Contact | Meris

Posted on February 10, 2014 by gwunterberger

The instant I saw Meris with her blue blockers and furs, I knew I had to photograph her. I was on my morning commute, and it looked as if she was too, but I took the chance and asked her for a portrait. She couldn’t have been nicer, and didn’t mind my direction when I asked her to move infront of the brick backdrop. This was my first “field” portrait with the Contax 645, and in my excitement I forgot to recognize that the shutter was set to flash sync mode. I realized the mistake only after I had walked away, hoped that the frames weren’t overblow, and smiled so BIG when I saw the final result.

More CONTACT after the break… Continue reading →

Frenchie Friday | On The Job

Posted on January 24, 2014 by gwunterberger

My tribe has left me for the West Coast. This cold apartment has gotten a colder. But I take solace in the fact that my pooch is on the job, working long hours to insure the sanity and safety of his Momma. Exemplifying the required qualities of an Emotional Support Animal, he’s a dog born to wear the black and blue.

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Contact | Andre

Posted on January 18, 2014 by gwunterberger

Andre was one of those portraits that happen by chance. I was at the end of a long day shooting and had decided to take the subway home and rest my dogs. Thinking about anything but photography, I arrived at my station and there was this guy, just posted up looking like a badass. I walked up and told him so, then politely asked for his portrait. He agreed, but mentioned he was waiting for his girl so please make it quick. Needless to say, dude knows how to make an impression.

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Giving Thanks

Posted on January 1, 2014 by gwunterberger

Last Thanksgiving, the birds descended on the NY nest for a Crosby cookout. This go-around, we took turkey time back to the Golden state. Splitting time between sets of cousins, pooches, parents, and grandparents, we soaked up the sun and our fair share of gravy. It was the perfect opportunity to test out my new piece of kit, the Contax 645, and I burned through six rolls without batting an eye. Looking back, I probably should have slowed down a bit as more than a few shots turned returned woefully out of focus. But user error aside, when this thing nails it…IT NAILS IT! It’s the keepers and that “look” that really get me going…Gobble Gobble!

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Contact | Judah

Posted on November 22, 2013 by gwunterberger

Judah was one of those people that I almost passed up, even though the minute I saw him I had to have his portrait. But like anything in life, you never know until you try…

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Contact | William

Posted on October 23, 2013 by gwunterberger

Meet William, the very first subject I sent a copy of my photo too. He was walking around Washington Square Park with a beautiful Pentax 67 (complete with wooden grip!) and it was the first time that I had ever seen the camera in person. At this point I wasn’t as comfortable taking portraits of strangers, but I had it in my head that I would take photos of people with cool cameras (the theory being that they were photographers, so they would be less inclined to say no). So I circled the park a couple times, gathering up the nerve to ask. He couldn’t have been nicer, and later I realized HE also walked around the city taking portraits. In fact his Flickr account, especially his older stuff, turned out to be a big reason why I started taking the Hasselblad out onto the streets. I hadn’t seen that “look” before, and I fell in love. Anyway, he was also the first person to respond to my image, and the resulting conversation is worth the read.

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Contact | Ronne

Posted on October 5, 2013 by gwunterberger

When I take someone’s photograph, I make a point to stop and chat with them. This wasn’t always the case. I started very much in the “run and gun” mindset, steal the photo with as little interaction as possible. But I realized that if I took the time to ask permission and introduce myself , I could get the exact photo I wanted while learning a little about the person in it. Whenever possible, I take down the subjects’ contact information so that I can share the results with them. Though it may take days, weeks or even months, I love sending out images and waiting for a response. Most times it’s radio silence, I’m not sure if people don’t know how to respond or if they simply hate the photo, but every once and a while somebody writes back. CONTACT is a new segment on the blog dedicated to those rare responses…

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I Half Too

Posted on October 1, 2013 by gwunterberger

I have a list, and it’s naughty, not nice. It’s a list that gets me in trouble, and one that often keeps me up at night. Ok, ok, so it’s a wish list, a camera wish list, a living document that ebbs and flows with obsessions of the moment. Last week, however, I crossed something off that list. I couldn’t be happier.

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Tribute In Light

Posted on September 19, 2013 by gwunterberger

It started with a email from Sarah asking if I wanted to partake in a “mini photo expedition,” with the goal of photographing the 9/11 Tribute in Lights. Of course I was in, who did she take me for? Getting excited, I reminded her about my attempt last year, and cautioned against trying to photograph the lights with the Brooklyn Bridge in the foreground by crossing ON the Brooklyn Bridge…that wasn’t my smartest gameplan ever.

Her response was perfect “I don’t want the shot everyone gets. I want something different.”

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Tried and Died

Posted on September 13, 2013 by gwunterberger

Niagara Falls, eh? Why not? That’s the question we asked ourselves, and when we couldn’t come up with a reason against it, we rounded up our passports and headed on a one-day detour.