Secret Celebrity

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Ha!!! You may have thought this was a ploy to get you to click on this post about a celebrity.  Nope.  We just finished a clean sophisticated website for a Licensing / Trading company called Secret Celebrity.  Take a look at Secret Celebrity's website

Secret Celebrity Licensing develops, manufactures and sells home décor products in various categories such as lighting, scented candles, home accents as in decorative pillows, throws and storage, holiday decoration as in tree skirts, ornaments and stockings, and tabletop essentials that include runners, napkins, napkin rings and placemats.  These categories are designed by leading design professionals bringing stylish, sophisticated and elegant collections to market via licensing agreements.  Our existing portfolio includes the brands KIM SEYBERT Living and CELERIE by Celerie Kemble.

"Our products are created with a unique point of view.  It is branded to offer value and sophistication that are tuned to the consumer mood.  We aim to follow the behavior… lead the thinking with our designers… and ultimately capture the heart." - Secret Celebrity

Listening to Secret Celebrities needs... a clean, sophisticated website focused on the products they manufacture is what we delivered.  Yes, tooting our own website creating horn they love their new website!  In addition because they were under a tight deadline we had the site up an running in 3 days.  Fast right!  Now that Secret Celebrity has worked with our team they are hiring us to do the professional photography for the next group of home goods.

Oh you didn't know my team creates websites too?  We are visual solution specialists providing photography, video and website solutions.

FREE Friday Photography | Video

FREE Friday Photography | Video!!!!! You've read that right you don't need your eyes checked.

What is it? Free Friday is once a month "give back day" by Spencer Gordon where he is waiving his photography or video fee to help out a creative project that needs professional quality imagery.

Why are you doing this offer? Ultimately it's to help out those who need professional visual solutions but can't afford it. As a photographer - filmmaker Gordon hears disappointed stories all the time when someone uses a 'friend' or an 'aspiring photographer' to create their imagery. "Ugh it pains me!  You have one chance to grab someone's attention and make an impression. Your imagery is that opportunity." says Spencer.  In addition this is Spencer's way of giving back to the community.

Where does the shoot take place? At Spencer's studio in the heart of DUMBO in Brooklyn, NY. Or on location depending on the production and concept of the shoot.

How do I get my project selected?* Are you a small business, musician or creative? Here are the various categories that will be considered:  conceptual, music video, promotional video, still-life, product shot, lifestyle portrait, food… and more. Contact Spencer via email
spencer@spencergordon.com briefly outlining your creative project / idea.

Samples of past projects:

Conceptual Photography:  This was shot for a scientist who was submitting a research study about "corn gas" as a source of fuel.


Promotional video:  A specialty store dealing in French vintage furniture wanted to create something fun to catch potential client's attention.



Fashion Photography:  Unique and one of kind tops created by a new designer's for their website.



 

Still-life Photography:  A menswear accessory and home retail shop creating a Father's Day promo.

Contact Spencer today. Come on let's create something!

*Projects are subject to limitations.  Full details are available as per creative project that is presented.

Mom & Pop Shop Series – Atomic Passion

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Don't be scared of the squirrels guarding the entrance to this "Atomic" vintage store.  Originally opening their doors selling furniture over 16 years ago then transforming into an eclectic vintage store filled with clothes, shoes, fashion accessories and unique chachkas.

Immediately upon walking down the few steps past the furry tailed sentries you step back in time.  I defy you to look around and not come across something there that will spark a memory from your own life.  From toys I played with as a kid to the style of clothes I wore in the 70's & 80's. There was familiarity with the objects and oddly I felt at home in the space.

Justin, one of the owners,  who sits behind a centrally located desk in the store has a knack for discovering these pieces from your time capsule.  Whether it's at a garage sale or vacationing, his eye is on the constant prowl for a new or old addition to his store.

"Vintage stores have come and gone here in the lower eastside over the years." Justin tells me.  What makes this one special...... maybe it's the 8 horseshoes hung over the door.  Well sadly apparently not... Atomic Passion is no longer in business. I photographed this store in March of 2008, not long ago I happened to be walking down the street and noticed the squirrel figurines. I hope that Justin has moved on to bigger and better things.

The purpose of this Mom & Pop series is to document these unique businesses and the owners. We are on a completely different business model path with online retailers. The brick and mortar franchises who are able to afford the exorbitant commercial rents, that's great for the landlord. However the overhead of commercial rent is financially strangling the individual business owner. As these Mom & Pop shops get pushed out of existence we become blind to the fact that we live and homogenized business model. The next time you go to a mall or a shopping area take a good look around. I think you'll notice the same shops over and over and over no matter where you are in America.

"Support your local businesses."

