrusie/p/BumqQmKHcup/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=wk78psmu2r9i

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As the weather turned cold this winter, we had a two day shoot with one of our long time wonderful clients, IDEXX. We needed to get a bunch of photos of pets, vet techs, vets, and owners in different situations & combinations for their digital information platform. Talent (human) from NYC, Boston, and regional. Animal talent from across the region, and even ‘in house’ from one of our locations, the brand-new facility of The Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland. We had an aggressive shot list – “must haves”, “nice to haves”, and “if there’s any possible chance” – and we achieved all the goals. On time. On budget. We even had a bunch of fun in the process. Dogs, cats, young kids – what ever could go wrong? 😊 It was an amazing team – product specialists, art director, stylist, assistant, and me & my trusty Canon 1DXMkII – all cranking along like a fine-tuned machine. It is so rewarding when a plan comes together and being able to quickly adapt when it doesn’t.  Here’s a few images from the shoot. I have yet to add some to my website, but they will undoubtedly end up there.

BTW, all computer screens were left intentionally blank, so we could add the appropriate content based on usage, in post. #veterinary #vettech #animalphotography #commercialphotography #catphotos #dogphotos #corporatephotography #AdvertisingPhotography 

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Sunrise photoshoot today. And man, does that sun rise early this time of year at these Northern Latitudes. We had to set our lights, test, and be ready for the CEO at 5:30a.m. in his running gear, being a healthy executive. Wrap by 6:15a.m. so he could catch a flight at 8a.m. No problem. Grateful the Director of Corporate Communications arrived in full running gear and did the stand in duty. I love my job. I love my clients. I have been handling this particular Annual Report for about 17 or 18 years now. I am very grateful, and I get paid for this. :-)

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From a recent editorial assignment in New Jersey. 12 people, one helicopter, a less than ideal working hangar, and a cold rainy day outside.... and ya’ just gotta make it work, nicely. And the magazine ‘masthead’ ran perfectly in the upper left, with a drop back behind the woman’s head for some depth. Oh, and the aircraft had old branding on it, so the new branding was added in post.

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Growing up in NYC, we had three choices for the news. They were ranked, at least in my mind, as NYPost #3: mostly soft news and sports, and any substantive issues were presented in under 500 words, with a simple limited vocabulary; NY Daily News #2: slightly more sophisticated than #3, more analytical on the sports side, but still very rudimentary; NYTimes #1: I learned about the world from the NYT. Living & working in NYC, commuting daily to Wall St for my first real job, it is easy to be very insular, provincial even. From the modest homes of the eastern end of Brooklyn, we could see Manhattan on the horizon, rising like the Emerald City in the Wizard of Oz. Yet, most only ventured there for a paycheck, quickly returning home on the cattle cars of the 'LL' to the little village of Canarsie, Brooklyn. The NY Times opened my eyes to the global happenings of the time. I will be forever grateful for the folks at this legendary organization. Even today, I still begin my day with the iPad version of the The Gray Lady. I recall the ink on my fingers each morning after the subway ride, turning & folding the awkward pages with one hand in a distinctly NYC form of origami. Thank you #nytimes #news #nyclife #brooklyn #onceanewyorkeralwaysanewyorker (at New York, New York)

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Commercial photographers either use what we find (light) and work our position/lens/subjects to make beauty within those constraints; or we build our light. From complete darkness. Emptiness. Absence of light. We have positioned every last photon. Recently I have been doing mostly the former. I needed to get a good dose of the latter. So I emailed my friend Brad. Give me a few hours - free portraits for the family. I am always working in bright, high key environments. I wanted to go to the ‘dark side’ so to speak. This is just one random frame I grabbed and processed. I will post more here in a week or so. I’m on the road next week, with no Photoshop time. Patience.

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I have this internal struggle. I have been shooting less and less with big lights - or even any lights. This shot is just some gorgeous window light on the N(th) floor of some office. Walk in, turn off the hideous fluorescent overheads, white balance for the inevitable green coatings on the e-glass... and shoot away. Yet I am longing for some complex studio lighting shoots. Ying & Yang. So my dark & light impulses (photographically speaking, of course) are battling. I resolve to let them both win. Stand by for some upcoming studio lighting testing. Any willing subjects? Boring faces need not apply. ;-)