I met with my friends Bill and Kristin, conservationists and researchers with the Jane Goodall Institute, on Saturday. Bill is a film maker with numerous clips shown on television and Kristin a photographer who just had an amazing image of a chimp catching termites printed as a two page spread in National Geographic.

We talked for a while then photographed a peace march that was happening in downtown Syracuse. When we got back I showed Bill and Kristin a few shortcuts in Photoshop to help them edit their photos faster. Before I left we watched about a dozen of Bill’s films from his past 17 years .

The two most amazing things were a chimp giving birth and a python eating a bush deer!

Me with my Nikon D200 and 85mm f-1.4, shot by Bill

Bill filming the event

Bill filming the event

Kristin shooting the event

Kristin shooting the event

Kristin at the event

Bill and Kristin

Bill editing some photos

I was supposed to meet my clients, Andrew and Sara, at Letchworth State Park to photograph their engagement session on Sunday but despite both being in the same general area, we were not able to connect. There is very little cell phone reception at the park so to call each other is very hit-or-miss. I think we are going to try again this weekend.

Visit this link to HSBC for 6% interest on new money in savings accounts until April 30th .

Have a great day!

Today my friend Brad and I took Tony Bannon (director of the George Eastman House) to see the Rochester Razorsharks basketball game. We had great seats, courtside center. Tony is a huge basketball fan so it was great watching the game and talking with him .

Bishop Matthew Clark was in attendance at today’s game.

On Saturday I am going to meet Jane Goodall Institute conservationist, researcher and film maker Bill Wallauer and his wife and National Geographic published photographer Kristin Mosher at their home. Brad will go with me if he has the day free.

I had a chance to view the entire Witness exhibit at the George Eastman House today and it is amazing. I think it is the best exhibit that I have seen to date. I highly suggest taking the time to view it .

I forgot to take a picture of Tony, Brad and I courtside so I guess you’ll just have to trust that we went to the game .

Have a great day!

One of the great luxuries of wedding photography is that I have half of the year off and can focus my energy on meaningful projects.

This past weekend, I worked with Leland Hardy, Brad Thyroff and The George Eastman House, among numerous other people,

I am extremely proud to be friends with such great and influential people. I think the highlight of my weekend was when Manute said that aside from a few days during the NBA, this was the best weekend of his life. I know Brad and I feel the same way and I am confident that this weekend makes Leland’s top 10 also

We have already made significant progress for Manute Bol’s Ring True Foundation in Rochester and appreciate everyone who came out to the church, viewed the exhibit at the George Eastman House and donated. The next step is to make some phone calls to do the same project on a national level.

This blog entry is going to be unique, I will start with a photo to set the mood for the three days and then post the rest of the photos in context of the story. Please read every word and pass this on to each person that you know

To find out why I wanted to bring Manute Bol to Rochester and what I did with the help of my friends read this older blog post.

Day One with Manute Bol, Leland Hardy, Brady Dillsworth and Brad Thyroff in Rochester, New York

The morning started off with a 7am phone call from Leland and Brad to confirm each of our schedules for the day. At around 8:30am I got a phone call from Leland saying that he and Manute missed their flights and that they were doing all they could to get into Rochester. Leland ended up flying into Buffalo and renting a Lincoln Town car and driving to Rochester, arriving just a few hours late. Manute flew directly into Rochester and arrived in time to get to the live TV interview on 10nbc with Janet Lomax for the 6pm news.

I ended up canceling my morning meeting with, Erich Camping, a local wedding photographer because it was unknown when Leland and Manute were going to be arriving and whether I had to drive to Buffalo to pick anyone up. After I found out that Leland was driving into Buffalo and that Manute was arriving later I met my friend Garry for lunch at Food at Fisher Station.

Leland arriving at the Del Monte Lodge

Leland in full NEWYORK.COM travel gear

An arrival gift courtesy of the Del Monte Lodge

My new NEWYORK.COM hat in black

My new NEWYORK.COM shirt

Leland Hardy unpacking

Leland’s excellent leather shoes

Brad filming Leland’s shirt

Manute’s shirt next to mine

Leland and Brad driving to the airport

Me riding to the airport

Manute in the Town car

After a flawless interview at 10nbc, courtesy of Dresden at the George Eastman House, we went to talk with Bob Matthews on 1180 WHAM. We ended up being about 20 minutes late due to some miscommunication and getting locked out of the building but we made great use out of the remaining 40 minute interview.

