Jargapix Photography

Jessica & Andy’s Engagement Session

John @ JargaPix — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 07:13:38 +0000

After a short hiatus, I have returned to post a flurry of events then “POOF” disappear again like a virgin on prom night… quick! What movie was that line from??

I recall that Jessica called me almost 2 years before her wedding and asked if she was calling to early. I lied and said, “No”. Jessica and Andy stopped in my studio and we had a great, relaxed meeting. We touched on many topics besides their big day. I was super psyched when I got the call that I was their choice! They are a laid back, down to earth couple who are going to be so easy to work with and evoke that desire to go above and beyond your normal service.

Two years seems like a long time to wait but flash (Ahhahh savior of the universe) forward a year and it’s time for their engagement shoot. Andy courted Jessica @ Montclair State University and won her over with his dashing good looks and dream blue eyes (check the images…dreamy) so it was there that the photo session would take place. We walked around campus while snapping some images and talked about how cool Andy was & how lucky Jessica is…or was it the other way around? How about both are true. Here are some images from the evening…

I’m pretty sure it’s illegal in most states to have a couple with eyes like these…

Andy was shoing us the LightBulb dance. I think he plans on busting it out during their 1st dance…

Sweet couple. I think they are gonna make it. As we took this last image, we talked about how before they know it, BLAM! The wedding day is here! Funny how time flies when your having fun. Check out the video of their shoot below.

Now, for you photog blog stalkers out there, I know what you’re thinking…Damn, that’s some sweet light. Yes, we had a nice overcast day which yielded clean ambient light. Fill & accent light was triggered via Pocket Wizards Flex System. They are a pretty awesome system. Much gratitude goes out to Josh Lynn & Neil van Niekerk for their assistance in my growth as a photog. A special thanks goes out to my lighting assistant Michelle Edgerton this day & Point Break for that awesome line.

Until next time…

Me Fui!

Rain or Storm the shoot must go on! (Dan & Ana’s Day After Portraits)

John @ JargaPix — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 21:32:53 +0000

I posted some images of Dan & Ana’s Wedding a week back and mentioned their awesome day after beach shoot. Well here it is! We had to postpone once because of rain but that didn’t stop us from trooping out in a small tropical storm on our last day in Mexico. We planned to capture some great images with the sunrise but due to the storm and overcast skies we just managed to get some incredible sunriseless images. It actually worked out better because we had a giant softbox giving Dan & Ana wonderfully even, clean light. Check out what I mean here…

Needless to say I’m glad we ventured out in the elements to capture once in a lifetime images! I can’t believe we came so close to not doing the shoot. Rain or snow the shoot must go on!

Thank as always for stopping by.

Me Fui!

Cliffside Park Rec. Wrestling Tournament 2011

John @ JargaPix — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 18:28:51 +0000

I love to capture sports! There’s so much more raw emotion in sports that it’s a nice change from Weddings or Events. Football mainly but because Football season is during Wedding season, I only made it out to a few games last season. When I was asked to cover CP Rec’s Wrestling Tournament again this year, I was excited. However when I got there I kept looking at these little kids and envisioning my son Zackery, who is 4 1/2 as I write this. My wife and I already agree that we don’t want him to play football, even though (Al Bundy moment coming) I played H.S. Football and threw 4 Touchdowns in one game and hold the school record for most TD’s in a season. You’d figure I’d want him to follow in my footsteps. That’s a big negative! I want him to use his head for thinking and school but I can already see that he likes physical contact, like his dad, and will most likely want to play… oh well.

Anyway, back to wrestling, I see these kids grabbing and throwing each other all over the mat and I wonder if Zack would like to participate. I also wonder how I’ll react to watching him pummel kids or get pummeled. Watching matches through a viewfinder gives me/you a deeper sense of what it takes to put on a tight onesie and trot out there and grapple with another human. Some of the kids look happy, some scared, but a rare 1-2 looked very intense & aware of what they were doing. Those are the kids that will go to States and whoop some butt! I’m not sure the real reason that parents let there kids wrestle. I think I’m going to do a survey @ the next match.

Check out some images of CP’s Tournament and let me know if I should let my son try out next year…

Lot’s of emotion out there!

Thanks for stopping by…

Me Fui!

San Salvador Trip captured on iPhone4

John @ JargaPix — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 18:51:51 +0000

Greeting folks, today’s post will be about my why you should trust your iPhone to capture your vacation memories & why/when you shouldn’t. In case you didn’t know, DSLR cameras are heavy! Well, maybe not little point & shoots but my cameras are big and heavy. I used to carry them around everywhere I went, but that novelty wore of pretty quickly. I now try to use my DSLR bodies as little as possible. I’ve had quite a few point & shoots over the years with mixed results. My latest camera got pummeled into submission by my kids and I am reluctant to buy another one until they’re a bit older. However, the underlining reason for not getting another one is that I carry a pretty darn good camera on my person @ all times. It’s my phone! The cameras in our phones have come a long way, yes, even you Blackberry Boy. They’ve gotten so good that I almost see no need in getting another point & shoot, but we’re not there just yet…

I needed to go to El Salvador this past November on a family emergency. I stayed in San Salvador, the capital, with my cousin and his family. I was about to buy a camera @ the airport because I wanted to get some images of my trip while I was down there. I was bringing along my big beast but knew that I wouldn’t take it everywhere. While I was looking at some Canons & Nikon units I thought about my phone and how good the quality was for certain environments, key word, certain. I decided to forego the new rinky dink snapper and go CommaniPhone! I was pleased with a good portion of my images but of course a phone, even an Apple one, has it’s limitations. If you know what they are then you can easily get away with your iPhone an a vacation or trip. So, let’s get into it…

Ready to board @ JFK – You can see a bit of noise as the iPhone in lowlight is not the greatest.