Stay tuned I have more of these Mom & Pop Shop stories on the way.

Desks For Rent In A Creative Loft | DUMBO NY

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 Click on an image to enlarge.

We're a group of creatives sharing a great 2500 sq. ft. loft in the heart of DUMBO.
We have desks to rent.

 Please contact

Friko at 917-373-4908 or email friko@chaco.cc
Spencer at 212-369-7154 or email spencer@spencergordon.com
for more information.

$450 per desk per month includes:
- hi-speed business class internet
- electricity
- heat / ac
- weekly cleaning service
- Poland Springs water service
- shared conference room
- use of client lounge area
- 24 hr access

$950 for the private office.
Available starting Dec 1st
- all the above plus
- hard wire internet
- private phone line available. *Phone service is not included
- unfurnished
- 1 to 3 persons in the private office
- perfect edit suite / programers / designers ( no windows )

Contact us today!

 

Panoramic of loft area.

[caption id="attachment_2566" align="aligncenter" width="570"] Panoramic of office space with desks to rent.[/caption]

This loft is located at 68 Jay Street, Brooklyn NY. 11201

DUMBO is an ultra-hip neighborhood rooted in a historic past. DUMBO’s converted industrial warehouses and vintage loft spaces redefine the meaning of chic, and its inspiring Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan skyline views remain unmatched. This neighborhood tempers its trendy shops and bars with manicured waterfront green spaces and historic enclaves—Vinegar Hill’s cobblestone streets return visitors to Brooklyn's days of yore.

The area has emerged as one of New York City's premier arts districts, with a cluster of for-profit art galleries such as the Klompching Gallery and such not-for-profit institutions as the St. Ann's Warehouse and the A.I.R. Gallery. Chef Jacques Torres opened a chocolate factory in Dumbo in December 2000.[5] Other culinary businesses in the area include Grimaldi's, the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory, and the The River Café. All of these businesses cluster in Fulton Landing, which is also home to Bargemusic, a floating venue for classical music. The first public space in the neighborhood was Fulton Ferry, followed by Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park. Brooklyn Bridge Park, a joint state/city venture presently under development, was launched in 2006.

2013 PDN The Look Photo Contest

I've entered a photo contest in PDN ( Photo District News ) called The Look.  Looking to collect votes for the People's Choice Awards

VOTE here for my shot in the People's Choice Awards.

This still life was a collaboration with Modern Anthology.  One night after the shop closed John and I cracked open a couple of beers and played with all the visual goodies to create this image. I love this store.  I could move in.  John and Becca do such a great job with the treatment of the store's branding.  When you walk into the shop it's not an obvious mens lifestyle retail store.  You feel like you've walked into someone's home.

The premise of the still life was to create a shot with a warm and inviting feeling.  Showing off the merchandise of the store without it being blatantly in your face this is what we sell.

Modern Anthology's original DUMBO outpost offers a unique and curated selection of vintage furniture, home and personal accessories, and well-crafted clothing geared towards a masculine lifestyle. We like to view the shop as a retail experiment in progress. It's a space where we can showcase our particular brand of design aesthetics and ultimately use as a launching-pad for our ideas and the many products that we discover along the way.

Our flagship shop also serves as a home-base for the architects, filmmakers, interior designers, graphic and product designers with a common passion for story-telling through experiential design that we collaborate with through Modern Anthology's creative studio.

For more information about the photo contest click on the link below.

2013 PDN The Look Photo Contest.

Mom & Pop Shop Series - Albanese Butcher

If only I had written down the darn address of the butcher's store, I said to myself, instead I spent 30 minutes walking around in the cold, with my camera pack on my back, zig zagging the streets looking for the joint. I was starting to think, "Maybe the guy finally went out of business", and was almost ready to give up when I spotted the store front. Notice the patriotic banner over the front door, looks like it's been there since the Grand Opening!


Walking into the store is like being time warped back to the 50's. Except for the meat... I hope! Everything in the place is original. On the right side of the store are the scales to weigh the meat. There is a single refrigerator with no light when you open the door, probably because the bulb burned out 40 years ago, so you have no idea what anything is as it's so dark.


The guys' mother ran the place until she was 97 years old. The shot to the left is a homemade poster of her when she was younger, it was used for decoration for her 90th birthday. Wonder if they had steaks for her birthday dinner?

The left side of the store is an office and what appears to be storage for the years of memorabilia. When I enter the store the owner is sitting with his feet up on some boxes in his makeshift office, which consists of a chair, a few boxes, and mountainous stacks of papers. He doesn't even look up, engrossed in how many pork chops he's sold that week perhaps. Anyway I break the ice by saying "I love your store, how long have you been in business?". He says, "Over 50 years", without looking up from his carcass stat sheet.