Brad, Manute and Leland at 10NBC Studios

10NBC 6pm News live

Manute with the 10NBC news anchors

Brad watching Manute, Leland and Janet Lomax live at 6pm

Brad filming Leland and Manute walking to 1180 WHAM

Manute walking to 1180 WHAM

Leland and Manute waiting for the radio interview

Leland, Manute and Brad conversing

Me spinning in the waiting area

Manute, Leland, the Security Guard, Brad and me walking to the interview

Manute, Brad and Leland talking with Bob Matthews at 1180 WHAM

Manute and Bob Matthews talking

Brad and Leland talking

Manute, Bob Matthews, Brad and Leland talking on the air

Bob Matthews listening to Leland

Leland talking about Muhammad Ali and boxing

Manute listening to Bob Matthew’s question

Manute telling Bob Matthews that he really did kill a lion with a spear

Bob Matthews talking to Leland, Manute and Brad

Brad listening to Manute speak

Manute talking about playing NBA basketball

Leland talking about tennis with Venus and Serena Williams

Brad telling Bob Matthews which Williams sister was better

Bob Matthews ending the interview

After the interview we all went to JoJo’s in Pittsford for dinner. When we were inside, it was apparent that the Democrat and Chronicle article, the TV appearance and the radio show had an immediate impact as when we walked into the restaurant people applauded, said kind words to Manute and one great man even made a donation on the spot.

After spending well over 2-hours eating at JoJo’s we went to Brad Sluman’s Pittsford Pub for another few hours and talked with dozens of people.

Leland, Manute, Brad Sluman and his friend at the Pittsford Pub

I’ve heard all about Manute through Leland and am familiar with what he has been doing since his career in the NBA but it wasn’t until I was able to spend the entire day, evening and early morning with him that I really saw that he is a true kindred spirit who is doing this out of the complete desire to help the people from his home country. It is also obvious that when admirer’s approach him, he would rather not have the attention and instead direct it to The Sudan and Darfur

Leland sleeping under his NEWYORK.COM bedspread at the Del Monte Lodge

In case you missed the TV interview or the radio show I will be posting the videos here shortly.

Day Two with Manute Bol, Leland Hardy, Brady Dillsworth and Brad Thyroff in Rochester, New York

We started the day off with lunch at The Chen Garden in Brighton and had a great meal. Brad’s girlfriend Shurong (Sue) Yin was our waitress and treated us all very well . Sue also went to dinner with us at Delmonico’s Steak House!

Me in Leland’s room

Me in Leland’s room again

Leland and Brad at the Chen Garden

Manute in the Chen Garden

Me in the Chen Garden

We went to The Manhattan Square Tennis Club in Rochester (where Brad Thyroff, hitting partner for Venus and Serena Williams when they won the Grand Slam championships, teaches lessons) for an outreach program where Manute spoke with under-privileged youth about being able to do anything that they want. Manute said that he really loved speaking with the kids and that it was meaningful to him.

Leland talking about education

Manute talking about The Sudan

The kids listening to Manute

Manute talking to the kids

A group photo with the kids and Manute

Me in the group photo

Manute and Leland were interviewed by CBS and ABC about the work that they are doing and Manute gave several newspaper interviews.

Manute giving an interview to ABC 13

Manute talking about how change can be enacted

Manute giving a newspaper interview

Manute giving the newspaper writer a few quotes

Brad and I took Manute and Leland to the boxing gym in Rochester so that Leland could meet with a few of the athletes and talk of his fights at Madison Square Garden and his work with Muhammad Ali.

Me at the boxing gym

Leland on the rings

Manute, me and Brad at the boxing gym

Me at the boxing gym

Brad and I let Manute and Leland relax at the Del Monte Lodge (which is Manute’s new favorite hotel!) for a few hours when we went to Home Depot to pick up some hard wood flooring for his condo. We watched the 6pm news and saw our work at the Manhattan Square Tennis Club on TV and I believe that I saw myself 3 times on one network (ending with a tight headshot of me shooting) and 1 or 2 times on the other network.

Brad relaxing with his drink

We went out to Delmonico’s Steak House for dinner and were entertained by a world class magician, who blew us all away! Since Manute cannot write due to a taxi cab accident I was doing the tricks on his behalf. I wrote Manute’s name on a card and then the magician did all sorts of impressive tricks with it. The magician then asked me to write the name of a person who is meaningful on a piece of paper and fold it up. I folded it up and then he tore it up. He asked me if it started with a G and it did. He asked me if there was a T in it and I said no. He then said, is it Garry? It was Garry, who I had just had lunch with the day before. I was very impressed. Then he asked Leland to write down a time on a piece of paper and hold the paper in his hand. He guessed Leland’s time exactly correct. The magician took off his watch and had me hold it face down. He pulled out the pin and messed up the time and then had me randomly spin the watch pin to change the time until I was satisfied. I stopped after 3.5 turns then he pushed in the pin with the watch still face down. I flipped over the watch and the time on the watch was within 1-minute of the time that Leland chose… needless to say, he was an amazing magician.