Pupusa time! This is outside my favorite spot in Olocuilta. Very good quality in daylight.My cousins new ride…Salvadorian breafast. Not really macro but look at the color and clarity. No other phone I’ve seen gives this.Ceviche. Prob the worlds best food.This is a bus. View from my cousins Hotel window.
Spa timeProbably the best Sushi joint in the world…I kid you not.My cousin and octopus. Colors indoors in Tungsten light are a little harsh due to the flash.Flash output can’t be controlled. That’s a big negative. Sushi Boat. I turned off the flash but as you can see there’s a bit of camera shake. My cousins and I. Camera needs a bit more resolution for groups of people.Macro is decentThat’s a gigantic slab of Sushi! Notice the Orange skin tones again. That issue needs to be addressed in future versions. My cousins workstation…Preparing meat for a big barbecue. Shutter speed is automatic. That would be a great feature though!Family Pic outside, outdoors with no fillflashCenter of Shopping Plaza in Cuscatlan. I added a polarizer filter in LR.
Best Steakhouse in San Sal. A bit too much noise for my taste but it’s acceptable.My Cousin and his coworkers. Pretty good detail for an evening pic with no flash.Hen Soup with sunlight coming through window. Good quality in this environment. Dead Hen…Fresh Oysters on the way to the beach!Very good resolution in daylight.Breakfast of champions.Love me some amaca.There’s that slow shutter effect again.Look at the color rendition. Very good quality.
Infinity focus very good. Super sharp because of all the light.Gotta make sure to shoot away from direct light avoid flare.Used an Pro HDR to get this great image.Low light is acceptable but still a bit of grain and banding.Sipping a $250 bottle of Rum & a $40 pure Cuban…Did I mention adding FECLobby Entrance of the Hilton San Salvador Outdoor lunch time
My farewell lunch. Look at the resolution! Again outdoors this phone camera can’t be beat!Farewell gift. Indoor resolution still needs to be improved.

All in all, I’m pretty happy with the images I got from my phone. They can’t compare to my DSLR…

My cousin and his family in an quick pic session before leaving for airport. …but that’s expected. I’d say that if you know your shooting in good sun light you’ll be more than happy with the Iphone camera. If you know you’ll need some flash, then bring along a compact camera.

Thanks for stopping by! See you soon.

Me fui!

Deandra’s Sweet 16

John @ JargaPix — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 19:24:09 +0000

I received a call from a very energetic and happy mother looking for info about her daughter Deandra’s upcoming 16 Birthday. We had a great conversation and she had some wonderful ideas about her party’s theme and what she was going to do. I was very excited when she booked me because I knew it was going to be a great event. We first setup a portrait photoshoot in Saddle River County Park & a few by her H.S.. Deandra’s mom said that Deandra was a bit nervous but I didn’t sense that at all during the shoot. Can you see nervousness in these images…

Yeah, me neither. Can you believe this is what 16 year olds look like these days?? I’m working on a potion to keep my daughter 3 forever. Patent Pending… We used the 1st pic as her image in her 16×20 signature board. After the shoot Sandra, Deandra’s mom, had Trish over @ Thinking Paper come up with an awesome invitation for her ’80s themed party. Hover over the “read more” under the Any and All Occasions section to see a pic of the invite. She does great customized work and you should check her out if you’ve got an event lined up.

Deandra’s birthday came a few weeks later and it was super cool! My buddy Chris Atwood over @ Absolute Event Services took care of the music and lighting. Give him a buzz if your looking for entertainment packages. The fiesta was held @ Macalusos in Hawthorne, NJ. Great venue with great food and better service! Here are some of the images from her very special day.

Like I said, magic potion that keeps daughters 3 forever!

Thanks for stopping by!

John @ JargaPix

My 1st Commercial Gig…

John @ JargaPix — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 05:56:02 +0000

OK. In keeping my New Years Resolution of a post a week AND not only pertaining to Photography. I give you this combination of storytime, techtime and phototime…

I guess it would be considered commercial. Here’s the backstory, *Storytime Alert* I covered an event for Temple University Alumni Club of NYC (scroll down to past events to see the images) last year when the Yanks Slapped the Phillies in the WS. My buddy Frank ‘The Banterer” Gallo went to TU and got me the gig. The images I took made it to the Temple Alumni Website and all was cool. Subsequently, they contacted me for another event which I covered and struck up a conversation with a dude who was checking out my new Nikon D700 body. He asked some fairly common questions about cameras and settings the likes of which I get pretty often, but then he busted out some more technically specific & complex questions about metering, lighting & file manipulation. I was taken back a bit but being a member of The DWF I was very open and honest to his questions and we talked for a good moment. He was grateful and asked me for my card. I thought nothing of it from there on.