Part of me senses this guy just doesn't want to be bothered, but I press on by telling him about the project, and all the while he is flipping through his stack of papers. At the end of my pitch I asked if it would be alright if I take some pictures.
Finally he looks over at me, his face is lifeless, I mean, no expression at all, and says "Sure."
Then he goes right back to his paperwork.

The place has an eerie charm. The nostalgia of the old equipment... strange though to see on the wall a saw you could cut down a good size tree with or amputate a leg in hurry.


 
 As I'm unpacking my camera I notice some pictures of an actor I knew, named Vinny Vella, taped to a cabinet. When I was an assistant photographer working on fashion jobs, Vinny drove the location van we hired. Vinny, is your typical New York maffioso type character. He told these great stories that always had me laughing. Anyway, as I wanted the butcher to warm up to me so he'd let me take his picture, I say to him, "Wow you know Vinny!" After a second or two the butcher just says "Yep." So I go on and say, "I used to work with him when he drove location vans for Star Truckers", trying to let him know that we have a mutual friend and get some interest from him. No response from the butcher.

So, I finish shooting. I'm all packed up and just about to get my back pack strapped on, when the butcher asks me in his deadpan expressionless voice "So is this going to be in a movie?".


 
 
 
 
This Mom & Pop Shop photography / writing series is a project I've been working on for some time. My guidelines for the series is the shop must not be a franchise, in business for 25 plus years, family owned and operated.

Stay tuned I have several more to share from the series.

Creating Stop Motion Animation Video with Aperture | Apple SOHO Store Dec. 17th at 6pm

Creating Stop Motion Animation with Aperture

Apple SOHO Store
December 17, 6:00pm

Come see how Spencer Gordon created a stop motion animation music video by Nadia Ackerman using Aperture in less than 19 days.

This presentation promises to be informative, pull on your heartstrings and provide a few chuckles.

More info:

What Is Christmas? - Nadia Ackerman | Spencer Gordon Stop Animation Video.

East Yorkshire - Winter Countryside

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The countryside in the East Yorkshire is amazing! Quiet, serene and peaceful. I stayed in a village called Kilham. A quaint English village that has a convenience store, 2 pubs, fine art gallery, post office, butcher and a church all nestled inside of 2 blocks. The village is surrounded by farmland. One of the farmers even has an honor system produce stand. The brussels sprouts on the stalks were only 1 pound per stalk!

Walking through one of the fields we came across a cabbage field. They looked like purple brains in the snow.... a little eerie in the still quiet country cold air.

Also in the slideshow are a two shots of Bridlington Beach. My favorite shot is of the colorful changing bath houses.

The slideshow above if you click on an image it will take you directly to that shot on my website. All images are available for download.

Related articles about Yorkshire & Bridlington

"Yorkshire Coast - What will you find on the Yorkshire Coast?".

21 Jan-9 Apr: David Hockney and Yorkshire | Hello Yorkshire Blog.

Lucy Frend - Designer of Unique Silk Tops

Lucy Frend is a designer of unique silk crop tops for women's clothing. These women's silk tops are thoughtfully united from two beautiful silk scarves. One of a kind luxurious pieces of wearable art.

Lucy's process is she collects visually stunning silk scarves, then inspects the each one for any imperfections. The scarves she sources are vintage usually created by Valentino, Hermes, Channel and other top fashion designers. Lucy really enjoys searching for the perfect pair of silk scarves to unite into eloquent fashion creation.

Another twist is that the silk tops can still be worn as a scarf as well as head scarf. The longer silk tops can be worn as previously mentioned as well as a belt! How's that for being fashion forward.

Back in early Spring of 2011 Lucy was considered, amongst a long line of other designers, by Henri Bendel's of New York to be showcased in their store. They loved the silk crop tops however they stated "it is a beautiful piece of women's clothing but Bendel's only sells accessories." Lucy demonstrated the other uses of the unique silk tops as an accessory, unfortunately Henri passed on the opportunity.

It was pleasure working with Lucy. The tops are so gorgeous.... hey the holidays are fast approaching. Want to really make a statement give one of these beautiful silk garments. Again these are one of kind, no else will be seen in another silk top like this one. OK sorry... I don't mean to hard sell ya. I wish you could see the silk tops in person though. Ok I'll stop now.

Read Lucy's intro blog post here.