Delmonico’s Steak House seated us at an extra large table in a private room so we did not have to deal with many people coming up to us or bumping into Manute’s legs. The food was exceptional and as usual, Leland ate about 6,000 calories during a single meal

After Delmonico’s Steak House we went back to Brad Sluman’s Pittsford Pub and sat and talked for a few hours.

Day Three with Manute Bol, Leland Hardy, Brady Dillsworth and Brad Thyroff in Rochester, New York

We started this extremely busy day with some phone calls in the morning then meetings and events for the day and night. I had to push back my wedding client meeting with a great couple by 90-minutes because I was still getting things organized. Thanks so much guys for being patient, it was for a great cause.

After my meeting, Manute, Leland, Brad and I went to Mario’s Via Abruzzi in Pittsford for the Sunday brunch and had a great meal with Anthony Daniele (his family owns Mario’s, Bazil and Southpoint Marina). Anthony gave all of us a jar of his family’s famous spaghetti sauce and we took a photo of him, Leland and Manute for the wall of fame. We spoke with Tanuja, the chef, during brunch and she made an awesome meal for us all. We invited her and her kids to the Eastman House and she came and we had a great time.

After brunch we went to Asbury Methodist Church for a grand candle light vigil. It was estimated that there were nearly 1,000 people in attendance to hear Manute speak! Manute talked for almost half of an hour and spread his powerful message to everyone. Every news network, several radio stations and multiple newspapers were in attendance. I was extremely impressed by the turnout and proud to have been an integral part of the team who orchestrated it.

Muhamed speaking about genocide

Leland and Brad applauding

Manute addressing a standing room only church!

Manute addressing the listeners

Louise Slaughter talking about her attempts at prompting our government to become involved

Manute listening to a beautiful song

Me and Manute walking out

Manute with some of his friends and family

After Manute spoke we went to the George Eastman House for the exhibit opening. It started off outside with a speech and a slide show presentation and we moved inside to the actual images. I had the pleasure of standing next to Manute Bol and Tony Bannon (director of the George Eastman House) and hearing Manute tell us exactly what was occurring in each photograph.

The George Eastman House exhibit opening

The opening image slideshow at the George Eastman House

The Interior gallery view of the exhibit

I did not get much time to look at the actual photographs because Tony gave Manute, Brad, Leland, myself and several other honored guests an excellent private tour of George Eastman’s House. We ended in the room where Mr. Eastman loved to entertain and we listened to Tony Bannon and Stephen Jones Blessman (grand nephew of George Eastman) share great stories with us.

George Eastman House director, Tony Bannon, giving us an exclusive tour

Manute speaking with our private group

Manute with Marvelle Manga, Senator Jacqueline Y. Collins of Illinois, Dr Patricia Jones Blessman and Stephen W. Jones Blessman

Tony Bannon with Manute Bol

I took a series of beautiful portraits of Manute for his Ring True Foundation as well as Manute with Dr. Patricia Jones Blessman and Senator Jacqueline Y. Collins of Illinois (who won her most current term in a land slide election!).

Manute in the George Eastman House

Manute in George Eastman’s house

Manute with Dr Patricia Jones Blessman and Senator Jacqueline Y. Collins of Illinois

After a series of group portraits with Manute and his Sudanese friends and family we went to the Country Club of Rochester for a wonderful dinner. I felt surprisingly mentally sharp considering that it was my third straight day of 3-hours of sleep per night.

I had the pleasure of being in the company of Tony Bannon (director of the George Eastman House), Leland Hardy (founder of NEWYORK.COM and raising funds for Darfur), Manute Bol (former NBA star at 7’7” and Darfur activist), Brad Thyroff (former pro tennis player and Venus and Serena’s hitting partner), Dr Patricia Jones Blessman and Stephen Jones Blessman (family of George Eastman doing great charity work through CODEPINK/Darfur Initiative), Senator Jacqueline Y. Collins of Illinois (who sponsored the nation’s first Sudan Divestment legislation in response to the humanitarian crisis and genocide in Darfur), four of Manute’s family and friends (one of whom was featured in The Lost Boys), Pamela Reed Sanchez (who worked closely with us to coordinate the events at the George Eastman House), Bill Wallauer and Kristin Mosher (two wildlife conservation photographers and filmmakers with the Jane Goodall Institute, with photo and film credits in National Geographic, Animal Planet, Discovery Channel and MTV), Marvelle Manga (Director of regional program initiatives for After School Matters for the Chicago school system) and several other people who I did not have the time to connect with.

