Jaap van Zweden

It has been entirely too long since I last posted. For some reason getting engaged, planning a wedding for six months, then getting married seems to take up a lot of time. Don't worry, you will see those images soon, probably after I actually get to sit down and look at them. In the meantime, I will give you guys some fresh stuff. These images are of Jaap van Zweden, maestro of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, with his wife Aaltje, at their temporary residence in the Ritz Carlton in Dallas, TX. They were shot for De Telegraaf, which is the largest newspaper in the Netherlands. Mr. van Zweden has an excellent view of downtown from his balcony, which is why we decided to shoot out in the wonderful Texas air. Enjoy.
-jason

Jaap Welcome Celebration

Onstage

Backstage

Dressing Room


Hello all,
I got to shoot the Welcome Celebration for Jaap van Zweden for the Symphony the other night. The full set of images are located here.
It was very cool, as they performed Verdi's Reqiuem. Since I had to be backstage, I only got to hear snippets, but it was incredibly powerful. Plus, the style of Jaap van Zweden is thrilling in itself, as he is very dramatic, fluid and loaded with energy. Those conducting attributes make him very fun to photograph, and I had the chance to get a few of those and some more behind the scenes. I hope you enjoy.

Photoshelter

Well,
I wanted to post a ton of images up, but my schedule has gotten crazy again.
However, here are two shots from the Gold Bow Dinner I did for the Dallas Symphony. Everyone attending got to eat onstage at The Meyerson, which is certainly a unique experience. I now have images from this shoot as well as many others on my photoshelter site . It is a very cool online tool, that also works as a digital archive, something I've needed for a while. More images will be going up there soon, or at least I hope so. And of course, there is always my website, which is a magical place as well. Go check everything out, then go back and do it again. Take it easy,
-jason

Food!

As the sole photographer for Fort Worth, Texas Magazine, I do a little bit of everything. And I do mean everything. Here are a couple of the tastier food shots I've had since I came on to the magazine in August. Perhaps I should have worded that better, because I have never hit on a publication, ever. Oh well. Anyways, enjoy and let me know what you think! I will be posting more and more things here soon. At least until my assignments pour in again.

Some delicious creations from Fort Worth's Cupcake Cottage.


These are the very delicious sliders and onion rings from Dutch's Hamburgers in Fort Worth. I often have the chance to do quality control after the photo shoot, which is a great perk.


Filet Mignon.



The Chocolate Moussetini from Lili's Bistro in Fort Worth.


And Lili's Rosemary Polenta fries.


Finally, a meat and cheese platter from Zambrano's Wine Cellar, which also happens to be the place where Ayns and I celebrated our engagement with a few friends. Great place, the pizza is incredible.
As always, if you are interested in seeing more of my personal work, please click here. If you would like to go see my magazine's website, please check them out here.

March Issue

It is impossible to follow the last post I had here, as it was one of the most important events of my life. However, I have more images to show, so here we go. The images over the next few days are all from the March issue of the magazine, our Men's Issue. Enjoy. Above is Justin Anderson, who is CEO of Anderson Trail Granola. I thought since he was such a grainy guy, that we would go have some fun in a field with a bag of oats. Then I got him to thrown them at me. And there you have it.

We're Engaged, es la compremetida!

Well everyone, it is official! I am engaged to the love of my life, Aynsley Elizabeth Dobrey. I proposed to her last Saturday at Trinity Park in Fort Worth. We began the day taking photos of all our favorite/memorable places up at UNT, where we both went to school. Then we headed to Fort Worth, and the magic began from there!

Ayns and I having our little picnic. As an added bonus, the miniature railroad chugged by, and all the passengers cheered us on!

Nothing like a little coke toast (this is a city park after all).

Walking to the canoe, though she is completely unaware at this point. I would like to point out all of these amazing photos were taken by Juan Guajardo, a good friend of mine, and obviously a very talented photoj. Many thanks to him for all of his help, we could not have asked for a greater record of our moments than this.

There is the ring. It is difficult to propose in a canoe, fyi.

She said yes.

She really said yes.

And now, the staring begins.

She has been in this pose since Saturday actually, I've yet to have her look at me, she's too focused on the ring...

There it is, the perfect ring, for the perfect woman.

The creative team. Without the help of her two sisters, Caroline and Lane, Thomas (far right, Caro's fiance) who was our waiter/2nd photog, Andrew (Lane's bf, aka the canoe master) and Juan, our photographer, this just wouldn't have been possible. Thank you so much guys, and of course, thanks be to God in all of this. Without His help I wouldn't have been able to do it, or have such a perfect day! Thanks again everyone!

Custom Home Shoot

Hey guys,
Last fall I had the opportunity to go do a full interior photography shoot for Montclaire Custom Homes. Aynsley and I trucked up to the house, and went to town shooting and lighting almost every room of the house for about eight hours. This is a lot of fun for me, as each room is like a puzzle needing to be unlocked. You have to figure out just the right composition, styling, and of course lighting that accents everything while still having a natural feel. After doing several of these, I have great respect for the hardcore magazine home shooters. But anyways, I'd like to give some insight on how these go down, it may just help someone out. I've found you just have to come into a room, and watch how the light works in there. You want to try and use the natural light to work for you, and just accent it and fill in details where it might not reach. Now to do this is certainly easier said than done, and I am definitely still learning. However, I must say having your camera tethered to a laptop for instant proofing certainly helps the process along. And having an assistant to bounce ideas off of (she's quite stylish as well) is fantastic. If you are interested in this kind of thing, see where the light is coming from, and try to guess where I put lights, and how I did them. I will definitely tell you if you ask. Take it easy,
-jason

Caroline and Thomas

So Aynsley's sister got engaged a couple weeks ago, and I was there along with her sisters to capture the actual proposal. Thomas sent her on a scavenger hunt for a few hours, with everything ending at the Cottonwood Arena in Highland Village. Obviously, she said yes.

Adenworks Imagery

This is some recent work I did for Adenworks, Ltd., which is a wholesale importer of rustic teak furniture from Thailand. This stuff is pretty cool, as teak is weather and timeproof, termites don't like to eat it, etc. Most of the parts for the furniture come from wagon wheels, fence posts and things from up to a century ago. My wonderful girlfriend just happens to be the designer for a majority of these pieces, just so you know. Way cool. So anyways, here is the work, let me know what you think.

A Suit for Mr. Valentine

Suiting Up


The Digs


Definitely Cool



A while back, our company had a day where we volunteered at a Cancer Center in Fort Worth. It was beautiful, as we had the chance to buy Christmas gifts for people who had little or nothing. I felt so privileged and blessed to be a part of such an event, I definitely think we are placed here to serve those less fortunate. So, I heard the story of a man, Mike Valentine, who had gotten a new suit. He has had a tumor for quite some time, and it had been inflamed by doctors who put iodine in it. Since he had had this tumor, money had become much tighter, and he hadn't been able to buy a suit in several years. That's why when our editors saw his story and his request for a suit, they knew what they had to do. Mike teared up when he saw the Men's Wearhouse bag.

I took the opportunity to hang out with him wearing his new suit. Since he is a minister, I wanted to ride along for his first Sunday in the new digs. What a blessing. He was so thankful and a great man to talk to. I'm glad that I finally took a chance to put these up, I have taken too long as always. Anyways, enjoy!
-jk-