At about 1:10pm this afternoon one of my guys called me and said that I needed to dial the White House conference call line for a 45 minute conversation…

It was a media-free off-the-record candid talk about the details behind President Bush’s recent Darfur initiative with Jeremy Katz, Andrew Natsiose and Adam Zuben.

Much of the call was spent discussing the impact that the new and tougher stance on two Sudanese government officials and a rebel leader in Northern Sudan will have on Southern Sudan as well as the area’s international relief efforts.

Since I don’t watch or read the news I don’t know what is public knowledge yet, so I don’t want to say too much regarding China’s changing stance, the UN and European funding

If you are wondering why I was invited to the phone conference read this and this, it will explain a lot.

Have a great day!

I met Stephanie a few years ago in college, we sat next to each other in one of the toughest English classes that I ever took.

She got back in touch with me a few months ago to see if I had her wedding date available and I did!

These are some of my favorite photos.

Stephanie was one of the most calm and nicest brides that I have ever worked with. I was seriously shocked by how completely comfortable she was with everything

Have a great day!

I have been using the latest version of Photoshop CS3 and I can’t believe how terrible Bridge CS3 it is compared to the last version of Photoshop CS2 and Bridge.

I have been playing with the settings all weekend long to get it to work right and it just won’t. The files come out with a green cast, it crashes very frequently and it takes forever to generate a medium sized sharp preview.

At this rate, it is going to take me 5 times as long to edit a wedding!

Do any Photoshop users out there know how to make Bridge CS3 work as well as the version in CS2?

I use the latest version of WinXP, 2gb of ram, hundreds of gb of free hard drive space and a 2ghz processor.

Have a great day!

I met Tony Bannon, Director of the Eastman House photography museum, for a casual lunch on Thursday at the Eastman Cafe. It was a nice time and we talked for around a half of an hour. Before Tony sat down I saw and spoke with Dresden for a while, she connected Manute Bol, Leland Hardy, Brad Thyroff and myself with 10NBC for a live interview about the Darfur/Darfur exhibit.

After lunch I went to meet my friends Jonathan and Rachel in Penfield at their great and healthy restaurant called Hyjea.

When I left Hyjea I met Melissa, who does great invitation design in Rochester.

I went back to the Eastman House and walked through the Ansel Adams exhibit and then Tony invited me to sit and talk with Jeff Dunas and some other Eastman House employees and friends. Pamela Reed Sanchez was there, who I worked with when I brought Manute Bol to the Eastman House. I had a great time listening to Jeff speak and it was really interesting hearing how different our philosophies are.

Jeff said that his best photos happen in the first five minutes of the photo session, before he gets to know his client and before a close relationship is formed. I find that my best work comes in the last five minutes, after I’ve gotten to know my client and after I feel a connection with them.

Jeff showed a lot of really amazing photos of celebrities and normal people that were beautiful. I also love that he uses his last name as his website, just like me

After the exhibit I went to Brighton to meet Brad and his girlfriend Sue for dinner then went back to their condo for a while.

I have a wedding tomorrow that my friend Garry is helping me with, look forward to the photos on Monday.

Have a great day!

I photographed engagement portraits for Mike and Jessica a week or two back and it was a great sunset photo session in Rochester.

Mike and Jessica are getting married in the Outer Banks of North Carolina in a few weeks and we got this photo session done just in time

Have a great day!

It’s been a while since I have updated my blog or returned any non-client emails or phone calls. I am in the process of launching another new corporation with one of my business partners and I have been busy!!!

We have been literally working day and night registering trademarks, filling out paperwork, signing documents, negotiating with suppliers, partnering with advertisers, talking with the media, recruiting spokespeople and expanding our business plan

We have positioned ourselves within an empty niche in a competitive field and I am really excited about it!

As soon as everything is finalized you will be the first to know about it

The charity work is expanding quickly and I have been in touch with Manute quite a lot talking about various projects. We will be launching the official website for Manute’s Ring True Foundation in the near future and Leland is speaking with some world leading individuals who are changing the world. Everything is coming together so get ready

By the way, the new packages and prices have been posted on my website, so go and check them out.

Have a great day!

i think my new hobby might be collecting companies…

the next hobby will be to make them profitable…

i really can’t grasp how fast time goes by…

literally, weeks fly by before i notice…

a new project is only 32 days old…

it still feels 100% brand new…

these words look fun …

Have a great day!

I was at the Countdown to Ansel Adams party at the Eastman House on Friday night and it was a great time. The turnout was impressive and everyone had a lot of fun. See some of the photos below, and I hope to see you at next month’s Champagne and Dessert reception before the exhibit opening (comment below or email me for details)!

Ansel Adams – Celebration of Genius

Have a great day!