Stephen Jones Blessman’s prayer to initiate dinner was perhaps the best that I have ever heard. Stephen spoke of the contrast between the starvation and suffering in Darfur compared to the elaborate 5-star feast that we were about to indulge in. Leland made a great point, that it is our ability to eat such a feast that will allow us to continue to help and fight for those in Darfur.

Manute describing The Sudan

Manute listening to conversations

Manute with Tony Bannon and his wife

The group photo at Country Club of Rochester

The food at the Country Club of Rochester was unbelievable, but more importantly, the people who were all working toward the same goal were even greater!

At Brad Sluman’s Pittsford Pub after dinner at the Country Club of Rochester we met with Joe Donnelly (former NFL draft pick, played for the Falcons and the Bills and current VP of a large trading card distributor) to talk about Darfur, sports and donations. He is a great guy and we will be conference calling him shortly .

My Thoughts with Manute Bol, Leland Hardy, Brady Dillsworth and Brad Thyroff in Rochester, New York

I made many great friends and will be following up with everyone this week. Brad, Tony Bannon and I plan to go to a basketball game on Thursday, Manute invited me to The Sudan with him on 5-separate occasions, Leland and Stephen Blessman will be meeting in New York very soon, I was invited to become involved with a Young Leaders Group in Rochester run by the George Eastman House for individuals under the age of 35 and we will be making some phone calls this week to get some excellent people involved in this work.

Thank you to everyone who came out, said kind things to us, donated money and allowed this to take place. I am sure that Gretchen Wallace (Global Grassroots) and Leslie Thomas (organized this exhibit) will be impressed .

Please take the time to attend the Witness: Know War Know Genocide exhibit at the George Eastman House. You need to see the photographs and understand what my good friend, Manute Bol, has lived with and is working to change. I know that we can make this the most well attended photography exhibit at the George Eastman House to date!

I wish that you all could have been in that Town car with Manute, Leland, Brad and I for the three days. We became much closer and heard some tremendous stories. I have told you all I can remember right now but keep checking back for other elements that come to mind as well as for our radio interviews, TV interviews and newspaper articles.

By the way, Manute is one of the funniest men that I know. He had us all cracking up every time he was around.

Brad’s father, Joe (who owns Manhattan Square Tennis Club), did a great job this weekend recording all of the press activity for us. He is the one to thank for being able to see the video on my blog after I get it online

George Eastman House director Tony Bannon gave Manute and Senator Jacqueline Y. Collins of Illinois a signed copy of the new book he authored with Steve McCurry entitled Steve McCurry (Phaidon 55’s), pick up a copy .

As a final personal note, I truly appreciate the Del Monte Lodge accommodating Leland and Manute and especially for helping Manute with tasks such as ironing his shirt, which are impossible due to his taxi cab accident several years ago. It was excellent of the Del Monte Lodge staff to go so far above and beyond.

I don’t use this word often, but the event was perfect! Every element was exactly as it should be and I want to thank all of my new friends, whom I just privately emailed, and say that by working together Darfur relief will be imminent.

Have a great day and remember that it is not hard to change the world!

After a few months of being without my creativity I finally got it back, due large in part to the book Thinkertoys and a slightly less stressful schedule. Now that I am feeling quite creative again I thought it would be fun to write down all of my ideas in the best books that I could find…

I bought two great journals that are bound within classic books so I can write whatever ideas come to me in between Dr Seuss’s one One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish and the Cat in the Hat .

I saw the company on my friend Shannon’s blog, read what she wrote to see what makes ex libris anonymous so unique.

Listen to Bob Matthews on WHAM, 1180 AM, on Friday the 19th from 7-8pm. We will all be in the studio for the full hour . Read the Democrat and Chronicle article about Manute.

Buy a book or two and have a great day!

It was a good day in the stock market for me… I sold at +20% and am looking for the next investment. Email me any companies that you are watching or buying .

We have a crazy media schedule in place for Manute and Leland when they come to visit on Friday morning through Sunday evening. My friend Brad has been doing a great job making phone calls and getting things set up. Brad and I will be conference calling the mayor’s office today so Robert Duffy can meet with all of us. I think I am going to pick Manute up in a mini-van with the middle row removed so he can sit in the back and be more comfortable than if he were to get picked up by me in my normal mid-sized sedan. I will post the schedule as soon as everything is set.

