A Week in the Life
The past shapes my future
I have lived in Boston 15 years now. It is a strange thing for me, as I have always identified myself as a tried and true New Yorker. I grew up on Long Island, went to college in Scranton PA, then moved to Manhattan where I lived for 15 years while trying to make it, doing stand up comedy (you can read all about it here), but ultimately being unsuccessful at it.
15 years in Manhattan, now 15 years in Boston.
It is all going by in the blink of an eye.
Time flies, but the lessons I learned during my time there as a comic remain as relevant as ever. NYC taught me invaluable principles that have directly contributed to my success as a photographer.
The city instilled in me a strong work ethic that I carry with me to this day. I had to hand out tickets in Times Square to get stage time, so I learned early on that hustle is everything. It’s about pushing boundaries, going the extra mile, and never settling for mediocrity. Whether it is chasing down the perfect shot or networking with fellow creatives, I embraced the idea that hard work is the foundation of any achievement.
When I quit my IT day job and started photography full time, I knew I wasn’t the most talented so I made a promise to myself: I won’t be outworked by anyone.
With this on my mind, I thought that for this newsletter I would share what a work week looks like for me. At this point in my photography career, I focus on food and product, but really I will take most any gig I can. The beauty of that is I get a lot of variety, the down side is that sometimes I am shooting for others and don’t get to be as creative as I like. This week I had a bit of everything.
Food Shoots: I had two food shoots this week (second food shoot is in the 3 BY ME section) The first one was for Doordash secret Shopper program. Being a food photographer, Doordash gives me a voucher to a restaurant, I order and then plate and shoot it at home. Then I GET TO EAT IT ALL!!!!! Sometimes the voucher is for $100, once it was as high as $1800. Having left a good paying corprorate job i tell my wife this counts as income. Also, there is so much food sometimes I have become the hit of the neighborhood dropping off bags of food at neighbors houses
Automotive: Not my area of expertise, but there is a high end used car site called Bring A Trailer. They have hired me a few times now to shoot cars for the owners to post. It is “checklist photography”, meaning I have to get the 75 images they want, but then I also get to do some for me. I had three of these shoots this week, a 1983 Porsche, a 2023 Porsche and this 1968 Plymouth GTX. When I asked how it handled, the owner told me “in a straight line, it is a dream”. Only 35K if you are looking to ride in style and miss ashtrays in cars.
Album Art: Was covering for another photographer who committed to this project but then had a family emergency. A local band is releasing an album they are calling “Get Off My Lawn”. While this is not the image they went with, I think I got the concept and ran with it.
Mentoring/Headshots: Earlier this year I was approached and asked to “teach” photography. I love teaching, and jumped at the chance and now have three “students”. Our one on one sessions are in person and fun. I have learned so much, it is nice to pass on some info. This most recent class, the student had never used artificial lighting, so they came to my studio and we did some headshots while trying different lighting schemes with a friend of mine.
3 By Me (three places you need to eat at now!)
The Rox Diner (4 Hartford St, Newton Highlands, MA 02461)
The Rox Diner has two locations, one in my town (West Roxbury) and the a new one in Newton MA. I am a sucker for breakfast, I am a sucker for simple dishes, with fresh ingredients, therefore I am a sucker for the Rox Diner. Fresh, vibrant, and large portions? Yes! Yes! and Yes!
Take my money 2. The Brown Jug (1014 Revere Beach Pkwy, Chelsea, MA 02150)
My second photography shoot of the week. The owner of this restaurant has been in business since 1988. An incredible run in the restaurant business, but it is easy to see why. Everything is made from scratch. The buffalo wings pictured were with a simple homemade sauce (not premade from a jar), and was hot and tasty. I talked about living in NYC earlier, and I may lose some New York cred for this but, I tried their cheeseburger pizza (pictured) and LOVED it.
Mozarella & Cheddar Cheese, Mustard Ketchup Sauce, Hamburg, Lettuce. Tomato, Pickles, Onions. It was cheesy, meaty, zesty, and I am glad I can still be open to trying new things.
Bar food done well 3. Grasshopper Vegan Restaurant (1 Brighton Ave, Boston, MA 02134)
Speaking of something new (for me at least). Grasshopper has also been open for over twenty-five years, but at this location for less then one. This family run business had to leave their previous location and opened up in the Super 88 a few blocks away (the super 88 is a huge asian market with various restaurants/food stalls in it). Super authentic, amazing sauces, I tasted a number of dishes and they all hit hard. Rich and flavorful, there is a reason they have been around so long.
Who needs meat? As always, the New Yorker in me thinks no one reads this, much less reads to the end. So I offer my sincere appreciation and thanks. The algorithm responds well to likes and comments, so if you don’t mind being a button pushing monkey one more time, every like and comment helps.