Flash forward a few months and get an email from a communications management company in NYC needing some headshots of their management team of 12 people. They wanted to know my rates. Honestly, I had no idea what the going rate was for that kind of gig, so I called my go-to guy when I’m in need of good advice, Mr. Josh Lynn. He helped me propose a quote that would be competitive and benefit us both, the company and me, not JL who shoots about 50+ Weddings a year and lights candles in his home with $100 bills. Great guy that JL, a bit grumpy but that’s for a different post. Anyhow, they chose me over a few other people based on my work, quote and “ding-ding” my referral from the dude @ the Temple Event. I guess being nice paid off. I was pretty nervous but their creative team gave me an idea of what they wanted and then gave me free reign over the office for an afternoon. *Tech Alert* I used my D700 & 24-70 and 50 1.4. I used 2 SB-900s, both off-camera in iTTL commanded by the D700. Great thing that ability to control the flash output in-camera indoors. I shot the main 900 through the Lastolite EZBox Softbox & the rim light through a Honl Speed Snoot. The set-up worked pretty flawlessly indoors and I got some great images. Here are a few, but continue to read on for the cool part.

*PhotoTime Alert*

They just sent me an email that the website had been revamped and images had been added. You can check them out here – TargetCast TCM & TargetCast TCM SVP.

I’m pretty happy with how they turned out. It gave me a different perspective on my photography and I got a chance to hang in Corporate America for a day. Cool gig but not for me. Although if I had to work somewhere that would be the place. Did I mention that my Assistant for that day has a band? They are pretty awesome. You can check out their website @ InMusth & my images of their live performances @ InMusth Live.

Thanks for tuning in, until next time…

John @ JargaPix

Dan & Ana’s Riviera Maya Wedding

John @ JargaPix — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 22:28:03 +0000

Dan & Ana contacted me about covering their Destination Wedding last year. I was super excited to talk with them about it and ecstatic when Dan called to let me know they had chosen me to accompany them on their special day. The Royal in Playa del Carmen was an incredible hotel. The ambiance, food, service was top notch. Dan & Ana are a super cool, fun couple and we had a chance to create some wonderful Wedding and day after images. Here are a few of the images from the Wedding Day…

It was great writing up this post and viewing the images again as it brought back great memories. Dan & Ana treated me like a guest and were open and willing to ideas to get some great images. Stay tuned for images from the Day After Wedding…

John @ JargaPix

1st post of 2011

John @ JargaPix — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 08:31:11 +0000

Hello Folks. It’s been a while… This is officially my 1st post for 2011. Thankfully, I was pretty busy last year and unfortunately with facebook being so easy to use, my blog suffered a bit of neglect. However, after seeing the Social Network, and looking over some of the posts from last year, I realized I like the look & feel of my blog a bit more than my cold Facebook wall. Therefore, I’m going to try make more of an effort this year to add content to my blog. Due to my self diagnosed ADD though, It can’t only be about my work & images. I will throw in some thoughts, product reviews, videos, family stuff, opinions and may even attempt to throw in some personal and professional tips on stuff I think I do well. I figure, I am paying for unlimited hosting service, correct? There may be some bored souls out there who may actually even tune in and follow my mindless rants….well, then again…

So, are you still here?, as I sit here wide awake 3:20 in the morning with Alexa’s (my 3 year old daughter) arm across my forehead and barely clinging on to the edge of the bed as she methodically pushes my off, I start my New Year’s Resolution of @ least 1 post per week. I have about 20+ events from last year that need to make their way on here so I foresee a “best of” highlight coming shortly. How did she get in here again? I already brought her back twice! Well, the brightside is if she continues to wake me up in the middle of the night, I may keep my resolution…

Did I mentioned it snowed today? I mean since we’re talking about 1sts…

Zack & Alexa’s 1st Snowman.

Thanks for stopping by.

Me Fui! (I’m out!)

John @ JargaPix

Tiffany’s Sweet 16

John @ JargaPix — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 00:46:23 +0000

Tiffany Celebrated her Sweet 16 @ El Primo Restaurant. Tiffany looked stunning in her Fashion Fuchsia Dress. It was a special day and I’m happy that I was asked to be a part of it. Here’s a slideshow preview of her special day.

John @ JargaPix

Perezalonso Family Shoot

John @ JargaPix — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 20:02:43 +0000

Luis & Susana stopped by JargaPix Studio a few weeks back and brought along their beautiful family & their wonderful Aunt. We had a fun time working with the kids. They are an awesome set of parents. These are some of my favorite images from the afternoon…

As always, Thanks for stopping by my site! Talk to you in the next post…

John @ JargaPix