911 Photography Project - An Artistic Tribute

[caption id="attachment_799" align="aligncenter" width="590" caption="2010 View from Brooklyn"][/caption]The 10th anniversary of 911 is upon us and since 2006 I have be working on a photography art project each year specifically on September 11th. The project involves photographing the tip of Manhattan from both New Jersey City and  Brooklyn Heights.  This project deals with the use of a unique large format Speed Graphic camera from the 1940's that shoots 4 x 5 film.  Old school style. Yes the kind of camera you have to put a dark cloth over your head where the image is upside down and backwards in the back of the camera when you see it on a grainy piece of glass. The purpose of the project is one pay tribute to New York City and it's scarred skyline as well as document the transformation of a great city as it's skyline takes on a new shape.

This Sunday from the upper east side I will ride a mountain bike to two locations.  Packed in the bike's side saddle the antique 4 x 5 camera and I will venture to my first location at the Brooklyn Promenade.  I will arrive at the first location by 7:45am to set up this unique piece of photographic equipment.  At precisely 8:46am is when I expose the first shot.  Why 8:46am? That's when the first plane hit the North Tower. After that shot is complete I then re-pack and ride to New Jersey City.

It has been over the last 5 years that I've been doing this project.  It's interesting to see the progression of the city's skyline.  One year there was the waterfall installations another year a modern silver twisting building was completed a different year a warehouse has been torn down.

The project will complete when the Freedom Tower is finished.  Upon it's completion I plan to exhibit the complete body of work.
[caption id="attachment_800" align="aligncenter" width="590" caption="2010 View from New Jersey City"][/caption]

Bike By Me - The Super Hero of Custom Bikes

Bike By Me building bikes designed... well by you. Yep, that's right you pick the colors for the frame, chrome, seat, grips, rims, tires right down to the chain. Cool huh?

Bike By Me are the cape crusaders of colorful fun clean designed bikes. The superhero beacon in the Manhattan scene above is part of a concept shoot Spencer Gordon shot after Bike By Me's debut in the New Amsterdam Bike Show. The concept was to shoot the bikes in an iconic NY setting. Then the composite image would be used as an interactive piece. The viewer will mouse-over the photo stumbling upon a person holding a bike in the scene. By clicking upon a particular bike it will open that specific bike in Bike By Me's website. To view the completed version of the shot above click here. Mouse-over the city skyline to turn on the Bike by Me beacon.

The design of these bikes and the company's website has been notarized by various publications. The latest was from NotCot.org highlighting this concept photograph.

Fun fact about the final image. In post production over 840 spokes had to be recreated.

Barter with the Band

Bartering can be a great way to not only get what you need, but to make new connections that may lead to new business opportunities.

Nadia Ackerman, an amazing singer songwriter, is seen in the shot above with her band. I needed a custom music piece for a fun magical silent film I did for 145 Antiques, Nadia needed the shot for some upcoming gig promotions. We did this shot in a matter of minutes… literally.

Nadia’s band was rehearsing at Euphoria Studios in NYC. The objective was to photograph the entire group, however, there was not enough room in the rehearsal space. Meanwhile a band was gathering outside the studio door to use the space when Nadia’s rehearsal ended. I asked David Sokol, the owner of Euphoria, if I could shoot the band in the lobby, without even looking at me he said “NO”. I waited a little while as David and his manager were busy turning over some of the other rehearsal spaces. As things calmed down I asked David again if I could shoot in the lobby, once again he said,“NO”, proceeding to point to photographs on the walls that he didn’t want included in my shot. I stated that I was going to get the band to lay on the floor for the shot which would not include the photographs, David then said he’d have to approve the shot, so I said “Ok”.

As I begin to set up my camera and the one Nikon SB900 speedlight needed for the shot, David is observing my set up and talking to me about his photography. Nadia’s band walk out of their rehearsal space. The elevator doors open and another band walk into the lobby and shuffles past us into another rehearsal space, the lobby is now quite crowded. I explain the shot to the band and they get into position quickly. I start shooting while David is still talking and asking questions, and the elevator doors open again to spill out yet more people, but Nadia’s band is laying on the floor in front of the elevators so they can’t get out. I’m giving direction to the band to run through various facial expressions, and in two minutes we had it! PHEW! Nadia’s band get up from the floor smiling, laughing, and poking fun at each other. David asks to see the shot on the
camera and said, “that was a great idea for a group shot.”

If you want to hear the music that Harvey Jones and Nadia did for my silent film click HERE to see some Magic.

Candid Snap Shots

[caption id="attachment_188" align="alignleft" width="950" caption="Girl Chasing Bubbles"][/caption]For the last month I've been participating in a Candid Snap Shot project hosted by Chase Jarvis. I've been shooting new stuff with my Nikon P7000 gotta love it's size and power! I've also been pulling images from my library of images for the project. I gotta tell ya it has been nice. We have been working really hard on getting the new website ready and the Invitation to Hang project has been a fun and freeing project to just shoot some pictures.