I think Jonathan and Rachel are using Melissa to design their Save the Date cards and Wedding Invitations, I will show you a sample when they are done, Melissa does great work, check out her site .

By the way, in case you are curious, it costs $14 to overnight two DVDs in jewel cases. The Terrazzo floor photos had to be received immediately to make a publication deadline and with Martin Luther King day being on Monday overnight Tuesday with noon-time delivery on Wednesday was the only option.

Have a great day!

I thought this was a fitting video, given the day .

Have a great day!

I had the chance to photograph some Terrazzo Floors on Friday at Tioga Downs for Peter Badger and Frank Martino. The floors look excellent, if you ever need someone to install a terrazzo floor for you give me a call and I’ll put you in touch with my clients .

This is just a small sample of the floor. Just so you know, these are my personal copies and not the client copies. The real images are less contrasty and less saturated because they have to portray the installation accurately, but since this is my blog, I want to show off the fun colors .

This job was able to be installed in three very long weeks.

I forgot my cell phone when I photographed this, it felt good to be without it for the 4-hour round trip drive and the 90-minute photo session.

Have a great day!

This is a long entry, please read the whole thing .

The George Eastman House is bringing the DARFUR/DARFUR photography exhibit to the public on 1-20-07. My good friend Leland Hardy has known and worked with former NBA player, Manute Bol, for many years. Manute Bol was born in The Sudan and has spent his fortune and life’s energy raising awareness and providing relief to the Darfur region.

After seeing the photography exhibition notice in the mail I contacted Leland with the intention of getting he and Manute Bol to bring more attention to the George Eastman House exhibit and the exhibit’s content than what normally would have been received by holding a press conference, radio interviews and television appearances with Manute Bol speaking.

After some research, I came across the telephone number of Gretchen, the president of the not-for-profit organization called Global Grassroots. This is significant because Global Grassroots is fiscally responsible for making this photo exhibit possible, and more importantly, Global Grassroots provides support to African Nations by offering training, primarily to women, to start social ventures (like starting new non-profits or projects with a social purpose), to be self sufficient and to grow the economy of their home-country, that is how Global Grassroots is able to distinguish themselves from micro-finance entities. Their seed funding is made up mostly of small grants, rather than micro-loans (though, Global Grassroots does connect their teams with local microfinance banks for future funding). With the training and investment then, Global Grassroots is ensuring local communities have the power to address their own social issues!

Brad, Leland and myself had a long and fruitful conversation with Gretchen about the work that she does and he we can create a positive relationship to help Manute Bol’s cause as well as Gretchen’s charitable organization and everyone is satisfied.

At the Sundance Film Festival she will be debuting a documentary film called “The Devil Came on Horseback,” which is of the memoirs of her brother, Brian Steidle, while he was based in The Sudan. Watch the trailer .

Beyond Manute Bol’s involvement, Leland is offering a very generous charitable donation on behalf of Global Grassroots organization and The Eastman House. A portion of all purchases made on his website, NEWYORK.COM, will be earmarked for Darfur relief and The Eastman House with no monetary or time limits imposed.

Gretchen mentioned to us on the telephone that one of the most important parts of helping to provide relief is to secure micro-loans… incidentally, one of Leland’s classmates from the Wharton School of Business had just emailed him a few days prior about the micro-loan company that he has started. We will hold another conference call soon to make certain that this great opportunity is maximized!

A generous Eastman House member has stepped forth to fund Manute Bol’s appearance at the exhibit opening.

I hope you all are able to visit the Eastman House at 900 East Ave in Rochester, NY between 1-20-07 and 4-22-07 to see the exhibit. I will post more details about where and when Manute Bol, Leland Hardy, Brad Thyroff and myself will be once everything is figured out (keep 1-21-07 open, that date sticks out in my mind) .

The next step is to call the mayor of Rochester, Robert Duffy, and have him at the event as well.

Leslie Thomas is the visionary, curator and organizer behind the Darfur/Darfur exhibit. She was responsible for recruiting an entire team of professionals in multiple cities to developing an internationally traveling exhibit that is garnering significant media attention and exposure! You should visit the website of Leslie’s architecture firm .

Hopefully you read all of that because it is important. If you have an idea about how to make a difference (even if it is just a press conference with someone speaking to raise awareness) think about how you can connect everyone that you know in a creative way then make the phone calls to make it happen!

You should start to hear more of Darfur in the news as it has been the focus of several politicians and business leaders .

I know there are a lot of links in this entry but please check them all out.

Thanks to Gretchen for providing me with a lot of the information in this post and thanks to Leslie for working so hard to make the Darfur/Darfur exhibit possible .

Have a great day!