My first job in photography was as studio manager for Paul M Bowers, Imaging for Business  back in 1998.  I was always impressed with Paul's great, gritty, black and white street photos of New York City; the subways, the bagel shops, the towering World Trade Center towers.  The camera he used, I was surprised to find was a little Olympus XA film camera.  

New York is such a multi-dimensional place; I still have trouble focusing on one particular aspect at a time (sorry for the image overload).  Between the architectural three-dimensionality and added socio-economic layers, the city feels like some Orwellian experiment and is at once hectic and peaceful, maker of dreams or destroyer of hope...truly unlike any city I've known.  Add to that the holidays, a small child, lights galore and you have a whole different experience altogether.

The two have probably shared the same room once or twice... 

I didn't realize how crazy the fires were over the past few weeks until a job put us just a few miles east of them.  Here are a few as we passed through Pasadena.  Things got worse before they got better and as of this morning, the fires were 81% contained.  

Living so close to Los Angeles, when we heard the news yesterday, we thought we'd zip up after hearing of his death. We wanted to see what it was like when someone so massive and so ubiquitous in our everyday pop conscience dies.  It was weird.  We weren't there to judge the eccentric fans or put on excessive sad faces, we just felt something and wanted to see how people would react to the situation. It was weird because it was, for the most part, a media show. There were about three times the amount of people lining Wilshire Blvd protesting the unrest in Iran... but no press there.  Aside from the media presence, the atmosphere was surprising - not very sad at all, more like an Irish wake.  In part because he brought so much joy to so many people but also because a majority just wanted to get on CNN.

We love wine, we love Central Otago and we love Rockburn Wines. For our anniversary, we bought ourselves the 06 Rockburn Pinot Noir. We were talking about how much we would love to photograph a winery and the whole process of making it. So we rung them and offered to come out and spend a day with them in trade for some of their fantastic wine.

It was such an amazing experience! The weather was extremely crisp and clear. We arrived at the facility in Cromwell in the morning and everyone was already hard at work starting the 08 vintage. We then went out to meet some of the pickers at the vineyards. It was great to meet all the individuals and personalities that come together to bring us the great wine we always enjoy. If you are looking for a special treat - pick your self up a bottle of their Pinot, it is everything you could hope for out of a Pinot Noir!